ESLW 320: Advanced-Low Writing (24220) Sacramento City College TTh 7:30-9:35 am RS 229 Fall 2011 Instructor: Barbara Toupadakis Office Hours: Telephone: (916) 558-2143 WSC 209 Website: http://web.scc.losrios.edu/toupadb MW 8-8:25am & 12:55-1:25pm E-mail: [email protected] Main Campus RS324 Grades Site: www.engrade.com T/Th 9:45-11:10 am
Textbooks: Refining Composition Skills, 6th edition, by Smalley, et al.; Heinle, 2012.
Materials: An advanced English-English dictionary, such as the Longman Advanced American Dictionary. 8 ½” x 11” notebook paper & 3-ring binder for handouts & notes Student Access ID card for printing with Fall 2011 sticker (LRC) An active iMail address A flash drive
Course Description: In ESLW 320, students at the Advanced-Low level will use critical thinking skills and the writing process to produce a variety of focused, developed, and organized essays. The course emphasizes the development of ideas in body paragraphs and the analysis and use of readings as a basis for ideas in essays. Sentence variety and the mechanics of English in the context of the essay are also covered in the course. Essays incorporate ideas and quotations from outside sources as well as personal experience.
Prerequisites: To take this class, you must give me a copy of one of the following by the second class, Thursday, August 25 or you will be dropped: grade transcript showing C or better in ESLW 310 or assessment center test scores showing eligibility for ESLW 320
Recommendations: Although not required, the ESL department strongly recommends taking ESLG 320 and ESLR 320 to do better in this writing course. For extra help and practice, you can take ESL 93, Advanced Independent Lab. Please also take advantage of working in the Writing Center with a free tutor in the LRC on the 1st floor . In order to pass this course, you will need to study 8-12 hours per week outside of class (2-3 hours per hour in class). . Course Goals: At the end of the course you should be able to demonstrate clear control of essay form and function. demonstrate strong paragraph development in the context of an essay. apply critical thinking skills to the writing process. demonstrate the ability to write developed, organized essays under time constraints. paraphrase, summarize and use quoted materials correctly. use citations in MLA or APA format to avoid plagiarism. use a variety of sentence types with sophisticated logical connectors. respond to prompts based on readings. write on academic topics that go beyond personal experience. revise and edit to achieve clarity of ideas and correctness of grammar, punctuation and mechanics.
Methods: class and small group discussion of readings: vocabulary, comprehension, and analysis compositions based on readings written responses to readings writing/editing exercises; timed writings Make-up Policy: Quizzes are unannounced and cannot be made up. If you miss an in-class essay test, you will receive a grade of zero. However, I will drop the lowest in-class essay at the end of the semester (This does not include the final exam essay). If you miss another test, you will receive a grade of zero on that test. Homework assignments are to be completed on time and turned in on my desk at the beginning of class or emailed before class. o 1 class late or after collecting it = 10 points off the grade o More than 1 class late = grade of zero. o If you are absent, you must turn in the homework on day you return to class; it will not be accepted for full credit later. Please use the following heading format for all homework. Assignment (book unit, page, exercise # or essay #) Name (for example: RCS1 p.19 ex.6 or Out-of-Class Essay #1) ESL 114 Date Due
Final Examination: You must take the final examination on Thursday, December 15, 2011 from 8:00 - 10:00 am . The final exam must be taken on the scheduled day. It cannot be made up for any reason. If you are planning to take a trip, arrange to leave after your final exam. There will be no early exams.
Attendance, Tardiness Regular attendance is very important in this class. If you are absent & Leaving Early: more than 2 times , your participation grade may be lowered. If you have more than 4 absences, you may be dropped from the course. Also, please be on time. Being late or leaving early disrupts the entire class. Three times of being late or leaving early equal one absence .
Preparation & Participation: You must participate in class activities. Lack of preparation for class, not doing your homework, and lack of participation in class will lower your grade.
Cheating & Plagiarism Cheating will not be tolerated. The following is considered cheating: Talking to another student or looking at another student’s work during a test or quiz Copying from another’s work or allowing another student to copy from your work Using notes or a book during a test or quiz, or turning in work that is not your own. Plagiarism, or using someone’s words and ideas without saying where you found them. In the U.S., plagiarism is considered a form of stealing and cheating. If you quote someone, you must say whom you are quoting and use quotation marks around the words that you borrow (“…”). If you borrow ideas, you must use citations. Copying from a book, Internet source, or another person’s essay, for example, and putting your name on it as if you wrote it is plagiarism. Cheating and plagiarism will earn a grade of zero on that assignment. Repeated cheating will result in an F in the course.
