10

Academic Assessment & Planning Center 2012

Institutional Course Syllabus Template

Prince Sultan University

College/ Department

132 Semester 2012- 2013

INSTITUTIONAL COURSE SYLLABUS TEMPLATE

Course Code : ENG 415 Name of Faculty : Ms. Amany AlKhayat

Course Title : Academic Writing Bldg./Office # : A 210

Credit Hours : 3 Office Hours:

Pre-requisite : ENG-213 and ENG 214

Email:

English department Mission

The English language has become the primary and international language worldwide. It is the major contemporary language of science and technology, research, economy and commerce, international conferences and seminars, and the language of tourism and travel. Therefore, the English Department prepares and supports the students academically with the linguistic fundamentals and academic experiences to use the English language in all aspects of life. The Department aims at enabling students to communicate with other nations, benefit from their experiences, and respond positively to the world challenges and information technology without affecting their own values, ethics and culture. The department also aims at preparing students and providing them with the required skills to meet their professional needs in public or private sectors, as well as academically for higher studies.

I. Course description:

This course builds on the previous writing courses using both textbook and additional resources, including samples of essays, teaches in a step by step fashion how to write different types of writings that incorporate research results (interviews, surveys, quoting and analysis). Extensive training is introduced on using quotations and including references successfully. APA style of citation is discussed and students are exposed to ample exercises to master using it. This course provides students with interactive opportunities to acquire a combination of theoretical knowledge (e.g., concepts, terminology, and major trends) and hands-on application and skills pertinent to planning, conducting and reporting on research. Students will have an opportunity to examine research designs, methods and data collection and analysis techniques used by social researchers. Part of the course is dedicated to graph writing, argumentative essay, research ethics, plagiarism and intellectual property rights and locating and retrieving information from print and online sources. At the end of the course, students are expected to formulate and submit a rudimentary research paper in an area of their specialization/interest.

II. Course Objectives:

On the successful completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate the following:

Knowledge

-  A thorough understanding of research concepts and terminology besides the ability to design a research and apply concepts of investigating problems and presenting an academically accepted argument.

-  A sound grasp of the Scientific Methods and application;

-  A sound grasp of graph writing

-  A sound grasp of Argumentative writing

-  A sound grasp of documentation using the American Psychological Association Style Manual (APA);

-  A basic understanding of research design and the ways to apply these concepts to investigate problems,

-  The ability to critically evaluate research studies in social sciences, and

-  The ability to ultimately develop a well-written research paper, which would yield information important to other practitioners in areas of their own interest and specialization.

Cognitive Skills: Learn how to

-  Understand and produce research

Interpersonal skills & Responsibility: Learn how to keep deadline dates, work with a partner and in groups

Numerical & Communication Skills: Learn how to prepare and give a brief presentation

III. Delivery system

·  Lectures

·  Class and small group activities

·  Labs (for library literature review and data analysis) and hands-on practice

·  Tutorials, templates, and on-line videos

·  One-on-one feedback on development of students’ papers (both online and in-person)

IV. Recommended Course Materials

(1) Reid, Joy M. (2000). The Process of Composition (3rd edition). New York: Longman

(2)

Available at:

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/bedfordresearcher3e/default.asp?s=&n=&i=&v=&o=&ns=0&uid=0&rau=0

(2) PSU-CW: available database

(3) Online search engines

(4) Instructor- prepared handouts

Supplementary Materials

Allwright. D. and Baily, K.M. (1991). Focus on the language classroom: An introduction to

classroom research for language teachers. Cambridge University Press

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author, (Hereafter, APA Manual)

Arkin, M. and Macheski, C. (2001). Research Papers: A practical guide. Houghton Mifflin

Company.

Baugh, L.S. (1997). How to write term papers and reports. VGM Career Horizons.

Brown, J.D. (1988). Understanding research in second language learning: A teacher’s guide to

statistics and research design. New York: Cambridge University Press. College Library

Reserve Collection P118.2 B76 1988.

Creswell, J.W. (2002). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods

approaches. (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. College Library Reserve Collection

H62 C6963 2003.

