El Camino College 1A Student Learning Objecitves

EL CAMINO COLLEGE
COURSE OUTLINE OF RECORD

 

I. COURSE DESCRIPTION
	Course Title and Number :	English 1A (Official)
	Descriptive Title :	Reading and Composition
	Discipline :	English
	Division :	Humanities
	Course Length :	Full Term Other  (specify: )
	Hours Lecture :	4
	Hours Laboratory :	0
	Course Units :	4
	Grading Method :	Letter Pass/No Pass Both No Grade
	Course Type :	Credit, Degree Applicable Credit, Not Degree Applicable Non-Credit
	Transfer CSU :	Yes (Effective Date: Prior to 7/92) No
	Transfer UC :	Yes (Approval Date: Prior to 7/92) Pending No
	Conditions of Enrollment: Specify Prerequisite, Corequisite, Recommended Preparation, Enrollment Limitation, or None.
		Prerequisite: credit in English A and credit in English 84 or English 7; or qualification by testing (English Placement Test) and assessment
	Catalog Description :
		This course is designed to strengthen the students' ability to read with understanding and discernment, to discuss assigned readings intelligently, and to write clearly. Emphasis will be placed on writing essays in which each paragraph relates to a controlling idea, has an introduction and conclusion, and contains primary and secondary support. College-level reading material will be assigned to provide the stimulus for class discussion and writing assignments, including a required research paper.

 

II. COURSE OBJECTIVES
	List the major objectives of the course. These must be stated in behaviorally measurable terms.
		1. Recognize and revise sentence-level grammar and usage errors. 2. Read and apply critical-thinking skills to numerous published articles and to college-level, book-length works for the purpose of writing and discussion. 3. Apply appropriate strategies in the writing process including prewriting, composing, revising, and editing techniques. 4. Compose multi-paragraph, thesis-driven essays with logical and appropriate supporting ideas, and with unity and coherence. 5. Demonstrate ability to locate and utilize a variety of academic databases, peer-reviewed journals, and scholarly websites. 6. Utilize MLA guidelines to format essays, cite sources in the texts of essays, and compile Works Cited lists.

 

III. OUTLINE OF SUBJECT MATTER
	Approximate Time in Hours	The topics should be detailed enough to enable an instructor to determine the major areas that should be covered and so that the course may have consistency from instructor to instructor and semester to semester. Major Topics
	4 I. Review of the writing process A. Prewriting B. Drafting C. Revision D. General essay structure i. Introduction ii. Thesis statement iii. Body paragraphs iv. Conclusion 6 II. Review of grammar and mechanics 4 III. Review of MLA-style documentation A. In-text citation formatting B. Works Cited formatting 10 IV. Application of critical reading skills A. Identifying thesis and support B. Identifying central themes and ideas C. Distinguishing fact from opinion D. Evaluating information, advocating/challenging an author's opinions, judging the aesthetic value of a work and/or its constituent parts (such as plot, characters, settings, themes) 8 V. Review and application of prewriting strategies for student essays, including brainstorming, listing, outlining, and free-writing/journal entry/in-class writing based on reading assignments 8 VI. Review and application of rhetorical strategies for responding to reading assignments in student essays (such as cause/effect, comparison/contrast, argumentation) 4 VII. Review of paraphrasing strategies A. Incorporating material from reading assignment into text of student essay B. Paraphrasing and summarizing C. Quoting directly/indirectly D. Avoiding plagiarism 10 VIII. Essay revision A. Review of essay revision methods i. Evaluating content, coherence, proper documentation, and mechanics ii. Making appropriate corrections based on completed evaluation B. Application of essay revision techniques: multiple revision at various stages of the writing process in response to peer or instructor feedback 8 IX. Research paper writing: Source materials and their incorporation A. Library and/or Internet research orientation for research paper B. Source evaluation and collection for research paper: criteria for appropriate sources, review of primary vs. secondary sources C. Organization of source materials for research paper: note cards, annotated bibliographies 10 X. Research paper writing: Utilizing the writing process A. General research paper structure, drafting of formal topic statement/preliminary research plan B. Outlining, discussion of rhetorical formats for various types of research papers (such as problem/solution, history/biography) C. Drafting of research paper: integration of source material into general text of research paper D. Revision techniques for research paper: evaluation of content, coherence, proper documentation, and mechanics E. Application of research paper revision techniques: multiple revisions at various stages of the writing process in response to peer or instructor feedback 0 XI. Students will write about 32 pages (8,000 words) in all, usually divided among six to eight papers. Revisions should be emphasized, so pages written during preliminary drafting and revising will be counted toward the 32-page total, but not as separate papers. Students will produce a minimum of 6,000 words for all final written products. Diagnostic essays, essay exams, and annotated bibliographies may be counted as papers. Reaction papers and portfolio revisions may also be counted toward the 32-page requirement. Journal writing, if the writing served as preparatory writing or provided assignments that constitute the building of thought and/or help generate ideas for the formal papers, may also be counted. One of the papers must be a research paper. Students will also read a minimum of five works, at least two of which should be book-length. 72 TOTAL HOURS