Academic English

Placement Test and Summer Dates

More Information

Lower-Division Students

The Program in Global Languages & Communication (GLC) offers a number of courses and services to lower-division students. We offer writing courses (Academic English 20A-B-C) as well as a course in reading and vocabulary development (Academic English 22A). We also provide students with assessments, guidance, and web-based resources.

Academic English 20A-B-C and 22A courses are for students who have been admitted to UCI and placed into writing and/or reading courses via the UCI Writing Placement Process. These courses provide English language services and resources designed to help lower-division students develop the academic English skills they require to succeed at UCI. Below is a brief description of the learning objectives for each course:

Academic English 20A covers foundational academic writing skills including summarizing and critiquing. Students enrolled in this course also receive intensive instruction on English academic language use. This is a 5-unit course, which includes a 1-unit lab component.
Academic English 20B builds on the 20A curriculum and helps students develop writing skills necessary for working with multiple academic sources. Students enrolled in this course practice organizing and synthesizing multiple perspectives from sources to develop an informed position on an academic topic. Students also receive intensive instruction on advanced English academic language use. This is a 5-unit course, which includes a 1-unit lab component.
Academic English 20C is designed for students who have some experience with English academic writing but would like to receive additional help learning about the expectations for college-level writing. This course may be especially helpful for students who feel like they did not receive enough practice writing in their junior and senior years of high school. This course provides students with hands-on opportunities to practice identifying, evaluating, analyzing, and presenting source information for credibility and relevance to an academic topic. This is a 5-unit course, which includes a 1-unit lab component.
Academic English 22A is designed to strengthen students’ college-level reading and vocabulary skills. Many college-level courses require intensive reading of texts with advanced vocabulary, and the skills learned in this class will help prepare students for such texts. This is a 2-unit course.

***For Academic Year 2022-2023: All new first-year students are being placed into their writing courses by UC Irvine faculty. For more information, please visit the Academic Testing Center’s website (https://testingcenter.uci.edu/programs/placement-testing/writing-placement/).

Lower-Division Writing Requirement
Academic English students must complete the lower-division writing requirement before the beginning of the seventh quarter following the completion of their AE courses or they will be subject to probation.
Students who successfully complete AC ENG 20C and 22A with a B+ or higher will be eligible to take Writing 45 afterwards, allowing them to accelerate through the Lower-Division Writing Requirement, also known as General Education Requirement 1a.

AERC Workshops - Frequently Asked Questions

AERC Workshop Flyer

• What is the lab I'm signed up for and does it meet weekly?

The Academic English Resource Center (AERC) Workshops are considered the 1-unit Lab component of your Academic English (AE) 20A-C courses. These interactive workshops are designed to provide students with additional support on important aspects of academic skills not typically covered in 20A-C courses.

You are not required to attend all workshops offered every week. AERC offers two parallel tracks of workshops to provide you with a range of options based on your interests and academic goals. You can select the ones you would like to attend.

Your instructor may recommend one to you. You can earn credit for attending the workshops based on your instructor’s course policies and recommendations.

• Are there special AERC workshops just for my level (for instance,Academic English 20A)?

No. All Academic English (AE) 20A-C students are welcome to attend all workshops.

• How do I sign up for a workshop?

You don’t need to sign up for a workshop. You can simply select the workshop you want to attend posted on Canvas. It is expected that you attend each workshop from the beginning through to the end (about 1 hour) during the week it is available.

In addition, there will be live Question and Answer (Q&A) sessions offered the week after each workshop is available. If you wish to attend these sessions in-person, please contact the workshop facilitators to RSVP to ensure sufficient room capacity.

Please see AERC Workshops flyer for more details.

• What materials do I need for the AERC Workshops?

You will need a computer with reliable access to the internet. No textbook is required.

• When are the workshops?

Workshops are accessible weekly on Canvas (from 12am on Monday until 11:59pm on Sunday). You must attend the workshop during the week it is scheduled. Each workshop should take approximately 1 hour to complete; as such, please plan to attend starting no later than 11pm on Sunday.

• Is there a quiz in the AERC Workshops?

You will need to attend the workshop and complete the embedded quizzes. The workshop presenters will provide you with instructions on how to collect attendance proof to show your instructor. Your instructor will provide more information about submission guidelines and due dates for receiving credit.

• How will my professor know that I attended?

• Can I attend AERC Workshops even if my instructor does not require them?

Yes. The workshops are open to all Academic English 20A-C students.

• Who do I contact if I have questions/concerns?

Please contact:
Dr. Hyun Joo (Sandy) Oh: hyunjooo@uci.edu
Dr. Brandy Trygstad: b.trygstad@uci.edu
Dr. Ha Ram (Hannah) Kim: haramk2@uci.edu