Syllabus
ENGL&
101 – English Composition I
Winter
2013
Instructor: James
Goldsmith
E-mail: Please use email
in Canvas. The only exception would be if Canvas is broken. In that case, use
my Bellevue College email: jgoldsmi@bellevuecollege.edu
Office Hours:
I live in Vancouver, WA, so person-to-person
conferences don't work. We will do all our communication via email. In past
quarters this has not presented any problems.
Books and Materials
Required :
Donald McQuade. The
Writer’s Presence, 7th
edition.
Grading
In order to remain
eligible for a passing grade, students are required to complete every
assignment in a timely manner. Failure to complete, at a basic
satisfactory level, even one assignment means the student will no longer be
eligible for a passing grade.
Late work is penalized by a 10% reduction the first 24-hour block. For each
additional 24-hour block, the grade will be reduced an additional 20%.
For most assignments, if the work is not turned in within 7 24-hour
blocks, the student is no longer eligible for a passing grade. There are
exceptions to this, and they will be noted.
* NOTE: To figure out your grade at
any time, simply divide the total points you have earned by the total points
you have submitted to that point. I use standard percentage markings:
93-100% = A, 90-92% = A-, 88-89% = B+,
83-87% = B, 80-82% = B-, and so on. . .
Projected point totals (subject to
change)
Intro Assignment
10
4 Essays preliminaries
0 each
3 Instructor drafts
100 each
3 Rewrites
100 each
20 Essay discussions
5 each
Changes happen, but always with plenty
of notice.
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.
Course Outcomes
Demonstrate various invention practices:
brainstorming, free writing, outlining, journaling.
Demonstrate ability to writer in various
modes: personal narrative, expository, analytical, descriptive, argumentative.
Demonstrate the phases of writing: draft,
revision, final copy.
Explore sources of writing: reading,
thinking, analyzing, discussing.
Create a thesis statement that suggests the
focus of the paper, but dies not point out the obvious, and is written as a
sentence.
Develop and include enough details and
examples to support the identified theses and reinforce focus.
Demonstrate various patterns of organization
and use the organization pattern that suits identified purpose and audience.
Illustrate the concept of “audience.”
Artfully combine audience, purpose and tone
in compositions written in and outside of class.
Write in a vocabulary appropriate to the
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 make use of the feedback received.
Develop self-assessment skills.
Instructor’s Expectations
Please note that the first two can
determine passing or failing.
I expect that you will complete every assignment, no
matter how small, seemingly insignificant or unimportant. You must complete
every assignment in a timely manner to remain eligible for a passing grade.
"Timely manner" will vary. I'll keep you abreast.
Late work loses credit rapidly. I'm deeply sympathetic to
explanations for late work (I understand that stuff happens), but I'll never
excuse it. Bottom line: late is late.
I expect that your essays will average at least a grade
of C in order to move to English 201, 270, 271 or 272.
I expect that you have come to this class with a working
usage of modern English grammar, as English 101 does not teach grammar. I may
suggest additional non-graded work for students who struggle with grammar. I
set aside a segment of our website to provide a grammar and mechanics help
area, complete with exercises; use it if you have these problems. I encourage
you to utilize BCC's excellent Writing Lab, either by way of the
"virtual tutor" or in person on campus. All papers with major
grammatical errors lose points in this class. See the Major Grammar Errors page
in the Mechanics area under the Resources and Tool link for help in identifying
these errors.
I expect that you will take care to back up your papers
and other assignments on more than one disk and/or store them on your hard
drive AND a disk. Never trust an instructor with the only copy of an
assignment. If some computer catastrophe should occur, you will still be
responsible for producing the work by the due date in order to get a grade. Be
careful--save and back your work up regularly!
I expect that you will show respect to everyone by
responding to e-mail and discussion postings in a way that is not judgmental,
degrading, or derogatory. Even though we may disagree with the interpretations
of others, please use some self-restraint and compassion in responding to
others' ideas. Logical and questioning responses are encouraged. Choose your
words and the tone of your message with utmost care. I also expect tolerance
for others' abilities and learning styles.
