English 1101 Composition - Syllabus for Spring 2013
Rachel Scoggins, Academic 102 -
http://www.gordonstate.edu/PT_Faculty/rscoggins/
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 1:15 am – 2:45 pm
Course Objectives
The Humanities Department requires that students who successfully complete English 1101 meet four important goals: the literacy objective is that students must read, comprehend, and respond to college-level writing; the critical thinking objective is that students should develop or improve their ability to engage in synthesis, to reflect on the composition process and product, and to inquire into questions both personal and social; the process objective is that students should develop or improve their ability to recognize and apply complex writing processes, including the synthesis of primary and/or secondary texts; and the product objective is that students should develop or improve their ability to produce an organized, coherent, and developed essay demonstrating a mastery of Standard Written English and MLA format. We will achieve these goals via a Lit/Comp focus because stronger readers make stronger thinkers and stronger writers.
Course Components - Assessment & Evaluation
■Participation Grade: Attendance + Library Exam 10%
■Reading Response & Quizzes 15%
■Out-Of-Class Writing (Narrative) 10%
■ In-Class Comparison/Contrast 10%
■ Out-of-Class Classification Essay 15%
■Out-Of-Class Process Essay 15%
■In-Class Ad Analysis 10%
■Final Exam Essay (Literary Argument) 15%
Texts & Materials
Our texts are the Prentice Hall Reference Guide,
Literature and Ourselves: A Thematic Introduction for Readers and Writers
You will also need pens, loose-leaf paper, and materials for class and preparing homework.
Prerequisites, Policies & Etc.
A. Computer Access I communicate with my classes regularly via e-mail; You will need to check your Gordon email for messages and handouts from me. Unless previously approved by me, I do not accept work via email (this includes responses).
All homework will be posted on my website: http://www.gordonstate.edu/PT_Faculty/rscoggins/
B. Attendance Regular class attendance is your obligation.
After the third absence for any reason (illness, sports, family emergency, funeral, off-campus events, etc.), your professor reserves the right to lower a student’s final grade by one full letter grade for each subsequent absence (e.g. if a student has four absences and a final grade of a B, that student’s grade will be lowered to a C). A student who misses five or more classes will receive, at best, a C for a final grade. A student who has six or more unexcused absences will be given an F or WF for the course. Being late to class three times equals one absence.
Please be advised that you are responsible for all information, changes, and requirements discussed in class, whether or not you are present. This isn’t high school, so do not e-mail me and ask if “we did anything important”; if you miss a class, talk with at least one classmate.
Please note that Gordon College requires that all English Composition students attend their written Final Exam at the scheduled time. Changes to the Final Exam time must be accomplished via Student Petition/Dean approval.
C. Make Ups “Life happens.” Rough drafts, scheduled quizzes, and in-class papers may always be made up under the following conditions: you miss a turn in/paper day only once or twice all term, the schedule allows for a make up, you are prepared the very next day for hand in, and your overall attendance rate is 85% or higher. If you miss class and it is excused, please show me the excuse so I can document it.
D. Essays All out of class essays are expected to be turned in on their due dates. If you are late to class that day, your essay is late. Unless you and I have discussed the matter beforehand, the late paper will have one full letter grade deducted for each day it is late. After two weeks, it will not be accepted.
D. Plagarism The penalty for plagiarism in any aspect of written work is a failing grade for the course (GC Academic Catalog pp. 218-219). Don’t plagiarize – your own work, even if it isn’t great, is better than copying someone else’s work.
Cheating in any form, including plagiarism, is a serious academic offense. Plagiarism is the passing off of someone else’s ideas and/or words as your own. If you have questions about what constitutes plagiarism, ask now. Any instance of plagiarism, including single phrases and single sentences, will earn a zero for an assignment, will lower your class participation grade, and could lead to an F for the course; furthermore, the highest grade that any student who is caught plagiarizing in any form can expect to receive for a final grade is a C. All plagiarized papers will automatically be submitted to the Office of the Dean for disciplinary review, which could lead to the offending student’s suspension or expulsion from Gordon College.
To prevent plagiarism all students will be required to submit the full text of their final paper to turnitin.com. Final papers that are not submitted to turnitin.com will not be graded.
E. Numerical equivalents Here are the numerical equivalents for grades: A 90-100; B 80-89; C 70-79; D 60-69; F 59 and below, at my discretion and/or with Chair input.
G. Special Accommodations If you receive academic accommodations, please give me the paper work from Mrs. Kristina Henderson, Student Counselor. Her office is on the second floor of the Student Center (678/359-5585 678/359-5585 ).
