WAYNE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT



WAYNE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

English 119—English I

Course Information

Course Name: English I Section: 38786

Semester: Spring 2015 Course Credit: 3 Hours

Day Offered: Wednesday Time: 5:00PM-8:45PM

Location: Downtown, Rm. 340 Prerequisites: None

Instructor Information

Instructor: Amy L. Keesling Email address: ametcal1@wcccd.edu

Office Phone: N/A Office Hours: Before or after class or by Mail Box: TBD appt.

Course Description

This course will provide opportunities for students to work with a variety of forms that will lead to the mastery of effective organization, topic development and appropriate styles, including the development of processes of thoughtful and analytical reading skills. Written work is required weekly.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, the student should be able to achieve the following objectives:

1. Write varied and coherent sentences free of major errors,

2. Apply prewriting, writing, and editing skills to the task of composing essays,

3. Write expository essays of several paragraphs,

4. Apply the principles of introduction, body, and conclusion in a composition,

5. Analyze the techniques and judge the effectiveness of various illustrative reading material aimed at a college level reading audience,

6. Demonstrate critical reading skills by progressing from literal understanding to inference and evaluation.

Specific Unit Objectives

At the end of this course, the student should be able to achieve the following objectives:

1. Learn to explore ideas and plan writing assignments through the use of such techniques as journal writing, brainstorming, clustering, free writing and outlining,

2. Learn to compose unified, coherent, logically organized and fully developed paragraphs and essays,

3. Learn to rethink ideas and revise expression to improve communication,

4. Learn to improve style and correct mistakes in grammar, diction, punctuation, and spelling,

5. Learn to analyze stylistic techniques and evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of various college level reading selections.

Texts/Materials

• The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Discipline by Gilbert Muller

• The Brief McGraw-Hill Handbook by Elaine P. Maimon, Janice H. Peritz and Kathleen Blake Yancy

• Register for . Your class assignments will be posted there, and you will access your grades there as well. You will receive an email to follow a link to register.

• Purchase access to McGraw Hill ‘s Connect. NOTE: This is bundled with the McGraw Hill Reader. You can also purchase it separately online.

• Regularly visit our class website at KeeslingEnglish119.

Purchase: 5-subject notebook or a 3-Ring Binder and 5 tab dividers, blue/black pens, flash drive and a pocket folder. (Folder is optional).

Class Policies and Procedures

1. Attendance: Students are expected to be on time for every class and stay for the entire class period. If you are going to be absent for an unavoidable reason, then it is your responsibility to contact me and explain why you were absent. I expect an email explaining your absence and your continued commitment to the class. Any other absence is avoidable and thus you should be in class. Habitual tardiness and leaving early will negatively impact your grade. Please notify me before class starts if you must leave early. Likewise, please explain any tardiness when class is over. If you miss any instruction or explanations of assignments, then it is your responsibility to get the assignments from a classmate, and to check the blog for missed information. Childcare issues and unreliable transportation can also be problematic. You should always have a back-up plan in case your first plan does not work. Remember this: 10 minutes early = You are on time for class; On time for class = You are tardy; Tardy = You are missing out on your education and cheating yourself.

2. Late Work: Late work will be penalized one letter grade and will be accepted only one week late. Work submitted more than one week late will not be accepted, will not be graded, and will not receive credit. Essays and other homework assignments are due at the beginning of class. Do not use class time to complete assignments that are due that day. If you are going to be absent, then it is your responsibility to have someone else deliver the assignment to class before class begins. Please do not disrupt class if you arrive late. If you are late, turn in your assignment at break time. Do not wait until the last minute to print a paper Do not print the paper during class time, or try to print it during break. Expect technical problems and you will have the time to rectify them before your deadlines!

