Undergraduate Courses

Undergraduate courses are listed below with links to their respective descriptions in the eCalendar.

If you wish to take WCOM 245 (formerly CESL 400) or WCOM 255 (formerly CESL 500) you will need to take a placement test.  Please click here for information about the placement tests.

Note: These courses are not open to students who have taken them under former course codes CCOM, CEAP, CESL, EAPR, ESLN, and EDEC.


WCOM 250 (formerly CEAP 250) - Research Essay and Rhetoric (3 credits)

Restriction: Open only to students in degree programs – all years and faculties.

Course Description:

The general purpose of this course is to enable students whose first language is English, or who have high/fluent mastery of English, to communicate more clearly, concisely, and coherently in writing in general, but particularly in academic writing.  The course focuses on the development of critical thinking, critical reading, and critical writing skills, identification and use of rhetorical strategies, the stages and component parts of academic research papers, and general self-editing skills.

Course Coordinator: Zachary Abram, Dr


WCOM 314 (formerly CCOM 314) Communicating Science (3 credits)

Restriction: Open only to students in degree programs.

Course description:

Production of written and oral assignments designed to communicate scientific problems and findings to various audiences.  Analysis of the disciplinary conventions of scientific discourse in terms of audience, purpose, organization, and style; comparative rhetorical analysis of academic and popular genres, including abstracts, lab reports, research papers, print and online journalism.

Course Coordinator:  Kyle Kubler


WCOM 317 (formerly CCOM 315) Writing the Internet (3 credits)

Restriction: Open only to students in degree programs.

Course description:

Critical assessment of digital genres in terms of audience, purpose, organization, and style, application of rhetorical strategies for effective communication in digital contexts.  Topics and readings derived from writing pedagogy and critical analyses of online environments: technological affordances, non-linear structure, "living" texts, online identity, network dynamics, authorial collaboration.

Course Coordinator: Kyle Kubler


WCOM 295 (formerly CESL 299) - ESL: Academic Skills (3 credits)

Restriction: Open only to students whose first language is not English entering the university (newly-admitted into Year 0 or Year 1).

Course description:

With materials from across the curriculum the course prepares students to meet the expectations of the university classroom: note taking and summary of lectures; paraphrase and summary of written and multimedia materials; oral and seminar presentations. Development of critical thinking, reading, writing, listening and speaking skills and strategies.

Class time:

CESL 299 is an intensive course.  Class time is from 9:35am to 12:25pm, M, T, W, R, and there will be one Friday on the last day of class, August 12, 2022.

Admission and registration:

Full-time, non-anglophone students whose secondary education (high school and CEGEP) has been in institutions where the primary language of instruction was not English, or who have attended English language secondary institutions (high school and CEGEP) for four years or less, are eligible to take up to 12 credits in English as a Second Language (CESL).

Tuition subsidy

Students newly admitted (into Year 0 or Year 1) at McGill to a Bachelor program in the following fall will receive a subsidy upon completion of the course (only students who have not previously been enrolled in a Bachelor program at McGill are eligible). Students are expected to pay for the course, and those eligible will automatically receive a credit to their student account in the fall. For more information, read the last paragraph at this web page Scholarships, awards and assistance.

Course Coordinator: Ross Sundberg


WCOM 235 (formerly CESL 300) - ESL Academic English 2 (3 credits)

Prerequisite:  ESL 200 or ESLN 200 or ESLN 201 or placement test.

Restriction:  Not open to students who have taken ESLN 300 or ESLN 301.  Open only to students in degree programs.

Course description: 

Open to students who have more than a basic knowledge of English. Focus is on developing writing skills: structuring an academic essay; expressing complex ideas; documenting sources. Independent learning strategies for vocabulary building, grammar, editing techniques, critical thinking and reading skills. Fundamentals of oral presentation, including pronunciation skills.

Admission and registration:

Full-time, non-anglophone students whose secondary education (high school and CEGEP) has been in institutions where the primary language of instruction was not English, or who have attended English language secondary institutions (high school and CEGEP) for four years or less, are eligible to take up to 12 credits in English as a Second Language (CESL).

Course Coordinator: Mehdi Babaei, Dr


WCOM 245 (formerly CESL 400) - ESL: Essay and Critical Thinking (3 credits)

Prerequisite: CESL 300 or ESLN 300 or placement test.

Restriction:  Not open to students who have taken ESLN 400 or ESLN 401.  Open only to students in degree programs.

Course description:

For the student whose English is at an advanced level. Critical thinking and reading applied to the whole writing process. Academic genres: summary, paraphrase, quotation, and critique. Review of writing mechanics. ESL diagnostic for advanced students.

Admission and registration:

Full-time, non-anglophone students whose secondary education (high school and CEGEP) has been in institutions where the primary language of instruction was not English, or who have attended English language secondary institutions (high school and CEGEP) for four years or less, are eligible to take up to 12 credits in English as a Second Language (CESL).

Course Coordinator: Mehdi Babaei, Dr


WCOM 255 (formerly CESL 500) - ESL: Research Essay and Rhetoric (3 credits)

Prerequisite: CESL 400 or ESLN 400 or placement test.

Restriction:  Not open to students who have taken CEAP 250 or EAPR 250 or EFRL 250 or ESLN 500.  Open only to students in degree programs.

Course description:

For students who have high/fluent mastery of English. Principles and use of academic research, genres, rhetorical strategies, and editing skills that address English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) errors.

Admission and registration:

Full-time, non-anglophone students whose secondary education (high school and CEGEP) has been in institutions where the primary language of instruction was not English, or who have attended English language secondary institutions (high school and CEGEP) for four years or less, are eligible to take up to 12 credits in English as a Second Language (CESL).

Course Coordinator: Mehdi Babaei, Dr


WCOM 203 (formerly CCOM 200) Introduction to Creative Writing (3 credits)

Restriction: Open only to students in degree programs.

Course description:

Production of original creative works. Study and application of writing techniques and craft elements observed in both traditional and contemporary forms, ranging from poetic forms such as the sonnet, the villanelle, and free verse, to short fiction forms such as the short story and the vignette, to hybrid forms such as prose poetry and flash fiction. Learning methods include mini-lectures on craft, analysis of literary texts, in-class writing exercises, writing workshop-style critique, multiple drafts, and audio feedback.

Course Coordinator: Sarah Wolfson


WCOM 206 (formerly CCOM 206) Communication in Engineering (3 credits)

Restriction: B.Eng. students who have not taken EDES 201 or EDEC 202. Open only to students in degree programs.

Course description:

Written and oral communication in Engineering (in English): strategies for generating, developing, organizing, and presenting ideas in a technical setting; problem-solving; communicating to different audiences; editing and revising; and public speaking. Course work based on academic, technical, and professional writing in engineering.

Course Coordinator: Ross Sundberg


Notes

  • Courses coded as WCOM may be taken to fulfill language requirements or as electives in some degree programs. In some faculties, you need to obtain approval from your Student Affairs Office as well as from your academic advisor before you take courses outside your faculty, especially if the courses do not form part of your program requirements.
  • Placement tests are required for admission to most ESL undergraduate courses.
  • WCOM 206 is restricted to students pursuing a Bachelor of Engineering degree at McGill.

 

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