ENGLISH 098: Course-Specific Guidelines, 2015-2016
These Course-Specific Guidelines (CGs) offer the English 098 instructor measurable expectations for the course. This
document is intended as a practical, how-to companion to the English 098 Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs.)
English 098 is a developmental bridging course that prepares the student to enter English 101, a college level course.
The focus of English 098 is the transition from paragraph to short essay writing as well as increasing aptitude in reading
for comprehension and critical thinking. A focus on reading and writing process, summary skills, and exploration of
various rhetorical modes of expression is reasonable to help students develop 500-1200 word essays that are unified
around a central idea and supported with sufficient detail and evidence. Students should learn to use introductions,
conclusions and transition words and sentences to maintain clarity and connection to the thesis; summarize the main
points from college level material, citing sources correctly by using MLA format; write complete sentences with few
fragments and run-ons; maintain a consistent point of view and tense; balance simple, compound and complex
sentences; and choose diction free from slang and cliché. Students should be introduced to sources and their use, and
should be taught how to avoid deceptive and inflammatory language in their writing.
Official English 098 Course Description: Emphasis on expository writing and increasing control of grammar and
mechanics. Skills include summarizing and writing essays. Students develop skills through pre-writing, drafting, revising,
and editing. In-class and out-of-class essays required. Prerequisite: A grade of "C" or better in ENGL 097, or
recommending score on the College writing skills placement test for ENGL 098.
English 098 Course-Specific Expectations
English 098 teaching methods should be designed to achieve the English 098 departmental SLOs. In doing this,
instructors are expected to
 Assign no fewer than 3 and no more than 5 formal essay assignments graded individually or in a portfolio
process. The optimal number of essays is 4, with the fourth being a thorough revision of an earlier essay
incorporating a different angle of argument and sources. If 5 essays are assigned, one must be a revision. Essay
assignments should be no fewer than 500 and no more than 1200 words in length, but students should not be
penalized for exceeding length expectations.
o Emphasis should be on essay structure, including introductions, thesis statements, body paragraphs with
supporting detail, and conclusions.
o Modes-based rhetorical forms are appropriate at this level; however, teachers should discuss modes as
tools that can be used in combination and should focus on those modes frequently used in academic
writing (cause and effect, argument, comparison, etc.).
o Teachers should provide some emphasis on going beyond the “five-paragraph” pattern.
o All 098 students must write an essay, worth at least 25% of the final quarter grade, that
responds to the Department’s 098 Common Final Assignment; this essay must be assessed
using the department’s common rubric, and instructors should devote 2-3 weeks to it.
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Introduce students to the library and to basic search techniques in the Gale Virtual Reference Library or similar
library or database for at least one essay.
Introduce the basics of MLA Documentation for use in at least one essay.
Explicitly teach skills to develop sentence level correctness, paragraph unity and coherence, transitions, and essay
focus and development.
Students should be required to read as well as to write. Readings should be appropriate for a transitional
developmental course level (near and at college level); long academic essays and articles are not appropriate for
098 level.
Students should be encouraged to abstract main points from readings, answer questions about them, and use
them to identify ideas that they might write about.
Graded quizzes/tests and in-class essays are appropriate for 098 level, though not mandatory.
Stress use of the writing process, including drafting, revision, and editing, and peer response.
Textbooks, if used, must be chosen from the list of approved books for 098. Short creative works may be used
to supplement the textbook but are not required.
Instructors who teach English 098 in the online or hybrid format should adhere to the guidelines set forth by
English Department eLearning Policies and Curriculum Guide.
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Clark College English 098 Common Final Assignment
All members of the English Department use a Common Final Assignment for English 098; the parameters of
the assignment are explained below. All faculty are at liberty to develop prompts of their own design as long
as the following guidelines are observed.
