New and Improved Syllabus Per New Requirements

Please be aware that copy a document to a computer site sometimes botches the formatting. Angelina College Liberal Arts English 1301, Composition I General Syllabus I. BASIC COURSE INFORMATION: A. Course Description: Three hours credit. Intensive study of and practice in writing processes, from invention and researching to drafting, revising, and editing, both individually and collaboratively. Emphasis on effective rhetorical choices, including audience, purpose, arrangement, and style. Focus on writing the academic essay as a vehicle for learning, communicating and critical analysis. B. Intended Audience: Students who have satisfied TSI writing requirements. C. Instructor: Instructor Name: Lawrence Hall. Office Location: G. Office Hours: Before and after class. Office telephone: 409 489 9000. Facsimile machine: 409 489 9416. “Call me” is not a message. Email: mhall46184@aol.com. Please be advised that I do not log into my official Angelina email every day; mhall46184@aol.com is the better choice. I always reply to email as soon as I read it; if you send a message and do not hear from me in a day or so, your message did not get through. When writing, follow the block form business letter format – this is a writing class, after all, so let the professionalism begin now. If you send a poorly-formatted letter I will return it to you for a re-write. ‘Net contacts: Blackboard and angryverbs.blogspot.com. Blackboard is unreliable, so I will also post notes to angryverbs.blogspot.com. Angryverbs.blogspot.com contains most of last term’s lessons, notes, and guides, and will prove very useful to you. These sources do not replace classroom contact, lessons, and documents; this is not a distance-learning class. II. INTENDED STUDENT OUTCOMES: A. Core Objectives Required for this Course 1. Critical Thinking: to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information 2. Communication: to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral, and visual communication 3. Teamwork: to include the ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal 4. Personal Responsibility: to include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making B. Course Learning Outcomes: • Demonstrate knowledge of individual and collaborative writing processes • Develop ideas with appropriate support and attribution • Write in a style appropriate to audience and purpose • Read, reflect, and respond critically to a variety of texts • Use Edited American English in academic essays III. ASSESSMENT MEASURES A. Assessments for the Core Objectives 1. Critical Thinking: Students will read expository prose critically to distinguish between perception and inference, surface and implied meanings, fact and opinion. Students will formulate and develop arguments and critical theories about issues, argumentative prose, and literary interpretations. A rubric will be used to assess critical thinking skills as demonstrated through embedded questions on standardized exams. 2. Communication: Students will write modal essays and other written compositions. Students will prepare visual aids to use in oral presentations to accompany the compositions being prepared. A rubric will be used to assess the effective development, interpretation and expression of written, oral, and visual communication as demonstrated through embedded questions on standardized exams. 3. Teamwork: Students will engage in teamwork exercises to assess each member’s ability to consider different viewpoints and work towards a common goal. These exercises may include a mixture of peer editing in groups, group research projects, and group oral presentations of findings. A rubric will be used to assess teamwork as demonstrated through embedded questions on standardized exams. 4. Personal Responsibility: Students will be required to demonstrate their ability to connect choices and actions, engage in ethical decision-making, and understand its consequences. A rubric will be used to assess personal responsibility as demonstrated through embedded questions on standardized exams. B. Assessments for Course Learning Outcomes 1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of individual and collaborative writing processes by composing a variety of essays. 2. Students will show the development of ideas with proper support and attribution by preparing essays using appropriate MLA documentation. 3. Students will demonstrate the ability to write in a style appropriate to audience and purpose by composing essays with a variety of purposes directed to different types of audiences. 4. Students will demonstrate the ability to read, reflect, and respond critically to a variety of texts by composing essays that directly address the ideas discussed and issues raised in text read in class. 5. Students will show the ability to use Edited American English in academic essay by composing a variety of essay employing EAE. IV. INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES: Methodologies that may be utilized in presenting course content include in class or online lecture notes, paper and pencil or online grammar exercises or research exercises, in person or email workshops for student writings in progress, audio-visual presentations for view in class or outside of class, online discussions (synchronous or asynchronous), student presentations to groups or to instructor only, and guest participants. V. COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES: A. Required Textbooks and Recommended Readings, Materials and Equipment The Bedford Handbook by Diana Hacker. