Academic Writing Skills (Undergraduate)

ELTA 101-003
Spring 2017

Class Meetings: Mondays & Thursday, 9:45 - 11 AM

Location: SVB 136X
Instructor: Alice Kim
Contact Information: kkim@american.edu
Office Hours: Thursdays, 11 am - 12 pm (email to confirm an appointment); SVB 403

Course Description
This course helps undergraduate students develop critical academic reading
and writing skills. The focus is on writing academic essays and research
papers, expanding vocabulary, and strengthening reading comprehension.
Students engage in reading a variety of academic texts and writing
assignments that include a combination of essays and a research paper.

Course Goals
By the end of the semester, students will be able to:
Write for an academic audience using advanced grammar structures and vocabulary
Skim and scan for main idea and supporting ideas
Write essays and research papers using appropriate academic conventions
Incorporate critical reading strategies to successfully complete reading tasks
Analyze a variety of texts
Employ a variety of rhetorical strategies in their writing
Apply standard APA conventions for research and documentation

Required Course Texts

Graff, G., Birkenstein, C., & Durst, R. (2015). They say, I say: The moves that
matter in academic writing, with readings (Third ed.). New York, New York: W.
W. Norton & Company.

Krakauer, J. (1997). Into the wild. New York: Anchor Books.

Other materials will be accessed via the Internet or made available on Blackboard as needed.

Important Information
Attendance is key for course success, as is active participation. I will take attendance each class
period and report your absences to the program administrator. In addition, being on time is
important. If you are more than 15 minutes late to class, you will be counted absent. If your
attendance shows more than one unexcused absence, I will begin subtracting points from your
total grade. Each absence will reduce your grade by 1 point (1%). If you know in advance that
you will miss class or be late, please e-mail me prior to the start of the class that day. If you have
more than 3 unexcused absences, you will be put on probation and may fail the class pending
discussions with the program administrator.

You are required to complete all assigned readings and tasks before class. All work must be
submitted to blackboard on the due date before the beginning of class. Late work received a
grade reduction for each day its late.

Academic Integrity

You are subject to the Academic Integrity Code of American University. All work submitted
must be your own or must be properly documented. Collaborative work and work previously
submitted in another class must be approved in advance by the instructor. See the following link
for more details; http://www.american.edu/provost/registrar/regulations/reg80.cfm#list

Students with Disabilities

If you wish to receive accommodations for a disability, please notify me with a letter from the
Academic Support and Access Center. As accommodations are not retroactive, timely
notification at the beginning of the semester, if possible, is requested.

Academic Support and Access Center

In addition to meeting with me and using the resources available in this department, all students
may take advantage of the Academic Support and Access Center for individual academic
counseling, skills workshops, tutor referrals, Supplemental Instruction, and writing
appointments. Location MGC 243; Email asac@american.edu; Phone 202-885-3360

Website - http://www.american.edu/ocl/asac/index.cfm

Religious Observances

American University recognizes the right of each student to practice the religion of his or her
choice. Members of the Faculty have been encouraged not to schedule exams or assignments on
religious holy days. Students must provide notification if they will be unable to attend class due
to religious observances. For more information, please see:
http://www.american.edu/ocl/kay/About-Us-Religious-Holy-Days-Policy.cfm
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

In the event of a declared pandemic (influenza or other communicable disease), American

University will implement a plan for meeting the needs of all members of the university
community. Should the university be required to close for a period of time, we are committed to
ensuring that all aspects of our educational programs will be delivered to our students. These
may include altering and extending the duration of the traditional term schedule to complete
essential instruction in the traditional format and/or use of distance instructional methods.
Specific strategies will vary from class to class, depending on the format of the course and the
timing of the emergency. Faculty will communicate class-specific information to students via AU
e-mail and Blackboard, while students must inform their faculty immediately of any absence due
to illness. Students are responsible for checking their AU e-mail regularly and keeping
themselves informed of emergencies. In the event of a declared pandemic or other emergency,
students should refer to the AU Web site (american.edu/emergency) and the AU information line
at (202) 885-1100 for general university-wide information, as well as contact their faculty and/or
respective deans office for course and school/college-specific information.

Assignment Descriptions and Due Dates

Homework and Class Participation (10%) Each
class period
Students active participation is required during each class period. All course readings and
assignments should be prepared before class, and students should come prepared to participate
fully during discussions and class activities. Worksheets must be submitted to blackboard before
each class. In addition, it is expected that students will utilize the professors office hours to
discuss concerns or seek advice about the course.

