English& 101: English Composition 1

Summer 2008

*Please do not contact me at my BCC address unless you cannot reach me on the class website.  

Introductory Remarks

English 101& is a completely online class; therefore, you are not required to attend classroom sessions. However, English 101& is not a correspondence course, completed on your own timetable in isolation. How much you learn will be directly proportional to how much you participate in the online community, how well you manage your time, and how well you follow written directions.  If you are not sure whether or not an online course is right for you, complete the following questionnaire:  http://distance-ed.bcc.ctc.edu/webassess/

Many people mistakenly believe that writing is a talent that some people are blessed with. But academic writing  is a skill, developed with practice in reading texts, analyzing texts, thinking through the texts and then lastly, writing the words down. Anyone with enough determination and effort can learn to communicate effectively in writing.

If you signed up for this course thinking that it would involve less work than a course in the classroom, you were mistaken.  Please be advised that the workload may be very difficult for you if work and family demands do not allow you a minimum of two to three uninterrupted hours every weekday to work on the assignments for this class.  If you are taking this class during summer quarter, which moves much more quickly, you should plan on spending even more time working on class assignments. 

How is English 101& different from high school English?

The kind of intellectual and creative work required of students in this first-year college writing course is rigorous and challenging; it does not duplicate the curriculum of high school language arts classes. The course aims to build on and, more importantly, extend students' prior knowledge and experience of writing as a vehicle for learning and critical inquiry. In a nutshell, the course offers students instruction and practice in:

• Developing a thoughtful and informed perspective on the subject at hand.

• Examining the reasons for their thinking, and showing or explaining how or why they came to hold such a perspective.

• Situating their perspective in the context of other perspectives on the same or similar subjects.

• Communicating their perspective clearly and effectively through written texts to their designated audiences.

Course Outcomes:

By the end of the quarter, each of you should be able to:

• Demonstrate various invention practices:  brainstorming, free writing; outlining, journaling
• Demonstrate ability to write in various modes: personal narrative, expository, analytical, descriptive, argument
• Demonstrate the phases of writing: draft, revision, final copy
• Explore sources of writing: reading, thinking, analyzing, discussion
• Create a thesis statement that suggests the focus of the paper; does not point out the obvious, and is written as a sentence.
• Develop and include enough details and examples to support the identified thesis and reinforce focus
• Demonstrate various patterns of organization and
  use the organization pattern that suits your identified purpose & audience.
• Illustrate the concept of Audience in your writing.
• Artfully combine Audience, Purpose, and Tone in compositions written in and outside of class
• Write in a vocabulary appropriate to your subject and identified audience.
• Begin and conclude a paper effectively.
• Show effective control of mechanics: paragraphing, punctuation, spelling.
• Differentiate between key ideas and supporting details in reading
• Locate the thesis statement in reading assignments
• Practice good group skills: how to give useful feedback, and how to make use of feedback you receive
• Develop self-assessment skills

Student Responsibilities

1. Technology requirements: First and probably most important, the student enrolled in this course MUST have a reliable computer and some attendant software and services, including a word processor, an Internet Service Provider, and a browser service.
2. Computer skills: Some critical skills you must have include: uploading and downloading files, following written directions, attaching files to e-mail messages, and knowing how your browser and computer system work. 
3. Computer problems: Keep me informed if you have problems, and I will try to find help for you.  I am no computer expert, so--unless the server is malfunctioning--it is your responsibility to get any technological problems worked out.
4. Daily logins: To be successful in an online course, you must be self-motivated and work independently.  I strongly recommend that you login daily (particularly during the week), check your course mailbox and the calendar to see what assignments you should be working on.  
5. "Netiquette" (Courtesy Expectations): This class is conducted entirely online, yet I expect you to be as courteous and respectful to me and to your classmates as you would be in person in a classroom setting. Emails and discussion board posts cannot be taken back. So, please write all of your correspondence with care and courtesy; don't send emails or posts that you might later regret - in terms of content, words, and tone. A good test is, "Would I say that in person, in exactly those words, to my professor or classmate I don't know well? How would I react if I were on the receiving end?" (Also keep in mind that even if you're thick-skinned, many of your classmates are not and shouldn't have to be here.) Another good rule of thumb: Before sending something, write it up, save it, go away for an hour or more, then re-read it before posting.
6. Content Appropriateness: Where any type of assignment for this course is concerned, no sexual or sexually suggestive content will be tolerated.  Any such assignments will receive a zero and be forwarded to the Dean of Students for disciplinary action.

