004C
Reading/Writing/Grammar
Spring 2011
Instructor name: Eric Walker
Campus address: 3111 Cole Activities Bldg.
Campus phone: 301-405-5188
Campus email: eswalker@umd.edu
Office Hours: MWTh 12-12:50 and by appointment
Course times and locations: Cole 3110, MWF
COURSE DESCRIPTION
004C RWG is an advanced level integrated class in reading, writing, and grammar. Students will learn and
practice skills and strategies that will improve their ability to read and write for personal, academic, or
professional purposes and increase their fluency and accuracy. In addition, students will learn and practice
advanced grammatical structures orally and in writing
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Reading Learner Outcomes
By the end of 004C, students will be able to read an advanced level text of at least 1500 words at a rate of 250
words per minute with 70% or better comprehension.
Writing Learner Outcomes
1. By the end of 004C, students will be able to write a unified, coherent, documented essay by using prewriting
strategies to generate ideas and plan, creating a first draft, appropriately incorporating outside sources, revising
the draft based on feedback received, editing the draft, and using correct capitalization, punctuation, and
formatting.
2. By the end of 004C, within a 50-minute time limit, students will be able to write a unified, coherent fiveparagraph essay with an introduction and thesis statement, body paragraphs with topic sentences and detailed
support, a conclusion, and appropriate transitional expressions and grammatical structures, given a prompt on
an unfamiliar topic.
1
Grammar Learner Outcomes
1. By the end of 004C, students will be able to do the following independently:
sentence structure
1.
write sentences with less familiar subordinating conjunctions (now that, once, so
that, so/such…that)
2.
write sentences with relative clauses where the relative pronoun is the object of a
preposition, or with quantifiers
3.
write sentences with correlative conjunctions
4.
write sentences with present & past hypotheticals, wish & hope
5.
apply sentence structure rules for topics in this level, including parallel structure
verbs
1.
use and contrast all verb tenses except future perfect and future perfect progressive
2.
contrast active/passive voice
3.
use modals and perfect modals
4.
use the passive voice, the stative passive, and active and passive causatives
5.
use past and passive gerunds and infinitives
other
1.
use count/non-count nouns
2.
use prepositions of time, location, and direction
2. By the end of 004C, students will be able to do the following with guidance or structure:
sentence structure
1.
write sentences with reduced adverb or adjective clauses
2.
use the subjunctive in noun clauses
verbs
1.
use the future perfect/future perfect progressive
other
1.
use determiners and articles
2.
use phrasal verbs/ preposition collocations
3. By the end of 004C, students will be able to recognize and comprehend:
sentence structure
1.
subject/verb inversion (e.g. fronted adverbials)
REQUIRED BOOKS & MATERIALS
Colombo, G. et al. (2010). Rereading America: Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing, Eighth Edition.
Boston, New York: Bedford St. Martins (ISBN-13: 978-0-312-54854-4)
Item 4: Michigan Test eWorkbook, Practice Tests 1 to 4, Listening e-book, mp3 files, Answer Keys, and FREE
BONUSES (download as pdf file with credit card at http://www.michigan-test.com/price-list.htm)
A Writing Portfolio folder
A 3 ring binder for quizzes and in-class work
RECOMMENDED
Graff, G. & Birkenstein, C. (2010). They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Second
Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company (ISBN: 978-0-393-93361-1)
2
Advanced American Dictionary. Longman (ISBN: 978-1-405-82111-7)
POLICIES
Attendance
Attendance is required and will be recorded each day. Excessive absences will hurt your performance in class
as well as put you in danger of violating your visa requirements. Please note as well that attendance at the
Wednesday workshops is required.
Please note: in addition to the above requirements, attendance in 004C RWG counts for 10% of your final
grade. You can track your attendance at Engrade, a free electronic grade book at our class wiki.
English Only
You and your classmates have come to MEI to learn English. Please help yourself to reach your goal and
respect the efforts of others by speaking only English in the classrooms unless your teacher instructs you to do
otherwise.
