ach year, many students graduate from high school and enroll in college only to

find out they do not place into college-credit English classes. In some states, up
to 90 percent of students are placed in remedial English after assessment tests.
Remedial English courses frequently do not offer credit toward degrees.
Students must complete a variety of remedial English courses before enrolling in
English classes that are eligible for credit toward their degree and graduation.
Basic Level
Most colleges offer basic introductory remedial English courses. The courses
may be specifically targeted toward learners for whom English is not their first
language, or they may be general refresher courses for any student who needs
to practice English skills. The most common basic remedial English courses are
one-semester courses that cover sentence- to paragraph-level writing. Basic
remedial English also covers vocabulary and reading comprehension skills
necessary for successful college-level work.
Intermediate Level
Intermediate-level remedial English courses help students build skills that bridge
the gap between sentence-level skills and vocabulary and writing longer, more
complex essays. After mastering the skills of writing good paragraphs, students
in intermediate-level remedial English will gain practice in writing a variety of
different essays. Essays will typically be about 500 to 750 words in length.
Students are usually not asked to do research, but instead are directed to focus
on college-level reading and response skills.