Syllabus for ENC 1101
Freshman Composition I

Valencia College
Spring 2018

“You write with ease to show your breeding/But easy writing’s curst hard reading.”

Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816)

Instructor:Diane Orsini

Office:5-145, West Campus

Course Information:ENC 1101 W05 CRN 20420

Time and Place:T R8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. in 5-130

Office Hours:My office hours areposted here at Faculty FrontDoor.

Phone:407-582-1172. So that we both have a record of the question and the answer, the best method of contact is email from your Valencia account.

Email:. I will accept emails from your Valencia email account only.

Required Reading:The Kirkman Reader.All reading assignments will be available online. Check the Course Content link in Blackboardfor details.

Course Web Sites:dorsini.typepad.com/enc1101/

learn.valenciacollege.edu

Catalog Description

“Prerequisites: Score of 103 on writing component of PERT or equivalent score on other state-approved entry test or minimum grade of C inENC0027or minimum grade of C in ENC 0025C orEAP1640C, and a score of 106 on reading component of PERT or equivalent score on other state-approved entry test or minimum grade of C in REA 0017C orEAP1620C. Development of essay form, including documented essay; instruction and practice in expository writing. Emphasis on clarity of central and support ideas, adequate development, logical organization, coherence, appropriate citing of primary and/or secondary sources, and grammatical and mechanical accuracy. Gordon Rule course in which the student is required to demonstrate college-level writing skills through multiple assignments. Minimum grade of C is required ifENC1101is used to satisfy Gordon Rule and General Education Requirements.” (Catalog).

Course Description

The goal of ENC 1101 is to help you master the fundamentals of essay-writing and to give you the opportunity to develop your individual voice. We will also work on refining your grammar, punctuation, and reading skills in order to make you more academically competitive in your current classes and in your future life beyond Valencia.

Attendance and Deportment

Attendance Policy

The Valencia College Attendance policy states that students are expected to attend every class, beginning with the first class meeting. Students whose names appear on my printed class roll on the first day but do not show will be marked with a non-negotiable absence that might lead to withdrawal. Those who do not show or contact me at all during the first week will be withdrawn as ‘no-shows.’ Please read the full policy at this link.

Attendance is directly related to success in this course. Aftertwo absences, students will be sent an Excessive Absence notification via your Valencia email account. A fourth absence may result in withdrawal from the course. I reserve the right to withdraw any student with three or more absences before the withdrawal deadline but do not guarantee that I will do so; if a student prefers the withdrawal (W) to the grade of F, he or she is advised to initiate the process or contact me to discuss this. I will not withdraw any student after the withdrawal deadline has elapsed and in that instance will record the final course grade as F.

Students are expected to be on time. Two ‘lates’ count as an absence; if attendance is not also an issue, six ‘lates’ put a student at risk for withdrawal. I may choose to exercise my right to withdraw chronically late students because absent students injure only themselves, but late students injure morale and interfere with the learning of others. If a student is aware that attendance might be a problem, he or she is advised that an online course might be a better option.

All tests must be taken on or before posted test dates; makeup tests are not available without my explicit consent. Considering the generous testing window afforded us by Blackboard, I will consent only in cases of documented, extreme emergency. Remember that the only “excused absences” the college recognizes are jury duty, military service, and childbirth (not ‘child care,’ alas).

Deportment

My good manners:

  • I will be on time to class. If I am ever late, I will issue ten bonus points to the students who get to the room before I do.
  • I will answer your emails within 48 hours of receipt.
  • I will check email at least once over the weekend.
  • I will return your graded work seven to ten days after submission.
  • I will post all your scores in Blackboard so you’ll always know where you stand in the class. The best surprise is no surprise.
  • I will not text or answer calls while conducting class. You will have my full and undivided attention.
  • If I watch a Youtube video in class, I will make sure that you can see it, too.
  • If for any reason I cannot make it to class, I will, if physically possible, set up the announcementand assignment at Blackboard and in an email canceling that class meeting. Out of respect, I will never stick you with a babysitter.
  • I won’t eat in front of you unless I bring enough for you, too.
  • I promise to teach you to the best of my ability.

