Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Write a clear, well developed five-paragraph essay with an appropriate introduction and conclusion and a clear thesis statement.

Write a minimum of five compositions, including at least two of each of the following:

1.      satisfactory in-class essays

2.      satisfactory out-of-class essays

* explanation of “satisfactory” attached

A. Grammar Review and Instruction

1. Phrases and Clauses
2. Verbs and Related Structures
3. Other Parts of Speech
4. Mechanics

B. Writing Process
C. Rhetorical Styles
D. Critical Thinking Skills

Competencies and Skills
A. Grammar and Mechanics
Phrases and Clauses
1. review sentence patterns
2. use simple, compound and complex sentences
3. use adverb clauses of time, reason, and contrast
4. use prepositional and transitional phrases
5. recognize and begin to use adverb clauses in the conditional (real)
6. recognize and begin to use adjective clauses
7. recognize noun clauses and reported speech
8. identify and correct sentence fragments, run-ons, and comma splices
Verbs and Related Structures
1. use simple present, simple past, simple future, present continuous, past continuous, present perfect and present perfect continuous tenses competently
2. recognize and continue to use past perfect and past perfect continuous tenses
3. recognize and continue to use future continuous, future perfect and future perfect continuous tenses
4. recognize and continue to use two-word verbs
5. use transitive, intransitive and linking verbs competently
6. use passive voice effectively
7. use modals (present and future) and related words correctly
8. recognize and begin to use perfect, progressive and passive modals
9. recognize and begin to use gerunds and infinitives
Other Parts of Speech
1. use pronouns, adverbs, prepositions of place and time, coordinating conjunctions, count and non-count nouns, comparative and superlative adjectives, adjectives of quantity, and articles with common nouns competently
2. recognize and begin to use nouns as modifiers, participial adjectives, adverbs of cause/effect, and transition words
Mechanics
1. understand and use basic punctuation (periods, commas, question marks and quotation marks)
2. understand and use colons, semi colons, exclamation marks, and hyphens
3. identify and use capitalization, margins, and paragraph indentation
4. recognize and use spelling rules and common spelling patterns

B. The Writing Process
1. use prewriting skills, including brainstorming, group discussion of topics, narrowing a topic, and outlining
2. revise and edit multiple drafts
3. organize paragraphs correctly, using topic sentences, supporting details, coherence and unity
4. use correct format for papers
C. Rhetorical Styles
1. competently use the following rhetorical styles in essays: narration; description; process, and comparison /contrast
D. Critical Thinking Skills
1. use supplemental readings to obtain ideas and vocabulary for writing assignments
2. avoid plagiarism
3. distinguish between narration, description
4. identify topics of equal class for comparison or contrast
5. develop an awareness of audience and purpose
6. distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information
Explanation of Satisfactory Essays
A satisfactory essay includes the following:
1. selection of a topic worthy of adult communication
2. originality with awareness of audience
3. an introductory paragraph
4. a clear thesis statement
5. appropriate topic sentences
6. adequate paragraph development
7. a concluding paragraph
8. unity and coherence
9. seventy percent grammatical accuracy in these areas: verb tense, verb form, run-ons, fragments, agreement, word form, word choice, and word order: grammatical errors in other areas should not interfere with intelligibility
10. level and audience-appropriate vocabulary
11. level-appropriate transitions
12. sentence variety
In addition to the above general criteria, the following specific criteria will be used:
A satisfactory in-class essay
1. is one and a half double-spaced pages or more
2. includes development that is at least 70 percent as thorough as satisfactory out-of-class essays
A satisfactory out-of-class essay
1. is the equivalent of one and a half typed double-spaced pages