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Instructors: |
Gurpreet Erickson
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Room: |
L222 |
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g.erickson@bellevuecollege.edu
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Time: |
M-F 9:30am-12:00pm |
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Office: |
R230 |
Office Hours: |
by appointment (please e-mail me) |
TEXTBOOKS: (Available at the BCC bookstore) No used books!
▪ Ready to Write 3: From Paragraph to Essay, 3rd ed. by Blanchard & Root, 2010.
▪ Grammar for Writing 2: An Editing Guide to Writing by Cain, 2012.
Course Description
This course is designed to help you strengthen your academic reading and writing skills. We will work on writing, grammar, vocabulary, and basic reading skills. We will focus on the process of writing an essay, including having a clear thesis statement, organizing ideas, writing in essay format, and revising essays. You will write several multi-draft essays throughout the quarter. We will learn about and write different essay styles such as logical division, compare/contrast, cause/effect, and summaries. There will also be in-class timed writing tests, grammar quizzes, a midterm written exam, and a final written exam.
Cell Phone Policy
Cell phones are NOT ALLOWED at any time during class for any reason, this includes cell phone dictionaries. Turn off your cell phone before you enter the classroom and do not use your cell phone at all during class. If I see you using your cell phone at any time during class, I will take it and keep it until the end of class. If I see you using your cell phone during a test, you may receive an F for that assignment.
Learning Outcomes
In this course, you will learn how to:
- Produce edited sentences that are virtually error free
- Demonstrate and apply the process of writing an essay from generating ideas through draft writing and revision to producing a final, polished essay
- Understand and produce the rhetorical modes of process, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect
- Produce an accurate paraphrase
- Produce an accurate summary
- Develop ideas in paragraph form in correct response to questions based on a reading
- Produce accurate, clear and succinct sentence answers to test questions
- Demonstrate understanding of the purpose, form, and content of introductory and concluding paragraphs in an essay
- Develop ideas with substance and coherence using details and examples, facts, opinions, and anecdotes to support the thesis
- Write thesis statements that are complete and clear and give the essay focus
- Write topic sentences that give each paragraph clear and appropriate focus
- Demonstrate and apply knowledge of sentence variety
- Incorporate editing and proofreading skills into the writing process
Specific Grammar Points
- Identify and form logical complex sentences with adverb clauses of condition
- Identify and form logical complex sentences with adjective clauses
- Identify and form logical complex sentences with noun clauses
- Form sentences with reported speech
- Form sentences with quoted speech
- Recognize and use verb and pronoun consistency
- Form sentences beginning with prepositional phrases and infinitive phrases of purpose
- Differentiate between phrases and clauses with the following expressions:
despite, in spite of, despite the fact that, in spite of the fact that
- Form equal comparative forms with “as”
- Produce logical sentences using the sentence connectors nevertheless, nonetheless, thus, otherwise, on the contrary, indeed, and actually
Attendance
It is important for you to come to every class session, come to class on time, and stay for the entire class period. Attendance will affect your final grade.
▪ Students who miss class 11 times or more will receive a grade of “F” and will be dismissed from the program at the end of the quarter.
▪ Students who miss class 10 times will receive a grade of “F.”
▪ Students who miss class 8 or 9 times will receive a grade of no higher than a “D.”
▪ Three tardies (arriving late) of 5 minutes or more will equal 1 absence.
Grading
Your final grade in this class will be based on the following:
1) Participation
2) Homework Assignments
3) Grammar Quizzes
4) In-class Writing Tests
5) Take-home Writing Assignments
6) Midterm and Final Exams: There will be a midterm exam and a final exam. Early or late exams will not be given.
Special Note on Final Exam: If you do not receive a passing grade on your final exam (or if you do not take the final exam), your class grade will be lowered one letter grade.
In order to pass this class, your class average on homework, quizzes, in-class writing tests, and take-home writing assignments must be 75% or higher.
93 – 100% A (excellent)
84 – 92 % B (good)
75 – 83% C (satisfactory)
0 – 74% D (repeat class, good effort)
0 – 74% F (repeat class, unsatisfactory effort)
Additional Course Policies and Tips for Success
§ Get your books and set up your Bellevue College computer account as soon as possible.
§ Come to class prepared every day. This means: bring a pen or pencil, paper for taking notes, your books, and your dictionary to every class.
§ Check our class site on MyBC daily for important announcements, materials, and homework assignments.
§ Finish your homework before class. No late assignments will be accepted for credit.
§ Talk to me if you miss class for any reason AND check our MyBC class site to find out what you have missed.
§ Do NOT be absent during grammar quizzes, in-class writing tests, the midterm exam, or the final exam. No early or late quizzes or tests will be given.
§ Only speak English in class! Listen carefully in class, take notes, answer questions, work with your classmates, and ask questions when you don’t understand.
§ Read as much as you can in English every day. This will not only help you improve your reading skills, but it will also impact your performance in your other classes.
Statement on Plagiarism and Cheating
Students are in ELI classes to learn English and ELI teachers are here to help them. Cheating makes that harder for both the students and the teachers. There are different kinds of cheating: plagiarism, “borrowing” a classmate’s homework (partially or wholly), using an essay or a presentation from a previous quarter, using “cheat notes,” copying answers from classmates’ papers or giving answers to classmates during tests.
Plagiarism is using someone else’s words or ideas as your own in both writing and oral presentations. It is cheating and is not acceptable in American classes.
Examples of plagiarism are:
- Copying from a Web page, book or article
- Buying papers
- Copying from another student
- Using a friend’s paper from a previous quarter
If you plagiarize:
First time: Your teacher will work with you so that you understand what not to do.
Second time: You will fail the assignment.
Third time: You will fail the class and be reported to the Associate Dean of Student Services. You will possibly be asked to leave the school.
Student Code of Conduct
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, can also be viewed on-line at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/policies/2/2050_Student_Code.asp.
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. For more information, go to: http://bellevuecollege.edu/about/goals/inclusion.asp.
Special Needs
If you need special help because of a documented disability, have emergency medical information to share, or need special help in case of an emergency, please make an appointment with the Disability Resource Center (DRC). If you would like to ask about becoming a DRC student, you may call (425) 564-2498 or TTY (425) 564-4110 or go to their office in B 132. Information is also available on their website at http://bellevuecollege.edu/drc/.
Arts and Humanities Student Procedures and Expectations
Please refer to “Student Procedures and Expectations” on the Arts and Humanities website for all other information: http://www.bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/studentinfo.asp.
IMPORTANT DATES:
No Class: Thursday, July 4th – Independence Day Holiday
Midterm Exam: Friday, July 12th at 9:30am
Final Exam: Thursday, August 8th at 9:30am
End of the Quarter Party: Thursday, August 8th at 2:00pm