English 1A/Composition/Spring 2012/Chaffey College/Section: 68378 (Days: MW / Times: 8:30AM-12:15PM / Dates: 3/26/12 – 5/9/12 / Location: CHMB 262)
ASSIGNMENTS AND POINTS: OVERVIEW
WORK / POINTS POSSIBLE / Points Earned / ASSIGNMENT NOTESEssay Project Files
/ 25 points each X 4 =
Up to 100 possible /
______
Project One
Project Two
Project Three
Project Four / Each project file includes one essay with supporting class and homework materials.
For further information about the supporting materials, please see the course schedule, included in this syllabus.
Each project file receives one of the following scores:
PQ = PORTFOLIO QUALITY (25 points)
The essay is prepared for the portfolio; the student may continue to analyze and adjust the essay as desired.
FC = FULL CREDIT (25 points)
The essay earns full credit. The essay demonstrates appropriate progress, but additional work is needed. Continue revising and editing the essay before submitting the very final version in the portfolio.
IC = INCOMPLETE FILE (15 points)
The submitted file is not complete; class and/or homework materials are not included. The essay reflects appropriate progress. Continue revising and editing the essay before submitting the portfolio version in the portfolio.
PCR = POSSIBLE CREDIT WITH REVISION (0 points)
This project has not yet earned credit. Continue working on this project for possible essay credit. Also, prepare to meet the portfolio requirements. (An updated version of the essay and project file may be eligible to earn IC, FC, or PQ.)
NC = NO CREDIT (0 points)
Plagiarized essay projects earn no credit. Materials, originally receiving PCR and not revised successfully, earn no credit. One project only may be submitted up to one class session late; otherwise, late projects do not earn points.
Failing to earn credit on a project does not excuse a student from successfully completing portfolio requirements.
Failing to complete a project results in an incomplete portfolio. Please see the information about portfolios below.
Midterm Portfolio
/ 300 points /
______
Focus On:
Project One
Project Two / The midterm portfolio consists of further revised and edited versions of Project One and Project Two. These projects are expected to reflect portfolio level quality. Please refer to the English department grading standards as well as assignment information (provided in class) for additional information.
Previously graded Project One and Project Two essays, including instructor feedback, must be submitted with your portfolio. Otherwise, the portfolio is incomplete. Please see the assignment sheets for details about the point penalties, associated with incomplete portfolios.
Final Portfolio
/ 300 points /
______
Focus On:
Project Three
Project Four / The final portfolio consists of further revised and edited versions of Project Three and Project Four. These projects are expected to reflect portfolio level quality. Please refer to the English department grading standards as well as assignment information (provided in class) for additional information.
Previously graded essays, including instructor feedback, must be submitted with your portfolio as required. Otherwise, the portfolio is incomplete. Please see the assignment sheets for details about the point penalties, associated with incomplete portfolios.
Class Activities
/ 5 points X 12 days = 60 points /
______/ Students earn credit for class activities, based on the following:
To what extent is the student prepared to participate effectively? (i.e. bringing appropriate homework and other materials, submitting homework as required, arriving to class on time and remaining for all activities)
To what extent does the student participate effectively?
(i.e. completing group and individual activities, fulfilling role responsibilities, helping to maintain an effective atmosphere for intellectual discourse, completing analysis forms as required)
Reading Review Quizzes
/ 5 points X 12 days = 60 points /
______/ Reading review quizzes are completed at the very beginning of each class session. These quizzes focus on assigned readings from various sources. Only students who are present to participate in the first ten minutes of class are eligible to take these quizzes and to earn points for them. Points are rewarded based on answering questions successfully. A 3 X 5 index card (provided by the student) is required for each quiz. Other sized index cards and other forms of paper will not be accepted.
Although quizzes are closed book, students may write notes on their 3X 5 index cards and refer to these notes during the quizzes. Write notes on one side of the index card only; write the quiz answers on the other side.
Success Center Sessions
/ 20 points X 3 sessions = 60 possible /
______/ Please review the Success Center Sheet, included in the syllabus.
Annotated Bibliographies
/ 25 points X 2 annotated bibliographies= 50 points possible /
______/ Students will complete two annotated bibliographies. Points are rewarded, based on successful development of the bibliographies, as explained in class.
Project Five:
Presentation, Materials, & Essay / 70 points possible/___ / Throughout the semester, students will work, inside and outside of class, to develop materials, including presentations and essays, focused on topics, related to the book, Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard to Think Straight About Animals. Additional information will be provided in class. Although students may elect to complete these projects individually, they are encouraged to work in groups.
Final Point Total / Course Grade
990 – 1000 / A+
920 – 989 / A (Excellent)
900 – 919 / A-
890 – 899 / B+
820 – 889 / B (Above Average)
800 – 819 / B-
790 – 799 / C+
720 – 789 / C (Average)
700 - 719 / Low C
680 – 699 / D+
620 – 679 / D (Below Average)
600 – 619 / D-
0 – 599 / F (Poor)
Portfolio Quality: English Department Grading Standards
An A paper is excellent in nearly all respects. It shows originality of thought that goes well beyond material presented in class. It is well argued and well organized with a clear, specific, and ambitious thesis. It is well developed with content that is specific, interesting, appropriate, and convincing. It has logical and artful transitions and is marked by stylistic finesse and varied sentence structures. It demonstrates command of mature diction and has few, if any, mechanical, grammatical, spelling, or diction errors.
A B paper is excellent in several respects but may have a less sophisticated thesis, a less distinguished style, some minor lapses in organization and development, some ineffective sentence structures, and some minor mechanical, grammatical, spelling, or diction problems.
