English 201 – The Research Paper
English 201 – Fall 2013
|
Instructor:
Karrin Peterson |
Textbook:
Axelrod
& Cooper’s Concise Guide to Writing (Sixth Edition) Authors:
Axelrod and Cooper ISBN 978-0-312-66890-2 |
|
Preferred
class e-mail: Canvas
e-mail Campus
e-mail: kpeterso@bellevuecollege.edu |
Campus
telephone: (425)
564-2244 |
Course
Outcomes & How They Will Be Met
By the end of
this quarter, you should be able to write a humanities-style research paper
that includes as part of its composition or process:
Grading
Grades will
be based upon the pre-writing assignments, peer editing, and demonstrating that
you did the required reading work (by writing effectively in the manner
assigned). The break down on points follows.
Essay
assignments and grade point totals:
500 total
grade points possible.
GRADES: A =
500-460; A- = 459-450; B+ = 449-435; B = 434-410; B- = 409-385; C+ =
384-362; C = 361-339; C- = 338-316; D+ = 315-293; D = 292-270; D- = 269-247; F
= 247- and below.
Our course
website will have the grades for your assignments linked to the grade book on
Canvas. You will be able to view your progress on all assignments in the
grade book as the quarter progresses. This will allow you to know how well you
are doing at any moment.
My Grading
Habits
I do not
grade on a pre-determined curve. A review of my grading would show that grades
in the B range (B+, B, B-) predominate. I therefore expect most of my students
in this course will have grades above the C range. Some students will probably
have grades in the A range. However, others may have grades in the C range. Do
not feel discouraged. I consider C and C+ writing as entirely respectable for
college students. We grow in our writing ability as we meet the challenges of
reading and writing in a wide variety of college level courses.
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.
Late Work
& Missing Work
After five
days, if you do not turn the assignment in, you can still be failed in the
entire course.
If you have
problems meeting deadlines for “good cause,” communicate with me at once by
e-mail.
Failure to
communicate with me in advance that you will be unable to meet the due
deadlines of the class may result in a failing grade for the course, at my
discretion, and based upon my judgment that you could have responsibly notified
me of your conflict and situation. In other words, if you communicate
responsibly, I will be much more amenable to helping you resolve your conflict
by using the grade options available to us or by allowing you to make up missed
work.
Part of
college is learning to be a responsible and competent employee; therefore,
responsible interaction with me is an “un-graded” part of this course. I expect all my students to treat the course
as both an opportunity for learning and an obligation for performance—and act
professionally. Frankly, given that you
have paid a lot of money for the course, and you want to learn something that
will help you become more employable in the future, not attempting to learn all
that you can does not make sense to your future well-being. Failure to meet the obligations for your
learning is a choice you are always free to make as adult learners, but making
this choice will result in a lower grade than you might have otherwise had and,
thereby, waste time and money on your part.
How to
Turn in Assignments
You are
required to use Canvas to submit all written assignments.
Class
Attendance Requirements and Make-up Work
I do not
allow the makeup of missed peer editing. You should, therefore, anticipate
your absences and work conflicts and submit the peer editing assignments early.
If this will present very substantial problems online students, you may work
out with me, in advance, an arrangement to do your work and submit everything
on the weekends.
In my online
classes, attendance means I see you online regularly doing the required
postings and work in a timely manner. (Canvas tracks how many times students
sign online each quarter. And yes, I check from time to time.)
Online
Students Need Not Read the Next 2 Paragraphs: In my live and hybrid classes, attendance is up to you. I
take roll to see who is present, but I will not fail you for non-attendance as
long as you are turning in the required work in a timely manner. That said,
I have consistently seen a strong correlation between the quality of student
work and class attendance. I encourage you to attend regularly; such
behavior is in your best interests.
I find that
students who are late disrupt the classroom and our activities. Please be on
time as a professional courtesy to your timely peers and the educational
process. I expect you to be on time to class for my live and hybrid classes.
Rewritten
Work
You may
choose to rewrite one (1) of the three (3) first major written assignments
(those with grades worth more than 50 points) that received a C- or lower
grade. You MUST submit the revision within one week of receiving the graded
assignment back. The assignment must have been submitted on time, and not
in the two day grace period. The scores will be averaged.
You may not
revise the last two essays submitted, as there is no time for you to do this
before grades are due. In essence, the last two essays are like a final exam –
they should reflect what you have learned throughout the quarter.
Books and
Materials Required for the Course
The textbook is
available through the BC Bookstore. You will be asked to read, either carefully
or quickly, many of the chapters in this textbook. Some chapters will not be
assigned.
You may
purchase your textbook online, if you have not already done so. Go to the BC
bookstore home page, http://bookstore.BC.ctc.edu/.
From there, click <Textbooks> on the boxes in the upper left hand corner
of the homepage. Follow the directions given for online book ordering and
registration. You may also personally buy your books at the bookstore. You can
find store information and hours of operation on the course website.
You must have
access to a computer. If you do not own one, you are entitled to use the
computers in the N building student computer lab. This lab is large, but works
on a first come, first serve basis. During certain times in the quarter, the
lab does fill up.
Classroom
Learning Atmosphere-- Instructor’s Expectations
Reading
Standards
In general,
devote as much time as you can to reading, and pay close attention to the good
instructions you get in your textbook. Remember that close reading requires
concentration and reflection. You will be accountable, with respect to grades,
for producing writing that conforms to the standards and techniques set out in
the readings. You should also read all supplemental material provided by
me carefully and follow the instructions exactly.
The
Relationship Between In Class Work and Home Work
This class is
set up to be a writing workshop (this is true for online, hybrid, and live
classes). Your readings support your writing processes and you will be held
responsible for applying those concepts to your writing. We will work
with the general concepts discussed in your text in a practical manner as we
develop your writings in our classroom. I will be available to address
any questions you have about the concepts you read about in class and via
e-mail, or if this is a Canvas class, via the Discussion pages and e-mail tools
there.