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's. This is a much-revised edition, so an older one won’t do. Don’t worry about bringing a copy to the first class, but you’ll need one the second week. You are welcome to share a copy with a study buddy. Do not buy any ancillary material such as CDs or online access codes; you need only your book, paper, and black or blue pens (No pencils. Ever.). The Writer's Workbench computer program, which is provided for the student in the English 1301 Writing Lab. Students will be required to listen and take notes on class lectures and discussions. B. Course Policies – This course conforms to the policies of Angelina College as stated in the Angelina College Handbook. 1. Academic Assistance – If you have a disability (as cited in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) that may affect your participation in this class, you should see Karen Bowser, Room 208 of the Student Center. At a post-secondary institution, you must self-identify as a person with a disability; Ms. Bowser will assist you with the necessary information to do so. To report any complaints of discrimination related to disability, you should contact Dr. Patricia McKenzie, Administration Building, Room 105 or 936-633-5201. 2. Attendance – Attendance is required as per Angelina College Policy and will be recorded every day. Any student with three (3) consecutive absences of four (4) cumulative absences will be dropped from the class. Records will be turned in to the academic dean at the end of the semester. Do not assume that non-attendance in class will always result in an instructor drop. You must officially drop a class or risk receiving an F. This is official Angelina College Policy. 3. Additional Policies Established by the Instructor— Quizzes may appear at any time -- be prepared for each class. A due-date is not a suggestion; out-of-class assignments are due at the beginning of the class. There is no makeup work; if you are absent and miss a quiz or fail to turn in an assignement, you have a zero for that work – but, as a very generous bend-my-own-rule exception, I might permit you to take a quiz or turn an assignment no more than a class meeting late if you were absent. Might. And I will certainly void this kindness the first time any student in any class complains about this offered mercy. Please do not ask to leave class on a due-date to print out your paper. No one wants to hear about your home printer or computer problems. Really. This isn't high school. Attendance: Per Angelina College requirements, three consecutive absences or four cumulative absences from a day course or two absences from a night course require me to drop you; I am not permitted flexility in this. Disappearing during a break or during class counts as an absence. Tardiness is an absence; your presence elsewhere in the building instead of in class and on time is an absence. I cannot / will not re-teach a class session; if you miss, you must ask a classmate for notes. Form casual study / buddy groups and communicate with each other. If I miss -- and I haven’t yet – I will try to post my absence on angryverbs.blogspot.com and Blackboard in advance. Individual emails or ‘phone calls are impossible. Out-of-class work must be produced on a word processor. I accept 12-point Bookman Old Style (preferred), Geneva, Arial, or Times New Roman. Follow the MLA format. Papers are due at the beginning of class; if you are in the library typing when class begins you have both a zero test grade and an absence. Please do not bring me a memory device and ask me to print out your paper -- that's a zero for the assignment. In-class work must be in black or blue ink. This is not high school. Office Hours: Before and after class. I hope to be in the classroom approximately a half-hour before class and briefly after class. Please feel free to email me at any time at mhall46184@aol.com to ask me reasonable questions or for reasonable advice. Do NOT ask me what we did last week; access Blackboard and angryverbs.blogspot.com, and ask a classmate. Really. This isn’t high school. Show initiative; passivity is your enemy. Class participation: let's have lots of fun here, but remember that even the most heated arguments should be in a spirit of good fellowship, with no ad hominem attacks. You are a scholar -- argue like one, with courtesy and generosity. The outside readings are not overwhelming, so take some notes and prepare to make a significant contribution: one good, original thought -- YOUR THOUGHTS, not Mr. Cliff's or Mr. Sparks' -- per poem / essay / narrative. No potty-mouth, and don’t piously cite the First Amendment as a pretext for foul language; the FA is about the freedom to petition your government and the freedom to assemble peaceably. Wipe your feet before entering the building. Drinks and snacks -- You probably had a long and tiring day before you arrived in class, so I do not mind a cup of coffee or a small soda, but remember that this is not McDonald's: no food, please. Please use a bit of paper towel so no rings are left on the furniture, and at the end of class put all debris away in the trash cans. After class, wush the chairs back into position. The nice