English
099 Fundamentals of Writing
Instructor
Bennett
Office:
103 FSOQ Office Phone: 769-3390
Office
Hours: M 1-4:00, WF 1-3:00, TTH 1-2:30
Required
Materials
Writing First: Practice in Context. 2nd ed.
Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell Eds. Bedford St. Martins, 2003.
Into The Wild. John Krakauer. Anchor Books.
A 3-ring binder, a two pocket folder, a composition notebook,
a college-level dictionary, and a small stapler.
Course
Description
Welcome
to Fundamentals of Writing. This class makes use of a workshop format, which
includes writing, close reading, mini-lessons on conventions, conferences, and
peer review. This approach should offer you the practice and review you need to
go on to English 101.
Outcomes,
Assessments, and General Education Abilities
|
Outcome |
Assessment |
General
Education Ability |
|
At the
completion of this course, you should be able to: |
You
will demonstrate this by completing: |
You
will apply the following abilities: |
|
Read actively and critically, engaging in dialogues with
texts. |
Reading
a nonfiction novel and responding both by writing and in small group
discussions about the content of the novel. |
Communication, critical thinking, and literacy |
|
Draft
essays in a format appropriate to their purpose and audience. These need to
communicate a central idea and be organized and developed. |
Writing essays about issues brought up both in class
discussions and from writing suggestions for writing about Into the Wild. |
Communication and critical thinking |
|
Develop
paragraphs containing relevant details and examples. |
Writing
journal and short papers based on writing assignments from class. |
Communication and critical thinking |
|
Revise
for clarity and effectiveness |
Revise
sentences using a variety of sentence combining techniques. |
Communication and critical thinking |
|
Edit
for reasonable—while not perfect—conformity to the conventions of standard
written English. |
Composing
clear sentences that demonstrate correct verb forms, subject-verb agreement,
pronoun agreement, conventional spelling and capitalization, parallel structure,
coordination and subordination, and conventional punctuation. |
Communication and critical thinking |
Course
Requirements and Evaluation
Requirements
|
Points
|
Percentage
|
Your Score
|
|
Portfolio Turn-in #1
Graded (A, B, C, D, F or plagiarized) (Each essay should be one to two pages
double-spaced; star the one you want graded.) |
(+)
= 50 pts (-)
= 30 pts 100 pts (graded) |
5% or 3% 10% |
|
|
Portfolio Turn-in #2
Graded
(A, B, C, D, F or plagiarized) (Each
essay should be two to three pages double-spaced; star the one you want
graded.) |
(+)
= 75 pts (-)
= 45 pts 150 pts (graded) |
7.5% or 4.5% 15% |
|
|
Portfolio Turn-in #3
Graded
(A, B, C, D, F or plagiarized) (Each
essay should be two to four pages double-spaced; star the one you want
graded.) |
(+)
= 100 pts (-)
= 60 pts 225 pts (graded) |
10% or 6% 22.5% |
|
|
Reading
Journal
Completion grade (+, , -)
Completion grade (+, , -) |
75
pts. (+) 56.25
pts. ( ) 45
pts (-) 75
pts. (+) 56.25
pts ( ) 45
pts (-) |
7.5% 7.5% |
|
|
In-class
final essay
|
150 pts. |
15% |
|
|
Totals |
1000
pts |
100% |
|
Your
letter grade for the course will be based on a point system. Points will be assigned to writing
assignments, reading journals and in-class essays. They will be evaluated on
the following scale:
|
100-94%
A |
83-80%
B- |
69-62%
D |
|
93-90%
A- |
79-77%
C+ |
Under
61% F |
|
89-87%
B+ |
76-74%
C |
|
|
86-84%
B |
70-73%
C- |
|
Disability Statement
In
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, NIC provides services and accommodations to
students who experience barriers in the educational setting due to learning,
emotional, physical, mobility, visual or hearing disabilities. For more
information please contact Sharon Daniels-Bullock in the Disability Support
Services Office, in the College Skills Center, Lee/Kildow 101(769-7794).
Course
Policies
By
enrolling in this class, you have made an educational and professional
commitment. This means that you have chosen to take this course at this
time because you are ready to learn its content, to challenge your mind, and to
think carefully. It also means that you are prepared to act responsibly in
order to ensure your success.
Attendance
Since
so much of your written work will be accomplished in class, regular attendance
is vital. If you have four absences
before midterm, I may consider this excessive and initiate your
withdrawal. Six absences over the
course of the semester are also excessive and may result in my withdrawing you
or in your failing the course. If you must be absent, please make prior
arrangements to make up your work. If
you miss a class, find a friend who can go through the class presentation with
you, if you are still having problems after that, schedule an appointment and
come and see me.
Late
Assignments
Assignments
are due on the day assigned at the beginning of class. Late assignments will be
reduced 5 points for each calendar day late.
Paper
Format
Each
paper should go through at least one revision before it is submitted to me for
comments. All final drafts must be computer-generated with one-inch margins and
a standard, legible font. For each
portfolio turn-in, students should star the paper that they want graded.
Portfolio
Students
will turn in their portfolio three times during the semester. The first
portfolio turn-in will include two, one to two page papers, each with a first
and second draft. Of the two papers, students should choose one to be graded;
this paper should include a third draft and final draft, which is highlighted
to clearly show the changes from the first draft to the last and which is
starred to show that this paper is the one to be graded.
The
second portfolio turn-in will include the first two papers and two more two to
three page papers, each with a first and second draft. Of the two papers,
students should choose one to be graded; this paper should include a third
draft and final draft, which is highlighted to clearly show the changes from
the first draft to the last and which is starred to show that this paper is the
one to be graded.
The
third portfolio turn-in will include the first four papers and two additional two
to four page papers, each with a first and second draft. Of the two papers,
students should choose one to be graded; this paper should include a third
draft and final draft, which is highlighted to clearly show the changes from
the first draft to the last and which is starred to show that this paper is the
one to be graded.
Reading Journal
Each week students will be assigned reading journal assignments, some of these will be done in class, some may need time outside of class. I will pick up the journals twice during the semester and grade them based on the number completed and on the length written for each entry. Students will receive a (+) or 100% if all journals are completed to the prescribed length. If most of the work is done and the length is adequate, students will receive a ( ) or 75%. If students are missing a significant number of entries or many are too short, they will receive either(-) or 60%. Each turn-in will constitute a separate grade. After the first turn-in is over, students will begin a new count and new grade for the second turn-in.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
or cheating will result in failure of the assignment and possibly of the course.
(See Student Handbook for details.)
Classroom
Behavior:
I
expect your behavior to match the expectations of this class. Any behavior that distracts other students
from learning or the instructor from teaching is considered to be harassment
(see Student Handbook). A student
demonstrating such behavior can be withdrawn from the class by an “Instructor
Initiated Withdrawal.”
Class
contacts:
Name_____________________________________
Phone
number____________________
Name_____________________________________
Phone number_____________________