ENGL& 101 –
English Composition I
Winter 2014 Jeffery
White
C 168 Office: R230Q Tel: 564-3084
TTH 12:30-2:40 jwhite@bellevuecollege.edu
Office
Hour: 9:30 - 10:20 M-F
(also
by appointment)
Required Materials: Deep
Economy, Bill McKibben
The
Little, Brown Handbook, Eleventh
Edition
Three-ring,
loose-leaf binder (pre-owned binders available in my office)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
In English 101, we familiarize ourselves with and build
upon basic methods for composing original, interesting and intelligent
responses to a particular topic. In an
informal workshop atmosphere, we will review certain grammatical conventions
while developing a keener understanding of what constitutes an effective
sentence, paragraph and essay. We will
do this, both in small groups and as a whole class, through various peer
response strategies and by becoming careful, critical readers. By quarter's
end, you will have a more detailed understanding of how to compose an
articulate, intelligent, well-developed discussion of a given topic. However, your skill in executing such
a discussion will depend upon the degree to which you apply what you learn in
the coming weeks.
As many
of you pursue an education to better prepare yourself for a successful
professional life, it may help you to think of this class as rehearsal for
meeting professional responsibilities. As in the “working world,” you are
expected to be engaged and committed to your work, courteous and helpful to
those you work with, and regular and prompt in your attendance.
Please
understand that this is not a "Warm Body" class -- one of
those classes which you attend half conscious, take the occasional note and
leave after fifty minutes. As with most
courses, we'll be trying to do too much in too little time. You will spend a
majority of your class time doing "hands-on" activities and group
work, both seeking and giving assistance. If you, for whatever reason, aren't
prepared or able to be an active, responsible member of this learning
community, then another class may more suit your needs. What follows are our course policies.
As in the
professional world, you’ll need to work within deadlines. All assignments are
due in class on the specified date. Should you fail to submit a draft of an
essay on its due date and still desire my feedback on that draft, you must
write and present me with a one-page explanation of why you missed the
deadline, outline strategies for preventing it happening again and request an
alternate date to submit the work. I will review your request and determine
whether to grant an alternate due date or not.
On days when drafts are discussed,
either in groups or as a class, those without drafts will be dismissed to
complete their work and suffer an absence for that class meeting. On days when
papers are due to me, I expect them in class but will accept them in person or
in my mailbox until 12:30 PM on the day they are due. I'll accept nothing after that time unless
specific arrangements are made with me before the class in which
it is due. I'll permit such an arrangement only once.
You are responsible for having a hard copy of your
seminar paper in hand at the beginning of the classes on the day it is
due. I will not accept emailed seminar papers, nor will I excuse you to
go print a copy of a seminar paper due that day. Your seminar paper is due in
class and will only be accepted if you are in class to present it. Please do
not request an exception to this requirement.
Communicating with Your Instructor
I will address
you by your first name unless requested to do otherwise. When addressing me in
person, you are invited to call me Jeffery, Mr. White or Professor White, which
ever you are the most comfortable with. “Dude,” “Yo,” “Hey,” etc. are not
effective terms of address.
When
communicating with me via email, I will expect the following format: an opening
salutation, followed by the content of your message and concluding with your
name and course number. I will not respond to written communication that does
not follow these conventions. Should you send me an assignment via email,
request an acknowledgement to insure its arrival in my mailbox.
One indicator of your commitment to your work in this
class is your ability to be in class when it is scheduled to begin. Because, quite often, the first five to ten
minutes of class are crucial to work that follows, and because groups need your
prompt attendance to function properly, let's begin class on time with all
members present. You're late if you walk
into class more than 5 minutes after its scheduled starting time. Walk into
class late 10 times, and you'll receive no credit for the course. I'm certain, however, that out of
consideration for your peers, you will do whatever possible to see that we make
the most out of our brief, daily meetings.
Absences
Should
you miss more than half of a class period (60 minutes), you’ll receive an
absence for that class meeting.
1.
Should you miss the first week of class, you forfeit credit for the course.
