Academic Catalog

NCLA 407A: THE GRAMMAR & RHETORIC OF APPLICATION WRITING

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Winter 2022
Units: 0
Hours: 60-360 hours laboratory total per quarter.
Degree & Credit Status: Non-Degree-Applicable Non-Credit Course
Basic Skills, 1 Level Below Transfer
Foothill GE: Non-GE
Transferable: None
Grade Type: Non-Credit Course (Receives no Grade)
Repeatability: Unlimited Repeatability

Description

This course provides students support and practice in editing and revising the grammar and rhetoric of personal statements for college and scholarship applications. Students will focus on using clear, relevant vocabulary; writing concisely and with correct sentence structure; maintaining appropriate tone; ordering information for impact; and expressing details pertinent to the audience. Students will have the opportunity to improve their critical reading, vocabulary, grammar and writing skills to craft essays typically required in applications to colleges and universities in the U.S.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:
A. Through individualized and group instruction, including one-on-one tutorials by a qualified instructor, an instructional aide, and trained peer tutors as available, receive help on all aspects of the application writing process from start to finish.
B. Practice grammar and mechanics.
C. Apply knowledge obtained to enhance application writing.

Course Content

A. Through individualized and group instruction, including one-on-one tutorials by a qualified instructor, an instructional aide, and trained peer tutors as available, receive help on all aspects of the application writing process from start to finish for a range of academic and professional application writing, such as college entry essays, scholarship essays, and program-specific essays.
1. Identify main parts of the prompt.
2. Brainstorm and draft ideas in response.
3. Ordering main points and details for impact and logic.
4. Edit for concision.
5. Proofread for accuracy and precision.
B. Practice grammar and mechanics.
1. Identify patterns of grammatical error and correct them.
2. Add relevant, appropriate vocabulary as needed for clarification.
C. Apply knowledge obtained in individual counseling appointments to enhance application writing.
1. Adjust tone as appropriate.

Lab Content

A. Practice and explore multiple strategies for clearly addressing a prompt for an application.
B. Practice and explore multiple strategies for organizing writing and correcting grammatical errors.
C. Practice adding clear, relevant vocabulary as needed.

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

None.

Method(s) of Evaluation

A. College or scholarship application essay.

Method(s) of Instruction

A. Work in groups
B. Individualized instruction
C. Work on computer

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Glancy, Gabriel. The Art of the College Essay. 1st ed. Oneiric Press, 2014.
 

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

A. Completion of assignments both online and hand-written/word documents.
B. Analyzing samples provided by instructor that showcase basic and more challenging prompts.
 

Discipline(s)

English and ESL