Academic Honesty
The University has approved a Code of Academic Integrity. This code sets rules about student academic
conduct. Specifically, it prohibits students from cheating, plagiarizing, fabrication, and facilitation of academic
dishonesty. Violations of the Code of Academic Integrity have serious consequences. As a student you are
responsible for upholding these standards for this course. Anyone on campus can report academic dishonesty
by calling the Honor Council at 301-8204. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the
Student Honor Council, please visit http://www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu/whatis.html.
Respecting Diversity
Students from around the world come to MEI to learn English. All students deserve to learn in a safe and
comfortable environment no matter where they come from. MEI requires that all students treat their classmates
and their teachers with respect and courtesy. Students who use actions or words to hurt others risk immediate
expulsion. As members of the campus community, MEI students are subject to the University of Maryland’s
Code of Student Conduct.
Accommodations for students with disabilities:
If you need accommodations for a disability, please inform the instructor of your needs at the beginning of the
semester, so that MEI and Disability Support Services can be consulted.
Religious observances:
The University of Maryland policy states that students should not be penalized because of observance of their
religious beliefs. No quizzes or exams will take place on religious holidays. If you participate in religious
observances, you will be given the opportunity to make up, within a reasonable amount of time, any work that
you miss. It is your responsibility to let the instructor know in advance of any planned absences for religious
observances.
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COURSE WORK
In 004C RWG, students will learn, collaborate, and practice a variety of reading, writing, and grammar tasks
that will help them to meet the course goals. Particular attention will be paid to



exploring and practicing the writing process to improve fluency, organizational structure, and
development
examining genres and reading strategies to increase both speed and comprehension
analyzing and practicing grammatical and lexical structures to improve accuracy
In addition to the above tasks, 004C RWG students will also learn and practice sociocultural and linguistic
strategies and skills that will help you to approximate “academic communicative competence”1 in your
discourse community To this end, 004CRWG students will




conduct university course observations
make follow-up presentations on your observations
participate in large and small group academic discussions
complete analyses of the written discourse of your communities
Students will also have the opportunity to volunteer in a service learning project that will provide you with
experiences interacting in English in real-world settings.
Weekly Feedback.
To reinforce UMEI’s student-centered teaching methodology, every week students have the opportunity to
evaluate the week’s lessons and activities and to offer critiques and recommendations for the next week. The
criteria for these evaluations include the extent to the lessons have fulfilled the week’s goals.
The Writing Portfolio
Since one of the aims of UMEI 004C RWG is to learn and use the writing process, each time students turn in an
out of class writing project for formal peer- and teacher-evaluation, they will be required to submit this project
in your Writing Portfolio folder. The contents of the folder will include with all evidence of the pre-writing,
writing, and post-writing stages you used to produce the writing project. At the end of the semester, you will
select and submit for final evaluation your best out of class writing project (with all your pre-writing, writing,
and post-writing) and your best in-class timed writing. Please note: you are responsible for archiving and
managing all aspects of your drafts and your Portfolio.
UMEI004C Research Project
In American universities, instructors sometimes use the classroom as a site to conduct original research on
topics of importance in their fields. This semester, 004C RWG is being used as a site to conduct research on
academic communicative competence both in written and spoken discourse. Student participation in the project
is entirely voluntary. This research is not designed to help you personally, but the results of the study may help
the instructor/investigator learn more about the requisite sociocultural and linguistic skills international students
need to succeed in an American university.
1
Simply defined, academic communicative competence refers to the linguistic and sociocultural knowledge necessary to join an
academic community and to participate purposefully and skillfully with other members of that community. Attaining academic
communicative competence is essential to your success in an American postsecondary setting like the University of Maryland.
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GRADES
MEI courses are offered on a satisfactory/fail basis. Student grades are based on performance on assignments
and assessments. In order to pass the course and receive a final grade of Satisfactory, students must earn an
average of 70% or greater in both the RWG class and the LS class.