folks who clean up around here are overworked and underpaid, and deserve everyone's respect for their contributions to your success. How much help? When writing papers you may solicit a great deal of assistance from others with matters of form and proofreading; indeed, I encourage such collaboration. The thesis and content, however, must be your work alone, and all quotations and sources must be properly documented. I cannot emphasize too much what a serious issue this is. An instructor need not resort to plagiarism programs; a simple string search on any search engine will ferret out a downloaded paper. Anyone who perpetrates such an offense will suddenly be free to find his or her true self -- if you cheat, I will drop you from the class with an F. I search out all papers through plagiarism sites, which may result in a slower paper return. I apologize for any delay that occurs. Referring to this class as a basic to be gotten out of the way is impolitic. Education is a joy in itself, a rare privilege enjoyed by very few people in history, and even the most tiresome prerequisite is never a basic or something to be gotten out of the way. You are now a college student, not a conscript high school sophomore. Celebrate your intellect. Oh – and please don’t tell me that you made straight As in high school. Cell 'phones, recorders, things that stick out of the ear, and other gadgets -- I don't mind if you keep your 'phone on buzz if you are concerned about a sick child or a situation at least as important. Please take the call discreetly out of the classroom. DO NOT TALK ON A TELEPHONE, TEXT, TWEET, TWIT, TYPE, OR MANIPULATE ANY KIND OF CAMERA, RECORDER, OR OTHER COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE IN THE CLASSROOM AT ANY TIME without a specific and immediate learning need, not even before or after class. Don’t allow the Orwellian telescreen to absorb your very being and become your happy place. You are a child of God, not “a nameless number on a list that was afterwards mislaid” (Doctor Zhivago). Disconnect from the electronic masters and interact with humans for the duration of the class. Do not make any visual or sound recordings at any time without the permission of the entire class. For those with hearing difficulties, you are welcome to record me FOR YOUR OWN STUDY / REVIEW ONLY, WITHOUT EDITING AND WITHOUT PUBLICATION. But be sure you don’t record someone else without that person’s permission. A rule I never thought I'd have to make -- no spit cups. If you flunked English 1301 at a four-year school and are here to make it up, you are very welcome; however, if you are under the illusion that this is an easy class requiring nothing more than a cell 'phone, a bottle of water, and practice in anger management, go away. If you send emails in which the writer is not identifiable, in which the email address is childish, or in which the content is not formatted as a business letter complete with heading, inside address, salutation, body, complimentary close, and signature, all in block form, then I will require you to rework the message before I respond to it. You are in college, not in junior high. By law I may not talk with a third party – parents, friends, relatives, others. Regardless of your age, this is not high school, and if your parents wish to keep up-to-date with your progress, you must take care of that. And, really, even if it were not the law, why should it be any other way? The one exception, per contract and state law, is that I will advise the high school counselor of dual-credit students of any deficiencies. I will not talk with you on the telephone or by email about some issues – after all, I can’t possibly know if the person on the other end of the aether is you. Being prepared for class and being informed about class assignments is your responsibility. IF YOU MISS A CLASS, BE PREPARED WHEN YOU RETURN TO CLASS. Absence is no excuse for anything. Your tentative calendar is the sequence I use to organize the class, so look at it and at lesson postings on angryverbs.blogspot.com and on BlackBoard, and communicate with your study-buddies. Be prepared for class when you come back. Do not attempt to use an absence as an excuse for not being prepared. This is college, not high school. If you have more absences than allowed by the student handbook, you will be dropped and you will not be readmitted. There are no excused absences; there are just absences. If you have any work to make up because of an absence, that work must be completed upon your return to class. Please be sure to initiate contact with me to make your arrangements. You cannot make up work after the next class, and there will be no make-up work allowed during the last two weeks of classes. I do not accept late papers. If you are absent the day an assignment is due, I will accept it at the next class, but not later. If you miss a test, I will offer it at the next class, but not later. ANY INSTANCE OF PLAGIARISM, WHICH IS THE UNACKNOWLEDGED USE OF ANYONE ELSE'S WORK—PUBLISHED OR UNPUBLISHED—OR CHEATING OF ANY KIND, WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE AND IRREVOCABLE FAILURE FOR THE ENTIRE COURSE. It is the policy of Angelina College that you not bring children to class. I encourage you to talk with me. Please stop me during a lecture if you do not understand the material. If you are having difficulties, please bring them to my