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COURSE INFORMATION SHEET
English 120 Reading & Composition 1 #64316 – Fall, 2013
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Instructor: Lisa Yanover
Class Days & Times: TTh 8-9:15 am / Location: Room 1638
Office Hours: M 1-2:30; T 11-12; W 11-12:30; Th 11-12, & by appointment
Office: 1031N / Phone: (707) 256-4523 / E-mail: Website: http://www.napavalley.edu/pages/Lyanover/Pages/welcome.aspx.
REQUIRED TEXTS
- Print version of The Bedford Researcher, 4th Edition, by Mike Palmquist with Customized CompClass access card (CompClass)
- Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief (OT)
- Aharon Appelfeld’s Badenheim 1939 (B1939)
- Other readings (available on my website or another public website)
You need the books The Bedford Researcher and CompClass access card AND The Orchid Thief right away. Buy The Bedford Researcher & access card at the NVC bookstore ONLY. Also make sure you have The Orchid Thief in time to complete the first homework assignment.
Course Description:
According to the NVC Catalog description, English 120 develops expository, narrative, and argumentative writing based on reading and analysis of essays and other college-level texts. The course emphasizes critical thinking and reasoned support of ideas and reinforces the connections between reading and writing. Students will also be instructed in a range of research methods and practices, including online research, evaluation and correct integration of sources, respect for academic ethics and avoidance of plagiarism. 6,000 to 8,000 words of writing are required. Transfers to: CSU, UC.
English 120 is a 4-unit course, including a unit dedicated to research practices offered in an online format. Students can expect to spend an average of at least 12 hours each week on the class with at least 3 hours each week dedicated to the required online Research Lab.
The online unit is offered through Bedford’s CompClass in connection with the textbook The Bedford Researcher. Students will work on a variety of lessons, quizzes, discussion forums, journals, etc., in CompClass to master research skills. These skills will also be integrated into English 120 course instruction and applied to a research project, essay, or series of essays.
The lab has 13 research lessons which require 2-4 hours of work each. Failure to complete sections (lessons and quizzes) by specified due dates (see below) may result in being dropped from English 120 with a “W.” Again, the lab is required, and failure to complete the lab or failure on the quizzes indicates failure to complete the course. You must complete the lab to get credit for the course.
Student Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Think, read, and write critically about a variety of ethical, civic, and intercultural issues in unified, coherent, well-supported, and grammatically correct documents.
- Demonstrate adequate research skills, including MLA citation and documentation, evaluation of sources and search engines, use of electronic databases, and proper incorporation of outside sources (including quotation, paraphrase and summary).
Course Objectives:
To view the course objectives, go to and at the left under “Search” select “course.” Select “English” as the discipline, and type in 120 as the course number. To view the Course Outline of Record (COR), click on WR to the left of the top entry, the “Active” version of English 120 (in red). Course Objectives are located in Section E.2.
Attendance & Classroom Conduct:
This is an intense, fast-paced course, and student success depends heavily on the sharing of ideas among all participants. The policy of this college is that students who miss more than one week’s worth of classes may be dropped REGARDLESS OF THE REASON FOR THE ABSENCE. I will follow this policy. In this class, this means you have 2 absences to cover any emergency that might arise. Do not schedule work, non-emergency medical appointments, or other activities during class time. Let me know right away by email if you must miss a class, and continue to stay in touch.
Also, please keep in mind if you miss class, you are still responsible for turning in essays and other homework on time, getting assignments and handouts, and checking with classmates regarding material covered in your absence, so that you can come to the next class prepared. Missed in-class assignments cannot be made up whether due to absence or lateness.
Have all assigned texts with you EACH DAY. Readings assigned for a particular day should be read by THAT day. All papers are due at the beginning of class. Students coming without materials needed in order to participate in class may be sent home and counted as absent.
Respect is key. Disruptions and harassment of any kind will not be tolerated in class. Cell phones, pagers, music, and other distracting devices should be turned off and put away. Habitual lateness, leaving early, or spending excess time out of class may result in your being marked absent. Homework for this or other classes should be done on your own time. Finally, please do not eat during class.
Class Themes:
This semester we are focusing on two themes: the nature of passion and the nature of fear as they reflect and impact human psychology and behavior. Students, with feedback and ultimately approval from me, will select their own specific topics, one for each of these themes, and will write an initial essay about each topic/theme WITHOUT RESEARCH. After writing each essay, students will do research and write an annotated bibliography for that topic and in the last third of the class will select one of these essays and topics to develop into a complete, fully developed research essay, integrating the research into their own argument and analysis.