Please note that students who do not earn an average of 70% in both the RWG and the LS class are not
permitted to take the MEIPE at the end of the semester.
Grading
Attendance & Class work
Homework
Drafts of writing assignments
Personal Essay
Extended Definition
Discourse Analysis 1
Summary Response
Discourse Analysis 2
Documented Research Paper
Reading and grammar quizzes
Course observations and presentations
Midterm reading and grammar tests
Reading Achievement Test
Grammar Achievement Test
Writing Portfolio
10%
10%
25%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
10%
5%
5%
10%
10%
10%
15%
Grading Scale:
5 (exemplary)
4 (advanced)
3 (proficient)
2 (developing)
1 (limited)
Percentage
95- 100%
90 – 94%
80 – 89%
70 – 79%
under 70%
Reading/Writing/Grammar Assessments:
Reading Achievement Test – April 18
The Reading Achievement Test counts for 10% of the final RWG course grade. The Reading Achievement
Test consists of two texts of 1500 words at a rate of 250 words per minute with 70% or better comprehension.
Each text is followed by approximately 15 multiple choice questions, for a total of approximately 30 questions.
These questions cover reading skills and strategies students have learned in class, including finding the main
idea, identifying details, distinguishing fact from opinion, recognizing the intended audience and author’s
purpose, drawing conclusions and making inferences, recognizing the organization of the text, and guessing the
meaning of vocabulary from the context. Students will have 75 minutes to complete the test.
Grammar Achievement Test – April 20
5
The Grammar Achievement Test counts for 10% of the final RWG course grade. The Grammar Achievement
Test covers the grammar topics specified in the curriculum for this level. There are a variety of question types,
including fill in the blank, short answer, multiple choice, sentence completion, and sentence combining.
Students will have 75 minutes to complete the test.
Writing Portfolios – due date April 18
Writing is graded through a portfolio process. Students will have different types of writing assignments during
the semester. Instructors give feedback on these writing assignments to let students know how well they are
doing and where they need to improve. At the end of the semester, students select several pieces of writing for
the portfolio. Required documents include a written reflection which describes the students’ development in
writing and refers to the portfolio components, a timed writing, and at least two essays that demonstrate the use
of the writing process through multiple drafts and revision. The written reflection will be evaluated on content,
organization & connection of ideas, language and evidence. The portfolio will be evaluated overall on whether
or not it:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
shows evidence of personal reflection and awareness of rhetorical strengths and weaknesses
is complete and meets or exceeds all requirements
includes a variety of multiple drafts of writing assignments of different genres
meets all portfolio requirements of mechanics and format
demonstrates awareness of global / local organization appropriate to each writing task
demonstrates awareness of audience, purposes and learner outcomes
Please see the Writing Portfolio Rubric at the end of the syllabus.
Appealing a Grade
A student who believes he or she has received the wrong grade on a test or in a course should promptly ask his
teacher for a meeting to explain and try to resolve the problem. If the problem is not resolved at this meeting,
the student should request a meeting with the teacher and the IEP Coordinator. To do so, the student must fill
out a request for appointment form and include there a written description of the problem. At this meeting, the
teacher will present her reasons for assigning the grade, and the student will present his reasons for why he
believes it is not correct. Both must bring to the meeting relevant support evidence. The IEP Coordinator will
make a final decision regarding the grade.
PROMOTION TO A HIGHER LEVEL
In order to advance to a higher level in the program, students must earn an average of 70% or greater in both
classes and earn the required exit score on the MEIPE test. Students who do not earn an average of 70% or
greater in both classes are not permitted to take the MEIPE. The MEIPE test will be administered on
Monday, April 25. The location will be announced.
The required exit scores on the MEIPE test for this level are:
004C
230
L= 70, S= 70, R= 60
not lower than 5.0
In order to successfully meet the University of Maryland’s English language requirements, students must
achieve a total score of 230, with a minimum score of 60 in reading, 70 in listening, and 70 in structure. A
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timed composition test will also be administered. Graduate students who achieve a score of 5 on the test, and
meet the minimum MEIPE scores, are exempt from further English study. Graduate students who score less
than 5 on the composition are required to take UMEI 007, Advanced Writing for International Students.
