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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