COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course develops each student's individual writing skills in various academic American English writing modes with a special focus on the skills required to write effective expository, analytic, and argumentative essays and research papers.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

After successfully completing this course, your writing of American academic English will have improved. You will be able to:

·         write complex English sentences (avoiding fragments and run-on sentences)

·         write organized, cohesive, well-developed paragraphs

·         write effective expository, analytic, and argumentative essays with a clear thesis that earn a 4 on the ibTOEFL scale or a 5 on the ELI placement test

·         write a research paper approximately 10 pages long in the APA style with a clear thesis, paraphrasing, citations, and references

·         write with reasonably correct mechanics: formatting, spelling, and punctuation

COURSE TEXTBOOKS AND MATERIALS:

1.       A Writer's Reference, 6th Edition by Diana Hacker (ISBN 9780312471668)

2.       Writer portfolio or three-ring binder                                            

GRADING CRITERIA:

Work done in class:

Quizzes, sometimes weekly                     10% of final grade

Four TOEFL-style essays                        4% each

Analytic essay (midterm exam)                 10%

Argumentative essay (final exam)              10%

Work done outside of class:

                Writer’s portfolio                                  4%

                Expository essay                                   10%

                Analytic essay                                       10%

                Research paper                                     30%

Final Grades:  A=90-100, B=80-89, C=70-79, NG=0-69 or more than the allowed absences.

Final Exams:  ELI final exams take place the last week of classes and are held during the regular class period.

Schedule:  Monday for electives, Tuesday for OCS, and Wednesday for Core.

 COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

WRITER’S PORTFOLIO:

Keep all work done in this class throughout the semester. Organize it into four sections: quizzes and notes, sentence and paragraph, essays, and research paper. Show the instructor your portfolio at the end of the course.

QUIZZES:

These are very small “tests.” They review the most important information from your homework and reading assignments. At the end of each class, you will be given a homework assignment, such as reading or grammar exercises. The quiz will ensure that you do the homework thoughtfully.

TOEFL-STYLE ESSAYS:

Four times during the semester, you will spend 30 minutes writing a short essay in class. These are former essay questions from the TOEFL exam, and they are excellent preparation for taking the real TOEFL.

MID-TERM AND FINAL ESSAYS:

You will have the entire class period to write an essay in class (the first draft only). You will receive specific instructions regarding what and how to write. An English-English dictionary is allowed.

ESSAYS WRITTEN OUTSIDE OF CLASS:

You will write an expository essay and an analytic essay with multiple drafts seen by the instructor. Final drafts of these essays must be word processed (double-spaced, font size 10 to 12, one-inch margins, no extra space between paragraphs). When you turn in the final draft, also submit previous drafts of the essay as well as peer reviews.

RESEARCH PAPER:

You will write one research paper with multiple drafts, citing at least four sources according to the APA style sheet. Final drafts of these essays must be approximately 8 to 10 pages long and word processed (double-spaced, font size 10 to 12, one-inch margins, no extra space between paragraphs). When you turn in the final draft, also submit previous drafts as well as peer reviews.

COURSE EXPECTATIONS:

ELI policy states that you are allowed a maximum of four absences in this class for the entire semester, including the last week of class. Students more than ten minutes late will receive half an absence. Try not to miss any classes at all!  In a writing class such as this, it is important to keep up with the assignments, so a missed class is not only a missed opportunity for you to learn but also a missed opportunity to get some work done. Therefore, you are responsible for making up any work you miss because of an absence.  

If you miss information given out during a class, ask a classmate to loan you his or her notes and/or handouts to copy. (DO NOT ask your instructor for such information). If you miss a quiz, YOU must contact the instructor and take the quiz or test BEFORE THE NEXT CLASS MEETING. Failure to do so will result in a zero on the quiz or test. If you miss a peer review session, you can not make it up in class; you must find another student who is willing to help you outside of class time. You may turn in assignments late ONLY AFTER making arrangements with the instructor. If you try to turn in work past a stated due date without having made arrangements to do so BEFOREHAND, the instructor reserves the right to neither accept nor grade the assignment.

Please use English as the common classroom language. Turn off (or put into silent mode) all cell phones and other electronic devices before class begins. No text messaging, please.

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY HONOR CODE:

All work on all writing assignments must be completed by you and based on your ideas. As an ELI student you must adhere to the Mason Honor Code which states: “Student members of the George Mason University community pledge not to cheat, plagiarize, steal, or lie in matters related to academic work.” Please see the following website for specific details regarding the Mason Honor Code: http://academicintegrity.gmu.edu/honorcode

HOW YOUR WRITING IS GRADED:

You will receive grades on a 5 to 10 scale for graded assignments. (Ten is the highest possible mark; you are guaranteed 5 points even if your paper is not a passing assignment; you will receive 0 points if you do not turn in an assignment.)  Writing assignments are graded in terms of content (clear presentation of ideas, well-developed supporting material, and logical organization as required within the American academic writing style). See the High Advanced Writing Essay Scoring Scale for details about what your instructor looks for when grading an essay. However, "technical" aspects of writing such as grammar, punctuation, and spelling are important too. Therefore, if you make consistent technical errors in an assignment, you will be asked to turn in a correction sheet. If you are asked to write a correction sheet, you must write one within two weeks of an assignment being returned to you. If you fail to turn in a correction sheet, the content grade you received will be erased from my grade book and you will receive a zero grade (far worse than an F which is worth 5 points!)...so do your correction sheets!

REWRITING:

Students who are not happy with the content grade they receive on a written assignment are welcome to rewrite it. If you decide to rewrite an assignment to improve your content grade, you must fulfill two requirements:

• first, you must complete the rewrite within two weeks of receiving the graded assignment from the instructor;
• second, you must write a cover sheet for your rewrite.  The cover sheet will have
• your name,
• the name of the rewritten assignment,
• the date the original was returned to you, and
• the date that you are turning the rewrite in to the instructor.
• In addition, you must include (at least) a paragraph that explains the weakness of the assignment you have chosen to re-write and
• (at least) a paragraph that explains how the rewrite eliminates this (these) weakness(es).

ACCOMMODATIONS:

If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 703-993-2474. All academic accom­modations must be arranged through ODS.

[Wording shared from Laurie Miller’s syllabus]