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.