3. Assignment Criteria and Revised Papers: All essays must be in MLA format: typed, double-spaced, in Times New Roman 12pt. font with one-inch margins. Papers not in this format will have points deducted from them. Papers with a score of less than a “B” should be rewritten and resubmitted exactly one week later, stapled on top of the original paper. I will be grading the first five grammatical or technical errors in your papers. Each of these errors must be corrected on an Error Correction Paper, and turned in to me the following week. You must give me hard copies of your papers; emailed papers will not be graded.

4. Class Conduct: All WCCCD policies will be enforced.

a. Persons not enrolled as students in this course are not permitted to attend class.

b. Eating and smoking are not permitted in the classroom. Nonalcoholic drinks are permitted. Snacks may be consumed in the hallway during the break.

c. No children may be left in any classroom or in the hallway.

d. Cell phones are not allowed to ring in the classroom. They must be turned off during class time. Students should not leave to answer a cell phone during class time. Likewise, text messages should not be sent or received during class time. If you blatantly disregard this policy then you will be asked to leave, and you may be removed from the class list. Please remember that you and your classmates are spending money for this time in class, and it is RUDE and UNACCEPTABLE for you to disrupt the educational process.

e. Students must be respectful of each other’s opinions. Please do not talk while someone else is speaking. Anyone who disturbs the class will be asked to leave.

f. If there is a problem with or question about a grade, speak with me after class.

g. Do not interrupt class to speak with me about being late or absent.

h. Students are expected to pay attention, follow along, and participate. Socializing with others during class will not be tolerated. If a student disrupts class, he or she will be asked to leave. Please keep in mind that the simple act to get up and walk out of the room, even to use the bathroom, is disruptive to me and to your classmates, so please only do this in an emergency. You will have a break halfway through class, so please wait until break time to use the restroom, eat a snack or make a call.

i. Students are not allowed to leave early. If a student leaves early without permission, then his or her grade will be affected.

j. If the class goes to the computer classroom or the library anytime during the semester, everyone is expected to attend the class. Attendance during these times is not optional.

k. During class, students should have their iPods, MP3 players, and other similar items put away.

l. Come to class dressed for success! You will do better!

5. Academic Honesty: The expectation at Wayne County Community College District is that the principles of truth and honesty will be practiced in all academic matters. Therefore, the College regards acts of academic dishonesty, including such activities such other forms of academic dishonesty on the part of students are discovered, each incident will be handled on the individual basis as deemed appropriate by the instructor.

Thus, you must give credit to any sources that you quote or paraphrase from in any of your compositions. You are not allowed to turn in any papers that you copy from the Internet or purchase from the Internet. When you take a test or a quiz you must keep your eyes on your own paper. When you complete on-line assignments, you must do them without any help from anyone else. Lastly, you are not allowed to have a teacher’s manual or any answer keys for assignments or quizzes or tests. Any student who is caught plagiarizing or cheating will receive a “0” for that assignment will be reported to student services for discipline.

6. Seeking Help: During the semester you might have questions or feel like you need extra help in this course. You are always welcome to email me, however, you might benefit from a conference with me as well. Please email me, or see me before or after class to set up an appointment. If there are students in this class who have special needs, learning disabilities, or other kinds of disabilities, I am happy to discuss ways to accommodate their needs.

7. Time Management: The most important thing you can do to be successful in this class is to manage your time wisely. One way to do this is to plan your time on a weekly basis. DO NOT wait until the last minute to write your papers or to complete your other assignments. Always assume that things will take longer to complete than you expect. Also, if you struggle with grammar, you will need to complete your papers ahead of time so that you have time to have someone else proofread your papers so that you can revise them before they are due.

8. Commitment: Success in college requites commitment, hard work and sacrifice. You cannot expect to put forth a little effort, or take shortcuts, and receive big results. Likewise, you cannot spend your time doing things you used to do before you started taking classes. Remember that short-term sacrifice produces long-term success. You must MAKE the time to complete your homework, and do not allow anything to keep you from getting to class on time each week.