Grammar Presentation (5%) Throughout the Semester

Each Student will give a short (approximately 3-5 minute) grammar presentation. Students will
identify a grammar error that they make frequently, explain the type of grammar error and
demonstrate how to fix it. They should include a handout for other students with samples from
their own writing.

Essays (2, 15% each)

Each student will write two essays and a revision of each essay.
Essay 1 (650-800 words) Week 4
Essay 2 (650-800 words) Week 8

Mid-term Exam (20%)

Week 9
Students will take a mid-term exam on the novel Into the Wild and the They
Say, I Say course text. This exam will require students to use essay writing
skills from the course, as well as demonstrate knowledge from the readings.
The structure of the exam will be discussed in class.

List of Possible Sources (5%) Week 10

This assignment is very important to the research paper. It is a list of possible sources to support
the research paper in APA format. Students must read through many more articles to decide on
the final list for the annotated bibliography. This list reflects the larger list of sources that
students gather before narrowing it to the most useful 5 sources. Students should have at least 10
articles in this list. It is not expected that students have read all the articles at this point, but they
should have read the abstract and determined that these articles are related to their topic. It is
highly recommended (read: required) that students make an appointment with a librarian to assist
them as they gather research. Students will also summarize one of these articles in preparation
for the annotated bibliography.

Annotated Bibliography (10%) Week

11
As a follow-up to the list of sources, an annotated bibliography is required. Students will identify
the main arguments of each article and supporting points. These must be connected back to the
narrowed research topic clearly. A thesis should be identified at this point and included at the top
of the annotated bibliography. At least 4 of these 5 sources must be used in the final paper. This
means that this is considered close to a finalized list of sources. The research should be nearly
complete at this point in the process.

Research Paper (20%) Due Final

Exam Week
At the end of the semester, students will submit a 5-6 page research essay on a topic of their
choice. Topics must be approved by the instructor in advance and should align with the students
general studies or the content of the course. Students will write multiple drafts with APA format
and a reference page. The grade is partially based on the final product and partially based on a
successful revising process.

Evaluation
Class Participation 10
Grammar Presentation 5
Essays (2) 30
Mid-term Exam 20
List of Sources 5
Annotated Bibliography 10
Research Paper 20
Total 100
Class Schedule

Week Monday Thursday

Jan. 16 No Class (MLK, Jr. Day) Class Introductions

Jan. 23 Homework: read They Say, Homework: read Into the

I Say introduction and Wild chapters 1-2 and
complete exercises 1 and 2 complete the worksheet

Jan. 30 Homework: read They Say, Homework: read Into the

I Say chapters 1-2 and Wild chapters 3-4 and
complete exercises 1-2 for complete the worksheet
each chapter
Feb. 6 Homework: read They Say, Homework: read Into the
I Say chapter 3 and Wild chapters 5-6 and
complete exercises 1-2 complete the worksheet

Essay 1 Due

Feb. 13 Homework: read They Say, Read Into the Wild chapters 7-8
I Say chapter 4 and and complete the worksheet
complete exercises 1-2
Research paper topic
Essay 1 Revision Due choice due

Feb. 20 Read They Say, I Say Read Into the Wild

chapter 5 and complete chapters 9-10 and
exercises 1-2 (apply to complete the worksheet
essay 1)

Feb. 27 Read They Say, I Say Read Into the Wild

chapter 6 and complete chapters 11-12 and
exercises 1-2 complete the worksheet

Mar. 6 Essay 2 Due Homework: read Into the

Wild chapters 13-14 and
Homework: read They Say, complete the worksheet
I Say chapters 7 and
complete exercises 1-2
Mar. 13 SPRING BREAK - NO CLASS NO CLASS

Mar. 20 Mid-Term Essay 2 Revision Due

In-Class Exam on Into the Homework: read Into the

Wild and They Say, I Say Wild chapters 15-16 and
complete the worksheet
Mar. 27 List of Sources Due Homework: read Into the
Wild chapters 17-18,
Read They Say, I Say epilogue and complete
chapters 8-9 and complete the worksheet
exercises 1-2
Apr. 3 Annotated Bibliography Research Paper Outline
Due Read sample research Due
paper on BB
Apr. 10 Read They Say, I Say Work on Research Paper
chapters 10-11 and
complete exercises 1-2
Apr. 17 Read They Say, I Say Work on Research Paper
chapters 12-13 and
complete exercises 1-2
Apr. 24 Research Paper Due Presentations on Final
Presentations on Final Research Paper
Research Paper
Final Research Paper Due in place of Final Exam