Revised May 2015

Reading/Writing III Syllabus

University of Delaware

English Language Institute

Instructor:

Classroom:

Office:

Office Hours:

Office Phone:

E-Mail:

Textbooks:Azar, Betty: Fundamentals of English Grammar (Fourth Edition)

Williams, Jessica: Making Connections 1

Learning Outcomes

Reading/Writing III is a low-intermediateclass in grammar, reading, and writing. The course is designed to build your reading, writing, and grammar skills in order to prepare you for academic work in English. This is a low intermediate course and includes practice in the following: In reading, the focus is on comprehension, vocabulary development, and reading skills and strategies. Writing emphasizes sentence structure, paragraph organization, and writing multiple paragraphs. The grammar component focuses on future and present perfect verb tenses, connecting ideas with coordinating and subordinating conjunctions, and gerunds and infinitives.

Grammar:By the end of this class, you will be able to understand in reading and use appropriately in writing:

Future time with will, be going to.

Future time expressions.

Future time clauses using before, after, when, as soon as, andif.

Present perfect tense for actions occurring at an indefinite time in the past or in the recent past and for activities which began in the past and continue up to the present.

Conjunctions to connect ideas (and, but, or, so, becauseand even though).

Gerunds and infinitives as objects andsubjects (gerunds only).

Infinitives of purpose.

Too and enough with infinitives.

Participial adjectives.

Reading:By the end of this class, you will be able to identify:

The main idea of a reading and of the paragraphs.

Transition words and supporting ideas/details in reading passages.

Pronoun referents.

Context clues and word forms to guess word meanings.

Writing:By the end of this class, you will be able to:

Write with correct format including indenting, line spacing, margins, and titles.

Write grammatically correct sentences.

Combine simple sentences to make compound and complex sentences.

Write well-organized and clear paragraphs.

Produce a well-developed piece of writing with multiple paragraphs and a clear beginning, middle, and ending.

Attendance

AbsencesYou need to come to class every day.

Your teacher takes attendance every day when class starts.

If you are not in class, your teacher will mark you as “Absent.”

If you are sick, stay home or go to a doctor, but you are still “Absent.”

There are NO EXCUSED ABSENCES.

LatenessIf you come to class after it starts, your teacher will mark you as “Late.”

If you come to class 15 minutes after a class starts, your teacher will mark you as “Absent.”

Three “Late” marks is the same as one “Absent” mark.

Late + Late + Late = Absent

BreaksYou need to be in the classroom for all of the class.

There are NO BREAKS. Take a break before class or after class.

If you need to use the bathroom, leave quietly and return quickly.

If you leave class often or if you leave class for a long time, your teacher may mark you “Late” or “Absent.”

GradesYou will receive grades for your work in class. Your teacher will use this grading scale:

Grading Scale:

Excellent Very Good Good Bad Very Bad

100–93 = A / 89–88 = B+ / 79–78 = C+ / 69–68 = D+ / 59–0 = F
92–90 = A- / 87–83 = B / 77–73 = C / 67–63 = D
82–80 = B- / 72–70 = C- / 62–60 = D-

Final Averages:

At the end of the session, you will receive three final grades: one for grammar, one for reading, and one for writing. Your teacher will average the grades together in this way:

Final Grammar Grade:
Grammar Grades / 80%
Final Grammar Exam / 20%
Final Reading Grade:
Reading Grades / 80%
Final Reading Exam / 20%
Final Writing Grade:
Writing Grades / 80%
Final Writing Exam / 20%

Effort Score:You will also receive a score for effort. This score will be a number:

1 = Exemplary Effort
2 = Satisfactory Effort
3 = Unsatisfactory Effort

A student with Exemplary Effort:

Comes to class every day and is never late.

Speaks only in English.

Does all homework and takes all tests on time.

Pays attention and participates in class.

Does not leave the room during class time.

Does not use a cell phone or other electronic device in class.

PromotionWhen you finish this class, you may be promoted to Level IV.

To go to Level IV, you:

MUST NOT HAVE a final grade of D+ or lower in Grammar, Reading, OR Writing.

MUST have a total final grade average of A, B, or C. The total average of your final grammar grade, your final reading grade, and your final writing grade together must be 73%–100%.

Retention

If you do not pass Reading/Writing III, ELI will retain you. You will not go to Level IV. You will have to take Reading/Writing III again.