Curriculum Design (EAP: Academic Writing)

Vicky Fang u MATESOL
Component 6: Revised Project i
Curriculum Design
English for Academic Purpose: Academic Writing
Vicky Fang

Component 6: Revised Project ii
Table of Contents
BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................1 NEEDS ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................2 METHOD AND FOCI .................................................................................................................2 FINDINGS ...................................................................................................................................3 NEEDS ANALYSIS SOLUTIONS .............................................................................................4 PHILOSOPHY ...............................................................................................................................5 A GENRE APPROACH ..............................................................................................................5 READING-TO-WRITE AND WRITING-TO-READ ................................................................6 PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT .....................................................................................................7 COURSE SYLLABUS ...................................................................................................................9 SYLLABUS OUTLINE ...............................................................................................................11 UNIT 1 PLAN...............................................................................................................................15 LESSON 2 PLAN .........................................................................................................................17 UNIT 12 PLAN.............................................................................................................................20 LESSON 15 PLAN .......................................................................................................................22 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................25 REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................26 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................28 APPENDIX A: CURRENT STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE ..................................................28 APPENDIX B: PAST STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE ............................................................31 APPENDIX C: COURSE DESIGN PROCEDURE OUTLINE ..............................................35 APPENDIX D: ACADEMIC WRITING PORTFOLIO GUIDELINES ...............................37 APPENDIX E: READING HANDOUT FOR LESSON 2 .......................................................40 APPENDIX F: TOPIC SENTENCE WORKSHEET ..............................................................41 APPENDIX G: MOODLE DISCUSSION FORUM PROMPT ..............................................43 APPENDIX H: A PICTURE OF DEATH PENALTY.............................................................44 APPENDIX I: HANDOUTS FOR LESSON 15 ........................................................................45

Component 6: Revised Project 1
This paper is a revised and expanded edition of an original curriculum design project. This curriculum was an Academic Writing course of the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program at Dordt College in Iowa. The project was initially developed for a curriculum design course in the Fall of 2012 in collaboration with colleague Hala Sun from Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS). Hala is also an alumnus of Dordt College. Thanks to her connection with the school, we were able to obtain full support from the faculty members of the English Department at Dordt College. In this edited version, I have revised the design, expanded the conceptual background, incorporated teacher feedback from the original project and enriched the curriculum with another unit plan and lesson plan. With these revisions, I believe that this project not only presents a more efficient and organized curriculum with compelling theoretical supports, but also it reflects my own language beliefs and teaching philosophies. Background In Fall 2012, I worked with one of my MIIS colleagues, Hala, in the Curriculum Design course to create a curriculum for the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program at Dordt College. There are two EAP courses that last for one semester. One is Academic Interaction (EAP 101), which focuses on developing speaking and listening skills, and the other is Academic Writing (EAP 102), which focuses on practicing reading and writing skills. All students admitted to Dordt College for whom English is not their native language are required to take a placement test, which determines whether the students need to take Academic Interaction and/or Academic Writing. Students who score lower than 70% on each of these three subtestslistening comprehension, oral presentation and grammar need to take Academic Interaction. Students

who score lower than 80% on each of these two subtestsreading comprehension and miniessay writing respectively need to take Academic Writing. Every semester, there are about 12 incoming international students at Dordt College. These international students will either attend college for all four years (long term students) or for one semester or one year (exchange students). Currently, there is only one course level and Professor Sanneke Kok teaches both of these courses. We found in our interview with Professor Kok that most international students are exchange students from South Korea with limited exposure to academic English. In addition, there are a few students every year from the Netherlands, Latin American countries, and African countries. The age group ranges from 18 to 25 years old. Needs Analysis Method and Foci According to Brown (2007), a needs assessment is an important precursor to designing the goals of a course in that it can identify the overall purposes of the course (p. 152). Prior to designing a curriculum, we decided to conduct a needs analysis to understand the needs of the international students and the ESL/English Department. To ensure the reliability of our needs assessment, we utilized the overlapping method, also known as methodological triangulation: interviews, questionnaires, relevant literature and materials provided by Professor Kok (Allwright & Bailey, 1991). We first interviewed Professor Kok and three of the English professors at Dordtone professor teaches the core English literature class, and the other two professors teach both the core English literature class and the core English writing class. After the interviews, we designed two types of questionnaires to administer to current and past students respectively (see

Appendices A and B). By surveying two groups, we not only could get the feedback on the current EAP courses, but also could obtain the reflective insights from the past students on how these courses have helped them transition to English classes. We piloted the questionnaires with MIIS international students and revised the unclear or unnecessary questions. Finally, with the hope of a higher return rate than digital copies, we mailed the paper copies of the surveys to Professor Kok and had her mail them back to us. We received all 10 surveys from the current students and 7 out of 12 surveys from the past students. Findings The following table summarizes the findings of the needs analysis. Table 2 Needs Analysis Summary (Quantitative Data) Participant Current Students Most important language skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) Reading subskill that needs the most practice Writing subskill that needs the most practice Writing and listening
Previous Students Writing
Increasing vocabulary Using correct and advanced vocabulary
Increasing vocabulary Using correct and advanced vocabulary Understanding colloquial sayings and idioms Delivering a speech in a formal setting Grammar
Listening subskill that needs the Understanding most practice colloquial sayings and idioms Speaking subskill that needs the Using colloquial sayings most practice and idioms Most difficult component in English writing Grammar
Combining both the results of current and past students, it seemed that they all regarded writing as the most important component among the four essential language skills. Although students indicated a strong desire to increase vocabulary knowledge, they agreed that the most

difficult component in English writing was grammar. According to our interviews with the English professors who taught English classes at Dordt College, there also seemed to be a great need to improve ESL students academic writing skills, specifically their accuracy in grammar usage. Students perceived difficulty in English writing matched with the English professors perceived challenges for the ESL students in their classes. In other words, grammar and writing were both important aspects influencing the academic success of the students as well as shaping the teaching and the evaluation standards of professors at Dordt College. Needs Analysis Solutions According to the findings, there seemed to be a great need to improve ESL students academic writing skills, specifically their accuracy in grammar usage. Furthermore, the professors emphasis on the grammar component of language translated into a belief that Professor Kok mentioned in the interviewit is important that students want to present good writing, accurate writing (personal communication, September 24, 2012). Thus, we decided to design an academic writing curriculum that incorporates grammar instruction. Bitcheners (2008) research suggests that ESL learners achieve the greatest improvements on forms when the teacher conducts mini-lessons on a small range of recurrent error categories and follow these up with small group meta-linguistic sessions on particular error categories (p. 116). Thus, we decided to have eight grammar workshops, which aim to give students explicit instruction on the selected grammar topics (see Course Syllabus, p.9). The grammar topics were selected based on the curriculum designers own experiences of being ESL students and the problems described in the Teachers Grammar of English, which suggests the difficulties ESL students may share in grammar (Cowan, 2008).

