Instructor: Michelle L. Bagwell Email

English 90

Fall 2015 Napa Valley College

Instructor: Michelle L. Bagwell Email: [email protected] Office hours: Mon/Wed./F 8:30-9:30 or by appointment

Grading: Essays/Papers/Annotated Bib: 60% of grade In Class Writing/Homework: 20% of grade Presentation: 10% of grade Quizzes: 10% of grade

I. Rationale: English 90 is a writing course which emphasizes critical reading, expository and argumentative writing. It includes instruction and practice in critical thinking, in analytical reading and evaluation of written work, and in the methods of clearly communicating and supporting ideas in organized, coherent essays.

II. Student Learning Outcomes 1. Write essays which demonstrate: a. The ability to present a thesis and to develop it through coherent paragraphs with controlling ideas. b. The ability to critically read and analyze college level essays while identifying the controlling idea and main points c. The ability to synthesize ideas from reading with personal experience d. An awareness of the need to credit sources e. The ability to use a variety of sentence patterns and the standard conventions of written English.

2. Write short essays as specified above in a two hour timed exam setting to a level consistent with readiness for college transferrable English.

III. Format and Procedures including policy for late work Students will be responsible for turning in assigned work at the beginning of the class. Late assignments will be accepted with points taken off for lateness up until one week after the due date. After one week, late work will not be accepted except in cases of emergency in which case you will need to provide a doctor's note or other substantiated proof of emergency. For late work that is accepted during grace period, five points will be taken off for each class meeting that the assignment is late. For example if the assignment is due on Monday, August 24, and you turn it in on Wednesday, Aug. 26, you will have 5 points taken off before I grade for content. Please note that if you choose to go on vacation during the semester, a vacation is not considered to be an emergency so you are still responsible for turning your work in on time. There is no make-up work for in-class assignments and there are no make-up quizzes, regardless of emergency documentation.

V. Course Requirements: 1. Class attendance and participation policy: Attendance is essential. If you miss more than three classes, you are likely to be dropped from the class. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to check with one of your study buddies regarding assignments. Please be aware that if you stop attending class during the semester, or if you do not complete all required work for the course, you may fail the class. Please also note failing grades in any grade category will affect your grade significantly and may contribute to failing the class.

2. Course readings: We will be reading various selected writings throughout the class. You will also have to read Monster by Walter Dean Myers and The Giver in class.

3. Assignments: I. Essays/Papers: Students will be responsible for 4 major essays:

A. Narrative Essay: 3-5 pages, typed and double-spaced: “Do Your Own Thing." Describe a time when you "did your own thing" instead of listening to the advice of parents, peers, or someone else whose opinion you value. What if any were the repercussions of your decision? What did you learn from the experience? Did you gain any understanding for the other person's viewpoint? Did they gain any understanding for your views? Did your actions/decisions affect anyone else? How so? Due Sep. 9

B. Expository Essay: 3-5 pages, typed and double-spaced. Assignment includes presentation. Explain in detail, step by step how to do something. Some examples might be how to make chocolate chip cookies or how to train a dog or how to apply make-up. The challenge here is to be as specific as possible as though you are writing this for someone who has no instructions other than your essay! As with all of the other essays this one should also be in paragraph form- no lists please. This essay includes a presentation. Due Oct. 7

C. Timed Writing Exam- In class essay in which you respond to an opinion essay with your own well-developed essay. In this timed writing exam, you will be asked to read a published argument essay and then write your own well-developed essay in response to the prompt. You will need to clearly identify the author’s main point and write an essay which has a clear introduction, clear thesis statement and well-developed body paragraphs with clear topic sentences and good use of specific details from the author’s article as well as from your own experience and observations. In your essay, you should also refer to the prompt to show sufficient engagement with the article. If you earn a score of “4” or better, that score indicates that you are ready for English 120 and you will then earn an A for your class essay grade. Similarly, a “3” equals a B and a “2” equals a C. If you choose not to take the timed writing exam, you will receive a 0 for that essay grade. The exam is Nov. 4

G. Presentation: Present your expository essay to the class. You will need a visual aid which aids you in explaining or detailing the directions explained in your essay. There will also be other group presentations in class that we will be learning more about throughout the course of the class.

H. Quizzes: You will be quizzed on the readings from our readings and novels on alternate Fridays. There will be no makeup quizzes.

II. In Class Writing Assignments: Students will be responsible for turning in writing assignments/study questions given in class. Students will be graded on a pass/fail basis for these assignments and will have an opportunity to rewrite an assignment which did not receive a passing grade if you turned the original essay in by the due date. If you would like this option, it is your responsibility to talk with me about a possible revision and we will agree upon a revised due date. There is no make-up work for missing in- class assignments.

III. Homework: Students will be responsible for assigned homework which may include assignments from textbook and written responses to reading assignments.

IV. Extra-Credit- I offer a variety of extra-credit assignments throughout the semester that relate directly to our class assignments or reading. Make sure you are in class consistently to take advantage of these opportunities to raise your skills and your grade! Please note that extra-credit is designed provide additional practice to master the Student Learning Objectives and to assist you in boosting your grade but cannot make up for failing grades in any grade category. Additionally, extra-credit assignments are given to all students and all have the same due dates. There is no opportunity for individually crafted extra-credit assignments.

V. Academic Integrity Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be the student's own work. English scholar Ann Raimes defines plagiarism as the "deliberate or accidental presentation of someone else's actual words (or even ideas) as if they were your own." General guidelines about plagiarism in this class are as follows: 1. If you borrow ideas that are not common knowledge, give the source. 2. If you borrow more than three words verbatim from another text, use quotes and cite the source. 3. If someone is tutoring you, do not let him/her (re-) write sentences, paragraphs, or pages of your assignment. Plagiarism will result in an automatic F for the assignment and may also result in an automatic F for the course and/or suspension from Napa Valley College. Collaboration: You are encouraged to study together and to discuss information and concepts covered in lecture and the sections with other students. You can give "consulting" help to or receive "consulting" help from such students. However, this permissible cooperation should never involve one student having possession of a copy of all or part of work done by someone else, in the form of an e- mail, an email attachment file, or a hard copy.

Should copying occur, both the student who copied work from another student and the student who gave material to be copied will both automatically receive an "F" for the assignment. Penalty for violation of this Code can also be extended to include failure of the course and University disciplinary action.

VI. Accommodations for students with disabilities Please contact Disability Student Programs, at the beginning of the semester if you need any accommodations for physical, sensory, cognitive, systemic, learning, or psychiatric disabilities. Then, be sure to provide me with the appropriate information from DSP regarding your specific disability accommodations.