Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Syllabus


Description: Miami-Dade College Logo
ENC 1101 - English Composition 1 Syllabus
ENC 1101       Ref#    822008                        Schedule: Mon. & Wed. 5:40-9:00 pm
3 Credits         Summer A 2014 Semester

Instructor: Jose A. Aparicio                                      
Office location and hours: by appointment                   Location: F 202                  

Course Description
This is the second required general core course in college-level writing. Observing the
conventions of Standard American English, students will compose informative and persuasive
essays, write responses to a variety of literary genres and/or non-fiction, and produce a
documented paper based on research. This course fulfills 8,000 words of the Gordon Rule
requirement. Note: This course must be completed with a grade of “C” or better. Prerequisites: ENC 1101 or equivalent with a grade of “C” or better.

Course Textbooks
Rosa, Alfred, and Paul Escholz, eds. Models for Writers: Short Essays for Composition. 11th ed.
S.l.: Bedford Freeman & Worth Pub., 2012. Print.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of ENC 1102, students will:
  • Write to achieve varying purposes and to engage different audiences;
  • Understand the structure of closed-form arguments (including claim, reasons, evidence, counter-argument, and underlying assumptions);
  • Employ effective persuasive appeals;
  • Analyze rhetorical strategies and literary elements in professional  texts and show an understanding of how authors write within their historical/cultural context;
  • Generate research questions that lead to meaningful inquiry;
  • Show knowledge of conventions of academic research, including the ability to locate, evaluate, and document sources and to incorporate sources effectively into their work;
  • Further their vocabulary for understanding and talking about composition and rhetoric.

Catalog Description: This is the first required general core course in college-level writing. Students will compose essays and other works using various methods of development. This course fulfills 8,000 words of the Gordon Rule requirement.

Note: This course must be completed with a grade of “C” or better.            3 Credits

Prerequisites: Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) score of 440 or more on the verbal subtest; American College Testing (ACT) score of 17 or more on the English subtest; Computerized Placement Test (CPT) score of 83 or more on the English subtest; or ENC 0021 with a grade of “S.”


Course Competencies:

Competency 1: The student will produce writing by

a.         choosing and limiting a subject that can be sufficiently developed within a given time, for a specific purpose and audience.
b.         developing and refining pre-writing and planning skills.
c.         formulating the main point to reflect the subject and purpose of the writing.
d.         supporting the main point with specific details and arranging them logically.
e.         using appropriate transitional devices.
f.          writing an effective conclusion.

Competency 2: The student will write well-developed essays by

a.         writing an introductory paragraph.
b.         constructing a thesis statement.
c.         developing the thesis by:
d.         providing adequate support that reflects the ability to distinguish between generalized and concrete evidence.
e.         arranging the ideas and supporting details in a logical pattern appropriate to the purpose and focus. Patterns may include descriptive, narrative, and evaluative writing, process analysis, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, exemplification, and others.

Competency 3: The student will proofread, edit, and revise by

a.         writing unified prose in which all supporting material is relevant to the thesis.
b.         writing coherent prose and providing effective transitional devices.
c.         writing a concluding paragraph.
d.         recognizing and correcting errors in clarity.
e.         recognizing and correcting errors in unity and coherence.
f.          using conventional sentence structure and correcting sentence errors such as fragments,
run-ons, comma splices, misplaced modifiers, and faulty parallelism.

More stuff you will learn:
d.         recognize and correct errors in utilizing the conventions of Standard American
English including:
e.         use standard verb forms and consistent tense.
f.   maintain agreement between subject and verb, and between pronoun and
g.   use correct subjective, objective, and possessive case pronouns.
h.   maintain consistency in point of view.
i.   use standard spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
And other stuff…





Grading Policy
You will be graded on a point system where you earn points towards your grade. At the end of the term, all points in the course (1,000 points total) will be added up and grades will be distributed as follows: A+ (960-1000), A (930-959), A- (900-929), B+ (860-899), B (830-859), B- (800-829), C+ (760- 799), C (730-759), C- (700-729), D+ (660-699), D (630-659), D- (600-629), F (599 and below).