In addition, we also found through our interviews that most of the professors at Dordt College strived for making the ESL students participate more often in class. Ortega (2009) suggests that the participation of ESL students could be improved when these students expertise is viewed as an asset in class discussions. Therefore, we decided to collect materials that can trigger students discussion from their own cultural perspectives (see the themes in Syllabus Outline, p. 11-14). Philosophy According to Graves (2000), your beliefs about which view of language should be emphasized will translate into beliefs about how the language should be learned (p. 28). Thus, as the curriculum designers, we could not help but infuse our education philosophies into the creation of the curriculum. A Genre Approach Ferris and Hedgecock (1998) argue that academic ESL instruction should enable learners to acquire skills, develop strategies, and master the spoken and written conventions of the academic community in general and of the individual disciplines they will pursue (p. 36). Keeping this notion in mind, we decided to use a genre approach to teaching writing because it can introduce explicitly to students the conventions that are implicit in the academic genre (Ferris & Hedgcock, 1998; Hyland, 2004). Following Hylands (2004) instructions of how to organize a genre-based writing course, we chose to make the writing course have a theme focus, which means that genres are selected and sequenced by learner needs and demands of the theme (Hyland, 2004, p. 90). The selection of the themes was not only based on whether the theme could contextualize the instruction of certain writing skills, but also based on whether the theme could trigger the students interest and allow the students to draw upon their personal

experiences and prior knowledge (Hyland, 2004, p. 90). In addition to establishing the themes, we outlined the procedures of developing the genre-based writing course based on Burns and Joyces (1997, cited in Hyland 2004) framework (see Appendix C). Reading-to-Write and Writing-to-Read After developing the outline of the course, we were also concerned about the role that reading would play in a writing curriculum. As Ferris and Hedgcock (1998) have pointed out, much research has indicated that there is a positive correlation between ones reading competence and writing competence. Reading has long been considered as a receptive counterpart to writing. Smith (1994) argues that we must learn from exposure to writing, in other words from reading, and from acquaintanceship with writers (p. 178). A lot of academic writing classes also focus on the practice of reading. However, reading is very important to ESL writers not only because of the reasons mentioned above, but because reading helps to reduce the impact of intercultural rhetoric on ESL writers (Ferries & Hedgcock, forthcoming). As the curriculum developers of an English writing course, we were aware of the various rhetorical styles that the ESL students might bring into the classrooms (Connor & Kaplan, 1987). Thus, we regarded reading extensively as the fundamental foundation for someone to develop his/her writing skill and it must be reading done in a particular way (Smith, 1994, p.178). That particular way refers to the active perceptual process of reading, in which learners acquaint themselves with writing as well as with their own thoughts (Ferries & Hedgcock, 2009). Therefore, we incorporated different subgenres of academic writing into the curriculum (see the themes in Syllabus Outline, p. 11-14). On the other hand, writing also helps to promote learners reading skills. Moreover, it can be used to help ESL students to develop their schema, which was defined as an organized chunk

of knowledge or experience, often accompanied by feelings (Weaver, 2002, p. 18). In a word, writing-to-read gives the reader a lens that entails using his/her life experience and previous knowledge to examine a text. Citing Gage (1986), Hirvela (2004) argues that writing makes thinking visible and we are able to catch the thoughts that are otherwise hard to obtain. Thus, free writing, without the constraints and rules of academic writing, can emancipate students from being trapped in some rumpled thoughts and prepares them for academic writing. Free writing can also be used to help students build up content schemata before they read a text. At this stage, writing makes visible not only the readers thinking process, but also the attached values and stereotypes of the reader (Hirvela, 2004). Thus, writing becomes the process of helping readers to understand a text as well as the process of creating a new text based on the reading (Smith, 1994). Therefore, my lesson plans started with free writing tasks that aimed to help the students prepare for the following readings (see Pre-Task 1 of Lesson Plan 2, p. 18). Portfolio Assessment Ferris and Hedgcock (1998) define portfolio assessment as an overall model of organizing writing processes and written products for ongoing reflection, dialogue, and evaluation (p. 245). Thus, when pondering upon how we could help students have a smooth transition from the EAP course to the regular academic English classes, we thought that ESL students may benefit from having a portfolio that contains all their grammar worksheets, feedback forms, and writing assignments. Not only might this portfolio help them feel proud of their achievement as English language learners, but the materials in the portfolio could also serve as their reference whenever they are writing essays for other classes. Furthermore, Bailey (1998) mentions that portfolio assessment not only measures what it is intended to measure (which is learners writing skills),

but also it has positive effect on teaching and learning. For instance, Weigle (2002) points out that portfolio assessment helps students develop a sense of ownership of the writing because students not only need to select and arrange the portfolio contents, but also they are required to take the responsibility for their own development in writing. Through the portfolio assignment, we hope to make ESL students aware that writing is a continuous process and help students build up a study file that they can refer back to later. Finally, this portfolio could also be used as a tool for the English professors to understand the cultural and linguistic background of the ESL students. Thus far I have described the needs assessment process and the philosophies that support the design of the Academic Writing curriculum. The following section demonstrates the curriculum in a more concrete way. It is composed of a course syllabus, syllabus outline, two unit plans and two lesson plans. The semester-long course takes 17 academic weeks and contains 12 units. There are eight grammar workshops that are incorporated into the course units. In each grammar workshop, students will be given a grammar worksheet which explains a certain grammar concept and also includes exercises for students to practice. For this whole course, students are required to accomplish two writing assignments, one research paper and a course portfolio.

English for Academic Purpose: Academic Writing Course Syllabus FALL 2013 Instructor: Vicky Fang Email: uwfangz@gmail.com Class Meetings: T-Th 1:503:05 PM Location: CL1316 Course Description Course name: Academic Writing Class duration and frequency: 75 minutes a day, twice a week Course length: A twelve-week long EAP course for college ESL students Overall Course Goals Students will be able to Enhance their academic writing skills Gain deeper understanding of grammar concepts. Facilitate cultural understanding through discussions and reading/writing exercises. Gain knowledge of standard academic writing styles and formats, and apply this knowledge through writing tasks and projects. Prepare themselves to take ENG 101 courses. Improve their overall English proficiency. Requirements and Student Responsibilities 1. Attendance is mandatory. Students need to attend every class session on time. 2. Late work will be accepted without penalty only under extraordinary circumstances. In any other case, late work will be marked one grade lower. 3. Participation in class discussions, workshops and class Moodle site is expected of all students and will be considered in the course grade. 4. External proofreaders for written assignments are not necessary for the course. Requirements and Grading Attendance and Participation Moodle Log (four) Writing Assignment (two) Research Paper EAP: Academic Writing Portfolio 10% 25% 20% 15% 30%
Moodle logs will be required for this course. The instructor will give you one or two prompts for each log. You need to respond to the prompt(s) in 200-300 words. The topics range from course readings, class discussions, grammar concepts and your own writing processes. In addition to posting your individual Moodle reflections, you are also expected to respond to at least one post of your classmates.

