ESL 21B: INTERMEDIATE
COMPOSITION, Section # 4248
COURSE INFORMATION – Spring, 2005
Week-by-Week Syllabus
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Instructor: Wednesday Thursday |
Catalog Description: Completion of ESL 21A with a "C" grade or credit equivalency. The emphasis of the course is on refining composition and editing skills and on eliminating gross grammar errors.
Course Objectives: ESL 21B is an intermediate composition course designed to help international students organize, compose, and edit effectively in English. In many cases, this course is a critical bridge to English I; therefore, the curriculum will emphasize a careful reading of texts and a more self-demanding approach to the content of essays and journal writing. Students will begin to recognize inference and appreciate nuances of writing styles. Students will also be expected to use various sources to support personal ideas, opinions, and generalizations.
Course Texts and Materials:
1. Lane and Lange - Writing Clearly (2nd edition)
2. Holten and Marasco -Looking Ahead 4, Mastering Academic Writing
3. Dell paperback -
4. 21B Handout Booklet – available in class from your teacher only!
5. Access to: http://homepage.smc.edu/sucher_kathryn
6. English-English Dictionary
7. 4 Blue
Books
8. 4 half-sheet Scantrons
Assignments:
Reading/Listening/Viewing: We will
be doing in-depth reading about several topics this semester, including
“Reality in Film and TV”, “Dealing with Anger”, and “Privacy”. You textbook provides a number of readings on
these topics, but the internet should provide you with additional resources
(print, audio, and video) upon which to rely this semester. Additionally, we will read and view the
Broadway musical “West Side Story”.
Essays: You will write 4 essays—either in-class or at-home, including
the Common Essay. You will write in-class essays in a blue book. At-home
essays and revisions must be typed. Late papers will be graded down one full
grade.
Exams: Common Essay Exam (standardized by the ESL and English
Departments); and a Final Exam.
Study Group: You will be joining 3-4 of your classmates in a semester-long study
group. With this group you will (1)
complete several in-class assignments, and (2) take 3 Group Quizzes.
Quizzes: There will be a quiz on
each of the units covered (Units 1, 2, and 6) in Writing Clearly. You might
take these quizzes with your study group.
Group quizzes may not be made up. Additionally, there may be quizzes on vocabulary, reading
comprehension, editing, and grammar based on the material we cover each
week in class and through homework. Quizzes may not be made up.
Online Forum: You will be participating in an online forum every week. This is an
excellent opportunity for you write for an audience: your classmates.
Your classmates and your teacher will be reading your online forum
entries. Online Forums should be
completed each Sunday before
Participation: Taking part in in-class and online discussions is an important activity in this class as
it will stimulate and enhance your writing.
Oral Presentation: Each student will
make a brief (5 -10 minute) oral presentation based on a film, or TV show that
you have chosen to evaluate. Your
presentation must be supplemented by way of Powerpoint, webpage, pictures, movie
clip, or other visuals. For more
information on the exact nature of this assignment, see “Looking Ahead 4”, page 152 “Final Writing Assignment”. (Please note that you may work alone on this
assignment, or you may work with a partner.)
Some Advice:
1. In addition to your textbooks, the internet will provide many excellent
resources for you to improve your command of written English and to insure your
success in this class. It is therefore
imperative that you schedule access to a computer with a (preferably
high-speed) internet connection and a printer.
2. Keep in contact with your fellow
study group
members. Plan to meet and/or email
each other regularly.
3. Success on the Common Essay Exam will practically assure your success in the
course. Because the Common Essay is
usually based on a current news article, being aware of current events and
trends can help you tremendously.
Although I do not assign regular reading of the newspaper during the
semester, I strongly encourage you to read either the Los Angeles Times and/or The New York Times. Both are free online. Specifically, The New York Times Student Connections
section should be very helpful to you as a student of English, as it has an
embedded dictionary and atlas.
Additionally, Public Broadcasting System (PBS) provides in-depth video
coverage of many issues in deeper detail. All of these resources are linked
from the class homepage.
4. American university education generally requires and assumes that you partcipate
orally during class time. Consider
raising your hand to express an opinion or to ask a question. You will also have opportunities to speak in
small groups; plan to be an active participant in your group by coming prepared
to with ideas to share.
Grading:
First-draft essays 30%
Revisions 20%
Exams 20%
Quizzes 10%
Online Forum 15%
Oral Presentation 5%
SMC Grading Scale
100-90% A (English I recommended)
89-80% B (English I recommended)
79-70% C (English 25 recommended)
69-60% D (Repeat of ESL 21B required)
below 59% F (Repeat of ESL 21B required)
Support Courses:
ESL 23 (
Tutoring:
Students should work with ESL tutors to review errors on returned essays. Please sign up in ESL 106 starting the second
week of class.
Attendance:
School policy allows for 6 hours of absence in a 3 unit course. Absences,
however, are discouraged. If you need to miss class for any reason, leave
me a message on my school voicemail or send an email. If you accumulate an
excessive number of unexplained absences, you will be dropped from the
course. If you are absent, you are responsible for all work assigned.
(You should ask someone in the class to collect any materials that were
distributed in class; you may also submit your homework that evening via email,
but I must receive it by
Protocol: No food or drinks in class. Please turn off (or turn to vibrate/silent) all cell phones and pagers while you are in class.
Honor Policy: Students must adhere to the SMC Code of Academic Conduct regarding plagiarism and cheating. Students who cheat or plagiarize will receive an F for the assignment or course. In addition, cheating is reported to Admissions. Cutting and pasting from the internet, without citing sources, is plagiarizing!
Please note: This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor. Always check the online syllabus for the most up-to-date information.