Meeting the English language requirements does not guarantee admission to the University of Maryland.
Conferences
There will be a required midterm conference on March 2, and a required final conference on April 27.
Conferences are not tests. At the midterm conference students will receive a Midterm Conference Report that
explains their grades and gives comments on their performance. Students and instructors will discuss progress
and priorities for the second half of the semester. At the final conference students will receive their Intensive
English Program Final Evaluation Report, which includes their MEIPE scores, course grade, and placement.
Students can discuss their results and future plans with their instructor.
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COURSE SCHEDULE
Please note that the course schedule is tentative and subject to change due to student feedback and/or time
constraints.
Week
Unit
Topics/skills
1
Icebreaker
Introduction to the course
1/14
Reading—Writing Diagnostic: “I Have a Dream,” Martin Luther King
2
Rereading
Topic 1: Personal Narrative—Self-portrait as a Writer OR Language
America: The Learning Autobiography
1/18- Myth of
Topic 2: The Myth of Education and Empowerment
1/21
Education and Topic 3: Michigan English Placement Test
Empowerment Topic 4: Academic Communicative Competence
Skills:
Reading
Mark and annotate a text
Use APPLE to analyze a text
Use pre-reading strategies to predict content
Skim for main ideas
Scan for details
Use genre to predict organization
Practice timed-reading skills and strategies
Writing
Introduce the rhetorical situation: what is APPLE?
Use prewriting strategies to explore a personal narrative
Plan, draft, and revise a personal narrative
Practice timed-writing skills and strategies
Grammar
Review tense and aspect
Parts of speech
Syntax
3
1/24—
1/28
Rereading
America: The
Myth of
Education and
Empowerment
Academic Communicative Competence
Survey
Topic 1: Extended Definition—Aspects of an Academic Concept or Term
Topic 2: The Myth of Education and Empowerment
Topic 3: Email protocol in American universities
Topic 4: Course observations
Skills:
Reading
Mark and annotate a text
Skim for main ideas
Scan for details
Recognize tone and point of view
8
Use genre to predict organization
Use context clues to evaluate unfamiliar vocabulary
Use chunking to improve fluency
Practice timed-reading skills and strategies
Writing
Plan, draft, and revise an extended definition
Plan, draft, and revise an email to a UMD professor
Read drafts aloud as a post-writing strategy
Use proofreading symbols to edit
Edit for punctuation
Use self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment to create a revision agenda
Practice timed-writing skills and strategies
Grammar
Use and contrast simple present, present perfect, and simple past
Sentence types
4
1/31 –
2/4
Rereading
America: The
Myth of the
Model Family
Academic communicative competence
Introduction to course observation protocol and analytic rubric
Plan and practice course observation at MICASE
Topic 1: Discourse Analysis 1
Topic 2: The Myth of the Model Family
Topic 3: Course Observations
Topic 4: Service Learning
Skills:
Reading
Mark and annotate a text
Skim for main ideas
Scan for details
Recognize tone and point of view
Recognize and use genres to predict organization
Use graphic organizers to analyze organization
Use context clues, grammar, and morphology to evaluate unfamiliar vocabulary
Use chunking to improve fluency
Practice timed-reading skills and strategies
Writing
Use prewriting strategies to plan, draft, and revise a discourse community
analysis
Plan, draft, and revise an analysis
Write and revise paragraphs (including topic sentences supported by facts,
statistics, examples, and anecdotes) to explain a topic
Read drafts aloud as a post-writing strategy
Use proofreading symbols to edit
9
Use self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment to create a revision agenda
Practice timed-writing skills and strategies
Grammar
Use and contrast simple past, past continuous, and past perfect
Use sentence variety
5
2/7–
2/11
Rereading
America: The
Myth of the
Model Family
Academic communicative competence
