ENGL 0401 - Reading and Writing English

Course Description

This course is designed to develop skills as a writer by practicing the stages of writing from rough draft, grammar and sentence structure, revising the draft, editing, and final draft. The course covers both narrative and expository writing, with an emphasis on the expository form for both academic and business purposes. (Grade 10 equivalency)

Learning outcomes

• Show what is meant by "correct" English
• Demonstrate the distinctions between narration and exposition
• Practice good reading habits
• Show how proper punctuation creates effective writing
• Use knowledge of sentence structure to create interesting prose
• Demonstrate basic essay structure in your own writing
• Identify common errors in use of language
• Use a dictionary effectively
• Increase your vocabulary

Course topics

Unit 1

• Narration and exposition
• Drafting your narrative
• Standard English
• Traditional parts of speech
• Clauses and phrases
• Commas
• Revising and editing your narrative

Unit 2

• Reading for main ideas
• Drafting an expository paragraph
• Canadian English
• Using a dictionary
• Complete sentences
• Periods, semi-colons, and colons
• Revising and editing your expository paragraph

Unit 3

• Facts and opinions
• Drafting an expository essay
• A brief history of English
• Spelling
• Agreement
• More about commas and semi-colons
• Revising and editing your narrative and opinion paragraphs

Unit 4

• Recognizing irony
• Drafting a business letter
• What's English like?
• Building a vocabulary
• Parallel structure
• Sentence interruptions
• Revising and editing your letter

Unit 5

• Recognizing metaphor
• Drafting a short report
• Etymology (origins of words)
• Useful prefixes
• Sentence variety
• Apostrophes
• Revising and editing your short report

Unit 6

• Reading fiction
• Drafting a short essay
• Language abuse
• Some often confused words
• Misplaced and dangling modifiers
• Quotation marks
• Revising and editing your short essay

Required text and materials

There is no required textbook to purchase. All materials will be provided within the course.

Additional requirements

A standard dictionary is required (e.g. The Gage Canadian Dictionary).

Assessments

To successfully complete this course, students must achieve a passing grade of 50% or higher on the overall course, and 50% or higher on the final mandatory examination.

Recommended requisite(s)

It is recommended that students successfully complete Grade 8 English or equivalent before beginning this course. Placement can be made on the basis of an English Assessment.

Note: Students should obtain an English Language and Writing Assessment form and have their skills assessed to make sure they start with the course best-suited to their needs. 

Exclusions

ENGL 0400