Students will develop proficiency in intermediate reading and writing skills. The course emphasizes more advanced skills in reading such as identifying main ideas in long works and across chapters, applying concrete connections to and among abstract passages or ideas and performing close, critical readings of texts supported by evidence. The course further exposes students to research articles, scholarly texts and models of persuasive writing in order to prepare them for the research and argument skills necessary for College Composition I. Students will be expected to reach proficiency in effective written communication including sound mechanics (spelling, punctuation, and grammar), improved vocabulary and diction (word choice), varied sentence structure, tense agreement, use of topic sentences and supporting details and overall development of one singular thesis. Students will also begin to practice information literacy through research exercises and a penultimate annotated bibliography project. This course may not be applied to certificate or degree requirements. Upon completion of the course students must demonstrate the acquisition of these intermediate skills through a final assessment in both reading and writing. A grade of “C” or better is required to advance to ENGL110M. Prerequisite: Placement by Advisor.
Students can elect to take the English Language Learners section of ENGL095M. This section approaches reading and writing from the perspective of students whose first language is not English.