House Bill 5
Provisions and Preparations
Dr. Brent Royster
Developmental Studies
COLLEGE PREP – ENGLISH
LANGUAGE ARTS
College Preparatory – English
Language Arts
is mandated by the State of Texas in
House Bill 5. This course is designed
to help students that have yet to
prove mastery in English Language
Arts as outlined in House Bill 5.
Overview
This course teaches topics covered in traditional
Developmental Reading and Developmental
Writing courses taught at Central Texas College,
with attention to literal and analytical reading
comprehension, essay writing and development
with emphasis on structure, and rhetorical
concepts such as style, usage, purpose and
audience. The course will assist the student in
acquiring the basic skills needed for college level
reading and writing.
Goal
Upon successful completion, as defined in
the Memorandum of Understanding, of the
College Prep – English Language Arts
course, students will obtain the necessary
prerequisites to enter English Composition
(ENGL 1301) at Central Texas College.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Upon successful completion of this
College Prep – English Language Arts
course, students will be able to:
• Locate explicit textual information, draw
complex inferences, and describe,
analyze, and evaluate the information
within and across multiple texts of
varying length.
Outcomes (cont.)
• Comprehend and use vocabulary
effectively in oral communication,
reading, and writing.
• Identify and analyze the audience,
purpose, and message of a variety of
texts.
• Describe and apply insights gained from
reading and writing a variety of texts.
Outcomes (cont.)
• Compose a variety of texts that
demonstrate reading comprehension,
clear focus, logical development of
ideas, and use of appropriate language
that advance the writer's purpose.
• Determine and use effective approaches
and rhetorical strategies for given
reading and writing situations.
Outcomes (cont.)
• Generate ideas and gather information
relevant to the topic and purpose,
incorporating the ideas and words of
other writers in student writing using
established strategies.
• Evaluate relevance and quality of ideas
and information in recognizing,
formulating, and developing a claim.
Outcomes (cont.)
• Develop and use effective reading and
revision strategies to strengthen the
writer's ability to compose college-level
writing assignments.
• Recognize and apply the conventions of
Standard English in reading and writing.
INSTRUCTIONAL
MATERIALS/RESOURCES
To assist in this course, we have selected
a text and course management system
that would be beneficial for both the
instructor and student.
• My Skills Lab, Pearson
• Effective Reader/Writer, Henry,
D.J., Pearson, 2015.
EXAMINATIONS AND
ASSIGNMENTS:
ESSAYS:
Incorporate four composition genres:
informative writing, evaluative writing,
persuasive writing/argument, and
personal experience/narrative writing.
Requirements (cont.)
ARTICLE ANALYSIS:
Students will be required to find, read,
summarize, and respond to current
magazine and newspaper articles. This
two-page analysis must include complete
bibliographical information, a summary,
interesting points and new vocabulary
from the article, and a student response
to the article.
Requirements (cont.)
FINAL: OBJECTIVE and ESSAY
Students will be required to complete a
two part examination. The first part is an
objective final examination that is multiple
choice. The second part is an essay.
Essay prompts and examinations will be
provide each term.
Possible Writing Prompts
• Credit cards
• Fast-food restaurants
• Paying high school students money
for perfect attendance
• Paying college athletes
Possible Writing Prompts
(cont.)
• Spanking as parental disciplinary
action
• Cell phones
• Lowering the drinking age
• Mandatory AIDS testing
• Mandatory community service
Possible Writing Prompts
(cont.)
• 9-month vs. 12-month school
calendar
• Smoking restrictions/bans
• Begin college right after HS
graduation vs. wait a few years
• Dress codes/public school uniforms
Basic Prompt: Driving Age
Statistics show that young, inexperienced
drivers are more likely to be involved in
automobile accidents and are more likely to
die in automobile accidents than older, more
mature drivers. Some states are considering
or already have passed legislation that delays
the age at which a young person may apply
for a driver's license. In a five-paragraph
essay, express your opinion about whether or
not Texas lawmakers should increase the
driving age from sixteen to eighteen.
Advanced Prompt: The Influence
of Violent Media upon Adolescent
Behavior
Representations of graphic violence are everpresent in American culture. Consider top
theatrical releases, “First-Person Shooter”
games, and TV programs with graphic
representations of murder and mayhem.
Many
parents
complain
that
graphic
representations of violence influence the way
children behave. In a five-paragraph essay,
convince an audience about your position
concerning the impact of representations of
graphic violence upon adolescent behavior.
Writing a prompt:
As illustrated above, a successful writing prompt
should give ample overview and background to
an issue. Though a prompt should be
commonplace, it should also provide context and
an overview of possible positions/reasons
concerning an issue. Once the issue has been
presented, the prompt should offer a directive for
the student’s writing assignment; if the
assignment has specific time requirements and
resources available (120 minutes; dictionary,
scratch paper), these should be listed as well.
Final Exam
Integrated Reading and Writing will
include a Final Exam designed to assess
the student’s understanding and
application of reading and writing skills
addressed in the course. Answers are
recorded on a standard on a Scantron
answer sheet.
Exam Overview
Students will need to:
• Recognize topics, main ideas and writing
patterns; the author’s attitude, intent,
and bias; and the credibility and
validity of the author’s argumentation.
• Edit for standard American English,
mastery of word choice, verb tense,
sentence structure, clarity, punctuation,
modifiers, and parallel structure.
Thank You!
It has been a pleasure to outline
the provisions of House Bill 5
and preparations for the
Integrated Reading and Writing
College Preparatory Course
Please direct questions to:
Professor Daniels or Professor Royster
Developmental Studies Department
Central Texas College