Level 4 Grammar

Intensive English Communication Program

The Pennsylvania State University
SUMMER 2014

Instructor: Trista Rappert-McGetrick

Office: Ritenour 104
Telephone: 814-865-7550

Office Hours: Fridays 2:30-3:30

E-mail: tlr258@psu.edu

Class Location and Time: Tuesdays: 10:05-12:05 in Boucke 302

Thursdays: 9:05-10:15 in Boucke 111; 10:15-12:05 in Boucke 302
Fridays: 10:15-11:15 in Boucke 302
Course Description for Level 4 Grammar
This is an advanced grammar course which presents English in a wide range of academic contexts. Students
review English tense, aspect, and voice, in addition to adverb clauses and modals. In this course, students begin
to appropriately use conditional clauses and reduced clause forms and expand on their use of clausal structures
in academic discourse to improve proficiency in oral communication, reading, and writing.
Required Text(s)
Grammar and Beyond Level 4 textbook by Bunting, Diniz, and Reppen, and workbook by Blass, Denman, and
Iannuzzi
Required Materials
A writing utensil and 8.5 x 11 lined paper
Grading Scale (Letter and Percentages)
At the end of the semester, you will receive a letter grade in this course. This grade is based on the following
scale:
B+
87-89
A
93-100
B
83-86
C
70-79
D
60-69
F
0-59
A90-92
B80-82
Promotion Criteria
Grammar Level 4
If a student receives a score of 83% or above in this class, he/she has successfully completed Level 4 Grammar.
This score reflects a students performance based on the following criteria:
producing written or oral work that reflects a variety of appropriate subordinate clauses and phrases
producing written or oral work that reflects a variety of appropriate uses of tense, aspect, and voice
producing written or oral work that reflects a variety of appropriate uses of modals
demonstrating an understanding of the meaning of appropriate subordinate clauses in reading or
listening contexts
demonstrating an understanding of the meaning of tense, aspect, and voice in reading or listening
contexts
demonstrating an understanding of the meaning of modals in reading or listening contexts

Course work:
Assignment
Tests
Writing assignments
Presentations
About 12 quizzes
Final exam
Total Points
Semester Schedule:
Week Materials
1 + 2 - Diagnostic
testing
- Grammar and
Beyond 4 Units
17, 9, and 10
- Real Grammar
units 2 and 3
- GB Units 11 +
3
12
4+5

5+6

GB Units 2, 3, +
4

GB Units 5, 6, +
7

6+7

GB Units 18, 19,

+ 20

8+9

GB Units 13, 14,

+ 15

10

Review and final

exam

Points
50 each
50 each
50 each
10 each
100

Topics
- Review simple, progressive, and present
perfect
- Past perfect
- Past perfect progressive
- Past conditionals
- Time clauses and expressions
- Demonstratives
- Passive voice
- Appositives
- IELTS practice
- Subordinate clauses
- Real and unreal conditionals
- Participle phrases
-

Identifying relative clauses

Noun phrases
Articles
Adverb clauses
Non-identifying relative clauses
Hedging
Noun clauses
Future time
Present perfect
Present perfect progressive
Noun phrases part 2
Reporting verbs
Adverb clauses and phrases

Total points
200
200
100
120
100
About 720

Assessments
- Narrative writing
- Quizzes 1 and 2

Definition presentation
Quizzes 3 and 4
Test 1
Cause and effect
writing
Quizzes 5 and 6
Test 2
Compare and contrast
writing
Quizzes 7 and 8

Response writing
Quizzes 9 and 10
Test 3

Grammar analysis
presentation
Quizzes 11 and 12
Test 4

Final exam

Make-up policy
If you miss class, you must e-mail the instructor (tlr258@psu.edu) within 24 hours in order to be notified of
the classwork/homework and schedule make-up times for tests and quizzes. Late homework will be accepted,
but 10% will be subtracted for every class it is late. At the end of the semester, you will receive a letter grade
in this course.

