Syllabus for ENGL 091A, Item #1012 & ENGL 105A, Item #1052

Summer 2012

Instructor: Scott Bessho

E-mail: scott.bessho@bellevuecollege.edu

Phone: 425-564-2425

Office location:            R230-Y

Office Hours: 8:00-11:20 and 1:30-2:20 M-Th, 8:30-12:00 sometimes on Friday. These are times when you can drop by to ask a question about class or an assignment or anything else.

Course Information

Books and Materials

 

Required

Morenberg: Doing Grammar

 

Optional: you might find these useful

Any good learner's dictionary (e.g. Longman)

Any handbook of grammar and usage

 

 

Course Outcomes

 

Learning Outcomes: (At the end of this courses, students will be able to…)

 

1. Write narrative, descriptive, summary, and self-reflective journal entries with improved fluency, as demonstrated by comparison of initial journal writings with end-of-quarter writings

2. Identify the basic parts of speech (nouns, determiners, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, conjunctions, and prepositional phrases) in their own writing and the writing of others

3. Identify basic sentence core patterns in their own writing and the writing of others with improved accuracy

4. Identify basic verb tenses (simple past and present, progressive, passive, perfect, conditional) in their own writing and the writing of others

5. Describe and use an editing process that suits their individual needs

6. Collaborate effectively with classmates to edit each other’s writing for mistakes in basic grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation

7. Edit their own writing to correct mistakes in basic grammar and sentence structure (singular and plural word endings, subject-verb and noun-pronoun agreement, verb tense and form)

8. Look up information about grammar and punctuation in a standard college-level writing handbook and apply it to their own editing

9. Articulate in writing what they have learned and how they have learned it.

 

Meeting Outcomes

 

The main focus of the class is sentence analysis. It is not a review of simple grammar or common errors. It is intensive and will require significant work outside of class. Class activities are based on the use and identification of a variety of sentence elements and types, focusing on their purpose and form in real-life writing. Weekly exercises will contribute material to a final exam and paper demonstrating mastery of the sentence grammar.

 

Grading

 

The grading for class work in this course is based primarily on completion; that is, you have to do the work, and completed work with acceptable accuracy will earn a higher grade than incomplete work with superior accuracy.  Generally, this class is intended for your improvement, so scores reflect improvement and practical use of the material more than simply learning and repeating grammatical forms and rules on quizzes. It is possible to be in class most of the time and to do most of the assignments and still not get credit if the instructor sees no improvement in a student’s writing.

 

Some of your work will be done in groups, so your participation is essential to others in the class, whose participation grade depends on your preparation. You can ensure a good participation grade if you ask questions and try answering questions in class. Unsatisfactory participation will affect your grade (ENGL 091 is graded Credit/ No Credit). Attendance counts! Your grade will not be affected by a couple of absences, but more than two will affect your overall evaluation. A grade of NC or F will result if you miss more than six classes. Lateness will count as an absence if I take roll before you arrive.

 

Classroom Learning Atmosphere

Instructor’s Expectation

 

Since there is no letter grade to provide motivation for 091, students need to have a goal of improving their written work over the course of the quarter. Just doing enough to pass the class is not satisfactory when applied to this goal. Students are expected to work at least ten hours a week on classwork and to contribute to the learning atmosphere in class by asking questions and trying to answer questions.

 

Affirmation of Inclusion

 

Bellevue College is committed to maintaining an environment in which every member of the campus community feels welcome to participate in the life of the college, free from harassment and discrimination.

We value our different backgrounds at Bellevue College, and students, faculty, staff members, and administrators are to treat one another with dignity and respect. http://bellevuecollege.edu/about/goals/inclusion.asp

 

Division Statements

 

Please refer to the document on Arts and Humanities Policieshttp://bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/policy.html, all of which apply in my classes. Pay special attention to the section on academic dishonesty. Plagiarism, which we will discuss in class, will not be tolerated. Plagiarism in this class includes getting sentences from grammar sites on the internet.