Academic Grades

The following is the Wayne County Community College District’s grading system:

|Grade |Points |Description/Explanation |

|A |4.0 |Excellent |

|B |3.0 |Above Average |

|C |2.0 |Average |

|D |1.0 |Below Average |

|E |0.0 |Failure to complete course requirements satisfactorily |

|Academic grades are “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, and “E”. Pluses and minuses are not given with the grades. |

Withdrawal Grades:

|“W” Grades |

|W |Withdrawal |Withdrawal by the student during the first half of the semester. (8th week) |

|XW |Walk-away |Attended at least one class during the first third of the semester and failed to |

| | |withdraw during the remaining two-thirds of the semester. |

Incomplete Grade

The awarding of an incomplete grade is at the discretion of the instructor; as long as the student has been attending the class, is passing and has an unforeseen emergency, an incomplete can be awarded. The "I" can only be given after the 12th week of the semester.

Emergency circumstances are considered situations beyond the control of the student. The criteria to give an “I” grade are as follows:

1. The student must be passing the course.

2. The student must have to complete a contract which is mutually agreed upon by the student and the instructor.

3. The student must have a true emergency, such as emergency surgery.

Change of Grade Recommendation

A student who believes that a grade has been awarded unfairly or incorrectly should first contact the instructor who awarded the grade to discuss the issue and attempt to resolve the dispute. If the matter is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction, the student may appeal the grade to the Chief Academic Officer at the location where the course was offered.

The student will be advised of the appeal process, which includes a written statement from the student and the instructor’s written response. A committee will be selected and a grade-appeal hearing will be scheduled. Grade appeals must be filed within 90 days of the conclusion of the semester or session during which the student was enrolled in the course where the challenged practice occurred.

College Attendance Policy:

It is required that attendance is recorded daily since many students are receiving state and federal money that requires positive attendance verification. You will receive a “0” for positive attendance verification if you do not attend one class session prior to the deadline date. You will not be reinstated into the course if you do not attend. Students that do NOT appear on the class roster will NOT receive a Final Grade from the course.

SCHOLASTIC CODE OF ETHICS

The purpose of this code is to encourage and promote positive learning and ethical student behavior, as well as, define behavior violating scholastic ethics.

GUIDELINES FOR SCHOLASTIC CODE OF ETHICS

• Students assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the course work they submit. The following is a guide to assist students in observing positive behavior in scholastic ethics.

• Students must do their own work and submit only their own work on examinations, reports and projects, unless otherwise permitted by the instructor;

• Students can benefit from working in groups. They may collaborate or cooperate with other students during take-home examinations only if specifically authorized by the instructor in the class syllabus or at the time of the examination;

• Students must follow all written and/or verbal instructions given by the instructor or designated College representative prior to taking an examination, placement assessments, test, quizzes and evaluations;

• Students are responsible for adhering to course requirements as specified by the instructor in the course syllabus.

SCHOLASTIC CODE OF ETHICS VIOLATIONS

Students enrolled in college assume the obligation of conducting themselves in accordance with the highest ethical standards. Actions constituting violations of scholastic ethics include, but are not limited to the following:

CHEATING

• Intentional deceit during the pursuit of academic course work, tests, class assignments or activities in any testing area, learning center, clinical setting or tutorial session, or in the gathering of research materials is considered cheating. Cheating includes but is not limited to:

• Copying from another student’s test paper or knowingly allowing your test to be copied;

• Using materials during a test that are not clearly authorized by the person giving the test;

• Collaborating with another student during the test without permission; knowingly using, buying, selling, offering, transporting or soliciting any of the contents of a test;

• Taking a test for another person, or permitting another student to take a test for you;

• Bribing or attempting to bribe another person to obtain a passing grade or a better grade on a test or for a course;

• Intentional misconstruing facts or incidents relating to an evaluated exercise or assignment that would change the earned grade;

• Electronic, internet transmissions or wireless transfer of data.

