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Las Positas College is an inclusive, learning-centered, equity-focused environment that offers educational opportunities and support for completion of students' transfer, degree, and career-technical goals while promoting lifelong learning.

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English Courses

ENGL C1000 - Academic Reading and Writing

Formerly ENG 1A

3 units

In this course, students receive instruction in academic reading and writing, including writing processes, effective use of language, analytical thinking, and the foundations of academic research. Integrated approach to reading, writing, and critical thinking intended to develop ability to read and write complex, college-level prose. Examination of ideas in relation to individual’s worldview and contexts from which these ideas arise. Some research required. 54 hours lecture, 18 hours laboratory. ADGE: 1A; Transfer: CSU, UC; Cal-GETC: 1A; C-ID# ENGL 100. 

Prerequisite: Placement as determined by the college’s multiple measures assessment process.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter Grade

ENGL C1001 - Critical Thinking and Writing

Formerly ENG 7

3 units

In this course, students receive instruction in critical thinking for purposes of constructing, evaluating, and composing arguments in a variety of rhetorical forms, using primarily non-fiction texts, refining writing skills and research strategies developed in ENGL C1000 College Reading and Writing (C-ID ENGL 100) or similar first-year college writing course. Develops critical thinking, reading and writing skills as they apply to the textual analysis of primary and secondary book-length works from a range of academic and cultural contexts. Emphasis on the techniques and principles of effective written argument in research-based writing across disciplines. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 1B, 3; Transfer: CSU, UC; Cal-GETC: 1B, 3B; C-ID# ENGL 105.

Prerequisite: College-level composition (ENGL C1000/C-ID ENGL 100) or equivalent

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter Grade

ENG 4 - Critical Thinking and Writing about Literature

3 units

Develops critical thinking, reading, and writing skills as they apply to the analysis of fiction, poetry and drama; literary criticism; and related non-fiction from diverse cultural sources and perspectives. Emphasis on the techniques and principles of effective written argument as they apply to literature. Some research required. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 1B, 3; Transfer: CSU, UC; Cal-GETC: 1B, 3B; C-ID# ENGL 120.

Prerequisite: ENGL C1000 with a minimum grade of C. 

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter Grade

ENG 11 - Introduction to Creative Writing

3 units

Introduction to elements and craft of various genres of creative writing, including narrative, verse, and dialogue, using materials drawn from individual’s own work and selected texts from established and peer writers. Practice in writing in various genres. Introduction to workshop method. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 3. Transfer: CSU, UC; C-ID# ENGL 200.

Prerequisite: Eligibility for college-level composition as determined by college assessment or other appropriate method.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter or Pass/No Pass

ENG 12A - Craft of Writing Fiction

3 units

Practice in writing fiction. Developing internal and external sources for stories and novels; biographical sources, characterization, plot, points-of-view, narrative techniques; analysis and criticism of published writing and individual’s own work. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 3; Transfer: CSU, UC.

Prerequisite: Eligibility for college-level composition as determined by college assessment or other appropriate method.

Recommended Course Preparation: ENG 11 with a minimum grade of C. 

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter or Pass/No Pass

ENG 12B - Craft of Writing Fiction: Intermediate

3 units

Practice in writing fiction at an intermediate level. Builds on the skills developed in English 12A by requiring the use of vivid description, specific detail, dynamic and rounded character development, consistent point of view, and logical plotting that avoids cliche. Focus on developing themes that create intellectual or emotional resonance. Expectation of sentence structure, grammar, and format accuracy. Develop internal and external sources for stories and novels; analysis and criticism of published short fiction and a book-length work; analysis and criticism of peer work and individual’s own work. Requires submission for publication at the end of the semester. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 3; Transfer: CSU.

Recommended Course Preparation: ENGL C1000 with a minimum grade of C, ENG 12A with a minimum grade of C.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter or Pass/No Pass

ENG 12C - Craft of Writing Fiction: Advanced

3 units

Practice in writing fiction at an advanced level. Builds on the intermediate skills developed in English 12B by requiring a mastery of description, detail, character development, consistent point of view, and logical plotting that avoids cliche. Focus on achieving themes that create intellectual or emotional resonance. Expectation of sentence structure, grammar, and format accuracy. Develop internal and external sources for stories and novels; analysis and criticism of published short fiction and a presentation about the craft in a book-length work; analysis and criticism of peer work and individual’s own work. Requires submission for publication at the end of the semester; analysis and criticism of peer work and individual’s own work. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 3; Transfer: CSU.

Recommended Course Preparation: ENG 12B with a minimum grade of C, ENGL C1000 with a minimum grade of C.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter or Pass/No Pass

ENG 13A - The Craft of Writing Poetry: Beginning

3 units

Practice in writing poetry, using materials drawn from published poetry and individual’s own work for analysis and criticism, with a focus on techniques of revision. 54 hours lecture.  ADGE: 3; Transfer: CSU.

Recommended Course Preparation: ENG 11 with a minimum grade of C, or ENGL C1000 with a minimum grade of C.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter or Pass/No Pass

ENG 13B - The Craft of Writing Poetry: Intermediate

3 units

Continued practice in writing poetry, using materials drawn from published poetry and individual’s own work for analysis and criticism, with a focus on techniques of revision and submission for publication. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 3; Transfer: CSU.