Each instructor will choose one of the following topics and reading for the final essay assignment, and all
students should read and write on the same topic. Topics and readings are replaced every two years:
Traumatic Brain Injury: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/patrice-bergeron-team-canadaboston-bruins-nhl-concussions/
School to Prison Pipeline:
https://ezproxy.clark.edu:19443/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.a
spx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3daph%26AN%3d96044861%26site%3dehostlive%26scope%3dsite
Trying Youth as Adults:
https://ezproxy.clark.edu:19443/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.a
spx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3daph%26AN%3d75128013%26site%3dehostlive%26scope%3dsite
Net Generation and The Workplace:
https://ezproxy.clark.edu:19443/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.a
spx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3df5h%26AN%3d24966425%26site%3dehostlive%26scope%3dsite
Each teacher may decide whether to devote the entire term, a significant portion of the term, or only the final
assignment to the general topic of the final reading, but whatever the choice, the class must be sequenced so
that students are building the knowledge and skills needed for the common final assignment throughout the
quarter.
The final assignment must adhere to the following parameters:
 The paper must propose and argue for a solution to a problem presented in the required reading.
Accomplishing that goal will require the student to present the problem, but the main purpose should be to
argue a solution or a best course of action. An effective thesis might look like this one: “Because of the
dangers associated with summer football practice, high school teams should have at least one person on
the coaching staff who is trained in emergency medicine and the treatment of heat stroke present at all
practices.”
 Students should imagine an audience of people who could implement the solution or support and encourage
implementation and present themselves as informed citizens with solid information and thinking.
 The length should be 800-1200 words (3-4 pages)
 Students must use 2 and may use up to 3 credible, college-level sources; one must be the common
reading, which students must engage in a meaningful way; at least one other must come from the library’s
print or electronic—GVRL—reference collection.
 The essay must account for at least 25% of the student’s final grade.
 The assignment should take about three weeks to teach, research, draft, revise.
 The essay must be graded using the common assignment rubric approved by the department as a way to
help standardize grading and assessment in the department.
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English 098 Assessment Rubric for Common Final Assignment
Student Learning
Outcomes
An Exemplary Essay:
Thesis, Focus and
Purpose
Compose thesis
statements appropriate
to short essays and
maintain focus
throughout
--asserts a clear, arguable thesis
that can be reasonably developed
and supported in 800-1200 words
--remains clearly focused on the
thesis throughout
--meets the assigned topic and
purpose
Reasoning and
Support
Support ideas through
logical reasoning,
source integration, and
other appropriate
evidence.
--thoroughly supports the thesis
with relevant and specific
examples and logical reasoning
--engages the common reading in
a meaningful way
--accurately and effectively
employs summary, paraphrase,
and quotation of relevant source
material
Organization
Construct an
easy-to-follow,
logical progression
of ideas and
information.
--consistently uses specific details
to support more general topic
sentences
--maintains focus within each
paragraph
--provides clear and directive
topic sentences and good
transitions within and between
paragraphs
--includes logical paragraph
breaks
--paragraphs are clearly connected
to the thesis, creating a logical
progression of ideas.
--uses an effective introduction,
conclusion, and title.
A Skilled Essay:
A Developing Essay:
An Undeveloped Essay:
--asserts a clear, arguable thesis that
can largely be developed in 8001200 words
--remains largely focused on the
thesis
--meets the assigned topic and
purpose
--states a thesis that may not be a clear
or arguable or that cannot be reasonably
developed in 800-1200 words
--occasionally strays from the thesis
--takes inappropriate liberties with the
assigned topic and purpose
--does not state a thesis or states a
thesis that the writer later abandons
--frequently strays from the thesis,
or discusses a different thesis
entirely
--may not meet the assigned topic
and purpose
-- partially supports the thesis with
examples and reasoning, which may not
be entirely relevant or logical
--includes but does not adequately
engage the assigned common reading
-- employs summary, paraphrase, and
quotation of source material (though
that material may not always be
relevant or accurately represented)
-- provides insufficient examples
and reasoning to support the thesis
--may not include the assigned
common reading
--includes source material that is
inaccurately represented or
irrelevant to the argument
--occasionally uses specific details to
support more general topic sentences
--loses focus within some paragraphs
--occasionally provides topic sentences
and uses transitions inconsistently
within and/or between paragraphs
--breaks paragraphs in ways that may
not always be logical to the reader
--paragraphs sometimes aren’t clearly
connected to the thesis, making the
progression of ideas difficult to follow.
--the introduction, conclusion, or title is
not effective, creating some doubt about
the main idea of the essay.