Introduce written discourse community analysis
Introduction to service learning
Application and interview protocol
Topic 1: Discourse Analysis 1
Topic 2: The Myth of the Model Family
Topic 3: Course Observations
Skills:
Reading
Mark and annotate a text
Skim for main ideas
Scan for details
Recognize tone and point of view
Recognize and use genres to predict organization
Recognize and use frames and assumptions
Use graphic organizers to analyze organization
Use modality to recognize degrees of certainty
Use context clues, grammar, and morphology to evaluate unfamiliar vocabulary
Use chunking to improve fluency
Practice timed-reading skills and strategies
Writing
Plan, draft, and revise an analysis
Write and revise paragraphs (including topic sentences supported by facts,
statistics, examples, and anecdotes) to explain a topic
Read drafts aloud as a post-writing strategy
Use proofreading symbols to edit`
Use self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment to create a revision agenda
Practice timed-writing skills and strategies
6
2/14–
2/18
Rereading
America:
Myths of
Gender
Grammar
Use sentence variety
Use modality for degrees of certainty
Topic 1: Summary Response
Topic 2: Myths of Gender
Topic 3: Course Observations
Reading
10
Mark and annotate a text
Skim for main ideas
Scan for details
Recognize tone and point of view
Recognize and use genres to predict organization
Recognize and use frames and assumptions
Recognize common academic collocations
Use context clues, grammar, and morphology to evaluate unfamiliar vocabulary
Use chunking to improve fluency
Practice timed-reading skills and strategies
Writing
Plan and draft a Summary Response
Quote, paraphrase, and summarize
Read drafts aloud as a post-writing strategy
Use proofreading symbols to edit
Use outlining as a post-writing strategy
Use self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment to create a revision agenda
Practice timed-writing skills and strategies
7
2/21 –
2/25
Rereading
America:
Myths of
Gender
Grammar
Use noun clauses with verbs and adjectives, expressions of importance, and
questions
Use sentence variety
Topic1: Summary Response
Topic 2: Myths of Gender
Topic 3: Course Observations
Skills:
Reading
Skim for main ideas
Scan for details
Recognize and use genres to predict organization
Recognize and use frames and assumptions
Recognize tone and point of view
Use context clues, grammar, and morphology to evaluate unfamiliar vocabulary
Use chunking to improve fluency
Practice timed-reading skills and strategies
Writing
Draft and revise a Summary Response
Quote, paraphrase, and summarize
Read drafts aloud as a post-writing strategy
Use proofreading symbols to edit
Use self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment to create a revision agenda
Practice timed-writing skills and strategies
11
8
2/28 –
3/4
Rereading
America: The
Myth of the
Melting Pot
Grammar
Use noun clauses with quotations, verb tenses in sequence, reported speech, and
imperatives
Sentence variety
Topic 1: Discourse Analysis 2
Topic 2: The Myth of the Melting Pot
Topic 3: Course Observations
Skills:
Reading
Skim for main ideas
Scan for details
Recognize and use genres to predict organization
Recognize and use frames and assumptions
Recognize tone and point of view
Use context clues, grammar, and morphology to evaluate unfamiliar vocabulary
Use chunking to improve fluency
Practice timed-reading skills and strategies
Writing
Plan, draft, and revise an analysis
Use proofreading symbols to edit
Use self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment to create a revision agenda
Practice timed-writing skills and strategies
9
3/7–
3/11
Rereading
America: The
Myth of the
Melting Pot
Grammar
Use passive voice with and without agents, transitive and intransitive verbs, get,
and participial adjectives
Topic 1: Discourse Analysis 2
Topic 2: The Myth of the Melting Pot
Topic 3: Course Observations
Skills:
Reading
Skim for main ideas
Scan for details
Recognize and use genres to predict organization
Recognize and use frames and assumptions
Recognize tone and point of view
Use context clues, grammar, and morphology to evaluate unfamiliar vocabulary