PLAGIARISM

The representation of the work of others as one's own, including the use of term papers written by others, is plagiarism. The use of another's words, ideas or information without acknowledgement is also plagiarism. The student should seek guidance from the instructor about acceptable methods to be used to acknowledge the work and ideas of others.

COLLUSION

Obtaining from or giving to another student unauthorized assistance or material in any course work is collusion.

COMPROMISING INSTRUCTIONAL AND TEST MATERIALS

Unauthorized acquisition, tampering with, or alteration of instructional and/or testing materials from desks, cabinets, work rooms, classrooms, laboratories, instructor's offices, tutoring labs, testing areas, assessment areas, secretarial offices, College offices and/or other areas is compromising test materials.

MISREPRESENTATION / FRAUD

Unauthorized acquisition, tampering with, or alteration of instructional and/or testing materials from desks, cabinets, work rooms, classrooms, laboratories, instructor's offices, tutoring labs, testing areas, assessment areas, secretarial offices, College offices and/or other areas is compromising test materials.

ACCESS/Learning Center – Student Support Services

This program provides supportive services to special need students enrolled in career and technical programs at Wayne County Community College District. Resources are available according to individual needs and coordinators assessment and include services such as tutoring, visual aids, sign language interpreters, language interpreters and note takers, as well as special equipment often required to support academic success in college. Instructors and advisors may refer students who need assistance.   However, students are welcome to come and discuss individual concerns without referrals.

About This Program

Disability Support Services at Wayne County Community College District (WCCCD) strives to provide students with the necessary tools to help them accomplish their educational and career goals.

Students should

• Be admitted to WCCCD through the regular admissions process,

• After being admitted visit the Disability Services/ACCESS department,

• Complete the intake and services/accommodation request forms,

• Submit sufficient evidence/documentation of a physical, emotional and or prior learning disability,

• Request reasonable accommodations during your meeting with the Disability Services Coordinator and

• Meet with an ACCESS advisor to plan services and or an educational plan of work.

You can learn how to get assistance through the following link:

In addition, I wish to fully include persons with disabilities in this course. Please let me know if you need any special accommodations in the curriculum, instruction, or assessments of this course to enable you to completely participate. I will maintain the confidentiality of the information you share with me.

Note: It is the policy of the Wayne County Community College District that the responsibility for dropping a class belongs to the student. Please pay attention to the drop dates and policies in academic schedule for each term.

STUDENT FEEDBACK: SSOI SURVEYS

In efforts to better service our students, The Division of Institutional Effectiveness (IE) provides routine online surveys for our students. Towards the end of the term, your assistance is needed to ensure that all students registered for courses at the DT campus complete the online surveys for each of their DT campus courses. The surveys only take a few minutes to complete and can be administered at the beginning or end of your class session. The data collected from these surveys provide evidence-based feedback to support continued assessment and strategic planning. This enables continuous improvement of the Districts services to students, faculty and staff.  The Office of Instruction will be contacting classes toward the end of the term, to schedule an appointment for your class to complete the online surveys.  We hope that you will welcome this opportunity to assist us in obtaining feedback from our students regarding their needs and expectations. Survey link: wcccd.edu/dept/survey.htm

Academic Dishonesty

The expectations at WCCCD are that principles of truth and honesty will be practiced in all academic matters. Therefore, acts of academic dishonesty, including such activities as plagiarism or cheating are regarded by the college as very serious offenses. In the event that cheating, plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty on the part of students are discovered, each incident will be handled on an individual basis as deemed appropriate by the instructor.

Students are expected to do their own work unless advised that collaboration is acceptable. This means that you may use facts from other sources if you re-write them in your own words. Anytime you quote directly from another source or paraphrase substantially, you must cite the source you used. You are not allowed to turn in papers that you purchased or did not purchase from the Internet as your own. When you take a test, you are expected to complete the test, to do it on your own, and not to ask anyone for assistance. You are only allowed to use the material and resources that are indicated under Quizzes and explained in the directions. Finally, you are not allowed to have the instructors’ manual for the textbook, any answer keys, or copies of quizzes and tests.

