Course Syllabus
Welcome to ENGL002: English Composition II. General information about this course and its requirements can be found below.
Course Designers: Carolyn Tedholm, Dr. Chelsea L. Booth, and Carolyn Savoldy
Course Description: Introductory course on basic research concepts and techniques, including ways to build academic research into effective writing processes.
Getting Started
After familiarizing yourself with the following course syllabus, enroll in this course using the "Enroll me in this course” button located on the left hand toolbar. Once enrolled, navigate to Unit 1 of the course to read the Unit Introduction and Unit 1 Learning Outcomes. Links and instructions for all unit specific course resources will follow the introductory materials.
Evaluation and Minimum Passing Scores
In order to pass this course, you will need to earn a 70% or higher on the final exam. Your score on the exam will be tabulated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam on your first attempt, you may take it again as many times as needed, following a 7-day waiting period between each attempt.
You will only receive an official grade on your final exam. However, in order to adequately prepare for this exam, we recommend that you work through the materials in each unit. Throughout the course you may find practice quizzes or other assignments that will help you master material and gauge your learning. Scores on these assignments are informational only and do not contribute to your overall course grade.
Technical Requirements
This course is delivered fully online. You will be required to have access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and have consistent access to the internet to either view or download the necessary course resources and to attempt any auto-graded course assessments and the final exam.
To access the full course including assessments and the final exam, you will need to be logged into your Saylor Academy account and enrolled in the course. If you do not already have an account, you may create one, free of charge, here. Although you can access some course resources without being logged into your account, it's advised that you login to maximize your course experience. For example, some of the accessibility and progress tracking features are only available when you are logged in.
For additional technical guidance check out Saylor's tech-FAQ and the Moodle LMS tutorial.
Full Course Download
If you would like to work through this entire course offline, you may download the course contents here. All individual resources are included in the zipped folder and grouped by units, though you can use the provided word doc syllabus (Course-English Composition II Offline.docx), which contains links directly to the locally hosted and downloaded files.
Note: If using a PC, you will have to "extract" the files before being able to access the resource folders and syllabus.
Fees
There is no cost to access and enroll in this course. All required course resources linked throughout the course, including textbooks, videos, webpages, activities, etc are accessible for no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and course completion certificate.
Time Commitment
While learning styles can vary considerably and any particular student will take more or less time to learn or read, we estimate that the "average" student will take 101 hours to complete this course. Each resource and activity within the course is similarly tagged with an estimated time advisory. We recommend that you work through the course at a pace that is comfortable for you and allows you to make regular (daily, or at least weekly) progress. It's a good idea to also schedule your study time in advance and try as best as you can to stick to that schedule.
It may be useful to take a look at these time advisories, to determine how much time you have over the next few weeks to complete each unit, and then to set goals for yourself. Perhaps you can sit down with your calendar and decide to complete Subunit 1.1 (a total of 3.5 hours) on Monday and Tuesday; Subunits 1.2.1-1.2.3 (a total of 2.75 hours) on Wednesday; the remainder of Subunit 1.2 (3 hours) on Thursday; etc.
Tips/Suggestions
Learning new material can be challenging, so below we've compiled a few suggested study strategies to help you succeed.
Take notes on the various terms, practices, and theories as you read. This can help you differentiate and contextualize concepts and later provide you with a refresher as you study.
As you progress through the materials, take time to test yourself on what you have retained and how well you understand the the concepts. The process of reflection is important for creating a memory of the materials you learn; it will increase the probability that you ultimately retain the information.
Although you may work through this course completely independently, you may find it helpful to connect with other Saylor students through the discussion forums. You may access the discussion forums at https://discourse.saylor.org.Pay special attention to Unit 1, as it will lay the groundwork for understanding the more advanced, explanatory material presented in the latter units.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- define the relationship between research techniques and academic work in various disciplines
- refine research within a writing process, identifying and using rhetorical strategies as well as practicing critical thinking and reading
- identify the various kinds of research used to produce written work in academic disciplines
- identify and use tools for conducting Internet-based and library research
- demonstrate critical and analytical thinking in locating, evaluating, and using research
- use quotes, paraphrases, and summaries accurately and appropriately to strengthen written arguments and to avoid plagiarism
- demonstrate skills in source summarization and in synthesis skills
- cite and document information sources in accordance with MLA style requirements
-
use information from resources as structural elements in an academic paper
- review and practice the grammatical and rhetorical skills necessary for successful writing.
Throughout this course, you'll also see related learning outcomes identified in each unit. You can use the learning outcomes to help organize your learning and gauge your progress.
Suggested Prerequisites
In order to take this course, you should:
- have read the Saylor Student Handbook; and
- have completed ENGL001: English Composition I.