Writing assignments will count for graded credit when the final version is submitted to the instructor. You will be asked to revise the two writing assignments and include them in your EAP: Academic Writing Portfolio (due in Week 17); the writing assignment portion of your course grade will be based on the quality of the papers you turn in with the portfolio. Research Paper will be introduced in Week 11. You are allowed to choose the topics covered in the course, such as cultural relevance, technology and education. The research paper will also be required to include in your portfolio, so the final grade of the research paper will be based on the quality of the final version submitted with your portfolio. EAP: Academic Writing Portfolio will be submitted in Week 17. The Portfolio needs to be submitted within binders no larger than two inches. A complete Portfolio includes the following components: A. B. C. D. Title Page (refer to MLA guidelines) Portfolio Submission Checklist (refer to EAP: Academic Writing Portfolio guidelines) Table of Contents Feature Writing (D-1: Two revised writing assignments; and D-2: Two pieces of selfselected writing and rationale) E. Encountering American Academic Culture Final Reflection Essay F. Research Paper (include all drafts, peer responses, and teachers feedback) G. Grammar File (Eight grammar worksheets) Refer to EAP: Academic Writing Portfolio guidelines for specific instructions (Appendix D).

Component 6: Revised Project 11 Syllabus Outline
Week 1
Day 8/27 8/29
Themes Introduction to Course Reasons for Writing
Workshops
Goals & Skills
Assignment Due
Unit 1
Listening, speaking and Moodle Log 1 writing Summary writing Identifying main ideas Summary writing Paraphrasing Informal Presentations Reading strategically Defining vocabulary through context Summarizing reading materials Critical reading Reflective writing Writing present and past descriptions Writing with specific details Reading and reflecting on others writing Editing Revision techniques Taking notes efficiently Reading and evaluating the effects of technology Identifying and improving thesis statements Understanding structure of academic essays Final submission of Writing Assignment 1 4 Moodle Log 2 3 2
9/3
Cultural Relevance 1 (Narrative Paragraph Development)
Grammar workshop (GW) 1 Active/passive voice (Worksheet) GW2SubjectVerb Agreement (Worksheet) Peer Response and Training Workshop
9/5
Cultural Relevance 2 (Narrative Paragraph Development)
9/10
Memorable Places 1 (Descriptive Paragraph Development) Memorable Places 2 (Descriptive Paragraph Development) Peer Review Note-taking Strategies Technology 1 (Constructing a Cohesive and Coherent Essay)
9/12
Begin the 1st draft of Writing Assignment 1
9/17 9/19
Complete the first draft of Writing Assignment 1
9/24

9/26
Technology 2 (Constructing a Cohesive and Coherent Essay)
GW3Adverb Clauses of Result, reduced adverb (Worksheet)
10/1
Expository Essay
10/3 10/8
Expository Essay (contd.)
Editing Workshop comparative forms, correlative conjunctions, run-on sentence, comma splice
Expanding a paragraph into an essay Improving cohesion by using connecting words Writing a good concluding paragraph Reading to write Freewriting Expository paragraph development No class Constructing expository essays Introduction to documentation style and plagiarism
Moodle Log 3
10/10
8 (midterm)
10/15
In-class Writing (Writing Assignment 2) The Power of Culture and Language 1 (Compare-andContrast Paragraph Development)
Timed writing 6
Learning about the impacts of culture and language in our lives Identifying points of comparison Composing comparison & contrast paragraphs Using comparison & contrast transitions to increase coherence Editing & Revising Writing paragraphs analyzing reasons Building cohesion and coherence in writing *Receive Writing Assignment 2 with feedback; Begin Writing Assignment 2 revision
10/17
The Power of Culture and Language 2 (Compare-andContrast Paragraph Development) Human Behavior 1 (Analyzing Reasons) Human Behavior 2 (Analyzing Reasons)
Writing Assignment 2 Review Workshop
10/22 10/24
GW4 Pronoun consistency (Worksheet)
7 Moodle Log 4

Component 6: Revised Project 13 GW5Articles with Quantifiers, Articles with count and noncount nouns (Worksheet) Learning about the field of marketing Identifying different categories Summarizing, paraphrasing Identifying different categories Building cohesion Organizing and writing a classification essay Identifying causes and/or effects in the essay Determining the writers purposes Using transitions for cause and effect Writing a cause-andeffect essay Learning about ways to improve environmental sustainability Distinguishing between directional and informational process Practicing writing about a process Using participial phrases to increase coherence Final submission of Essay 2 8
10
10/29
10/31
Marketing & Advertising 1 (Developing Classification Paragraphs) Marketing & Advertising 2
11
11/5
Academic Achievement 1; Brainstorming Topics for Research Paper Academic Achievement 2 GW6Adverb clauses of cause and result, unreal conditions (Worksheet)
Begin the 1st draft of research paper
11/7
12
11/12
Sustainable Environment 1 (Analyzing Process in Writing)
10
11/14 Sustainable Environment 2 (Analyzing Process in Writing) Peer Review GW7 Noun clauses, gerunds and infinitives (Worksheet) Peer Response Training & Workshop
Moodle Log 5
13
11/19
11/21
Using correct documentation style Identifying grammar errors No class
1st draft of Research paper

Component 6: Revised Project 14 GW8 Adverbial clauses (Worksheet) Reading about issues in education Building argumentative thesis: Taking a stand Building up background knowledge of the death penalty Using sufficient examples to support a thesis Using participial phrases, adverbial clauses of purpose and conditionals correctly Evaluating the support in an argumentative text Outlining an argumentative text Support, explain and refute arguments Reviewing all the grammar skills covered in the course Error treatment on the grammar problems that appear in the drafts of the research papers *Receive feedback on 2nd draft 2nd draft of research paper 11
14
11/26
Education Excellence 1 (Introduction to Argumentative Essays) Education Excellence 2
11/28
15
12/3
Social Justice
12
12/5 Grammar Review Paper Review Workshop
16 17
12/10 12/12 12/16
Final Conference Final Conference Submit final portfolio

UNIT 1: Introduction to Academic Writing Objectives: Students will be able to Meet and connect with the teacher and the other students in the class. Familiarize themselves with the main aspects of the syllabus. Know all the requirements and assignments. Write the ideas of a text after listening to the teacher dictate the text. Know the concept of topic sentences. Produce topic sentences for given paragraphs.

