Includes ebook access.

Unit 1 GLOBALIZATION (Academic Disciplines: Cultural Studies / Sociology)
Watch and Listen: Chinese Flavors for American Snacks
Readings: 1. Turkish Treats (blog) -- 2. Changing Eating Habits in Italy (essay)
Reading Skills: KEY SKILLS: Making predictions from a text type; Topic sentences -- ADDITIONAL SKILLS: Understanding key vocabulary; Using your knowledge; Reading for main ideas; Reading for details; Identifying purpose and audience; Making inferences; Synthezising Language Development: Academic alternatives to phrasal verbs -- Globalization vocabulary
Critical Thinking: Providing supporting examples -- Using tables and diagrams
Grammar for Writing: Noun phrases -- Time phrases
Writing: ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS: Essay structure; Writing an effective thesis statement -- RHETORICAL MODE: Explanatory
Writing Task: How has globalization changed your country? (essay)
On Campus: Study Skill: Maximizing concentration levels

Unit 2 EDUCATION (Academic Disciplines: Communications / Education)
Watch and Listen: College Debt and Bankruptcy
Readings: 1. College Majors: Business vs. Engineering (Essay) -- 2. Distance Learning vs. Face-to-Face Learning (article)


Reading Skills: KEY SKILL: Making inferences -- ADDITIONAL SKILLS: Understanding key vocabulary; Using your knowledge; Reading for main ideas; Reading for details; Synthesizing Language Development: Education vocabulary -- Academic words
Critical Thinking: Using a Venn diagram to plan a comparison and contrast essay -- Analyzing similarities and differences
Grammar for Writing: Comparison and contrast language: Transitions to show comparison and contrast - Adverb clauses of contrast
Writing: ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS: Avoiding run-on sentences and comma splices ; Comparison and contrast essays -- RHETORICAL MODE: Comparison and contrast
Writing Task: Discuss the various similarities and differences between studying a language and studying math. (essay)
On Campus: Communication Skill: Class discussion boards

Unit 3 MEDICINE (Academic Disciplines: Health Sciences / Medicine)
Watch and Listen: A New Way to Handle Allergies
Readings: 1. The Homeopathy Debate (article) -- 2. Should Health Care Be Free? (article)
Reading Skills: KEY SKILL: Annotating a text -- ADDITIONAL SKILLS: Understanding key vocabulary; Using your knowledge; Skimming; Reading for main ideas; Reading for details; Scanning to find key words; Identifying opinions; Making inferences; Synthesizing Language Development: Medical vocabulary -- Academic vocabulary
Critical Thinking: Evaluating and analyzing ideas
Grammar for Writing: Articles: Definite article (the) - Indefinite article (a / an) - No article - Articles in discourse -- Transitions to show concession
Writing: ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS: Sentence variety -- RHETORICAL MODE: Opinion
Writing Task: Is disease prevention the responsibility of individuals and their families, or of the government? (essay)
On Campus: Life Skill: Managing minor illnesses

Unit 4 THE ENVIRONMENT (Academic Disciplines: Ecology / Environmental Studies)
Watch and Listen: Population and Water
Readings: 1. Disaster Mitigation (interview) -- 2. Combating Drought in Rural Africa: A Report (report)
Reading Skills: KEY SKILL: Identifying cohesive devices -- ADDITIONAL SKILLS: Understanding key vocabulary; Predicting content using visuals; Using your knowledge; Skimming; Reading for main ideas; Reading for details; Making inferences; Synthesizing Language Development: Academic noun phrases -- Natural disaster vacobulary
Critical Thinking: Analyzing a case study
Grammar for Writing: Expressing solutions using it
Writing: ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS: Developing ideas; Parallel structure -- RHETORICAL MODE: Problem and solution
Writing Task: Write a report that provides both short- and long-term solutions to an environmental problem and takes the costs into consideration. Refer to a specific case study in your report. (report)
On Campus: Study Skill: Making a study plan

