SemesterFall Semester, 2023
DepartmentForeign Language Center
Course NameEnglish Elective: Essay Writing
InstructorCHEN TSAI-HUNG
Credit3.0
Course TypeElective
Prerequisite
Course Objective
Course Description
Course Schedule







The following schedule will be adjusted to accommodate the progress of the class.




























































































































週次



Week



課程主題



Topic



課程內容與指定閱讀



Content and Reading Assignment



教學活動與作業



Teaching Activities and Homework



1



Course orientation




  • Introduction to the course

  • Pre-course writing




  • Explore the resources on Moodle



2



Exploring the Essay (1/2)




  • Unit 1 pp.2-37

  • Essay structure

  • Writing the introduction

  • Free writing #1




  • Write hooks and thesis statements

  • Read Essays 1.1-1.4



3



Exploring the Essay (2/2)




  • Unit 1 pp.2-37

  • Writing the conclusion

  • Free writing #2




  • Parallelism exercises

  • Write a draft for a classification essay topic



4



Classification Essays




  • Writing the body

  • Developing a classification essay

  • Free writing #3




  • Revise and submit classification essay



5



Cause-Effect Essays (1/2)




  • Analyze your essay and peer review

  • Unit 2 pp.38-67

  • Free writing #4




  • Write a draft for a cause-effect essay



6



Cause-Effect Essays (2/2)




  • Editing exercise

  • Free writing #5




  • Continue to work on cause-effect essay



7



Conciseness




  • Unit 2 pp.38-67

  • Writing concisely

  • Free writing #6




  • Revise and submit cause-effect essay


8

Comparison Essays (1/2)




  • Analyze your essay and peer review

  • Unit 3 pp.68-95

  • Free writing #7




  • Write a draft for a comparison essay



9



Comparison Essays (2/2)




  • Unit 3 pp.68-95

  • Free writing #8




  • Contine to work on comparison essay



10



Grammar session




  • Adverb Clauses

  • Free writing #9




  • Revise and submit comparison Essay



11


Argument Essays (1/2)

  • Analyze your essay and peer review

  • Using and citing sources (pp.184-185)

  • Free writing #10




  • Develop three arguments and two counterarguments with refutations for a claim



12



Argument Essays (2/2)




  • Unit 4 pp.96-123

  • Decide topic options

  • Free writing #11




  • Write a draft for an argument essay



13



Using Outside Sources




  • Unit 4 pp.96-123

  • Discuss arguments, counterarguments and refutations

  • Free writing #12




  • Revise and submit argument essay



14



Hedging




  • Analyze your essay and peer review

  • Free writing #13




  • Hedging exercises



15



Analytical Writing




  • Assessing claims and evaluating evidence

  • Free writing #14




  • Prepare for final exam



16



Final exam




  • Exam



N/A



17



Writing conferences (1/2)




  • Individual conferences


N/A

18



Writing conferences (2/2)





  • Individual conferences





N/A




 


Teaching Methods
Teaching Assistant

Jonah Hug


Requirement/Grading

All materials, including the written text, handouts, and any information spoken in class or written on the board, are expected to be reflected in your work. Take notes, and study the textbook and handouts. Keep all of the work you do during the course until after the final grades have been announced. Your final grades will be determined by the following course components:




  • Attendance & participation (discussion, peer review, free writing activity, etc.): 20%

  • Writing assignments (papers, learning reports): 45%

  • Final exam (including timed writing): 35%



ATTENDANCE, PUNCTUALITY & ASSIGNMENT POLICIES




  • Attendance and punctuality are required for all class sessions.

  • Exams cannot be made up or rescheduled unless you provide documentation of a true emergency.



LEARNING TASKS & ASSIGNMENTS



Free writing



You will compose a timed writing response to a given prompt in class in most weeks. These activities will be held at the start of class, so make sure to be on time and ready. Latecomers will not be given extra time.



Writing assignments



In addition to the free writing activities and other miscellaneous writing tasks in class, you will write four major assignments, including a classification essay, a cause-effect essay, a comparison essay, and an argument essay. You will develop each of these essays over several weeks' time. Topic options will be provided by the instructor, but you are welcomed to use your own topics with the instructor's approval. Preferable topics are those addressing a social, political, cultural, or environmental issue of concern to Taiwan and those related to NCCU.



When writing the essays, you are expected to apply the writing skills and language learned in class. While your existing English proficiency carries some weight in the instructor's grading of your essays, to what extent and how effectively you use the knowledge gained in the course matter most in the grading. A grading rubric for the writing assignments is available on the course Moodle.



Presentation



You will give a ten-minute presentation on a topic related to writing, such as your experience of using a writing resource or participating in a writing workshop, and tips on improving an aspect of writing. All presentation slides should be uploaded to Moodle.



Final exam



The final exam is an open book exam. You are allowed to bring the textbook, handouts and notes, but not dictionaries, into the exam room. The exam tests your ability to apply what you have learned throughout the course. It includes questions on aspects of the rhetorical form and grammar points by asking you to rewrite sentences, complete and edit passages, and write a composition simulating a standardized exam.


Textbook & Reference

Course materials




  • Great Writing: Great Essays 4 (FIFTH EDITION), National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning

  • Supplementary materials



Resources





 



 



 



 



 



 


Urls about Course
Moodle: https://moodle.nccu.edu.tw/
Attachment