Syllabus300
Welcome to English 300 Online, a course designed to help you become a better college writer. While I don't expect you to become an award-winning novelist as a result of this class, you should be better able to handle the many writing assignments you will encounter in college and beyond. This class is often considered the foundation for college studies since it emphasizes the skills essential to all classes: writing, reading, and critical thinking. This section will involve on-line class discussion and small-group activity, formal essays, and two on-campus formal essays (a diagnostic and the midterm)."Read, read, read. Read everything--trash, classics, good or bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master."
--William Faulkner (an award-winning novelist)
STAYING IN TOUCH
Phone: 558-2127; FAX 650-2715 (include cover sheet)
Email: minert@scc.losrios.edu
Office: RS217 Website: http://web.scc.losrios.edu/minert
Note: My office hours are listed under Faculty Information, but I am on campus at other times as well. If these times are inconvenient for you, please make an appointment to talk. Also, I check my email regularly, and I’ll try my best to respond to emails ASAP.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK
The Open Handbook, by Ann Raimes.
(Make sure you buy a NEW copy with the green wrapping strip because you ABSOLUTELY NEED the smarthinking.com password that is included. It's not very expensive for a textbook, and it's the only book you'll buy for this course. You can even get up to 50% back when you sell it back to the bookstore at the end of the course.) A copy is available for two-hour checkout at the Reserve Desk in the LRC. You'll need your SCC student card to access the library's Online Databases.
CLASS MEETINGS
This class will be conducted almost entirely online, but there are three times you must come to the SCC campus: for the orientation meeting, for the midterm examination (an in-class essay during the ninth week, date and location to be announced), and for an individual conference with me (in my office; we'll arrange appointments later).
STUDENTS ENTERING ENGLISH 300 SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
-- Write 500-750 word essays employing language appropriate to varied academic contexts -- Write personal, expository, and argumentative essays with an introduction, body, and conclusion -- Use thesis statements and topic sentences -- Use a variety of organizational strategies to develop paragraphs -- Vary sentence structures and types effectively -- Revise essay drafts to improve organization, development, and style -- Proofread and edit well enough to identify and correct significant errors in spelling, usage, mechanics, and punctuation -- Read at the 13th grade level to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate written texts typically encountered in college -- Do at least 9 hours of class work each week of the semester
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Students who complete Online English 300 successfully will have written at least 8500 words and will have demonstrated the ability to:
-- Create clear sentences with varied structures -- Revise, edit, and proofread essays, paying particular attention to style, organization, and the conventions of Standard English -- Express personal thoughts, opinions, and discoveries in appropriate authorial voices that reflect a sensitivity to varied audiences, purposes, and situations -- Compose well-structured essays that develop clear thesis statements with unity, cohesion, and effective transitions within and between paragraphs and that use a variety of rhetorical strategies and organizational patterns (definition, process analysis, classification/division, cause-effect analysis, and comparison-contrast). -- Analyze, interpret, and evaluate the content, purpose, targeted audience, structure, style, and effectiveness of essays and other nonfiction prose -- Contribute regularly to the class's threaded discussions of assigned model essays -- Use online and print sources to research and write a research essay that correctly uses the Modern Language Association's documentation and format standards -- Use email and other electronic interaction tools to submit relatively error-free written assignments in prescribed formats
GRADING POLICY: DEMONSTRATING WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED
Grading is on a point system. To earn a C in this class, you must earn at least 70% of the total possible points; to earn a B, 80% or better; and to earn an A, 90% or better.
The bulk of your grade will be based on formal essays graded numerically according to the English department's standards, most of them involving drafts reviewed and critiqued by your fellow students. In addition, you will be graded on your active participation in the Discussion Board and other on-line activities.
Three Essays (100 points each)---------- 300
Research Paper ----------- 200
Participation (includes discussion board postings, etc.)--------------100
TOTAL ----------------------------------------600
You will also write a diagnostic essay during our orientation meeting, and rewrite one of your essays for the final exam.