attention right away. I cannot give you help with understanding if you wait until the day an assignment is due to ask for clarification. I do not give makeup or bonus work. These policies are applicable to everyone throughout the entire semester. Please do not embarrass both of us by asking for exceptions to be made for you. Jasper High School students only: Angelina College and Jasper High School have developed an agreement which can modify some of the following on certain occasions, such as a U.I.L. competition and Jasper High School holidays. This agreement does not apply to called practices, meetings, absence due to JHS discipline requirements, and other occasions. Angelina’s attendance policies are very clear; read them carefully. If external situations not covered in the Angelina / JHS agreement suggest to you that you might not be able make class as required, you might want to consider a distance or computer course. Do not put yourself in a bind. VI. COURSE OUTLINE: Class Sequence -- VERY flexible. Indeed, this is so flexible it's a candidate for Cirque d'Soleil. This is a pattern of a typical (and thus almost mythical) semester. Use it as a maybe / sort of / this-could-happen suggestion / guide, remembering always that preparations and instructions for one class are given during the previous class, and your absence is no excuse: Week 1: Discussion of expectations. Hand out and discuss syllabus. Hand out and discuss "Rules for Essay Writing." Hand out and discuss “Words that Don’t Matter.” Think about a topic for your research paper. Hand out and discuss, oh, more stuff. Week 2 (or so): 10 minutes' journal time. Grammar review item. You will be given a descriptive essay for study. Read in class in small groups or solo. We will suffer – um, enjoy - a guided discussion re the essay or excerpts and author's techniques. Connect to students' own experiences. Assign rough draft of a narrative essay, with time in class to begin. Think some more about your research paper. Week 3 (or so): 10 minutes' journal time. Peer review: Circulate rough drafts of narrative essay in small groups. You will be graded on your possession of a substantial -- a few scrawls in your notebook won’t do -- rough draft, most of it computer-generated. Begin writing your research paper. Week 4 (or so): Narrative essays due at beginning of class. 10 minutes' journal time. Grammar review item. Introduce and discuss persuasive essay, concepts and techniques. Assign topics for persuasive essay. Feel guilty because you haven’t begun your research paper. Week 5 (or so): 10 minutes' journal time. Grammar review item. Circulate rough drafts of persuasive essays in small groups for peer review. Panic about your research paper. Week 6 (or so): 10 minutes' journal time. Grammar review item. Plunge into existential denial regarding that research paper. Week 7 (or so): Persuasive essays due at beginning of class. 10 minutes' journal time. Grammar review item. Review for mid-term exam. Despair that after tonight you must now really, really, really begin to write the research paper you haven’ t even researched. Week 8 (or so): First Great Celebration of Learning: Mid-term Exam. Week 9 (or so): 10 minutes' journal time. Grammar review item. Discuss research papers in MLA format. Topics. Ad lib computer writing lab. Um…research paper? Week 10 (or so): 10 minutes' journal time. Grammar review item. Ad lib writing research paper writing with one-on-one instructor consultation. No, I will not give you a topic for your research paper. Week 11 (or so): Research papers due at beginning of class. 10 minutes' journal time. Grammar review item. Introduce and discuss expository essays. Examples. Computer lab time. Curiously enough, attendance at tonight’s class will be thin -- must be that virus that’s going around. Week 12 (or so): 10 minutes' journal time. Grammar review item. Ad lib writing of expository essays with one-on-one instructor consultation. Week 13 (or so): Expository essays due at beginning of class. 10 minutes' journal time. Grammar review item. Week 14 (or so): 10 minutes' journal time. Grammar review item. Review for final exam. Week 15 (or so): Last Great Celebration of Learning: Final Exam. Your research paper, which is 15% of your complete grade, is due: 24 November, Monday, NLT (not later than) 11:30 A.M., for ten bonus points. 1-3 December, NLT beginning of class. 8-10 December, NLT beginning of class, for a loss of ten points. Other Important Dates: 12 September, twelfth class day, official census day 10 October, mid-term. This means mid-term (really) only, not our mid-term test, which will be given around this time. The exam date is TBA 10 November, last date to drop or withdraw with a ‘W’ 25 November, Angelina College Thanksgiving hols begin at 4:00 P.M. Remember that because of the concordat with Jasper High School you may well enjoy more days off; we’ll sort it out later. 