Day
Week 1 Unit Plan: August 2729, 2013 Topic Task Materials Homework Introduction 1. Introduction. No homework Handouts of to Academic 2. Ice-breaker Activity: course syllabus Writing getting to know each Handouts of course other (Pair up portfolio plan students and ask them to introduce themselves. Next, each student needs to introduce his/her pair to the whole class.) 3. Distribute the course syllabus to students. Highlight the main aspects of the syllabus. 4. Distribute the portfolio plan to students. Discuss the requirements. Reasons for 1. Give students 5 min. Students 1. Check out Purdue Writing to free write on the OWL website (the freewriting topic, reasons for link is posted on notebook writing. Moodle). Paper 2. Read the text to Reading handout: 2. Respond to the students several discussion forum on an excerpt from times and ask Moodle. Reading Across students to write the the Gap: How I ideas as they Write remember them. Topic sentence 3. In pairs, students worksheet discuss the questions related to the text. 4. Students underline the topic sentences in given paragraphs. 5. In pairs, students work on the topic sentence worksheet. Next, discuss the answers as a whole class. 6. Remind students to check out Moodle discussion forum.
Thursday, August 29th
Tuesday, August 27th

Component 6: Revised Project 17 LESSON PLAN 2: Reasons for Writing
Date: August 29, 2013 Class Size: 12 students Students: ESL/International students; 1st semester college-level Duration: 75 minutes Objectives: Students will be able to... O1. O2. O3. O4. O5. O6. Build up content schemata before reading a text Listen to a text and paraphrase it as closely as possible Comprehend a text through discussion Relate the authors experience with the students own experiences Identify topic sentences Write topic sentences

Component 6: Revised Project 18 Reasons for Writing Activity Ask students to think about why they need to write. Tell students to take out their free writing notebook and give them 5 min. to free write on the topic, reasons for writing. Ask students to share the reasons they have come up with. Write students responses on the board. Give specific instructions on the dictocomp exercise and ask students to take out a piece of paper. Read the text, Reading Across the Gap: How I Write at a normal speed. After students finish the dictocomp, read the text again for students to revise their writings. Ask some students to read their dictocomps to the class. Ask students to discuss in pairs on the reasons that motivated the author to write. Tell students to reconvene as a class and call out the results of their discussions. Write down students findings on the board. Ask students if the story triggers their memories and tell them to share their own experience when they are motivated to write.
Procedure 1
Stage & Time Pre-task 1: Free writing (10 min)

Objecti Materials ves O1 Students free writing notebook
Task 1a: Dictocomp Activity
O2
Paper Reading handout: an excerpt from Reading Across the Gap: How I Write (Appendix E)
(15 min)
Task 1b:
O3, O4
None
Comprehen sion Activity (15 min)



Task 2: Topic Sentence Exercise (10 min)
Give students the script of the excerpt. Introduce the idea of topic sentence. Ask students to underline the topic sentence in each paragraph of the article. Pair students up to discuss their answers. Ask students to report their answers as a class. Distribute the worksheet to students. Give students 10 min. to work in pairs. Discuss the answers of the worksheet with students. Invite students to check out Purdue University Online Writing Lab for topic sentences (The link is posted on Moodle). Ask students to respond to the discussion forum on Moodle by next class (see the prompt in Appendix G).
O5
Reading handout (Appendix E)
Task 3: Topic Sentence Exercise (20 min) Closing: (5 min)
O5, O6
Topic sentence worksheet (Appendix F) None

Component 6: Revised Project 20 UNIT 12: Social Justice
Objectives: Students will be able to Learn about and discuss issues about the death penalty. Evaluate the support in an argumentative text. Explain, support and refute arguments. Identify and correct the common grammar errors that occur in their writings.

Day
Topic Social Justice
1.
2.
Tuesday, December 3rd
3. 4.
Week 12 Unit Plan: December 35, 2013 Task Materials Give students 5 min. Computer to write about their opinions toward the Projector death penalty. Ask students to share Screen their opinions and reasons. Ask students to read White board an argumentative article about the Sharpies death penalty. 2. Students work in groups to identify A picture of the the main arguments death penalty and evaluate the (Appendix H) support in the text. Students present A reading their findings. handout & Students write a worksheet (see paragraph that Appendix I) refutes the arguments. Common Grammar Error Worksheet: The worksheet collects the grammatically incorrect sentences that frequently occurred in students writings.
Homework Bring all the grammar worksheets for the next class.
Grammar Review
1. Ask students if they have any questions on their grammar worksheets. 2. Distribute the Common Grammar Error Worksheet to students. 3. Divide the class into three groups and ask students to work as a group and find out the grammar errors. 4. Discuss the sentences one by one with students and distribute the answer sheets to the students at the end of the class.
None
Thursday, December 5th
Answers to the worksheet

LESSON PLAN 15: Social Justicethe Death Penalty Date: December 3, 2013 Class Size: 12 students Students: ESL/International students; 1st semester college-level Duration: 75 minutes Objectives: Students will be able to... O1. O2. O3. O4. O5. O6. O7. Develop ideas on a given topic List reasons that support their arguments Work independently and cooperatively Identify the main arguments of a given article Describe how to support and explain an argument Make an outline of an argumentative text Refute arguments in writing

Procedure 1 Stage & Time Task 1: Free writing
Social Justice 3the Death Penalty Activity
(5 min)
Show students the image of the death penalty on the classroom screen. Tell students to take out their free writing notebook and give them 5 min. to write down their opinions on the death penalty.
Objec tives O1
Materials Computer Projector Screen Students free writing notebooks A picture of the death penalty (Appendix H)
Post-Task 1: Sharing time
(10 min) 2 Pre-Task 2: Preparation & Reading the text (15 min)

Ask students to raise their hands if they support the death penalty. Ask them to share their reasons and write down the reasons on the board. Do the same thing to the students who are against the death penalty and those who do not care. Randomly divide the class into 4 groups. Establish a role for each member of the group. They have 3 choices: recorder, presenter and encourager. Ask each student to write the role on a role cards and place it in front of him/her. Distribute Handout #1 to each student. Give students 10 min. to read the article by themselves. Give one Handout #2 to each group. Give students 15 min. to discuss the questions listed on Handout #2. (The students whose roles are recorders need to write down the answers to the questions).
O2
White board Sharpies
O3
Handout #1: Reading of The Conservative Case Against the Death Penalty (Appendix I)
Task 2a: Group discussion (15 min)
O3, O4, O5, O6
Handout #2: Worksheet (Appendix I)

Task 2b: Presentation
(10 min)
Task 3: Writing Activity
Tell students to reconvene as a class. Show the word document of Handout #2 on the screen. Each group take turns presenting their answers. (The students whose roles are presenters should present the results after the discussion). Confirm and record students answers on the document. Give students 10 min. to write a paragraph in which they disagree with the opinion of the author. Select several students to share their writings. Give students 5 min. to write their reflections on what they have learned today. Ask students to post their writings on Moodle. Tell students to bring all of their grammar worksheets for the next class.
O4, O5, O6
Computer Projector Screen Handout #2 (Appendix I)
O7
Paper
(15 min) Closing: (5 min)
Free writing notebooks

Component 6: Revised Project 25 Conclusion
This curriculum was my first attempt to design a language course. It required a lot of work, but overall, I feel confident and happy with the results of the needs assessment and the design of our curriculum, including syllabus, course outline, unit plans and lesson plans. This process has made me realize that curriculum design needs to take a lot of aspects into account, such as students needs, teachers requirements and the education philosophies of the institution. All of these aspects helped us make appropriate decisions in designing a course suitable for the target students in the target setting. For instance, since Dordt College emphasized students using correct grammar in writing, we incorporated grammar workshops into the writing curriculum. Through revising the project, I got a chance to reflect upon the original project, add more personal voice in it, improve the weaknesses of the project as well as reinforce the strengths of the project.

