IEP 061 Reading Writing Grammar
Instructor Name:
Amy Fenning
Instructor Office Hours
By appt (after class is better)
Instructor Phone/Office
206)528-4554 (also VM)
Instructor Email
afenning@northseattle.edu I prefer email
Class Times
M-F, 12 noon to 1:50 pm in CC3457
Schedule:
April 5 to June 11 (Holiday May 31)
Spring Quarter 2010
No RWG class on April …….
Materials you will need for this class
 A three-ring binder and lined paper
 Pen/Pencil and highlighter pen.
 Required Text: Destinations 2: Writing for Academic Success* by Nancy Herzfeld-Pipkin
 Required Text: Destinations 2: Grammar for Academic Success* by Nancy Herzfeld-Pipkin
 *These two books are sold as a bundle at the bookstore for a cheaper price. Do not buy online!
 A dictionary of some kind, preferably English-English. If you get too focused on the dictionary and do
not engage with the class, I will take it away!
Everyone should have the required textbooks in hand by Wednesday April 7th.
Course Description/Objectives:
 Emphasis is on reading and writing for academic purposes, including appropriate grammar and
vocabulary skills.
 The texts for this course foster these goals and offer students a chance to learn and discuss various
academic topics.
 Group discussions on the topics will help students improve their listening, speaking and critical
thinking skills.
 Mainly, students will work on improving composition skills by journaling and writing formal essays
out of class and timed essays in class.
Learning Outcomes: In this course, the student will…




increase reading skills and acquire new vocabulary.
incorporate a variety of sentence types into essays with a clearly defined thesis and effective
supporting details, and an introduction, body, and conclusion.
use appropriate grammatical structures for introductory college work.
work effectively within small groups and show courteous, active discussion skills.
GRADING
I. Four Essays (35% -- 100 points each). The points will be for drafts, peer or self reviews and the overall
process and final product. I will always give you my grading paper (called a ‘rubric’)in advance.
Essay 1: Process This will be a group essay. You will write part of it, and your small group will ‘bring
it together’ in class.
Essay 2: Cause and Effect: You will work on this in class and at home.
Essay 3: Compare Contrast. You will conduct an interview of two people and write a comparison and
contrast essay on the topic of consumerism.
Essay 4: Argumentative/Opinion . You will choose an academic or current topic in the news,
formulate a thesis for or against it and defend your choice.
Final Exam Essay: I will choose the topic and genre. You will write a four-paragraph essay in two
hours in the final week of class. You will receive a holistic score on this exam.
II.
Quizzes (20% -- 100 points each)
We will have weekly quizzes, generally on Thursdays or Fridays. Sometimes the quizzes will be about
the reading text, grammar, or something else we discussed in class. There should be no quizzes in
Weeks 5 and 10. Quizzes cannot be made up. I will drop the lowest quiz score.
Here are our textbook topics:
Unit
1
Topic
Skills
How we learn: Learning styles
Coordinating conjunctions
(FANBOYS)
Grammar book: Verbs Part I
2
African American Experience
Subordinating conjunctions
Grammar book: Verbs Part II
3
Health and Lifestyle
Transitions
Writing
Paragraph review
Summary writing section in
Appendix.
Narrative; we may skip this
chapter and summarize some of
the readings
Process
Grammar Book: Modals
4
The Earth and its Resources
Reason/result/conditions
Cause and Effect
Grammar Book:
Passives/conditionals
5
Cross Culture and Native American
Adjective clauses
Opinion
Grammar book: articles/preps
6
Business and Consumerism
Compare/contrast language
Compare Contrast
Grammar book: Adj, ger.infin
III.
Homework and in-class work (25% -- 10 points each):
A. You will write 8 journals. They must be handwritten. I will give you topics each week.
B. You will write 2 summaries, one in class and one at home.
C. You will have homework each evening and you will also have in-class work. I cannot predict how
much. Late homework is acceptable up to two days late, but each day you are marked down one
level. It is your responsibility to show me your late homework! I will not chase after you for it.
High Pass:
Pass:
No Pass/Fail:
No points
+

X
(10 points)
(7 points)
(5 or less points)
(0 points – not handed in or not done in class)
If I see you completing homework in class or working on other homework for another class, you will receive
a ZERO.
IV.
Attendance, Participation and a positive ‘can-do” attitude (10% of your grade)
Attendance and punctuality is a work, life and school skill. You are expected to come to class awake, alert,
prepared and with a good attitude. You should treat your classmates and me with respect. You will fail Level 6
if you are absent more than 10 times. Two late arrivals will count as ONE absent.
V.
Mid-term and Final (10% of your grade)
Week 5: Our mid-term will be about writing and grammar/structure covered thus far in the class.
Final Week: You will have an essay exam and a reading/vocabulary exam.
YOUR Expectations of ME:
You are the customers. You should ALSO have expectations of ME, the teacher! I promise to come prepared
and be on time every day. I intend to make your learning experience interesting. Please communicate with
me! Let me know what is hindering your learning and how I can help you learn better. If you have a serious
personal issue, a housing concern or emotional problem, PLEASE go to your International Advisor!
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism refers to turning in another person’s writing as if it were your own. It can be copying only a sentence or two
without proper citation (quotation marks and the name of the author), or it can be copying entire paragraphs, pages, or
essays from another source. Plagiarism in any form is an egregious offense in academia.
Because plagiarism is a serious academic offense, it will not be tolerated. I have the right to automatically fail you if you
cheat on a quiz or exam, borrow parts of your essays from the Internet, copy homework from a classmate, etc. Always
do your own work.