Instructor responsibilities

1. Communication:  If you send me a message through the course mailbox or the discussion area, you can expect me to respond within 24 hours on weekdays.  If you send a message on weekends (which begin on Fridays during summer quarter), you can expect me to respond to you by Monday morning. 
2. Feedback:  During the opening weeks of the course, you can expect some feedback from me for just about every assignment.  I want to make sure that you understand my expectations and the instructions.  Later in the course, I focus primarily on your papers, so I will not provide as much feedback about discussions, peer reviews, and other assignment postings (though I will continue to evaluate and grade them).  
3. Deadlines:  Deadlines (due dates and times) are posted on the course calendar.  You will discover early on that I am firm about them.  If you try to post assignments after the deadline listed on the course calendar, you may find that the discussion has been locked to prevent late postings.  I'm not trying to be punitive, but I cannot grade discussions while people are continuing to post.  See below for my policy on late papers.

What assignments will be graded for this course?

Papers  

You will write three 1000-word papers in this class. The process for writing, revising and submitting work is on a tight timeline. Don't fail to meet these deadlines. The process will look like this for all papers except the revisions:

1. You will post an original draft of each paper to the discussion area by the date on the calendar.  To post your draft and participate in peer reviews, your rough draft must be at least 700 words in length.  Papers that are submitted to me for a grade, but have not been previously posted for peer review (that includes rough drafts that are shorter than 700 words), will be dropped 10%.
2. While you wait for comments on your paper, you will give peer comments, as described below, on two other group members' papers which have been posted.
3. After giving comments, collect your comments and revise your paper. Then, revise and edit your paper before submitting it to me by the date and time listed on the calendar.

Paper Grades:

• Your papers will be graded based on the standards posted under the "Grading Standards" link on the homepage.
• You MUST average a C- or better (70%) on the papers and revisions in order to pass this class. Points from peer review and discussions are important, but if your papers do not average a C- or better, you will not pass the class.
• Each paper is worth 25 points.  
• Late papers, those submitted after the deadline posted on the calendar, will be dropped 10% for each day that they are submitted late.  Papers more than 48 hours late will not be accepted.
• For each paper you do not submit, your final course grade will drop one letter grade.  For example, if you have earned a "B" grade in the course, but you never turned in paper 3, your final grade will be dropped from a B to a C.

Points available for papers: 75 points 

Revisions:  Please note that you are required to substantially revise two papers this quarter.  Each revision is worth 100 points. The grades for the two revisions will erase the original grade.  Rewrites must demonstrate substantial revision--that means rethinking ideas, addressing my previous comments and suggestions, not just adding a few sentences or fixing superficial errors--or the original grade could be lowered.  

Revision points available: 200

Peer Reviews: Much of what you will learn in this course will come from participating in a peer review of others' papers. To participate successfully, you must complete the following tasks by the deadline stated on the course calendar: 

1. Review two other students' papers using the Peer Review tool .  You MUST use this assessment tool to earn full credit for comments on student papers (3 points possible for each completed peer review).  
2. Post this specific feedback on the two papers in the appropriate discussion areas. Directions for how to post your peer comments are given. 
3. Determine whose reviews have been the most thorough by assigning (dividing up) a total of 3 points to your assigned peer group members.  Send an email to me explaining whom you have given the points to and why.  You should assign these points not on whether or not you like what the reviewer said, but based on the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of the reviewer.

Peer review points available: 27 points

Discussions & Seminars: Instructions and requirements for participating in discussions are posted in the learning modules.  Points vary for each assignment.

Discussion points available: up to 50