2. Attendance is
part of your preparedness and participation grade. Three or fewer absences should
not negatively affect your overall grade in the course. Should you acquire 5 absences (10 sixty-minute periods),
you will have missed 25% of our class meetings and failed to meet minimum
attendance requirements. You will
receive no credit for the course.
3. If
circumstances prevent you from meeting these guidelines, discuss them with me
before they
impact your work so that we might
explore acceptable options
Your
final grade will be based on two primary components:
1.
Preparedness and
class participation (40%):
Seminar
Papers: 20% of
final grade
Preparedness
and Contributions: 10% of final grade
Attendance:
10% of
final grade
2.
Portfolio (60%)
of five finished papers that includes all primary and revised drafts of each
paper.
Preparedness and Class Participation
(40% of final grade) : Beyond offering
thoughtful and well rendered seminar papers, to receive full credit for this
component, you must attend class regularly and on time, have with you at all
times all writing for this class and text books on days that you may need them,
have all completed drafts in hand for peer critique sessions, participate
actively and constructively in all peer critique and small group activities,
participate regularly in class discussions by offering insightful or thought
provoking, relevant comments that advance and develop the discussion (what
matters here is the caliber and quality of your comments, not the number of
times that you share your views).
Portfolio (60% of final grade): In brief, your
portfolio grade is based upon the quality of the final drafts of three
self-selected papers (including evidence of the revision process and the degree
to which they have been revised), a self-evaluation, and an in-class final
essay. The overall appearance and presentation of the portfolio itself also
will be considered the assessment.
Details about portfolios and the criteria I will use to grade them are
in a separate handout.
Note: You should know
that the portfolio process allows you to revise your writing as often as you
see fit before that work receives a grade.
You will receive a mock grade for your third paper, which I will then
review with you during a conference designed to give you an idea of your class
standing. Circumstances permitting, I am available to review and comment on
revised drafts (three drafts per essay), but will not grade the work until it
has been included in the portfolio and that portfolio turned in for grading at
the end of the quarter. I will review and comment one revised draft at a
time from each student. The last day to submit a revision for my
comments is November 27.
Plagiarism
Should you use another's words or ideas and represent
them as your own, you are plagiarizing. Should you get help with your writing
to such a degree that it, in any part, is no longer your own; then, too, are
you plagiarizing. Plagiarism is grounds for failing the course, and possibly
for dismissal from school. Also be advised that Bellevue Community College
contracts with a plagiarism detection software company. Should I receive any
work that I suspect to be plagiarized, I will submit it for to for
investigation. For suggestions on how to avoid these rather dire consequences,
see The Little, Brown Handbook.
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 student with a documented autism spectrum disorder, there is a program of
support available to you. 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
temporarily 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
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
Student Code
You will be
expected to abide by the BC “Student Code” outlined in brief in the paragraph
below. Please be aware that I take the expectations for attendance, tardiness
(explained above) and mobile phone usage very seriously. Phones must be
silenced and remain out of sight during class time. Should you need to record
information, I suggest you do so on paper and transfer to your phone after
class. Should you fail to adhere to this
mobile phone, I will give you one verbal warning followed by a written warning.
After that you will be dismissed from class until you have met to discuss the
matter with the Dean of Students. I am willing to discuss individual exceptions
to the above should your circumstances require.
“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
A FINAL NOTE: I am here to serve as your guide and then
ultimately to evaluate your work. I am
interested in helping you do as well as you want in this class. My schedule permitting, I'll assist you in
any way I can. If you're having
difficulty, speak to me about it, and I'll see what I can do to help. If life
interferes in some substantial way with school, let me know. If you show me that you're concerned with
doing good work in this class, I'll do what I can to help you around the
obstacles. Communication is the key
here. Keep me informed of your
circumstances, and you should do fine. Talk
to me after things fall apart, and there will be little more that I can offer
than my sympathy. It will also benefit you the read the Arts and Humanities
“Student Procedures and Expectations” page located here: http://bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/policy.html