Athabasca English Courses

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I'm thinking of applying to the University of Calgary second-entry nursing program starting in January. I have all of the requirements except for an English course, so I was going to take one from Athabasca.

Has anyone ever done ENGL 255? Any feedback on if it's worth taking, is it a lot of work, what's the exam like? Any other ENGL courses taken from AU?

Also, I'm looking at the challenge-for-credit option. I completed a 4 year bachelor's degree in social sciences, so I think I'm fairly strong in English composition. I'm a little nervous about the challenge for credit option though. Has anyone done it before, for any course? I like the fact that it would be less work, and less money. But I don't know if I could pass the course that way.

Do challenge for credit courses appear on your transcript in the same way as a regular course?

Thanks!

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I took English 255 from Athabasca during the spring last year as a pre-req for Nursing - my BA is in Psychology. Not sure about the challenge for credit, and they may have altered the curriculum since I took it, but I didn't find the class itself too difficult. Six assignments total and none of my papers were over 5 pages long (including reference page). Brushing up on MLA was a tad frustrating (I prefer APA), but there were lots of resources to help with that. The final was easy, make sure to familiarize yourself with the readings suggested for the final - you will have to critically discuss one out of a selection. I got an A with a moderate amount of effort and found it pretty painless. The grades you receive will depend a lot on the tutor you are assigned - my regular tutor stayed in 75-85 grade range while her sub tended to be more generous. Full disclosure, I am a professional writer, but I don't think most people would have trouble with it at all. Feel free to message me if you want more details about assignments or anything :)

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Thanks so much for the info! Would you say that it is feasible to complete the whole course in a month? The assignments don't seem too demanding, but I'm worried about how long it takes to grade them, and if you can move on before the assignment has been graded.

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I think it would be possible, but not likely. The course material requests that assignments not be handed in all at once, and you should expect 1-2 weeks for marking. 2 months minimum I think would be more realistic - as well, one of the assignments is a group discussion and you have to sign up for particular dates once you are enrolled.

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In case anyone is looking for this information in the future and finds this thread, I wanted to provide feedback about the course. I decided to do the challenge option for ENGL 255, and it was a good choice for me. I come from a social sciences background where I did do a lot of writing, but I still learned lots from this course. Definitely buy the textbook, it was written specifically for the course and gives you exact instructions for how to do all of the writing assignments (if it's the challenge, there is one essay but on the exam there are about 4 different kinds of writing exercises). You can't really go wrong with the textbook. I also learned a lot of valuable things from the textbook that I think will make me a stronger writer. If you're looking for an English credit, I definitely recommend it. If you're English isn't very strong, take the course, but if you're confident that you are a good writer then the challenge can save you time and money. I got a very satisfactory grade.

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Hello there,

My English 255 is next week. If you happen to remember any exam tips that I can use, please feel free to share them. English isn't my first language and I am a bit anxious. Thanks

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