Participation/class work………………………….…200 points
Reflections (10 reflections x 20 points each)……….200 points
Thesis Draft (2 thesis x 100 points each)…………...200 point
Essay One (Analysis) … …..………………………..200 points
Essay Two (Argument)………………………………200 points
Total………………………………………………...1000 points


Expect the following grading scale to apply to your written essays:

A – An A paper is extraordinary work that more than fulfills the requirements of the assignment.
B – A B paper is clearly above-average and more than meets the requirements of the assignment.
C – A C paper is average work that solidly meets the requirements of the assignment.
D – A D paper is below average work that demonstrates a serious attempt to fulfill the assignment          and shows some promise but does not fully meet the requirements of the assignment.
F – An F paper is substantially below average for the assignment.

Participation (200 points)
This class is yours, and your class will grow out of your own experiences; therefore, this class requires that you participate in sharing your thoughts and ideas. If everyone is prepared for class, then we can have a classroom environment in which all students feel totally free to say what they think, ask questions, object, criticize, request clarification, return to previous subject matter, respond to someone else's response, etc. In order to foster this safe and encouraging space for all of us to discuss the stories we read, I ask that everyone put his/her phone on silent and away and not fiddle with it during class. Note that attendance/ participation means that you are actively engaged in class, so if you are on your phone, doing work for another class, or generally not paying attention, you will get a zero in participation for that day, which will lower your over all participation grade 50 points (out of 200).

Students who are clinically shy, or those whose best, most pressing questions and comments occur to them only in private or outside of class, should do their discussing with me outside of class during office hours or set up an appointment. Your ideas are good. Don’t be afraid to voice them or to use class discussion to think out ideas. Don’t be afraid to ask the class questions—questions are always welcomed since they usually spark great discussions.

Here is a very general idea of a range of performance evaluations that I will use to grade participation:
C-/C: Student contributes (rarely), but comments show weak or no preparation or understanding of topic
C+/B-/B: Comments show satisfactory or adequate preparation and understanding
B+/A-: Comments show above-average ability to prepare, comprehend; comments are critical or informative; comments are pertinent to the topic or advance the topic
A/A+: Comments significantly enhance or advance the topic of discussion

• Don't hold back if you have something to offer or ask; active participation is desirable.
• Good or excellent contributions are clear, pertinent, coherent, well-phrased, interesting, informative, or connect or advance ideas expressed by others, or pose thoughtful or insightful questions. 
• Good contributions usually reveal that the student is engaged in the subject (beyond basically reading the assignment) and has devoted some reflection or even investigation prior to the class discussion. 
• Showing appreciation and respect for peers is part of participating well and contributing to a supportive academic setting.
• Improvement: students showing marked change in performance will see that reflected in the final grade.
• Thus, careful preparation, regular attendance, and participation are essential to success in this course.  Attendance/participation not only counts for 15% of your final grade, but also enhances all other grade components.

Reflections:
Reflections are based on prompts posted on http://doadullthingwithstyle.blogspot.com/
This site will be the class’s supplement. On it, I will post a prompt every week (12 total), and in the comment section, you will post a response to AT LEAST 10 (TEN) of these prompts. I expect your responses to be thought out and well written. Responses should be AT LEAST 200 words.
All answers must be posted in the comment section by Friday at midnight.  

Thesis-Draft:
The thesis draft will be due a week before major essays. The assignment is meant to get you thinking about the essays and establishing a thesis that will guide the paper. At minimum, each thesis should have a rough draft of an introduction to your essay and a working thesis with a general outline and plan for the essay. This assignment should be 500 words.

Essay One and Two:
Details for essay one will be posted on the web-site: http://doadullthingwithstyle.blogspot.com/ by Monday May 16, 2014. The site will provide a detailed assignment sheet with criteria.

The first essay will be a rhetorical analysis of visual content. All essay should be 1,000-1,200 words long and follow proper MLA conventions, as seen here, here, and here. (more to follow as we move along). 

