INSTRUCTOR: Mrs. Kimberly Verdensky-Dyer

ENC 1101 Fall 2012 – 2013

Wednesday LA 110 7-9:40

INSTRUCTOR: Mrs. Kimberly Verdensky-Dyer

Contact Email:

Please use email as primary contact. I check mail frequently and if we cannot resolve your concerns via email we can set up an office meeting.

Office Location: Back Left Corner in Learning Commons
Office Hours: Before or after class in classroom or by appointment. I am here to assist you succeed, so do not ever hesitate to contact me or speak with me about any concerns.
Link to Instructor Page: http://it.spcollege.edu/course_info/inquiry.cfm?number=1991

Welcome and thank you, for choosing to challenge and enhance yourself with a higher education course. This course is a stepping-stone in your future and will hopefully help you develop a successful academic career and a rewarding profession in the future. Please do not hesitate to ask for assistance, as I will do everything in my power to help every student succeed.

Important Dates:

• Last date to withdraw voluntarily with a “W”: September 20, 8wk1; October 25, regular session; November 5, express session; November 16, 8wk2

• No classes: October 23

• College closed: September 3, November 12, November 21-23, December 18-January 1

• Upgrade to ANGEL 8: Fall maintenance ------10/30/12–10/31/12 (Tuesday/Wednesday)

ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT:

Academic Coordinator, Clearwater Campus, Shirley Oakley, , 727-791-5904

Dean: Dr. Martha Campbell, LA 187, Clearwater Campus, 727-791-2570

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.

COURSE GOALS:

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.
You will develop and employ critical thinking skills in the writing process by applying logical reasoning and constructing outlines.
You will employ Standard American English by writing grammatically correct and effective sentences.
You will develop multi-paragraph essays by writing effective introductions with a thesis, writing effective body paragraphs, and writing effective concluding paragraphs.
You will learn to retrieve information from electronic sources effectively, efficiently, and ethically.
The student will evaluate sources including electronic sources.

ATTENDANCE/ACTIVE PARTICIPATION/WITHDRAWAL POLICIES

Timely attendance is expected! In class graded assignments will be conducted during nearly every class meeting. The completion of such assignments may not be made up; however each student will have the opportunity to drop the lowest in class assignment grade. Therefore students have the option of missing one class meeting without it directly affecting their grade. However, attendance is necessary for greatest success. Students classified as “No Show” for both of the first two weeks will be administratively withdrawn from any class which they are not attending. The student’s financial aid will be adjusted based on their updated enrollment status. If a student is administratively withdrawn from a class because they were a “No-Show” during the first two weeks of class, financial aid will not pay for the class and the student will be responsible for paying for that class. Students who are not actively participating in class as defined in an instructor's syllabus will be reported to the Administration during the week following the last date to withdraw with a “W” (as posted in the academic calendar on the college’s web site). A grade of “WF” will be assigned to students who are not actively participating during the week following the last day to withdraw with a W grade. Students will be able to withdraw themselves at any time during the term. However, requests submitted after the last date to withdraw with a “W” (see academic calendar) will result in a “WF.” Students and instructors will automatically receive an email notification through their SPC email address whenever a withdrawal occurs. Withdrawing after the “Last Date to Withdraw with a Grade of ‘W’” can have serious consequences. If the student withdraws from a class after the deadline posted in the academic calendar, the student will receive a final grade of ‘WF,' which has the same impact on the student's GPA as a final grade of “F.” A “WF” grade also could impact the student's financial aid, requiring repayment of financial assistance. Students should consult with an academic advisor or financial assistance counselor prior to withdrawing from a class.

ST. PETERSBURG COLLEGE APPROVED COURSE OUTLINE

ENC 1101 COMPOSITION I 3

PrefixNumberCourse TitleCr.Hrs.

A.Course Description:

Prerequisite: (ENC 0020) and (prerequisite or co-requisite REA 0002) or EAP 1695 or appropriate scores on the Writing and Reading placement tests. This course is designed to develop 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 the student opportunities to improve proficiency with sentence structure, diction, and mechanics. Selected writing samples are examined as models of form and as sources of ideas for the student's own writing. Conferences provide individual instruction. Sections of computer-assisted and individualized instruction are offered. This course partially satisfies the writing requirements outlined in the General Education Requirements. Credit is only given for one of the following: ENC 1101, ENC 1121H or IDS 1101H. 47 contact hours.

