Composition I
ENC 1101- section 1357
2:00-3:15 Monday/Wednesdays Blended
Session I, Fall 2012
Instructor: Valerie Lanham
Classroom: LY 258 Email: In Angel
Office Hours: ½ hour prior to class
Instructor Web Page:
Academic Department:
Dean: Dr. Martha Campbell, Clearwater Campus,LA 187 791-2570,
Academic Chair: Dr. Laura Smith, Tarpon Springs, 712-5795,
Required Texts: The Norton Sampler (7th edition) by Thomas Cooley
ISBN: 978-0-393-92935-5
The Little, Brown Handbook (12th edition)
ISBN: 0-205-24829-2or MyCompLab access key
College Library Online:
Academic Calendar:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to develop your composition skills. It emphasizes the development of the multi-paragraph essay and includes practice in information retrieval from electronic and other sources, as well as in the selection, restriction, organization, and development of topics. It also offers you opportunities to improve your proficiency with sentence structure, diction, and mechanics. Selected writing samples are examined as models of form and as sources of ideas for your own writing. This course partially satisfies the writing requirements outlined in the General Education Requirements. This course has a 6000 word writing requirement (up to 3000 of which can include essay drafts).
COURSE GOALS:
1. You will develop rhetorically effective compositions by writing essays that effectively demonstrate organization, development, unity, and coherence; restrict a topic; and focus on a central idea.
2. You will develop and employ critical thinking skills in the writing process by applying logical reasoning and constructing outlines.
3. You will employ Standard American English by writing grammatically correct and effective sentences.
4. You will develop multi-paragraph essays by writing effective introductions with a thesis, writing effective body paragraphs, and writing effective concluding paragraphs.
5. You will learn to retrieve information from electronic sources effectively, efficiently, and ethically.
ATTENDANCE/ACTIVE PARTICIPATION:
The college-wide attendance policy is included in the Syllabus Addendum
A. Reading and Course Assignments: Assignments will be both in-class and out-of-class and will include written paragraphs and essays and readings from the textbooks. A final exam will include both a reflective essay and an objective test, mostly on grammar and usage skills. Completion of those assignments count toward active participation, just as much as your attendance in class. All assignments for the week, unless otherwise noted, are due on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. (at the end of the week in which they are assigned)even if class is not held due to a holiday or in-service day.
B. Attendance/Active Participation/Withdrawal Policies: Because classroom activities are so important, students will not be considered as actively participating in the course if they miss as many as three class sessions, regardless of the reasons. Instructors will verify that students are in attendance at least once each week during the first two weeks of class. Students classified as “No Show” for both of the first two weeks will be administratively withdrawn. Immediately following the 60% point of the term, each instructor will verify which students are actively participating in class as defined in the course syllabus. Students classified as not meeting the criteria for active class participation will be administratively withdrawn with a “WF”. For this class, active participation takes into account regular attendance, participation in class discussions, engagement in independent and collaborative assignments, and other in-and-out-of-class assignments. Students will be able to withdraw themselves at any time during the term. On or before October 25, 2012, a student who withdraws from a class will receive a “W.” However, requests submitted after the 60% deadline will result in a “WF,” which will negatively affect the student’s grade point average here at SPC. Students and instructors will automatically receive an e-mail notification to their SPC email whenever a withdrawal occurs. The college-wide attendance policy is included in the Syllabus Addendum:
C. Academic Honesty: Cheating during tests or intentional plagiarism in essays, which includes having another student plan or write your paper, is not tolerated at SPC and could result in your dismissal from the class or the institution. You may always borrow ideas or knowledge from outside experts; however, you must give credit to that source. If you are unsure how to credit sources, see the tutors in the LearningSupportCommons at the Tarpon Springs library who have been trained to help. Tutoring is free. See the Academic Honesty and Behavior: Expectations of Students at SPC for campus policies:
D.Electronics: With the exception of lab computers, the use of cell phones and other electronic devices are prohibited in the classroom and lab area. Students with special accommodations are allowed electronics with documentation provided by the college.
