A Note from the English Department concerning Placement
Your placement in an English course is determined by the total of your Reading Comprehension and Sentence Skills
scores on the Accuplacer test. Based on your performance on the test, you have been placed in one of four courses. Below
is a description of the course and the skills you will learn in it.
Score range
Course and Description
90 and below
English 003: Reading: Paragraph to Essay (Developmental, non-credit)
This course is designed for students who need a semester of reading and writing experiences before continuing on to both English *
066 and English * 093. In this course students will learn how to:
 demonstrate a positive attitude and concrete purpose for reading
 demonstrate risk-taking by sharing ideas verbally and in writing
 read actively using a variety of strategies and discuss and respond in writing to at least one book and various short pieces of
text including fiction, no- fiction and poetry
 demonstrate literal comprehension of text: identifying and distinguishing between main ideas and details
 demonstrate critical comprehension by predicting, drawing inferences, detecting author’s purpose, identifying audience and
tone, distinguishing between fact and fiction, recognizing bias and propaganda, understanding and identifying figurative
language – metaphor, simile, and personification
 demonstrate the following reading/study techniques – SQ3R, skimming and scanning, outlining and using graphic organizers
 write summaries, responses, and other short pieces of writing related to the readings
 employ vocabulary strategies - context clues, word analysis and understanding denotation and connotation
91-135
English 066: Foundations for College Study, Reading, and Writing (Developmental, non-credit)
This course is designed for students who need a semester of reading and writing experiences before continuing on to English * 093.
In this course students will learn how to:
 read actively so that they can understand a variety of difficult texts
 write several analytical essays of from 1000 to 1500 words (up to 6 typed pages) in response to a reading or readings
 write essays that have a central idea supported by relevant, adequate, and varied evidence
 integrate material and quote from the readings to support the ideas expressed in their essays
 present ideas that progress logically from beginning, to middle, to end.
136-170
English 093: Introduction to College Reading and Writing (Developmental, non-credit)
This course is designed for students who need a semester of reading and writing experiences before continuing on to English * 101.
In this course students will learn how to:
 read actively so that they can understand a variety of difficult and long texts
 write several analytical essays of from 1250 to 1750 words (up to 7 typed pages) in response to a reading or readings
 write essays that have a central idea supported by relevant, adequate, and varied evidence
 synthesize and integrate material from several readings to support the ideas in their essays
 present ideas that progress logically from beginning, to middle, to end
 show a full control of paragraph form and sentence structure
 begin to think abstractly about the readings
≥88 SS AND ≥ 83 RC
English 101: Composition (College-Level, 3 credits)
English* 101 is the college-level English course required of all students. In this course students will:
 become attuned to the “language of the academy”—that is, to the complex literacies of reading, thinking, speaking, and
writing required of college students regardless of their area of specialization.
 become independent as critical, analytical, and abstract thinkers
 learn how to read actively a variety of very difficult and long texts, usually including one or more long books
 learn how to write essays of approximately 1750 words (about 7 pages) as well as shorter responses and essays
 learn how to synthesize and integrate material from several readings into their essays using proper MLA documentation.
 become familiar with the specific requirements and standards of academic writing, including essay format, voice, and
organization.
If you question your placement, you may write an essay now to demonstrate your reading and writing abilities. That essay
will require you to read, summarize, and analyze a short passage and then develop an essay in response to the ideas raised
in the passage. The essay must demonstrate that you have already acquired the skills of the course into which you were
placed. You will have one hour to complete this essay now; you will not be able to write the essay at a later date. You will
not be placed in a lower course but will not necessarily be placed in a higher course.