Revised 12/2023

ESL 21 - Written Communication II (5 CR.)

Course Description

Provides instruction in writing at the low-intermediate level. Improves students’ competence in grammatical patterns of written English. Requires practice in writing sentences and longer pieces of writing. Credits are not applicable toward graduation. Lecture 5 hours per week.

General Course Purpose

To give low-intermediate ESL students in Level 2 of the College ESL Program practice in writing to build fluency and accuracy. 

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

Prerequisite: Requires an ESL Placement Test recommendation for ESL Level 2.

Corequisites: ESL 22 and ESL 24; corequisites are not required to be taken in the same semester

Course Objectives

Goal 1 – Students will write a well-developed paragraph.

Objectives
Students will be able to:

  • Compose, revise, and edit writing employing basic sentence patterns effectively

Goal 2 – Students will apply basic writing conventions and low-intermediate language writing skills.

Objectives
Students will be able to:

  • Apply basic mechanics to writing
  • Use verb forms and verb tenses effectively
  • Use nouns and articles effectively

Major Topics to Be Included

  • Application of the writing process, including
    • pre-writing strategies, such as brainstorming and planning
    • drafting
    • revising and editing
  • Basic mechanics of writing
    • margins and indenting
    • capitalization
    • punctuation
  • Basic verb system
    • basic verb tenses and agreement
    • base forms
    • infinitives
    • gerunds
    • adverbs of frequency
  • Basic noun system
    • non-count, count, plurals
    • articles
    • pronouns
    • adjectives
  • Understanding and following oral and written directions