EL500: Writing I (0 credits)
Adjunct Instructor in ESL
Spring 2005 Pasadena
DESCRIPTION:
This
course is a practical workshop on how to write one of the most important types
of writing in an American seminary: the academic essay. Students develop basic skills in the writing
process--from prewriting, organization, development, to revision and
editing. In addition, students learn
how to construct the three most common essay formats: expository essay,
summary-analysis essay, and persuasive-argumentative essay. Step by step, students write and read and
rewrite to gain the confidence to do competent academic work, the skills to
write well, and the eye to refine writing.
Ultimately, students learn and practice principles of producing good
writing that meet the expectations of an academic audience in terms of content,
form, and language. This 10-week course prepares students to advance their
writing skills from essay formats to longer papers.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
•
Demonstrate the process and skills of academic writing: prewriting, organization, development,
revision, and editing
• Write and revise paragraphs and essays that explain a topic, evaluate written
material, and argue an opinion about a controversy
• Demonstrate skills in writing essays under timed “exam” conditions
• Become an informed, independent reader of one’s own writing, with an ability
to improve one’s own writing proficiency
COURSE
FORMAT:
This
class adopts a workshop approach to learning.
Thus, students learn through lectures, class discussion, small group
work, mini-conferences between teacher and student, peer activities, and
individual “hands-on” practice in writing. Reading and grammar are addressed in
the context of writing; that is, reading and grammar exercises focus only on
those issues that are directly related to the production of written
English. Both “timed” first drafts and
revised, final papers reflect the kinds of writing tasks common in seminary.
REQUIRED READING:
Reid,
Joy M. The Process of Composition. (2nd edition) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents, 1988.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Fuchs,
Marjorie, and Margaret Bonner. Grammar Express. White Plains, NY: Longman, 2001.
Reinhart, Susan. Test Your Grammar. Ann
Arbor: University of Michigan Press,
1985.
Core, Deborah. The Seminary Student Writes.
St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2000.
An English or bilingual college dictionary.
An English thesaurus.
ASSIGNMENTS:
This
noncredit course is “Satisfactory” or “Not Satisfactory.” Students sharpen their writing skills in
paragraphs, essays, and timed writing.
Students in EL500 complete the course goals and assignments listed in
the syllabus.
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO
CURRICULUM: Meets partial requirements to advance within the ESL Program
FINAL EXAM: ESL Exit
Exam.