Component 6: Revised Project 26 References
Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., & Brizee, A. (2010, May 5). Topic sentences. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/index.php?category_id=2&sub_categor y_id=1&article_id=29 Allwright, D., & Bailey, K.M. (1991). Focus on the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bailey, K. M. (1998). Learning about language assessment: Dilemmas, decisions, and directions. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle Publishers. Bitchener, J. (2008). Evidence in support of written corrective feedback. Journal of Second Language Writing, 17, 102-118. Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (3rd ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman. Cary, M. K. (2011, March 30). The conservative case against the death penalty. The U.S. News. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2011/03/30/the-conservativecase-against-the-death-penalty Connor, U., & Kaplan, R. B. (1987). Writing across languages: Analysis of L2 text. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley. Ferris, D. R., & Hedgcock, J. S. (1998). Teaching ESL composition: Purpose, process, and practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Ferris, D., & Hedgcock, J. (Forthcoming). Teaching L2 composition: Purpose, process, and practice (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Graves, K. (2000). Designing language courses: a guide for teachers. London: Heinle & Heinle. Hedgcock, J. S., & Ferris, D. R. (2009). Teaching readers of English: Students, texts, and contexts. New York, NY: Routledge. Hirvela, A. (2004). Connecting reading and writing in second language writing instruction. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Hyland, K. (2004). Disciplinary discourses: Social interactions in academic writing. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Ortega, L. (2009). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Hodder Education. Ruetten, M. K. (2012). Developing composition skills: Academic writing and grammar (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Heinle. Smith. (1994). Writing and the writer (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Weaver, C. (2002). Reading process and practice: From socio-psycholinguistics to Whole Language (3rd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Weigle, S. C. (2002). Assessing writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Component 6: Revised Project 28 Appendix A Current Students Questionnaire
We (Hala Sun & Vicky Fang) are TESOL graduate students at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. We are currently designing a curriculum to meet incoming Dordt ESL students needs. Please provide candid responses, as only this will guarantee the success of creating a meaningful course. Thank you very much for your time! Section I: 1.) Gender: _________________________ 2.) Native Language:___________________ 3.) Nationality:________________________ 4.) Are you an international student or an exchange student?______________________ 5.) How long have you lived in the U.S.?_____________________________________ 6.) How long have you studied English?______________________________________ 7.) How do you rate your overall English proficiency? (Please circle)
1: Excellent 2: Good 3: Fair 4: Poor
8.) How important is to improve the following skills? (Please circle the number for each skill)
1: Not important 2: Somewhat important 3: Important 4: Very important
Listening skills Reading skills Writing skills Speaking skills
1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4
Section II: 1.) How many years of English academic writing experience do you have? (Please circle)
<1 year 1 year
2 years
2 years+
2.) What do you think is most difficult for you in English writing? (Check only ONE) ___1. Grammar ___2. Vocabulary/Use of words ___3. Developing content ___4. Organization/structure
3.) How often do you read English materials (e.g., textbooks, newspapers, etc.)? (Please circle)
1: Never 2: Once a week 3: 26 times a week 4: Everyday

4.) Please number the following list in the order of how much you read it (15)
(1: I read this a lot in English 5: I read this the least in English)
___Literary work ___Newspapers and magazines ___Instructional materials (e.g., textbooks) ___Email ___Websites 5.) How confident are you in paraphrasing the main points of an English article after reading it? (Please circle)
1: very confident 2: confident 3: somewhat confident 4: not so confident 5: not confident at all
6.) Please rate the subskills of writing using 1 to 5 (Please circle the number)
(1: I need little practice on the skill 5: I need a lot of practice on the skill)
Least Using correct grammar Using correct and advanced vocabulary Developing content Increasing flow of essay Using correct documentation styles (MLA, APA) Composing an organized essay 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4
Most 5 5 5 5 5 5
7.) Please rate the subskills of reading using 1 to 5 (Please circle the number)
Least Understanding grammatical relationships at the sentence level Increasing vocabulary Paraphrasing Understanding conceptual meaning in text (e.g., comparison, cause & effect, etc.) Understanding not explicitly stated ideas and information in text Note-making from text 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4
Most 5 5 5 5 5 5
8.) How confident are you in speaking in front of the class? (Please circle).

9.) How confident are you in listening and understanding class lectures and discussions? (Please circle).
10.) Which of the following topics would you like to see covered in your speaking and listening course? (Check ALL that apply). _____Youth culture (clothes, topics on social media, trends, cultural difference) _____Pop music and icons _____American films and dramas _____Social issues (environment, science & technology, community, etc.) _____Current political issues 11.) Please rate the subskills of listening using 1 to 5 (Please circle)
Least Understanding lectures in English Understanding media (movies, TV, radio) Understanding colloquial sayings and idioms Understanding real conversations in English 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4
Most 5 5 5 5
12.) Please rate the subskills of speaking using 1 to 5 (Please circle)

Least Improving fluency in English (deliver intended message effectively) Improving accuracy in English (e.g., using correct grammar) Using colloquial sayings and idioms Improving pronunciation Delivering a speech in a formal setting Having a conversation with native speakers 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4
Most 5 5 5 5 5 5
13.) Which of the following activities would you like to see covered in your speaking and listening course: (Please check up to 3) ____role-playing ____conducting interviews ____presentations ____debate ____talk show ____watching a video clip ____discussion about a topic

Component 6: Revised Project 31 Appendix B Past Students Questionnaire
We (Hala Sun & Vicky Fang) are TESOL graduate students at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. We are currently designing a curriculum to meet incoming Dordt ESL students needs. Please provide candid responses, as only this will guarantee the success of creating a meaningful course. Thank you very much for your time! Section I: 1.) Gender: _________________________ 2.) Native Language:___________________ 3.) Nationality:________________________ 4.) Are you an international student or an exchange student?______________________ 5.) How long have you lived in the U.S.?_____________________________________ 6.) How long have you studied English?______________________________________ 7.) How do you rate your overall English proficiency? (Please circle)
1: Excellent 2: Good 3: Fair 4: Poor
8.) How important is to improve the following skills? (Please circle the number for each skill)
1: Not important 2: Somewhat important 3: Important 4: Very important
Listening skills Reading skills Writing skills Speaking skills
1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4
9.) How have the ESL courses helped you improve your English proficiency?
10.) How have the ESL courses helped you to transition to English 101 course?

