Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
1. Use qualitative and quantitative reasoning to analyze and synthesize authentic materials from various disciplines reflecting an adult sensibility.
2. Articulate an understanding of thematic, social, cultural and ethical concerns expressed in authentic written material.
3. Begin to apply understanding of the conventions and techniques of more complex reading material to respond critically to a variety of English fiction and non-fiction in future courses and real-life contexts.
4. Think critically about the attitudes and cultural perspectives inherent in fiction and nonfiction and how these relate to their own cultures and beliefs.

Quizzes, tests, essays, written responses, journals, oral presentations, and/or portfolios. Students will be tested regularly on previously unseen readings and expected to apply process skills to the material (see “Competencies and Skills – Textual Analysis” below). In order to pass the course, students must be able to write a satisfactory summary/response. In addition, students must receive a combined average of 70% on in-class exams in order to pass the course. By the end of the course, students must also demonstrate mastery of oral communication and writing equivalent to the skill level necessary to exit Upper Intermediate Academic Writing and Upper Intermediate Academic Communication.

A. Content Comprehension
B. Textual Analysis
C. Critical Thinking Skills
D. Study Skills
E. Language Analysis
Competencies and Skills

A. Content Comprehension

1. Identify, paraphrase, and summarize topics, theses, main ideas, and supporting details
2. Identify rhetorical styles including descriptive narrative or descriptive process, comparison/contrast, cause/effect, classification, problem/solution, discussion, and definition
3. Correlate information from multiple sources as a basis for a response, paper or presentation.

B. Textual Analysis

1. Identify paragraph and essay organizational structures for pre-college-level literature, academic texts, essays, and newspaper and magazine articles
2. Identify rhetorical features such as plot, setting, character, theme, point of view, narrative and descriptive techniques, symbolism, motivation, tone, and intended audience
3. Interpret basic maps, tables, graphs, and figures and their relationship to the main ideas in texts
C. Critical Thinking Skills
1. Make logical inferences, predictions, connections, and conclusions in and among readings
2. Relate readings to the needs and experiences of self and others
3. Distinguish fact from opinion and fiction from non-fiction
4. Express in one’s own words ideas and opinions related to readings
5. Analyze and examine the validity of sources
D. Study Skills
1. Read, understand, and follow directions
2. Use previewing techniques including tables of content, indexes, and glossaries
3. Use note-taking techniques including outlining
4. Use skimming and scanning to find specific information
5. Develop questions based on readings
6. Work in groups to define, analyze, and solve problems
7. Use a monolingual, adult dictionary of American English and other references
8. Read for comprehension under time constraints
E. Language Analysis
1. Identify the structures found in pre-college academic and general interest readings and understand their functions there. Structures include (but are not limited to) passive voice, adjective, adverb and noun clauses, modifying phrases, and quoted and reported speech
2. Identify, understand, and apply knowledge of vocabulary items and their word families, word forms, and prefixes, stems, and suffixes in new contexts
3. Recognize rhetorical devices, including similes, metaphors, and incomplete and ungrammatical structures