Instructor:
David Owens
Office:
AAA 111
Phone:
527 - 4425
Office
Hours:
Monday
2:30 - 3:20 pm
Wednesday
2:30 – 3:20 pm
English
101 meets:
Mon - Fri. 1:30 – 2:20
pm Room: AAA 204
e-mail:
owensenglish@gmail.com
home page:
http://web.wwcc.edu/davidowens/engl-101/
ANGEL
login: http://angel.wwcc.edu/default.asp
ANGEL
Help: http://www.waol.org/general_info/help_desk.aspx
Required
Texts and Materials:
· There
is no required text for this class, but you will need reliable access to the
internet
Course
Objectives:
Throughout this course, we
will continually hone your ability to contribute effectively to a written,
academic conversation by:
·
Better learning to understand written arguments
·
Key Concepts: Comprehension, Imagination, Research, and Context
·
Developing a thoughtful response
·
Key Concepts: Reflection, Logic, Rhetorical Analysis
·
Communicating that response effectively
·
Key Concepts: Grammar, Organization, Summary, Citation, Rhetoric, Logic,
Evidence
Course Components:
·
Reading: Reading is an essential part of learning how to write
well, and some students might need to develop good college-level reading habits
before they can be successful in upper level classes, so we will focus as much
on reading this quarter as on writing. Although we won't read more than 2
articles per week, you will be expected to read them carefully, preferably more
than once, and be prepared to discuss them in detail in class. This will be to
your advantage because they will figure largely in our writing assignments, and
you will not be very successful in your writing if you neglect your reading.
This quarter we will be looking at juvenile
crime and punisment. I have chosen articles to
get us started for the first 3 weeks of the quarter, but I have left the
reading schedule open for the rest of the quarter so that we can pursue this
topic in a way that most interests us as a class.
You may earn extra credit (maximum
30 points) by submitting articles for the class reader that pertain to our
chosen topic. If the article is at least 15 substantial paragraphs, makes a
thoughtful argument backing a clear position, and represents a view we have not
yet read in class, then you will earn 5 extra credit points. If your article gets
posted to the syllabus, you will get an additional 5 points. Short news items
and political cartoons can also earn you some points.
·
Group Deliberation Project: In order to understand the conflicts
surrounding our chosen topic, we are going to be developing short plays (or a
debate) to explore the issue from multiple perspectives. This will involve
imaginatively inhabiting an author from one of our readings, improvising scenes
in various settings, and workshopping a scene in
front of the class.
·
Essays and Written Assignments: You will be writing two or three
out of class essays designed to give you practice in contextual reading and
different modes of writing. Essays need to be double-spaced, typed in 12 point
Times Roman font with an MLA heading and title. All essays will be graded using
the ENGL 101 Grading Rubric.
·
Portfolio: At
the end of the quarter you will submit a portfolio that is 11 to 12 pages long,
including a 2 page letter reflecting on what you have learned about reading,
writing and thinking this quarter. This Portfolio must include your final
argument paper and usually up to three revised shorter essay-like assignments.
These revisions will do more than merely correct grammatical errors and structural
problems; they will reflect a greater understanding of your subject, will pay
closer attention to style, and demonstrate a better awareness of audience. The
revisions should be substantial, transforming each essay into a substantially
new piece of writing, and often expanding its scope and complexity.
·
Weekly Grammar Quizzes: We
will have 10 grammar quizzes, worth 5 points each. I will give you some idea of
the emphasis of each quiz earlier in the week, so you will have a chance to
study your grammar guide.
·
Attendance and Participation: It is your responsibility to
create, and take advantage of, this community of readers, thinkers and writers
by coming prepared every day to class having read and thought about
the material we are discussing, by having drafts completed on time,
contributing to class discussion, and being respectful, thoughtful and
responsive listeners. I expect that you will contribute something to class
discussion at least twice a week. I will be calling on people randomly to
volunteer responses to in and out of class exercises, but it will be your
responsibility to make sure you are contributing weekly, even if you are only
asking questions.
Failure to participate can
significantly lower your grade. You will earn 1 point for showing up PREPARED
for class, and can earn up to 3 participation points per day of class by asking
intelligent questions, answering questions, or making a meaningful contribution
to class discussion. You may be marked absent if you are not in class by the
time I take roll, if you come without the materials to work that day, or if you
are mentally absent from class. You will lose two participation points for
every day you are marked absent for any reason, and 5 from workshop days (which
includes days we exchange papers for workshopping).
(115 points max.)
Plagiarism is the submission of work for
credit that includes materials copied or paraphrased from published or
unpublished works without proper attribution or documentation. You are also
committing plagiarism if you attribute your own words or ideas to someone else,
or if you submit work previously submitted for another class as original work.
It is part of my job to make sure
that you are aware of the proper conventions used in borrowing text and ideas
from other people’s writing, so errors of sloppy or incorrect attribution will
only result in deducted points. Wholesale plagiarism of an entire essay or
large chunks of someone else’s work, or an attempt to be deceitful about the
use of sources, is a serious matter and will not be tolerated.