Section II: 1.) How many years of English academic writing experience do you have? (Please circle)
<1 year 1 year
2 years
2 years+
2.) What do you think is most difficult for you in English writing? (Check only ONE) ___1. Grammar ___2. Vocabulary/Use of words ___3. Developing content ___4. Organization/structure
3.) How often do you read English materials (e.g., textbooks, newspapers, etc.)? (Please circle)
1: Never 2: Once a week 3: 26 times a week 4: Everyday
4.) Please number the following list in the order of how much you read it (15)
(1: I read this a lot in English 5: I read this the least in English)
___Literary work ___Newspapers and magazines ___Instructional materials (e.g., textbooks) ___Email ___Websites 5.) How confident are you in paraphrasing the main points of an English article after reading it? (Please circle)
6.) Please rate the subskills of writing using 1 to 5 (Please circle the number)
Least Using correct grammar Using correct and advanced vocabulary Developing content Increasing flow of essay Using correct documentation styles (MLA, APA) Composing an organized essay 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4
Most 5 5 5 5 5 5

7.) Please rate the subskills of reading using 1 to 5 (Please circle the number)
Least Understanding grammatical relationships at the sentence level Increasing vocabulary Paraphrasing Understanding conceptual meaning in text (e.g., comparison, cause & effect, etc.) Understanding not explicitly stated ideas and information in text Note-making from text 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4
Most 5 5 5 5 5 5
8.) How confident are you in speaking in front of the class? (Please circle).
9.) How confident are you in listening and understanding class lectures and discussions? (Please circle).
10.) Which of the following topics would you like to see covered in your speaking and listening course? (Check ALL that apply). _____Youth culture (clothes, topics on social media, trends, cultural difference) _____Pop music and icons _____American films and dramas _____Social issues (environment, science & technology, community, etc.) _____Current political issues 11.) Please rate the subskills of listening using 1 to 5 (Please circle)
Least Understanding lectures in English Understanding media (movies, TV, radio) Understanding colloquial sayings and idioms Understanding real conversations in English 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4
Most 5 5 5 5

12.) Please rate the subskills of speaking using 1 to 5 (Please circle)

Least Improving fluency in English (deliver intended message effectively) Improving accuracy in English (e.g., using correct grammar) Using colloquial sayings and idioms Improving pronunciation Delivering a speech in a formal setting Having conversation with native speakers 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4
Most 5 5 5 5 5 5
13.) Which of the following activities would you like to see covered in your speaking and listening course: (Please check up to 3) ____role-playing ____talk show ____conducting interviews ____watching a video clip ____presentations ____debate ____discussion about a topic
14.) Please share what you would like to see more in the class (What improvements would you like to see in both classes?) ESL Speaking & Listening Class:
ESL Reading & Writing Class:

Component 6: Revised Project 35 Appendix C Course Design Procedure Outline
1. Identify the context 2. Develop an aim
ESL Academic writing course at a college: preparing international students for taking college level English composition classes, such as ENGL 101. Aim To develop L2 student writers English academic writing skills, especially writing from sources Objectives Students will be able to: Use a range of writing-to-read strategies to develop an understanding of reading materials, including summarizing main ideas, synthesizing multiple source texts and responding to readings (Hirvela, 2004); Generate appropriate content and adopt proper tone for academic purposes and audience; Locate and evaluate sources, select information from the sources and organize and compose two writings of 1000 words based on given topics (Hirvela, 2004); Correct major grammatical errors in writing, such as use of articles, dependent clauses and prepositions.
3. Note event sequences
4. List the texts required
-Taking a placement test which assess whether a student needs to take this writing course or not -Attending classes -Reading reference materials and taking notes -Participating in group activities and discussions in the class -Participating in course logs on Moodle (course logs including writing responses to prompts and giving feedback to peers responses) -Participating in a weekly grammar workshop -Writing a weekly journal -Writing essays -Revising essays according to teachers feedback -Taking an exam -Placement test -Lectures -Reading texts: grammar book, books about critical reading and academic journals and essays -Writing texts: free writings, critiques, marginal annotations, journal entries, course logs and academic essays.

Component 6: Revised Project 36 Course Design Procedure Outline (Cont)
5. Outline sociocultural knowledge
Students need knowledge of: -Academic institution: the forms and regulations of academic institution in America; -The role of the student: what teacher expect from student at an American college (e.g., actively participate in class activities, ask questions and frequently interact with teacher); -Academic procedures and expectations: the process of composing an academic essay (brainstorm, plan, write, revise, edit, proofread, etc.), awareness of plagiarism (such as, citing sources and using correct documentation styles) and the evaluation method of the teacher; -Classroom practices and subgenre knowledge that typify academic and research papers (e.g. descriptive, narrative, argumentative, expository texts) (Bax, 2011) 6. Gather text samples Written texts: essays, journals, books, electronic readings, short responses 7. Develop units of work Coherent units with classes sequenced to provide learners and unit objectives with: -Relevant ordering of tasks -Explicit input: Grammar -Guided practice: reading and writing

Component 6: Revised Project 37 Appendix D
EAP: Academic Writing Portfolio Guidelines Background and Rationale The EAP: Academic Writing Portfolio is designed to help you meet the following objectives: raising your awareness of the conventions of academic writing in North American academic institutions, practicing English writing skills through extensive reading and writing assignments, building up your research techniques, strengthening your knowledge of English grammar, creating a personal learning document that you can reference to later. When completed, your EAP: Academic Writing Portfolio will demonstrate your strength as an English writer, your understanding of American academic culture and your control of academic writing techniques. This Semesters Portfolio Requirement As your syllabus indicates, EAP: Academic Writing Portfolio will require eight grammar worksheets, two writing assignments, one research paper and two pieces of writing. Assignments receiving a mark of U (Unsatisfactory) must be revised and resubmitted; only those assignments that received a mark of S (Satisfactory) are eligible for inclusion in your Portfolio. You also need to submit your Portfolios in a rigid-cover, maximum 2-inch, three-ring binder. Please be aware 30% of your course grade is based on the quality of your Final Portfolio in this class. The Final Conference Final Conference will be scheduled with your instructor in Week 16. You will submit a draft of your final reflection. You may also need to bring any writing samples requested by your instructor. In your conference, you and your instructor will discuss your progress and the writing samples you will include in your Portfolio.

