English Composition I

Online English Course Overview

This 3-credit English Composition course helps students to develop quality writing skills, explains and identifies the steps involved in the writing process, and examines five different formats: compare/contrast, argumentative, persuasive, narrative, and descriptive. Students also learn research techniques, as well as how to edit and revise their work.

English Composition has been reviewed and authorized by The College Board as an AP Program course.

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Online Course Demos

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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?
As in many college courses, purchasing the book is ultimately up to you. The StraighterLine courses use reading assignments and practice work from the textbook as supplements, but you will not be required to turn in anything from the book. StraighterLine recommends that you purchase the appropriate text so you are equipped with as many resources as possible (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).

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.