My rules
I expect each of you to act as an adult in a learning setting. Specifically, I expect the following:
· Respect. Respect me, others, and the learning environment. This class is heavily discussion based – that means that although you may disagree (which is fine), you will treat each other with respect.
· This is class, not social hour. That means do your talking, texting, other homework, etc at another time.
· Turn off all cell phones before class begins. Using cell phones in class – this includes texting – will negatively affect your grade.
· Come to class on time – tardiness just disrupts me and your classmates. You signed up for this time slot – that means you have contracted to come to class at this time. If you do come in late (because sometimes it does happen), come in quietly – do not come in loud and/or talking. If you come in loud and disruptive, you will be asked to leave.
· Do the readings and writings. You are not going to get a passing grade (and certainly not an A or B) by sitting in the seat every day doing nothing. Plan ahead and do your readings if you want to succeed.
· If you disrupt the learning of others, you will chat with me privately; if problems continue, you will chat with the Dean. You must also follow all college-mandated policies about academic conduct and academic honesty or receive an F for the term and a visit to the Dean’s Office.
· Do not put up your materials before I dismiss class. It is disruptive and extremely rude. Class is from 12:00-1:15, not 1:10 or even 1:14. I will not keep you beyond our class time, but every minute is important and will be used.
· Please recycle! There are bins for white paper and cans/bottles on the hall. Instead of dropping waste in the trashcan, recycle! Do something good every day J
Writing Responses
For each reading assignment, an accompanying writing response will be required. I will give you the topic in the previous class and post it on the website. The response will be turned in at the beginning of the next class. For example, if you are supposed to read Shakespeare’s Macbeth for Wednesday, on Monday I will give you a question/topic to respond to; as soon as you come in on Wednesday, you will hand in your response.
The reason for the regular writing assignments is to have each of you to continuously write and receive regular feedback from me. The only way to get better at writing is to write.
You get three free passes – these can be used for responses AND/OR quizzes, and be used if you are absent, late, or didn’t read. After your three free passes are gone, each missed response and quiz reflects negatively on your grade.
Directions
· Each response is to be typed in standard format.
· Put the author’s last name, the title of the text you’re responding to, and the date.
· Answer the questions and/or writing prompts given for your text. Each response should be 200-300 words.
· Each response is due at the beginning of the next class . If you are late to class, you cannot turn in your paper.
Tentative schedule (is subject to change)
M, 1/7 Intro to class, in-class writing
W, 1/9 Review sample paragraphs
M, 1/14 Literature: Didion “On Going Home”
Description of Essay #1
W, 1/16 Grammar workshop: Punctuation 1
Apostrophe, quotes
M, 1/21 MLK Day: No class
W, 1/23 Quiz: Punctuation 1
Literature: Giovanni “Nikki-Rosa”
M, 1/28 Literature: Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues”
W, 1/30 Workshop: Paragraph structure, intro/conclusion, body paragraphs
Essay #1 (Narrative) Due
M, 2/4 Lit: Alexie, “Because My Father…”
W, 2/6 Comparison/contrast essay instruction
M, 2/11 Lit: Shakespeare, “Sonnet 138”; E.B. Browning, “Sonnet 43”
W, 2/13 Workshop: Punctuation 2
Commas
M, 2/18 Lit: Hemingway “Hills Like White Elephants”
Quiz: Punctuation 2
W, 2/20 Workshop: Usage
Editing Revision work
M, 2/25 & Essay #2: in-class comparison and contrast
W, 2/27
M, 3/4 Classification essay instruction
W, 3/6 Conferences – no class
M, 3/11 Spring break – no class
W, 3/13
M, 3/18 Workshop: Fragments
W, 3/20 Lit: Chekov, “The Lottery Ticket”
Essay #3 (Classification) Due
M, 3/25 Process writing essay instruction
Quiz: Fragments
W, 3/27 Lit: Walker, “Everyday Use”
M, 4/1 Workshop: Run-ons
W, 4/3 Grammar/writing work
Quiz: Run-ons
M, 4/8 Ad analysis, rhetorical devices
Essay #4 (process writing) due
W, 4/10 Ad analysis, rhet. Devices cont.
T, 4/15 ad analysis
Th, 4/17 overflow day
T, 4/22 Wrap up – last ad analysis, grammar, writing work
W, 4/24 Essay #5, in-class ad analysis
M, 4/29
W, 4/30 Final Exam, 10:15-12:15