College Reading and Writing
English Composition 1
English 101 - item#1098 - section HYC
Fall Quarter 2013

Important Information

Introductory Remarks for Students

English 101 HYC is a hybrid class; you are required to attend classroom sessions AND online sessions. You CANNOT successfully complete this class without working on it in BOTH locations as you must participate in this course daily to successfully fulfill its requirements.

This course will require you to have some particular attributes and skills:

• college level reading and comprehension skills,
• good self-motivation,
• good problem solving skills,
• the ability to communicate clearly in writing,
• the ability to learn well in a totally visual medium,
• the ability to follow written directions, and
• the ability to use your computer to complete various tasks, including (but not limited to) uploading and downloading files as well as attaching files to e-mail messages and in the assignment dropbox as required, and
• the ability to ask questions as needed.

Writing academic papers for college classes is a skill, developed with practice in reading texts, analyzing texts, thinking about texts and finally, writing about texts.  This class is designed to prepare students to write academic college essays by requiring practice (and further development) of critical reading, thinking and writing skills. Most students have a measure of these skills already; some students may be better at some skills and feel less comfortable with others. Whatever your abilities before now, I ask you to work hard but also approach the class work with compassion and tolerance for yourself and for each other. The old saying "practice makes perfect" is a lie when it comes to writing. No writing is ever perfect, though certainly writers can get better. But first, you must practice, and then practice some more, and maybe even more, but eventually, you will get better.

If you signed up for this course thinking that it would have less work, you were mistaken. Any classroom/online course has more writing work than a class just in the classroom as all of our online communication must be written. Please be advised that the workload may be very difficult for you if work and/or family demands do not permit you 10 to 15 hours each week to work on the assignments for this class alone. I have tried to focus and space assignments to facilitate as many learning styles as possible, but depending on your own personal skill levels, you may need to schedule extra time, especially around paper writing/editing time.

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Online Student Responsibilities

Because of the special method of course delivery, several requirements must be met.

1. First and probably most important, the student enrolled in this course MUST have a computer and required software and services, including a word processor (Office 97 or better minimum), an Internet Service Provider (avoid AOL and Chrome), and a browser service (Internet Explorer works best, but Mozilla Firefox is also supported). Perhaps more importantly, the student must be familiar with the use of the above-mentioned items. I do not teach computer skills; I teach English. I will help if I can, but I am no expert in computer systems.
2. In order to use our class website effectively, you MUST set up your computer to the appropriate specifications. Check out that information by clicking on the "Run a Browser Check" link on the "Log In" page, to the right of the box where you enter your username and password. These instructions are also posted on the Getting Started page. Just do it.
3. Always inform me immediately if you have problems with the website or the technology. I may not be able to fix the issues, but I need to know if you are having problems. The burden of communicating is YOUR responsibility.  ALSO please print the Troubleshooting Page in the FAQ area under Resources and Tools to have offline. Ultimately, your computer and Internet services are also your responsibility. Please note that if you have problems with your computer and software at home, you may use the computer labs on the BC campus if you have an emergency and they are open.  However, I expect that you bring some expertise with you to help in solving problems that arise.

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Course Outcomes for English 101

According to the English department at Bellevue College, after completing this course, students will be able to:

Think and read critically: carefully read, analyze, interpret and evaluate claims, beliefs, texts and/or issues.

I have designed reading, writing, and discussion assignments that require you to practice the necessary skills to help you achieve these outcomes. Our paper assignments will depend on your use of these skills in order to complete them successfully. Our opening lecture will define and discuss these skills in more depth.  Please see the Writing Resources Module for more information.

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Books Required

Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. (ISBN:
Marius, Richard. A Writer's Companion. Custom Ed. 2012. (ISBN: 1121780849) (See **Text Note below)
Tempest-Williams, Terry. Refuge. (ISBN:

(**Text Note: The Marius text can be purchased used in the 4th edition with the following ISBN: 0-07-304015-0. That book is out-of-print now, but the English department has had the Bellevue College Bookstore custom order it from the publisher. Our special order looks different, but technically, it is the same book as the out-of-print edition.)

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Assignments and Grading

Total Points for the Course: 600 points. This number is subject to change if I determine the necessity for additional assignments. These points will be earned through the following specified assignments.

Marius Homework: You will have complete (4) Marius homework assignments this quarter. Each assignment is worth 15 points.

Total Points for Marius Homework: 60 points

Literature Discussions: You will have TWO (2) book discussion assignments this quarter. Specific instructions and requirements for participating in discussions are posted in the module for our first paper as well as under the Resources and Tools icon. Find the Discussion Requirements page for specific information on discussions. (Hint** It is located in the first paper module.)

Total Points for Literature Discussions: 40 points

Formal Papers: You will write THREE (3) original, formal papers (750-1200 words) in this class. Your final required FOURTH (4^th) formal paper will be a Rewrite of your choice of either Formal Paper 1 or Formal Paper 2.

Please note that all assignments are due at 8 AM (morning). I have selected this time to give you more time (overnight) to work on your assignments rather than having them due the night before. Since I am not going to grade assignments at midnight, you may as well have the extra hours.

Total Points for Formal Papers: 400 points

Self-Assessment: You will write a self-assessment of your Rewrite Paper (RWP), according to guidelines posted on the class website

Total Points for Self-Assessment: 50 points

Peer Review Assignments: Much of what you will learn about writing in this course will come from participating in a peer review of others' papers. To do these reviews, you will be required to read selections from the Marius text and use an assigned peer review tool to apply the lessons from the Marius reading to critique the work of other students.