ESSAYS
Essays should be composed in Word and sent to the DROPBOX in Blackboard. Be sure to proofread and spell check your assignments before submitting them; an abundance of errors --even typos-- can interfere with a reader's understanding of your writing. Since clarity is essential in college-level writing, sloppy presentation will lower your grade.
Your Writing Will Be Evaluated For:
1. Unity: Clear purpose in thesis statement or topic sentences; all material supports stated purpose. 2. Organization: Clear structure; sentences and paragraphs follow one another logically. 3. Development: Sufficient specific evidence 4. Sentence skills: Control of sentences (no fragments, run-ons, comma splices, etc.) 5. Mechanics: Correct punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and format.
Note: If you need to brush up on sentence-level errors, visit the Tutoring Center ASAP. Tutors will help you practice your writing skills, and some are even available to help you online. You may also visit SCC's Online Writing Lab for hyperlinked practice exercises. Finally, review our textbook (as well as its online website) for additional exercises, tutorials, and checklists.
The Three-Week Schedule
I've tried to schedule the major essays so you'll have about three weeks to work on each one. First, you'll read a number of related online articles, participate in the discussion board, produce an outline and send it to me via the appropriate Discussion Board for approval and advice, write a draft and have it reviewed by smarthinking, make any necessary changes, and finally send the finished, meticulously proofread version to me for grading. Fair enough? I'll post further details about this process for each essay assignment.
How Can You Become a Better Writer?
There are three ways: practice, practice, and practice. Not dreaming about it, talking about it, or postponing it. Just practice. So we'll do a lot of writing in this course, at least 8500 words worth (was that a pun?). That includes the essays and exams and the posts to the discussion boards (one of the advantages of a threaded discussion or chat is that they're written/keyboarded as opposed to just spoken). You'll also write about what you've read (responses). Finally, you'll analyze what parts of writing you're doing well and what parts you need more work on. However, if you know that your grammar, spelling, or usage skills need brushing up, begin working on those skills TODAY. Submitting Essays
Write your essays single-spaced in MSWord, edit and spell check them, and then save them as rtf (Rich Text Format). Do not save your essay as Text Only. In the subject line label the essay with your last name, then the essay number like this: smithEssay1 and send it to the Digital Dropbox, using the directions in Getting Started in Your Blackboard Course. Once the essay is in the Drop Box, only you and I can see it; when I grade the essay, you will find it in the Drop Box with my comments embedded (I'll use Word's Track Changes feature).
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is copying someone else's writing and turning it in as your own. That means not only copying someone's paper but also "borrowing" ideas or sentences from a source without giving that source acknowledgment. In this class, you will look for support in outside sources to back up your ideas, but the reasoning and the sentences must be yours. In general, keep copies of all your sources, since I may ask to see them. If I suspect the work you have turned in is not your own, the burden of proof will be on you to show me that it is. If the style of your formal essays deviates from what I see in your postings, responses, and midterm, I will require you to rewrite under more controlled conditions. Check the Plagiarism site in External Links for acceptable examples of paraphrasing. If you plagiarize in this course, you will be dropped, and I will send your name to the Dean of Students for disciplinary action. Don't even think you can get away with plagiarizing--after reading your essays and posts for the first few weeks, I'll have a feel for your writing--any significant deviations from your usual style will send me to the search engines that can check suspicious writing easily.
LATE WORK
Late work is not accepted except in the case of a serious emergency that you have cleared with me BEFORE the assignment was due. This may sound Draconian, but I have found that students who keep up with their work usually pass, those who fall behind and submit last-minute, shoddy work usually fail. Technical difficulties: If technical difficulties arise (servers going down, power outages, etc.) that prevent access to the course website, then due dates will be relaxed. However, if you have technical difficulties at your end, you are responsible for keeping up with the class. When a technical problem occurs, first post a question in the HELP Discussion Board--if that doesn't work, then contact me.
