English
072 Developmental
English (The STEPS Course)
FALL 2012 Item
#1023 Section B
Instructor: Nancy
Eichner
Office: R 230 Phone (message only): (425) 564-2090
Email: neichner@bellevuecollege.edu
Office Hours: By
appointment (usually available after class)
Writing Lab: D
204 (Free tutors and computers are
available at the Writing Lab.)
Reading Lab: D
204 (English 080 takes place here: Computers with reading programs to help
you develop skills in vocabulary,
comprehension, and speed are located here.)
N Building: Computer
Room for Students only—free use and printing
Weekly Writing Lab Reservation: Thursdays, 10:30 – 12:20. (Bring a flash drive on which to
save
your work. Bring your dictionaries!!!!!!)
Religious Holy Days:
The
Arts & Humanities Division of Bellevue College, committed to advancing
pluralism, recognizes its students’ diverse religious beliefs. Those
students who wish to observe a religious holy day should not be penalized
for doing so. Whenever feasible, students should be allowed to make up
academic assignments that are missed due to such absences. However, the
student must notify the instructor in writing at the beginning of the quarter
(no later than the end of week 2). Because religious holidays are scheduled in
advance, instructors have the right to insist that course work be completed
prior to an anticipated absence for religious observances.
Your goal
as a student in STEPS (English 071, 072, 073, 074) is to learn as much English
as you can to pass the tests into
English 092 or 093 at the end of the quarter. Don’t be frustrated if this takes more than
one quarter, or even several quarters.
You will not receive a letter grade for
STEPS—you only need a “Cr” (credit) to receive credit. That means you don’t have to worry about
grades. You can concentrate on learning
only.
There will be very little stress in
this class; the only pressure will come from within you to learn as quickly as
possible for your own improvement.
Books
and Materials
*******Do
not buy your books until I tell you which ones to buy. CHECK THE ISBN NUMBER!!!! DO NOT ACCEPT BOOKS WITH A WRONG ISBN.********
·
All students: The
Impossible Will Take A Little While, edited by Paul Rogat
Loeb
(ISBN: 0-465-04166-3)
·
All students: Deep
Economy, by Bill McKibben (ISBN: 9780805087222)
·
Non-native speakers: Understanding
and Using English Grammar:Chartbook, 4th ed., by Betty Azar (ISBN: 10:0-13-205210-5)
·
Non-native speakers: Understanding
and Using English Grammar:Workbook, 4th ed., by Betty Azar (Be sure the answers
are at the back of the Workbook. ISBN: 10:0-13-241543-7)
·
Native speakers: Sentence
Skills: A Workbook for Writers, Form
A, 9th ed., by John Langan (ISBN:
10:0-07-337169-6)
·
All students: Collegiate dictionary (English/English)
·
Non-native speakers: Good
collegiate dictionary in your own
language/English (computer dictionaries are sometimes not complete enough,
but sometimes they are excellent).
·
Soft folder with three metal brads (for
your portfolio)
·
Binder with 3 metal rings (to keep your
notes and work in)
·
Cards (3” X 5”) for vocabulary
Please
remember: Nothing we do in class will
be for a letter grade! Everything we do
will be simply to help you learn.
We will
read essays, stories, and reports, and, possibly, poetry and songs. We might also attend lectures and watch movies. We will discuss the readings, lectures, and
movies. We will respond in writing to
the readings, lectures, and movies.
We will do a lot of grammar exercises in class and
at home. We will write essays as well as
other kinds of assignments. We will practice
organizing, revising, and editing writing.
Writing
Lab: Reading, Writing and Editing
·
To help you test your progress, we will
have in-class writing and editing exercises each week. You will retype
the part I correct and hand in that corrected
draft the following week at Lab.
Grammar Book
·
You should complete at least one chapter in the grammar
workbook each week. Depending on the
needs of the class, I might ask you to hand in the grammar chapter at the
Writing Lab. People working in the Langan book are encouraged to work through their entire
self-generated program, which will probably be more than one chapter a
week.
You
will check your answers at home by looking them up at the back
of your book. Put a question mark next
to any unclear exercises to ask me questions in class. Asking me to explain what you did not
understand at home is a very important part of grammar learning in this
class.
If
you are working in the Langan book, you will check
your Review Test answers with a group in class.
Ask me about whatever is not clear.
Then, take at least one Mastery Test (in the Reinforcement of Skills
part of the book). Check the
answers. For a chapter to be considered complete, you must complete all of the
above steps.
Essays
·
You will write three essays at
home. Each essay will have three drafts
(first draft, revised draft and edited draft).
