English 50: Basic Skills
Prerequisite: Acceptance in the Summer Bridge Program OR special admission status
To earn credit in English 50, students must have a final grade of C- or higher. Students must also pass an
in-class essay with a C- or higher.
Course Description: Designed to help students read, think, organize, and write successfully at the
college entry level. This class will assist students in developing and mastering reading and writing skills
so they can communicate their ideas effectively and respond capably to college-level materials.
Course Learning Outcomes
At the end of Summer Bridge, students in English 50 should be able to do the following:
Reading Goals:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
use critical reading skills;
reason clearly in oral and written form;
demonstrate literal, inferential, and analytical or critical comprehension;
recognize the main idea as well as the supporting details and conclusions in a reading selection;
use an academic vocabulary;
distinguish between fact and opinion;
recognize traditional rhetorical modes;
critically revise their own writing.
Writing Goals:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
use critical writing skills;
write effective sentences;
develop and support main ideas;
use an academic vocabulary;
punctuate according to conventions;
use conventional essay and paragraph structure;
edit their own writing using standard, edited American English.
Reading Assignments
 Guided readings of works provided by the instructor
 Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) and corresponding annotating strategies
Writing Assignments
 Diagnostic in-class essay and QE (qualifying exam or final)
 Three or more 2-page essays, at least one of which will be written in class
 At least one 3- to 4-page synthesis paper
MyWritingLabPlus (MWLP) Requirement
You are responsible for completing a MyWritingLab online workshop in conjunction with your English
50 class. This requirement is worth 10% of your overall English 50 grade. To receive full credit, you
must (1) master all 10 topics as scheduled by the end of the course and (2) complete a set of pre- and postdiagnostics (Sentence Grammar and Basic Grammar). To master a topic, you must earn a score of 80% or
higher on both the Recall and Apply sections for each topic.
Note that topics mastered through the pre-diagnostic will not count towards your 10 topics. You must
master the 10 topics through the Recall and Apply sections.
Note: If you exhaust a topic before mastering it, let your instructor know, and he or she will have it
“unlocked” for you.
Weight of Course Work
Your final grade will be calculated according to the final percentages:
Assignments and Quizzes
Longer paper
Shorter paper
In-class essay
MyWritingLab
Participation/Discussion Groups/Attendance
Journals
Instructor’s discretion
20%
20%
15%
15%
10%
5%
5%
10%