Conversation 4
Houston Community College Alief/Bissonnet Campus
Intensive English Program
ESOL 0354 (CRN #70124__________), Advanced Composition 4, Spring 2011
3 hours lecture, 2 hours lab: 80 hours/semester, 16 weeks
Room and campus #148, Alief/Bissonnet Campus______, Days and times
Tuesday/Thursday, 8:30 to 1:20pm________
Instructor: Kathryn Ziemba_______
Phone: (713) 718-8860___________
kathryn.ziemba@hccs.edu_______________
Learning Website http://learning.hccs.edu______________________
Office hours and location: 8:00 to 8:30am or by appointment in room #148
___________________
Email:
Course Description:
A continuation of ESOL 0351, this course concentrates on elements of organization, rhetoric, and
sophisticated language use. Students are required to produce well-ordered, well-substantiated
multi-paragraph essays containing thesis statements and topic sentences.
Course Prerequisites:
A passing grade in ESOL 0351, or (for students new to Intensive English) an evaluation into 0354
on the placement examinations.
Course Statement of Purpose:
This course seeks to prepare students for college composition courses and academic writing in
general by accomplishing the following objectives:
• Students are introduced to the basic principles of the multi-paragraph composition,
focusing especially on the role of the introductory and concluding paragraphs, drafting an
effective thesis statement, and organizing the composition according to a clear logical
pattern.
• Students hone their sentence-combination skills, especially in the area of the strategy and
techniques of subordination within complex sentences.
• Students increase their awareness of the nature of the writing process, especially in the
area of effective topic construction and in the necessity and techniques of revision and
editing, including peer revision.
• Students are introduced to essential academic writing skills, including paraphrasing,
summarizing, and writing essay exams in content-area courses.
• Students are trained in critical thinking, especially in evaluating their own content and clear
logical presentation in their writing.
Course Outcomes:
After completing this course, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate a working knowledge of major mechanical rules for English composition.
2. Compose connected discourse using logical devices and coherence markers of academic
English.
3. Revise errors in sentence structure in student writing.
4. Compose a well-organized, fluent and grammatically correct multi-paragraph English
composition using a variety of established rhetorical modes of organization, and following
a clearly elaborated writing process.
Learning Objectives leading to the Course Outcomes above:
Students will:
1.1 Apply rules of capitalization, including proper names, names of cities and countries,
capitalization within quotations, and other rules as appropriate;
1.2 Apply punctuation rules, including the use of commas within complex sentences, use of
semicolons to separate coordinate elements in compound sentences, and all terminal
punctuation marks;
1.3 Apply rules for proper essay formatting (e.g. double spacing, margins, indentations, etc.).
Conversation 4
2.1 Compose acceptable compound and complex sentences from simple sentences, using an
expanded repertory of sentence-connective devices;
2.2 Appropriately use coherence markers to develop coherent paragraphs.
3.1 Detect errors in compound and complex sentence construction;
3.1 Revise sentences to reflect corrections in sentence construction.
4.1 Develop a substantial topic based on any of the following rhetorical modes: narration,
comparison/contrast, cause/effect, argumentation;
4.2 Generate a concise, accurate outline of the essay;
4.3 Use pre-writing methods to develop a variety of supporting ideas and specific details for the
thesis of the composition;
4.4 Draft a composition of 300-500 words on the chosen topic, following the outline which has
been developed;
4.5 Using the peer review process, revise the composition draft, enhancing details, tightening the
organization, and correcting grammatical and mechanical errors.
16-Week Calendar, subject to revision as needed:
Week One: Review the writing process and analyze sample essays from the text, Great Essays,
Third Edition by Keith Folse, Elena Vestri Solomon, and April Muchmore-Vokoun, from
Unit 1
Week Two: Continue to study sample essays; begin Unit 2 on the narrative essay.
Week Three: Continue to work on the narrative essay: Unit 2.
Week Four: Write 1st in-class essay on narration.
Week Five: Start the revision process on the first essay; begin Unit 3 on comparison/contrast.
Week Six: Work on adjective clauses related to comp/contrast essays; develop topics for
comp/contrast essays.
Week Seven: Write second in-class essay on comparison/contrast.
Week Eight: Start the revision process for 2nd in-class essay; begin Unit 4: cause/effect essay.
Week Nine: Analyze cause/effect essays and begin to look for appropriate topics.
Week Ten: Practice cause/effect connectors, and well as quoting, summarizing, and
paraphrasing different sources.
Week Eleven: Write third in-class essay; start Unit 5: the argumentative essay.
Week Twelve: Begin the revision process for 3rd in-class essay; continue with Unit 5.
Week Thirteen: Pick topics appropriate for an argumentative essay.
Week Fourteen: Write fourth in-class essay on argumentation.
Week Fifteen: Revise 4th essay and prepare for the final essay.
