Syllabus English 803-12 Spring 2011

T/TH 8:00 – 9:50 RO131 Instructor: Georgie Ovenden Office RO 242 by appt Email: [email protected] Office phone: 510-885-7285 Eng. Dept. Phone:510-885-3151

Required Texts/Materials:  Joining the Conversation by Mike Palmquist ISBN-10: 0-312-41215-0  Lined paper for in-class writing  Flexible three-binder, composition book, folder or spiral notebook for your Writing Journal which will comprise in class notes, writing exercises, and writing assignments.

Email and Internet Requirements: You will be using email, accessing websites for articles, interactive quizzes, and writing exercises. You will be printing out documents so you must have reliable and consistent access to a computer and a printer in order to pass the course.

Course Web pages : The class syllabus, schedules, essay information and assignments will be posted on Blackboard and on the class page on my website: http://georgiesenglishwiki.pbworks.com/. You will be downloading and printing out course materials and handouts. You will submit homework either in hard copy or on Blackboard through the Assignment page on the MenuBar. Login to Blackboard at: http://bb3.csueastbay.edu using your Net ID username and password.

Cell phones: Turn off or silence your phones while in class. Do not text message or make personal phone calls during class. In case of emergencies, please leave the classroom for cell phone use.

Course Description: This class is aimed at helping students learn the fundamentals of active, critical reading, writing and thinking. Students will work on reading and writing skills, persuasive techniques, problem solving, the use of quotations, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and grammar. This class prepares students for English 1001 by focusing on the development of 3-5 page essays. Students use college-level readings to support the ideas in their essays. Students continue their introduction to the creation of logical arguments.

Objectives: 1. Develop a persuasive essay fully and logically 2. Apply critical thinking to reading and writing 3. Understand and write for an audience 4. Master the revision process 2

In this class, students will perform the following tasks:

• Compose logical, thoughtful pieces of writing • Learn how to support their statements • Write and revise out-of-class pieces of writing • Work in peer groups to improve editing skills • Improve reading and writing skills by discussion of student writing, and professionally written essays • Review and analyze the components of different types of essays • Explore vocabulary usage

Course Assignments: All course assignments and due dates are on the Class Schedule posted on the Blackboard and my website. Make it a habit to check the Schedule regularly for homework, assigned readings, and activities.

 Weekly homework is due the first class period of the week either in hard copy or submitted through the Blackboard Assignment area. If you submit work online, you do not need to print it out. It is important that your homework is completed as scheduled, as the assignments will help your writing progress.  You must read the indicated article, and write two paragraphs: a brief summary and then a response. This means that you will not just summarize the article, but also discuss what the article is about and frame your response in terms of how the ideas relate to you and your writing experience.  Homework submitted on the due date, either in hard copy or through Blackboard, will receive full 5 points credit. For each day homework is turned in afterwards, a point will be deducted, but you will receive partial credit for any work turned in throughout the quarter.

Writing Exercise Assignments: As your writing is evaluated, you may be assigned online grammar and writing exercises that will help you identify and practice addressing your individual writing challenges. Your completed exercises must be returned to me within one week, preferably by email.

Class Work: Bring your text to every class. We will be analyzing the assigned readings in class, so you must have read the essays (see Schedule), and bring your book to class in order to respond to the work. Students who fail to bring their books will lose 1 participation point for that day's class. (Attendance/participation points are tallied at the end of the quarter). 3

Essays: There will be three essays assigned this quarter. You will write multiple drafts of each essay. The drafts will be peer-reviewed in class. I also encourage you to take your work to the Student Center for Academic Achievement located in the University Library Upper Mall and work with a tutor. You will prepare the final draft based on the feedback you receive and this draft will be graded. All previous drafts, exploratory notes and other feedback must be attached to the final draft during submission. In addition, there must be noticeable difference between the three drafts as a result of constant revision and editing.

 Draft due dates are on the Class Schedule. Each draft is worth 10 points of your grade. For example, if you do not have a first draft printed out and brought to class by the due date, 10 points will be deducted from your final grade. If you do not bring drafts for your second draft peer review or proofreading peer review, 10 points each will be deducted from your final essay grade.  If you miss class on peer review days, essays drafts must be submitted on Blackboard within 24 hours, or 10 points will be deducted from the final essay grade.  Final Essays submitted without drafts stapled to the final copy will have 10 points deducted from the final essay grade.