Grading for Peer Review consists of two elements:

Total Peer Review points per paper module: 30 points. Peer reviews are required for Paper 1, 2, and 3 modules only.

Total Points for Peer Review: 90 points

TOTAL Possible Points for CLASS: 640 points

The College Grading Policy is located on page 10 of the Course Catalog and also on the web at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/policies/3/3000_grading.asp.

Instructor's Expectations

As you know, every teacher has expectations. Since a major portion of this class requires that you participate online, please read the "How to be a Successful Online Learner" to learn more about general expecatations for working in this modality. These are my expectations specifically for this class.

• I expect that you will complete the work I have created to teach you the skills outlined in the Course Outcome above.
• I ALSO expect that you have come to this class with a working usage of modern English grammar as English 101 does not officially teach grammar. All papers with major grammatical errors lose points in this class. Because many students struggle with this requirement, I have set aside a segment of our website to provide a Grammar Handbook, complete with exercises and keys so that you can check your own work; I have also created a Writing Workshop and set aside one week out of our quarter, to help you improve not only your academic writing skills but also your grammar skills. Last, on the issue of grammar, I encourage you to utilize the tutors in the Writing lab on campus (D204--located in the Academic Success Center) for help with grammar problems, or if you wish, schedule an appointment with me in my office.See the Campus Resources page to make an appointment with a Writing Lab tutor.
• I expect that you will participate in ALL class activities WHEN they are assigned. Every quarter someone who has failed to participate fully asks me for an incomplete or for an extra credit assignment. Here are my policies in these areas: (1) Incomplete (I) grades: I give an incomplete with two conditions. First, the student has completed 80% of the coursework and the student has a verifiable medical or family emergency that prevents him/her from completing the coursework on time. In both cases, it is the student's responsibility to contact me and ask for the incomplete, providing me with reasoning or documentation as required. I still reserve the right to decide whether or not to award the incomplete grade. (2) Extra credit: I will not allow extra credit for any reason unless I decide to offer it. I usually don't. I have one important rule about offering extra credit: I do not permit extra credit for people who have failed to complete the rest of the work in the class. 
• I (and the English department) expect that the average of your formal papers (including the rewrite paper) will be a C-(70) or better. You must score 70% or higher in order to move to English 201, 270, 271 or 272. That means, that discussions and peer reviews cannot make up for poor performance on your formal papers. In addition, you must submit all formal papers, including the Rewrite Paper in order to move forward.
• I expect that you will back up your papers and other assignments and/or store them on your hard drive AND a portable drive. It is your responsibility to keep track of this material--not mine.
• LATE WORK POLICY: I expect each final draft will be attached in the Assignments Tool link. You can either use the link provided in each module or go directly to the Assignments Tool in the left toolbar. To earn full credit, these submissions must be made by the date and time shown on the class calendar. Papers submitted after that date and time will lose 5 points per 24 hour period that they are late. To avoid losing points for late work, do not wait until the last minute to submit your work. Start early. Sometimes the technology takes longer than you think.  I do not accept papers submitted more than 72 hours (3 class days) late without my prior approved permission; therefore, given my policy (about submitting ALL papers), you will need to drop the class or fail if you miss even a single deadline.

That said, if a family emergency or medical situation arises, please contact me if you even suspect that you may not get your paper submitted on time. We can negotiate a later due date and save you the heartache of having to drop or fail the class. I am not without compassion here.  However, don't expect me to make last minute special arrangements for you or to re-arrange my work schedule because you failed to take responsibility for your work. You are in college, not high school. Be responsible here; it is your money and your GPA.

Please note that I cannot accept the Rewrite paper more than 24 hours after the due date posted on the class calendar due to grading deadlines.

• Personal conferences on your paper can be held in my office if you can/want to come to the campus and we can work out a mutually convenient time; otherwise, e-mail or local phone conferences can be held. Please contact me first to set up an appointment BEFORE coming to the campus.

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Student Code

I expect honesty. I expect that you will neither do work for others nor use work done by others. Cheating and/or plagiarizing will not be tolerated. Plagiarizing is cheating, as is copying answers on a test, glancing at nearby test papers, swapping papers, buying papers, using ideas from other sources without proper documentation, writing papers for others, or having them written for you.

When you submit your formal papers on the class website, they will automatically be submitted to turnitin.com (a plagiarism detection service). Do not get caught using other people's ideas or words without proper documentation. If you cheat or plagiarize, the following actions will be taken:

• You will receive a grade of "0" on the work (period).
• A report of the incident will be filed in the Dean of Students Office. This report may become part of your permanent record or the Dean may choose to pursue further disciplinary action at his discretion.
• If you are unclear about what constitutes plagiarism, please check out the follow from the Writing Lab: http://bellevuecollege.edu/writinglab/Plagiarism.html

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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

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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. Please note that Faculty are required to communicate with students through their BC College Email. To create your account, go to: https://bellevuecollege.edu/sam .

To access the MyBC student portal, where you access student e-mail and the campus network, go to the BC homepage: http://bellevuecollege.edu/ At the top of the web page, look for the MyBC link and click on it. Use your student e-mail address and password to access MyBC.

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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 us 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 me during the first week to develop a safety plan.

The DRC office is temporarily located in the Library Media Center (inside the Library) which is located in the D building. Or you can call their 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 that 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 members provide 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

No final exam is required for English 101.

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Bellevue College
URL: https://bc.instructure.com
Site Updated: 8/12/2013