AESL101 Writing Skills for International Students
Department of Language & Literature: American English as a Second Language
- I. Course Number and Title
- AESL101 Writing Skills for International Students
- II. Number of Credits
- 6 credits
- III. Number of Instructional Minutes
- 4500
- IV. Prerequisites
- AESL placement score of 3 or AESL081 (C or better)
- Corequisites
- None
- V. Other Pertinent Information
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This course will not satisfy the general elective category for students who entered their program or study in or after the 2007 Fall semester.
- To meet course objectives, students are expected to spend a minimum of twelve hours a week completing homework assignments. These twelve hours are in addition to the six hours class time.
- The Department of Language and Literature has determined that AESL101 will require a minimum of 2500 words in formal writing assignments. Tutoring is available outside of class.
- Approximately eighty-to-ninety percent of the final grade for the course will be based upon a student's performance on in-class and out-of-class writings, tests of English grammar, and other written assignments. Class participation and attendance will account for the remaining ten-to-twenty percent of a student's overall grade.
- VI. Catalog Course Description
- This course is designed for international students who possess intermediate American English language skills. Students will master the proper use of American English grammar and gain skill in expository writing and vocabulary by writing developmental paragraphs. Transferability is determined by the transfer institution.
- VII. Required Course Content and Direction
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Course Learning Goals
Writing: In this AESL course, students will be able to
- write sentences with correct grammatical structures, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics;
- write developmental paragraphs that reflect the patterns of organization, using topic sentences, major and minor details and examples, and concluding statements;
- develop advanced writing skills in order to earn a C or better in the course;
- validate their use of the different learning resources available at BCCC, such as the Tutoring Center.
Reading: Students will be able to
- read and develop vocabulary for fluency in written communication;
- read and identify content of various prose passages.
Academic Integrity: Students will be able to
- define plagiarism and academic integrity.
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Planned Sequence of Topics and/or Learning Activities
In order to learn the above skills, students will
- engage in various pre-writing activities, including brainstorming, graphic organizing, and outlining;
- utilize the appropriate patterns of organization for a variety of developmental paragraphs;
- exhibit the qualities of good exposition, including unity, development, organization, coherence, mechanics, and proper usage;
- use writing aids to compose, edit, and increase vocabulary, such as the dictionary, thesaurus, grammar, spell checks, and prose passages;
- critique the works of classmates through peer review;
- demonstrate the accurate usage of English grammar, including verb systems, articles, comparatives, superlatives, and sentence combining;
- write correct sentences that reflect differing forms (declarative, interrogative) and varying types (simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex);
- identify examples of plagiarism through teacher-prepared quizzes.
Other class activities may include, but not be limited to, the following: numerous in-class collaborative activities, such as interviews, surveys, and small group or paired discussions.
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Assessment Methods for Course Learning Goals
Graded papers: Students will write a minimum of twelve formal paragraphs for a total of 2500 words. Of these twelve paragraphs, at least four paragraphs must be written in class.
Practice paragraphs: Early in the semester, students will write practice paragraphs that they will revise and edit based on the instructor's oral and written comments.
Students will complete numerous grammar and vocabulary exercises in their textbook and/or workbook. These exercises will be evaluated on a consistent basis.
Students will be given opportunities to demonstrate what they have learned through numerous quizzes, including one on plagiarism and academic integrity, in-class writings, and a final essay examination.
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Reference, Resource, or Learning Materials to be used by Student:
Departmentally-selected textbook(s) and/or workbook(s). See individual instructor course syllabus for specific information.
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Review/Approval Date - 2/06; Revised 4/06; New Core 8/2015