Classroom Rules: During class time, you will be expected to speak only English. listen respectfully when others are speaking. work cooperatively with any classmate or group you are assigned to. pay attention. turn off and put away electronic devices (cell phones, iPods, laptops, etc.) not speak to your classmates unless I ask you to do so. not sleep. not check email, text, or listen to music. not do homework for this class or any other class.
If any of the above rules continue to be ignored after being warned, you may be asked to change seats or leave class.
Grading: In-Class Essays & Final 50% (must have 70% average to pass) Out-of-Class Essays 25% Quizzes, Revisions, other big assignments 15% Homework, Classwork & Participation 10%
100% iMail Please activate your iMail account if you haven’t already done so. You can do this online on the SCC website. I will contact everyone in the class through iMail when I have an announcement. You may miss important information if you have not activated your iMail. You can have iMail delivered to your regular email.
Help & Special Needs: If you need help, please feel free to ask by e-mail, phone message, or by coming to my office hour. If you have any special situation affecting your learning that I should know about, please let me know.
Classmate Contacts: Write down the names and phone numbers of three classmates so that you can call them to find out the assignment if you have to be absent.
Name______Telephone______
Name______Telephone______
Name______Telephone______CORRECTION SYMBOLS Symbol Meaning Incorrect Correct art article She is teacher. She is a teacher. cap or capital letter They live in sacramento. They live in Sacramento. no cap He is her Husband. He is her husband. conj. conjunction I bought milk, bread, eggs. I bought milk, bread, and eggs. form wrong form The class is interested. The class is interesting. frag fragment Is a good movie. It is a good movie. (incomplete sentence) The teacher a lot of The teacher gives a lot of homework. homework. Because I’m hungry. I’m going to eat because I’m hungry. indent start line ½ inch in from Sacramento City College is a Sacramento City College is margin community college in the city a community college in the of Sacramento, California. city of Sacramento, California. Ø omit, unnecessary I live in the California. I live in California. ¶,no ¶ start new paragraph Or don’t start new paragraph prep preposition I live on Sacramento. I live I live in Sacramento. Sacramento. pro pronoun John is nice. John is in my John is nice. He is in my class. class. p. punctuation error I bought milk eggs and I bought milk, eggs, and bread. bread. I ate, because I was hungry. I ate because I was hungry. ? unclear meaning I saw who. I saw him. Ref reference unclear or doesn’t John and Tom are brothers. John and Tom are brothers. agree He has brown hair and his He has brown hair and his brother is blond. brother is blond. She got a haircut. They look She got a haircut. It looks nice. nice. rep repetition of word or idea It is a nice country. The It is an interesting country. people are nice. The food is The people are nice, and the nice. food is delicious. RO run-on I went to the store I bought I went to the store. I bought (2 or more sentences written some milk. some milk. as one sentence) I went to the store, and I bought some milk. I went to the store; I bought some milk. I went to the store to buy some milk. sing/pl problem with singular or The child has many toy. The child has many toys. # agr. plural; number agreement ss sentence structure incorrect What your name is? What is your name? s/v agr subject/verb agreement The people doesn’t agree. The people don’t agree. sp. spelling Piece is the opposite of war. Piece is the opposite of war. t. Incorrect tense I see her yesterday. I saw her yesterday. T transition word I got up. I washed my face. First, I got up. Then I washed my face. ww wrong word The cat has soft hair. The cat has soft fur. wo wrong word order I bought a silk green blouse. I bought a green silk blouse. ^ Insert, something is missing I working now. I am working now
) make one word or sentence Every one ate. Because Everyone ate because they they were hungry. were hungry.
ESLW 320 (Approximately 700 words – out-of-class Approximately 500 words – in-class)
Grade A: The composition communicates clearly and includes critical thinking and analysis beyond personal experience with strong control of both level appropriate language and content. Language Content/Organization 1. There is a variety of level appropriate simple, 1. A thoughtful introduction leads to an effective thesis, compound and complex sentences with few which focuses on the topic and controls the errors. development of the composition.
2. The composition demonstrates strong control 2. The composition has clear and effective overall of level appropriate grammar, including verb organization with appropriate transitions. tenses, verb forms, word forms, and word order. Rare grammar errors do not interfere with meaning.
3. Vocabulary is used effectively and is level 3. It has well-developed, unified paragraphs with appropriate. analysis, specific appropriate detail, and effective reference to and use of source material with correct citation format. Ideas are logical and substantive. Most examples go beyond personal experience.
4. The composition has strong control of level 4. The concluding paragraph is logical and well appropriate sentence boundaries, spelling, connected to the theme of the composition. and mechanics.
Grade B: The composition communicates clearly and substantively with good control of both level appropriate language and content. Language Content/Organization 1. There is a variety of level appropriate simple, 1. A good introduction leads to a clear thesis, which compound and complex sentences with occasional focuses on the topic. errors.
