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Syllabus English 201A/B Integrated Reading and Writing Merritt College Spring 2015

Mon – Wed 11:00 – 12:50 Instructor: Georgie Ziff Room: A217

“I write because I don't know what I think until I read what I say.”—Flannery O'Connor (Author)

Email: [email protected] – emails must have School/Class/Name in the subject line of the email to receive a response.

Website: Moodle 2015 - www.georgiesenglishwiki.pbworks.com – click on Merritt English 201

“Writing is nature’s way of letting you know how sloppy your thinking is.”— Guindon cartoon (Satirist)

Course Description: 4 units. Student Learning Outcomes: By the end of this class students will be able to: 1. Summarize course readings in order to demonstrate comprehension of college level texts. 2. Understand and use active reading and critical thinking strategies. 3. Use summary, paraphrasing, and quotations to support an analysis of the text. 4. Apply the writing process to produce developed reading-based essays with a well-supported thesis, utilizing effective organization and sentence combining to demonstrate logical relationships between ideas. 5. Proofread their own writing with an awareness of sentence level corrections. 6. Demonstrate an awareness of their own learning process, to become more effective and efficient students.

Required Texts/Materials:  201 Classroom Reader by Ziff  Blank lined composition book for writing journal  Reliable access to a computer, printer, and the Internet  Stapler  Blue book for final in-class essay

Email and Internet Requirements: You will be using email, accessing websites for articles, interactive quizzes, writing exercises and issues. You will be printing out documents so you must have reliable access to a computer and a printer in order to pass the course. If emailing, you MUST include the class name and your name in the subject line. 2

Course Web page : The class syllabus, schedules, essay information and assignments are all posted on the class Moodle page.

Other Web pages:  My website has information about the course: click on Merritt College English 201 on the front page: www.georgiesenglishwiki.pbworks.com

 NoRedInk.com is an online website for practicing grammar exercises. You will create an account for the class using this code: a vh x c 3 m 9

 This is an free online spelling grammar checker: www.paperrater.com upload your drafts as you revise to identify your own grammar challenges.

Cell phones: Of course, you should be sure to 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 Work:  summaries and assignments of academic writings as homework  three essays with multi-drafts and peer reviews  one in-class essay  sentence combining exercises and quizzes  individual and class assignments  group presentations  reading assignments  proofreading exercises  computer lab work

Essays: Three out-of-class essays are assigned this semester, the details of which are on your class page and on Moodle.  You will write multiple drafts of each assigned piece, which will be peer- reviewed in class. I also encourage you to take your work to the Learning Center 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.  Peer reviews are done in class during which you will exchange drafts with classmates in small groups.  Failure to be prepared with a draft on a peer review day will result in point deductions from the final essay grade. 3

Late papers are discouraged, and will be assigned one full grade deduction from the final essay grade.

One in-class essay which will be written in a Blue book.  You will have 1 hour in which to respond to a writing prompt.  Your response will be thesis-driven, which must be supported by reasons and examples  This essay is required as part of the class and will count for 5% of your grade.  There are no make-ups as it is given on the last day of class.

Essay Rubric:  Fulfills the requirements of the assignment  Formatted correctly (see below)  Organization – Introduction, PIE Paragraphs, Conclusion  Ideas are logical, coherent, developed, and supported  Sentence level proofreading for grammar, spelling, and punctuation

MLA Format Guidelines:  typed  double spaced throughout  one inch margins  size 12 standard fonts  name, date, class, teacher in the upper left corner of only first page  page numbers in the upper right corner.  title centered and capitalized correctly, size 12 font

Weekly Homework: The weekly homework assignments have TWO parts. Your task is to: 1. read the assigned articles and write a summary of the article, identifying the main points and discussing what the article is about. 2. write either a response – how the information might help your writing improve or help you be a successful student, OR an example of what you learned from the article when appropriate.

For instance, if the assigned article is about how to write a good paragraph, you will first summarize WHAT the article said, and then you will WRITE a well- organized paragraph as an example.

 Homework is due in Moodle by Wednesday night; hard copies are not accepted.  Work is accepted late for only partial credit. Full credit = 5 points if submitted by Wednesday of the week they are due. The following week = 3 points, and 1 point any following weeks. 4

 Partial responses receive only partial credit.  The homework articles are listed on the Class Schedule online with underlined hyperlinks - click control/enter to open the link and access the article.

Group Grammar/Writing Presentations: In groups of 3 or 4, you will select and research a grammar/writing issue thoroughly using the class textbooks and outside sources. Each group will then prepare and teach a 20 minute mini-lesson on the issue: the theory will be explained with the help of visuals (a poster or a powerpoint) and the class will be assigned to do an exercise/quiz or a game. Presentations receive a possible 50 points. Information about the presentations and a list of topics and presenters is online.

Computer Lab: attendance is required for the class meetings in the computer lab in the library. You will have time to work on your assignments, essays, and presentations in the lab. In addition, you will complete online interactive grammar exercises in the lab to improve your writing.

Proofreading Exercises: the class as a whole will work general proofreading exercises both from the book and from handouts. You may be assigned individual proofreading exercises and handouts according to your personal writing challenges. Completion of these is required.

Writing Journal: get a blank lined composition book in which to write your journal entries. This is your writing tool kit. You will take notes in your journal from lectures, powerpoints, videos, and from your classmates’ presentations. Your entries will be in response to specific questions, dialogic note-taking, and in- class writing exercises that you do. During the quarter, you will be responsible for keeping track of all your work, including homework, journals, and in-class work.

Grading: * Essays 60% * Homework Assignments 15% * Journal 5% * In-class Essay 5% * Presentation 5% * Participation 5% * Quizzes 5%

Attendance and Participation As participation is an important element is learning the skills necessary to improving your writing and passing this class, consistent attendance is very important, as the work we do in class is directly related to your success in English 201. Attendance is your job as a student; it is not my business about whether you attend class or not, as such, do not feel it is necessary to inform me 5 about absences or tardy issues. It is not my job to judge and decide the validity of your attendance issues. That said, as this class meets two days per week, a student who misses five classes, regardless of the reason, will result in being dropped from the class.

In addition, as participation is required, the instructor reserves the right to fail or reduce the grade of a student who does not submit assignments and essays in a timely manner, i.e. more than two weeks late.

If you miss a class, contact a classmate and look at the Schedule to determine what you may have missed – DO NOT email me for that information.

If you decide not to attend the class, you are responsible for dropping or withdrawing from the class at the Admission and Records office promptly.

Computer Lab attendance is required and you must have your draft available either through Dropbox.com, in your email, or on a flash drive. We will be meeting at the regular class time in the Learning Center Computer Lab as indicated on the Schedule. You are responsible for keeping up with the due dates and schedule.

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 findings. None of this is possible unless we create a comfortable environment. To do this, a few rules apply: 1. Avoid socializing with your classmates during lectures, class discussions, and writing times. Constant chatter and disruptive behavior that distracts the other class members will result in a: * pink card dismissal – which reads: “You may leave the class now and return at the next class meeting if you are ready to pay attention”. 2. Keep cell phones/beepers on vibrate or silent. 3. Do not text or talk on the phone during class – you need to pay attention. 4. Be on time, but if you arrive late, enter quietly! 5. 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. 6. Use appropriate language during discussion and show respect for all. 7. 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 and will result in severe disciplinary action. Students are required to attend the class on plagiarism and pass the plagiarism quiz. 6

Plagiarism 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 will result in an “F” on the assignment and you will be reported to the Dean of the College. 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 Chair 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.

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

"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. "William Strunk, Jr. 7