Advanced English Practice is a 4-month course designed to develop your advanced English language skills through consistent practice, peer collaboration, and authentic engagement with complex language structures. Success in this course comes from regular participation and thoughtful work rather than last-minute effort.
Each week follows a consistent pattern to support your learning:
| Component | Points |
|---|---|
| Attendance & Participation | 30 |
| Quizzes (10 required) | 10 |
| Assignments (10 required) | 20 |
| Partial Exams (3 total) | 30 |
| Final Exam | 10 |
| Total Points Required | 100 |
| Extra Credit Available | +5 |
Earn 1 point per class meeting for active presence and involvement. You must attend at least 30 of the total class meetings over 17 weeks.
Each quiz requires getting 3 questions correct in a row. You'll submit a Quiz Tracker once per grading period with screenshots and statements on your confidence level and how you could practice the topic further for each quiz. Quizzes are available for weeks 2-4, 6-10, and 13-14. Week 1 serves as a completed example in your first Quiz Tracker.
Assignments are graded as Complete/Incomplete and worth 2 points each (1 point for initial writing + 1 point for peer review). You must complete 10 assignments total.
Complete work means:
Three substantial group projects (10 points each) scheduled for weeks 5, 11, and 15. These are the only assignments where the instructor provides direct feedback.
During weeks 16-17, you'll peer review three group projects and complete a reflection on your learning throughout the course.
Success in language learning comes from consistent small investments of time rather than cramming. This course is designed to get you actively participating in your learning process.
| Participation Level | Points |
|---|---|
| Active Participation (present and clearly involved) | 1 |
| Absent or Inactive | 0 |
If you miss class and your absence is justified, you can make up class periods by showing evidence of completing the contents we covered during that meeting. Absences are justified in cases of medical or family emergencies.
Note: You need to attend at least 30 class meetings. If you attend more than 30 classes, you have the potential to earn extra credit (up to 2 points).
Late assignments are generally not accepted. The consistent weekly rhythm of this course is designed to support language acquisition through regular practice.
If you've had justified absences or have arranged accommodations in advance with the instructor, you may submit a limited number of late assignments.
Chronic lateness without justification will not be accommodated in this class.
Group work is an essential component of this course, appearing in class meetings, peer reviews, and the group projects you'll complete for partial examinations.
This course encourages thoughtful integration of AI tools as part of your learning process, particularly for enhancing your understanding of advanced English concepts and refining your language production.
First develop your own thoughts, then enhance with AI. Being able to form your own analysis and expression without AI influence, then strengthen it through AI assistance, is a crucial professional skill. Early AI consultation can prevent you from developing independent analytical and linguistic thinking.
For writing assignments: Write your first draft without AI assistance. Then you might use AI to check for grammar errors, suggest stronger word choices, or help you understand why a particular construction works better. Always review these suggestions critically and ensure the final work reflects your own understanding and voice.
For analyzing texts: Form your own observations and analysis first. You might then use AI to confirm your understanding of grammatical structures or to explore alternative interpretations.
Important Reality Check: It's genuinely difficult to be disciplined about using AI as a tool rather than completely outsourcing your thinking. For your own benefit and language development, you should be actively engaging with course materials and developing your own analytical skills. The goal is to become a more capable English user, which requires your active mental engagement—AI can't do this work for you.
Extra credit is designed to reward exceptional effort and consistency, not to replace missed regular coursework. Students who consistently attend and complete assignments should not need extra credit to succeed.
In this course you must submit original work. This means that, while you can and should cite your sources, the work must reflect your own analysis and perspective. For many assignments, the use of generative AI is permitted following the AI usage guidelines above.
Plagiarism of work from other students or online resources, as well as submission of non-original work, will result in a zero grade on the assignment and will be escalated as necessary, with potential additional consequences.
The professor responds to messages during class hours. Do not expect a response outside of class hours. Plan accordingly when working on assignments.