Your good manners:

  • You promise to learn to the best of yours.
  • You will check your Valencia College email account daily to see if I have sent notifications and updates.
  • Out of respect for the other students, you will come to class on time.
  • You will stay for the entire class meeting.
  • If you’re late to class, you will take responsibility for signing in at the end of that class period. Otherwise, your attendance that day will not be recorded and the absence will count against you. Telling me two weeks later won’t make a difference.
  • You will take care of all bathroom and refreshment needs either before class or after, not during.
  • Like me, you will set your phone on vibrate and turn off your electrical devices including laptops and IPad/Notebooks, etc. before class begins.
  • You will not abuse the iMac by reading your emails, clicking the mouse while I am speaking, or playing videos or games during class meetings.
  • You will not make or answer phone calls in class.
  • You will follow Professor Leddy’s excellent example when composing emails.
  • If you miss a submission window and require my assistance to upload late work, you will include a polite explanatory note with your electronic copy. The penalty for omitting this note is a five-point deduction.
  • You won’t bring food items to class unless you bring enough for everybody.
  • If you exercise your submission privilege (see below), you will be extremely courteous to the dean’s administrative assistants.

AtlasPolicy

Since the Valencia server screens all email correspondence for viruses and inappropriate material, I will open and read only those messages that you send from your Valencia email account. I will delete unread any messages from other email sources.

Checking your Valencia email account should become a daily priority. Do not let your mailbox become so choked with old email from past semesters that the server cannot deliver new messages.

Computer Issues

For your comfort, ease, and convenience, I have posted all tests in Blackboard.

A student will occasionally complain that he or she has been “kicked off” in the middle of a test; if that happens, that student must instantly contact me via Atlas. I will re-set a test only once per student per semester, only if the glitch is properly documented by Blackboard itself, and only if the testing window is still open because once the window has closed, the test answers are released.

If a student has been “kicked off” once, he or she should not expect to take another test on that same computer and is advised to come to campus to take all remaining tests at Valencia. If that same student is “kicked off” a second time or more, he or she must expect to live with whatever score he or she earned prior to the glitch.

Technological problems will also not be accepted as an excuse for late written work. If your own computer or printer is out of commission, you will be expected to drive to campus to complete your work or take your quiz at one of Valencia’s computer labs.

Since the composition of the Cause & Effect essay will require the use of on-line sources, students who turn in the Cause & Effect essay without incorporating materials derived from these sources will not receive a passing grade for this assignment.

Academic Honesty

All work submitted for credit in this class must be the product of the individual student’s own original thoughts supported and informed by appropriately documented and credited sources.The West Campus Communications Division defines plagiarism as“the use of someone else’s words, ideas, pictures, design, and/or intellectual property without the correct documentation and punctuation.” Students must document any direct quotations and paraphrases in their papers, following MLA guidelines.

Plagiarism takes many forms: for example, turning in the same essayfor two different courses is consideredself-plagiarismand will result in a zero for the paper. You may legitimately wonder how anyone would ever know; this is one of the purposes of the SafeAssignplagiarism scan (see below).

Valencia College subscribes toSafeAssign. ThisBlackboardfeature allows students to upload their essays so that software can compare these essays to every available electronic resource in the world, looking for parts that match up with previously published sources. All written assignments must be submitted for plagiarism analysis atSafeAssign. Caveat: Before you upload your document, confirm that you have attached the right file. A discrepancy will raise a red flag and prevent me from grading the piece on time.

Why go to all this trouble?Plagiarism is morally indefensible. Any assignment showing signs of plagiarism, either the

  1. deliberate cut-and-paste of online or print sources,
  2. the recycling of essays from previous classes,
  3. essays written on behalf of the student by family members or friends, or
  4. the result of inattention and incompetence

will be graded zero. A second offense will result in an appointment with the dean of the Communications Department. One more thing: do not have your work typed or processed for you by someone else.

Withdrawals

The deadline this session for withdrawing is Friday, March 30.If you choose withdrawal for any reason, you must do it yourself within the window.

Grades

Valencia College requires that no less than a C be earned as a final grade; in this course, that means you must earn a minimum of 700 out of the possible 1000 points.

You can achieve this by completing all the written assignments, taking all the quizzes in Blackboard, and passing the final exam with a score of C or higher, and meeting the Gordon Rule requirement.

The written assignments include the following:

  • Three formal out-of-class essays approximately 500-700 words
  • One 800-1000-word documented essay requiring the use of on-line sources
  • Four multiple-draft packages (these packages earn a separate score)
  • Final Essay (business letter)

Papers will be assigned seven to ten days in advance of the due date. They must be at least five hundred words each and word-processed; the Cause & Effect essay must be at least eight hundred words; a ten-point penalty will apply for each 100 words an essay lacks. All final drafts must be double-spaced and printed on only one side of the paper with a one-inch margin. Spelling and grammar rules always count. FYI: the SafeAssign report shows the word counts.

