1 Bob Bleicher, (Adapted from a PowerPoint by Dr Zulmara Cline) Adopting the CSU Expository Reading and Writing Course

2 The Expository Reading and Writing Course: Developed by CSU English faculty and high school teachers Aligned with English/Language Arts content standards for 11th and 12th grades Structured around assignment template addressing expository reading and writing necessary for college readiness

3 Expository Reading and Writing Course (continued) Lessons based on non-fiction and fiction texts Engages students in the study of rhetoric and composition Enables students to read and write academic prose effectively and strategically

4 Expository Reading and Writing Course – Benefits and Use Increases students’ mastery of academic language Emphasizes in-depth study of expository, analytical, and argumentative writing Approved to fulfill the “b” requirement of the UC and CSU “a-g” college entrance requirements Intended for broad usage (not as an honors or remedial course)

5 Professional Development in English: Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) Workshops Offered through lead CSU campuses. In Ventura County: CSUCI, Dr Bob Bleicher, EAP Coordinator Introduces high school teachers to expectations of college-level English

6 ERWC: Course Description 14 modules – high interest to seniors Students develop advanced proficiencies in expository, analytical, and argumentative reading and writing. Cornerstone: the assignment template – a lesson plan template to help students read, comprehend, and respond to non-fiction and literary texts. Students increase their awareness of the rhetorical strategies employed by authors, and to apply those strategies in their own writing.

7 Course Description (continued ) Reading: relationship between an author’s argument or theme and his or her audience and purpose Analyze the impact of structural and rhetorical strategies Examine the social, political, and philosophical assumptions that underlie the text. By the end of the course, students will be expected to use this process independently when reading unfamiliar texts and writing in response to them. Course texts include contemporary essays, newspaper and magazine articles, editorials, reports, biographies, memos, assorted public documents, and other non- fiction texts. Also includes: Into the Wild; Left Hand of Darkness

8 5 Course Objectives – Analyze rhetorical devices of different types of texts – Analyze how clarity of meaning is affected by patterns of organization, hierarchical structures, repetition of main ideas, syntax, and word choice in the text. – Analyze an author’s implicit and explicit political and/or philosophical assumptions and beliefs about a subject or topic. – Identify and assess the impact of ambiguities and complexities within the text. – Demonstrate an understanding of elements of discourse (e.g., purpose, speaker, audience, form) when completing reading and writing assignments.

9 4 more Course Objectives – Make warranted assertions about the author’s arguments and themes by using elements of the text to defend and clarify interpretations. – Critique the validity of arguments in texts and the extent to which the arguments anticipate and address reader concerns and counterclaims (e.g., logos, pathos and ethos). – Develop academic/analytical essays that are focused on a central idea, developed with information learned from assigned texts, well- organized in an appropriate and effective pattern that structures ideas in sustained and persuasive way, and free from grammatical and mechanical errors. – Revise what they have drafted, rethinking their focus, point of view, organization, logic, and structure; improve sentence variety and style, and enhance sophistication of meaning and tone in ways that are consistent with purpose, audience, and genre.

10 Assignment Template Reading rhetorically Connecting reading to writing Writing

11 READING RHETORICALLY Prereading Getting Ready to Read Surveying the Text Making Predictions and Asking Questions Introducing Key Vocabulary Reading First Reading Looking Closely at Language Rereading the Text Analyzing Stylistic Choices Considering the Structure of the Text Post-reading Activities Summarizing and Responding Thinking Critically CONNECTING READING TO WRITING WRITING TO LEARN USING THE WORDS OF OTHERS

12 WRITING RHETORICALLY Pre.-Writing Reading the Assignment Getting Ready to Write Formulating a Working Thesis Writing Composing a Draft Organizing the Essay Developing the Content Revising and Editing Revising the Draft Editing the Draft Reflecting on the Writing Evaluating and Responding Grading Holistically Responding to Student Writing Using Portfolios

13 Sample Assignments Quick Writes to access prior knowledge Surveys of textual features Predictions about content and context Vocabulary previews and self-assessments Reciprocal reading and teaching activities, including summarizing, questioning, predicting, and clarifying Responding orally and in writing to critical thinking questions Annotating and re-reading texts Highlighting textual features Analyzing stylistic choices Mapping text structure Analyzing logical, emotional, and ethical appeals Peer response activities