A C paper is generally competent, but compared to a B paper, it may have a weaker thesis and less effective style and development. It may contain some lapses in organization, poor or awkward transitions, less varied sentence structures that tend toward choppiness or monotony, significant problems with mechanics, grammar, spelling, and diction.
A D paper is below average and may present a thesis that is too vague or too obvious to be developed effectively. It generally exhibits problems with organization, support, transitions, sentence structures, mechanics, grammar, spelling, and diction that impede understanding.
An F paper is far below average and may have no clear thesis or central topic. It may display a lack of organization, support, and development. It may contain major and repeated problems with mechanics, grammar, spelling, and diction and may fail to fulfill the assignment or may be unacceptably brief.
Disclaimer: Course Content
Course content may sometimes be mature in nature. To promote critical thinking and academic dialogue, content also may be controversial.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Take This Course? (What are the course objectives?) Enhance your academic, professional, and personal communication skills.
! Develop your uses of reading, writing, and critical thinking strategies
! Arrange argumentative points in clear, effective prose
! Critique and apply the principles of unity and coherence in essays.
! Produce logical, coherent, unified essays with minimal errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
! Appraise the relationships between audience, tone, purpose, and levels of diction.
! Compose clear and specific thesis statements and develop theses into unified and complete essays.
! Analyze uses of various kinds of essay development, including exposition and argumentation. Construct essays, featuring uses of these development strategies.
! Examine the relationship of logical ideas within an essay, be able to distinguish fact from judgment, and be able to eliminate prejudice and fallacious reasoning in writing.
! Inspect writing for grammatical, punctuation, spelling and paragraphing errors to facilitate more effective author/reader communication.
! Study and practice stylistic devices.
! Generate a suitable and manageable research topic. (Because the research project is a tool in serving the goal of critical thinking, the subject matter is expected to be argumentative.)
! Choose relevant source material using the library and information technology resources. Evaluate potential sources. Integrate source material into student writing to support assertions.
! Produce proper style format for citation and documentation through research papers.
What Are the Professor’s Major Course Roles?
1. Coach 2. Gatekeeper
Each class session is three hours and forty five minutes. Do we receive a break?
Yes. Previously approved by the Dean’s office, breaks will be announced during class sessions; breaks are scheduled at times, designed to promote course success.
Are Late Projects Accepted?
A printed copy of your work must be submitted at the beginning of class on the date it is due. Otherwise, the work is late.
One Project, worth up to twenty five points, may be submitted up to one class session late without penalty. Otherwise, late projects do not earn points.
Is Other Late Work Accepted?
The midterm portfolio is penalized twenty points for each class session it is late.
Late homework may be submitted in the file; however, a pattern of late and/or missing work in the file will result in a partial credit score.
No other late work is accepted.
All supplemental learning (Success Center) activities are stamped and initialed by the tutors to indicate full and timely completion.
In-class activities cannot be duplicated; late completion of these activities is not possible.
What if students miss class time? Missing a day of this accelerated class is the equivalent of missing over a week in a full-term class. Given the interactive nature of the class, instruction cannot be effectively duplicated when you miss class time.
Missed in-class activities cannot be made up. Therefore, you lose opportunities to earn points when you miss class time. You are urged to attend and participate regularly. As a college student, you remain responsible for remaining up to date on missed information, including assignment guidelines, if you do not attend class. In case you have an emergency and must miss class, you may wish to exchange e-mail addresses with selected students.
Work, listed on the checklist, is often completed at home individually and then used and reviewed in group activities. Therefore, materials are only accepted in class, not by e-mail.
Will you drop me from the course? If you decide to drop the course, you are responsible for dropping by the appropriate Chaffey College deadline.
Are extra credit points available this semester? Each student may earn a total of up to twenty extra credit points during the semester. Various, approved options are available. Students are strongly urged to complete extra credit activities throughout the semester; each activity requires a significant time commitment.
How may students receive assistance at Chaffey College? Chaffey College features a number of invaluable resources for students; as a Chaffey College professor, I am happy to help you locate appropriate campus resources for your needs and interests. To get started, please consider:
Early Alert In order to assist students when they need support, Chaffey College’s Early Alert System may be used to notify students when course success appears to be in jeopardy. This system is designed to provide students with individualized attention while there is still time for successful completion of courses. The Early Alert Office may send you a letter or email followed up with a telephone call to discuss your classroom performance and the on-campus resources available to you, so please use My ChaffeyVIEW to keep your contact information up-to-date.
Student Success Centers Chaffey College has created Student Success Centers, which offer free tutorials, workshops, study groups, directed learning activities, and computer/resource access to assist students in their academic development and success.
The Chino Center offers two centers to address all subject areas:
Chino Success Center CHMB-145 (909) 652-8150
Chino Reading/Writing Center CHMB-240 (909) 652-8160
The Rancho Success Centers are designed to address specific subject needs as well as more general multidisciplinary needs:
Math Success Center PS-12 (909) 652-6452
Language Success Center BEB-101 (909) 652-6907
Writing Success Center Library (909) 652-6820
Multi-disciplinary/Reading Success Center BEB-101 (909) 652-6932
The Fontana Success Center supports all academic support needs:
Fontana Success Center FNFC-107 (909) 652-7408
Call the centers or consult the college website at www.chaffey.edu/success/ for more information.
Disability Programs and Services If you have a disability, documented by a physician or other appropriate professionals and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact the DPS office at (909) 652-6379. Please be sure to allow adequate time to arrange for an appropriate accommodation.
EOPS and CARE
Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) is designed to ensure student retention and success through academic support and financial assistance for eligible students. Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education (CARE) is a program that serves a limited number of EOPS students who are single heads of household parents. It provides additional support services beyond those available through EOPS. The ultimate goal is completion of a certificate program, an associate degree, and/or transfer to a four-year college. Call (909) 652-6345 for more information.