HAWASSA UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF SOCILA SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Instructor’s Name: Besufekad A. Office No. 319
Mobile Number: 0912235898 E-mail abebebesufekad72@[Link]
Course Title: Basic Writing Skills Course Code: 2021
Credit hours: 3 (5 ECTS)
Semester: I Academic Year: 2017/2`2025 Program: Regular (Awada Campus)
Course Description
This course aims at developing students’ basic writing skills. It contains sentence level
writing: sentence structure, sentence types, functional and structural category, common
sentence errors (e.g., fragments, run-on sentences, dangling modifiers and agreement errors,
faulty parallelism, wordiness); paragraph level writing: paragraph, topic sentence and
supporting details, structure, essentials of a paragraph, basic types of paragraphs (expository,
narrative, descriptive and argumentative) and techniques of paragraph development; essay
level writing: structure of an essay, thesis statement and supporting paragraphs, types of
essays and techniques of essay development.
Course Objectives
Upon completing the course, students will be able to:
construct meaningful sentences in English;
learn to compose a paragraph that has a clearly stated topic sentence and details ;
use appropriate coordination and subordination skills to relate ideas;
identify and correct common sentence problems
write a well-structured essay of different types (descriptive, narrative, expository and
argumentative)
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COUSE CONTENTS
Unit 1: Writing Effective Sentences
1.1. Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
define a sentence
identify types of sentences
correct faulty sentences
write effective sentences
1.2. Study Topics
1.2.1. Sentences: definition and Types
1.2.2. Sentence Types
Functional Category ( Declarative, Interrogative, Imperative and
Exclamatory)
Structural category (Simple, Compound, Complex and Compound-complex)
Joining ideas: Coordination, Subordination, Correlation and Using relative
pronouns
1.2.3. Identifying and Correcting Faulty Sentences
Fragments, Run-ons, Comma Splices, Dangling Modifiers, Misplaced
Modifiers, Agreement Errors, Faulty Parallelism, wordiness etc.
1.2.4. Mechanics (e.g., using punctuation and capitalization)
Unit Two: Writing Effective Paragraphs
2.1 Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
define paragraph
identify the basic structure of a paragraph
write effective topic sentences
generate and organize ideas into a paragraph
evaluate the unity, coherence, variety and completeness of paragraphs
write effective paragraphs of different types
2.2 Study Topics
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2.2.1. Definition and Structure of Paragraph
Defining a paragraph
Paragraph Structure (Introduction, Body and Conclusion)
Types of Sentences in a paragraph
Topic Sentence
Supporting Sentences
Concluding sentence
2.2.2. Characteristics of a Good Paragraph
Unity, Coherence, variety and Completeness
2.2.3. Types of Paragraphs
Expository, Descriptive, Narrative and Argumentative Paragraph
2.2.4. Techniques/Modes of Paragraph Development
Definition,
Exemplification/ Illustration,
Classification,
Cause and Effect,
Comparison and Contrast,
Description,
Narration
Process
Unit III: Writing Essays
3.1. Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
identify the difference between paragraph and essay
recognize parts/structure of an essay
evaluate the qualities of essays
write essays on various issues
3.2. Study Topics
3.2.1. Paragraph and Essay: Differences and Similarities
3.2.2. Structure/Parts of an Essay
Introductory Paragraph
Supporting Paragraphs
Concluding Paragraph
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3.2.3. Basic Types of Essay
Narrative Essay
Descriptive Essay
Expository Essay
Persuasive/Argumentative Essay
Instructional Methods and Strategies
Think-pair-share, Imaginative writing, Group work, discussion, project work etc
Individual work, Paragraph and essay analysis
Students’ Activities
revise errors in faulty constructions
edit language and idea flaws in sentences, paragraphs and essays
evaluate the unity coherence, variety and completeness of paragraphs
design topic sentences and generate supporting ideas
organize and link ideas through various means to produce a well-organized text
think imaginatively and write descriptive paragraphs
analyze the structures of paragraphs and essays
Write effective sentences, paragraphs and essays using the techniques included in the
course.
Assessment Strategies and Techniques
Mid exam 30%
Group Assignment 10&
Final Examination: 60%
Core References
4
Checkett, G. & Checkett, L. (2010). The Write Start: Sentences to Paragraphs. Boston,
Wadsworth (best book/textbook)
Recommended Readings or/Supplementary books/websites
Gordon, H. H. 1989. Developing College Writing: From Substance to Style .New York: St.
Martin’s Press.
Langan, [Link] Skills with Reading .New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc
______. 1985. College Writing Skills with Readings. New York: McGraw-Hill Book
Company.
Dougherty, B.N. 1985. Composting Choices for Writers: A Cross-Disciplinary Rhetoric.
New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Flower, H.R. 1983. The Little, Brown Handbook. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Guth, H.P. 1989. The Writer’s Agenda: The Wadsworth Writer’s Guide (Shorter Edition).
California: Wordsworth Publishing Company.
Hammond, E.R. 1985. Informative Writing. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Hyland, K. 2003. Second Language Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hughes, D.M. Louise K.L. and Richard W.C.1985. Glencoe English 12: Composition
Speech and Grammar. California: Glencoe Publishing Company.
______ .1985. Glencoe English 11: Composition Speech and Grammar. California: Glencoe
Publishing Company.
_______1985. Glencoe English 10: Composition Speech and Grammar. California:
Glencoe Publishing Company.
Troyka, L.Q 1996. Simon Schuster and Handbook for Writers. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Wiener, H.S. 1984. Creating Compositions. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.