ATTACHMENT 5.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The National Commission for Academic Accreditation &

Assessment

T6. Course Specifications

(CS)
Short Essay Writing
(ENGL 215)
 Course Specifications

Institution: Taibah University Date of Report: April 29, 2017

College/Department : Faculty of Arts & Humanities/ Department of Languages &
Translation

A. Course Identification and General Information

1. Course title and code: Short Essay Writing (ENGL 215)

2. Credit hours: 3 hours
3. Program(s) in which the course is offered: English Language Program
(If general elective available in many programs indicate this rather than list programs)
4. Name of faculty member responsible for the course: Dr. Mohamed Radi
5. Level/year at which this course is offered: Third Level/ Second Year
6. Pre-requisites for this course (if any): Paragraph Writing (ENGL 114)
7. Co-requisites for this course (if any): None
8. Location if not on main campus
9. Mode of Instruction (mark all that apply)

a. Traditional classroom X What percentage? 100

b. Blended (traditional and online) What percentage?

c. e-learning What percentage?

d. Correspondence What percentage?

f. Other What percentage?

Comments:
B. Objectives

1. What is the main purpose of this course?

1- Training students to write short essays with introductions, body paragraphs and conclusions
2- Teaching students to apply coherence and cohesion in writing essays
3- Promoting students’ skill to distinguish different types of essays
4- Training students to use correct punctuation and grammar in writing essays
2. Briefly describe any plans for developing and improving the course that
are being implemented. (e.g. increased use of IT or web based reference
material, changes in content as a result of new research in the field)
A model essay for each rhetorical mode of writing will be produced by the teacher to serve as
an example of what is expected from students. Additional model essays will be available on a
designated Blog produced for this course. Students will also be encouraged to avail the Online
Writing Tutor in addition to the Online Grammar Practice, both of which are supplements to the
prescribed text.

C. Course Description (Note: General description in the form to be used

for the Bulletin or handbook)

Course Description:
This course guides students to produce a short essay on the rhetorical modes of description, opinion and compare
and contrast. It initially reviews sentence structure and mechanics to consolidate knowledge before moving on to
more extended writing. Students then distinguish the basic components of a short essay, essay organization,
planning to write and writing an essay on a given topic.

1. Topics to be covered
List of Topics Week Contact
No. Hours
Paragraph structure 1 3
The Topic Sentence 2 3
Unity and Coherence 3 3
The Paragraph and Short Essay 4 3
Short Essay Organization 5 3
The Thesis Statement 6 3
Revision for the first In-Term Test; 1st In-term Test 7 3
Descriptive Essays 8 3
Descriptive Essays (cont.) 9 3
Comparison-Contrast Essays 10 3
Comparison-Contrast Essays(cont.) 11 3
Opinion Essays 12 3
Revision for the second In-Term Test; 2nd In-Term Test 13 3
Cause and Effect Essays 14 3
Revision for the Final Test 15 3

2. Course components (total contact hours and credits per semester): 45

Lecture Tutorial Laboratory Practical Other: Total

Contact 3 45
Hours
Credit 3 3

3. Additional private study/learning hours expected for students per week.

3 hours

4. Course Learning Outcomes in NQF Domains of Learning and Alignment

with Assessment Methods and Teaching Strategy
On the table below are the five NQF Learning Domains, numbered in the left column.

First, insert the suitable and measurable course learning outcomes required in the appropriate
learning domains (see suggestions below the table). Second, insert supporting teaching
strategies that fit and align with the assessment methods and intended learning outcomes.
Third, insert appropriate assessment methods that accurately measure and evaluate the
learning outcome. Each course learning outcomes, assessment method, and teaching strategy
ought to reasonably fit and flow together as an integrated learning and teaching process.
(Courses are not required to include learning outcomes from each domain.)

NQF Learning Domains Course Course

Code And Course Learning Teaching Assessment
Outcomes Strategies Methods
1.0 Knowledge
1.1  Identify the basic components  Lectures  Exams
of an essay, i.e. a topic  Classroom
sentence, supporting sentences, Questions
 and a concluding sentence.  Classroom
Questions
 Locate coherence features and  Classroom Exams
1.2 unity within a paragraph. discussion Activities &
Assignments
 Distinguish the mechanics of  Classroom Exams
writing in English, and the discussion Activities &
1.3 grammatical forms associated  Classroom Assignments
with each rhetorical mode of questions
writing.
2.0 Cognitive Skills
 Discuss the structural  Classroom  Paper-Pencil
components of an essay and Discussion Tests
2.1
their outlines  Individual
tasks
 Edit short essays  Drills & Practices Activities &
2.2
Assignments
 Write short essays  Drills & Practices Exams
2.3 Activities &
Assignments
3.0 Interpersonal Skills & Responsibility
 Behave ethically during the  Individual & Exams
process of writing topics and essays Group Projects Activities &
 Group-based Assignments
3.1
Teaching
 Team Teaching
 Drills & Practices
 Cooperate in group discussions  Group-based Activities &
Teaching Assignments
3.2
 Team Teaching
 Drills & Practices
4.0 Communication, Information Technology, Numerical
 Communicate effectively  Classroom Exams
during debates, classroom discussion questions Activities &
4.1
and essay writing  Classroom Assignments
discussions
5.0 Psychomotor
5.1 N/A