1 December, Angelina College classes resume at 0800. Note, again, that because of the Jasper High School schedule this might not apply to you. 11 – 17 December, Angelina College final exams. Unless vetoed by higher authority, my intent is to offer your final exam, no matter which class you are in on any day from 8-10 December. Once you have completed your exam, your joyful term in English 1301 is ended. However, the college might not permit this early administration, in which case I will not give the final early, so don’t book a ski trip for the week of 15-18 December. VII. EVALUATION AND GRADING: A. Grading Criteria 1 Argument / persuasion paper 15% 1 Literary essay with documentation 15% Best 1 of at least two in-class essays 15% Average of tests / quizzes 15% Research paper 15% Mid-term exam 15% Final exam 10% Please know that I use the terms “quiz” and “test” synonymously. “Tests and essays” as a category are the cumulative of your essays, projects, and tests. The mid-term exam and final exams are stand-alones at 25% each. I am considering grading the research paper as two or perhaps three separate components for the cumulative 25%; this would help your grade somewhat. All papers assigned for this class must be computerized in correct MLA format. Determination of Grade (assignment of letter grades) A (90-100) Excellent B (80-89) Good C (70-79) Average D (60-69) Minimum passing F (50 or below) Failure Standard Grading Policy for the English Department for all Essays Assigned: A–above average. Good organization, exceptional content, No more than one major Error. A+ = 98, A = 95, A- = 92, A- - = 90 B–above average. Good organization, exceptional content, and only one or two major errors. B+ = 88, B = 85, B - = 82, B - - = 80 C–average. Organization, clear content, no more than 3 major errors. C+ = 78, C = 75, C - = 72, C - - = 70 D–below average. Either lacks content and/or organization or has many major errors. More than 4 major errors drops the grade to an F. D+ = 68, D = 65, D - = 62, D - - = 60 F–failing. Shows little or no effort. Contains 4 OR MORE major errors. F = 50. 0–no grade. Did not turn in hurt; no one stopped to help him. RO - run on or fused He hurt his knee it was bleeding. S/V - subject/verb agreement Everyone laugh at him. The instructor may modify the provisions of the syllabus to by informing the class in advance. No document can cover all possibilities, emergencies, or contingencies; if we are faced with an unanticipated situation, the instructor will decide.work, plagiarized an essay, or did not write on the assigned topic. Please Note: In the case of a plagiarized essay or research paper, a student will be dismissed from this course with an F. Examples of major errors: CS - comma splice The boy ran, he fell down. Frag - fragment Crying as he fell on the sidewalk. Frag error - fragment error Although he was hurt; no one stopped to help him. RO - run on or fused He hurt his knee it was bleeding. S/V - subject/verb agreement Everyone laugh at him. The instructor may modify the provisions of the syllabus to meet individual class needs by informing the class in advance as to the changes being made See the chart below for a description of an A, B, C, D, and F paper. A Paper B Paper C Paper D Paper F Paper Thesis and Development Has a lucid, significant, perceptive response to the topic, which is fully developed. Has a lucid, significant, response to the topic, which is fully developed. Has a discernible, controlling idea or thesis, which responds to the topic; generally developed. Has a discernible, controlling idea or thesis, which responds, but is underdeveloped or trite. No responsive thesis, or response is not developed at all. Support Concrete, relevant details and examples. Concrete, relevant details and examples. Some superficial or trite generalizations, or facts with little comment. Underdeveloped and trite generalizations; sketchy or irrelevant facts. Little or no support for generalizations or merely lists of examples. Audience Awareness Structure, supports, and tone demonstrate consideration of audience and purpose. Awareness evidenced mainly in either structure and supports or tone. Awareness evidenced only marginally in appropriate use of structure and support or tone. Awareness slightly evident in appropriate use of structure and support or tone. Seems to exist for the writer only. Paragraphing and Logical Progression Coherent paragraphs progress through necessary, evident stages; includes transitions. Generally coherent paragraphs progress through necessary, evident stages; includes transitions. Generally coherent paragraphs that may be unwieldy or confusing; limited or predictable transitions. Little or no attempt at cohesion; progress is confused or haphazard; little or no use of transitions. Little or no cohesion; confused and haphazard progression; little or no use of transitions. Sentence Structures and Word Choice Varied sentence structure; word choice is precise, fresh, and economical. Clear sentences; some stylistic variation; word choice is precise, if not economical or fresh. Clear but sometimes loose or basic sentences; word choice is occasionally imprecise and flawed. Little attention to sentence structure or revision; word choice is often flawed or inadequate. Basic/choppy or rambling/incoherent sentences; little or no evidence of revision; inadequate word choice. Grammar Errors Absent or so limited as not to disrupt the essay’s readability in any way. Minimal or so limited as not to disrupt the essay’s readability in any major way. Occasionally disrupt the essay’s readability. So pervasive as to disrupt consistently the essay’s readability. So pervasive as to disrupt seriously and consistently the essay’s readability. Thanks to Mrs. Diana Throckmorton and Mrs. Alanna Cornes, Angelina College, for their kind assistance, and to Mrs. Nancy Doyle for her pacification of the errant electrons.