You will work in small workshop groups to help improve your composition and
editing (grammar) skills. You will also
have individual conferences with me.
Vocabulary Cards
·
You will make 10 vocabulary cards each
week (using the format I give you) and hand them in to me at the Writing
Lab. Flag the words with a post-it note about whose definitions you are
unsure even after looking the words up in the dictionary. I will answer your questions during lab time.
Homework Reading and Writing
Assignments
·
You will complete all other assignments
I give you.
You will
not receive a letter grade for this course.
If your work is satisfactory, you will receive a Cr (Credit). If it is not satisfactory, you will receive
an NC (No Credit).
An NC will probably prevent you from
receiving financial aid next quarter.
If you are an international student, an NC will cause problems with
your immigration status.
To receive
a passing grade in the course, you must
1. Turn
in all required work (on time)
2. Receive
a check, check minus, or check plus on all required work
3.
Attend class.
If you are absent ten 50-minute hours or more, you will not pass the course. If you arrive late or leave early, you will
lose attendance credit for that day.
Credit:
Your credit grade will be
based on successful completion of in-class writing and editing, work in the
grammar workbook, miscellaneous homework assignments, vocabulary cards, vocabulary assignments, and formal essays presented in a portfolio.
Placement: Your
placement into English 092 or 093
will be based on two skills: writing and
reading. You will take a reading and
writing test at the end of the quarter.
You will demonstrate your reading
level by your answers on the exit test, your Reading Lab work, your Writing
Lab answers to reading questions, as well as by your performance on reading
assignments and your in-class discussion of readings.
You will demonstrate your writing
level by your composition, vocabulary, and editing on the exit test; by
your composition, vocabulary, and editing as presented in the essays in your
Portfolio; by the quality of your writing and editing skills in the weekly Lab
assignments.
Attendance:
If a special problem causes you to miss class or be late for class,
please feel free to explain the situation to me. The Arts and Humanities Division policy is
online—please consult it. Generally, if
you miss ten 50-minute class periods for each 5 credits of class, you can be
asked to retake the course, receiving no credit for the current quarter.
Punctuality
·
I will not accept homework assignments
late because they are the basis of class discussion.
·
I might decide to accept an essay draft
late, but that probably means that you will not receive feedback from me. If you want to have feedback from me,
therefore, get your drafts to me on time.
·
If you come to class after I have taken
roll, you will be counted absent. I take
roll right at the beginning of class. Be
on time.
Communication
I care a lot about my students’ success and satisfaction
with learning. I am easy to talk
to. Please communicate your problems directly
to me if you do not understand concepts; if you want more instruction in a
certain area; if you feel frustrated, angry, afraid, confused, or anything else
that might be hampering your sense of academic success. We may be able to work together to find a
solution.
Format
for Written Work
1. Type: Please word process (use a computer to type) all papers. If you don’t know how to word process, don’t worry. Go to the Writing Lab (D204) and teachers there will show you how. If you don’t have access to a personal computer at home, you may use the computers in the Writing Lab and Computer Lab (N Building) outside of class time.
2.
Label:
Please put a label in the upper left-hand
corner of all assignments (called
the MLA label). Write the following
information on the first page (5 lines):
Your First and Last Name
STEPS
Instructor: Nancy Eichner
Kind of Assignment (for example, ESSAY
1, First Draft; or, Response to
Ackerman's
"A Slender Thread" in Impossible, p. 22)
Date
·
On the second page and all ensuing
pages, put the following label in the upper right-
hand corner:
Last
Name Page Number [Example:
Tran 2]
3. Staple: Staple
all your papers together BEFORE you get to class. I will not accept unstapled
work.
4. Title: Give each essay a title. Center the title. Capitalize the first letter of the first
word and all
important words. Do not use any
punctuation. Leave two spaces between
the
title and the first line of the essay.
5. Margins: Leave margins of about 1 ½ inches on the
sides and at the top and bottom. Most
computer word processors do this automatically when they print, even if the
margins don’t show on the screen.
6. Font
and Size: Use a clear font (Arial, for
example) and size 12 print.
7. Spell
Checker: Use the spell-checker to help
check your spelling. However,
don’t rely on the spell-checker to find all your mistakes. Proofread
OUT LOUD all your writing.
8. Grammar
Checker: Do not use the grammar checker on a computer. It is often wrong.
9. Paragraphs: Indent (use the TAB key) all of your
paragraphs.
10. Last-Minute
Corrections: If you need to make minor changes after you have printed your
work, make them neatly by hand. Use dark
ink, not pencil.
