Sylmar Charter High School s1

SYLMAR CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL “Building on Excellence”

Expository Writing Course Mr. Tom Adams

Purpose The purpose of the Expository Writing Course is to prepare college-bound seniors for the literacy demands of higher education. This course specifically addresses the demand of reading and analyzing a wide variety of college level texts and instructs students with the skills necessary to meet the expectations of post-secondary writing, while also meeting the California English Language Arts 12th Grade Common Core Standards. The class is based on the California State University (CSU) system's ERWC, a college readiness course. As such the course has been designed to prepare students to take the English Placement Test for CSU and UC campuses.

Course Description The goal of the Expository Reading and Writing Course is to prepare college-bound seniors. Through a sequence of rigorous instructional modules, students in this rhetoric-based course will develop college-level proficiencies in expository, analytical, and argumentative reading and writing. Students will be provided instruction in the use of the Modern Language Association (MLA) style guide. Students will increase their awareness of grammar and language conventions and learn to apply them to their own writing. By the end of the course, students will be expected to independently read college-level texts and write competently in response to them. They will also practice formal discussions, recitations, and other modes of spoken discourse.

Course Outline: The instructional modules include text pieces on different topics, often representing different genres. Course texts include contemporary essays, newspaper and magazine articles, editorials, reports, biographies, memos, assorted public documents, and other fiction and non-fiction texts. Two modules include full-length works, a work of non-fiction in semester one and a novel in semester two. Modules include instruction in critical reading, analysis of rhetorical strategies, vocabulary, research methods, documentation conventions, grammar and punctuation, and analytical writing based on information learned from and in response to the assigned texts. The cornerstone of the course—the assignment template—provides consistent structure and content for each module.

. Texts and Supplemental Materials: The Expository Reading and Writing Course: Student Reader will be issued to each student. The Student Reader includes 39 reading selections that support the modules. Other materials will be provided to students, including photocopies of the textbook work, grammar components, and a variety of analytical thinking and writing activities and assignments. Much of the coursework is posted online for ease of access and to encourage interactive learning. . Key Assignments: Each instructional module is designed in accordance with an assignment template to guide students through the processes of 1) reading rhetorically, 2) connecting reading to writing, and 3) writing. Examples of assignments include the following:  Quick Writes to access prior knowledge  Surveys of individual opinions, experiences and practices  Predictions about content and context  Vocabulary previews and self-assessments  Reciprocal reading and teaching activities, including summarizing, questioning, predicting, and clarifying  Responding orally and in writing to critical thinking questions  Annotating and re-reading texts  Analyzing stylistic choices and mapping text structure  Analyzing logical, emotional, and ethical appeals

Instructional Methods and/or Strategies:

Reading Rhetorically:  Texts are introduced through a sequence of pre-reading and vocabulary strategies.  Texts are analyzed using strategies such as annotating, outlining, charting text structure, and questioning.  Texts are examined using relevant critical and analytical elements such as intended audience, possible author bias, and rhetorical effectiveness.  Students will work on analytical tasks as a whole class, in pairs and small groups, and individually.  Students will present aspects of their critical reading and thinking orally as well as in writing.

Connecting Reading to Writing:  Students will write summaries, rhetorical précis, and responses to critical questions.  Students will compare their summaries, rhetorical précis, outlines, and written responses in small groups and discuss the differences between (a) general and specific ideas; (b) main and subordinate points; and (c) subjective and objective summarizing techniques.  Students will engage in journal activities, such as composing one-sentence summaries of passages, charting a text’s main points, and developing outlines for essays in response to writing prompts.  Students will complete compare/contrast and synthesis activities, thus increasing their capacity to make inferences and draw warranted conclusions. These activities include creating comparison matrixes of readings, identifying and examining significant points within texts, and analyzing significant textual features within thematically related material.

Writing:  Students will write analytical essays based on prompts that require establishing and developing a thesis and providing evidence to support the thesis by synthesizing and interpreting the ideas presented in texts. Some modules will require essays of 750-1500 words in length.  Students will complete timed in-class writings based on prompts related to an author’s assertion(s), theme(s), purpose(s), and/or a text’s rhetorical features.  To develop competence in writing college level papers for any subject, students will learn the process of writing a college-level research paper of 1500-2000 words with a bibliography of references.

Assessment Methods and/or Tools:

 Assessment activities will be based on the writing prompts and rubrics embedded in the instructional modules. Scored sample papers are included with each module, and training sessions for teachers have included specific instruction in running holistic grading sessions with other teachers. The rubrics and sample papers help to ensure that grading standards are consistent throughout the state.

 Timed in-class essays and major writing projects will be used to assess students. The college-level research paper will be graded upon completion of all required steps in the process of writing the research paper using MLA formatting.

GRADING PLAN

Students earn points for each assignment. These points are totaled and broken down by percentage: points earned divided by points possible to make a percentage. Students earn grades as follows:

A = 88 - 100% B = 76 - 87% C = 65 - 75%

D = 50 - 64% F = 49% or lower Student signature: Date:

Parent signature: