Students entering La Sierra University as freshmen should plan on taking ENGL111A or ENGL111B during their first quarter. Instead of using test scores for placement, each student fills out a self-assessment survey and consults with their OACS advisor to determine which course best fits their needs.

ENGL111A: College Writing I (3 credits) meets three times a week for 50 minutes or two times a week for 90 minutes. Students work on three major essays, including a personal narrative, evaluation, and a rhetorical analysis. All of these projects go through the writing process, including peer review and multiple revisions. The course ends with students compiling portfolios of their work.

ENGL111B: College Writing I Plus (4 credits) meets four times a week for 50 minutes. Students complete the same course content as ENGL111A. For three of the four weekly class periods, students will be in a combined course with ENGL111A students, working side-by-side on the projects for the course. Students registered for ENGL111B spend one class session per week in a smaller group with their 111B cohort. These smaller class sessions focus on skill development, grammar assistance, and focused feedback from the instructor. This course is designed for students who either scored lower on ACT/SAT scores, experienced lower grades in high school English classes, or feel they could benefit from more attention from an instructor.

As you decide which of these two options is better for you, we urge you to first fill out the questionnaire. This questionnaire is a tool meant to measure your readiness for either ENGL111A or B. You should then consult with your OACS advisor on which option is a better fit for your goals and skill level.

If you have any additional questions, or would like to talk to the College Writing Program Director about these options, please email Dr. Banks at ebanks@lasierra.edu. She is more than happy to set up a Zoom appointment with you to talk you through the process.

ENGL112A or B

Once you have completed your first quarter of College Writing, you still have two options for your next course. ENGL112A meets three hours per week and focuses on thesis-driven essays, with an emphasis on strong support and information literacy skills. Students produce two essays and a multimodal project, as well as a portfolio and a presentation. As students move out ENGL111A or B, they may still want or benefit from some extra guidance and instructor attention. Therefore, students have the option to take ENGL112A: College Writing II (as described above), or ENGL112B: College Writing II Plus, which includes a fourth class period per week with a smaller group of students and focused attention from the instructor. For ENGL112B, the fourth credit hour content focuses on continuing to work on developing skills in organization, grammar, and source integration.

If a student struggled in ENGL111A or ENGL111B, we recommend they enroll in ENGL112B to make sure they are supported and fully prepared to take ENGL113, which is a faster-paced, research-focused course.