Isaac, S. and Michael, W. B. (1995). Handbook in research and evaluation. Robert R. Knapp

(Hereafter, Isaac and Michael)

Larsen-Freeman, D. & M.H. Long (eds). 1994. An introduction to second language acquisition

research. London: Longman

Van Dalen, D.B. (1979). Understanding educational research. McGraw-Hill Companies

Walker, R. (1993) Doing research: A handbook for teachers. Routledge

V. Tentative Schedule[1]

Week / Topic / Reference / Assignment /
One / Registration, Introduction and Distribution of Course Outline
Review of Major Terms and Concepts / Review Guidelines of Essay Writing/ choose a topic for projects
Two+ First Half of 3 / Plagiarism/paraphrasing/Summarizing/ Quoting/ The summary-analysis Essay/ writing analysis of written material/ editing methods / Chapter 5 and some work sheets (pp. 137-140/p. 148/ pp. 162-169) / Work on some articles (for summary and analysis)
Second Half of Three+ Four / The argumentative essay/parts/thesis statement / Chapter 6 and some online worksheets / Training on Argumentative essays
Five + Six / Research papers
APA Citation/ General Style; Title page&
Abstract
Introduction & Style (writing the introduction)/ other parts of a research paper / work on APA Style/ Form of abstract and introduction and other parts of a research paper
Seven / Revision + Mid exam 1
Eight / Research papers –
Sources – Library; Locating Web sources/ Evaluating sources: Grouping, Sequencing, and Documenting Information / Chapter 8 / Work on some worksheets/ Project
Nine / Continue to work on bringing all the aspects of research together in order to complete the course final project: style; figures; tables;
Discussion / Work on Project
Ten and Eleven / Graph Writing
Twelve and Thirteen / Basic Business Writing – CVs; Business letters; Memos (95); Minutes; Handouts+ Mid exam 2
Fourteen / Basic Business Writing – CVs; Business letters; Memos; Minutes; Handouts;
Practice; Working on CVs / Work on project and Submit Draft I
Fifteen / Student presentations – 20 minute increment per student / Deadline Project is Due
Sixteen / Final Examination

VI. Course Components (Indicate the total contact hours within the semester)

Component Contact Hours

Lecture 40

Tutorial

Practical/Field 8

VII. Teaching Strategies (Indicate the teaching and student activities to be used to develop the kinds of learning involved in each learning domain. See the Faculty Guidelines for Conditions for Different Domains of Learning on Pg. 6 & 7. Also, research specialized Information about Best Teaching Practices for the particular course/field).

Domain / Strategy
Knowledge / Refer to syllabus content and objectives
Peer correction
Classroom interaction
Lecturing
Cognitive Skills / Promote learning to learn, learner autonomy and life-long learning
Interpersonal Skills & Responsibility / Classroom rules
Regularly remind of deadline dates
Numerical & Communication Skills / Assign pairs and groups

VIII Schedule of Assessment

Assessment / Assessment Task / Week Due / Proportion of Final Assessment
1 / Midterm 1 / 6 or 7 / 20%
2 / Midterm 2 / 11 or 12 / 20%
3 / Assignments / 5%
5 / Presentations and Projects / 15 / 15%
6 / Final / 16 / 40%

Grading Scale

Letter Grade / Numeric Grade
A-A+ / 90-100
B-B+ / 80-89
C-C+ / 70-79
D-D+ / 60-69
F / 0-59

“A” work: Outstanding: including excellent coverage of content and flawless use of language/mechanics

“B” work: good; solid coverage of content, language/mechanics in need of minor revision/ editing

“C” work: Average/fair; barely meets course expectations in coverage of content, language/ mechanics in need of revision/editing

“F” work: unacceptable; does not meet course requirements or expectations in content, incomprehensible or incoherent language/ mechanics

“0” (zero): assignment was not turned in

IX. Class Policies (Criteria for success)

1. Attendance, punctuality, and class participation are mandatory

2. All mobile phones must be turned off during the ENTIRE class session.

3. Students who miss one meeting will be expected to complete a written assignment that pertains to the content covered on the day of the missed session. Missing more than one meeting will impact your grade.

4. All assignments must be handed in by the due date. Work submitted one session or more after the due date will receive a reduced number of points. Late work must be accompanied by an explanation for its lateness, and an indication of how the student intends to rectify the problem in the future.