Writing Requirements & Breakdown of Assignments & Percentages:
Students are required to write a minimum of 6,000 words over the course of the semester. To fulfill this requirement, students will write 5 essays and response papers.
Two Midterms (each 100 points)200 points (20%)
Two Essays (each 100 points)200 points (20%)
Two Annotated Bibliographies (each 25 points) 50 points (5%)
Research Essay + Works Cited250 points (25%)
Reading Response Papers (15 points each)150 points (15%)
CompClass 100 points (10%)
Group Research Presentation 25 points (2.5%)
Final Exam: Individual Presentation 25 points (2.5%)
TOTAL: 1,000 points (100%)
To receive a passing grade on the research essay worth 25% of the total course grade, students must complete all the assigned steps, including:
1) the essay without research (Essay #1 or Essay #2)
2) the annotated bibliography (Annotated Bibliography #1 or Annotated Bibliography #2)
3) the summary of your project
4) the typed outline
5) the complete rough draft & Works Cited
6) the final draft, fulfilling the requirements in length, focus, scope, and purpose
7) copies of sources highlighting material used and providing bibliographic information
To receive a passing grade in the course, students must complete:
1) all essays, including the 2 in-class essay midterms, 2 take-home essays, the final research essay, and a minimum of 70% (7) of the (10) reading response papers,
2) all lessons/quizzes in CompClass, and
3) the final exam, an individual presentation, which fulfills the oral presentation component.
Please note: It is students’ responsibility to keep track of deadlines and work completed/submitted and missing. In addition, students are responsible for figuring out their own grades. Use the provided checklists/instructions and returned assignments to figure out your grade. If you want help figuring it out, please come by during my office hours, and bring with you all work that has been graded and returned to you so far. The grade will be based only on work that has been graded so far.
Essays:
Essays written outside of class are due (typed, MLA formatted, stapled, and ready to turn in) at the beginning of class on the due date and to Turnitin by midnight the same day. Essays will not be graded unless submitted to me in print and also to Turnitin.com. Grammar and spelling count.
Please note: I do not accept work submitted by email. If you must miss class, arrange to turn your essay in by the deadline by:
1) giving the essay to me directly,
2) giving it to the division secretary in the 1000 building and having her time/date stamp it and then place it in my box, or
3) giving it to a fellow student to turn in for you.
Students turning it in by proxy (through a division secretary or fellow student) or by placing it in my box assume all risks involved if the paper goes missing. Bring a printed copy of the paper to the next class (and be prepared to use your late pass) just in case.
Midterms:
The midterm essays will be written in large-sized blue books in class. Blue books must be submitted to me ahead of time. Be on time to midterms in order to have the full 75 minutes to write.
Reading Response Papers:
Throughout the semester, students will be writing response papers to record what they notice about and learn from the assigned readings responding to specific questions and/or instructions. Students will write about every reading assignment. Reading assignments serve to prepare students for writing assignments, including the midterms and the research essay. In addition, they help to develop students’ critical thinking skills, to deepen their understanding of writing techniques and model texts, and to offer them opportunities to practice research-related skills, such as quoting, paraphrasing, and interpreting texts. Grading is based on coverage and completeness of the responses. These papers must be typed, and grammar and spelling count.
Late Assignments:
You have 1 Late Pass (see page 7) to use during the semester. It allows you to submit one essay, midterm, annotated bibliography, or response paper up to one week late for full credit. Submit the late pass at the same time as the late paper. Essays submitted late may be returned late and receive minimal feedback. All additional late papers will receive half credit and no feedback and may be submitted no later than the last day of class (before finals’ week). Students who miss one of the in-class midterms will need to write it in the Testing & Tutoring Center within a week of its due date, submitting the late pass along with the exam.
Again, papers are considered on time if they are completed, typed, printed, paper clipped or stapled, (folded corners do NOT count), and ready to be turned in at the beginning of class on the due date. If you cannot complete the assignment by the time class begins, you may turn it in (without using the late pass) up until 5 pm the same day. However, there will be a deduction of 5% of the total points (rounded up to the nearest whole number). No exceptions.
The late pass & same day extension with 5% deduction cannot be used on CompClass assignments, the group or individual presentations, on in-class activities, including peer review and workshops, or on any work due on the last day of class.
