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Engl 108A Syllabus Spring 2005

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English 108A: Effective Writing

Spring 2005
Instructor: David Lang
Class Meeting Times: Tuesdays/Thursdays, 10:55 am to 12:20 pm or 12:30 to 1:55 pm
Office: W3 601 D  Mailbox: S2 - 402
Office Hours: Tuesdays/Thursdays: 9:30 am to 10:30 am
  Wednesdays: 2:15 pm to 3:25 pm
  or at other times by appointment
Office phone: (408) 855-5178 E-mail address: david_lang@wvmccd.cc.ca.us
Home page: http://salsa.missioncollege.org/lang/
 

I. Required Text

Raimes, Ann. Keys for Writers: A Brief Handbook. 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.
 

II. Catalog Description of Course

Concentration is on the clear and precise construction of short compositions related to practical problems and current issues. Fulfills the English requirement for Associate degree. Not a baccalaureate level course. Qualifies student for Engl 1A.
 

III. Prerequisite

Engl 905 or qualifying score on the placement exam.

Note: enrollment in English 900 is highly recommended. This is a lab course where you earn credit while creating or revising your essays or developing related writing skills.
 

IV. Course Assignments

You will:
A. use the writing process to write four interesting, well organized, well developed essays (or writings in other genres, if assigned, e.g. the collage genre) which are correct on the sentence level. You will write these pieces using both time in class and time out of class. One of these pieces will rely, in part, on research.

B. write a midterm and a final exam, both of which are essay exams based on readings.

C. write several well organized, well developed, short, in-class essays which are correct on the sentence level.

D. create an Error Log Workbook, which will help you improve your grammar.

E. share writing, and give feedback on classmates’ writing.

Note: Keep everything you write.
 

V. Attendance, Participation, and Submission of Papers On Time

A. You should attend and participate in each class. Sign the attendance sheet at the beginning of each class—it is your responsibility to make sure you sign this sheet. The attendance sheet is the official record of your presence in the class. I will record late arrivals, early departures, and absences.

B. You are allowed only three emergency absences without penalty. The fourth absence will count as 20 negative points. The fifth absence will count as an additional 35 negative points. The sixth absence will count as an additional 45 negative points (total 100 negative points—this is significant: 10% of the possible points). If you are absent seven times or more, you will receive a D or F for the course. Note well: arriving more than half an hour late or leaving more than half an hour early counts as 15 negative points each time. Arriving or leaving between ten and thirty minutes late/early is a late arrival/early departure and counts as ten negative points each time. Habitually arriving up to ten minutes after the class has started will also be noted in negative points.

C. If you miss a class, you are responsible for finding out what you missed so that you can arrive at the next class with the assignment completed. I suggest you get the phone numbers or email addresses of several of your classmates so that you can contact them should you miss a class and cannot reach me.

D. You should submit papers by the due dates. You are allowed one late out-of-class essay/collage during the term without penalty if, on the day that the assignment is due, you are present in class and turn in the “No Questions Asked Coupon” (see the end of the syllabus). Exception: you cannot use the coupon for the research paper, for in-class essays, or for exams. You must submit the late essay/collage within one week of the due date. If you do not submit an essay/collage because you are absent from class on the day an essay/collage is due, the essay/collage will be counted as late. I will subtract three points for each business day (Monday – Friday) that a paper is late to a maximum of 10% (equivalent to a letter grade) of the points possible (unless you have used the “No Questions Asked Coupon”). Not bringing a peer response draft to class on the assigned date will result in a 10 point penalty. I will accept late papers (including those incurring penalties—except for the peer response drafts) up to but not more than two weeks after the due date. Exception: I will not accept late papers during or after finals week. If you deliver a late paper to my box in room S2 402 or slip it under my office door, write on the cover letter the date you delivered the paper. (If you don’t, I will assume you delivered the paper on the day that I pick it up.) Note well: if you do not submit an essay/collage (draft or revision) within one week of the due date, your chances of passing the course are severely reduced since you will not receive points for the assignment.

E. There are no exceptions for any other due date. Thus, you are expected to:

1. take the exams on the assigned dates (unless you have made a special arrangement with me at least a week before the exam and received my permission for an alternate date—I will not grant this permission easily);
2. bring drafts to class for peer responses when asked (if you do not bring a draft to a peer response session, you will receive ten negative points);
3. submit on time any other assigned work (e.g. grammar log work).
Note: some assignments (e.g. in-class practice essay exams) cannot be made up and not doing them will reduce your overall grade.
 

VI. Plagiarism

Plagiarism will result in an “F.” Plagiarism means “to steal and pass off the ideas and words of another as one’s own” (Webster’s New World Dictionary). Mission College takes plagiarism very seriously and considers it grounds for failure. Turning in someone else’s work will result in an F and can result in disciplinary action, including suspension or expulsion, by the college administration. Plagiarism includes using words from a published article, book, or another student’s work without acknowledging the source, allowing another student to use your own work, or having a tutor, friend, family member, or anyone else write your paper for you. If you are unsure if you’re plagiarizing or not, ask me before turning in your work. See “Academic Standards and Regulations” in the college catalog for further details on plagiarism.
 