E. Paper Submission: Again, all rough and final drafts are required to be submitted in the appropriate way according to the instructor’s directions.
All rough and final drafts should be typed, double-spaced with 1” margin (standard in Microsoft Word), using 12-point Times New Roman, Arial, or another comparable, legible font.
The top left area of the first page should contain student’s name, instructor’s name (i.e., Dr. Jones), course name (i.e., ENC 1101), and date. If printed on paper, the top right of EVERY PAGE should contain the student’s last name followed by the page number. (Since we will be submitting papers digitally in our class, this is not an issue (and can even confuse some word processors between programs), but be aware that this is the standard for printed papers in academia.) Microsoft Word allows users to automatically paginate. Finally, the title of the paper should appear, centered below the heading. See the diagram below for a visual aid of the first page.
All papers should be saved and submitted in .docx, .doc or .rtf format.
Discussion Posts: ALWAYS 200 Word Minimum. One of the most important aspects of the discussion posts is to make sure your responses are detailed and developed sufficiently to meet the requirements. Many students lose points simply because they have not responded thoughtfully (or at all) the posts. An acceptable response engages with the other person’s viewpoint fairly and constructively. AVOID MERE PRAISE WHICH IS NOT CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. The responses should remain academic in tone and focus on the topic only. Short, one sentence responses are undeveloped and do not show sufficient engagement with the ideas.
Quizzes: Quizzes appear at the end of the lessons or units and must be completed weekly as scheduled. Late quizzes will not be graded! The quizzes are timed and begin when you click on them, so do not attempt the quiz until you have completely reviewed the material and you are confident and ready to complete the quiz within the timed period.
LATE WORK POLICY: Latepapers will be accepted, but will be graded with one reduced letter grade. Last papers will only be accepted 1 week late. The last paper, the research paper, will NOT be accepted after December 2nd at 11:59 pm. All other weekly assignments in the course will not be accepted late(i.e. quizzes, DBP). Most of these are required to be completed on a timely basis since they consist of feedback and interaction with your peers in the class on the topic that is currently being studied.
Make up Work or Absences: If you have missed a face to face class, simply stay current with the syllabus and complete all work according to the schedule. The schedule and assignments due will follow the syllabus unless I have posted otherwise.I must be contacted in writing within 24 hours to arrange accommodations for excused late work due to an emergency (death in the family, accident, etc.). The student is responsible for all missed assignments.
Turnitin: All papers need to be submitted first to the Turnitin drop box. This service checks to make sure that your work is properly cited. The general goal should be to 10% or less on the score report, although this can sometimes be slightly higher for papers, especially those in ENC 1102 or any research papers since more secondary support is integrated. Higher percentages that appear in papers that ARE properly cited usually indicate that TOO MUCH reliance on sources is occurring, usually in the form of long quotes or block quotes. It could also simply indicate too many quotes without enough original text of your own.Turnitin is NOT the Final Copy Dropbox for papers, so make sure that you submit your final copy in the correct drop box for grading.
Grading Policy:
Course letter grades will be determined based on the following scale:
Grade / Grade Points / PercentageA / 4 / 90-100
B / 3 / 80-89
C / 2 / 70-79
D / 1 / 60-69
F / 0 / Below 60
Total course grade points will consist of an aggregate of points from the following areas:
Area / PercentageEssays (Papers #1 – 4) / 60%
Final Exam Essay (Paper #5) / 10%
Final Exam Objective Test / 5%
Quizzes / 10%
Discussion Postings, Activities, Assignments / 15%
Student Expectations:
Your participation in this class is critical for the learning process. Here is what I expect from you:
- You are expected to read the text! Composition is such a vast subject, and you'll learn much just by reading.
- You should come to class and the online environment ready to engage yourself and others in a meaningful, substantive activity.