CompClass:
To fulfill the required one-unit online Research Lab, students will be engaging in a variety of individual and interactive activities, including readings, video lessons, and recall quizzes about the content and journals to think more deeply and critically about the skills and concepts; once we start applying these skills to the drafts, we will continue to use the site for review. These skills serve as the foundation for the research project as a whole and without them students will likely fail the research essay and the course. To earn credit for the assignments, students must complete all research lessons, including the journals, if assigned, and earn 70% or better on the quizzes by the deadlines (quizzes are locked once the deadline passes). One section is due each week for the first thirteen weeks. Failure to complete even one section will result in failure in the course as CompClass as a whole fulfill one unit of the course. The thirteen sections are assigned in the following order. Assignments are always due at the end of the day (11:59 pm) on Sundays at the end of the week:
1) Orientation & Overview (at the end of Week 1)
2) Quotation Proficiency (at the end of Week 2)
3) Correct Paraphrasing & Summarizing (at the end of Week 3)
4) Respect Academic Ethics (at the end of Week 4)
5) Avoid Plagiarism (at the end of Week 5)
6) Locating Information for Various Types of Information Needs (at the end of Week 6)
7) MLA Document Format Proficiency (at the end of Week 7)
8) Comprehending and Assessing the Appropriateness of Sources (at the end of Week 8)
9) Critically Assessing the Credibility and Validity of Sources (at the end of Week 9)
10) Online Research (at the end of Week 10)
11) Understanding Research: An Introduction (at the end of Week 11)
12) Define Your Research Strategy (at the end of Week 12)
13) Integration of Sources (at the end of Week 13)
Plagiarism:
Don’t do it. All writing assignments & reading responses for this course must be written by you specifically for this course. Plagiarism involves passing off someone else’s work as your own, either by failing to acknowledge others’ words or ideas or by having someone else write any part of your paper. This is not to be confused with responding to suggestions from classmates during peer review or instructors in the Writing Center. An essay or other writing assignment that is plagiarized or that contains plagiarism will receive an “F,” and multiple offenses will result in an “F” in the course. We will review plagiarism as part of the class and will be using Turnitin.com to help us avoid it, but you should be sure to talk to me anytime during the semester if you have further questions.
Tips for avoiding unintentional plagiarism:
- Give credit to all outside sources even if you put their ideas into your own words.
- Take careful notes while reading, copying the words exactly (for quotations) & completely identifying the source.
- Don’t use outside (online) sources to get ideas about reading or topics unless assigned to do so. This kind of research can lead to using other people’s ideas and not giving credit or using other people’s ideas in place of your own (a kind of cheating especially if the assignment is asking for your own thoughts).
- Don’t get help from anyone other than me, your classmates, & the instructors in the Writing Center.
Turnitin.com
We will be using Turnitin.com as a resource to help us avoid plagiarism. All essays (Essay #1, Essay #2, and the Research Essay) must be submitted electronically to Turnitin.com as well as in hard copy to me, and the two versions must match. However, Turnitin.com will be available prior to the due date, so students can check the results and make any necessary changes before the final submission.
Course ID #: 6579536
Password: student (all lower case)—You will be prompted to change your password after you’ve logged in; please keep a record of your password where you can find it.
Essay Revision:
Students who receive low or failing grades on Essay #1 or Essay #2 may be allowed to revise as long as the essay/paper was complete and submitted on time or with the late pass. Students must receive permission from me to revise. Note: Revision requires substantial changes based on reexamination of the thesis, analysis, support & development of ideas, organization, & grammar. Essays receiving low or failing grades due to substandard work produced as a result of last-minute effort—typically suggested by a failure to proofread, spell check, and edit as well as insufficient length—are not eligible for revision.
All students who are granted permission to revise must complete the following steps:
1) meet with me to review the essay and assignment within a week of receiving it back from me
2) address any grammar issues and make the necessary corrections before submitting the final revision to me (the Writing Center is an excellent resource for help on grammar, but remember they’re busy and close to non-English 84 students 2 weeks before finals, so plan ahead.)
3) turn in both the graded first draft and final revision to me by the deadline we agree upon.
Reading/Study/Research Presentation Groups
Groups of three or four students will be formed to discuss reading and writing assignments, to lead one discussion about the reading, and to do a group presentation about a research concept. Students are encouraged to share their observations and questions in their groups. As with any collaborative work, students should make sure that everyone is doing his or her fair share. Students will form their own groups, but these groups may be changed, if necessary, at students’ or my discretion.
Getting Help:
Please do not get help on essays from anyone other than the students in this class, the instructors in the Writing Center, and me. For grammar, the Writing Center instructors are the experts. For help understanding the assignments or how to structure the essays, please seek out your classmates and me. I am available regularly for conferences during office hours and by appointment. You can also reach me by e-mail. Also, the line between helping and doing the writing, rewriting, or editing can become blurred, potentially resulting in plagiarism.