In addition, this course helps students improve upon their dictionary skills. Each of these has unique style features, and special problems to overcome. The teacher and classmates act as an audience for one another's projects, so students will give and get feedback on how these written assignments appear to a reader, and what could make them even more effective. Even if students have written papers before in their home country, they may find the conventions of organization and style in an American university new and difficult. In this course students are introduced to the university library and use the library's electronic search facilities to collect and evaluate sources.
Students take notes and learn how to quote, paraphrase and synthesize information.
They become familiar with and demonstrate mastery of one particular standardized format for writing citations of sources and write a series of drafts leading up to a final paper with proper references and citations.