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ENGL 255 Course website

English (ENGL) 255
Introductory Composition (Revision 5)

View previous syllabus.

Delivery mode: Individualized study or grouped study.

Credits: 3 - Humanities

Prerequisite: Students who have not done any formal writing for some time or who feel that their basic skills might be weak should consider taking ENGL 155 or, for ESL needs, ENGL 177 or ENGL 187. Students who feel uncertain which course to choose may consult the course coordinator.

Télé-université du Québec equivalency: ANG 4005: Effective Written Communication

Centre: Centre for Language and Literature

ENGL 255 has a Challenge for Credit option.

Course website

Overview

ENGL 255 focuses on essay writing at the university level. In order to improve the necessary skills, students study examples of good writing, do two short summaries, participate in critical exchanges (if possible, these are done online with other course students), and complete four other short writing assignments covering a spectrum of styles and purposes. The course is designed to recognize students’ personal interests, objectives, and learning styles and to provide flexible scheduling options.

ENGL 255 provides some grammar review but assumes at least a senior high school level of competency in both grammar and composition.

Outline

Unit 1: Diagnostic Activities

Unit 2: Summaries

Unit 3: Critical Exchange

Unit 4: Special Project

Unit 5: Writing an Essay Using Sources

Unit 6: Argumentation

Unit 7: Critical Analysis

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Evaluation

You must receive “D” (50 percent) or higher on the examination and an overall average of “D” (50 percent) or higher to pass the course. Assignments not submitted by your contract date (end of active registration) receive a grade of 0. The weighting of the course assignments is as follows:

Diagnostic Paragraphs (1 page) 0%
Summaries (1-1 ½ pages) 10%
Critical Exchange 15%
Special Project (4 pages1) 10%
Essay Using Sources (3-4 pages) 15%
Argumentative Essay (4 pages) 20%
Critical Analysis (4 pages) 20%
Final Examination (3 hours) 10%
Total 100%

1 Some of the choices for this assignment require 2-3 pages, though each choice involves approximately the same amount of work. See Unit 4 in your print Guide.

Note: Weighting in most grouped-study offerings is somewhat altered to accommodate a classwork component.

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Brundage, David & Michael Lahey. Acting on Words: an Integrated Rhetoric, Reader, and Handbook. Toronto: Pearson, 2008

Heckman, Grant. Thomson Nelson Guide to Web Research 2007-2008. Toronto: Thomson Nelson, 2007

Other Materials

The course materials also include a student guide, and reading file. In addition to these texts you will need a dictionary suitable for university study. English Language Support materials are available online.

If you need writing help, contact the Write Site.

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