Admission requirements
None.
Description
Language Acquisition 1 is an introductory writing course whose aim it is to familiarise you with the grammatical and stylistic features of formal written texts in English. The topics that the course will address are formal register, cohesion, writing effective paragraphs, titles, introductions and conclusions, working with dictionaries and grammars, and referencing your sources. At home you will prepare short writing assignments, which are discussed in tutorial. In the second half of the course you will meet with your tutor every week in small tutorial groups of about four students to discuss your progress with the writing of an essay of approximately 1,000 words. This essay is handed in at the end of the course, commented upon and marked. Extensive peer-reviewing is part of this course.
Course objectives
Ability to write several types of texts, namely those that university-educated professionals are expected to write in their future professions. Ability to peer-review texts of fellow students. Ability to choose the right register for various text types. Ability to apply grammatical and punctuation conventions correctly.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the BA English website
Mode of instruction
One 45-minute lecture per week until Reading Week.
One ninety-minute tutorial per week until reading Week.
Weekly mini-tutorials after the Break Week.
Self-study and preparation of short usage and writing assignments.
Course load
The total course load is 140 hours (5 EC), allocated as follows:
Tutorial attendance: 26 hours.
Tutorial preparation: 74 hours.
Self-study, including the writing of the course essay: 38 hours.
Tutoring/opportunity to inspect essay: 2 hours.
Assessment method
Assessment
One 1,000-word essay.
Participation during tutorials and through Blackboard.
Weighing
Essay (70%)
Participation (30%)
The pass the course, students need to obtain at least a 6.0 for each of the components.
Resit
Students need to resit the essay if the course grade is below a 6.0. The participation component cannot be retaken.
Attendance
Attendance is compulsory. Missing more than two tutorials means that students will be excluded from the tutorials. Unauthorized absence also applies to being unprepared, not participating and/or not bringing the relevant course materials to class.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used.
Reading list
None.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website
NB: First year students will be enrolled by the coordinator of studies.
Students other than from the BA English language and culture cannot take this course.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable.
Contact
Please contact Student administration van Eyckhof for questions.
The coordinator of studies is Else van Dijk
Remarks
None.