Prerequisites and Entrance Competencies

Satisfactory score on placement examination.

Course Description

EN 099 is a developmental English course intended to improve students’ reading skills. Comprehension and vocabulary are stressed. Building on the writing skills learned in EN 098, students will continue to develop their ability to write clear, concise, and coherent essays. EN099 is equivalent to a three-semester hour course.

Credits

This is a non-credit course, equivalent to three (3) semester hours.

Goals and Objectives

To increase reading comprehension skills: critical thinking, drawing conclusions, making inferences, identifying point of view, identifying tone, and distinguishing between fact and opinion.
To practice analysis and interpretation of selected readings.
To identify main ideas, significant details, patterns of organization, and patterns of reasoning in college level texts.
To discern the elements of paragraphs.
To recognize and use new words in reading, writing, and discussion.
To become familiar with inductive and deductive patterns of reasoning.
To write reflective responses on selected readings.

Requirements

Place-out final: students must take and pass the Nelson-Denny Comprehension Examination in order to move into EN101. The time allotted for the exam is 45 minutes.
Completion of four out of seven drills over the course of the semester (a prerequisite for taking the final place-out exam).
Weekly quizzes in reading comprehension and vocabulary.
Good attendance and active participation.
Timely completion of homework and in-class assignments.

Exit Competencies

Students must complete the Nelson Denny Comprehension Examination with a minimum score of 185.

Attendance and Participation

It is expected that students will attend every section. Three or more absences prevent students from obtaining important instruction and practice necessary for passing the final exam. In addition, students are expected to arrive on time, adequately prepared for class and to participate in all classroom activities. This involves being up to date on all assignments. Note: Students are responsible for obtaining class assignments when they are absent.

Grading Criteria

Nelson-Denny Comprehension score of 185 or higher = Pass (S).
Nelson-Denney Comprehension score lower than 185 = Repeat (R).

Time Distribution

Three contact hours per week; it is recommended that for every contact hour students spend two hours studying outside of class.

Text

Jacobus, Lee A. Improving College Reading. Seventh Edition. Thomson: Boston, 2001.

EN099 – Developmental English II

Course Outline *

Week 1:

Introduction: How to Read College Material p. 1.
Vocabulary Previews and Predictions p. 23.
Tests at the End of Readings p. 23.
Retention Questions. p. 23.

Week 2:

Inferences and Main Ideas p. 24.
Sample Exercises pp. 25-26.
Application Questions p. 26.
Vocabulary Questions p. 27.
Scoring p. 27.
Reading Efficiency p. 28.

Week 3:

Strategies for Reading p. 13.
Find the Main Idea p. 14.
“The Brown Wasps,” by Loren Eiseley pp. 205-210; Exercise: Main Ideas p. 212.

Week 4:

Study the Subheadings p. 14.
“Requiem for a Heavyweight,” by Jim Merritt pp. 97-101; Exercise: Predection p. 95.
“Culture Clash: African Americans in the Arts,” by Farai Chideya. pp. 167-174; Exercises: Prereading and Postreading pp. 165-166.

Week 5:

Study the Paragraphs pp. 15-17.
“The Winter Buffalo Hunt,” by Gene Weltfish pp. 31-33; Exercises: Prediction p. 30, Retention, Inferences, and Application pp. 35-36.

Week 6:

Higher-Level Reading Strategies p. 17.
Reading Awareness p. 17; Increasing Reading Awareness p. 19.
“Culture,” by Robert F. Murphy pp. 347-351; Exercises: Prereading and Postreading pp. 344-345, Retention, Main Ideas, Interpretation, Conclusion, and Application pp. 353-355.

Week 7:

Reading Goals p. 20.
Regulating Your Reading p. 21.
The SQ3R Reading Technique p. 21.
“A Senator’s Life, “Fred R. Harris pp. 333-338; Exercises: Prereading and Postreading pp. 330-331, Retention, Main Ideas, Interpretation, Conclusion, and Application pp. 339-342.

Week 8:

Success in College Reading p. 2.
Building Reading Skills p. 2.
Words, Words, Words p. 3
“Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs pp. 317-322; Exercises: Vocabulary Preview, Prereading, and Postreading pp. 244-245, Retention, Main Ideas, Application, and Vocabulary pp. 252-257.

Week 9:

Learning Words in Context p. 4.
Using the Dictionary p. 5.
Guessing at Meanings If You Do Not Know Them p. 6; Exercises pp. 6-9.
“In the Beginning,” by Harold Morowitz pp. 247-251; Exercises: Vocabulary Preview, Prereading, and Postreading pp. 244-245, Retention, Main Ideas, Application, and Vocabulary pp. 253-257.

Week 10:

Build Your Vocabulary by Using Words p. 9.
Roots of Words p. 10; Exercises pp. 11-12.
“Love and Marriage in China,” by Alice P. Lin pp. 181-185; Exercises: Vocabulary Preview, Prereading, and Postreading pp. 179-180, Retention, Application, and Vocabulary pp. 187-190.

Week 11:

“Let the Bones Talk,” by Elizabeth Royte pp. 71-77; Exercises: Vocabulary Preview and Prediction p. 69, Retention, Inferences, Application, and Vocabulary pp. 79-82.
“Gray Matters,” by Sharon Begley pp. 233-238; Exercises: Vocabulary Preview, Prereading, and Postreading pp. 230-231, Retention, Main Ideas, Application, and Vocabulary pp. 239-243.

Week 12:

“Elements of Culture,” by Donald Light, Jr. and Suzanne Keller; Exercises: Vocabulary Preview, Prereading, and Postreading pp. 358-359, Retention, Main Ideas, Interpretation, Conclusion, Application, and Vocabulary pp. 367-371.
“The Face of Beauty,” by Diana Ackerman pp. 85-90; Exercises: Vocabulary Preview and Prediction p. 83, Retention, Inferences, Application, and Vocabulary pp. 91-94.

Week 13:

“Hair,” by Malcolm X pp. 125-126; Exercises: Vocabulary Preview, Prereading and Postreading pp. 122-123, Retention, Inferences, Application, and Vocabulary pp. 127-130.
“Gender and Language,” by Ronald B. Adler and Neil Towne pp. 403-408; Exercises: Vocabulary Preview, Prereading, and Postreading pp. 400-401, Retention, Main Ideas, Interpretation, Conclusion, Application, and Vocabulary pp. 409-413.

Week 14:

Appendix: Measuring Reading Speed and Efficiency p. 443.
Discussion of Final Exam.

EN099 – Developmental English II

Supplementary Sources for Study and Research