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Instructor Syllabus
ENG 090: Basic Composition

 

The following syllabus is a general guide.  Feel free to modify the order of the essays (though all essays should be taught), the grammar, and the readings to best fit the needs of your students.

 

English 090 15-Week Syllabus

 

Week

Writing

*Grammar

Reading

1

Chapter 1: Let’s Talk about Writing

Hand out and go over the syllabus and your specific information and policies.

 

Explain the PCC Writing Portfolio (pocket folder) for saving students’ writing as they progress through the English courses.

 

Have students write a diagnostic paragraph (s).

Schedule a tour of the Learning Center/Pro-Shop.

 

 

 

2

Chapter 4: The Expository Paragraph (you might have students write body paragraphs leading to scholarship essay/ job application letter)

 

BBW: Chapter 15: Editing for Fragments

Bedford, section 19

 

BBW:  Chapter 20: Editing for adjectives and adverbs

Bedford, section 26

Paragraphs available in Instructor’s Manual, Chapter 4

3-4

Chapter 5: Developing an Essay through Illustration (scholarship essay/ job application letter)

Introduce lead-ins, thesis statements, and conclusions

BBW:  Chapter 16: Editing for Run-ons

Bedford, section 20

 

BBW:  Chapter 22: Writing Varied Sentences

Bedford, section 15

 

Chapter 28: “Sex, Lies, and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?”

By Deborah Tannen

5-6

Chapter 6: Developing Your Essay through Process Analysis

(in-class essay)

BBW:  Chapter 18: Editing for Pronouns

Bedford,  sections 22-24

Bedford, section 13 (shifts)

BBW:  Chapter 26: Using commas, semicolons, and colons

Bedford, Part VII

 

Chapter 28: “The Crummy First Draft”

By Anne Lamott

7-8

Chapter 7: Developing Your Essay through Cause and Effect

BBW:  Chapter 17: Editing for Subject-Verb Agreement

Bedford, section 21

 

 

Chapter 28: “The Tipping Point”

By Malcolm Gladwell

9-11

 

Chapter 8: Developing your Essay through Comparison and Contrast

 

BBW:  Chapter 19: Editing for Verb Forms and Verb Tense

Bedford, sections 27 & 28

Chapter 28: “Private Language, Public Language”

By Richard Rodriguez

 

 

12-14

Chapter 9: Developing Your Essay through Division and Classification

BBW:  Chapter 21: Writing Clear Sentences

Bedford,  Part III

 

Chapter 28: “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met

a Girl Named Maria”

By Judith Ortiz Cofer

15

Departmental final writing exam

Optional:  grammar, punctuation, and usage exam