Your grade in this class will be an average of all the essays, drafting packages,and the final exam. None of these assignments is optional.Here is the breakdown:

Essays:300 points

Documented Essay:200 points

Drafts: 400 points

Final Essay:100 points

At the end of the semester, I will use the following scale:

A = 900-1000 points

B = 800-899

C = 700-799

D = 600-699

F = 599 points and below

Points are points. There is no averaging up or averaging down. If your final point count comes in at 899 points, you will have earned a B.

Therefore, keep on top of the tests and take full advantage of the communal extra-credit opportunities because this class doesnotofferindividual extra-credit opportunities or rewrites for assignments that received bad scores; the successive assignments and your freedom to use the same source materials for each constitutes the re-write opportunities. Learn from your mistakes and move on.

No grade will be dropped or curved. To earn the highest possible score, readallof the assigned sections of your textbooks, followallof the directions at the website, model your own work on the student samples available for the assignments,email me from Atlas with questions prior to submission, usethe college writing centers (East, Lake Nona, Osceola, West, Winter Park) when necessary, and proofread carefully for sentence errors.

The final examination is the submission of an argument letter that demonstrates your ability to balance academic and professional requirements.I will not accept a final exam after the scheduled final exam period.

The wonders of Blackboard have made it possible for you to know your total number of pointsany time you want, so it’s up to you to stay on top of your grades. The best surprise is no surprise.

Deadlines, Missing Assignments, and Late Penalties

“Deadline” in this class means something very specific. I expect you to submit your work electronically to SafeAssign during the posted window and to bring your print copy for grading during the assigned class meeting, but I would rather you attended class than usedmy class time to do your assigned work. I therefore will accept the essay and drafting package without penalty of any kind if you bring them to the Communications Division office (5-231) by 3:00 p.m. on the due date.To qualify for this benefit, the work must be time-stamped by one of the Communications dean’s administrative assistants; essays and packages stuffed under my door do not qualify and will get the ten-point penalty. You must still submit the electronic copy via Blackboard, but I always leave that window open until midnight of the due date.

If you miss handing in an essay and/or drafting package by the deadline, the essay and/or drafting package will eachreceive a ten-point deduction. Any assignment submitted more than seven days after the original due date will receive a fifty-point deduction. If you miss the submission window at Blackboard, you must send me an electronic copy that I will upload on your behalf—at the cost of five points.

I will not grade the print copy until the electronic copy has been scanned and approved by SafeAssign/Blackboardand will post a zero score in theBlackboardgrade book until the essay has been electronically vetted.

If you miss a quiz or an in-class prewritingassignment, you cannot make it up. Anyone who misses a quiz during the posted testing window or arrives after the class has finished a piece of writing earns a zero for that component, so be sure to arrive on time and keep up with the course calendar.

If you do not submit the final examination by the Valencia College deadline, you will receive a zero for the assignment. No exceptions.

As the student, you are responsible for keeping up with all written and reading assignments and for all learning materials presented in class when you are late or absent. I will not bring to your attention what you have missed; it is your job to keep up.

For Your Own Protection

Make certain to save the “Sent” copy of your email in a designated folder that you can access from my office, if necessary.

You must submit an electronic copy via SafeAssign as well as print a hard copy of the work to bring to class.You are responsible for your own printing, collating, and stapling. I will not grade the essay in its electronic form.

Format

How you present your work to me will indicate more about you than you realize, so be sure to make a good show.

First, upload the required electronic copy of your final draft to the appropriate assignment posted in Blackboard. The time stamp on the email indicates when you submitted the assignment.

You must also bring a printed hard copy to class. Then, to make the best possible impression, remember to:

How you present your work to me will indicate more about you than you realize, so be sure to make a good show. How? Follow the meticulously detailed instructions I will present during class and reinforce in the posts at the website.

  • Double-space all your work.
  • Indent all your paragraphs.
  • Avoid putting extra lines between paragraphs. If necessary, go to your Page Layout tab and reduce the line spacing from 10 pt. to 0 pt.
  • At the top of the first page, provide the following information:

Your name Last name 1

Professor Orsini

Writing Assignment (for example, Narrative Essay)

Date

  • Make sure that subsequent pages have your last name, keyword, and the page number in the top right-hand corner:

Last name 2 *