- You should treat others' opinions with respect and tolerance.
- You should complete all assignments on time and with thoughtfulness. You should not expect time extensions for late assignments.
- You should practice academic honesty in all your work.
- You should contact the instructor promptly if a problem arises that needs my attention.
- You should only submit work that is your own. You should expect disciplinary measures if any work that you submit is determined not to be your own work.
Here is what you can expect from me:
- I will provide meaningful classroom activities to develop your composition skills.
- I will be available to you if you have questions or concerns.
- I will respond thoughtfully and critically to your comments, questions, and written assignments.
- I will evaluate your coursework in a timely manner and will communicate to you when you should expect your grade on a particular assignment..
Online Student Conduct:
Online Student, Faculty, and Staff Expectations and Performance Targets:
Descriptions of Grade Levels of Writing
A= An A paper fulfills the assignment completely, clearly, and perceptively. The writer has a clear significant main idea communicated clearly to the reader, and the essay does not ramble. The writer explains this main point thoroughly and supports it with concrete details--examples, illustrations, facts, or statistics. The writer plans the essay so that it progresses by clearly ordered, necessary, evident stages and uses transitions to connect ideas. The writer deals with ideas and abstractions as well as facts and details and uses generalizations to tie details together. The writer composes skillful sentences which flow smoothly; uses fresh, precise, economical words; and consistently has command of punctuation, spelling, and grammar. The essay says something worthwhile, is controlled by a clear sense of purpose and audience, and makes a reader want to read what has been written.
B = A B paper also fulfills the assignment completely and clearly, but not as perceptively as an A paper. The writer has a focused main idea made clear to the reader and sticks to the subject. The writer shows sufficient evidence to explain and support the main idea and uses generalizations to show relationships among details. The writer does not just identify or list but also explains and comments on the topics. The ideas are arranged in an orderly manner, but the structure of the whole essay may not be immediately evident to the reader. The writer may need to add a few transitions. The sentences are clear, but perhaps not all are effective or smooth. His words are exact, but not always fresh or economical. There may be a few minor slips in mechanics.
C = A C paper is basically correct but often not very effective or perceptive. The essay is often either predominantly literal or factual with little explanation or comment or primarily general assertions without sufficient evidence to back them up. The writer organizes the ideas but may not make the order of ideas clear to the reader or provide tight unity and coherence. Some sentences may be unclear or repetitious. The writer uses imprecise, inappropriate, or unnecessary words. The writer has control of basic mechanics, such as spelling and punctuation, but not of sophisticated grammatical patterns such as parallelism.
D = A D paper is writing which often lacks perception and does not address the assignment completely. The reader has only a vague notion of what the writer wants to say, so the passage is general and not very clear. Although the essay may have overall unity of subject, it has little sense of direction or continuity of thought. The writer records details as they come to mind but does not purposefully select, order, or connect them. There are problems with written language--choppy or confusing sentences, vague or inaccurate words, weak grammar and punctuation.
F = An F paper is unsatisfactory; it does not respond to the questions or address the assignment completely. It has no purpose, no sense of audience, no main idea. The passage is not unified, is not logically organized, lacks purposeful specific details and is not coherent. The expression of thought is not clear, the flow of ideas is difficult to follow, and the ideas are often repetitive. The writer lacks control of basic sentence patterns and punctuation, so often the sentences are confusing or fused or incomplete. The spelling, especially of common words, is weak. The grammar and punctuation call attention to themselves, slowing and confusing the reader and interfering with the communication process. Thus, both the rhetorical skills and language skills are unsatisfactory. All of these features of the F paper place an undue burden on the reader.
WEEKLY COURSE OUTLINE
The instructor reserves the right to change the syllabus.
No Classes: 9/3, 10/23, 11/12, 11/21-25
Be prepared to discuss all Norton Sampler reading questions each week.
