About Class

ENG 091

INTERMEDIATE READING SKILLS

Summer 2

Tuesdays and Thursdays 6:00- 9:20

Instructor: Erin Silveira

sabaoerin@yahoo.com

esilveira@qcc.mass.edu

Class Description: This course prepares students to read independently at the college level. Students acquire strategies for improving vocabulary and reading comprehension while emphasizing both academic reading and reading for studying. In addition to regularly scheduled class meetings, extra lab work may be necessary to help students attain mastery of vocabulary and comprehension. The minimal passing grade for developmental courses is a “C.”

Required Text: Intermediate Reading: ENG 091 Custom Edition for Quinsigamond Community College. New York:  Pearson Custom Publishing, 2008.

Course Goals and Outcomes:

  1. Develop Vocabulary.
    1. Expand vocab by 150 words
    2. Use context clues to determine word meaning
    3. Use word parts to determine word meaning
    4. Use the dictionary effectively
    5. Use the SQ3R method
  2. Identify the main idea and topic sentence, major and minor details and transitions
    1. Define the terms general and specific
    2. Identify the topic of a paragraph
    3. Identify the stated main idea and topic sentence of a paragraph
    4. Identify the implied main idea and central point
    5. Recognize supporting details and understand their relationship to the main idea
    6. Use transitions
  3. Recognize common organizational patterns to improve recall.
    1. Use these patterns to aid in comprehension
    2. Use transitional words to understand the relationship within and among sentences
  4. Develop effective reading study skills to improve comprehension.
    1. Learn systematic reading called SQ3R
    2. Use highlighting effectively
    3. Make marginal annotations
    4. Paraphrase text
    5. Use outlining to organize ideas
    6. Summarize material
  5. Read graphics
    1. integrate text and graphics
    2. interpret and evaluate graphic and visual sources
  6. Develop critical comprehension and reading strategies.
    1. Recognize inference
    2. Distinguish fact from opinion
    3. Recognize generalizations
    4. Identify an author’s tone
    5. Identify an author’s purpose
    6. Recognize bias
    7. Understanding figurative language
  7. Find and evaluate electronic sources
    1. Locate electronic sources effectively
    2. Evaluate internet sources
    3. Read electronic text
  8. Skim and scan text
    1. Skim text to get an overview
    2. Scan to locate specific information quickly.

 

Class Organization: This class meets weekly. Each class looks at a new goal, but integrates previous goals. Between classes, various reading assignments and/ or exercises are assigned by the teacher. These assignments are usually in the text or otherwise on the computer (My Reading Lab). There is a mixture of lecture, group work, and independent work assigned.

            Attendance: Students are expected to attend every class. If you are going to miss a class, please e-mail the instructor. You are still responsible for your work. Attendance does affect your grade. If you are going to miss a class, you may e-mail your assignments to the teacher.

 Quizzes: Quizzes will be frequent. Quizzes will only be passed out to those students present. There will be no make-up quizzes, but the lowest quiz grade will be dropped.

Exams: There will be a midterm exam and a final exam in this course. See the Tentative Schedule for dates. Exams are cumulative.

Research Project: You will be choosing a topic of your choice to research and present to the class. More information will be provided in class. The goal of this project is to show that you can locate and evaluate sources in a library and on the internet, summarize sources, outline material, and synthesize information into a presentation.

 

 

Grading:

Participation/ Attendance:                  15%

Weekly Practice Assignments             10%

Quizzes                                               10%

Midterm Exam                                    15%

Research Project/ Presentation            20 %

Final Exam                                          30%

                                                Total:   100%

Late Policy:  Late assignments are automatically given no higher than a C grade. Students who need an extension should speak to the teacher in advance of the due date. The teacher reserves the right to refuse extensions.

 

Academic Honesty and Plagiarism (English Department): Our purpose in the classroom is to seek the truth; this work requires trust and honesty between teacher and student. If we are not honest about what we know and do not know, our learning will always be impaired. Because our teaching and learning depends on this honest communication, we expect all students to understand what plagiarism is and why it is unacceptable.

Plagiarism means taking someone else’s ideas or words and presenting them as one’s own. The offense can take many forms including cheating on a test, passing in a paper from the Internet or another student, or failing to properly use and credit sources in an essay. Sometimes the issue is subtle, involving getting too much help on an assignment from someone else. In every instance, plagiarism means cheating both oneself and the owner of the source. Since the cheating sabotages a student’s learning experience, consequences range from no credit for the assignment to failure for the course and possible expulsion from the college.

Any student considering plagiarism should recognize the consequences and consider alternatives. Students uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism may request help from faculty or from appropriate college services. For more information on using sources in writing, see the Academic Honesty section of the English Department web site: http//www.qcc.mass.edu/English.

In this class, cheating and outright copying will result in a failing grade on that assignment. Improper crediting or citations of sources will necessitate a rewrite.

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