Because I
have a part-time contract at Bellevue College and must also work elsewhere,
please make an appointment with me if you need to ask questions or need some
extra help outside of class time.
Although my schedule is very full, I will try hard to accommodate your
needs. We might both have to be creative
in order to find an appointment time that will work for both of us. My office address is R 230. If you need to reach me quickly by phone,
please call the English Department secretary (425-564-2341) and ask her to leave
a message for me in my mailbox. If your
message is not urgent, you may leave a message on my machine at
(425) 564-2090, or e-mail me at neichner@bellevuecollege.edu
. E-mail
is best.
Content
Focus
The content of our essay collection, The Impossible Will Take A Little While,
by Paul Rogat Loeb, is the topic of hope in hard
times. This author lives in Seattle.
The content of our non-fiction reading
book, Deep Economy, by Bill McKibben, is the lack of sustainability of continuous,
unlimited economic growth. McKibben also offers hope in these world-wide hard
times. This book is the common reading
book for the whole college for this year.
ABOUT WORK IN
THE GRAMMAR BOOKS
UNDERSTANDING AND USING ENGLISH GRAMMAR,
by Betty Azar (Non-Native Speakers)
You need two books
by Betty Azar:
1. the
CHARTBOOK
2. the
WORKBOOK
These two books go together. The CHARTBOOK contains all of the rules,
examples and
explanations of the grammar which you practice in the
WORKBOOK.
Read the
rules in the CHARTBOOK. Then, do the
corresponding exercises in the WORKBOOK.
Next, check the answers at the back of the book immediately after each
exercise. Put an X next to whatever you
get wrong. Ask me or your study group to
explain.
A chapter
is complete only after you have followed all these steps: read the rules, do the exercises, check the
answers, ask me for explanations.
SENTENCE SKILLS, by John Langan (Native Speakers)
You learn the
concepts by reading the information in a chapter. Do one exercise. Immediately check the answers at the
back of the book. Put a question mark next to whatever you get wrong. Ask me or your study group for an
explanation.
Take the
Review Tests at the end of the chapter.
Check your answers with your study group. Ask me for the correct answers.
Take at
least one Mastery Test for the chapter.
Check your answers by asking me for the answer sheet. Put an X next to whatever you get wrong. Ask me to explain the correct answer.
ABOUT THE
At the end
of the quarter, you will submit three essays in your Portfolio.
You should
be working all quarter on improving your essays. You will have the opportunity to receive
feedback and help from your writing workshop group during class. Also during class, I will work with you in
individual conferences.
Please use
the tutors at the Writing Lab (D204) for additional assistance:
Making an appointment is a good idea (although not a
requirement).
PREWRITING is the first step in the
writing process. You gather as many
ideas as possible using whatever method of brainstorming works best for
you. Also, when writing a research paper
(for example, in English 201), research is also part of the prewriting phase.
ORGANIZING
is the next step in the writing process.
Put your ideas in logical order and make connections between all ideas
clear. Your writing should flow easily
and make sense to your readers because you present your ideas logically. You may use any organizational method that
works well for you. Many people make an
outline to organize their essays.
The FIRST DRAFT of an essay is to be
written as well as you can, but without worrying about grammar
corrections. You will read your first
draft out loud two times to your writing workshop group. Your classmates will give you feedback on the
content (NOT the grammar) of your writing.
What was interesting, touching, pleasing, important? What was NOT clear? Where would you need some more examples or
information? What was confusing? What was effective, and why? What was not effective, and why?
The REVISED DRAFT of an essay is an
improved version of its contents.
Consider the feedback your workshop group and I have given you; use your
own imagination and rethinking of your ideas to help you improve the
writing. This is also the stage of the
writing process in which you work on correct word usage and enrichment of your
written expression.
The EDITED DRAFT is written when you
are satisfied with the content of the essay and want to correct the mechanical
language problems, such as sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling. Try to find your mistakes yourself on your
final revised draft. Then, bring it to
your workshop group and ask for editing feedback. Work together to find and correct mistakes.
Ask me for help in class when necessary.
The edited draft should, then, be the draft you present for grading in
your Portfolio. It is the final draft of
an essay.
Note: Bring 3 copies of a draft on WRITING WORKSHOP
days. The members of
your writing group need to be able to read along as you read your essay out
loud.
If members
of your group are not working seriously enough to satisfy your needs, change
groups! It is your responsibility to get
as much as possible from the feedback opportunities offered you in this
class. If you need help in joining a new
group, come see me.