Failure to use proper citation procedure is considered plagiarism, which is “stealing someone else’s ideas and presenting them as your own…. Any of the following are regarded as plagiarizing:

• presenting the work of others as your own work

• downloading material from the Internet without any acknowledgment

• using the ideas or words you find in a print or Web source without acknowledging where those ideas or words come from

• forgetting to add a citation to ideas and words that are not your own

In short, plagiarizing is seen as stealing somebody else’s words and ideas. It can be done intentionally; it can also occur unintentionally (as some writers have claimed), as a result of sloppy research and acknowledgment. Either way, intentional or not, plagiarizing is a serious offense” (Universal Keys for Writers 740-741).

Note on Plagiarism

1. Plagiarism is a serious offense. If you submit a paper that contains writing that you took from someone else—either in part or in whole—you will receive a “0” for that paper which will have a severe negative impact on your grade. In addition, you will be referred to student services for discipline based on college policy and you will be reported to the administration.

2. Neglecting to provide in-text citations and a works cited page are also considered plagiarism and will result in you having to spend a lot more time reworking your paper. Your paper will be marked down a full letter grade from the grade you earned if you do this.

Evaluation Procedures

Grading Procedure: Grading Scale:

Attendance/Participation/

Group Work: 10% A – 90-100%

Connect Assignments/ B –80-89%

Error Correction Papers: 10% C – 70-79%

Vocabulary assignments: 5% D – 60-69%

Journals: 15% E – 59% and below

Essays: 50%

Presentation: 10%

Grading Procedure Explanation

Attendance and Participation: I cannot overemphasize the importance of attendance. If you are not in class then you are not learning and you are missing assignments. Likewise, your input to the class during class discussions is invaluable. Your classmates need to hear what you have to say. Likewise, you need to hear what they have to say. Missed class time simply cannot be recaptured and completed as “make-up work.”

Journals: You will be keeping two different types of journals in this class. The first is a standard free-writing journal in which you will be recording your personal thoughts. You will write this journal each week in class, beginning with the second week of class. Each journal entry should be at least one handwritten page long. This journal will often serve as a springboard for future essays. You will be required to create the second type of journal, a double-entry journal, in response to your weekly reading assignments. Each week you will be assigned to select and read two essays from a list, and you will create a double-entry journal with a minimum of ten entries for each essay. These journals will be due each week at the beginning of class.

Essays and Error Correction Papers: You will be writing eight essays in this class. Again, these essays must be in MLA format. Each essay should be a minimum of two FULL pages. Please pay close attention to due dates! As previously mentioned, you will be required to revise all essays that do not receive an “A”, and turn them in the following week, even if you have another essay due that week as well! The grading rubric for each essay will be discussed in class. You are highly encouraged to have someone else proofread your essays and/or read your essays out loud to someone else. Don’t rely on spell-check alone, because it will not identify all of your grammatical errors and stylistic shortcomings. Furthermore, remember that you must correct the five errors that I have identified in each of your papers and turn in your Error Correction Papers the following week.

Vocabulary: Research shows that there is a direct correlation between vocabulary knowledge and success in school and in life. To that end, every other week I will give you 10 vocabulary words and create vocabulary maps for each word.

Final Presentation: During the last class session, you will discuss your growth in this class in front of the class in a formal presentation. Please keep in mind that your presentation is your FINAL EXAM for this class!

Assignment Headings

Please had all of your papers in MLA format, with the following information in the upper left-hand corner:

Your name

Professor Keesling

Date

Wayne County Community College

The Paper Title should be centered. You should use the name of the paper that is given in the syllabus, such as “Essay #2 Narrative Descriptive”.

Note: Do NOT use a cover page for your essays in this class.