Special
Advice for Live or Hybrid Classes Only – Online Students Need Not Read This Paragraph:For you to succeed in this class, you
will need to be self motivated about completing your
readings and coming to class (both live and hybrid) prepared to engage in the
writing seminar format that we have for our class this quarter. If you do
this, I guarantee that you will learn how to produce effective writing.
If you do not prepare in this manner, the course format will not be helpful to
you since you will be “lost” as the class engages in the writing workshop
activities.
Retaining
Student Work
I am free to
destroy or delete any student work not downloaded from Canvas during the first
week of the quarter following the quarter of your course. Therefore, I
advise you to keep a copy of all your work on your personal computer systems.
Student
Responsibility to Ensure Communications Are Successful
It is your
responsibility to verify that all assignments are actually received by me. You
may do this by simply checking to see that Turnitin.com lists your paper as
having been uploaded.
It is your
responsibility to initiate communication about progress or concerns you may
have with the course materials or assignments. I am under no obligation
to inform you that work is overdue, to nag you to complete assignments, or to
call you if you fail to attend class. Similarly, you need to keep
yourself informed about syllabus changes that may have been made and posted on
Canvas. If you are in a hybrid or live class, I suggest finding a partner
the first week of classes and keeping each other up to date if one of you is
absent.
Values
Conflicts
Essential to
a liberal arts education is an open-minded tolerance for ideas and modes of
expression which 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. Consult the syllabus and discuss such issues with the
instructor.
Use of
Computers, Communication Devices, and MP3 Players in Live and Hybrid Classes –
Online Students Need Not Read
If your MP3
player is being used during a group work time, and it is not audible to other
students, listening is your business. I prefer not to see MP3 players
being used during lecture and illustration times. I am very likely to ask
you to turn the devices off.
You may bring
a laptop into class. You may have the laptop open and running during
lecture and illustration times for the purpose of taking notes. However, if I
catch you doing non-class related activities, I will ask you to turn the
device off.
Please set
your cell phones to silent mode during our class. The use of cell phones or
other communications devices during class is not allowed, unless they contain
your prewriting materials and you are using these devices for the writing
seminar.
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
Division Statements
Academic
Honesty for Arts and Humanities Students
The principle
of academic honesty underlies all that we do and applies to all courses at
Bellevue Community College. One kind of academic dishonesty is
plagiarism, which may take many forms, including, but not limited to, using a
paper written by someone else, using printed sources word-for-word without
proper documentation, and paraphrasing or summarizing the ideas of others
without acknowledging the source. Plagiarism can also occur when
non-written ideas are taken without documentation--using someone else's design
or performance idea, for example. In short, plagiarism is passing off
someone else's ideas, words, or images as your own; it amounts to intellectual
theft--whether or not it was your intention to steal. BC instructors have
access to commercial plagiarism detection software, so please be advised that
any work you submit may be tested for plagiarism.
Participating
in academic dishonesty in any way, including writing a paper or taking a test
for someone else, may result in severe penalties. Dishonestly produced
papers automatically receive a grade of "F" without the possibility
of make-up. The Dean of Student Services may also be notified of such
conduct, and repetition of the behavior may result in progressively more
serious disciplinary action (for example, an instructor may recommend that the
student fail the course for a second offense or even that a student be expelled
for a serious offense, such as stealing an exam).
Grades
lowered for plagiarism or other forms of dishonesty may be appealed through the
regular channels, and any further disciplinary action taken by the Dean may
also be appealed through existing processes.
Students in
all classes should note that documentation is a major objective of the course,
so failure to scrupulously document supporting material in your papers may
result in a failing grade for that entire course. Students in all courses
requiring research papers should also note that matters of documentation form
go beyond editing; they are closely related to the content of the paper.
Improper form in research papers is grounds for failing the paper
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/asc/writing/essays-guides/documents/plagiarism.pdf
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
I will use a
plagiarism checking source at my discretion (usually Turnitin.com).
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.
You are
now required to create and use your student e-mail account for all official
college correspondence. Please see that new policy on the BC College homepage.
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 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
Final exams
are held the last week of the quarter for all credit classes. The
following link will take you to the webpage where you will find the schedule
for final exams: http://bellevuecollege.edu/courses/exams/
Online classes do not have a set
finals time. I typically end the class the last day of live instruction at
midnight.
Academic
Calendars
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/1213.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.
Our class
calendar is located on our course homepage in the form of pages that lay out a
Daily Reading and Assignment Calendar and here in this Syllabus (which contains
the due dates for all major written assignments).
|
Weeks |
Assignments |
Due
Dates |
Required
Readings |
|
|
1 |
9/23 – 9/29 |
|
9/29 |
|
|
2 |
9/30 – 10/6 |
|
10/6 |
|
|
3 |
10/7 –
10/13 |
|
|
|
|
4 |
10/14 –
10/20 |
|
10/20 |
|
|
5 |
10/21 –
10/27 |
|
-Argument
Essay due 11/10 -AB due
10/27 |
|
|
6 |
10/28 –
11/3 |
|
|
|
|
7 |
11/4 –
11/10 |
|
11/10 |
|
|
8 |
11/11 –
11/17 |
|
-Solution
Essay due 12/3 -AB due
11/17 |
|
|
9 |
11/18 –
11/24 |
|
|
|
|
10 |
11/25 –
12/1 |
Thanksgiving
Break
|
|
|
|
11 |
12/2 – 12/8 |
|
Solution
Essay due 12/3 |
|
|
12 |
12/9 -
Finals |
|
Day of
scheduled final |
|