Essay Format Guidelines: * MLA formatting * 500 – 750 words: 3 – 5 pages typed  double spaced  one inch margins  size 12 standard fonts  your name in the upper left corner of your first page  pages numbered in the upper right corner.

Your three major graded pieces of writing will be:

* Writing to Evaluate – Chapter 8 * Writing to Solve Problems - Chapter 9 * Writing to Convince or Persuade - Chapter 10

Group Grammar Presentations: You will sign up to present a grammar or writing issue to the class as an activity or a game with a partner or a group. Topics will be selected from a list. Choosing something you yourself have difficulty with is a good way to improve your own grasp of the material. Each person must have a specific role in researching, creating, and presenting.

Writing Journal – Use a flexible 3 ring loose leaf binder, a composition book, or a folder to keep your reading journal entries in. I will collect them periodically. 4

Your entries will be in response to specific questions and in-class writing exercises that you do. During the quarter, you will be responsible for keeping track of all your work.

Grading in this course:

* Three Writing Projects are worth 60% total of your grade. Papers are accepted ONLY the week they are due. Due dates are on the class schedule. Papers are graded by packet; single draft submissions will have 10 points deducted from the final essay grade. The packet must include all drafts, revisions, and peer reviews.

* Homework counts for 15% of your grade. Homework is accepted only the week it is due. It may be submitted electronically in the Blackboard Assignments are or in hard copy.

* The Class Presentation will count for 10% of your grade. You will submit copies of your presentation materials.

* Your Writing Journal will count for 10% of your grade. Your reading journal will contain all of your writing exercises from class.

* Attendance and participation will count for 5% of your grade.

Attendance and Participation Consistent attendance is important, as the class work is directly related to your success. Much of this class will be conducted in small group work, so your attendance is vital, both because of what you will be learning and for sharing with your classmates. Please attend each class, be prepared and arrive on time.

 You earn 2 points for every class attended, and 2 points for being prepared.  Arriving late, leaving early, forgetting the textbook, or not bringing a draft for peer reviewing will cost you 1 participation point each.  Attendance/participation points will be tallied at the end of the quarter and are worth 5% of the grade.  If missing a class, students are responsible for contacting classmates about class work; email is available through Blackboard.  As this class meets twice per week, a student missing more than four classes will automatically fail the course. This is an English Department policy.

In-Class Etiquette In this class, there will be a lot of discussion. We will all be attempting to answer questions, voice opinions, agree and/or disagree with each other, and present 5 findings. None of this is possible unless we create a comfortable environment. To do this, a few rules apply: 1. Please keep cell phones on vibrate or silent (go outside the class if you need to answer a call). 2. Try to avoid texting; pay attention to the class 3. Be on time, but if you are late, enter quietly and discreetly. 4. Show respect for your classmates and their ideas. During discussions, many different opinions will be expressed. All are welcomed and none are to be ridiculed. 5. Use appropriate language during discussion. 6. Refrain from expressing disgruntlement during class. See me outside of class about any concerns.

Academic honesty and plagiarism policy: Cheating or plagiarism will not be tolerated at this university and would result in severe disciplinary action. Students are required to attend the class on plagiarism. Cheating is defined as possessing unauthorized sources of information during an exam; copying the work of another student during an exam; completing an assignment for another student; submitting out-of-class work for an in-class assignment; retaining exams or other materials after they were supposed to be returned to the instructor; submitting the same paper for two different classes without approval of both instructors; and inventing data or falsifying an account of data collection. Plagiarism is taking the words of another and either copying or paraphrasing those words without giving credit to the source (through parenthetical citations, quotation marks, reference citations, all of which we will go over in class). This includes using material from the Internet without citing correctly. I am required to file a report of academic dishonesty with the Department of Academic Affairs should an act of plagiarism occur. The first incidence of plagiarism with result in an “F” on the assignment and you will be reported to the Dean of the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences. If plagiarism occurs a second time, you will fail the course.

Grievance Policy English Department Grievance Policy: All student grievances concerning grading or other areas are to be brought to the attention of the course instructor before any other action can be. If you cannot find a resolution to your grievance, then you and your instructor will meet with the head of the composition program or the Dean of the English Department.

Disability Accommodations If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, or if you would need assistance in the event of an emergency, please contact me as soon as possible. 6

Final notes: This syllabus and the schedule are subject to change as needed. I may also assign individualized homework to help you improve particular skills.