Advanced

Writing

Spring 2015

Community English Program Spring 2015

Teachers College, Columbia University
Instructor: Sabina Simon
E-mail: sfs2157@tc.columbia.edu
Level: Advanced Writing
Classes: Friday
Class time: 10:00AM-1:00PM
Classroom: 332 Horace Mann
Course Description:
The Advanced Writing course is designed to help students write texts in a range of subjects and
genres appropriate for different audiences and purposes. By employing and analyzing carious
techniques throughout the writing process, students will practice writing focused, fully-developed
and well-organized texts using the teacher and classmates as their readers.
About the CEP
The Community Language Program (CLP) is a unique and integral part of the TESOL and
Applied Linguistics Programytgs at Teachers College, Columbia University. It provides English
as a second language and foreign language instruction to adult learners of diverse nationalities
and backgrounds. In addition, the CLP serves as an on- site language education lab in which
TESOL and Applied Linguistics faculty and students enrolled in the programs teach the courses
and use the CLP as a setting for empirical inquiry. Here at Teachers College we believe that
observation and classroom research are the best way to learn about how we teach and gain
insights into how teaching might take place. Thus, we encourage observation and classroom
research and want people to use it as a tool for learning. Ongoing assessment and program
evaluation allow us to make the CLP a better program.
Week 1
Week 4
March 16-20
Week 10
Week 10

Friday, February 13
Friday, February 20
Friday, March 13
Monday, April 20
Friday, April 24

First day of classes

Last day for refunds and transfers
Midterm exam
Spring Break No Class
Final exam
Last day of classes

Important dates:

Course Materials
I will be using the Great Writing series from National Geographic. However, as there are six
books and it is expensive, I will be making photocopies that you will use in class.
Therefore, there is no formal textbook for this course that you will need, but you will need access
to authentic, academic texts from your field of interest. Teachers College library (1st floor Russell)
has computers where you can search for articles.
If you somehow cannot get access to the information you need, please inform me. I will also be
asking other Teachers College/Columbia students to help their classmates in acquiring some
information.
For more grammar help, I will be supplementing in part from a book called A Writers Grammar by
C. Beth Burch. You dont need to buy this book, but if you want more grammar help, I suggest you
take a look at it.
Course Objectives:
At the end of the course, students will have completed a portfolio of work about their specific
discipline that they have created over the course of the semester. Furthermore, students will work
to improve their day-to-day writing needs (emails, filling out forms, etc.), as well as working on
specific grammatical points with which the student struggles. Students will work on their written
accuracy and fluency, as well as giving constructive feedback to other students. Students will also
be able to analyze texts for linguistic as well as structural information, and then apply that
information to their own writing.
Course Requirements:
In Class Midterm Writing: 30%
Final Portfolio: 45%
Attendance and Participation: 10%
Written Assignments: 15%
Written Assignments 15%
Warm Ups 3%
Each week, at the beginning of class students will complete a 20-30 minute warm up
responding to either a piece of writing, an image, or a question. This is designed to help
students with their written fluency in terms of grammar and complexity of ideas. I will
collect these at the end of every class and give you feedback, but I will not grade you on
the warm ups. You will get credit for completing the warm up.
Assignments 7%
Over the course of the semester, students will complete 5 assignments that work towards
the completion of the final portfolio. These are designed to be drafts that receive feedback
from your peers as well as from me. You will be graded on your completion of the task.
Please, for each assignment:
-Type up the assignment on the computer
-Print out and bring with you two copies of the assignment

