Diploma in Foundation Studies

First Semester, 2022 – 2023

College Writing

Course Code: CCEN3005

Course Information

Student: ___________________

Class Number: ___________________

Lecturer: ___________________

Lecturer Email: ___________________

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I. Course Objectives
The course is designed to introduce students to the kinds of writing and reading expected
from students at the college level. Ultimately, writing takes practice, and as a writer, students
will have opportunities to write both in the classroom and outside. This class aims to give
students enough practice writing to become more effective writers by the end of the year than
they are at the start. The classroom is a workshop where students write multiple drafts and
respond to each other’s works in progress. The classroom also functions as a discussion arena
where students meet to analyze various published pieces to discover how meaning is created
in written texts and how the author’s language shapes the writings.

II. Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

1. Understand writing as a process that develops through experience and varies among
individuals;
2. Create unified, coherent, well-developed texts that demonstrate a self-critical awareness
of rhetorical elements such as purpose, audience, and organization;
3. Use the writing process, especially peer review, to re-examine and extend one’s thinking;
4. Develop ideas through critical thinking, including analysis and synthesis;
5. Employ grammatical and mechanical conventions appropriately in the preparation of
readable manuscripts.

III. Teaching and learning methods

Classes will be held as workshops, where students write multiple drafts of their writing
assignments and respond to each other’s works in progress. Students will also analyze
published works to discover how meaning is created in written texts.

Students’ active participation is not only encouraged but expected. Even if you are generally
reserved, you will try to participate in discussions. Sharing ideas—especially those you may
feel tentative about—is a mark of intellectual generosity. Now that you have started College,
you are beginning your academic journey. In this journey, the willingness to revise both
thinking and writing when a new idea is brought up is not only the mark of a confident
member of an academic community but also the way to develop your intellectual capacity.

IV. Assessment
The course is 100% assessed based on continuous assessments, as follows:
1. Writing Portfolio 40%
2. This I Believe Essay and Presentation 30%
3. Learning Activities on the SOUL Platform 20%
4. On-campus Class Participation (unless otherwise specified during semester) 10%

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1. Writing Portfolio and Peer Review (40%)
What is it?
The Writing Portfolio is for you to demonstrate your progress over the weeks in enhancing
your writing based on feedback from classmates and the teacher. Included in the portfolio will
be four writing tasks, each of which has, where applicable:

i. the initial draft of the writing,

ii. other graded or non-graded drafts based on teacher’s or classmates’ comments
iii. a polished, finalized version of the writing

This assignment also assesses your ability to evaluate and give valuable suggestions to your
classmates to help them improve their writing. As such, your comments in the peer review
sessions will also be considered.

How to do it?
You will spend the first half of this semester examining issues related to effective writing. The
four writing tasks in the portfolio have been carefully designed to apply what you have
learned to your writing. You will be given guidelines on completing each task, doing your
writing in peer review sessions.

The peer review sessions are part of the assessment, and attendance is compulsory. In groups
of 3-4, you will discuss your work and your members’. You will give comments to your
members, and receive comments from them. Your contribution is crucial to the effectiveness
of these peer review sessions, and your performance during these sessions will be assessed.
Please refer to the document Peer Review Description for Students.doc on SOUL for details.

After each peer review session, you are strongly encouraged to revise your work and submit
a polished version of your writing. All submissions in this assignment are handled using
SOUL. You will post your writing (the initial drafts) and your comments to your peers on a
blog on the course platform. Instructions on how to use the blog will be given later.

How will it be assessed?

This assignment examines your writing ability and gives valuable suggestions to help your
classmates improve as writers. Your writing will be assessed based on how well you have
demonstrated the principles of effective writing covered in lessons, and your comments will
be assessed based on their usefulness and the tone in which they are presented. Please refer to
the document Marking Criteria for Assignment 1.doc on the course platform for details

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2. This I Believe essay and Presentation (30%) trust
You will write a 450 – 500-word personal essay describing an idea or principle you believe in
and the story of how this belief came to be. This essay requires you to state your personal
belief precisely and support it, using your experience as evidence. For this exercise to be
meaningful, you must make it your own, introducing others the things you value. Your essay
will be assessed based on criteria such as the clarity of your ideas, persuasiveness of your
claim, the strength of the introduction and conclusion, language accuracy and variety, and
structure and organization. Please refer to the document Marking Criteria for Assignment
3.doc on SOUL for details.

As part of your preparatory work for the essay, you will produce a short presentation (3 – 4
minutes) sharing significant events in your life with your classmates and your reflection on
these events. The idea is for you not only to know more about people around you but to
appreciate the diversity of backgrounds and beliefs shared by people “under the same roof”.
The assessment focuses on your ability to relate your experience to your belief and your
presentation to your classmates.

