http://fog.ccsf.org/~abogomol/grammar.html

ESL 102 Academic Writing
Fall 2002

Course Outline



Instructor: Shayla Sivert

Office: A20E

Office Hours: TBA

Telephone: (760) 744-1150, x2652

e-mail: ssivert@palomar.edu



Course
The main purpose of this course is to assist you in developing fluency as a writer in English. To that end, ESL 102 is a review of sentence-level grammar, paragraph organization, and development of an essay. It introduces writing as a response to articles, emphasizes writing as a process, and develops analytical and critical thinking skills.



Materials (All should be brought with you to class each day.)
· The most recent issue of US News and World Report

· Other reading material, including one novel to be read, both in and out of class, by you throughout the course of the semester. Check out these lists of books if you don't know what you might like to read: http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists/obcb/fiction.html

· 3.5” floppy disk, on which you will save all of your typed work. I’ll set up a folder for you in the ESL Computer Lab, but I suggest keeping backups there and on a floppy disk in case something gets lost or damaged.

· freewriting/reading journal. This can be part of your notebook, but you should have a separate section for it.

· loose-leaf notebook with tabs and folders (for notes and exercises, DEJs, your semester’s writing)



Homework
Most of your homework will consist of assigned writing. At times, I will assign grammar or reading exercises as well.



Tests
You will have 5-6 in-class writing tests (which will largely influence your English placement for next semester), and occasional grammar tests. You will never be allowed to use a dictionary while writing in-class essays, so you should practice writing your out-of-class papers without one as well. Burn your bilingual dictionaries. I have a hammer handy if your electronic dictionary needs destroying. J



Participation
In addition to homework and tests, you will be evaluated on how well you prepare for and participate in group activities. Preparing for a group activity will often mean reading and comprehending text found in our text.





Grade
· 50% Writing assignments (includes out-of-class essays (12 points each), each of which will include a first draft and a revised draft, the latter which will be graded, DEJs (3 points each), and teacher/student conferences (5 points each))

· 40% In-class writing tests (including final project)

· 5% Grammar tests

· 5% Participation



It is entirely possible for a person to get an “A” in this class yet not be recommended for English 100 by the end of the term.



Each 1st draft of your out-of-class essays will be thoroughly commented upon and edited for errors in sentence structure. You will then be responsible for rewriting each draft, for which you will receive a grade based on the 12-point grading scale. Always turn your revision in stapled to the top of your 1st draft. You must turn all of your work in on time. If you do not turn your first draft in on time, I won’t comment on it or help you edit it unless you come to see me in my office. If you turn your revision in late, your grade will suffer.



Each in-class essay exam will be graded only; it will be minimally commented on, at best. You will need a blue book for your in-class essays. Towards the end of the semester, you will extensively revise 1 of your in-class essays for your final project. This paper will be graded based on the 12-point grading scale as well, and I will be extremely tough.



All essay work will be graded according to the 12-point scale: 6 points for organization and 6 points for sentence structure.



Content
Writing topics (subject to change)

· Experiences from your life

· Current Events

· Anthropology

· Literature

· Economics

· Ecology

· Music



Writing Skills
· Detailing

· Writing thesis statements

· Writing introductions

· Writing topic sentences

· Developing main body paragraphs

· Writing conclusions

· Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing



Grammar Topics
· Verbs, nouns, pronouns, articles, prepositions

· Phrases – participial, appositive, gerund, infinitive

· Clause – adverbial, adjective, noun

· Parallelism

· Coherence

· Modals





Course Goals
You will need to be able to perform the following skills at a satisfactory level by the end of the semester in order to move up to a higher English class:

· Write a well-developed, carefully organized essay that shows thoughtful analysis or discussion of the topic.

· Write an appropriate introduction for an essay with a clear, well-formed thesis statement.

· Write a clear topic sentence for each main body paragraph.

· Use appropriate quotes or paraphrases that are integrated smoothly into the main body.

· Use adequate details, statistics, examples, experiences, or observations in the main body.

· Write an appropriate conclusion for an essay.