Plagiarism
Willful plagiarism is unethical and fails to help your development as a student. Disciplinary sanctions can result from academic misconduct. I will be monitoring all work for plagiarism. Know that the act of plagiarism is not always willful and deliberate. A student is guilty of plagiarism by simply presenting another author’s work, ideas, expressions, language, or materials as her/his own original work. If I find that an assignment is plagiarized, I will give that assignment a zero. Depending on the severity of the infraction, plagiarism can lead to failure of the course and expulsion from school.   

Attendance Policy
Attendance is mandatory. This class will not rely on lectures. Furthermore, you are required to be present a minimum of 80% of the time, for this class means you are allowed 3 absences before you will be unable to pass the class (THREE tardies—25 minutes late or more—will equal one absence). I cannot stress this enough: YOU WILL FAIL THE COURSE IF YOU MISS 4 (FOUR) DAYS.

You will be responsible for making up work; I will not e-mail you to remind you, or see to it that you make up whatever you missed. You are responsible for following the schedule and making up whatever you miss in class, and you will have to let me know (through e-mail) that you have made up the late assignment.

Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to the observation of a major religious observance must provide notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second-class meeting. Should an examination or the due date for an assignment fall on one of these dates, YOU will make arrangements with me for a make-up exam or an alternate date for submission of written work. Aside from these extenuating circumstances, I do not make a distinction between excused and unexcused absences. You are allowed to miss two days for whatever reason you want without having to explain it to me, but if you are not here, then you are not learning.

Late Work:
Late work will be accepted but will suffer a 25-point deduction for every class period that it is late. Responses that are late will suffer lose 3 points for each DAY that it is late.

Communication:
If you are not clear about an assignment or have any concerns about the class, please feel free to contact me. The best way to do so is through e-mail or during office hours. You should make an appointment. Come see me and I will help you in any way I can or direct you to someone who can help. Also, you don’t have to have a “problem” to drop by. We can discuss the stuff we are reading, your paper, or anything else you feel will be helpful. Saying “I didn’t understand the assignment” or other such excuses will not be accepted. If you are confused about absolutely anything, if you are not sure you are completing an assignment correctly, then e-mail me and come see me.

Also, remember that if you would like some extra help, not only am I available but you can also go to the Writing Center.

A Note on Grading:
This class is set up on a point system. You have 1,000 points that you earn. You don’t start off with 1,000 points and then I take points away—rather, you start off with zero points and earn points with each assignment. Some years I hear about how “hard” a student worked on an aspect of the class and how that “hard” work deserves a better grade than the one assigned. Unfortunately, hard work is only one aspect of the grade. If you are unable to translate that hard work into the final product, then you will not earn all possible points. I will provide rubrics that outline how major assignments are graded. You will have opportunities to revise the major essays for a better grade, and I will provide some extra credit chances. (Starting right now: if we go the ENTIRE semester without ANYONE e-mailing me asking a question that is on the syllabus, then everyone gets an extra five points at the end—if you ask me a question about the syllabus during office hours, then that’s a different story and will not count against you). Therefore, I will outright ignore grade grubbing e-mails at the end of the semester. If your grade meant that much to you, you should have gone to the writing center, revised your essays, done ALL of your work on time, and come to my office hours for help in areas of the class you struggled in (Of course, all this hard work still does not guarantee the elusive A+ everyone wants, but it sure helps). The end of the semester is not the time to simply ask for a better grade. I do not GIVE grades—YOU earn them. Believe me, I want everyone in the class to pass with high marks, so I will answer e-mails as soon as I can, I will read rough drafts during office hours, and I will discuss any difficulties you are having in class in order to help you succeed, but I will not allow students who slacked to receive the same grades as students who actually did all of the work. 

E-mails:
Read the following before sending me an e-mail, please:

SCHEDULE WILL BE POSTED ON THE WEB-SITE: http://doadullthingwithstyle.blogspot.com/

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