Syllabus: Writing Poetry
Winter 2013
English 247/248/249, Section ODS
Sections:
1168/1169/1170
Instructor: Martha Silano
E-mail: msilano@bellevuecollege.edu
(preferred method of communication)
Phone: (425) 564-2078 (messages
forwarded to my campus email address)
Office location/hours: N/A – this is
a 100% online course; instructor can be reached online through Canvas and/or
Skype
Course Information
Course
Outcomes
By the end of the quarter,
each of you should be able to:
v
Identify poems written in free-verse and fixed forms—noting their
particular rhyme schemes, metrical patterns, sonic techniques, and other poetic
devices—and be adept at identifying specific patterns of word choice, meter and
rhyme (pantoum, sonnet, etc.);
v
Identify and capitalize on strategies (such as journaling, timed
writings, the use of writing prompts, freewriting,
lowered expectations, scheduled writing times, etc.) in which you are more
successfully able to draft, revise, and complete your own poems;
v
Complete assigned creative work in a timely fashion, submitting it
on scheduled due dates;
v
Assess creative works of your peers, offering positive, specific,
and helpful feedback for revision in a timely and respectful fashion;
v
Increase your understanding of writing as a process, with
first-hand knowledge that poems often require weeks or months of revision
before reaching a state of completion;
v
Demonstrate proficient participation in an active online writing
community, including posting timely and engaging responses to discussion
questions and to your peers’ posts, as well as positing your own questions
about the works being studied and analyzed;
v
Appreciate that poems are written in a wide array of styles and
voices and modes by writers who vary greatly in their ethnicity, cultural
background, sexual orientation, age, class, gender, and physical abilities;
v
Demonstrate, both with one’s peers and while studying the work of
professional poets, the ability to entertain multiple perspectives,
experiences, imaginative abilities, and situations vastly different from one’s
own in the interest of fostering inclusivity and open-mindedness;
v
Self-assess your process and progress in becoming a writer of
poetry.
How
Outcomes will be met
This is a 100% online course. That means that all of the work for
this class will be conducted online through Canvas Bellevue College’s online
learning delivery system. Using Canvas, the instructor will facilitate the
following methods and practices to assist students in achieving the stated
English 247/8/9 course outcomes: short written and videotaped lectures,
critical analysis of assigned readings, small and large group online discussions,
peer reviews of draft poems, an essay about a chosen poet, an essay about a
live poetry reading you attend, submission of revised poems, along with a final
portfolio, and other relevant activities. In addition, the instructor will
provide prompt and instructive feedback on weekly discussions, journal entries,
peer reviews, and submitted writing assignments.
Weekly Structure of Course: the week generally runs from Monday morning through Friday
midnight
Early in the week:
Complete the assigned reading; post your assigned discussion
response; begin brainstorming, freewriting, and
drafting your weekly poem.
Early Midweek:
Post two required comments to the weekly discussion thread; post
your rough draft poem.
Late Midweek:
Provide two detailed peer reviews of your group mates’ posted
draft poems.
End of Week:
Continue Peer Review of weekly assigned poem; submit your weekly
journal entry and finalized poem or revision packet to the instructor by
midnight.
Point Designations for
Assignments & Activities |
Weekly Private Journal Entries 100 points (10 x 10) |
Weekly Online Discussion Questions (in response to reading) 100
points (10 x 10) |
Weekly Peer Review (post rough draft & post comments) 200
points (20 x 10) |
Summary/response re: a live poetry reading 100 points |
Revision 1 (3 poems) 100 points |
Revision 2 (3 add’l poems) 100 points |
Essay re: a contemporary poet 100 points |
Final Portfolio 200 points |
Total: 1,000 points |
Grading
FINAL
GRADING SCALE (BASED ON 1,000 POINTS):
Letter Grade |
Number Grade |
# of Points |
A |
4.0-3.8 |
1000-930 |
A- |
3.7-3.4 |
929-890 |
B+ |
3.3-3,1 |
889-860 |
B |
3.0-2.8 |
859-820 |
B- |
2.7-2.4 |
819-790 |
C+ |
2.3-2.1 |
789-760 |
C |
2.0-1.8 |
759-730 |
C- |
1.7-1.4 |
729-690 |
D+ |
1.3-1.1 |
689-660 |
D |
1.0 |
659-650 |
F |
649 & below |
The link to 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.
Books
and Materials Required
REQUIRED TEXT:
Kowit, Steve. In the Palm of Your Hand: The Poet’s
Portable Workshop. Maine: Tilbury House: 2007.
ISBN: 13-978-0-88448-149-2
RECOMMENDED TEXTS:
Grammar
book, dictionary, & thesaurus.