· Write clear sentences with adverbial clauses, adjective clauses, participial phrases, appositive phrases, noun clauses, gerund phrases, and infinitive phrases.

· Write sentences with appropriate verb forms, tenses, articles, subject-verb agreement, pronoun agreement, word order, and singular and plural nouns.

· Write sentences with parallel grammar elements.

· Write paragraphs that flow without overuse of transition words.



Essays
For all out-of-class essays, you must follow these guidelines:

· Type your essays using a computer.

· Leave a one-inch margin all around your paper.

· Type your name, assignment (topic, 1st draft, 2nd draft, etc.), and date at the top on the left side.

· Double-space your essay from beginning to end.

· Use 12-point font. Please don’t use any wild fonts.

· Indent the first line of each paragraph. Use the TAB key, not 5 pushes on the space bar.

· Check your paper carefully for grammar and spelling. Never ever turn a paper in to me without your having read and reread your paper at least twice.

· Make a copy of your paper to keep, just in case.

· Staple your papers in the upper left corner.



Responsibilities
You will gain more from this class if you do the following:

· Be familiar with everything on the syllabus.

· Keep track of your grades. You should never be surprised by the grade you are earning in the class. I’ll even give you a grade checklist.

· Get to class on time.

· Come to class.

· Visit me during my office hours, keep your appointments, and be present for teacher-student conference time. You are required to visit with me at least 3 times during the semester, once before midterm, the other after.

· Do your assigned reading and exercises before coming to class.

· Turn your homework in on time. I am not responsible for correcting papers that come to me late.

· Study well for tests.

· Participate fully in group activities.

· Speak only English from the moment you walk in my door until the moment you walk out.

· Analyze your writing weaknesses and make a strong effort to improve. I could spend hours correcting your work, and it won’t do a bit of good if you don’t spend time looking over the comments and corrections and revise based on those marks.

· Ask for help when you don’t understand something.



DEJ

(Double-entry Journal)



One entry will be required from you each week beginning Week 2, ending Week 11. I will be giving you a sample of a DEJ in class. When you write, be careful NOT to summarize the story. Rather, I would like you to make some connection to what you have read by writing, in detail, what you liked about it, what it reminded you of, what may have confused you, and what you think will happen.



Reading Journal (optional)
Each time you finish reading (at least once a week), write 2 questions about the reading, 2 quotes (parts that you thought were important or that you really liked), and 5 new words that you have learned.



Other suggestions:

1. Write at the top of every page you read a word, phrase, a sentence or a summary to help you remember what happened on that page.

2. Highlight or underline vocabulary that you do not understand; ask you teacher or tutor or classmate what the words mean.



Freewriting/Reading Journal
At least once a week during class, you will spend 20 minutes in class freewriting on a topic assigned by me, from the list below, or from your own thoughts.



ESL 102 Notebook
From the beginning of the semester until the end, I want you to keep ALL of your papers and your disks neatly organized in a 3-ring binder which has the following tabs:



Handouts
Out-of-Class Essays
In-Class Essays
DEJs, and Freewriting/Reading Journals
Disk page


At the end of the semester. I may ask you to submit this notebook. It will, of course, be returned to you.







Grade Worksheet

Name: _____________________________



In-class Writing (40%)
Grade (12)

#1 ______

#2 ______

#3 ______

#4 ______

#5 ______

#6 ______

Final Proj ______



Out-of-class writing (50%--includes essays, dej, and conference)


1st draft revision (12)



#1 ______ ______

#2 ______ ______

#3 ______ ______

#4 ______ ______

#5 ______ ______

#6 ______ ______

#7 ______ ______

#8 ______ ______





DEJ (Total Possible = 30 points)

Grade (3)

#1 ______

#2 ______

#3 ______

#4 ______

#5 ______

#6 ______

#7 ______

#8 ______

#9 ______

#10 ______

Office Visits (5 points each)

Date ______ ______

Date ______ ______



Grammar/Other Quizzes (5%)

Quiz Info Points/Points Possible



____________________ __________

____________________ __________

____________________ __________

____________________ __________

Participation (includes attendance/asking and answering questions/group participation) (5%)



_____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____