Course code:
Course Title: Expository Writing
Credit hours: 3(3+0)
Prerequisite(s): None
Course Description
In this course students will work on writing skills needed to succeed in the academic environment
at the campus. The course will use instructor provided authentic materials on academic topics.
The assignments and course work cover major components of academic writing, including
understanding the organizational structure of academic papers, paraphrasing and summarizing
others’ ideas, and using outside sources to support arguments.
Course Objectives:
At the end of the course, the students will be able to:
➢ Develop skills as reflective and self-directed learners
➢ Critically evaluate and review various types of texts and summarize them
➢ Develop analytical and problem-solving skills to address various community-specific
challenges
➢ Intellectually engage with different stages of the writing process, such as: brainstorming,
mind mapping, free writing, drafting and revision, etc.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of this course, the students will be able to:
➢ Write, edit and proofread a short essay in English language
➢ Present ideas to the whole class in team presentations using English that is
comprehensible and engaging.
➢ Critically analyze a text written in English by using different required linguistic strategies.
➢ Draft a letter to editor and for other academic and professional purposes.
Course contents:
1. Writing Process
• Invention
• Generating Ideas (collecting information in various forms such as mind maps, tables, lists,
charts, etc.)
• Identifying Audience, Purpose, and Message
• Ordering Information
• Chronology for a narrative
• Stages of a process
1
• From general to specific and vice versa
• From most important to least important
• Advantages and disadvantages
• Comparison and contrast
• Problem solution pattern
❖ Drafting
• Free Writing
• Revising
• Editing
2. Reading Skills
• Introduction to basic reading skills
• Strategies to enhance reading skills
• Reading skills for enhancing critical thinking
3. Paraphrasing
4. Cohesion and Coherence
• Cohesive Devices
• Paragraph unity
5. Summary and Précis Writing
6. Creative Writing
7. Letter writing
• Different types of professional/business letters, etc.
• Letter writing styles of professional/business letters, etc.
8. Essay Writing
• developing a thesis
• organizing an essay
• writing effective introduction and conclusion
• different types of essays
• use of various rhetorical modes including exposition, argumentation and analysis
• Expository Essays: selecting and investigating an idea, evaluating evidence and structuring
argument
• Analytical Writing: scope and form
• Argumentative Essays: scope and form
Suggested Readings:
➢ Barnet, S. & Bedau, H. (2004). Critical Thinking: Reading and Writing. A Brief Guide to
Writing. 6th Ed.
2
➢ Behrens & Rosen. (2007). Reading and Writing across the Curriculum.
➢ Caplan, Nigel A. (2012). Grammar Choices for Graduate and Professional Writers. Ann
Arbor: University of Michigan.
➢ Goatly, A. (2000). Critical Reading and Writing: An Introductory Course. London: Taylor &
Francis
➢ Hacker, D. (1992). A Writer’s Reference. 2nd ed. Boston: St. Martin’s
➢ Raman, M, & Sharma, S. (2015). Technical Communication: Principles and Practice. 3rd
Ed. New Delhi, India: OUP India