ESOL 0354 Writing Fall 2010
Instructor: Dr. Malek Shawareb
Office Hours: by appointment
Office phone: 713-718-7750
E-mail: malek.Shawareb@hccs.edu
1. 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, wellsubstantiated, multi-paragraphed essays containing thesis statements and topic sentences."
2. ESOL 0354 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
ESOL 0354, Advanced Composition, seeks to prepare students for college composition courses
and academic writing in general by accomplishing the following objectives:
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Introducing to students 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.
Honing students' sentence combination skills, especially in the area of the strategy
and techniques of subordination within complex sentences.
Increasing student 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.
Introducing students to essential academic writing skills, including paraphrasing,
summarizing and writing essay exams in content area courses.
Training students in critical thinking, especially in evaluating their own content and
clear logical presentation in their writing.
3. COURSE OUTCOMES:
After taking ESOL 0354, Advanced Composition, the student should:
1. Be able to write a well-organized, substantially fluent and grammatical essay of between
300-500 words, including introductory and concluding paragraphs and properly crafted
body paragraphs
2. Be able to choose a topic and write an appropriately limited thesis statement about it;
3. Exhibit familiarity with the following modes of development of a thesis in academic
writing: process description, narration, classification, comparison/contrast, cause &
effect, and argumentation
4. Be able to write a concise, accurate outline of his/her essay;
5. Exhibit familiarity with the main stages of the composing process: pre-writing;
composing; peer editing; revising; proofreading.
6. Exhibit proficiency in rhetorical signals and coherence markers, including connecting
words such as conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs and prepositions, and related
expressions
7. Exhibit ability to write a summary of outside material that demonstrates recognition of
the main ideas, and ability to paraphrase those main ideas comprehensibly;
8. Exhibit ability to respond appropriately to an essay exam topic within the assigned time
limit.
9. Be able to detect and correct intra- and inter-sentential errors in their writing, and assist
others to do so in a peer revision process.
10. Exhibit familiarity with basic rules of capitalization, punctuation and proper academic
essay format.
4. GRADE BREAKDOWN:
Your grade will be calculated as follows:
In-class compositions
60%
Daily Work
(including,journals homework & Quizzes )
20%
Final
20%
Total
100
5. TEXTBOOKS:
• Great Essays, 3rd ed., Folse (Houghton-Mifflin)
•Longman Dictionary of American English (Longman) - optional
6. CLASS POLICIES
Attendance and Tardy Policy
1. Be on time. If you are tardy more than 10 minutes, I may mark you absent for the whole hour. If
you come to class more than 10 minutes late after lunch, after the 10-minute brake, or leave the class
for more than 10 minutes, you will be marked absent for the whole hour. If you are late, come into
class quietly, without a lot of noise.
2. Attendance is very important. If you are absent more than 10 hours during the semester, you may be
dropped from all of your classes.
If you are absent, please ask a classmate for any missed assignments. There will be no makeup
exams without a documented, compelling reason. If you turn in your homework late, I will
not accept it. Homework should be turned in at the beginning of class, and you should not
work on it during class. It must be completed at home. There is no make up for major
essays;however; I will allow you to make up any missed essay at the end of the semester.
WITHDRAWL POLICY: A student may drop his/her Gulf ton courses for any reason until
November 18th 2010 at 4:30 p.m. A student may also be dropped from the Gulf ton program for
excessive absences until that date. After November 18th, the student will receive the grade that
she/he has earned. College policy prohibits faculty from assigning a grade of W (“Withdrew,” or
dropped) after the official drop date.
Repeating three or more times: Students who repeat a course three or more times will face
significant tuition/fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. If you
are considering course withdrawal because you are not earning passing grades, talk with your
instructor/counselor as early as possible about your study habits, reading and writing homework,
test-taking skills, attendance, course participation, and opportunities for tutoring or other
assistance that might be available.
ACADEMIC HONESTY / CHEATING: Any form of copying, cheating, or plagiarism will result
in a 0 for the assignment. See the HCCS Student Handbook for further information.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: HCCS POLICIES: Students with a learning or physical
disability which might affect their performance in class should contact the HCCS disabilities
counselor, Dr. Becky Hairy at 713-718-7909, FAX 713-718-7781
SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY: Sexual harassment in any form is not tolerated at Houston
Community College. See the HCCS Student Handbook for further information.
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ESOL 0354
Advanced Composition
WEEKLY COURSE OUTLINE
NOTE: This schedule is approximate; I may make changes to it if necessary to cover the required
material in the course.
WEEK 1:
WEEK 2:
WEEK 3:
WEEK 4:
WEEK 5:
WEEK 6:
WEEK 7:
WEEK 8:
WEEK 9:
WEEK 10:
WEEK 11:
WEEK 12:
WEEK 13:
WEEK 14:
WEEK 15:
WEEK 16:
First day assessment; introduction to the class; explanation of syllabus;
get-acquainted writing exercises
Introduction to the Essay [Great Essays: Unit 1, pgs. 1-36]
Narrative essays [Great Essays: Unit 2, pgs. 37-62]
Narrative essays, ctd. [Great Essays: Unit 2, pgs. 37-62]
First In-Class Essay
Revision of Composition #1
Comparison Essays [Great Essays: Unit 3, pgs. 63-85]
Comparison Essays, ctd. [Great Essays: Unit 3, pgs. 63-85]
Comparison Essays, ctd. [Great Essays: Unit 3, pgs. 63-85]
In-class Composition #2
Revision of In-class Composition #2
Cause-Effect Essays [Great Essays: Unit 4, pgs. 86-108]
Cause-Effect Essays, ctd. [Great Essays: Unit 4, pgs. 86-108]
Cause-Effect Essays, ctd. [Great Essays: Unit 4, pgs. 86-108]
In-Class Composition #3
Revision of In-Class Composition #3
Persuasion Essay [Great Essays: Unit 5, pgs. 109-128]
Persuasion Essay, ctd. [Great Essays: Unit 5, pgs. 109-128]
In-Class Composition #4
Critical Thinking, Research Skills & Plagiarism
Revision of In-Class Composition #4
Critical Thinking, Research Skills & Plagiarism, ctd.
Review for Final Composition
FINAL EXAM WEEK
Final Composition