English 201 - Writing
the Research Paper
Fall Quarter 2013
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Instructor: Steve
Yarborough |
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Office: R230R Campus E-mail:
syarboro@bellevuecollege.edu (emergencies) Phone: (425)
564-3095 |
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Barnet and Bedau, Current Issues and Enduring Questions, 9th ed Palmquist, The Bedford Researcher,4th ed |
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Introductory Remarks
This English 201
course is taught completely online; you are not required to attend classroom
sessions on campus. However, this is not a correspondence course, completed on
your own timetable in isolation. There are specific deadlines, and you will be
communicating with your instructor and classmates regularly.
At the end of this
course, students will be able to write a humanities-style research paper which
includes as part of its composition or process:
·
Write an objective
summary of a complex college level essay
·
Critically evaluate
source material, in terms of style, tone, logic, overall persuasiveness
·
Write a critical
analysis of source material
·
Synthesize source
material and integrate it into students’ writing smoothly and appropriately
·
Be comfortable using
outside sources and materials
·
Use an appropriate
note-taking system
·
Cite sources properly,
both in text and on Works Cited pages
·
Be able to develop,
organize and support a clearly defined thesis in a 8-10 page research paper
·
Have a firm grasp of
grammar and mechanics and be able to edit own work
If you signed up for
this course thinking that it would have less work than a course in the
classroom, you were mistaken. Any online course has more writing work than a
class on campus as all of our communication must be written. Please be advised
that the workload may be very difficult for you if work and/or family demands
do not allow you a minimum of two to three uninterrupted hours
every weekday to work on the assignments for this class. I have tried to focus
and space assignments to facilitate as many learning styles as possible, but
extra time may be needed, especially around paper writing/editing time.
Instructor
Expectations
As you know, every teacher
has expectations. These are mine.
1. I expect that you signed up for this course
because you want to learn. In this case, I hope you want to learn
about the genres of fiction. Therefore, I expect that you will complete the
work I have created to teach you these skills.
2. I expect that you have come to this class with
a working usage of modern English grammar and a writing level equal to BC’s
English 101. I encourage you to utilize the Writing Lab's virtual tutor or go to the Writing Lab on campus for
help with grammar or other writing problems. Major grammatical or other writing
errors will diminish you grade on essays and exams.
3. I expect that you will participate in all
class activities. You must complete every assignment in a timely manner to pass
this course.
4. I expect that you will take care to back up
your papers and journal assignments on more than one disk and/or store them on
your hard drive AND a disk or other portable media. It is your
responsibility to keep track of this material. If some computer catastrophe
should occur, you will still be responsible for producing the work by the due
date in order to get a grade. Be careful--save and back your work up
regularly!
5. I expect that you will show respect to
everyone by responding to e-mail and discussion postings in a way that is not judgmental,
degrading, or derogatory. Even though we may disagree with the interpretations
of others, please use some self-restraint and compassion in dealing with these
issues. Logical and questioning responses are encouraged. Choose your words and
the tone of your message with utmost care. I also expect tolerance for others'
abilities and learning styles. Please notify me immediately if you feel another
student has not extended these courtesies to you.
7. I expect each assignment will be submitted to
the appropriate locations and in the manner specified by the date shown on the
specific assignment page and the class calendar. Assignments submitted after
that date will lose 10% for each 24 hour period that they are late. I will not
accept assignments more than three days late. Do not wait until the last minute
to submit your work to avoid losing points for late work.
8. I expect honesty. I expect that you will neither
do work for others nor use work done by others. Recycling essays used in
other courses is considered cheating. Cheating and/or plagiarizing will
not be tolerated. Plagiarizing is cheating, as is copying answers on a test,
borrowing passages from other papers, swapping papers, buying papers, using
ideas from other sources without proper documentation, writing papers for
others, or having them written for you. BC utilizes plagiarism detection
software, and all assignments will be submitted. If you cheat or plagiarize,
the following actions will be taken:
o
You will receive a
grade of "0" on the work (no exceptions).
o
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.
9. Personal conferences can be held in my office
if you can come to the campus at a convenient time; otherwise, an e-mail
conference can be held. You will NOT be able to just “catch me” in my office so
please contact me first to set up an appointment BEFORE coming to the campus.
What do I have to do
for this course?
Grading
Short Discussion
Papers (4 at 25 each)
100
Weekly Discussions (10
at 15 each)
150
Response Paper
50
Short Argument
200
Weekly Quizzes
100
Informative Research
Paper
100
Research Project
300
Total
1000
To figure out your
grade at any time, simply divide the total points you have earned by the total
points you have submitted to that point. I use standard percentage markings:
94-100% = A, 90-93% =
A-, 87-89% = B+, 84-86% = B, 80-83% = B-, and so on. ..
You must complete all
assignments to receive a passing grade in this course. The instructor reserves the right to adjust
assignments or points as needed throughout the quarter. Students will be
notified when this happens.
Reading: There will be a tremendous amount of
reading in this course. The average amount is 20 pages per day. I strongly
suggest that you read these pages as early in the week as possible. Your best
plan is to read them the weekend before so that you will be ready to
participate in the Weekly Discussions.. There is no point value for reading (I
can’t exactly look over your shoulder while you do it) but every assignment is
based upon the reading. DO THE READING.
Discussion Papers: Every OTHER week you will write a short
(2-5 paragraphs) Discussion Paper. Typically, these papers get posted by Sunday
before each new week begins. The majority of each week’s discussion will focus
on these papers so they MUST be posted on time. Each student will be assigned a
group and those groups will alternate posted papers each week.
You can find specific
instructions for these papers here: Discussion Papers
Discussion: You are required to participate in
discussions every week. Grading for each weekly discussion will be purely
subjective. You will be graded based upon the depth and quality of your
participation, not the number of times you post. However, you must respond
to at least three Discussion Papers each week in order to
achieve ANY credit.
You can find specific
instructions for these discussions here: Weekly Discussions
Papers: You will write 1 response paper (1-2
pages), 1 informative research paper (3-4 pages), and 1 short formal academic
paper (3-4 pages) in this class plus a final large (8-10 page) research paper.
Each paper must follow these rules
1. Directions for submitting your final draft to
me are posted in the Course Info. Once the paper crosses my virtual
"desk," its grade is permanent.
2. Only original work is acceptable. That
means that YOU wrote it and that you wrote it specifically for this course.
Recycled papers will not be accepted.
3. All essay assignments must be double spaced
with a 12-point font and no extra space between paragraphs. Indent the
first line of each new paragraph.
4. A cover page only for essays that are longer
four full pages.
5. If sources are required, you must use MLA
format.
You can find sample
research essay on pages 313-325 in Current Issues and pages
317-321 in The Bedford Researcher. Take note of not just the
content but also the format. We will be learning to follow the rules of MLA
formatting so you will need to make sure that your essays look just like
these. Written assignments must be submitted by midnight on the due
date.
Weekly Quizzes: Every Friday there will be a quiz on
the reading from that week. Quizzes will be short answer and multiple
choice. They are not very long and should be quite easy IF you have done
the reading. The quizzes will be available all day Friday but they cannot
be made up. You MUST complete them each Friday.