IRW85 Materials
IRW 85 Demonstration Materials
Integrated Reading and Writing I (085) Syllabus Sample
Course Description:
Emphasizes proficiency in reading comprehension, vocabulary, and critical thinking
skills to prepare students for college reading through individualized and/or group
instruction and practice. Applies writing as a process with emphasis on paragraph-length
assignments, basic conventions of standard English as these apply to students’ own
work, writing in response to reading, and the use of technology to produce and share
writing.
Required books:
Ticket to Write: Writing Skills for Success, by Susan S. Thurman and William Gary
Currents, by Gail King and Susan Thurman
Competencies/Student Outcomes: Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
• Identify evidence in writing to determine main idea and concrete support of a text.
• Write paragraphs to convey ideas and information to demonstrate comprehension of
expository, literary and persuasive texts at an intermediate reading level.
• Use various rates for different reading purposes to increase reading comprehension,
and to identify content that contradicts prior knowledge and challenges assertions
and claims.
• Determine relationships between sentences and passages to illustrate the theme of
a text through written summarization of key ideas.
• Analyze patterns of organization in texts to develop and strengthen personal writing
as a process to create organized and developed paragraphs.
• Interpret word parts, connotation, denotation, and words in context as used in academic
and personal writing.
• Apply prior learning, active reading strategies, and metacognitive processes to
comprehend the structure of a text, including visual elements.
• Produce, edit, and distribute writing to practice reading skills.
• Use technology as a tool to apply the conventions of standard written English regarding
sentence structure, verb forms, and subject-verb agreement to the student’s own writing.
• Evaluate the author’s use of word choice, including fact and opinion, to construct
meaning, gage tone, improve comprehension, and infer valid conclusions.
WHAT WILL BE REQUIRED OF YOU TO PASS?
Completion of assignments:
At the end of the semester, you must have completed at least 70% of the assigned work
(writing and reading assignments, quizzes and tests) adequately to pass the class.
Written work that meets academic and professional standards:
All writing assignments must be word-processed and follow the format prescribed in
class. (I will give you a sheet with formatting requirements on it.) If you do not
have home access to a computer, plan to work on one of the computers on campus.
Final portfolio:
Your best work for the semester will be assembled into a portfolio. If the work in
your portfolio demonstrates the skills necessary to succeed in higher level college
classes, your portfolio will pass. You must have a passing portfolio to pass the class.
Students not in good standing in the class because of excessive absence, failure to
complete 70% or the required work, or failure to maintain a folder will not be eligible
to submit the portfolio.
Consistent attendance:
Because your attendance is important not only to your own success but to the success
of the class as a whole, you must be in class regularly. Writing assignments, writing
activities, group activities, quizzes, etc., take place in class. If you are not in
class, these are lost opportunities and the grades assigned to them cannot be made
up.
Be punctual:
Be seated and ready to start class at class time. Have your assignments out and ready
to turn in or work on; have questions ready so you can respond when I ask for questions.
Be read to discuss readings and to take notes.
IRW85 Assignment Example
Compose a descriptive paragraph about a topic selected from the text.
Cancun Mexican Restaurant is the best Mexican food made. Their fajitas are very tasty and breath-taking. Their portion is double the portion of any other Mexican restaurant, and the cost is only a couple dollars more. Their chips and garden-fresh salsa are endless. Their fajitas are the best because of the warmth and freshness of each vegetable and tenderized meat. It’s more like Mexican style than regular homemade. Each entrée is cooked to order and always sizzling hot. The most popular entrée is the Fajita Jalisco. It has smoked bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes along with the steak, chicken, and shrimp. All in one amazing fresh grilled smell. Fajitas Jalisco also includes homemade tortillas, delicious salad, and all-time best rice and beans. You could never go wrong with choosing Cancun Mexican Restaurant. It’s in Henderson Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Louisville, Kentucky. You will be more than satisfied with your entrée whether it’s the fajitas, or any other sizzling hot entrée they have.