I expect that you will try to the best of your ability to
master the skills taught in this class. According to the English department at
BCC, by the end of the quarter, you should:
use a variety of prewriting methods to develop ideas and
organize a writing plan.
revise, edit, and proofread papers (both on and off the
computer) until the final submitted draft shows the skill and effort you
have put into it.
write for a specific audience with a specific purpose, as
assigned, using an appropriate voice and tone.
build a complex, but coherent paper around your own
thoughts and analyses.
use a single, well-stated sentence that clearly expresses
the central idea of your essay, focuses your topic, and controls ideas to the
point of creating unity.
connect paragraphs to the thesis and to each other;
produce a smooth flow of ideas using appropriate coherence techniques.
construct unified paragraphs that develop and support the
main idea with specific examples and concrete details.
analyze, evaluate and interpret complex material.
write essays with effective introductions and
conclusions.
construct clear, grammatically correct sentences of
precise and appropriate words.
understand and apply subordination and coordination in
sentences to emphasize important ideas.
be able to differentiate your personal opinions and
assumptions from another's.
be able to self-assess. (Please see the Resources
& Tools page for more help with the composition skills listed above).
I expect honesty. Plagiarizing is cheating, as is
copying answers on a test, glancing at nearby test papers, swapping papers,
buying papers, using ideas from other sources without proper documentation,
writing papers for others, or having them written for you. BCC utilizes a
plagiarism detection software, and I use it for random spots checks. Plus, if I
even remotely suspect your paper sounds plagiarized, I will submit it to this
site. If you cheat or plagiarize, the following actions will be taken:
You will receive a grade of "0" on the work
(period).
A second instance means an F for the course.
A report of the incident will be filed in the Dean of
Students' Office. This report may become part of your permanent record or the
Dean may choose to pursue further disciplinary action.
English 101 is a completely online
class; you are not required to attend classroom sessions. However, English 101
is NOT a correspondence course, completed on your own timetable. You must
participate in an ongoing, timely manner to successfully fulfill the
requirements of the course.
This online course will require you to
have some particular attributes and skills:
college level reading and comprehension skills
good self-motivation
good problem solving skills
the ability to communicate clearly in writing
the ability to learn well in a totally visual medium
the ability to follow written directions
the ability to use your computer to complete various
tasks, including (but not limited to) uploading and downloading files as well
as attaching files to e-mail messages as required
the ability to ask questions as needed.
Many students mistakenly believe that
writing is a talent, given to everyone else. But writing is not a single task,
accomplished in isolation. Writing is a skill, developed with practice in
reading texts, analyzing texts, thinking through the texts and then lastly,
writing these ideas down. Anyone with enough determination and effort can learn
to communicate effectively in writing. This class is designed to use writing,
in the form of an academic college essay, to improve your written communication
skills as well as your critical reading and thinking skills. Some students
probably have a measure of these skills already. Some students may be better at
some skills and feel less comfortable with the others. Whatever your abilities
before now, I ask you to approach the class with compassion and tolerance for
each other.
If you signed up for this course
thinking that it would have less work than a course in the classroom, you were
mistaken. Any online course has more writing work than a class in the
classroom as all of our communication must be written. Please be advised that
the workload may be very difficult for you if work and/or family demands do not
allow you a minimum of two to three uninterrupted hours every weekday to
work on the assignments for this class. I have tried to focus and space
assignments to facilitate as many learning styles as possible, but you may need
to schedule extra time, especially around paper writing/editing time, depending
on your ability to read or write.
Student Responsibilities
Because of the special method of
course delivery, several requirements must be met.
First and probably most important, you MUST have a computer
and required software and services.
In order to use our class website effectively, you MUST
set up your computer to the appropriate specifications. Check out that
information by clicking on the "Run a Browser Check" link on the
"Log In" page, to the right of the box where you enter your username
and password.
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
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/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
The instructor reserves the right to use any
and all plagiarism-checking resources. Penalties for plagiarism range from
automatic F (zero points) for a give assignment, to course failure.
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.
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
No final exams in this course.
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.
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/0910.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.