Academic English II + 1 Hour Workshop

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students are expected to be able to: read short essays, and skim for the main ideas and important details; organize ideas and build connections between ideas using appropriate transitions and conjunctions; produce academic style in writing different types of essays and evaluate internet sources; produce output that exhibits integration of reading and writing; speak confidently; question intelligently and critically; confidently engage in academic debate; create and give an academic/professional presentation; confidently and effectively paraphrase and summarize sources without plagiarizing and properly cite and reference sources.

Topics

This course is designed to increase student understanding of academic discourse, both written and spoken, and the ability to produce such discourse, at a higher level, in relation to general and student specific studies. Reading skills, such as making inferences, drawing conclusions, and dealing with unknown vocabulary, are integrated with the production of various essay types such as argumentative and solution-problem essays (SPSE) as well as a final research report. The course also focuses on the production and performance of professional outputs in the form of MS Power Point presentations in relation to students’ current studies, as well as opportunities to engage in academic debate. Language skills are provided by a workshop series in grammar, syntax and academic lexis acquisition. Emphasis is placed on developing the student’s AWL (Academic Word List). The software E-rater is provided throughout the course to assist students gain their English learning and writing independence. The course also insists upon identifying and avoiding plagiarism by referencing correctly and by the use of Turnitin anti-plagiarism software.

Prerequisite: A minimum C pass in GS102 – Academic English 1