Syllabus, Spring 2009
Eng 001A,
Composition
College of the Desert
Sections 1349, 7:15-9:20am and
1243, 11:45am-1:50pm
Room: Sociology 15
Instructor: Dr. Susan Fagan
Spring Semester Office Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday, 9:30-11:30am
COD Cafe
Email: sfagan@uoregon.edu or sfagan@collegeofthedesert.edu
Mailbox: Faculty Resource Center
To learn to write is to learn to have ideas. --Robert Frost
What You'll Find On This Page
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Course Objective
This course will help you develop skills in critical reading, critical thinking, and expository writing; it also includes an introduction to independent research. In class you will examine the writing of others, discuss the ideas presented in those selected writings and why they are successful (or why not), and explore your own and your classmates' ideas. For your papers, you will develop those ideas using additional relevant resources gathered during your own independent research. Eng 1A emphasizes argument as a means of responsible inquiry, expressing ideas and discovering reasons to support them, and developing those ideas and reasons in essay form to communicate effectively to a particular audience.
Prerequisite
Range 111 of the COD Placement Test or completion of English 51A with a grade of “C” or better or its equivalent.
Required Texts
Barnet & Bedau, Current Issues and Enduring Questions, 8th ed.
Kirszner & Mandell, The Concise Wadsworth Handbook, Custom Edition for College of the Desert 2nd ed.
Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate (Anchor Books)
John Steinbeck, Cannery Row (Penguin Books)
Other Required Supplies
You will need a folder with pockets to hold your accumulated work and a manila envelope with a resealable clasp. If you wish to move text between your computer and the classroom computer, you may also find a USB key helpful.
- An analysis of an argument, including preliminary writing assignments (a thesis generating worksheet, an outline, a rough draft, revision checklists, and a peer evaluation), 3 pp., Essay #1, 10%.
- Three short papers—an argument, a comparison and contrast essay, and a literary analysis essay—each 3-4 pages in length, as well as preliminary writing assignments (as noted in #1 above) for each essay, Essay #s 2-4, 15% each.
- A research paper, 8-10 pages in length, as well as preliminary assignments (as noted in #1 above), Essay #5, 25%
- Class participation, 20%, consisting of:
Completion of assigned readings and participation in class discussion.
Completion of 9 reading responses, 1 page each—the lowest grade will be dropped.
A group oral presentation based on selected readings and an individual oral presentation based on the topic of the research paper.
- A writing portfolio with your collected/selected work and a reflective essay based on your writing portfolio, written in class during the final exam period. See Grading, below for information on how the portfolio will be evaluated.
Writing Mechanics
- All assignments should be typed or printed on 8 1/2 by 11" paper.
- Papers should be prepared in MLA format. Guidelines for MLA format are given both in Barnet and Bedau and the Wadsworth handbook and will also be reviewed in class.
- Rough drafts and all working papers (i.e., brainstorming, outlines, peer review comments, etc.) must be submitted with the final copy of your work.
- Keep a copy of your written work until your original is returned.
Attendance
This course is primarily a discussion and workshop course. What happens in class cannot be duplicated or summarized for students if they are not present. Therefore, attendance is required. More than three unexcused absences will reduce the final grade (by one full letter grade for each absence over 3). Six absences will result in an automatic failing grade. Being late to class or leaving early three times will count as one absence. Leaving or arriving at break constitutes an absence.
In general, excused absences are given for illness if the student provides a doctor's note, or for a conflicting College obligation when the student provides a signed request by the appropriate College supervisor. "Double scheduling" of classes during class time is not considered reason for an excused absence.
Grading
- Assignments must be completed by the beginning of the designated class period. This policy covers rough drafts, final drafts, reading, reading responses, and preparation of topics for discussion. Student success depends on participation; coming to class unprepared for the day's activities is like not attending at all. NOTE: Do not plan to print assignments using the classroom computers in the few minutes available before class begins. This time has proved to be not adequate and thus such printing is disruptive to the instructor and other students.
- Late papers and/or papers without a rough draft will be accepted, read, and commented on, but will not be graded. However, a late paper with no grade is better than no paper at all, as a missing paper will be averaged into the final grade as a zero.
- Although only assignments receiving a grade lower than a C must be rewritten, students may revise and resubmit the first four papers for regrading if the following conditions have been met: (1) the rough draft was completed for the scheduled peer review session and the student participated in that session; (2) the assignment was turned in on time with the thesis generating worksheet, outline, rough draft, revision checklists, and peer review attached; (3) the student is in class and receives the paper with comments on the day the assignments are returned; (4) the student prepares a revision in time for a review conference with the instructor (usually during office hours); and (5) the student meets the revision due date (generally within one week--due dates will be announced in class).
- Revising does not mean simply recopying the assignment to incorporate grammatical and spelling corrections, or merely responding to instructor comments, but rethinking, reorganizing, and rewriting the paper (see "Guidelines for Revision"). A higher grade on revised work, if earned, will be counted in the final grade, but will not replace the original grade. Time does not allow for revision of the fifth essay (the research paper) for a higher grade.
- Form and content cannot be separated. A grammatically or mechanically perfect paper will not automatically receive an A grade, as content, style, and logic will also be considered. Neither can a grammatically flawed or unprofessionally prepared paper earn a top grade. In addition, students’ writing should improve; the level of work which receives an A at the beginning of the course might not be A-level work at the end of the semester.
- The final course grade will be based primarily on the writing assignments and class participation, as outlined above. In addition, class attendance, participation, group and individual oral reports, and overall improvement in writing performance (based on an evaluation of the papers collected in the portfolio and the reflective essay) will be considered. Failure to turn in a portfolio will reduce the final course grade by one full point; turning in a hastily prepared or incomplete portfolio will reduce the final course grade by 1/2 point.
- All work submitted in this course must be your own and written exclusively for this course. The use of sources (ideas, quotations, paraphrases) must be properly documented. If you use a professional typist to prepare your final copies, you must instruct the typist not to make any changes in or edit your work in any way. Please refer to your textbooks, Barnet and Bedau, pp. 269-272, and Wadsworth, 402-407, for a definition of plagiarism, how to avoid plagiarism, and information on proper documentation. The consequences for plagiarizing may include failing the assignment, as well as failing the course. Please see your instructor if you have any questions about using sources.
- No incompletes will be given in this course. You must complete the final exam (which consists of writing a reflective essay and completing a class participation self-evaluation form) to pass the course.
Accommodation
If you have a disability (physical or learning) which you think may affect your performance in this class, please contact the College’s Disabled Students Programs and Services office to see what accommodations can be provided.
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Last Updated 01/17/09