The skills development courses in academic writing and reading are courses meant to help students develop and sharpen their skills in these two key areas of college study.  Whether those students need additional capabilities from an English as a Second Language standpoint or simply as a way to master these vital skills as native speakers of English, this multi-level sequence of courses is aimed at readying students for English 101 and other basic university coursework in the varied disciplines offered by Northeastern Illinois University.

Course Offerings

ELP-095. Developmental Writing Workshop I. 3 Hours.

(Does not count toward graduation or GPA calculation.) This course presents basic principles of personal essay writing in English, with emphasis on developing sentence level skills. Registration is by placement exam.
Prerequisite: Accuplacer WritePlacer 2.

ELP-096. Developmental Writing Workshop II. 3 Hours.

(Does not count toward graduation or GPA calculation.) This course is an introduction to the basic principles used in writing expository essays based on personal experience, and intensive work to improve sentence level skills. Registration is by placement exam or permit.
Prerequisite: ELP-095 minimum grade of RC or ELP-112 minimum grade of C or Accuplacer WritePlacer 3.

ELP-097. Developmental Writing Workshop III. 3 Hours.

(Does not count toward graduation or GPA calculation.) This course offers practice and instruction in writing expository essays, with emphasis on paragraph development, increased fluency in written English, and proofreading skills. Registration is by placement exam or permit.
Prerequisite: Accuplacer WritePlacer 4 or ELP-096 minimum grade of RC or ELP-114 minimum grade of C.

ELP-112. ESL Writing Workshop I. 3 Hours.

Open only to English Language Learners (ELLs). This course provides basic instruction aimed at guiding the ELLs’ transition from their existing native language writing skills to academic English with an emphasis on sentence-level skills needed for writing personal narrative essays. Registration is by permit only.

ELP-114. ESL Writing Workshop II. 3 Hours.

Open only to English Language Learners (ELLs). This course provides instruction aimed at continuing the ELLs’ transition from their existing native language writing skills to academic English. Work centers on the writing of basic expository essays and intensive work on sentence level skills. Registration is by permit only.

ELP-120. ESL Writing Workshop III. 3 Hours.

Open only to English Language Learners (ELLs). This course provides additional practice and instruction aimed at helping ELLs complete their transition from writing in their native language to writing in college-level academic English. Writing expository essays across various genre, with emphases on paragraph development, increased fluency and editing and proofreading skills form the core content of this course. Registration is by permit only.

ELP-121. English Grammar Skills. 3 Hours.

Analysis of and practice in selected English grammatical patterns, with special emphasis on their academic application.

ESL-108. Listening And Speaking. 3 Hours.

(English language learners.) Practice in the listening and speaking skill used in American universities, with emphasis on comprehension of brief academic lectures, presentation of brief reports, and participation in class discussion. Registration by permit only.

READ-096. Developmental Reading Workshop I. 3 Hours.

(Does not count toward graduation or GPA calculation.) This course is designed to meet the needs of those students who need to improve their English reading comprehension. Active reading of English is promoted through intensive reading, vocabulary development, conversation and writing. Reading for meaning is emphasized. Understanding the importance of intercultural communications and understanding the relationship between language and culture is developed. Registration is by placement exam.
Prerequisite: Accuplacer Reading Comp 020.

READ-097. Developmental Reading Workshop II. 3 Hours.

(Does not count toward graduation or GPA calculation.) This course is designed to meet the needs of those students who have English language proficiency and need to further develop their reading comprehension. Advanced reading skills such as interpretation, inference, critical analysis, evaluation, application, author style and tone are emphasized in order to improve comprehension of more complex literary genres, including content-specific materials. Registration is by placement exam or permit.
Prerequisite: Accuplacer Reading Comp 051 or READ-115 minimum grade of C or READ-096 minimum grade of RC.

READ-115. ESL Reading Workshop I. 3 Hours.

Open only to English Language Learners (ELLs). This course is designed to guide ELLs in making the transition from academic reading in their native language to reading basic academic English. The core of the course focuses on building active reading skills through intensive reading aimed at improving English reading comprehension, vocabulary development and intercultural considerations as they apply to academic works’ genre, style and organization. Registration by permit only.

READ-116. ESL Reading Workshop II. 3 Hours.

Open only to English Language Learners (ELLs). This course is designed to continue building advanced English language reading proficiency through intensive instruction in interpretation, inference, critical analysis, evaluation, application, author style and tone, and technical and literary terminology across more complex literary genres and content-specific materials. Registration by permit only.

READ-117. Vocabulary Enrichment. 3 Hours.

Designed to meet the needs of students who wish to enhance their vocabulary to promote success in reading college text and work-related materials. Strategies for coping with unfamiliar words in text are emphasized. Registration by permit only.