Classroom Behavior
Students in this class should:
1. Treat their teacher and fellow students with respect.
2. Pay attention in class and complete all in-class work quickly.
3. Be responsible for their own learning.
If a student is using his or her phone, tablet, or laptop for activities not related to the class, the teacher may take
away the device or mark the student absent from class.
IECP Policies
Please consult the current IECP Student Handbook on the IECP website for full details on the following
policies. You may ask for a copy of the IECP Student Handbook at the IECP Office in 102 Ritenour Building.
IECP Attendance Policy
Attending all of your classes every day is very important.
Attendance is a very important obligation for all IECP students. Absences limit a students language learning
ability. Absences also have a negative impact on classmates and on instructor planning for the class session.
IECP students must have a minimum of 85% attendance to maintain their student status. In Summer, IECP
students study 26 2/3 hours a week during the 10-week session. A full-time student cannot miss more than 15
classes (approximately 6 days) of class during the summer. Part-time summer students study 13 1/3 hours per
week and cannot miss more than 8 classes (approximately 5 days) of class.
You may choose how to use your absences, but you CANNOT exceed the maximum number of absences. If
you are not in class, you are absent. If you must miss class because of illness, childcare issues, a religious
observance, taking a standardized test or visits with family, you will be marked absent. It is the students
responsibility to contact instructors about missed work and assignments if a class is missed. An instructor's
individual policy about missed work and assignments is stated on the course syllabus. Students should NOT
expect an opportunity to complete assignments or assessments early in order to leave before the last day of
classes.
Students who have exceeded the maximum number of absences will be dropped from the IECP.
NOTE: If a student is dropped from the program, no tuition will be refunded.
Students should always know how many absences they have. The IECP office will send an email each week to
each student indicating the total number of absences and tardies. When full-time students reach 10 absences (5
absences for part-time students), they are placed on Attendance Warning status and they must meet with an
IECP administrator. Notification of their attendance warning status will be sent to their IECP instructors and to
their government sponsors.
All IECP classes will begin promptly. Arriving late or coming back late from breaks will be marked as a tardy
and will be included in a students attendance record (3 tardies will equal one absence). Instructors may also
mark excessive lateness as a full absence. Individual instructors definitions of excessive lateness will be on
their course syllabus. Students may be marked absent if they disrupt the class or otherwise demonstrate that they
are disconnected from the learning experience at the discretion of IECP instructors.
3

Tristas Attendance Policy for Summer 2014:

You will receive 1 tardy for every 30 minutes you miss of class.
If you miss more than 1 hour of class, you will be marked absent. However, you should still come to
class to avoid missing classwork, homework, and other important information.
Students will also be marked tardy if they arrive late for the beginning of class or following our class
break. Once our class activities begin, if you are not there, you are late!

Academic Honesty
Many of the rules of academic honesty are the same around the world. However, some rules may be different.
Cheating is never allowed in the IECP.
Students cheat when they use other students work instead of their own. Using others work includes copying
another persons answers on a test, quiz, or homework assignment; using a part or all of another persons work
for your essay or presentation; or asking another person to do the work you have been assigned and then putting
your name on it.
Cheating in the U.S. can result in failing your courses or being dismissed from the university.
A special kind of cheating in academic writing is called plagiarism. This occurs when a student uses the words
or ideas of an author without acknowledging that author. Plagiarism is a very serious matter in American higher
education.
The IECP expects that all of its students will be academically honest. In any cases where students do cheat,
instructors and the Program Coordinator will take immediate and serious action. Students who cheat may be
placed on probation or be dismissed from the IECP.
Academic Success Plan
The goal of the Academic Success Plan is to support student success in the IECP. Students are expected to pass
all of their courses in the IECP, although sometimes students need additional time in a particular course. IECP
students can take any course in the program no more than twice. At the end of the semester, students who fail a
course will be placed on the Academic Success Plan. Also, students are expected to fulfill their IECP Student
Responsibilities. At any time during the semester, students who fail to meet their IECP Student Responsibilities
may be placed on Probation and the Academic Success Plan. Teachers may choose to repeal Probation if a
student successfully completes the course.
Students who are placed on the Academic Success Plan must meet with the Student Advisor and sign an
Academic Success Plan Contract. To be removed from the Academic Success Plan, students must meet the
conditions specified in their contracts. Students who do not meet the terms of their Academic Success Plan
Contract will not be allowed to enroll again in the IECP.
Students who are placed on the Academic Success Plan twice for the same reason in a different term will be
dismissed from the IECP. A student may appeal administrative decisions by submitting an Administrative
Decision Appeal Form for Students to the IECP Office in a timely manner. Students will be notified by email of
dismissal and must act quickly to contact DISSA (Directorate of International Student & Scholar Advising) to
make departure and/or transfer plans.

IECP Disabilities Access

Penn State welcomes students with disabilities and each campus has an Office for Disability Services (ODS)
http://equity.psu.edu/ods.IECP students who wish to receive consideration for reasonable accommodation must
contact the Office for Disability Services in 116 Boucke Building, participate in an intake interview, and
provide documentation prior to the semester of study as indicated in ODS guidelines available at:
http://equity.psu.edu/ods/guidelines. Students should discuss particular accommodations with their teachers as
early in the semester as possible.

Policy AD85 - DISCRIMINATION, HARASSMENT, SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND RELATED

INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT
POLICY STATEMENT:
The University is committed to equal access to programs, facilities, admission and employment for all
persons. It is the policy of the University to maintain an environment free of harassment and free of
discrimination against any person because of age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, service
in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), veteran status, sex, sexual orientation, marital or
family status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, physical or mental disability, gender, perceived gender,
gender identity, genetic information or political ideas. Discriminatory conduct and harassment, as well as
sexual misconduct and relationship violence, violates the dignity of individuals, impedes the realization of the
Universitys educational mission, and will not be tolerated.
This policy shall not be construed to restrict academic freedom at the University, nor shall it be to restrict
constitutionally protected expression.