 

Student Code

 

“Cheating, stealing and plagiarizing (using the ideas or words of another as one’s own without crediting the source) and inappropriate/disruptive classroom behavior are violations of the Student Code of Conduct at Bellevue College.  Examples of unacceptable behavior include, but are not limited to: talking out of turn, arriving late or leaving early without a valid reason, allowing cell phones/pagers to ring, and inappropriate behavior toward the instructor or classmates.  The instructor can refer any violation of the Student Code of Conduct to the Vice President of Student Services for possible probation or suspension from Bellevue College.  Specific student rights, responsibilities and appeal procedures are listed in the Student Code of Conduct, available in the office of the Vice President of Student Services.”  The Student Code, Policy 2050, in its entirety is located at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/policies/2/2050_Student_Code.asp

Important Links

Bellevue College E-mail and access to MyBC

 

All students registered for classes at Bellevue College are entitled to a network and e-mail account.  Your student network account can be used to access your student e-mail, log in to computers in labs and classrooms, connect to the BC wireless network and log in to MyBC. To create your account, go to:  https://bellevuecollege.edu/sam .

 

BC offers a wide variety of computer and learning labs to enhance learning and student success. Find current campus locations for all student labs by visiting the Computing Services website.

 

Disability Resource Center (DRC)

 

The Disability Resource Center serves students with a wide array of learning challenges and disabilities. If you are a student who has a disability or learning challenge for which you have documentation or have seen someone for treatment and if you feel you may need accommodations in order to be successful in college, please contact the DRC as soon as possible.

 

If you are a person who requires assistance in case of an emergency situation, such as a fire, earthquake, etc, please meet with your individual instructors to develop a safety plan within the first week of the quarter.

 

The DRC office is located in B 132 or you can call the reception desk at 425.564.2498.  Deaf students can reach the DRC by video phone at 425-440-2025 or by TTY at 425-564-4110. Please visit the DRC website for application information into the program and other helpful links at www.bellevuecollege.edu/drc

 

Public Safety

 

The Bellevue College (BC) Public Safety Department’s well trained and courteous non-commissioned staff provides personal safety, security, crime prevention, preliminary investigations, and other services to the campus community, 24 hours per day,7 days per week.  Their phone number is 425.564.2400.  The Public Safety website is your one-stop resource for campus emergency preparedness information, campus closure announcements and critical information in the event of an emergency. Public Safety is located in K100 and on the web at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/publicsafety/

 

Final Exam Schedule

 

The final exam for this class is on the last day of class at our usual class time. The final is based on the sentence patterns and grammar studied during the quarter and will significantly affect the final grade for 105.

 

http://bellevuecollege.edu/classes/exams

 

Academic Calendar

 

The Bellevue College Academic Calendar is separated into two calendars. They provide information about holidays, closures and important enrollment dates such as the finals schedule.

 

English 091/105 Summer Class Schedule (subject to change)

 

We have only two short papers in 091 and 105, but many smaller sentence assignments. Assignments in addition to the textbook exercises will be posted on the class MyBC site.

 

Much of what we write will be corrected in class, but there will be homework assignments as well. The exercises in the textbook will make up the largest part of the classwork. Some of the assignments will be turned in and some won’t, but all of the material will be tested at the end of the quarter, and all of it will go into your paper. The paper will be a demonstration of your sentence mastery.

 

NOTE: All of the assignments will be clarified and explained in class in greater detail as they are assigned.

 

 

Week 1          Introduction of class, syllabus and schedule; Homework assignments: Chapter One “Identifying Verbs and Core Sentences.” Chapter Two, “Relating words, Phrases and Slots”; Real English and Sentence exercises (every week).

           

Week 2            Chapter Three “Expanding Verb Phrases”; Sentence combining activities; Paper Assignment.

           

Week 3            Chapter Four “Exploring Noun Phrases”; Article practice; Chapter Five “Rearranging and Compounding”; First paper due.

 

Week 4            Chapter Six “Constructing Relative Clauses”; Paper conferences; Chapter Seven “Reducing Relative Clauses to Phrases”; Final Paper Assignment

           

Week 5            Chapter Eight “Making Noun Clauses, Gerunds, and Infinitives”; presentations

 

Week 6            Chapter Nine “Adding Modifiers to Sentences”; presentations

 

Week 7            Chapter Ten “What Can You Do Now That You Can Do Grammar?”; Review for Final Quiz on Identification, Combining, and Editing; Final Quiz; Final Paper

 

Further Remarks

 

Good Luck in 091/105 this quarter!  Let’s make it fun and productive. 

Always remember that I want you to succeed but that you are responsible for your own success.