Use chunking to improve fluency
Practice timed-reading skills and strategies
Writing
Draft and revise an analysis
12
Read drafts aloud as a post-writing strategy
Use proofreading symbols to edit
Use self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment to create a revision agenda
Practice timed-writing skills and strategies
10
3/14 –
3/16
Rereading
America: The
Myth of
Individual
Opportunity
Grammar
Use modals in the present and future
Use common academic noncount nouns with and without articles
Topic 1: The Documented Research Paper—Creating and Managing a
Written Conversation
Topic 2: The Myth of Individual Opportunity
Topic 3: Course Observations
Skills:
Reading
Skim for main ideas
Scan for details
Recognize and use genres to predict organization
Recognize and use frames and assumptions
Recognize tone and point of view
Use context clues, grammar, and morphology to evaluate unfamiliar vocabulary
Use chunking to improve fluency
Practice timed-reading skills and strategies
Writing
Plan, draft, and revise a documented research paper
Read drafts aloud as a post-writing strategy
Use proofreading symbols to edit
Edit for punctuation
Use self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment to create a revision agenda
Practice timed-writing skills and strategies
Grammar
Modals in the past
Common irregular academic irregular verbs with and without articles
No classes
Spring Break
11
3/21 –
3/25
12
3/28 –
4/1
Rereading
America: The
Myth of
Individual
Opportunity
Topic 1: The Documented Research Paper—Creating and Managing a
Written Conversation
Topic 2: The Myth of Individual Opportunity
Topic 3: Course Observations
Skills:
Reading
13
Skim for main ideas
Scan for details
Recognize and use genres to predict organization
Recognize and use frames and assumptions
Recognize tone and point of view
Use context clues, grammar, and morphology to evaluate unfamiliar vocabulary
Use chunking to improve fluency
Practice timed-reading strategies
Writing
Draft and revise a documented research paper
Read drafts aloud as a post-writing strategy
Use outlines to revise a draft
Use proofreading symbols to edit
Edit for punctuation
Use self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment to create a revision agenda
Practice timed-writing skills and strategies
13
4/4 –
4/8
Grammar
Adverbial clauses, phrases, and sentence connectors
Article usage
Topic 1: Reflecting on the Writing Portfolio
Topic 2: American Myths of Nature and the Environment
Topic 3: Course Observations
Rereading
America:
American
Myths of
Nature and the Skills:
Environment
Reading
Skim for main ideas
Scan for details
Recognize and use genres to predict organization
Recognize and use frames and assumptions
Recognize tone and point of view
Use context clues, grammar, and morphology to evaluate unfamiliar vocabulary
Use chunking to improve fluency
Practice timed-reading strategies
Writing
Read drafts aloud as a post-writing strategy
Use proofreading symbols to edit
Edit for punctuation
Use self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment to create a revision agenda
Practice timed-writing skills and strategies
14
Rereading
Grammar
Unreal conditionals
Topic 1: Reflecting on the Writing Portfolio
14
4/11—
4/15
America:
American
Myths of
Nature and the
Environment
Topic 2: American Myths of Nature and the Environment
Topic 3: Course Observations
Skills:
Reading
Skim for main ideas
Scan for details
Recognize and use genres to predict organization
Recognize and use frames and assumptions
Recognize tone and point of view
Use context clues, grammar, and morphology to evaluate unfamiliar vocabulary
Use chunking to improve fluency
Practice timed-reading skills and strategies
Writing
Read drafts aloud as a post-writing strategy
Use proofreading symbols to edit
Edit for punctuation
Use self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment to create a revision agenda
Practice timed-writing skills and strategies
15
4/18—
4/22
16
Grammar
Infinitives and gerunds
Topic 1: The Writing Portfolio
Topic 2: The Reading Achievement Test
Topic 3: The Grammar Achievement Test
Reading, writing, grammar review
Topic 1: The MEIPE
Topic 2: Final Conferences
4/25—
4/28
15
16