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Required Texts and Materials: Thurman, Expanding Horizons Garcia Marquez, Chronicle of a Death Foretold An gmail account A Google homepage A college-level dictionary A manila folder for the submission of your work An 80-page spiral-bound notebook A Òmemory stickÓ or Flash Memory (recommended) Maimon, A Writer's Resource (recommended) Course Goals: Attention! This course is likely to be like none other youÕve taken before. In order to get your attention so that you can develop the skills in reading and writing that youÕll need to succeed at the college level, I have made the subject of the course your attention itself.
Yes, youÕll be reading and writing--five essays take-home essays--but that isnÕt all. WeÕll also take a couple of walks around campus, establish ourselves on the internet, do interviews of each other and others, do group presentations, compose image essays, publish e-porfolios, share our work with our peers, and actively discuss the readings, the writing, and our experiences with the content of the course.
Aside from your individual motives for coming to college, there are two main reasons for being where you are: 1) because you are capable of doing college level work and 2) because you need to work on specific reading and writing skills that will help you to do that work more effectively. We are all in this together. Each of us has an obligation to him or herself, to each other, to me, and to the class as a whole. If you're having trouble, your silence is going to make it worse. Turn to me or to your classmates before you give up or go away. With your attention, hard work and commitment in class, you can expect to come a long way toward achieving the following specific Student Learning Outcomes this quarter: At the end of English 848 you will be able to: GRADING AND COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Papers (5) 80 each (First drafts 10 each) Media Project 75 each Evidence of lab visits mandatory to pass E-PORTFOLIO 100 Blog/Notebook 100 Participation/Attendance 50 Quizzes 150 total: 1000 ESSAY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: You will submit your final essays in a STANDARD MANILA FOLDER that has been marked clearly with your name and the class you are enrolled in. The folder will contain, in the order in which the work was completed, all the steps toward the completion of the assignment, including prewriting, outlines, drafts, peer reviews written for you, final draft, and reflective writing. Missing portions will result in a lowering of your grade. All essays must be typed in 12-point standard font (I suggest Palatino or New Century Schoolbook), be double-spaced, and have 1-inch margins. (Nothing else is acceptable.) Write your name, the class, the date, and the essay number (e.g. 2.1) in the top left-hand corner of the first page. Center the title below the heading. Use MLA style for documentation. For each typed essay, you will write at least two (2) versions, one for peer workshop and one that is revised for final submission. You will be given guidelines for a self-evaluation or reflection before the final version is due. ALL INTERNET SOURCE MATERIAL MUST BE PRINTED OUT, ORGANIZED, AND INCLUDED AS PART OF YOUR PACKET. ALL QUOTATIONS MUST BE HIGHLIGHTED ON THE PRINT-OUTS. The 800 LAB, CONFERENCES, AND TUTORING: Writing comes more naturally to some than to others, but for almost everyone the best writing requires hard work, lots of time, little compromise, and the help of an interested audience. You are not on your own as you strive to meet the writing challenges of this course. On the contrary, between your peers, myself, and the writing lab, you should have all of the guidance you need. The only thing that will prevent you from taking advantage of all this help is you. Since I know some of you are not used to asking for help, never seem to find the time, feel shy, or are secretly afraid of being exposed as spies, I require that you take advantage of the resources designed help you improve as a writer. Here's how it works: For this course, the hour by arrangement provides students with the opportunity to enrich their learning beyond class time through a number of activities and materials available in the English 800 Lab. The lab provides support for student writing needs at the basic skills level: one-on-one tutoring conferences with English instructors, tutorials on specific writing skills (in hard copy and on the web), English and ESL reference materials, and group workshops to assist students with their writing skills. Computers with access to the World Wide Web are also available for researching, composing, and printing student essays. If the activity is completed in the lab, the staff will sign the green reporting form. Students can take advantage of all the resources in the English 800 Lab, so they can improve their writing. 1. You must complete at least two tutorials (and probably more) during the term. I will assign certain tutorials for you to complete in the 800 lab after I've reviewed your first writing assignment. You will be responsible for returning to me the sheet that shows you've done your work in the lab at the end of the term. 2. You must ALSO attend at least two conferences in the Writing lab to discuss a paper you are writing. 3. You must visit with me at least twice during the term to discuss your writing, once during the first three weeks. (Note that I work in the lab myself and a conference with me counts for both requirements.) Advice: Use the writing lab early and often. The work you will do here will give you the very best chance of passing this course with a good grade and readiness for the next stage. THE WRITER'S NOTEBOOK: Bring it with you to class everyday. This will be a place where you will be able to take notes develop your own ideas, record and respond to the ideas of others in the class, and practice your writing. Here you will perform all in-class writing activities. I will check it two times, once at mid-term and once at the end. USE IT TO RECORD NOT ONLY WHAT I SAY BUT ALSO WHAT YOUR PEERS SAY. Use it also as a reading journal, to record your thoughts as you read. PEER CRITIQUES: As members of peer groups, you will give and receive respectful and constructive critiques. You shall give the feedback you would like to receive from others. I will give credit to and you will benefit from thorough, constructive critiques. Your hard work will also count toward youfinal grade. Also, you can learn much from helping others to improve. I will provide detailed guidelines for you to follow as you critique. REVISING: I stand by the principle that "writing is rewriting." You may revise as much as you want, up to the due date for the assignment. Your work will, as part of the process, be reviewed by your peers and/or by me. Major revisions of TWO "final drafts" is possible if ALL previous steps in the writing process have been completed. Grades on revisions can either improve or not, but the new grade will replace the old. A weak revision can actually lower your grade. More careful proofreading does not constitute a revision. REFLECTIVE WRITING: Upon your completion of each essay, you will have the opportunity to reflect on your process, writing an essay that holds a mirror up to your efforts -- both successful and unsuccessful -- in the making of a particular piece of writing. I will provide you with prompts for these. E-PORTFOLIO GOOGLE: Our largest local employer, Google provides us with some amazing software free-of-charge and available from any computer with access to the internet. We will make use of several of these programs in this class. First, for communication between us I will require that everyone open a gmail account and join our class group. This way we will be "networked" inside of class and out. Second, I will introduce you to Google documents, a program available to you for you to upload, edit, collaborate on, and even publish your documents on-line. By the end of the course you shall have a nice little portfolio of your work that you will publish as a Google page, a site full of content that deserves the attention of any audience you choose.
