This document provides information about an Academic Writing course taught at the American University of Sharjah during the spring 2009 semester. It outlines the course description, objectives, assignments, assessments, policies, and schedule. The course is designed to help students master literacy skills for university through instruction and practice in reading and writing strategies. Students will complete essays, reading responses, and other assignments. Assessment will include essays, reading responses, quizzes, a midterm, and final exam. Attendance, participation, and following academic policies are required. The course meets multiple times per week over 15 weeks and covers topics like thesis statements, organization, grammar, and essay types.

1. American University of Sharjah
Department of Writing Studies
WRI 101: Academic Writing
Spring 2009
Instructor: Dennis L.M. Lewis Meeting Times: Mon/Wed 8:00, 9:30, 11:00, 12:30
E-mail: dlewis@aus.edu Meeting Location: Lang 102 and 109
Telephone: 6-515-2758 Office: Lang. 217
Office Hours: S/T/R 10-11 a.m.
Course Description
Academic Writing challenges students to recognize, understand, and produce academic writing. It
requires students to practice strategies for reading academic material by responding to texts in both
formal and informal writing assignments and classroom discussion. It helps students enhance their
writing skills through use of the writing process, and develops the necessary grammar and mechanical
skills for written English proficiency through contextualized grammar instruction.
Prerequisite
Successful completion of WRI 001 or placement through the English Placement Test.
Textbook(s) and/or Other Required Materials
• Materials posted on iLearn
• Langan, John. (2008). College Writing Skills with Readings. (7th
Ed.). New York: McGraw-
Hill.
• Kennedy, X.J., Kennedy, Dorothy, and Aaron, Jane E. (Eds.). (2003). The Brief Bedford
Reader (8th
Ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
• A paperback college level English dictionary of the student’s choice
Course Objectives and Outcomes
This course is designed to help students master the basic literacy skills necessary for successful
university achievement by providing instruction and guided practice in both reading and writing
strategies. Through their experience in WRI 101 students will
• Employ reading strategies to enhance understanding, including composing formal summaries.
• Practice vocabulary building strategies for academic purposes.
• Recognize and use rhetorical strategies common to academic writing.
• Effectively use all stages of the writing process to compose academic essays, appropriate to
university level writing.
• Produce well-organized, well-developed academic essays in support of a thesis, using the

2. three-part essay structure.
• Develop competence in grammar, mechanical, and presentation skills appropriate to
university level writing.
Performance Assessment
A passing grade in this course is C- and above. The following breakdown illustrates the performance
categories in which students are assessed and the weight given to each category in final grade
assessment.
Writing Assignments (Essays) 40%
Writing in Response to Reading 20%
Quizzes and Activities 10%
Midterm 10%
Final Assessment 20%
The following is the grade definition for written assignments in this course:
An A essay is a model of excellence in content and style. It is well-organized, well-developed, free
from major grammar and mechanical errors, and possesses precise and advanced vocabulary. Perhaps
most importantly, an A essay illustrates individual engagement with the topic. An A essay meets the
full requirements of the assignment.
A B essay is also well-organized and well-developed, but it may contain a few grammar and
mechanical errors and not possess the variety and exactness of vocabulary that an A essay does. The
ideas, while clear, may be presented less completely than the ideas in an A essay; it may also lack the
individual engagement with the topic that characterizes an A essay. A B essay meets or nearly meets
the full requirements of the assignment.
A C essay is well-organized, but not as well-developed as a B essay. It may contain a few major
grammar or mechanical errors, but most of the sentences are correct. A C essay meets the basic
requirements of the assignment.
A D essay is disorganized, lacks sufficient support, and/or contains major grammar and mechanical
errors. It has no clear thesis, topic sentences are missing, and the writer consistently misuses words
and shows an extremely limited English vocabulary. A D essay fails to meet the basic requirements
of the assignment.
An F essay falls significantly short of basic written competence at this level, or the requirements of
the assignment, or both.
Percentage Equivalents of Grades
96 – 100 A
90 – 95 A-
87 – 89 B+
84 – 86 B
80 – 83 B-
77 – 79 C+
74 – 76 C