Week Sixteen: Final essay examination
Instructional Methods:
ESOL 0354 is the final Composition course in the Intensive English curriculum. It aims to prepare
students to be able to benefit from and succeed in their future Developmental and Academic
courses in HCC and/or university work, in the areas of academic writing, use of academic
vocabulary, use of appropriate grammar and mechanics, and written summarizing of textual
works. As such, the methods of learning will depend partly on lecturing by the instructor, but much
more of the time will be taken up by students’ applying the instruction through practice in
freewriting and speedwriting, pre-writing activities, organizing an essay, drafting, proofreading,
paraphrasing, and summarizing.
Student requirements and assignments:
• Good attendance, on time
• Turn off cell phones in the classroom
• Complete all homework and classwork, including lab assignments
• Correction of all essays
• Ability to find and correct some of your most common grammar and punctuation errors, some of
the time, in written work
Grading:
Conversation 4
Essays
Quizzes
Lab/homework
Final essay examination
60%
10%
10%
20%
Total
100%
Instructional Materials:
Great Essays, Third Edition, by Keith Folse, Elena Vestri Solomon, and April MuchmoreVokoun_________________________
English-English dictionary: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
OR
Longman Dictionary of American English
Seven bluebooks
A computer flash drive
You will only be allowed to use an
English/English dictionary for all in-class writing assignments.
HCC Policies:
Services to students with disabilities: Students with a learning or physical disability which
might affect their performance in class should contact the HCCS disabilities counselor, Dr.
Becky Hauri, at (713) 718-7781.
Academic dishonesty: Any form of copying, cheating, or plagiarism will result in a grade of 0 for
the assignment. The instructor will decide whether to permit you to make up the work, and
under what circumstances it might be made up. If you are charged with academic dishonesty,
pleading ignorance of the rules will not help you. Penalties and/or disciplinary proceedings may
be initiated by HCC officials against a student who is accused of scholastic dishonesty.
“Scholastic dishonesty” includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and
collusion.
Cheating on a test includes:
 Copying from another students’ test paper;
 Using materials not authorized by the person giving the test;
 Collaborating with another student during a test without authorization;
 Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in whole or part the
contents of a test that has not been administered;
 Bribing another person to obtain a test that is to be administered.
Plagiarism means the appropriation of another’s work and the unacknowledged incorporation of
that work in one’s own written work offered for credit.
Collusion means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work
offered for credit. Possible punishments for academic dishonesty may include a grade of 0 or F in
the particular assignment, failure in the course, and/or recommendation for probation or dismissal
from the College System.
See the HCCS Student Handbook for further information.
Attendance: No absences are excused, and anyone who misses more than ten hours of class
(including lab) may be dropped from the class, and if so, will be dropped from all of the Intensive
English classes you are taking this semester. This can have serious consequences for F1
students. Please let your instructor know (in advance, if possible) if you have to be absent.
When absent, you are responsible for finding out what you missed, and for asking permission to
make up the work.
Tardiness: Please come to class on time. If you miss more than ten (10)___ minutes of class,
you will be counted absent for that hour of class.
Withdrawals: The last day students can withdraw or be dropped from a class with a grade of “W”
is 14 April at 4:30 p.m. If you decide to drop, you must contact an advisor or your professor for
approval, and this must be done prior to the drop deadline of 4/14. Students who have
excessive absences after that date will receive the grade that they earn.
Three-peater policy: Students taking a course for the 3rd time must pay additional tuition.
Classroom behavior: No student is permitted to behave in a way that prevents the instructor
from teaching or that interferes with other students’ learning. Any student who behaves in this
way may be required to leave the classroom and be absent for the rest of the day. If such
Conversation 4
behavior continues, the student may be referred to the Dean of Student Services for further
disciplinary action.
Cell phones and pagers: Such devices must be turned off in the classroom. Use of such devices
in the classroom will lead to the student’s being asked to leave them on the instructor’s desk or
to leave the room and be absent for the rest of the day. If such behavior continues, the student
may be referred to the Dean of Student Services for further disciplinary action.
Missed tests, presentations, quizzes: Please do not be absent on testing days. Presentation
and examination grades will be lowered if they are late. If you miss classwork, you cannot
receive full credit for making it up.
Late homework: If homework is one day late, the grade will go down __five (5)___ points. Two
days late = ten (10)_____ points down. Late homework will not be accepted after the second
day.
Grades: Some of your work will receive “letter grades”; some will receive percentage grades. It
means this:
A = 90-100% = Excellent work
B = 80-89% = Good work
C = 70-79% = OK work (not good, not bad)
D = 60=69% = Not passing
F = below 60% = Not passing
At the end of the semester, your grade for the course will be one of these:
A = Excellent
B = Good
C = OK
IP = Good effort, but not passing
F = Poor effort and poor work, and not passing
Tutoring is available from 1:30-2:30 TWTh in Gulfton Center 121; 9-11:00 F in Gulfton 111.
Sexual harassment policy: Sexual harassment is not tolerated in any form at Houston
Community College. See the HCCS Student Handbook for further information.