College of Marin Course Outline of Record

 

 

 

 

 

Course Outline for Intro to College Reading and Composition I

English 98

 

 

39. Catalog Description: (Please list course number, title, student units, any prerequisites, corequisites, advisories or other limitations on enrollment, lecture and lab hours, the times course may be taken for credit if more than one, or if course is offered in a distance learning format.  Limit to eight sentences. Thank you.)

 

Students practice reading, writing, and critical thinking to improve reading comprehension and to develop composing techniques for effective academic writing. Course is designed to prepare  students for success in college level academic reading and writing.  Focus is on writing fluency and familiarity with the conventions of standard written English.  Assignments show the interconnection among readings, personal experience, observation, and class discussion.  Requires one hour weekly of Writing Center’s guided practice.

 

Prerequisite: Placement Test, or English 92, or ESL 89

Corerequisite: None

Recommended Preparation: None

 

 

40. Schedule Description: (Please limit to one or two sentences. Thank you.)

 

Students will practice reading, writing, and critical thinking to improve reading comprehension and to develop composing techniques for effective academic writing. Course is designed to prepare students for college level academic reading and writing and requires one hour weekly of Writing Center’s guided practice.

 

 

 

41. Expected Outcomes for Students Upon completion of course, students will be able to:

      (Example: Upon completion of course, students will be able to compare and contrast the works of other artists as well as their own in historical, social, and cultural contexts with particular attention paid to the expression of ideas in the artistic medium.)

 

 

  1. Comprehend, analyze, respond to, and evaluate a variety of expository and argumentative compositions of a variety of lengths.
  2. Adopt appropriate reading and writing strategies such as identifying purpose, identifying audience, identifying tone, gathering ideas, and organizing ideas
  3. Differentiate between expressive, expository, argumentative writing.
  4. Demonstrate a basic understanding of written argumentation—understanding the logical relationships between a thesis, topic sentence, and supporting evidence.
  5. Demonstrate an understanding of research techniques
  6. Explain and be better able to apply the elements of an effective composition (such as thesis statements, topics sentences, supporting points, unity, and coherence).
  7. Demonstrate proficiency in revising writing assignments for organization and clarity.
  8. Demonstrate proficiency in editing by applying rules of grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and spelling and usage in written exercises by studying their own grammatical and punctuation errors to make their writing more effective.

 

42. Methods of Instruction (Explain what methods will be used to teach this course.)

 

1.      Collaborative learning sessions;

2.      Demonstrations and exercises;

3.      Lecture;

4.      Tutorial sessions;

5.      Peer review;

6.      Student writing will receive instructor comments;

7.      Research assignments

 

43. Course Content

        List the major topics in a representative sequence from the beginning of the course to the end.  You may identify a schedule of topics, or you may indicate a representative emphasis on the course material.  The catalog description and course content delineate the information to be covered by all instructors teaching this course.  Differences in sequence, emphasis, and approach constitute a legitimate exercise of academic freedom.  Instructors teaching the same course multiple times are not required to place the same emphasis, etc. on the course each time

        (Please use outline format when possible.)

 

Representative Emphasis

 

  1. Identifying main ideas and support (comprehending by summarizing)
  2. Drawing inferences
  3. Determining point of view
  4. Analyzing and evaluating texts
  5. Identifying audience, assumptions, and bias
  6. Understanding patterns of organization using expressive, expository, and argumentative models
  7. Developing main ideas
  8. Developing supporting points
  9. Developing unity and coherence
  10. Developing composing techniques such as gathering ideas
  11. Practicing research to find relevant sources
  12. Practicing sentence error identification and correct usage in the context of student writing
  13. Practicing sentence development and revision for clarity and coherence 

 

 

44. Critical Thinking (Give several examples of how critical thinking processes or activities occur in this course.)

 

Examples of critical thinking activities occurring in course

  1. In small groups, students analyze a text for its main idea and supporting points.
  2. Individually, students map their ideas for an assigned writing topic
  3. Individually or in small groups, students draft an outline in response to an assigned essay topic.

 

 

 

45. Assignments and Methods of Evaluation

 

  1. Written and/or oral exams
  2. Term projects
  3. Formal or informal class presentations
  4. Participation in classroom discussion
  5. Field Trips
  6. Short answer and sentence skills exercises
  7. Application of knowledge/skill using revision techniques
  8. Completion of homework assignments
  9. Laboratory projects
  10. Observation of ability and participation
  11. Term projects, papers, portfolios, journals, and/or reports
  12. A grading scale will be specified in the course syllabus

 

 

 

46. Sample Out-of-Class Assignments

 

Essay and Paragraph Writing and Revision

Group Projects

Reading

Journaling

Summarizing Readings

Editing Logs

Sentence Skills Exercises

 

47. Representative Texts and/or Assigned Reading (Include title, author, publisher, and publication date for textbooks.)

 

Readers

1.      McWhorter, Kathleen. Successful College Writing. Bedford/St. Martin’s

2.      Elbow, et al. A Community of Writers. McGraw Hill.

3.      Rich, Susanna. The Flexible Writer. Allyn & Bacon

4.      Chapman, et al. The Power of Writing. Mayfield.

  1. Eppley, George and Anita Dixon Eppley. Building Bridges to Academic Writing. Mayfield.
  2. Flemming, Laraine E. Reading for Thinking. Houghton-Mifflin
  3. Mayfield, Marlys. Thinking for Yourself: Developing Critical Thinking Skills through Reading and Writing. Harcourt College.
  4. Opposing Viewpoints series.  Greenhaven Press.
  5. Mangelsdorf, Kate. Choices. Bedford/St. Martin’s

 

 

Book-length Works

  1. When I was Puerto Rican. Esmeralda Santiago
  2. The Color of Water. James McBride
  3. How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents. Julia Alvarez
  4. Amazing Grace. Jonathan Kozol
  5. Lives on the Boundary. Mike Rose

15.  Joy Luck Club. Amy Tan

16.  Like Water for Chocolate. Laura Esquivel

 

 

 

48. Special Student Materials