2. The composition demonstrates good control of level 2. The organization is clear, but may be formulaic; there appropriate verb tenses, verb forms, word forms, and are appropriate transitions. word order. Occasional errors occur, but do not interfere with meaning.
3. Vocabulary is level appropriate. 3. Unified body paragraphs mostly support the thesis, fully develop the main idea and include good use of source material with correct citation format and only minor errors. Ideas are logical and analytical. Examples are not limited to personal experience.
4. The composition has good level appropriate control of 4. The concluding paragraph is logical and connected to sentence boundaries, spelling, and mechanics. the theme of the composition. 5/2009 Grade C: The composition communicates with some effort from the reader with adequate control of both level appropriate language and content. Language Content/Organization 1. There is generally correct use of level appropriate 1. An adequate introduction leads to a clear thesis, complex sentences with some syntactic errors. which addresses the topic but may be simplistic.
2. Syntactic errors in level appropriate complex 2. The organization is generally clear, but may be sentences may interfere with meaning somewhat. uneven or formulaic and lack appropriate transitions.
3. There is generally correct use of level appropriate 3. Body paragraphs are unified and support the thesis verb tenses, verb forms, word forms, and word order, although some may be thinly developed. Reference to and any errors may interfere with meaning somewhat. source material is adequate and usually cited correctly. Ideas are logical.
4. Vocabulary is generally level appropriate, but some 4. The concluding paragraph is logical and connected to word choice errors may occur. the theme of the composition, but may be simplistic.
5. The composition has adequate, level appropriate control of sentence boundaries, spelling, and mechanics.
Grade D: The composition does not communicate clearly due to poor control of level appropriate language and/or content. Language Content/Organization 1. Grammar and sentence structure errors occur 1. The thesis is unfocused or fails to deal adequately persistently and interfere with meaning. with the topic.
2. Vocabulary and word form errors occur persistently. 2. The organization is unclear; transitions are misused or absent.
3. The composition has poor control of sentence 3. Body paragraphs are undeveloped or inadequate boundaries, spelling, and mechanics. and/or do not support the thesis. Reference to source material may be inappropriate or missing. Citations are often incorrect. Ideas are illogical.
4. The handwriting is persistently illegible. 4. The composition may contain evidence of accidental plagiarism.
5. The composition is incomplete.
Grade F: The composition fails to communicate because of serious weaknesses in level appropriate language and/or content. Language Content/Organization 1. Grammar, sentence structure, word choice and word 1. The composition contains evidence of deliberate, form errors occur throughout the composition and substantive plagiarism. confuse the reader.
2. The composition has very poor control of sentence 2. The thesis is off the point, unfocused, or missing. boundaries, spelling, and mechanics.
3. The handwriting is illegible. 3. There is lack of organization or plan.
4. Body paragraphs are severely underdeveloped.
5. Reference to source material is entirely missing. SCHEDULE ESLW 320: ADVANCED-LOW Writing (24220) TuTh 7:30 am-9:35 am RS 229 Toupadakis Fall 2011 k # e
t e s a e s d Assignment / a W l y a C
D Shaded areas = LAB DAYS for IN-CLASS ESSAYS Meet directly in RS328 on these days unless plans change.
1 1 T Introduction to Course AUG 23 Writing Diagnostic 2 TH AUG 25
2 3 T AUG 30 4 TH SEP 1
3 5 T SEP 6 6 TH SEP 8
4 7 T IN-CLASS ESSAY 1 SEP 13 8 TH SEP 15
5 9 T SEP 20 1 TH 0 SEP 22
6 1 T 1 SEP 27
1 TH 2 SEP 29
7 1 T 3 OCT 4
1 TH 4 OCT 6
8 1 T IN-CLASS ESSAY 2 5 OCT 11 1 TH 6 OCT 13
SEMESTER IS HALF OVER
9 1 T 7 OCT 18
1 TH 8 OCT 20
10 1 T 9 OCT 25
2 TH 0 OCT 27
11 2 T 1 NOV 1
2 TH 2 NOV 3
12 2 T IN-CLASS ESSAY 3 3 NOV 8
2 TH 4 NOV 10
TUESDAY, NOV.15 LAST DAY TO DROP WITH A “W”
13 2 T 5 NOV 15
2 TH 6 NOV 17
14 2 T 7 NOV 22 TH THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY NOV 24
15 2 T 8 NOV 29
2 TH 9 DEC 1
16 3 T IN-CLASS ESSAY 4 0 DEC 6
3 TH 1 DEC 8 LAST REGULAR CLASS BEFORE FINAL.
FINALS WEEK: FRIDAY, DEC. 9 - THURSDAY, DEC. 15
THURSDAY, FINAL EXAM 8:00 AM-10:00 AM DEC. 15, 2011 The final exam must be taken on the scheduled day. It cannot be made up for any reason.