5. Students are expected to be prepared for each session and to participate actively. They are expected to do the required readings and some of the recommended readings. Additional readings will be done primarily in connection with your course project, but if you find materials (outside the suggestions listed in this syllabus) that you think the other members of the class would find useful, you are encouraged to bring them to our attention.

6. Each written assignment will be graded approximately 80% on content and context (detail, logic, synthesis of information, depth of analysis, directly addressing the issues, etc.), and 20% on mechanics (GRAMMAR, SYNTAX, FORMAT, UNIFORMITY OF CITATION, ETC.). All citations will use the APA format.

7. All projects and assignments must be typed and submitted in neat plastic folders with the student’s full name, course, assignment name, date, and section number. These are, then, kept in a larger portfolio-type folder which is expected to be submitted to the instructor at any point during the course to check progress and give feedback.

8. There are two midterms and a final examination for this course.

9. Important Note on Academic Integrity: Academic dishonesty occurs when a student presents someone else’s work as his/her own. It includes actions such as:

·  Copying another person’s paper;

·  Copying another person’s words/ideas without citing that person as the source;

·  Copying entire sentences and paragraphs from a print or electronic source without providing proper documentation and credit;

·  Having someone else write your paper; and

·  Manipulating data

University policy on academic integrity will be strictly enforced. Penalties for cheating are severe. All suspected violations will be pursued and maximum penalties be imposed.

Any student who engages in academic dishonesty or plagiarizes from published material (such as a website, book, magazine, or journals) or from unpublished material (such as another student’s writing) is subject to a range of penalties, the least of which is getting a “zero” for the course, depending on the extent of the offense

10. A term project (research paper) (due in the last week of classes) will be evaluated according to the following checklist:

a. Style. Is the report formatted according to APA style (also online at www.apa.org)?

b. Title. Is the title informative and memorable?

c. Abstract. Has the author correctly summarized the paper? Are the following items included?

1. Statement of the topic and purpose

2. Description of the participants, materials, and procedures

3. Explanation of the statistical analyses

4. Summary of results and implications

d. Introduction. Is the framework of the study clear?

1. Literature Review. Can you tell where the study fits?

i. Is the background or rationale provided?

ii. Is the relationship to previous research clear?

2. Definitions. Are key terms defined and are these definitions used consistently?

3. Statement of Purpose. Can you tell where the study is heading? Are any of the following included?

i. Purpose

ii. Research Questions

iii. Research hypotheses

e. Literature Review

f. Method. Is the study replicable?

1. Participants

i. Is the description of the participants adequate?

ii. Is the method of selection clear?

2. Materials

i. Is there a description of tests, questionnaires, rating scales, and so forth?

ii. Are the materials included as appendixes?

iii. Do the variables represent reasonable operational definitions of the underlying constructs or characteristics involved?

iv. Is there a description or drawing of any equipment (when applicable)?

3. Procedures.

i. Is there a description of the preparation of materials, administration, scoring, and so on?

ii. Is there a description of the conditions during the study?

4. Analyses.

i. Is there a description of the arrangement and grouping of the data?

ii. Are the statistical tests listed in order of use?

iii. Is the confidence level (alpha) specified?

g. Results

1. Are all the statistical tests previously listed represented as results?

2. Is there a prose explanation?

h. Discussion/conclusion

1. Is the original research question, or questions, answered?

2. Is there an explanation of why the results were as they were?

i. If the conclusion is based on previous research, is it well supported and reasoned?

ii. If the conclusion is speculative, is it qualified as such and well reasoned?

iii. Are suggestions for further research provided?

i. List of references and Endnotes

1. Are all the references cited in the test included?

2. Are any pertinent references missing?

3. Is the list of references in APA style?

j. Appendices

1. Are they necessary?

2. Are they complete?

Additional Requirements

·  You have to come to each and every lecture. You want be allowed to sign if you are late for more than 15 minutes.

·  I don’t accept medical reports. Please take them to the students’ affairs office.

·  Please do not sign the names of the students who are not in the classroom.

·  All cell phones should be off and put away during class.

·  Attend to personal needs before coming to class.

·  Punctual completion of all assignments.

·  All in-class writings have to be completed within class time. No exceptions! The grade for an assignment not completed in-class without prior arrangements will be lowered.