English 201 Syllabus – The Research Paper

Fall 2013
Suzy Lepeintre
slepeint@bellevuecollege.edu  425-564-2406  Skype: suzylepeintre
Office Location: B200D        Office Hours:  10:30 - 11:30 Monday - Friday 

Course Materials

Tatum, B. (2003). Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?. Basic Books.
Graff, G., & Birkenstein, C. (2009). They Say I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. W. W. Norton
An APA style guide of your own choosing.

Course Outcomes

After completing this class, students should be able to write:

· An objective summary of college-level material which identifies primary and supporting assertions

· An evaluation of different types of evidence (i.e., tone/diction, logical reasoning)

· A synthesis of source material with own writing

· An original and clearly supported thesis

· Proper in-text citations and works-cited page

· A breadth of varied primary sources which demonstrates a familiarity with library research skills

How Outcomes Will Be Met - Course Organization 

English 201 teaches students about how to conduct and write about academic research.  

Research Assignments lead you through the steps for conducting both primary and secondary research then then writing a formal research report of your work.

Group Assignments teach you how to build literacy through research and seminar.  These assignments also teach you how to evaluate the academic credibility of your sources, paraphrase and summarize them appropriately, and then introduce them and cite them well.

Assignment Due Date Schedule

You will have major assignments due on Mondays and Fridays of each week.

Sunday
Monday	Research Assignments Due
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday	Group Assignments Due
Saturday

Research Assignments are worth 60% of your final grade.
Group Assignments are worth 15% of your final grade.
The Midterm is worth 15% of your grade.
FUN Assignments are worth 10% of your grade.

Research Assignments are very specific assignments that teach you the research process and teach you how to write the sections of a primary and secondary research paper.  All of these assignments build towards your final research paper, a major primary research paper including significant amounts of secondary research.  

Marius Assignments are designed to help you engage with your writing textbook A Writer's Companion by Richard Marius.  Marius Assignments are worth 10% of your final grade and receiving less than 50% of the possible points in this category will cause you to fail the course.

FUN Assignments are designed to create community and enhance learning.  These assignments are designed to increase your pleasure and not to stress you out.  Missing a few of these assignments will not hurt your grade.  Your lowest six scores in this category will be dropped.  Still, after these low scores are dropped, you will still need to have at least 50% of the remaining possible points in order to pass the class.

The Final Portfolio can potentially raise your final grade.  If the final portfolio illustrates a writing competency significantly improved over the rest of the quarter, you could receive up to a 1/2 grade higher final grade for the course.  If you do not submit an acceptable final portfolio, you risk having your final grade lowered by a full grade.  

Grading

92% = A

89% = A-

86% = B+

82% = B

78% = B-

75% = C+

71% = C

67% = C-

65% = D+

62% = D

60% = D-

Classroom Learning Atmosphere

What you can expect from me:   Struggle is part of learning.  I want you to struggle with some key concepts, approaches and skills.  But not all struggle is productive.  I do not want you to struggle with things that do not add to your learning.   You can depend on me to listen to you and your concerns.  I will make changes when you recommend it if it is clear those changes will reduce unproductive struggle for all students.  I will be present and responsive, but not available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Seek me out in person during my office hours (10:30 - 11:30 Mon-Fri, B200D at Bellevue College) or arrange a time to meet online by contacting me here in CANVAS (use the Inbox in the gray bar in the upper right hand corner of your screen) to schedule an appointment at least two days beforehand.   In general, look for me to interact online multiple times per day, Monday - Friday.  

What I expect from you:  Monitor your own internal processes and feelings.  Be mindful of your own response to others.  Suspend judgment.  Be authentically curious about others, their lives and their stories.  Understand that there are many valid interpretations or perceptions in any particular context.  Remember that a profound learner knows how to learn in any context from any person.  If you feel you aren't learning, look first to yourself and what you could do to improve your own learning.  That said, seek out help.  Respect yourself and respect others.

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

Policy Statements

You are responsible for understanding and adhering to college policies regarding student conduct and classroom behaviors.

· Arts and Humanities Policies - http://bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/policy.html

·  Information about Bellevue College's copyright guidelines can be found at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/lmc/links/copyright.html

· A good resource for Plagiarism is the Writing Lab:  http://bellevuecollege.edu/writinglab/Plagiarism.html

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

Other Important Links 

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 your individual instructors to develop a safety plan within the first week of the quarter.

The DRC office is located in the Library Media Center (D126) or you can call our reception desk at 425.564.2498.  Deaf students can reach us by video phone at 425-440-2025 or by TTY at 425-564-4110.  Please visit our website for application information into our 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

There is no final exam on this class.  Your Final Research Paper is due December 11th.

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.

· Enrollment Calendar - http://bellevuecollege.edu/enrollment/calendar/deadlines /. On this calendar you will find admissions and registration dates and important dates for withdrawing and receiving tuition refunds.

· College Calendar - http://bellevuecollege.edu/enrollment/calendar/holidays/0910.asp  . This calendar gives you the year at a glance and includes college holidays, scheduled closures, quarter end and start dates, and final exam dates.