Components of the Portfolio A. Title Page (refer to MLA guidelines) B. Portfolio Submission Checklist (see next page) C. Table of Contents
Component D: Feature Writing D-1: Two revised writing assignments (including all intermediate drafts, peer responses and teachers feedback); D-2: Two pieces of writing that you are most proud of (e.g., Moodle logs, in-class free-writing and writing for other courses or purposes); (including 1 paragraph of rationale explaining the reasons you chose each piece of writing).
Component E: Encountering American Academic Culture Final Reflection: write a 1-2 page reflection paper based on your midterm reflection paper: 1. What difficulties have you experienced in the class? 2. What have you learned? 3. Whats your goal towards your academic studies in the US? 4. Self-assessment: Do you understand the requirements and styles of North American academic writing? How do you evaluate your own performance in this class? (There will be a set of SelfAssessment Guidelines) Optional: photos; a list of useful tools or websites that you feel helpful; a list of things you want to improve in the future
Component F: Research Paper One revised research paper (including all intermediate drafts, peer responses and teachers feedback).
Component G: Grammar File 8 grammar exercise sheets (all the wrong answers are marked and corrected).

Portfolio Submission Checklist Directions: In submitting your Portfolio, please use this checklist to ensure that you are completing the assignment properly. Please use a + to indicate clear understanding and confidence, a to indicate good or fair work and confidence, and a - to indicate uncertainty or a lack of confidence. Include this signed checklist within your Portfolio as Component B. + 1. I have all seven components (AG) in my Portfolio. + 2. I have included a clear title page giving the title of my Portfolio, my name, the course, the professors name, and the due date. + 3. I have included in the appendices all intermediate drafts, peer responses, and teachers feedback for Component D (Feature Writing) and Component F (Research Paper). + 4. I have included a 1-paragraph rationale for EACH of my self-selected writing piece (total of 2) in Component D (D-2). In my rationale, I have clearly explained the reasons why I chose my writing pieces. + 5. All my papers are double-spaced in twelve-point font, and all the pages are correctly and sequentially numbered. + 6. The Portfolio is well organized and attractive in terms of its presentation. + 7. I have personally checked every Reference list included in my Portfolio for accuracy, completeness, and adherence to MLA convention. + 8. I have carefully spell-checked my work. + 9. I have carefully proofread my work and/or had someone else proofread it for me. + 10. I realize that this Portfolio is worth 30% of my final course grade and that this submission is final: the Portfolio may not be resubmitted for a grade adjustment. + 11. I have learned something from doing this Portfolio and I am proud of this academic accomplishment.
Date: ____________ Signature:___________________________________

Component 6: Revised Project 40 Appendix E Reading Handout
Excerpt from Reaching Across the Gap: How I Write1 By Michael C. Flanigan My sister Mary and my brother Leo were the first two audiences I wrote for. Mary and the boys (four of us) were separated when my father joined the navy at the beginning of World War II. Mary stayed with my mother while we went to St. Franciss Home for Boys to get discipline, uniforms, and cleanly ways. I was five, the youngest in the fivehundred-boy school. I remember how much I wanted to write my sister, so after our daily lessons for reading and penmanship (the rest of school is forgotten) I would return to the dorm in the evening and practice. I wrote and wrote and wrote. All the initial writing was practiceto get my penmanship right, to string words together for sense, to punctuate, to fill a page, then another and another until a pad was gone. Finally I wrote a letter to my sister. I filled a page with How are you? Hope you are fine. Miss you. Love you. Leo, Pat, and Pete are fine. Leo is growing trees from sticks. Please write. I was not confident of my first attempt at written communication, so I stuffed the letter with jokes from magazines, some buttons I had collected, and a holy medal. All things I knew my sister liked. Within a week my letter was answered. Besides a thank you for the gifts were descriptions of Marys new school, how she was learning to ride a bike, and hosts of other information about herself and out motherthree full pages. She asked one question: How does Leo grow trees from sticks? I didnt know. He just told me the basic information. I knew I had to find out the details. When I asked, Leo explained in minute detail how he picked the right branches from trees, cut them, soaked them, and on through a whole fascinating process that I repeated as best I could in my next letter. I also followed my sisters example and told about bits and pieces from our lives at the military school. Our correspondence continued for over four years until we boys were sent to see my father in Spokane in 1946. The letters stopped on both ends. A few months later, the family was back together. In 1950, Leo went to Korea. Again the urge to write, to create a reality of home for him, overtook me. I wrote every day for two years until he came home. The letters focused on things I knew he would want to hear about: the state of the house he was building when he left, the orchard he helped plant on Uncle Vics farm, the mountains he loved, friends we both knew, relatives, and a host of the details that made up his life and ours together . . . What this early letter writing taught me was to focus on audience. Communication is not possible without common understandings, backgrounds, experience . . .
1 The passage was printed in Ruetten,
M. K. (2012). Developing composition skills: Academic writing and grammar (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Heinle.

Appendix F Topic Sentence Worksheet (adapted from Ruetten, 2012)2 The topic sentence is the main idea sentence. It is the most general and most important sentence of the paragraph. Because a paragraph is a short piece of writing, the topic sentence for a paragraph must be specific. A topic sentence that is too broad and vague will be difficult to adequately develop in one paragraph. Exercise 1: Study the following pairs of topic sentences. Circle the letter of the better topic sentence in each pair. 1 a. Divorce creates problems for parents and children. b. When their parents divorce, children often feel insecure. 2 a. New Orleans is an interesting place to visit. b. The French Quarter in New Orleans has a quaint European charm. 3 a. Computers are more important now than ever before. b. Computers make revising an essay easy. 4 a. My parents have taught me to be persistent. b. My parents have had a great influence on me. Exercise 2: Write a topic sentence for the following paragraph.
I write when Im happy and I write when Im sad. I also write when I am trying to make an important decision. It may sound strange, but I often am not sure how I really feel about something until I write about it. I learned this lesson well a few years ago when I was engaged to be married. I started writing in my journal about the wedding and when I read my words, I realized that I didnt want to get married at all. From then on, I have always made sure that I check my feelings by writing about them first.
2 Ruetten,
M. K. (2012). Developing composition skills: Academic writing and grammar (3rd ed.). Boston, MA:
Heinle.

Component 6: Revised Project 42 Answer Keys to the Worksheet
Exercise 1: 1. b; 2. b; 3. b; 4. a. Exercise 2: Writing reveals my true feelings.

Component 6: Revised Project 43 Appendix G Moodle Discussion Forum Prompt
Check out the following link of Purdue University OWL for topic sentences: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/index.php?category_id=2&sub_category_id=1&articl e_id=29 Explain or give an example of at least one new piece of information that you learned.

