MODULE i: ACADEMIC READING AND ANALYSIS SKILLS

CHAPTER 1: THE VALUE OF COMMUNICATIONS COURSES

• Communications and Job Readiness
• Communication Skills that Employers Want
• What Professors Want

CHAPTER 2: uNDERSTANDING ASSIGNMENT OUTLINES AND INSTRUCTIONS

• How Professors Design Assignments
• Understanding Assignment Verbs
• Asking the Right Questions
• Reading and Interpreting Rubrics
• Critical Thinking Skills

CHAPTER 3: CRITICAL READING STRATEGIES

• High School vs. Post-Secondary Expectations
• Setting Goals
• Reading Strategies
• Active Reading
  • Four Ways of Reading
  • SQ3R Strategy

CHAPTER 4: EFFECTIVE STUDY HABITS

• Understand Your Learning Style
• Time Management
• Note-Taking
• Summarizing
• Annotating
• Online Study Tools
• Academic Support Resources

chapter 5: audience & purpose of writing

• Academic Purpose
  • Types of Paragraphs
• Audience
• Tone
• Content
• Common Writing Assignments
  • Types of
  • The Writing Process
  • Time Management

CHAPTER 6: BIAS IN WRITING AND RESEARCH

• Style and Tone
• Opposing Ideas and Limits of Arguments
• Bias in Writing
  • Hidden Agendas
• Fact vs. Opinion
• The Use of “I”
• Incorporating Visual Elements

CHAPTER 7: CREDIBLE RESEARCH SOURCES

• Primary vs. Secondary Sources
• Popular (Professional) vs. Scholarly (Academic) Sources
• Using Online Databases
  • Electronic Resources
  • Efficient Searches
  • Google Scholar
• Print Resources
• Evaluating Research Sources
  • Relevancy
  • Quality
  • Reliability
  • Credibility
  • Currency
  • Overall
• Managing Sources
• Academic Journal Articles
  • Structure
  • Reading Strategies
• Sheridan’s Library Services

CHAPTER 8: DEVELOPING MEDIA LITERACY AND AWARENESS

• Navigating Problematic Information
  • Fake news
  • Alternative facts
  • Native advertising
  • Social engineering
  • Deepfakes
• Analyzing Visual Media & Visual Rhetoric

MODULE ii: ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS

CHAPTER 9: RESEARCH TOPICS, QUESTIONS, AND THESIS STATEMENTS

• Research Topics
• Research Questions
• Creating a Thesis Statement
  • Characteristics of
  • Three-Story Thesis Model
  • Reevaluating

CHAPTER 10: ESSAY OUTLINING

• The 5-Paragraph Essay Model
• Synthesizing Information
  • Organizing thoughts
  • Order and Purpose
• Writing Outlines
• Selecting Useful Information
  • That Supports the Thesis
  • That Connects Sources

CHAPTER 11: WRITING ACADEMIC PARAGRAPHS, INCORPORATING SOURCES AS EVIDENCE, & APA REFERENCING

• Academic Paragraphs
  • Types of
  • How to write
• Integrating Evidence
  • Selecting
  • Introducing
  • Referencing & Citing
    • In-Text Citations
    • Summaries & Paraphrases
    • Reference Pages
  • Avoiding Plagiarism
• Academic Integrity

chapter 12: writing introductions & conclusions

• Introduction Writing Strategies
• Conclusion Writing Strategies

CHAPTER 13: EXPOSITORY (INFORMATIVE) ESSAYS

• What is an Expository Essay?
• Difference between Expository and Persuasive Essays
• Structure of Expository Essay
  • Sections
  • Audience
  • How to write

CHAPTER 14: ARGUMENTATIVE (PERSUASIVE) ESSAYS

• What is an Argumentative Essay?
• Arguing vs. Argument
• Structure of Argumentative Essays
  • Model of
  • Language Use
  • Acknowledging Other Positions
  • Limits to Your Argument

CHAPTER 15: EDITING AND rEVISING STRATEGIES

• What Professors Want
• Flow
• Editing & Proofreading
  • Strategies & Tools for

MODULE iii: ACADEMIC SURVIVAL SKILLS

CHAPTER 16: HOW TO ‘STUDENT,’ OR SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS IN COLLEGE

• Coping with Workload Stress
• Approaching your Professor
  • Form of address
  • Sending an email
  • Asking for help
  • Asking for letters of reference
  • Building a relationship
• Dealing with Disappointing Feedback & Grades on Assignments
• Online Learning
  • Types of
  • Strategies for

chapter 17: presentation skills

• Glossophobia and Anxiety
• Engaging Your Audience
• Giving Online Presentations

MODULE IV: SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS

• Section Overview
• Newspaper Article: From Gander to Broadway: The Journey of ‘Come From Away’
• Newspaper Article: Sheridan Grad Wins Oscar for “Bao”
• Newspaper Opinion Editorial (OpEd): Steve Irwin Inspired Generations of Environmentalists
• Newspaper Review: Kenzo Ramen is Noodle Soup for the Soul
• Professional Report: Halton Region youth in/at risk research report
• Professional Article: Cause Hackathon as Experiential Learning
• Academic Case Study: The Intersectional Oppressions of South Asian Immigrant Women and Vulnerability in Relation to Domestic Violence: A Case Study
• Academic Article: The New Visual Testimonial: Narrative, Authenticity, and Subjectivity in Emerging Commercial Photographic Practice
• Academic Article: Immigrant Mental Health, a Public Health Issue: Looking Back and Moving Forward
• Academic Research Study: Vitamin D Status of Older Adults of Diverse Ancestry Living in the Greater Toronto Area