Unit 5 ARCHITECTURE (Academic Disciplines: Architecture / Urban Planning)
Watch and Listen: Building a Green Home
Readings: 1. We Need More Green Buildings (article) -- 2. Building Design: Form vs. Function (essay)
Reading Skills: KEY SKILL: Skimming a text -- ADDITIONAL SKILLS: Using your knowledge - Understanding key vocabulary - Summarizing - Reading for details - Understanding paraphrase - Making inferences - Synthesizing
Language Development: Academic word families -- Architecture and planning vocabulary
Critical Thinking: Analyzing and evaluating ideas in persuasive writing
Grammar for Writing: Register in academic writing
Writing: ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS: Ordering information - Prioritizing arguments -- RHETORICAL MODE: Persuasive
Writing Task: Which is more important when building or buying a new home: its location or its size? (essay)
On Campus: LIFE SKILL: Resolving conflicts

Unit 6 ENERGY (Academic Disciplines: Engineering / Physics)
Watch and Listen: Wind Turbines
Readings: 1. Alternative Energy (Web article) -- 2. Maintaining Our Vital Natural Resources (essay)
Reading Skills: KEY SKILL: Working out meaning from context -- ADDITIONAL SKILLS: Predicting content using visuals - Understanding key vocabulary - Using your knowledge - Reading for main ideas - Reading for details - Making inferences - Synthesizing
Language Development: Energy collocations - Formal and informal academic verbs
Critical Thinking: Evaluating benefits and drawbacks - Organizing ideas for an essay
Grammar for Writing: Relative clauses
Writing: ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS: Introducing advantages and disadvantages - Coherence -- RHETORICAL MODE: Explanatory
Writing Task: Explain the advantages and disadvantages of three types of renewable energy and decide which would work best in your country. (essay)
On Campus: COMMUNICATION SKILL: Letters of reference

Unit 7 ART AND DESIGN (Academic Disciplines: Design / Fine Art)
Watch and Listen: A Culinary Art Canvas
Readings: 1. All that Art is (article) -- 2. Photography as Art (essay)
Reading Skills: KEY SKILL: Scanning to find information -- ADDITIONAL SKILLS: Understanding key vocabulary - Predicting content using visuals - Using your knowledge - Reading for details - Making inferences - Understanding paraphrase - Synthesizing
Language Development: Paraphrasing -- Vocabulary for art and design
Critical Thinking: Analyzing and evaluating arguments
Grammar for Writing: Substitution -- Ellipsis
Writing: ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS: Arguments, counterarguments, and refutations -- RHETORICAL MODE: Argumentative
Writing Task: Fashion, cooking, and video games have all been likened to fine art. Choose one of these and discuss whether it should be considered fine art, comparable to painting or sculpture. (essay)
On Campus: RESEARCH SKILL: Understanding common knowledge

Unit 8 AGING (Academic Disciplines: Economics / Sociology)
Watch and Listen: Senior Exercise
Readings: 1. The Social and Economic Impact of Aging (interview) -- 2. The Realities of a Young Society (essay)
Reading Skills: KEY SKILL: Using your knowledge to predict content -- ADDITIONAL SKILLS: Understanding key vocabulary - Reading for main ideas - Reading for details - Working out meaning - Making inferences - Synthesizing
Language Development: Academic collocations with prepositions
Critical Thinking: Analyzing graphical data - Evaluating advantages and disadvantages
Grammar for Writing: Language of prediction -- Future real conditionals
Writing: ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS: Numerical words and phrases - Interpreting graphs and charts -- RHETORICAL MODE:
Analysis
Writing Task: Describe population trends in Japan using data from a graph. Suggest the potential impact on the country if the 2050 projections are correct. (essay)
On Campus: LIFE SKILL: The world of work

"Prism is a five-level (A1 to C1), American English paired-skills course (Reading/Writing and Listening/Speaking), created for students who need to develop a range of academic skills. This Level 3 (B2) Reading and Writing Student's Book prepares students for college classes by developing their critical thinking, reading and writing skills, including grammar for writing. Special sections teach how to be a successful college student, and the accompanying video program sets the stage for each unit's topic. Inside the book is a single-use code for the Digital Pack. This provides automatically graded extra practice and works on computers or mobile devices." (Publisher's Webite)