Instructor: Dr. Roger George
E-mail: rgeorge@bellevuecollege.edu
Phone: (425) 564 2021
Office location: R 230 D
Office Hours: Daily, 11:30-12:20
Course Outcomes
By the end of the quarter, 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
Course Preview
While
the title of this course is "Written Expression", this is
specifically a course in non-fiction, essay writing -- no poetry, no fictional
short stories (although sometimes the line between fiction and non-fiction is a
thin one). More specifically, I am going
to emphasize discourse, essays which discuss and analyze ideas and observations
rather than narratives that describe personal experiences.
Grading
You will write FIVE rough drafts, ungraded but commented upon by me
(except they will be graded "Satisfactory" or
"Unsatisfactory"). Failure
to turn in a Satisfactory version of one of these drafts will result in a
failing grade for 30% of your overall grade.
Failure to turn in two of these drafts will result in your being asked
to drop the course. Your attendance and
participation in class and particularly in writing groups will also be part of
this 30% of your grade.
All drafts are to be emailed to me in Word or Works
format. I will write my comments on a companion
file and return it to you. If you do not
submit the essay by email (or, in case of difficulty, a USB drive), you will
not receive comments on it. When you
email the paper, be sure that you receive a confirmation from me. If you do not, you cannot assume that I
received the paper.
From these five rough drafts, you will
select THREE for revision into a
second draft. These will be submitted to
a peer writing group for discussion and comment, and to me for a grade (but
minimal comment). These will each be
worth 15% of your overall grade.
From these three papers, you will select
ONE to be revised into what you consider to be your best writing, due at the
end of the quarter. Volunteers may
submit papers at this point for full-class discussion and revision. This final paper will count for 25% of your final grade.
There will be NO MAKE-UP on in-class
quizzes and assignments, and you will not be permitted to turn in the five
preliminary drafts late. If any of the three revisions are late, you will
receive a grade no higher than the lowest grade given to those papers turned in
on time. I will ABSOLUTELY NOT ACCEPT
any late submissions of the final revision.
NOTE: ALL ESSAYS PRODUCED FOR THIS CLASS WILL BE
CONSIDERED TO BE PUBLIC WRITING, AND THEY MAY BE USED (ANONYMOUSLY, OF COURSE)
AS DEMONSTRATION PAPERS FOR FUTURE CLASSES, UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY REQUEST
OTHERWISE IN WRITING.
The
following grade scale, with equivalent grade points, will be used in this
course for individual assignments and for the final course grade.
A = 4.0
A-
= 3.7
B+
= 3.3
B = 3.0
B-
= 2.7
C+
= 2.3
C = 2.0
C-
= 1.7
D+
= 1.3
D = 1.O
F = 0.0
Books and Materials Required
No textbook will be required for this class. You may also wish to buy (and use) a good handbook; many of us use A Writer’s Reference, by Diana Hacker.
Instructor’s Expectation
I
expect you to think, talk, create, and contribute to a dialogue on issues and
ideas. Simply sitting in your seat and
listening is not enough. Asking questions,
commenting upon sample papers, getting involved in class and small group
discussions, helping other members of your writing group and, overall,
demonstrating an open and inquisitive mind will earn you a higher grade.
In
general, I expect professionalism:
being here regularly, letting me know when you can’t be here and
arranging to make up work, treating others’ views with respect, doing work on
time and to the best of your ability.
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
READ THE POLICIES OF THE ARTS
AND HUMANITIES DIVISION AT THE FOLLOWING URL:
http://bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/policy.html
THESE ARE THE POLICIES OF THIS CLASS,
AND YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THEM. TAKE SPECIAL NOTE OF THE ATTENDANCE POLICY;
THIS IS MY POLICY AS WELL.
Any
paper submission which contains substantial unacknowledged or unattributed
verbatim borrowings of language/wording and/or ideas from another source--and
thereby represented as the student's own work--will receive an "E" or
failing grade on that assignment. Such
students will be written a short letter which cites the incident, the failing
consequence, and which warns the student that a repetition of plagiarism will
result in a final course grade of "F".
Be
forewarned: I have a “zero tolerance”
policy regarding plagiarism.
Information about
Bellevue Colleges 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/writinglab/Plagiarism.html
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
Bellevue College E-mail and access to MyBC
CLASS INFORMATION, THE SYLLABUS, ASSIGNMENTS, SUPPLEMENTARY
MATERIALS, AND USEFUL WEB LINKS WILL BE POSTED ON YOUR “MYBC” WEB PAGE.
I may even establish a discussion page. You will be expected to use this website as
part of the class.
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 .
BC offers a wide variety of computer and learning labs to enhance learning and student success. Find current campus locations for all student labs by visiting the Computing Services website.
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 B 132 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
There will not be a final exam in this class.
Academic Calendar
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.