--rarely or never uses specific
details to support more general topic
sentences
--does not maintain focus within
paragraphs
--largely fails to provide topic
sentences and either does not use
transitions or uses transitions that
are ineffective
--does not use logical paragraph
breaks
--paragraphs are not always
connected to the thesis, so that the
progression of ideas is not logical.
--the introduction, conclusion,
and/or title are not effective or one
or more might be missing.
--supports the thesis with some
specific examples and reasoning
--engages the assigned common
reading
-- employs summary, paraphrase,
and quotation of relevant source
material
--mostly uses specific details to
support more general topic sentences
--maintains focus within most
paragraphs
--mostly provides topic sentences
and has basic transitions within and
between paragraphs
--includes largely logical paragraph
breaks
--paragraphs are sufficiently
connected to the thesis to create a set
of supporting ideas.
--uses a satisfactory introduction,
conclusion, and title.
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Student Learning
Outcomes
An Exemplary Essay:
A Skilled Essay:
A Developing Essay:
An Undeveloped Essay:
Signal Phrasing and
MLA Citation
Employ signal
phrasing and MLA
citation methods to
introduce and
document sources
ethically.
--Integrates source material using
signal phrasing throughout essay
--Avoids plagiarism through
proper paraphrasing and use of
quotation marks
--In-text citations and MLA
works cited page free from error
--Uses direct quotation and
paraphrase in a balanced and
thoughtful way
--Uses signal phrasing with most
source material
--Avoids plagiarism through proper
paraphrasing and use of quotation
marks
--In-text citations and MLA works
cited page mostly correct
--Relies somewhat too heavily on
either direct quotation or paraphrase
--Uses signal phrasing
inconsistently
--Includes some weak
paraphrasing and/or errors
with quotation marks
--In-text citations and MLA
works cited page have
numerous errors
-- Relies too heavily on either
direct quotation or paraphrase
--Lacks signal phrasing
--Includes weak or inadequate paraphrasing
and/or significant errors in the use of quotation
marks
--Includes significant errors in the in-text
citation and/or MLA works cited page, or lacks
one of both of these
--Might be unintentionally plagiarizing because
of a lack of one or more of the above
--Uses direct quotation to the exclusion of
paraphrase and summary, or uses paraphrase
and summary to the exclusion of direct
quotation
Voice & Style
Examine the writing
situation and use
vocabulary and
sentence structure
appropriate to a
college-level audience.
--effectively engages an audience
that could support the proposed
solution, using language suitable
to task
--Uses varied sentence structure
and precise word choice
--indicates an awareness of style
--engages an audience that could
support the proposed solution, and
mostly uses language suitable to task
--incorporates varied sentence
structure and effective word choice
--uses a readable and largely
effective style
--does not consistently engage
an audience that could support
proposed solution and may not
use language suitable to task
--uses some repetitious
sentence structure and/or
distracting word choice
--uses a readable but
ineffective style
--lacks awareness of an audience that could
support the proposed solution and does not use
language suitable to task
--uses incoherent style and/or inappropriate
word choice
Writing Conventions
and MLA Page Layout
Use conventions of
standard written
English and page
layout to facilitate
reading.
--does not stray from a consistent
point of view and an appropriate
use of tense
--contains a few minor errors in
grammar and mechanics
--uses MLA standards for page
layout correctly
--occasionally strays from a
consistent point of view and an
appropriate use of tense
--contains a few errors in grammar
and mechanics, but not enough to
significantly interfere with meaning
--uses MLA standards for page
layout with very few mistakes
--tends to stray from a
consistent point of view and
appropriate use of tense
--contains several errors in
grammar and mechanics that
make meaning unclear at
points
--mostly follows MLA
standards for page layout
--lacks control over point of view and tense
--contains error patterns in grammar and
mechanics that compromise clear
communication
--displays little knowledge of MLA standards
for page layout
A student’s overall grade is determined by the balance of assessments; however, an “Undeveloped” assessment in one or more areas might lead to an overall failing assignment
grade. (For instance, intentional or unintentional plagiarism, work that does not meet the assignment topic and purpose, or errors in grammar and mechanics that compromise
readability).
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