COURSE OUTLINE
A. DATE March 26, 1999B. DEPARTMENT English
C. COURSE TITLE Advanced Intermediate Reading and Composition: Developing a College Writing Style
D. COURSE NUMBER English 96
E. COURSE OUTLINE PREPARER: Leonard Sanazaro
F. DEPARTMENT CHAIR'S SIGNATURE __________________________
G. DEAN'S SIGNATURE _____________________________________
A. Hours 3 hours per weekB. Units 3
C. Prerequisite
One of the following:
1) Completion of the City College Assessment Exam in English and placement into English 962) an appropriate placement on the English Eligibility Essay Exam
3) completion of English 94 with a grade of C or higher
D. Course Description
Emphasis on critical reading of expository prose and imaginative literature and on writing essays, with attention to developing a variety of techniques in paragraph and sentence construction for the creation of a college writing style.
E. Field Trip(s) NoF. Method of Grading CR/NCR available
G. Repeatability Not applicable
Emphasis on critical reading of expository prose and imaginative literature and on writing essays, with attention to developing a variety of techniques in paragraph and sentence construction for the creation of a college writing style.
When the student has completed the course, he or she will be able to1. analyze and use mixed modes of exposition as a principle of paragraph and essay development.
2. possess a basic understanding of grammar, sentence, and proofreading techniques so that there will be few basic errors in the writing.
3. make intellectual connections between reading and writing and know the rudiments of MLA documentation and parenthetical citation.
4. produce well-developed essays (at least a total of seven, in-class 500 words within a 50-minute period, and out-of-class 750 words) focused by clearly stated thesis statements.
5. compose complex paragraphs and revise to improve sentence structure and variety, with emphasis upon developing the appropriate uses of parallelism,. Repetition, and sentence styles (i.e., periodic, balanced, and cumulative) to refine the clarity and tone of their writing.
6. grasp of the fundamentals of formal logic, including induction and deduction, and use approaches to problem-solving that require them to reason and write logically.
7. read imaginative literature critically to: 1) discuss implied meanings; 2) draw careful inferences supportable from the text; and 3) discuss style.
8. read the essay critically for thesis and organizational/rhetorical patterns, with emphasis upon: 1) distinguishing between ranges of style, i.e., formal, moderate, and colloquial, in a variety of prose; 2) analyzing writing for the elements that make it affective and close, or informative and distant; and 3) recognizing that the combination of purpose, audience, and subject determines the selection of a writer's tones and emotional appeals and the soundness of his or her rational and ethical appeals.
A. WRITINGStudents will do the following:
1. review the entire writing process, including inventing, pre-writing, focusing on a thesis, evaluating support and determining an appropriate order for main supporting points, revising the thesis, drafting, revising the entire paper, and proofreading.
2. consider purpose, audience, tone at appropriate times in the writing process.
3. describe their individual writing processes, discuss possibilities for change and revision in that framework, and evaluate their processes
4. discuss the purposes of and construct effective introductions and conclusions for the essays
5. articulate a thesis statement and analyze the choices in development, support, and organization that result from the logical unfolding of that thesis.
6. analyze what a topic or question asks them to do for in-class writing and formulate a defensible thesis and a scratch outline from which to write. This includes: summarizing or paraphrasing from the question to focus on the response; responding directly to the topic or question; developing the thesis with main supporting points and specific support as needed; proofreading for and making corrections in sentence structure and grammatical/mechanical errors.
7. give an oral and written response to readings by: summarizing accurately; comparing and contrasting two readings; taking a generalization from an essay or work of fiction or poetry and developing it in contexts outside those in the work; evaluating the logic and support in an essay; writing an extended definition of a term of interest; agreeing and disagreeing with a point of argument made in an essay and supporting their views.
8. analyze essays to identify complex modes of development as contrasted with formulaic, underdeveloped writing.
9. identify some characteristics of individual style and discus those which appeal to them.
10. becomes familiar with the basics of the MLA style of documentation and parenthetical citation.
B. GRAMMAR AND MECHANICSStudents will do the following:
1. Identify the errors they make in their writing (in and out of class) and revise to correct errors. By the end of this course, the passing students should have few basic errors in their writing.
2. Improve sentence structure and variety by revising to: correct sentence problems; relate ideas through coordination and parallelism; subordinate less important information to get more information into each sentence; use subordinate clauses and phrases&emdash;especially prepositional, participial, and appositive.
3. Revise to improve coherence and clarify organization by adding transitional words and phrases, correcting pronoun reference, improving parallelism, repeating key terms.
C. READING
Students will do the following:
1. Recognize that different genres, tones, purposes, and styles require different responses of the reader.2. Read expository writing to: identify thesis and follow the writer's unfolding of that thesis in use of rhetorical patterns; appreciate and evaluate supporting evidence, both general and specific; identify purpose, voice, and characteristics of style; develop skill at explicating possible levels of meaning; develop a college-level vocabulary used in an essay by using a dictionary, individually in and out of class.
3. Read works of imaginative literature to: infer themes and tie those themes to evidence from the works themselves; analyze implied meanings; distinguishing some characteristics of style; appreciate their emotional and imaginative power.
D. QUESTIONING/ CRITICAL THINKING
Students will do the following:
1. Understand the basic processes of induction and deduction and apply that understanding to qualify generalizations in their writings and to identify unarticulated premises in readings.
2. Evaluate logic (including fallacies) in writing of others and in their own writing.
3. Analyze essay questions to determine the number of tasks and clarify what the question asks them to do (summarize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize) and apply an abstraction in the essay to contexts of the essay.
A. Assignments1. Writing assignment based primarily upon readings.
2. Reading assignments of expository prose and imaginative literature.
3. Class discussions and peer group discussions in response to professional and student writing.
4. Individual conferences with instructor.
5. Lectures and writing demonstrations.
6. Lectures and reading demonstrations.
7. Class discussions will allow students to practice their close readings, test ability to make inferences, and distinguish stated and implied meanings.
B. Evaluation1. In- and out-of-class writing.
2. Quizzes, tests, including those which test for reading comprehension.
3. Midterm and final in-class examinations.
C. Texts and Other Materials
1. an anthology of essays with various rhetorical modes
2. works of imaginative literature (including, if the instructor chooses, collections of poetry and fiction, or a novel)
3. a book to develop writing skills, and/or a college handbook
4. a college-level dictionary
D. Supplemental Materials
Relevant audio-visual materials.
E. Library and Reference Materials
F. Other Instruction Aids
Students will be referred to these centers to remove any specific deficiencies:
a. Learning Assistance Center
b. Media Center
VII. REQUESTED CREDIT CLASSIFICATION
Degree applicable (meets all standards of Title V, Section 55002 (a) ).