Course Syllabus For English 100: Composition Spring 2008
Teacher : Daniel O'Connell (Substituting for Doug Sherman) Section: AD Room: 8222 Time: 11:10am-12:00pm MWF Dates : 6114-5/20 Units: 3.0 Office: 5113 Office Hours: 10:00-11:00am M-F or by appt. E-Mail : oconnelld@smccd.net
• Stereotypes and Prejudice edited by Charles Stangor
• How To Watch TV News by Postman and Powers
• Any standard grammar/mechanics handbook
Required Materials: One TLC English Lab Folder
Eligibility: Writing prerequisite: ENGL 836 or 400 or ENGL/READ 846 with a grade of C or better, or eligibility for ENGL 100 on approved college placement tests and other measures as necessary. Reading Prerequisite: READ 836 with Credit or a grade of C or better, or ENGL 400 (taken at Skyline) with a grade of C or better, or ENGL/READ 846 with a grade of C or better, or eligibility for 400-level reading course on approved college Reading placement test, and other measures as necessary. This course is transferable to a UC or CSU. (Fulfills CSU requirements A2, A3 and IGETC Area 1 Group A and B.)
Course Description: This class will provide students with writing practice based on the form and content of the essay. Students will learn to write college-level essays with skills that will help them in their academic and professional careers. In addition to skills focused on in previous classes, such as understanding what you read and responding to it, this course will also focus on thinking critically about what you read. In other words, the course will provide students with practice in discussing what's written on the page, but also in what is implied or hinted at or even left out of the page.
Course Requirements : This course will require you to write a minimum of 8,000 words, or at least 30 typed, double-spaced pages. There will be five papers due.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (SLOs):
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
· Overall essay unity/thesis: Write sharply focused, coherent, and well developed essays appropriate to the transfer level that support a self-generated thesis, and demonstrate, in addition to competence in standard English grammar and usage, a command of a variety of organizational strategies appropriate for academic audiences and reflect an informed commitment to conventions of academic discourse.
· Critical reading/writing/thinking: Demonstrate critical reading, writing, thinking and research skills in the development of analytical and evaluative responses to important ideas and arguments from multiple points of view.
· Critical reading/writing/thinking: Utilize developed research skills which include gathering and evaluating sources and applying conventions of documentation.
· Metacognition: Demonstrate self-critical awareness of their own writing strategies and competencies as they continue to perceive themselves as improved writers, thinkers and student scholars engaged in academic discourse in cross-disciplinary contexts.
Course work. Most of your coursework will be reading, writing, and researching, but your grade will ultimately depend on your writing. All papers, except the final in-class exam, which receive lower than a "C" grade can be rewritten if handed in before the next class. Remember that for each paper different steps in the writing process will be required, such as creating an outline, meeting with me, typing a draft, peer review, seeing a tutor, and proofreading your own work. So always save the work you do and hand in all of it in a folder with your final draft. You must do the final paper and the final exam to pass the course.
Paper format: All final papers must be typed, double-spaced, with 12 point font size, in Times New Roman font, with no extra spaces between paragraphs or gaps between the title and introductory paragraph.
Grades: Grading will be: A (89.5-100%), B (79.5-89.5%), C (69.5-79.49), or D (below 69.5%).
This grade will breakdown roughly in this way:
Attendance: Attendance is always critical to doing well in this course. Remember that attendance can have a negative effect on the above grade breakdown. Coming to every class and on time is necessary If you miss more than eight classes, it will affect your grade and you can be withdrawn from the roster. If you choose to withdraw from the course, it is your responsibility to drop from the class, either using WebSMART/SMART or by going to the Student Services Office. Two late arrivals will be counted as an absence. Our time together every Monday, Wednesday, Friday morning is valuable, so let's make the most of it.
Policy for Late and Missing Assignments: Students are expected to hand in all the homework for the class, on time. Contacting the teacher about missing class work is each student's responsibility. Please contact me in class, through e-mail, or call a classmate if you miss something so that a makeup date can be arranged. Missing class work without notifying the teacher will result in a zero grade for the assignment. If you do hand it in late, the grade will be cut by 10% for each class it is late.
Plagiarism: This is a serious academic course and requires a lot of serious work. Anyone caught plagiarizing, copying from another source and then passing it off as one's own, may receive an "F" for the course. There are tools out there which enable instructors to tell if a sentence or a piece of a sentence has been stolen. To prevent suspicion, you should:
• Keep all writing materials: drafts, pre-writes, peer reviews etc. Turn it all in with your final draft and keep it until the end of the course
• Do consistent work.
• Do not use sources in your writing unless instructed. When you use an article, Xerox or print it, then mark where you have paraphrased or quoted the article and hand it in with your final. Proper citation procedure will be taught and also included in the final draft.
Extra credit: Chances for extra credit are limited and must be arranged through the instructor.
Students with Special Needs are welcomed to this class and may want to contact the Disabled Student Services office (738-4280), which will suggest accommodations that can be arranged through the instructor. If you do not yet have an accommodation letter, please contact the DSPS office.
This syllabus is subject to change, attend class for updates.