DBP= Discussion Board Post
SCHEDULE AND DUE DATES FOR MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS:
Below is a general schedule for the course with the five major papers you will be writing. Weekly readings, discussions, and paper components can be found in ANGEL at angel.spcollege.edu
You MUST turn in your first final draft by the due date or get a zero.
Papers MUST be submitted Sunday night by 11:59 pm of the week they are due! / Papers Due3: September 9 / Narrative Paper (600-800 words)
6: October 7 / Compare/Contrast Paper
(600-800 words)
10: November 4 / Cause and Effect Paper
(600-800 words)
15: December 2 / Persuasive Research Paper
(at least 800 words)
17: December 10-13 / In class Final Exam
Week 1Introduction to the course and syllabus
8/20Thesis statements and effective introductions
Readings:
The Norton Sampler: Narrative (p 84-91)
Narration
The Writing Process
Elements of Narration
Guidelines for first paper
Readings:
The Little, Brown Handbook (LBHB:) Chapters 1, 2, and 3
ANGEL: Narration paper #1 intro & thesis discussion board post
Due This Week: Diagnostic Quiz
Week 2 Narration
8/27Comma Splices and Run-On lesson
“A View from the Bridge” Cherokee Paul McDonald in NS
“Ready, Willing, and Able" Zoe Shewer in NS
“The Ashen Guy”, p.93 and “None of this is Fair” p. 103 in NS
Due This Week: Topic, Thesis, and Outline DBP, Thesis
and Introduction DBP, Bring Printed Rough Draft of Narrative Essay for peer review (underline thesis statement)
Week 3September 3 (Labor Day-no classes)
9/3Narration
“Turning Japanese” p. 98-101 in NS
Pronoun Agreement lesson
peer review of re-edited Narrative Essay
Due This Week: Comma Splices and Run On Quiz
Narrative Essay Final Copy is due Sunday, September 9 by11:59pm! (Turnitin drop box is NOT the final copy drop box for essays)
Week 4 Comparison/Contrast
9/10Comparison/Contrast Essay elements/Guidelines
Pronoun Case lesson
Read p. 246-253 NS and p. 259-265 “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts” in NS and p. 283-287 “Gender in the Classroom” in NS
Due this Week:“Grant and Lee” and “Gender in the Classroom” Questions on Readings DBPs and Compare/Contrast Topic Forum, Pronoun Quiz
Week 5Comparison/Contrast
9/17 Pronoun Case continued
Read p. 276-280 “Like Mexicans”
Due This Week:Compare/Contrast Intro and Outline, Pronoun Case Quiz, Submit Compare/Contrast Draft into Peer review Forum for use in next class
Week 6 Comparison/ Contrast
9/24 Sentence Types Lesson
p. 291-297 “Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa” in NS and “A Giant Step” p. 354-358” in NS,
Peer Review in Class (makes sure your draft is submitted to the forum before attending class)
Due This Week:Compare/Contrast Peer Review Forum, “Gender in the Classroom” Quiz
Week 7Cause and Effect
10/1 Cause and Effect Essay Elements/Guidelines
The Norton Sampler: Cause and Effect (276-81)
Sentence Types Continued
Simple and Compound Sentences Lesson
Read “Climbing the Golden Arches” p. 365-368 in NS and a “The Deadly Allure of a Smoke” p. 361-363 in NS
Due This Week:“The Chicken or the Egg?” DBP, Effect and Cause: Your First Job; Sentence Types Quiz,Compare and Contrast Final copy is dueSunday,October 7thby 11:59pm!
Week 8 Cause and Effect
10/8Sentence Types Practice
Read p. 349-353 ‘The Growing Cowardice of Online Anonymity” in NS Fragments Lesson
Due This Week:“The Deadly Allure of a Smoke” DBP and “What Moves You?” DBP, and Cause/ Effect: Outline with Thesis, Simple and Compound Sentence Quiz
Week 9Cause and Effect
10/15 Fragments Lesson
Read p. 371-374 “Always Living in Spanish” in NS