English Composition I

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Online English Course Overview

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No matter what you study or where you go to college, English Composition I is required for graduation. Also known as English 101, it’s most frequently taught in overcrowded lecture halls – and one of the reasons so many students try to skip it via the English AP Exam.

Our 3-credit English Composition I course will help you develop the quality writing skills necessary for success in college and in your future career. Step-by-step, you’ll study the writing process and different writing formats: compare/contrast, argumentative, persuasive, narrative, descriptive and summary. You’ll see how to write essays and employ proper research techniques, how to evaluate different literary forms, and how to avoid plagiarizing. And if English isn’t your strongest subject, our self-paced courses and no pre-determined test dates mean you’ll have all the time you need to build a solid foundation.

AP COURSE: Skip English 101! StraighterLine’s English Composition I course has been reviewed and authorized by The College Board as an AP Program course.

English Composition I is transferable for 3-credits and comes with everything you need:

  • 24/7/365 Online Access
  • 10 Hours of Free SMARTHINKING Tutoring Help
  • Transcript/Credit Transfer Assistance
  • Your own personal course advisor
  • Plus, you can buy your e-Textbooks at 50% off!
  • Proctored Testing Option available.
Still not sure? Try this online English Composition I course for FREE now!

English Course Text

Langan, John. College Writing Skills, 7th edition. McGraw-Hill, 2008. ISBN 9780073384092 [buy the text]

This course follows the research guidelines of the Modern Language Association (MLA). These guidelines were most recently revised in 2003 in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (6th ed.). A summary of these guidelines is provided in the SMARTHINKING Writer's Handbook.

Do I have to buy the textbook?
The StraighterLine courses use reading assignments and practice work from the textbook, but you will not be required to turn in anything from the book. StraighterLine recommends that all students purchase the appropriate text so they are equipped with as many resources as possible when taking a course (please note that e-books are generally less expensive but may have slight differences in page numbers and resources compared to a hard copy text). As in many college courses, purchasing the book is ultimately up to you.

Online Writing Submissions

Writing exercises and assignments may only be submitted as .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .txt files. Macintosh users should add an extension (.doc or .rtf) to the file name before uploading. If you have questions on saving files, please contact support@smarthinking.com .

Academic honesty is expected of all students. These guidelines for avoiding plagiarism must be followed:

  1. All submitted writings must be the student's own work.
  2. Words taken directly from a source must be encased in quotation marks and cited.
  3. Paraphrasing (rewording) of information must be cited.
  4. Ideas or examples that are not of general knowledge must be cited.

English Composition Course Objectives

After completing this course, students will be able to:

  • Explain and identify the steps involved in the writing process.
  • Compose a strong thesis statement.
  • Organize an essay into a well written introduction, body, and conclusion.
  • Evaluate the different types of fictional and non-fictional readings.
  • Successfully identify and apply the use of analogy.
  • Identify and compose the following types of writing: argumentative, compare/contrast, descriptive, narrative, persuasive, and summary.
  • Employ proper research techniques.
  • Analyze and judge the validity of the various kinds of reading materials.
  • Correctly use the MLA style of citing.
  • Summarize and paraphrase without plagiarizing.
  • Successfully revise and edit all aspects of an essay.
  • Construct grammatically correct sentences.
  • Compose sentences and paragraphs with correct spelling and punctuation.

Online English Composition Course Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites to take English Composition I.

Important Online Course Terms

In this course, different terms are used to designate tasks:

  • Assignment: A written piece that will be submitted to SMARTHINKING for a grade at the end of the final draft. Your final grade for each assignment is calculated from the raw score provided from SMARTHINKING.  If you have any questions about your calculated Assignment grade please contact your course advisor. 
  • Exercise: A non-graded quiz or writing piece that provides practice using skills discussed in a topic.
  • Quiz: A graded online assessment.
  • Project: A process spanning multiple topics that results in a written essay.

Online English Evaluation Criteria

StraighterLine does not apply letter grades. Students earn a score as a percentage of 100%. A passing percentage is 70% or higher. If you have chosen a Partner College to award credit for this course, your final grade will be based upon that college's grading scale. Only passing scores will be considered by Partner Colleges for an award of credit.

Topic Assessment Points Available
1 Graded Quiz: Transitions 10
1 Graded Quiz: The Kris Chronicles, Part 2: Banana Bread Brainstorm 20
2 Graded Quiz: Good Word Choices Positively Affect Your Writing...Or Is it Effect? 10
2 Graded Quiz: Homonyms 15
2 Graded Quiz: Grammar at Dinner 22
2 Graded Quiz: Cover Letter 2
3 Graded Quiz: Writing to Your Audience 30
5 Descriptive Writing Assignment 21
5 Graded Quiz: Building a Better Paragraph 5
5 Graded Quiz: Website Validity 6
6 Comparison/Contrast Writing Assignment 21
7 Personal Narrative Writing Assignment 21
8 Graded Quiz: Text Analysis 10
8 Graded Quiz: A Different Look at the Mail 8
8 Persuasive Writing Assignment 21
9 Graded Quiz: Works Cited 10
9 Argumentative Writing Assignment 21
10 Graded Quiz: Different Perspectives 6
10 Graded Quiz: Be an Editor 10
Review Research Writing Assignment 21