VII. Evaluation

I will use the following point system in evaluating your work (total = 1000):
A. The four papers (including the collage):  400 points (100 points each)
B. The midterm exam:    100 points
C. The final exam:     250 points
D. In-class essays (practice exams):   150 points (50 points each)
E. Error log workbook:    100 points (50 points each)
F. Negative points (for absences, late arrivals/early departures, late papers, drafts not available for peer response): fourth absence = minus 20 points; fifth absence = minus additional 35 points; sixth absence = minus additional 45 points; seventh absence: D or F; late paper = minus 3 points for each business day the paper is late; peer response draft not submitted = minus 10 points. Other late work or late arrivals/early departures: additional penalties.
Total course points will be converted to grades according to the following table:
 A: 900 – 1000
 B: 800 – 899
 C: 700 – 799
 D: 600 – 699
 F: Below 600
You may elect to receive a Credit/No Credit grade by putting your request to do so in writing and giving it to the instructor. Please read in the college catalog the explanation of what Credit/No Credit means in terms of grade point average, probation and dismissal procedures, the maximum number of Credit/No Credit units you can apply toward an associate degree, and any limitation on the transfer of “CR” units. You should also consult a counselor.
 

VIII. Special Needs

Mission College makes reasonable accommodation for persons with documented disabilities. Students should notify DISC (Disability Instructional Support Center), located in S2 – 201 (855-5085), of any special needs.
 

IX. Grade Record (Keep Your Own Record and Compute Your Grade

 Assignment        Your points        Points Possible

1. Collage           _____                       100
2. Essay 1           _____                       100
3. Essay 2           _____                       100
4. Research Paper  _____                   100
5. Midterm Exam      _____                100
6. Final Exam       _____                       250
7. In-class essays

In-class essay A _____               50
In-class essay B _____               50
In-class essay C _____               50
 8. Error Log Workbooks
Workbook A  _____                   50
Workbook B  _____                   50
 9. No Questions Asked Coupon used for: _________________________
10. Negative Points -____
(fourth absence minus 20; fifth absence minus additional 35; sixth absence minus additional 45; seventh absence = D or F for course; each business day an assignment is late = minus 3 points up to maximum of 10% of points possible; peer response draft not submitted = minus 10 points.)
 11. Total Points          _____           1000
 12. Grade               _____                                      or CR/NC
 

X. Due Dates (Subject to Change)

Week 1:     Feb 1
                  Feb 3
Week 2:     Feb 8
                  Feb 10
Week 3:     Feb 15  Peer response draft of Collage due
                  Feb 17  Collage and cover letter due
Week 4:     Feb 22
                  Feb 24
Week 5:     Mar 1
                  Mar 3  Peer response draft of Essay 1 due (four typed copies)
Week 6:     Mar 8  Essay 1 and cover letter due
                  Mar 10
Week 7:     Mar 15  Revision of Collage due, new cover letter; in-class essay A
                  Mar 17
Week 8:     Mar 22  Peer response draft of Essay 2 due (four typed copies)
                  Mar 24  Essay 2 and cover letter due; in-class essay B
Spring Break: March 28 – April 2
Week 9:     Apr 5
                  Apr 7 Midterm exam; Error Log Workbook A due
Week 10:   Apr 12  Revision of Essay 1 due, new cover letter
                  Apr 14
Week 11:  Apr 19
                  Apr 21
Week 12:  April 26
                  April 28  Peer response draft of Research Paper due (four typed copies, including one for the instructor)
Week 13:   May 3
                  May 5 Research paper due + copies of source material (quotes highlighted), cover letter
Week 14:   May 10 In-class essay C
                  May 12 Error Log Workbook B due
Week 15:   May 17
                  May 19
Final Exam Date: 1 – 3 pm, Friday, May 20.
Week 16:  May 25 No class
                  May 27 No class
 
 

NO QUESTIONS ASKED COUPON

Use this coupon wisely. You get only one during the term.
 

On the date that an assignment is due, you can turn in this coupon instead if you are present in the classroom. There is no penalty for an assignment that you turn in up to one week late if you have handed in this “NQA” coupon on the date that the assignment is due. You must be present in class on the date that the assignment is due in order to use the coupon.

Note: you cannot use this coupon for the research paper, the in-class essays, the midterm exam, or the final exam.

Complete all lines below. Please print clearly:
 

Your Name: ____________________________________________________________

Name of Class: __________________________________________________________

Day/days the class meets: __________________________________________________

Time the class meets: _____________________________________________________

Name of Assignment: _____________________________________________________

Date you will submit the assignment (no more than one week after due date): _________
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Updated: Wednesday, February 2, 2005 at 9:54:41 AM by David Lang

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