TURN-AROUND TIME
Though people today consider email the equivalent of a written phone call and expect an immediate reply, please remember that you are one of 150 students in my classes this semester. In general, you can expect me to return your formal assignments within two weeks from the date I receive them (and usually within one week) and to respond to inquiries as soon as I reasonably can. If for any reason I need more time to respond, I will try to inform you in advance.
SAVE EVERYTHING
I will keep accurate records of the work you complete for this course. I will even save your graded assignments in a folder on my hard drive until the end of the semester. However, computers crash and files get lost, so you should save everything I send you, especially graded assignments (especially ESSAYS 1, 2, and 3 because you'll be revising one of them later in the semester). If there is ever a question about whether you submitted an assignment or not, you will have to provide me with a copy of the assignment with my comments and grade on it. Otherwise, you will not receive credit for that assignment.
DISCUSSION BOARDS
In the COMMUNICATION section of Blackboard is the button for Discussion Boards, where you will find online forums for our discussion topics. These Boards are the equivalent of attending class and participating in discussion, so you have to stay active. While you do not have to check in every day (though that would almost certainly boost your grade!), you do need to respond every time an assignment is posted. When I post the assignment, I'll specify how many times I expect you to participate. A day or two AFTER the due date, return to the DB, read ALL the postings and reply to at least TWO. Check back afterwards to see if anyone replied to YOUR post or your reply and then repsond to them--try to get a conversation going. Finally, don't respond to postings dated BEFORE the semester began--those are SAMPLES from previous students.
You will be graded for participating the required number of times and also on the quality of your postings over the course of the semester (I'll start the first few discussions with a sample, acceptable response as a model). If your responses are underdeveloped (too brief or superficial, for example) or off-topic, your DB grade overall will suffer (individual postings do not receive a grade). 90-100 points: All DBs completed on time; posts are very thoughtful, thorough, and exceptionally well-written. May write extra replies than required. 80-89: All DBs completed, one may be late; posts are thoughtful, thorough, and well-written (very few errors). May write extra replies than required. 70-79: Two or three DBs may be late, but ALL are completed; posts address the assignment and are written satisfactorily (may contain a few errors). 69 or fewer points: More than 3 DBs mssing or late; posts are brief or contain frequent errors. I recommend that you compose your postings in Word, spell check to eliminate those annoying typos, then save, then copy and paste to the Board. Since these postings are essentially email, I don't expect them to be altogether error-free, but I do expect them to be thoughtful and of high quality. You should certainly proofread and edit your posts with attention to sentence structure, spelling, and grammtical correctness. Remember: if you are not actively participating in the Discussion Boards or if you fall significantly behind, you will be dropped from the course or given a failing grade regardless of your progress on the essays. A Note on Mutual Respect: In the immortal words of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, "Show a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T." Since we'll be dealing with some controversial issues in this class, it's especially important that we show a respectful understanding of viewpoints that differ from our own. Don't attack a person you disagree with.
ACADEMIC STANDARDS
According to the SCC catalog, earning one unit of college credit requires performing three hours of work per week for a semester. Since English 300 is a three-unit class, you should expect to devote at least nine hours a week to this class. Research has shown that online students who check in on their courses five times a week drop out less frequently, get better grades, and are more satisfied with their learning experience than those who don?t check in as often. Since I regularly post announcements without emailing them to individual students, it's important that you check in frequently.
EXTRA HELP
Please feel free to drop by my office or call or email me if you have questions or would like individual help. I really want you to succeed in this class, and I'll work with you to help you accomplish your goals. Remember, you're in this class to learn, and my job is to help you do so. If you run into problems keeping up with the work, have an emergency that will keep you from participating for an extended time, or simply are confused about an assignment, then contact me, and I'll work with you to help you succeed. If you are feeling discouraged or overwhelmed and are thinking about dropping the class, please email me before reaching your decision--I may be able to offer some help that will keep you in the class. Deal? We're all explorers in this new form of distance education, cybernauts in a virtual world. Let's have a wonderful journey together!
"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he's had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task before him. Then my father sat down beside him, put an arm around my brother's shoulder and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"
--Anne Lamont (another award-winning author)