If you will not be in class during that week, please email me the assignment so that I can
give you feedback about how to improve it.
Peer Review 5%
You will complete 3 take-home peer reviews of your classmates work. You will read your
partners assignment, then answer the questions on a worksheet I provide. For each peer
review, you will be graded on 1) how constructive and critical you are, and 2) how
thoughtful your comments are.
Midterm 30%
Your midterm will be a 1 hour in-class writing assignment that I will prepare for you. More details
will come during Weeks 3 and 4.
Final Portfolio 45%
Your final portfolio is a compilation of all 3 Assignments you have completed, as well as at least
one draft of each, so that I can see your revisions. Your portfolio must include:
1. A rhetorical analysis of 3 authentic texts
2. A comprehensive final paper of your choosing
3. Reflective essay on your own writing during the course
The five assignments coupled with in-class assignments that you will complete are designed to
help you complete this portfolio. I will also give you the rubric by which you will be graded during
Week 7.
To submit the portfolio, you can either bring a hard copy to the Community Language Program
office on Monday, April 20th before noon, or you can email me your portfolio, with some earlier
drafts. More details will come during Week 7.

Attendance Policy 10%

If a student misses 5 or more classes, s/he cannot pass the course.
If the student is late for 10 classes, s/he cannot pass the course.

Grading:
A+/B+/C+/Fail/Repeat
W

Excellent
A+ 97 100%
A 94 96%
A- 90 93%
Good
B+ 87 89%
B 84 86%
B- 80 83%
Satisfactory
C+ 77 79%
C 73 76%
C- 70 72%
(pass)
Poor (no pass)
69% or Below
D 63 66%
D- 60 62%
Withdrawal (With permission from the teacher and the Director,
the student withdrew from the course due to extenuating
circumstances)

APPROXIMATE
SCHEDULE
(Subject to Change)
Week

Grammar

In Class Writing

Homework (due on
this day)

1
Feb 13

-Writing complex
sentences with adjective
clauses

- Warm Up
- Exploring the Essay
- Rhetorical Analysis of an authentic text

None

2
Feb 20

- Understanding the
-Warm Up
Writing Process: The First - Peer Reviews
Seven Steps
- Conceptualizing a paper

Assignment 1

3
Feb 27

- Five Elements of
Good Writing
- Thesis Statements
- Complex Sentence
Structure with
Adverbials

-Warm Up
-Introductions
- Self Correction

Assignment 2
-Peer Review 1

4
Mar 6

- Paragraph Structure
Review

-Warm Up
- Body paragraphs

Assignment 3

- Prepositional Phrases

5
Mar 13

- Politeness in emails
- In Class Midterm
- Complaining/Asking for - Formal emails
Favors/Asking advice
- Pragmatics in writing

In Class Midterm
- Peer Review 2

March 16-20: Spring Break! NO CLASS

6
Mar 27

- Paraphrasing,
Summarizing,
Synthesizing
- Transitions

-Warm Up
-Body paragraphs peer review

Assignment 4

7
Apr 3

8
Apr 10

- Concise writing
- Purposeful statements
- Building better
sentences
- Academic Word List
- Useful vocabulary for
better writing

- Warm Up
- Conclusions (peer review)

Assignment 5

- Warm Up
- Self correction
- Reflection essays

- Peer Review 3

- Citations and Plagiarism

9
Apr 17
10
Apr 24

In Class Work Day: Bring your Computer

Final Portfolio Due Monday, April 20th before noon
Class Potluck, Brief Presentations, and Final Grades

Program Policies:
The College will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities.
Students are encouraged to contact the Office of Access and Services for Individuals with
Disabilities (OASID) for information about registering with the office. You can reach OASID by
email at oasid@tc.columbia.edu, stop by 163 Thorndike Hall or call 212-678-3689. Services are
available only to students who are registered and submit appropriate documentation. As your
instructor, I am happy to discuss specific needs with you as well.
It is the policy of Teachers College to respect its members observance of their major religious
holidays. Students should notify instructors at the beginning of the semester about their wishes to
observe holidays on days when class sessions are scheduled. Where academic scheduling conflicts
prove unavoidable, no student will be penalized for absence due to religious reasons, and
alternative means will be sought for satisfying the academic requirements involved. If a suitable
arrangement cannot be worked out between the student and the instructor, students and instructors
should consult the Program Director. If an additional appeal is needed, it may be taken to the
Provost.

Have a great semester!