3. 70 – 73 C-
60 – 69 D
Below 60 F
Performance Expectations
Attendance
Attendance and participation in all class meetings is essential to the process of education at the
American University of Sharjah. Students benefit from the lectures and discussions with their
instructors and fellow students. For this reason, students are expected to attend class regularly.
Lateness or absence hinders progress for the individual student and the class and affects the offending
student’s grade.
• Attend class regularly and actively participate.
• Arrive to class on time.
• Students arriving eleven minutes late to class may sit through the class if they enter
without disrupting the class, but will be marked absent.
• Three occasions of lateness (arriving less than eleven minutes after the course has
begun) count as one absence.
• After a certain number of absences for any reason (there are no excused absences), students
may be withdrawn from the course. Depending at what time during the semester the student
accumulates these absences, the recorded grade on his or her transcript will be either a W or
WF.
• For classes meeting two times a week, a student may be withdrawn after five
absences.
• For classes meeting three times a week, a student may be withdrawn after seven
absences.
• For classes meeting five times a week, a student may be withdrawn after eleven
absences.
In the event that a student misses a class, he or she remains responsible for the material covered in
that class (announcements, handouts, assignments, etc.) and for preparation for the following class. It
is the student’s responsibility to find out what assignments were missed.
Preparedness
Preparedness is essential. In order to have effective lectures and class discussions, students must come
to class prepared.
• Students must complete all readings and assignments on time.
• Students who fail to bring the appropriate materials to class may be marked absent.
• As stated before, students who miss a class are responsible for finding out what material was
covered, what homework was assigned, and come to the next class prepared.
Participation
In addition to coming to class prepared, students are expected to be respectful and active listeners,
listening carefully when others—both instructor and students—are talking. Students are expected to
participate in classroom discussions, contribute to small group activities, and complete individual in-

4. class assignments. An essential part of course participation is taking notes.
Written Assignments
All formal drafts must be submitted following APA guidelines. When submitting final writing
assignments, you must include all the work you have produced during the writing process; please
organize this work appropriately and submit it in a clearly labeled file folder or envelope. Be sure to
keep all returned assignments until the end of the semester.
Academic Policies
Late Work
All assignments are considered late if not turned in on time. If accepted, late work will be penalized.
Make-up Exams
The university guidelines for make up exams, as defined in the catalog, are as follows: “Instructors
need not give substitute assignments or examinations to students who miss classes.”
Plagiarism
Plagiarism, the act of using the work, ideas, images or words of someone else without giving proper
credit, is a serious form of dishonesty. It is immoral and illegal and AUS does not tolerate it. All
students need to read, sign, and abide by the plagiarism statement. This document will be kept on file
by your instructor and will illustrate your understanding of plagiarism and the seriousness of it as an
academic and ethical offense. This department follows a strict plagiarism policy.
Other Policies
Mobile Phones
All mobile phones must be on silent and put away at all times when in the classroom.
Additional Resources
AUS Writing Center
The AUS Writing Center is dedicated to helping students become better writers. Writing center
consultants help students become independent, confident writers through an interactive approach to
writing. The Writing Center offers one-on-one writing conferences by appointment or on a drop-in
basis and is available to all students throughout the university. During conferences, students and tutors
work together on various aspects of writing: thesis development, organization, outlining, paragraph
development, vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar and mechanics. Students can visit the AUS
Writing Center to work on their drafts, do research, or to work with a tutor on particular aspects of
their writing. The Writing Center also offers workshops on a variety of writing topics throughout the
academic year. You are strongly advised to make use of the AUS Writing Center. For your
convenience the AUS Writing Center has two locations: : LIB 024 and SBM 176.
Internet/ Electronic Resources

5. Many instructors use Blackboard or other Internet resources to enhance the learning opportunities for
students enrolled in these courses. You will be expected to utilize this technology.
COM 101 Course Outline – Spring 2009
Week
Major Assignments
Week Major Assignments
1 Course introduction
Writing sample
Review of syllabus
Introduction: Why read?
Why write? Why not
phone?
10
Comparison & Contrast Essay
Chapters 29, 30, & 31
Suzanne Britt “Neat People vs.
Sloppy People”
2 Chapter 1: Reading
critically, pp. 9-11
M.F.K. Fisher “The Broken
Chain”
The Writing Process, pp.
33-42
Christine D’Angelo “Has
the Chain Been Broken?”
Chapter 23: Subjects and
verbs
11 Setting Things Side by Side, pp.
187-195
3 Chapter 3: The Thesis
statement
Chapter 24: Fragments
Chapter 25: Run-ons
12 Chapters 32, 33, & 39
4 Chapter 4: Transitions,
organization
Chapter 10: Examples
Al Israa Wal Miraj’: no
classes Wednesday, Sept.
24
13
Chapter 12: Cause and
Effect
Asking Why, pp. 339-346
5
Example Essay
Chapter 5
Barbara Lazear Ascher “On
Compassion”
14
Cause and Effect Essay
Chapter 44: Editing Tests
Gina Kolata “Probing
Disease Clusters”
6 Chapter 6: Four Bases for
Revising Essays
15
7 Chapters 26, 27, 28: Verbs 16 Review for FINAL EXAM
8 Chapter 13: Comparison
and Contrast
Review for Midterm Exam
17 FINAL EXAMS
April 30-May 6
9
MIDTERM EXAM
Spring Break
March 8-15

6. The Instructor reserves the right to make slight modifications to the schedule as necessary. You
will be advised well in advance of any changes.

7. The Instructor reserves the right to make slight modifications to the schedule as necessary. You
will be advised well in advance of any changes.