Online English Course Topics and Objectives

Topic Lesson Topic Subtopics Objectives
1 Proper Grammar: Friend or Foe?
  • The Most Common Grammatical Errors
  • Correcting Sentence Fragments
  • Subject Verb Agreement
  • Use of Jargon in Essays
  • Identify the common grammatical errors and apply the rules of correction to edit effectively.
  • Apply the rules of correcting sentence fragments when editing an essay to eliminate them.
  • Apply the rules of subject/verb agreement when editing an essay to eliminate agreement errors.
  • Add to the understanding and use of a basic vocabulary of literary items.
2 Punctuation and Spelling: The Finer Points
  • The Comma
  • The Apostrophe and Quotation Marks
  • Other Types of Punctuation
  • Improve Your Spelling
  • Demonstrate how effectively to use commas.
  • Effectively use apostrophes and quotation marks.
  • Employ the correct use of other types of punctuation.
  • Identify common errors in spelling and apply various strategies to eliminate spelling errors.
3 The Writing Process: You Can Do It!
  • Define Composition
  • Roadblocks to Effective Writing
  • Audience and Purpose
  • The Reading and Writing Link
  • Develop topic sentences that clearly support the thesis and the essay.
  • Identify the audience and purpose before beginning the process of writing an essay.
  • Explain and demonstrate the direct link between successful writing and comprehensive reading.
  • Explain the standard process involved in writing an essay.
4 Thesis Statements: What's the Point?
  • Weak Versus Strong Thesis Statements
  • Importance of Thesis Statements
  • Supporting Your Thesis Statement
  • Structure an essay using a strong beginning, middle, and end.
  • Select and narrow an essay topic and formulate a strong, effective thesis statement.
  • Organize the supporting details and specific evidence in the essay.

Research Paper Objective:

  • Develop a strong thesis statement for the research paper project.
5

Writing a Good Paragraph

& Researching Your Topic: Half the Battle!
  • The Introduction
  • Body of Work and Detail
  • The Conclusion
  • Utilizing Good Research Skills
  • Your Local Library
  • Proper Internet Research
  • Other Means of Research
  • Show appropriate development of the essay and the thesis using sentence variety and specific, coherent, relevant, and interesting details.
  • Make good use of topic sentences, transitions, and concluding statements within the essay.
  • Develop and compose a strong introductory paragraph.
  • Develop and compose a strong concluding paragraph.
  • Utilize proper researching and note-taking techniques for the research paper project.
  • Effectively research a topic in the library and online.
  • Evaluate sources on a given topic.
  • Explain the importance of maintaining integrity while researching.
  • Write a summary for the research paper project.
6 Popular Types of Writing: Who Knew?
  • Compare/Contrast Technique of Writing
  • Persuasive Technique of Writing
  • Descriptive Writing
  • Write a paragraph or essay using the comparison/contrast method.
  • Write a paragraph or essay demonstrating the use of persuasion as a writing strategy.
  • Develop skills in the use of the following strategy: descriptive writing.
7 Types of Readings: Can This Really Influence my Writing?
  • Narrative Writings
  • Non-Fiction Writings
  • Writing Using Analogy
  • Analyze and explain the link between comprehensive reading and successful writing.
  • Apply critical thinking to reading and writing.
  • Differentiate among the different types of analogies and use them in a narrative paragraph.

Research Paper Objective:

  • Develop an outline for the research paper project.
8 Analysis of Reading and Writing: Now What?
  • Comprehension of the Subject Matter
  • Retaining the Subject Matter
  • Forming Opinions
  • Real-World Application
  • Understand main ideas of a text used to write a research paper with an awareness of audience and purpose.
  • Interact with and summarize the text effectively.
  • Evaluate the text using critical and analytical skills to identify common logical fallacies.
  • Effectively write the first draft of an essay with an awareness of audience and purpose.
9 Using Evidence and Reference Materials Properly: Give Credit Where It's Due!
  • How Evidence Adds Legitimacy to an Essay
  • Proper Use of Citations
  • Plagiarism
  • Explain the importance of quality evidence in essay writing.
  • Write an essay following proper standard MLA guidelines.
  • Demonstrate the importance of maintaining integrity while researching and writing an essay or a longer paper.

Research Paper Objective:

  • Create a Works Cited page for the research paper project using MLA format.
10 The Process of Revising and Editing: You're Almost There!
  • The Revision Process
  • Revising Sentences
  • Revising Word Choices
  • The Editing Process
  • Revise your essay to ensure appropriate development of the essay with specific attention to cohesion, support, and organization.
  • Revise the first draft to include varied, interesting, and accurate sentences.
  • Edit and proofread the first draft to eliminate grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors.

Research Paper Objective:

  • Apply revision, editing, and proofreading techniques to rough draft of research paper project.
11 Checking Your Final Essay: You've Come This Far!
  • Strong Thesis
  • Development of Ideas
  • Proper Grammar
  • Check that the final draft contains a strong, well-written thesis statement that is directly linked with the main point of the essay.
  • Check that the final draft demonstrates clear organization, strong development through the use of a variety of sentence types, smooth transitions, and proper citing techniques.
  • Edit to ensure the final draft is free of grammatical and spelling errors.

Research Paper Objective:

  • Review your research paper to ensure it is ready for submission and grading.
12 Submission of the Final Draft of the Research Paper and Final Review
  • Review

Research Paper Objective:

  • Turn in research paper project.

Online English Tutoring Included

English Composition I includes 10 hours of free online college course tutoring help— live, one-on-one, on-demand instructional support from SMARTHINKING. Expert writing professionals experienced with the online English composition course will carefully review and provide personalized feedback to students for six graded essays and eight essay drafts.

TRANSFERABLE COLLEGE CREDITS: 3

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This program provides you with 6-months of course access.