ELTA 101-003
Spring 2017
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
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
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.
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
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
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