Essay Format
Each draft
of your essay MUST have a label in the upper left hand corner:
First
and Last Name
STEPS
Instructor: N. Eichner
Essay
#____: FIRST DRAFT
(or—Revised
Draft
or—Edited Draft)
Date
Each essay
draft must be typed, preferably on a computer (word processor), and
double-spaced. The margins should be
about 1 ½ inches all around. (Usually the default margins on a computer
are about this size.) Use size 12
print. Please use a clear print style,
such as Arial.
Also, an
essay or a story always has a title,
which is centered above the first line.
There is no extra space between the title and the first line--it is
double-spaced like the rest of the essay.
Only the first letter of the first word and all the first letters of all
important words of a title are capitalized.
A title is NOT written in all capital letters. There is no underline or other punctuation
marking a title.
ABOUT THE
You will
give me a portfolio of your writing at the end of the quarter. A portfolio is a collection of your work
presented in a formal way.
Here are
the requirements for your portfolio presentation:
1. Use
a soft folder with three fasteners.
Please,
do not put your writing in plastic
envelopes.
Also, do not use a binder with metal
rings, or a folder with a compression strip (they fall apart too easily).
2. On
the cover, print
Writing Portfolio
Student: First and Last Name
STEPS
Quarter and Year
Instructor: Nancy Eichner
College
Name
3. Make
the portfolio easy for me to read through.
·
Put a divider with a labeled tab in
front of each essay draft.
·
Make the first page a Table of
Contents, giving the titles of your essays in the order you present them.
4. Put
the following into your portfolio:
·
Essay 1 (the final draft WITH my
placement comments)
·
Essay 2 (the final draft WITH my
placement comments)
·
Essay 3 (all three drafts, clearly
labeled)
·
The last Writing Lab practice test—your
lab draft and the corrected draft
DUE DATES
FOR
ESSAY DRAFTS, EXAM, and PLACEMENT
NOTE: Writing Lab
(D204)—free tutors and computers to help you a little. The tutors cannot do everything or guarantee
you any placement or grade.
Essay 1
First Draft
Mon., Oct. 8 Give
Nancy a copy.
Oct.
10 - 11 Bring 3 copies for a
workshop. Conferences with Nancy.
Grammar
in groups after workshop is finished.
Revised
Draft Mon., Oct. 15 Give Nancy a copy.
Wed.,
Oct. 17 Error Analysis
Thur.,
Oct. 18 Editing Workshop
Edited
Draft Mon., Oct. 22 DUE for placement feedback
Essay 2
First Draft Oct. 29 - 31 Workshops
and Conferences. Give Nancy a copy. Bring
3
copies for your workshop. Conferences with Nancy.
Grammar
in groups after workshop is finished.
Revised Draft Fri., Nov. 2 Give
Nancy a copy.
Mon.,
Nov. 5 Error Analysis
Thur.,
Nov. 8 Editing Workshop
Edited
Draft Tue., Nov. 13 DUE for placement feedback
Essay 3
First Draft Mon., Nov. 19 Bring 3 copies for workshop.
No conferences.
Revised
Draft Mon., Nov. 26 Editing workshop with a partner
Edited Draft Mon., Dec. 3 DUE in your Portfolio before the exit exam.
Portfolio
Due Mon., Dec. 3 Before the exam starts, give your
Portfolio to me.
Prepare it at home. You may NOT print out any of your Portfolio
at the Lab on the day of the test. You may
NOT put your Portfolio together at the time of the test.
Practice Test
Several times during the quarter at the
Writing Lab. The LAST practice test will
be just a few days before the exit exam.
STEPS Exit Exam
Mon.,
Dec. 3 At
the Writing Lab, 10:30 – 12:20. Be
early!
Bring
dictionaries and grammar books--use them during
the
editing phase of the writing process.
NO INTERNET ACCESS permitted during the
exam. (No cell phones.)
Placement Tue.,
Dec. 4 Conference in the classroom
about your placement.
This
is the last class meeting.
QUESTIONNAIRE
First Name_______________Last
Name_______________
English_______Time_______
Instructor: Nancy
Eichner
College_____________________
Personal Information Questionnaire
Date_____________
1. In
which country were you raised?
2. How
long have you been in the U.S.?
3. What
is your first language?
4. Do
you work and, if so, how many hours per week?
5. Do
you come directly from work to this class?
Or must you rush to work directly after this class?
6. What
are your academic goals?
7. What
are your professional goals?
8. Do
you have any learning disabilities or special needs?
9. Do
you have any life challenges that might make it difficult for you to do less
than your best academically?
10. Is
there anything else you might want to tell me that would help me support you in
your academic efforts this quarter?
11. Why are you in
college? What are your specific goals?