TIE

BSMP 040 Reading/Writing

Summer 2015

Instructor: Trischa Duke

Email: tduke3@uic.edu
TIE Office: 312/996-8098

COURSE OUTLINE

REQUIRED MATERIALS (bring to class every day)

Reading Textbook: Thinking Beyond the Content: Critical Reading for Academic Success, by
Weil, Nolan and Raymond Cepko (University of Michigan Press, 2008).

Writing Textbook: Engaging Writing 2, 2nd edition by Mary Fitzpatrick (Longman, 2011).

An English-only dictionary such as Longman Dictionary of American English, American Heritage
ESL Dictionary, Oxford ESL Dictionary, or Collins Cobuild Advanced Dictionary of American
English.

Notetaking material: Pen/pencil, paper, folder or binder for organizing coursework.

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS

A USB/flash/thumb drive, cloud-based storage account, or other way to access computer files
from different locations. This will be important for saving and accessing drafts of your writing
assignments.

In addition to your English-only dictionary, you may want to purchase a thesaurus. This can
help you expand your vocabulary with synonyms and antonyms.


GOALS
This is a course for advanced students who want to develop skills and strategies for academic and
professional reading and writing tasks. In this class, you will practice pre-reading, reading, discussion,
summarizing, paraphrasing, essay writing in a variety of rhetorical styles, and citing sources. You will
also practice gathering, evaluating, and structuring information from multiple sources and become more
familiar with the various stages of the writing process. You will improve your grammar through textbook
exercises as well as revising and editing activities that help you find and correct errors. You will build
your vocabulary and develop your understanding of American culture through extensive reading,
writing, and discussion activities, and you will learn how the American library system operates.

METHODS
Individual and pair reading, timed reading, pair and group discussions, freewriting, essay peer review,
various writing assignments, and reading logs will all be a part of this course. Writing tasks will vary in
time given, length, and form; reading will include a range of styles and subject matter. Computers and
library resources will be used. Whenever possible, you will have some choice of assignment.

TIE 040 Course Outline

EVALUATION

Reading: A student who successfully completes 040 can, within a time limit, read one or more passages
of about 11 paragraphs written for native speakers with minor adaptation for ESL learners. Many
successful students will be able to do more than this.

A final satisfactory grade requires satisfactory in at least 5 of these 7 areas:

Finds main ideas and details
Makes inferences and reads critically
Identifies vocabulary meaning from context and uses a dictionary appropriately
Identifies meanings of pronouns and other reference words
Recognizes text organization
Reads at an effective rate
Achieves a TOEFL reading score of 51 or higher

These grades will be based on at least 4 reading tests and other activities, teacher observation, and on the
score from the reading section of the ITP TOEFL. A satisfactory (passing) grade is 75% or higher.

Writing: A student who successfully completes 040 can, within a time limit, write an essay of 4-5
paragraphs. A successful student can also research and write a 3-4 page paper while appropriately
referencing various sources. Many successful students will be able to do more than this.

A final satisfactory grade requires satisfactory in at least 6 of these 8 areas:
Develops ideas fully
Uses sources appropriately
Organizes ideas appropriately for audience and purpose
Revises and edits work
Demonstrates control of verbs
Demonstrates control of other grammar
Makes appropriate word choices
Demonstrates control of spelling, punctuation, and formatting

These grades will be based on the following writing assignments, other writing activities, and teacher
observation. A satisfactory (passing) grade is 75% or higher.

Writing Assignments for this course:

Writing Assignment #1: Graph Analysis Paragraph
Writing Assignment #2: Logical Division Essay

Writing Assignment #3: Argumentative Essay with Sources

Writing Assignment #4: Cause/Effect Essay

A student must have a satisfactory grade IN BOTH READING AND WRITING to pass the class.

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TIE 040 Course Outline

Class Performance
You will also receive a grade of S (Satisfactory) or U (Unsatisfactory) for each of the following:
Homework (based on regular completion and quality of homework)
Class Participation (based on teacher observation of student work during class activities)

PREPAREDNESS AND PARTICIPATION POLICY
Students may be marked absent for being unprepared to participate in class activities OR for refusing
to participate in class activities. Examples include:
being unprepared for a significant class activity
not completing homework that will be part of a significant class activity
being present in class but refusing to participate appropriately
not bringing books to class when appropriate

When a teacher notices instances of such behavior, the student will receive a warning the first time
and a participation absence each time after that.

OTHER IMPORTANT CLASS INFORMATION

1) Cell Phones: DO NOT use them during class unless I say its OK.

2) Absences and Classwork:
a) Class begins at 9 a.m. You should be here a few minutes before class. I keep a record of your
lateness and attendance. I cannot make exceptions for any student. 3 lates = 1 absence. 15+
minutes late = absent.
b) A student who is absent more than 4 times will be withdrawn from the program. Students must
keep track of their own attendance.
c) Use the class phone list to contact a classmate in the case that you are absent to find out what
you missed and what your homework is. It is your responsibility to make up missed work.

3) English Only: Because we want all students to learn as much as possible from each other, please
speak only English during class.

4) Computer Access: Students will be required to use computers for many assignments. If you do not
have a personal computer, you may use SCAILAB or other UIC computer labs. Local public libraries
also have computers.

5) Homework:
a) Homework is given to benefit youits an opportunity to hone and sharpen your skills.
b) Homework is due at the beginning of class (or by the given deadline).
c) Late homework, while often accepted, will not receive full credit. Not all late homework will
accepted, however.

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TIE 040 Course Outline

d) Homework should be completed and handed in on time. Homework is considered part of your
overall grade. Homework is due at the beginning of class. This includes logs.

6) Plagiarism: Do not copy your work from other sources. This includes copy/pasting information
from the internet and/or someone writing any part of your essay for you. Plagiarism is not
acceptable at U.S. universities.

7) Questions: If you ever have any questions about class or anything else, ASK YOUR TEACHER. Your
teachers job is to help you. Your teacher cant help you if you dont ask questions. Ask your
question in class, during break, after class, or by email. ALL QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME.


BSMP 040 Summer 2015 Course Schedule (tentative)

KEY: TBC = Thinking Beyond the Content EW = Engaging Writing

Week
Reading
Writing
Course Introduction
Writing Pretest
Week 6
TBC Unit 3
EW Chapter 1 (Writing a Paragraph)
6/22-26
Describing Graphs
TBC Unit 3
EW Chapter 1 (Writing a Paragraph)
Week 7
Reading Exam
EW Chapter 2 (Logical Division)
6/29-7/3
Writing Assignment 1 due
TBC Unit 2
EW Chapter 2 (Logical Division)
Week 8
EW Chapter 5 (Argumentation)
7/6-10
Writing Assignment 2 due
Week 9 TBC Unit 2
EW Chapter 5 (Argumentation)
7/13-17 Reading Exam
Working with Sources
Week 10 TBC Unit 4
EW Chapter 3 (Cause and Effect)
7/20-23
Writing Assignment 3 due
Week 11 TBC Unit 4
EW Chapter 3 (Cause and Effect)
7/27-31 Reading Exam
Writing Assignment 4 due

*Note: The instructor reserves the right to make any changes to the course syllabus or schedule.

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