5. Map course LOs with the program LOs. (Place course LO #s in the left
column and program LO #s across the top.)
Program Learning Outcomes
Course (Use Program LO Code #s provided in the Program Specifications)
LOs #
1. 1.2 1.3 1.4 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2
1
1.0 Knowledge
1.1 √
1.2 √
1.3 √
2.0 Cognitive Skills
2.1 √
2.2 √ √
2.3 √ √
3.0 Interpersonal Skills & Responsibility
3.1 √
3.2 √
4.0 Communication, Information Technology, Numerical
4.1 √ √
4.2
5.0 Psychomotor
5.1

6. Schedule of Assessment Tasks for Students During the Semester

Assessment task (e.g. essay, test, group project, Week Proportion of
examination, speech, oral presentation, etc.) Due Total Assessment

1 1st midterm exam 7 20%

2 2nd midterm exam 13 20%

3 Activities & Assignments 3, 8, 14 20%
4 Final Exam 40%
5 Total 100 %
D. Student Academic Counseling and Support

1. Arrangements for availability of faculty and teaching staff for individual student
consultations and academic advice. (include amount of time teaching staff are expected to be
available each week)
I provide weekly academic advice on Sundays 12-2pm and on Tuesdays 12-2pm during which
students raise their concerns about lectures, homework, Blog material, the Online Writing
Tutor, etc. I also give particular attention to weak students with learning difficulties to help
them progress and catch up with the other students.

E. Learning Resources

1. List Required Textbooks

1- Savage, A. & Mayer, P. (2012). Effective Academic Writing 2 (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford
University Press.
2. List Essential References Materials (Journals, Reports, etc.)
1- Cain, J. (2002). Eye on Editing 1: Developing Editing Skills for Writing. New York:
Longman.
2- Folse , Keith S., Muchmore-Vokoun, A. & Solomon, E. (2004). Great Paragraphs (2nd ed.).
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
3- Harrison, R. (1990). Keep Writing: A Writing Course for Arab Students. London: Longman.
3. List Recommended Textbooks and Reference Material (Journals,
Reports, etc)
1- Langan, J. (2005). College Writing Skills (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher
Education.
2- Savage, A. & Mayer, P. (2005). Effective Academic Writing 2. New York: Oxford
University Press.
3- Savage, A. & Shafiei, M. (2007). Effective Academic Writing 1. New York: Oxford
University Press.
4. List Electronic Materials (e.g. Web Sites, Social Media, Blackboard, etc.)
-A Blog specifically produced for this course.
-Online writing support, along with Online grammar practice offered by the publisher of the
text in use for this course: Oxfordlearn.com/login
Other Useful Websites
1- http://owl.english.purdue.eduThe
2- http://esl.about.com/od/intermediatewriting/Intermediate_Level_Writing_in_English.
3- http://esl.about.com/od/beginningwriting/Beginning_Level_ESL_EFL_Writing_Help.
 4- www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar
5- www.world-english.org/grammar
5. Other learning material such as computer-based programs/CD,
professional standards or regulations and software.
None

F. Facilities Required

Indicate requirements for the course including size of classrooms and laboratories (i.e. number
of seats in classrooms and laboratories, extent of computer access etc.)

1. Accommodation (Classrooms, laboratories, demonstration rooms/labs, etc.)

 The classroom for this course requires at least 40 seats.

2. Computing resources (AV, data show, Smart Board, software, etc.)

 A Whiteboard, Data Show equipment and Internet access are needed.

3. Other resources (specify, e.g. if specific laboratory equipment is required, list requirements
or attach list)
 None

G Course Evaluation and Improvement Processes

1. Strategies for Obtaining Student Feedback on Effectiveness of Teaching

This is conducted at the end of every course by the Registration Department of the university.
Students are required to fill out a form containing questions about the effectiveness of the
course in general, and about the effectiveness of the teacher in particular.
2. Other Strategies for Evaluation of Teaching by the Program/Department/Instructor
Throughout each semester, students are periodically queried about the effectiveness of
teachers and the courses they teach by the Chairman of the Department and the English
Language Coordinator.
3. Processes for Improvement of Teaching
Since class time is limited, especially to provide feedback on students' writing, an online Blog
will be set up to support students' writing in this course. It will consist of the specific
organizational structure of all essay types, idea generation material and related tasks, a list of
relative grammar points and online sources for grammar practice, coherence coverage with
supporting documents and exercises, and example essays for each rhetorical mode of writing
 being taught. In addition, students will be encouraged to contact each other via the Blog for
peer evaluation of their writing. They may also avail particular websites provided on the blog
that offer free assessment of student writing. Finally, students may get direct feedback on their
writing from the instructor of the course.
4. Processes for Verifying Standards of Student Achievement
Marking of a sample of student work is periodically checked by an independent teaching staff
member.

5. Describe the planning arrangements for periodically reviewing course effectiveness and
planning for improvement.
The Curriculum Committee evaluates course effectiveness and cites areas for improvement
every 3 years. Once a consensus is reached, improvements are implemented the following
year.

Faculty or Teaching Staff: Dr. Mohamed Radi

Signature: __________________ Date Report Completed: April 29, 2017.
Received by: Dr. Musaad Alrahaili
Department Head

Signature: :.............Date Report Updated 4/11/2021