Prerequisite: ENG 13A with a minimum grade of C.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter or Pass/No Pass

ENG 19A - Journal of Arts, Literature, and Academic Writing A

3 units

Creation of a literary-style student magazine. Practical training in the managing, editing, formatting, and printing of a literary magazine. Enrollment constitutes the staff of the magazine. Students who have completed, or are enrolled in, JAMS 19A may not receive credit. 36 hours lecture, 54 hours laboratory. Transfer: CSU.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter or Pass/No Pass

ENG 19B - Journal of Arts, Literature, and Academic Writing B

3 units

Creation of a literary-style student magazine. Practical intermediate-level training in the managing, editing, formatting, and printing of a literary supplement and/or magazine with a focus on the production process, including copy editing, design, layout, proofreading, working with the printer, and digital and print distribution. Enrollment constitutes the staff of the magazine. Students who have completed, or are enrolled in, JAMS 19B may not receive credit. 36 hours lecture, 54 hours laboratory. Transfer: CSU.

Prerequisite: JAMS 19A with a minimum grade of C or ENG 19A with a minimum grade of C.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter or Pass/No Pass

ENG 20 - Studies in Shakespeare

3 units

Readings of the sonnets and representative comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances of William Shakespeare, with attention to the early, middle and late phases of his art and to the Age of Elizabeth. 54 hours lecture.  ADGE: 3; Transfer: CSU, UC; Cal-GETC: 3B.

Prerequisite: ENGL C1000 with a minimum grade of C.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter Grade

ENG 29 - Independent Study, English

0.5 - 2 units

Supervised study in the area of English. Students interested in registering for an Independent Studies course should contact a full/part-time instructor or dean associated with the English department. 27 - 108 hours laboratory. Transfer: CSU.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter or Pass/No Pass

ENG 32 - U.S. Women's Literature

3 units

Chronicles the expression of U.S. women authors through readings in a variety of genres such as fiction, poetry, drama, and the essay. Study of the works of at least three of the following groups: African Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans, with a particular focus on the 20th century. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 3; Transfer: CSU, UC; Cal-GETC: 3B.

Prerequisite: Eligibility for college-level composition as determined by college assessment or other appropriate method.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter Grade

ENG 35 - Modern American Literature

3 units

U.S. literature from the second half of the 19th century to the present, including poetry, drama, prose fiction, and essays. Emphasizes literary analysis and the exploration each work in relation to its social, cultural and historical contexts. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 3; Transfer: CSU, UC; Cal-GETC: 3B; C-ID# ENGL 35.

Prerequisite: Eligibility for college-level composition as determined by college assessment or other appropriate method.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter Grade

ENG 41 - Modern World Literature

3 units

This course is a comparative study of selected works, in translation and in English, of literature from various regions and cultures around the world, including Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Americas, and other areas, from the mid- or late-seventeenth century to the present. Emphasis will be on literary analysis as well as providing historical, cultural, and comparative perspectives on the literature. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 3; Transfer: CSU, UC; Cal-GETC: 3B; C-ID# ENGL 145.

Prerequisite: Eligibility for college-level composition as determined by college assessment or other appropriate method.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter Grade

ENG 42 - Literature of the African Diaspora in America

3 units

Form, development, and cultural and historic insights of literature of the African diaspora in America and the United States, including some or all of the following: short fiction and novels, oral history and memoir, poetry, plays, songs, popular culture, and nonfiction; exploration of particular themes or periods as reflected in the literature of people of the African diaspora created in America. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 3; Transfer: CSU, UC; Cal-GETC: 3B.

Prerequisite: Eligibility for college-level composition as determined by college assessment or other appropriate method.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter or Pass/No Pass

ENG 44 - Literature of the American West

3 units

Critical analysis of the cultural and historical experiences of diverse people of the American West as expressed in their literatures, including the novel, short story, poetry, autobiography, memoirs, as-told-to-narratives, film, and secondary works. Emphasis upon techniques of critical review of and response to literary works. Study of the works of at least three of the following groups: Black and African Americans; Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander; European Americans, Latinx Americans, Native Americans. Exploration of interrelationships among peoples and cultures of the West, as mediated by place and community and the flow of people and capital as influenced by technology. Comparison and contrast of the myth of the west to the experiences of its diverse peoples and regions. Some exploration of the myth of the west as exported to, consumed by, and in turn generated by other countries. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 3, 4; Transfer: CSU, UC; Cal-GETC: 3B.

Prerequisite: ENGL C1000 with a minimum grade of C.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter Grade

ENG 45 - Studies in Fiction

3 units

Form, development, and cultural insights of the novel and short story; exploration of particular themes or periods as reflected in works of fiction. 54 hours lecture. ADGE: 3; Transfer: CSU, UC; Cal-GETC: 3B.

Prerequisite: ENGL C1000 with a minimum grade of C.

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter Grade

ENG 110 Craft of the Sentence

2 units

Practice in sentence-level writing that focuses on possibilities rather than rules, as well as editing in any genre of writing, including—but not limited to—academic writing. Practice in writing and editing sentences that achieve desired stylistic effects based on the writing situation and audience. Develops strategies to communicate complex ideas at the sentence level. Discusses multifaceted and changing nature of language and writing. This course is open to students currently enrolled in ENGL C1000, or students who have passed ENGL C1000 or the equivalent. 36 hours lecture.

Prerequisite: ENGL C1000 with a minimum grade of C (May be taken concurrently).

  • Credit - Not Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Letter or Pass/No Pass

ENG 115 Personalized Coaching for Academic Reading and Writing

0.5 - 1.00 unit

This credit course provides whole group, small group, and individualized support with writing and reading assignments. Students meet regularly with an English 115 instructor during prescribed hours as well as with English tutors, on a customized learning plan. Student hours spent with Reading and Writing faculty tutors and in Smart Shops also count towards the variable hours of this course. Students can choose to focus on developing their skills in academic reading, composition, research, sentence-level writing skills, or some combination of these. This course is intended to help students be successful in college-level credit coursework. 27 - 54 hours lecture.

Prerequisite: ENGL C1000 with a minimum grade of C (May be taken concurrently).

  • Credit - Degree Applicable
  • Grading Option: Pass/No Pass