NC 251: Bridge to Credit English

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2022
Credits: 0
Total Contact Hours: 54
Lecture Hours : 54
Lab Hours: 0
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 108
Strongly Recommended: Student should be able to read and write English at a level equivalent to the adopted California State English standards for high school graduation and/or meet the English requirements for an adult school high school diploma program or GED.
Transferable to CSU: No
Transferable to UC: No
Grading Method: Non-Credit Course

Catalog Course Description

This course introduces and prepares the adult learner for the daily tasks of college-level credit courses. It includes targeted reading and vocabulary necessary to understand lectures and discussions in the credit classroom. It incorporates writing and computer activities that will further develop students' ability to complete assignments and make communications appropriate for the credit classroom. 54 lecture hours.

Course Objectives

  • Use pre-reading strategies to improve reading comprehension.
  • Understand how to utilize search engines for researching and writing topic-related assignments within the college setting.
  • Understand plagiarism, copying, and cheating.
  • Learn to understand the difference between verifiable evidence on internet and information that cannot be validated.
  • Learn to format a Word document using basic Word tools.
  • Learn to retrieve a Word document, attach it to an email, and send it to the instructor.
  • Learn to access an LMS, such as Canvas.
  • Learn to respond and reply (post) to discussion boards on Canvas (LMS).
  • Learn to upload information and short assignments to Canvas (LMS).
  • Use a variety of reading strategies for analysis and interpretation.
  • Display knowledge of a text through a variety of test questions.
  • Find evidence from a reading in order to support an opinion.
  • Increase academic vocabulary through word building and context.
  • Have the ability to read critically in a college-level setting.
  • Learn modes of essay development: free writing, clustering, brainstorming, and revision.
  • Use analysis from readings and personal experience to construct various written rhetorical modes: compare/contrast, description, definition, and narrative.
  • Write academic essays about a variety of literary pieces.

Major Course Content

  1. Articles and other inferential materials: Identify
    1. Main ideas in
      1. Summaries
        1. Written
        2. Spoken
      2. Abstract materials
        1. Magazine and multimedia advertisements
        2. Short speeches
        3. Pictures and other images
        4. Mimes
        5. Documentary snippets
    2. Target vocabulary
      1. Academic word list
      2. Conventional/cultural idioms as vocabulary
    3. Topic and concluding sentences
      1. In summary form
      2. As transitional connectors within essays
      3. As single sentence identifiers
      4. As closing identifiers and introducers
      5. Parallelism
    4. Thesis statements
      1. Crafting
      2. Structure and parallelism
      3. Development
      4. Implementation
    5. Rhetorical Modes: Identify
      1. Description
        1. Structural elements in
          1.  Summary
          2.  Essay
        2. Parallel elements
          1. Sentence connectors
          2. Evidence
          3. Examples
          4. Support
          5. Writing conventions
          6. Audience
          7. Purpose
      2. Compare/Contrast
        1. Structural elements in
          1. Summary
          2. Essay
        2. Parallel elements
          1. Sentence connectors
          2. Evidence
          3. Examples
          4. Support
          5. Writing conventions
          6. Audience
          7. Purpose
      3. Definition
        1. Structural elements in
          1. Summary
          2. Essay
        2. Parallel elements
          1. Sentence connectors
          2. Evidence
          3. Examples
          4. Support
          5. Writing conventions
          6. Audience
          7. Purpose
      4. Narrative
        1. Structural elements in
          1. Summary
          2. Essay
      5. Parallel elements
        1. Sentence connectors
        2. Evidence
        3. Examples
        4. Support
        5. Writing conventions
        6. Audience
        7. Purpose
  2. Writing Conventions
    1. Prewriting: paragraph process
      1. Outlining
        1. Numeric and alpha ordering  
        2. Organization from sentence strings
        3. Inductive to deductive patterns
      2. Clustering
        1. Strings
        2. Spider
      3. Brainstorming
        1. Diagramming ideas
        2. Discussing ideas
        3. Framing ideas
        4. Validating ideas
      4. Free Writing
        1. Timed   
        2. Untimed
        3. For content: brain dump
      5. Listing
        1. Ideas
        2. Terminologies   
        3. Concepts
        4. Framework
    2. Paragraph to essay development
      1.  Topic sentences 
      2. Supporting details/evidence
        1. Quotes
        2. Quantifiable proof
        3. Tables/Graphs
        4. Pictures/Images
        5. Websites
      3. Transitions
        1. Conjunctive adverbs
      4. Concluding/bridging sentences
        1. Insubordinate
          1. Independent clauses   
        2. Subordinate
          1. Dependent clauses
    3. Research methods and resources
      1. Internet searches
        1. Google
        2. Google Scholar
        3. JSTOR
        4. EBSCO
        5. VLRC
        6. WorldCat
        7. Infomine
        8. Google Books
      2. Library research
        1. Online book catalog
        2. Librarian assisted research
        3. Accessing materials
        4. Borrowing materials
        5. Utilizing reserves
        6. Evaluating media materials
          1. DVD and CD
          2. Magazines            
      3. Academic integrity
        1. Citation and attribution   
      4. Plagiarism and cheating
        1. Citation and attribution
    4. Revision
      1. Development and support
        1. Checking
          1. Quotes
          2. Websites
          3. Verifying resources         
      2. Unity and coherence
        1. Sentence level
        2. Paragraph structure
        3. Thesis development
        4. Introduction paragraph
        5. Conclusion paragraph         
    5. Final editing
      1. Grammar
        1. Past tense forms
        2. Present tense forms
        3. Future tense forms
        4. Conjunctions
        5. Conjunctive adverbs
        6. Dependent clauses
        7. Independent clauses
      2. Punctuation
        1. Commas
        2. Semicolons
        3. Periods
        4. Question marks, exclamations
  3. Technology
    1. Formatting in Microsoft Word
    2. Attaching a document to an email
    3. Using an LMS (Canvas)

Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook

Students should familiarize themselves with academic internet search engines, locate and download topic-related articles for further understanding and greater reading comprehension of rhetorical modes. Students should familiarize themselves with segments of the Academic Word List to increase the type of vocabulary needed to comprehend materials in the credit classroom.

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

A required writing assignment may consist of a short, but concise paragraph outlining the main points of an assigned reading. It may also include a short essay response where the student establishes a topic and thesis based on a reading from a rhetorical mode discussed in class. It could include personal narrative where the student is asked to provide support for a particular position.

Examples of Outside Assignments

Locate articles on search sites such as JSTOR and attempt to paraphrase main ideas. Prepare a collaborative presentation on a topic discussed in class. Write essays. Post on discussion boards. Complete assignments such as learning vocabulary lists and answering questions based on a text.

Instruction Type(s)

Lecture, Online Education Lecture