3. Learning activities on the SOUL platform (20%)

Following the flipped classroom pedagogy, this course requires you to spend substantial time
on the SOUL platform completing pre-lesson tasks to get ready for active class participation
and post-lesson activities to consolidate knowledge from what is covered during lessons. All
out-of-lesson learning activities assigned to you on the SOUL platform must be completed
before starting the following lesson.

4. Class Participation (10%)

The Class Participation mark is based on your track record of actively participating in the
learning process. Maturity in your approach to learning is expected, as well as your
willingness to become engaged in classroom materials, using English in discussion activities.
If you have to miss a lesson for any reason, please notify the lecturer. According to the
College policy, you will be regarded as having withdrawn from the study if you are absent
without informing the College for more than three weeks.

Deadlines: All out-of-class SOUL activities are due at the beginning of class. All writing
assignments are due on the due date at the end of the class period. Late submission of an
assignment will result in a mark penalty as follows:
Up to 24 hours late: marks deduction equivalent to one letter grade (e.g. B+ becomes C+)
2 – 7 days late: highest possible mark of 50% (i.e. you receive half of the on-time marks)
8 days or more late: 0 marks, and it would not be marked

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V. Course policies
1. Attendance and Punctuality (See your student handbook for more details)

According to their timetables, students are expected to attend scheduled lessons punctually.

Attendance will be taken during the first few minutes of class and will be observed again later
during the lesson. Students who are present during the first 10 minutes of class but then leave
the room and do not respond to the teacher’s questions will be treated as absent for that class.
*Three “late arrivals” will be counted as one absence from lessons.

2. Peer review sessions

Peer review, a required component of College Writing, requires meeting your classmates
during lessons to discuss your writing in class. Dates for peer review are listed on the SOUL
platform. In these sessions, you will work towards becoming a better writer through work
with your peers and one-on-one sessions with your lecturer. You will receive personal
responses and suggestions to help you develop and revise each writing task and to help you
grow as a writer. You will also be allowed time to write and revise. If you commit to peer
review sessions, you will become an independent writer, a writer who has discovered
strategies and processes to write competent and thoughtful essays.

The peer review sessions have a stringent attendance policy. If you are not present, you will
be marked absent regardless of the circumstances that prevent you from attending these
sessions. The third absence in the peer review session fails your Assignment 1. The only
exception is if you have a medical condition, and proper medical certificates must be
presented in these circumstances. In addition, you must always bring a complete draft of the
writing task given to the peer review. If you do not bring your writing, do not attend the
complete session, do not fully participate or exhibit any unacceptable behaviour in the
session, you will be marked down.

3. Housekeeping
Please mute or deactivate mobile phones before class and keep them silent for the duration.
Using mobile devices during class is acceptable if I have planned a task or activity requiring
them. Otherwise, let us keep our phones muted or off during class. Similarly, let us devote
computer use solely to learning activities in class. You can use your out-of-class time for
checking e-mail, web surfing, entertainment, etc. Please help us maintain a clean, odour-free
working environment by not bringing food to class. Water, coffee, and tea (preferably in
closed containers) are acceptable; kindly enjoy meals outside class time.

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VI. Class Schedule

Lesson Class Activity Tasks due

Unit 1: Preparing to write

1 Course introduction

Differences between high school and College writing

2 The Writing Process

Analysing and constructing texts

3 Audience and purpose analysis
Using the Writing Portfolio blog on SOUL
Introduction to Writing Portfolio Task 1
4 Introduction to Peer Review

5 # In-class writing & Peer review session: Task 1

Unit 2: Bases of effective paragraphing

6 What is a paragraph?

Paragraph unity and digression

Introduction to Writing Portfolio Task 2
7 Crafting effective topic sentences

Types of paragraph development

8 # In-class writing & Peer review session: Task 2

9 Paragraph support –
What are “strong” supports in College essays?

Social Media: The pros and cons

Introduction to Writing Portfolio Task 3
10 Coherence and cohesion

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11 Academic Tone and Style

12 # In-class writing: Task 3

13 Introduction to Writing Portfolio Task 4

Writing the Introduction (Thesis statement) and

The Conclusion (Summary statement)
14 Common Errors in Student Writing
(Proofreading)

15 # In-class writing & Peer review session: Task 4

Unit 3: This I Believe Essay

16 Introduction to This I Believe essay and presentation

Effective writing skills on This I Believe essay

17 The Commencement Speech at Stanford University

Connecting life events to one’s belief statement

18 Developing your ideas: establishing connection between #An essay plan with
belief statements and life events a belief statement
19 # Presentation 1 ~8 students to
present in each
20 # Presentation 2 lesson. This would
allow enough time
21 # Presentation 3 for teachers to give
feedback on the
22 # Presentation 4 presentation as well
as the essay outline
23 Writing an effective opening and closing for the
This I Believe Essay
Peer review of This I Believe Essay
24 Course reflection and wrap-up # Final submission:
This I Believe essay