If I suspect a student of deliberate
or extensive plagiarism, he or she will be called in to prove, through the use
of notes, drafts and explanations, that they did not
plagiarize. If the student is found guilty of academic dishonesty, either by
plagiarizing someone's work or by allowing their own work to be misused by
another, they will automatically fail English 101 and have to take the course
again.
Submitting Assignments: You
may submit any written assignments by e-mailing them to me at owensenglish@gmail.com. I will submit my
feedback to you in the form of a MS Word document with review comments in the
margin. Make sure you have your MS Word view set on "Print Layout" or
"Normal" so that you can read the comments. You may also submit
assignments on paper, and you will get them back the same way, but you will
ALWAYS be required to submit them during class, the comments will not be as
extensive or as legible, and you might not get them back in as quickly. Also,
if you lose them, I will not have a copy.
Contacting the Instructor:
The best way to contact me, at any time of day, is to email me at owensenglish@gmail.com
or through the Angel classroom if you check the box to send it to my home
address as well.
·
I check this e-mail address several times a day and, if I am in front of my
computer, I am alerted when an e-mail arrives.
·
Therefore, responses to your e-mails can sometimes be instantaneous.
·
At any reasonable time of day, you can usually get a response from me within
two hours, if it is clear that a response is called for.
I usually check my campus e-mail a
few times each week. It is not the best way to contact me or submit late
assignments.
I check my campus mailbox only once
a week, if I remember. Submitting assignments there is NOT a good idea.
Please place hard copies of assignments on my desk, which is located in office
111, just on the other side of the carpeted wall from the copy machine. Placed
on the desk is a large plastic spider sitting in a Zen garden. Please don't
disturb it.
During my office hours, I can be reached at 527 - 4425. At other times of day,
you can leave a message at this number, but I usually only remember to check my
messages once a week, so it is ALWAYS better to e-mail me a quick
message at owensenglish@gmail.com
Discussion Forums / Absences: As you read above, you will lose
from 2-5 points for every day you are absent, but you can make up some of these
points (and non-talkers can earn their weekly participation points), by
contributing to the discussion boards on Angel every week that we have at least
one reading. You must contribute to the discussion board before the reading is
discussed in class, however, to get credit.
Late Work:
Essays* will lose 10 points for every day they are late, starting with
the hour after they are due. It is better to turn in a 20-minute
fast-write than a late essay or draft (as you will see below).
Late Informal Writing+ will
receive no credit, but it may be looked over and receive comments. Missed
Quizzes may not be made up unless arrangements have been made ahead of time,
and I usually prefer to have the student take the quiz before the anticipated
absence. The mid-term and final quizzes are designed to help you make up points
on missed quizzes.
Revisions:
Revision is an important concept in this writing class. No piece of
writing is perfect (and is very rarely even effective) on its first draft. If
you still receive a failing grade on the final draft of a major assignment*,
you may revise and resubmit the essay as many times as it takes to receive a
score of 70 points. Revisions are ALWAYS due the Wednesday after the
graded assignment is handed back to you.
Incompletes:
No incompletes given unless 3/4 of the total course work is already completed.
A request for an incomplete must be accompanied by a plan for completion.
Disabilities
Policy: If you have a disability and need accommodations,
please see the instructor after class or contact Claudia Angus, Coordinator of
Disability Support Services at 527-4262 or 527-4543.
Writing
Center: The TLC offers free writing assistance from
trained writing tutors during all stages of the writing process. Located in
room 244 (next to the Computer Lab and Student Activity Center) writing tutors
are available Monday-Friday from 8:30a-2:30p. To make the best use of your time
at the TLC Writing Lab, please bring a copy of your assignment with you, along
with notes and course readings, to help tutors better
understand the writing context. Understand that the writing tutors will not
proofread papers or talk with you about grades. Instead, they will support you
as a writer by helping you develop good habits and strategies suitable for a
variety of writing situations.
Copyright Notice: Many of the materials posted to
this course site are protected by copyright law. These materials are only for
the use of students enrolled in this course and only for the purposes of this
course. They may not be further retained or disseminated.
Assignments:
|
In-class
Assessment |
15 points |
|
Five
Paragraph Response Essay+ |
30 points |
|
2nd
Response Essay* |
50 points |
|
Deliberation
Improvs |
50 points |
|
In-Class
Essay |
25 points |
|
Rhetorical
Argument Revision of ICE * |
50 points |
|
Supported
Argument Draft + |
50 points |
|
Peer
Review Letter |
15 points |
|
Supported
Argument Essay* |
100 points |
|
Final
Portfolio |
300 points |
|
Quizzes+ |
50 points |
|
Participation
(in-class discussion) |
90 points |
|
Total
|
810 points |
Items
with an * count as Essays for the purposes of late work and can be revised for
inclusion in the Final Portfolio. You must to receive a passing grade (60%)
on each of these assignments, and a 70% or better on the Final Portfolio, in
order to earn a transferable grade (C or better) from ENGL
101.
Items
with a + count as Informal Work for the purposes of late work.
Your
final grade will be determined based on a straight percentage of points earned
out of points possible, based on this Grade Chart
Please
refer to the Class Calendar to see when
Reading and Written Assignments are due.