B.Major Learning Outcomes:

1.The student will develop rhetorically effective compositions.

2.The student will develop and employ critical thinking skills in the writing process.

3.The student will employ Standard American English.

4.The student will develop multi-paragraph essays.

The student will retrieve information from electronic sources effectively, efficiently, and ethically.

C.Course Objectives Stated in Performance Terms:

The student will develop rhetorically effective compositions by:

a.writing essays that effectively demonstrate organization, development, unity, and coherence.

b.writing essays that restrict a topic.

c.writing essays that focus on a central idea.

The student will develop and employ critical thinking skills in the writing process by:

a.applying logical reasoning.

constructing outlines.

3.The student will employ Standard American English by writing grammatically correct and effective sentences.

4.The student will develop multi-paragraph essays by:

a.writing effective introductions with a thesis.

b.writing effective body paragraphs.

c.writing effective concluding paragraphs.

The student will retrieve information from electronic sources effectively, efficiently, and ethically by:

selecting the most appropriate investigative methods.

constructing search strategies.

accessing information online.

The student will evaluate sources including electronic sources by:

summarizing the main idea extracted from the information.

articulating and applying basic criteria for evaluating both the information and its sources.

synthesizing main ideas to construct new concepts.

comparing new knowledge with prior knowledge to determine the value added, contradictions, or other unique characteristics of the information.

determining whether the initial query should be revised.

D.Major Course Units

Each unit requires in class participation, a detailed composition and online participation

1. Narration

2. Compare and Contrast

3. Cause and Effect

4. Persuasion and Argument

5. Definition / Example

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS & OTHER RESOURCE INFORMATION:

The Norton Sampler (7th edition) by Thomas Cooley
The Little, Brown Handbook (12th edition)

ASSIGNMENTS:

All assignments for the week, unless otherwise noted, are due by midnight Sunday. Please check the calendar and due dates regularly. I will also post expectations regularly on the announcements page.

ATTENDANCE/ACTIVE PARTICIPATION:

For this class, active participation is defined as attending class regularly; participating in class activities, maintaining a minimum of a 70% on quizzes, class work and essays. Additionally, if two consecutive weeks of classes are missed it will be considered inactive. Please remember that colleges do not award credit for courses in which you earn any grade below a C.

GRADING POLICY:

Course letter grades will be determined based on the following scale:

Grade / Grade
Points / Percentage
A / 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 / Percentage
Essays (Papers #1 – 4) / 60%
Final Exam Essay (Paper #5) / 5%
Final Exam Objective Test / 10%
Quizzes / 10%
Discussion Postings, Activities, Assignments / 15%

STUDENT EXPECTATIONS:

Your participation in this class is critical for the learning process. Here’s 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.

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.

You will be given the grade you earn. Extra credit and rounding of grades are not fair practices therefore I will not offer either.

IMPORTANT COLLEGE POLICY REGARDING COURSE DROP/ ADD PERIOD AND AUDIT INFORMATION

Students CANNOT add a course following the 1st day the class meets prior to the second class meeting. Students CAN drop a course through Friday of the first week of classes and be eligible for a refund. Except by appeal to an associate provost, students may not change from credit to audit status after the end of the first week of classes. Online classes may be added through the standard drop/add period for that course.

GRADING AND REPEAT COURSE POLICIES

State policy specifies that students may not repeat courses for which a grade of “C” or higher has been earned except by appeal to an associate provost. Students may repeat a course one time without penalty. On the third attempt, students will pay the full cost of instruction. In addition to any required lab or special fees, the full cost of instruction rate for 2010-2011 is $341.64 per credit hour. In addition, on the third attempt students may NOT receive a grade of “I,” “W,” or “X,” but must receive the letter grade earned. The grade on the final last attempt with the exception of a “W” grade will be the grade that will be calculated into the overall grade point average. (Developmental courses do not average into the grade point average).

ATTENDANCE/ACTIVE PARTICIPATION/WITHDRAWAL POLICIES