Component 6: Revised Project 44 Appendix H A Picture of Death Penalty
Don Monet

Component 6: Revised Project 45 Appendix I Handouts
Handout #1 The Conservative Case Against the Death Penalty Exonerations and cost outweigh the benefits of capital punishment3 By MARY KATE CARY March 30, 2011 Back in the day, I worked as a spokesperson for Attorney General William Barr, and one of my duties was to oversee the speech-writing operation. I can't tell you how many get-tough, prodeath-penalty speeches I worked on with our conservative team of writers, defending the death penalty as preventative, deterrent, retributive, and proportionateall the usual reasons. Even though I considered myself pro-life, I had no problem with the death penalty at all. It was part of being tough on crime. Then, a few years after we left office, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin died. His obituary highlighted his writings on "the seamless garment of life," in which he argued that one can't be simultaneously anti-abortion and pro-euthanasia, a big issue at the time of his death. It was an epiphany of sorts for me, as I suddenly saw the moral inconsistency of my pro-death-penalty stance: Pro-life means pro-life in all things, not just abortion. To me, that meant I couldn't be pro-life and pro-death penalty anymore. I can respect those who might come to a different conclusion; reasonable people can disagree when it comes to a question like this. But I decided to stop supporting the death penalty. Part of what made the decision difficult was that death penalty advocates consider themselves the voice of the innocent victims and their families. It's hard to turn your back on innocent people whose lives have been destroyed. At the time, it seemed that most of the people on death row were vicious killers, proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Not so much anymore. There are still plenty of vicious killers on death row, but it turns out there may also be some as innocent as the victims. Over the last 35 years, more than 130 people have been released from death row because of evidence of their innocence. From 1973 to 1999, there was an average of three exonerations per year. Between 2000 and 2007, that average rose to five per year. Since 1977, Illinois alone has exonerated 20 death row inmates, seven of them since 2000. Earlier this month, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinnwho until now supported the death penaltysigned legislation outlawing capital punishment, making Illinois the fourth state to abolish the death penalty in the last decade, joining New Jersey, New York, and New Mexico. Overall, 16 states
3 Cary,
M.K. (2011, March 30). The conservative case against the death penalty. The U.S. News. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2011/03/30/the-conservative-case-against-the-death-penalty

now ban capital punishment, and such bills have been introduced over the last few years in nine more, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Here's the interesting part: Quinn did not make his decision so much on moral grounds as on the unacceptably high number of wrongful convictions and discriminatory decisions. "I have concluded that our system of imposing the death penalty is inherently flawed," he said. "As a state, we cannot tolerate the executions of innocent people, because such actions strike at the very legitimacy of government." Over the last decade, the number of death sentences imposed has dropped dramatically. In 1999, 277 people were sentenced to die; in 2009, only 112 were, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The reluctance to impose the death penalty may be a reflection of the rise in postconviction exonerations. According to the Innocence Project, DNA evidence has resulted in over 250 exonerations in 34 states since the late 1980s, the majority of which took place in the last decade. Seventeen of those freed had been on death row. Because DNA results are irrefutable, they expose what's wrong with the rest of the case. According to the Innocence Project, there are several causes of wrongful convictions: most involve mistaken identification by eyewitnesses, whom studies show are less able to recognize faces of a different race than their own; unvalidated forensic science in other tests, such as bite mark identification or shoe print comparisons, that, unlike DNA testing, may be unreliable; false confessions, often by defendants who are younger than 18 years old or who are developmentally disabled; and the questionable testimony of jailhouse snitches. The problem appears widespread. Every day, it seems the newspapers have another story about a wrongfully convicted person being released, often after serving decades in jail. Just last week, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell released a man from prison who had served 27 years for rapes he did not commit. DNA testing cleared him. As I said, it's hard to turn your back on innocent people whose lives have been destroyed. It's becoming harder to justify the death penalty in the face of evidence that our system is flawed. It's also becoming difficult to defend financially. According to various published studies, California's death penalty system costs taxpayers anywhere from $63 to $114 million a year more than the costs of locking up prisoners for life. The cost to California taxpayers per execution: $250 million. In Florida, it's $24 million per execution. In Texas, it's only $2.3 million per execution, but that's about three times the cost of solitary confinement in maximum security for 40 years. Given the millions spent each year on litigation, appeals, and extra security for death penalty cases, it's far cheaper to lock the guilty up for life without parole. Think of the better ways we could use that money, including helping the victims and using DNA to find the criminals who remain at large when the wrong guy is convicted. For years, people like me thought that being tough on crime meant supporting the death penalty. Times have changed, and it's time for conservatives to get on the right side of the death penalty argument. One can oppose the death penalty and still be in favor of a tough, affordable, accurate, and fair criminal justice system. Knowing what we know now, it just feels like the right thing to do.

Handout #2: Worksheet 1. What are the writers main arguments?
2. Does the writer consider the audience, anticipate counter arguments, and treat those with opposing opinions as though they are intelligent? (Please find out examples from the text to support your answer).
3. Is the argument convincing? Why or why not?
4. Can you identify any method(s) of development the writer uses to make the argument?
5. Make an outline of the article.

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Component 6: Revised Project i

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Component 6: Revised Project ii

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Component 6: Revised Project 1

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Component 6: Revised Project 2

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Component 6: Revised Project 3

Previous Students Writing

Increasing vocabulary Using correct and advanced vocabulary

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Component 6: Revised Project 4

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Component 6: Revised Project 5

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Component 6: Revised Project 6

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Component 6: Revised Project 7

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Component 6: Revised Project 8

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Component 6: Revised Project 9

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Component 6: Revised Project 10

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Component 6: Revised Project 11 Syllabus Outline

Day 8/27 8/29

Themes Introduction to Course Reasons for Writing

Goals & Skills

Cultural Relevance 1 (Narrative Paragraph Development)

Cultural Relevance 2 (Narrative Paragraph Development)

Begin the 1st draft of Writing Assignment 1

Complete the first draft of Writing Assignment 1

Vicky Fang u MATESOL

Component 6: Revised Project 12

Technology 2 (Constructing a Cohesive and Coherent Essay)

GW3Adverb Clauses of Result, reduced adverb (Worksheet)

Expository Essay (contd.)

Writing Assignment 2 Review Workshop

GW4 Pronoun consistency (Worksheet)

Vicky Fang u MATESOL

Marketing & Advertising 1 (Developing Classification Paragraphs) Marketing & Advertising 2

Begin the 1st draft of research paper

Sustainable Environment 1 (Analyzing Process in Writing)

Using correct documentation style Identifying grammar errors No class

1st draft of Research paper

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Education Excellence 1 (Introduction to Argumentative Essays) Education Excellence 2

12/5 Grammar Review Paper Review Workshop

12/10 12/12 12/16

Final Conference Final Conference Submit final portfolio

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Component 6: Revised Project 15

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Component 6: Revised Project 16

Thursday, August 29th

Tuesday, August 27th

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Component 6: Revised Project 17 LESSON PLAN 2: Reasons for Writing

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Stage & Time Pre-task 1: Free writing (10 min)

Objecti Materials ves O1 Students free writing notebook