Five-Subject Notebook

Section 1: In-class journals

Section 2: Double-entry journals

Section 3: Notes

Section 4: Vocabulary/Grammar work

Section 5: Prewriting and Essay planning/drafting

Class Schedule

NOTE: Bold print indicates assignments that are due that day.

Date Agenda

2/4/15 Introduction

Ice Breakers

Course Overview

Journal Writing: “Home”

Double –Entry Journal Explanation

Writer’s Workshop: Narrative-Descriptive Essay

Essay #1: Diagnostic Essay Due

2/11/15 Essay #2: Narrative/Descriptive Essay Due

Double-Entry Journal #1 Due

DEJ Discussion

Journal Writing; “Love”

Notes: Hook Sentences, Introductions and Conclusion

Writer’s Workshop: Definition Essay

Connect Pre-Test (In Class)

2/18/15 Essay #3: Definition Essay Due

Double-Entry Journal #2 Due

DEJ Discussion

Journal Writing: “Label Members of the Opposite Sex”

Frayer Model: Vocabulary

Mentor Sentence

Notes: Sentence Variety

Writer’s Workshop: Classification Essay

2/25/15 Double-Entry Journal #3 Due

Frayer Maps #1 Due

Connect Assignments Due (Writing Process & Critical Reading)

DEJ Discussion

Journal Writing: “Label Teachers”

Mentor Sentence

Notes: Introductions and Conclusions

Writer’s Workshop: Classification Essay

3/4/15 Essay #4: Classification Essay Due

Double-Entry Journal #4 Due

DEJ Discussion

Journal Writing: “The Effects of a Social Evil”

Group Work: Mortimer Adler “How to Mark a Book”

Writer’s Workshop: Cause-Effect Essay

3/11/15 Double-Entry Journal #5 Due

Frayer Maps #2 Due

Connect Assignments Due (Grammar and Common Sentence Problems)

DEJ Discussion

Journal Writing: “The Impact of Someone on Your Life”

Mentor Sentence

Notes: Parallel Structure

Writer’s Workshop: Cause-Effect Essay

3/18/15 Essay #5: Cause/Effect Essay Due

Double-Entry Journal #6 Due

DEJ Discussion

Journal Writing: “Compare and Contrast Two People”

Group Work: Donald Murray “The Maker’s Eye”

Writer’s Workshop: Comparison-Contrast Essay

3/25/15 Double-Entry Journal #7 Due

Frayer Maps #3 Due

Connect Assignments Due (Style and Word Choice & Punctuation and Mechanics)

DEJ Discussion

Journal Writing: “Compare and Contrast Two Places”

Mentor Sentence

Notes: Concise and Vivid Writing

Writer’s Workshop: Comparison-Contrast Essay

4/1/15 Essay #6: Comparison/Contrast Essay Due

Double-Entry Journal #8 Due

DEJ Discussion

Journal Writing: “Persuade Someone to Quit a Bad Habit”

Group Work: George Orwell “Politics and the English Language”

Writer’s Workshop: Persuasive/Argumentative Essay

4/8/15 Spring Break—No Class

4/15/15 Double-Entry Journal #9 Due

Frayer Maps #4 Due

Connect Assignments Due (Reasoning and Argument)

DEJ Discussion

Journal Writing: “Persuade Me to Change Something about this Class”

Mentor Sentence

Notes: Transitions

Writing Workshop: Argumentative/Persuasive Essay

4/22/15 Essay #7: Argumentative/Persuasive Essay Due

Double-Entry Journal #10 Due

DEJ Discussion

Journal Writing: “What is Your Motto? How Do You Want to be Remembered?”

Mentor Sentence

Notes: Reflection

Writer’s Workshop: Reflection

4/29/15 (Last Class)

Essay #8: Reflection Essay Due

Double-Entry Journal #11 Due

Frayer Maps #6 Due

Presentations Due

Connect Post-Test and Final Essay

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