OPTIONAL TEXT:
Wooldridge,
Susan Goldsmith. Poemcrazy: freeing your life with words. New
York: Three Rivers Press: 1996. ISBN: 0-609-80098-1
RECOMMENDED SUPPLIES: writing notebook; file or computer folders for organizing
free writes, drafts, and revisions, etc.; calendaring device for listing
assignment and due date reminders.
Classroom Learning Atmosphere
Instructor’s
Expectations
I ask that you participate actively (and to your best ability) in
each day’s assigned activities. Chronic Internet outages, travel, and/or lack
of participation and/or posting for myriad reasons will likely lead to a
lowered grade in this course.
I do not provide make-up
work. That means that if you do not turn in assignments and participate
in discussions during any given week, you forever lose the opportunity to
receive credit for that missed work. Additionally, journal entries, discussion
comments and peer review posts that do not reflect engagement and effort will
be marked down accordingly and cannot be revised.
Guidelines for Submitting
Late Assignments:
Journal entries will be marked down one (1) point per day for up
to 48 hours (2 days). After two (2) days, journal entries will not be accepted.
Submissions of major writing assignments (including poems,
revisions, papers) will lose ten (10) points per day they are late, for up to
three (3) days past the due date. After three days, late submissions will not
be accepted.
As they no longer have a functional use for students accessing the
course site, late peer review and discussion postings will not be graded.
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
Plagiarism
All assignments you complete for this course must present your own
ideas in your own words. If you copy someone’s exact words, you must put them
in quotation marks. Even if you summarize or paraphrase someone else’s ideas or
facts, you are obligated to cite the source of those facts and ideas, that is,
tell us where you found your ideas/facts. You will receive instruction
regarding the basic conventions for citing your sources using MLA (Modern
Language Association) citation guidelines.
I will not accept writing of any kind that you have downloaded
from the Internet or copied from someone else, an essay you wrote for an
earlier class, or an essay or poem in which you present someone else’s words or
ideas as your own.
Written work that does not present your own ideas in your own
words or essays in which you do not cite your sources are considered to be
plagiarized. If you plagiarize, you will receive a zero for the assignment or
assignment sequence. If you plagiarize a second time, you will fail the course.
Please note that once it is determined that your work is not your own, I will
not negotiate a plan for relieving yourself of the consequences of your
actions. For a more detailed explanation of plagiarism, read the official
policy of the Division of Arts and Humanities: "Student Procedures and Expectations"
. http://bellevuecollege.edu/ArtsHum/policy.html
Unintentional plagiarism is still
considered plagiarism and is punishable; saying you did not know you were
plagiarizing is not an acceptable defense. Just in case a question of ownership
arises, print out or save incremental drafts of your work often, keeping them
in a file, folder, or binder.
Information about Bellevue College's copyright guidelines can be
found at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/lmc/links/copyright.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
Conduct Code/Classroom Atmosphere
As this is a 200-level
college course, I expect students to conduct themselves as mature adults. You
can help to create a positive learning environment by respecting others’ voices
and views; completing assignments promptly and conscientiously; participating
to the online discussions with a good attitude and an open mind; and accepting
and giving feedback graciously. You will be expected to comport
yourself in an inclusive and thoughtful manner when participating in
discussions and peer reviews. Please join me in making the atmosphere in this
class supportive, comfortable, and positive. While communicating online, the
same level of respect and courtesy applies. Don’t say anything in writing that you would not say directly to someone’s
face in person (ftf). Let’s strive to be kind and
respectful this quarter as we provide constructive feedback and create and
sustain an enriching and productive learning community.
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
Values
Conflicts
Essential to a liberal arts education is an open-minded tolerance
for ideas and modes of expression that might conflict with one’s personal
values. By being exposed to such ideas or expressions, students are not
expected to endorse or adopt them but rather to understand that they are part
of the free flow of information upon which higher education depends.
To this end, you may find that class requirements may include
engaging certain materials, such as books, films, and art work, which may, in
whole or in part, offend you. These materials are equivalent to required texts
and are essential to the course content. If you decline to engage the required
material by not reading, viewing, or performing material you consider
offensive, you will still be required to meet class requirements in order to
earn credit. This may require responding to the content of the material, and
you may not be able to fully participate in required class discussions, exams,
or assignments.
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: The DRC 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. The DRC office is located in
B 132 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 examination for
this course. A final portfolio of the student’s best work, including drafts
leading up to the finalized versions, along with a detailed self-assessment of
the student’s progress, will be submitted during the final week of the quarter,
and is worth 200 points/20% of the final course grade.
Final examination schedule: 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.
Course Calendar
The
Course Calendar, including all assignment due dates, is available on the Canvas
course website.