UC Berkeley Free Essay Writing Online Course

The University of California, Berkeley is offering an open online course on essay writing. This course is aimed at students who are proficient enough in English to follow an introductory level university course.

This five-week course is an introduction to academic writing for English Language Learners, focusing on essay development, grammatical correctness, and self-editing. The course will start on October 12, 2016.

Course At A Glance       

Length: 5 week
Effort:  5-6 hours/week
Subject: Humanities
Institution: University of California, Berkeley and edX
Languages: English
Price:  Free
Certificate Available: Yes (Verified Certificate for $49)
Session: Starts on October 12, 2016

Providers’ Details

Berkeley is offering MOOCs with edX to develop and foster adoption of Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs) on campuses around the world. SPOCs are designed to supplement and enhance the learning experience of on-campus students, while providing local faculty an opportunity for more interactive activities and more time for “high-touch” pedagogy.

This online platform edX provides online courses from the world’s best universities. edX can empower applicant to build innovative applications, services, and experiences.

About This Course

College Writing 2.1x is an introduction to academic writing for English Language Learners, focusing on essay development, grammatical correctness, and self-editing. The five-week course includes a review of basic grammar terminology and understanding; writing effective sentences and paragraphs; introductions and conclusions; strategies for writing longer texts; and thesis statements. The course materials will be offered via readings and videos. An optional course workbook, in ebook form, may be used for additional writing work. Students will participate in online discussions as well as peer review. Students will complete an essay for this part of the course.

Why Take This Course?

This is a free online course. This MOOC will be offered with Video Transcripts in English.  Applicants can get a verified certificate.

Learning Outcomes

• Basic grammar terminology and understanding
• How to write effective sentences and paragraphs
• How to tackle writing introductions and conclusions
• Strategies for writing longer texts and thesis statements

Instructors

Maggie Sokolik

She is the Director of College Writing Programs at University of California, Berkeley. She received her Ph.D. in applied linguistics from the University of California, Los Angeles. After her Ph.D., she did post-doctoral work in Paris, France, and has been a faculty member at Harvard University, MIT, Texas A&M, and Northern Arizona University.

Requirements

Students should be proficient enough in English to follow an introductory level university course.

How To Join This Course

• Go to the course website link
• Create an edX account to SignUp
• Choose “Register Now” to get started.
• edX offers honor code certificates of achievement, verified certificates of achievement, and XSeries certificates of achievement. Currently, verified certificates are only available in some courses.
• Once applicant sign up for a course and activate their account, click on the Log In button on the edx.org home page and type in their email address and edX password. This will take them to the dashboard, with access to each of their active courses. (Before a course begins, it will be listed on their dashboard but will not yet have a “view course” option.)

Source: https://www.edx.org/