COURSE POLICIES: ATTENDANCE Because this course makes use of writing activities, in-class workshops, and small-group discussion, your consistent attendance is crucial to your success. If you must miss a class for religious holidays, medical reasons, or other valid reason, you must let me know as far in advance as possible of the absence and obtain information about the work you must do to keep up in class. If you miss a class for any other reason (sudden illness, family emergency, etc.), you MUST get in touch with me as soon as possible and arrange to make up the work missed. Note: To be "excused" an absence must be accompanied by documentation. If you do not take responsibility for communicating with me about absences, I will contact you by phone or email and issue a warning about your standing in the course. Should you miss a FIVE classes unexcused, your work in the class will be seriously compromised and a continued pattern of absences WILL jeopardize your enrollment in the class. FIVE UNEXCUSED ABSENCES MAY RESULT IN YOUR GRADE BEING LOWERED OR IN YOUR FAILING THE CLASS AND HAVING TO START ALL OVER AGAIN. THREE TARDIES WILL COUNT AS ONE ABSENCE. The best policy, therefore, is to be in class, on time, every day! LATE WORK AND MAKE-UP POLICY: You CANNOT make up any lost points for in-class work or quizzes that you missed because you were tardy or absent. Essay grades are reduced 20 points for every day they are late past the due date. If you miss an in-class peer review essay workshop day, you automatically earn a Òcheck minusÓ for your final essay grade. The only exceptions to these rules are made for absences and missed deadlines due to personal or immediate family medical emergencies. If you have a legitimate reason to be granted an extension on an assignment deadline, you must let me know as soon as possible, and I will request for you to bring in a doctorÕs note or excuse. LATE PAPERS will be penalized, unless previous arrangements have been made. (Not being in class does not excuse you from doing the work due to be turned in that day.) You are, however, allowed one late assignment. In lieu of the paper that is late, submit a "late paper certificate " on which you state the nature of the problem resulting in the lateness and the date you will complete the work (within two weeks). GRADE DISPUTES: If you have a complaint about this course or wish to question a grade on an assignment, please write me a memo explaining the problems you are having with the course or my evaluation of your work. If you are not satisfied by my response or if you would like to discuss the matter further with me, we may meet. You may ask me to read an assignment again, reconsidering your work in light of points you have made about it. Many misunderstandings or problems can be worked out in such a meeting. INCOMPLETES: I will give a student an Incomplete in this course ONLY in this very special case: when the student has completed all of or the vast majority of the work in the class but, for some valid reason, cannot complete the course. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, COPYRIGHT, AND PLAGIARISM: Students are responsible for maintaining honesty in scholarship. Work submitted for a course must be the student's own (or a group's work, if students have collaborated on an assignment). The use of someone else's words or ideas without acknowledgment constitutes cheating or plagiarism. Remember, if I suspect plagiarism, I have the means of discovering your sources. I end up doing it far too often. Don't commit this mistake. It's not worth it. The following is Official Policy on plagiarism: CSM English Department’s Plagiarism and Cheating Policy The English Department finds plagiarism and cheating unacceptableÑboth ethically and pedagogically. Therefore, the English Department rigorously enforces the College of San Mateo policy on plagiarism and cheating outlined in the student handbook, which is found in the college catalog. College policyAccording to college policy, an instructor may respond to proven or admitted plagiarism in the following ways: 1. Warn the student, if the infraction is not intentional or flagrant, that any future violation will be dealt with in a more severe manner. 2. Assign the student an “F” grade (no credit) on that exam or assignment. Students should also be warned that a more serious sanction will be applied should another violation occur in the future. 3. The college policy requires the instructor to inform the Vice President, Student Services of a violation if sanction 2 is applied, identifying the student by name and identification number and outlining the specifics of the violation. After receiving the report via the Dean of Language Arts, the Vice President will check confidential records to determine if the student has been previously reported for a violation and, in that case, may determine that sanctions should be taken at the college level, such as suspension or expulsion. English Department policyThe English Department adopts the position that in cases of proven or admitted plagiarism, the first sanction above will NOT be used. Rather, the student will receive an “F” on the assignment for the first violation, and that violation will be reported to the Vice President, Student Services using the standard reporting form. In other words, only the second and third sanctions will be used by the English Department. See the accompanying definitions of cheating and plagiarism, based in part on those in the college catalog, for more information. The following definitions of cheating and plagiarism are based in part on those in the College of San Mateo catalog but focus on the sorts of dishonesty most likely to occur in English classes. Cheating means receiving unauthorized help on an examination, homework assignment, report, essay, or other work. Students must not
Plagiarism, a form of cheating, refers to presenting someone else’s ideas and/or words as one’s own. It is most likely to occur on writing done out of class, for example, on reports and essays. Students must not
Note: An examination, report, or paper which contains some cheating or plagiarism is still a dishonest or plagiarized piece of work, just as a thief who has earned some of the money found on him or her and stolen the rest of it is still a thief.
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