last updated
05/27/2009
2009 ENGLISH PROGRAM GUIDE
JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Mission and Preface
Chapter I: Program Overview
Chapter II: ENGL 102 – Writing Strategies
Chapter III: ENGL 106 – Introduction to Writing
Chapter IV: ENGL 121 – Composition I
Sample Syllabus Using the Default Textbook
(Additional Sample Syllabus, see Appendix III)
Chapter V: ENGL 122 – Composition II
Sample Syllabus Using the Default Textbook
Sample Syllabus Using Writing from Readings & Ideas Across Time
Chapter VI: A Nuts & Bolts Guide to Teaching at JCCC
Chapter VII: Technology at JCCC
Chapter VIII: Program Resources
Learning Strategies Program (web link)
Writing Center (Information on)
Chapter IX: Support Services for Instructors.
The Billington Library
Appendix I: Notes from the Faculty
Appendix II: Diagnostic, Permission-to-Use & other Department Information
Appendix III: Additional Composition I Sample Syllabuses
English Program Mission Statement
The mission of the English Program is to teach effective communication, with an emphasis on improved writing, reading, verbal, and interpretive skills; to encourage critical thinking and information seeking from both primary and secondary sources (including online); to promote a broadened world view through the study of literature; and to foster collaborative learning and the use of computers as resource. In fostering these skills and attitudes, the program fulfills the four aims of general education: development of a point of view, acquisition of essential knowledge, adherence to important principles, and development of skills or competencies.
Preface
Welcome to the Division of English & Journalism, which also includes the Global English Institute (formerly EAP) and Learning Strategies programs. It is helpful to remember that “English Department” or “English Program” are the short-hand terms used by those of us who teach writing and literature. “ENGL” is the abbreviation used in the Catalog of Courses and the Course Schedule to designate both writing and literature courses.
The English Program Guide is designed to familiarize you with the overall structure of the program as well as to help orient you to the department mission and its objectives. TheEnglish Program Guide focuses primarily on the department’s required writing courses, including full descriptions, objectives and requirements, and how each course fits into the overall writing sequence. Additionally, this Guide includes information on the Writing Center as well as links to Learning Strategies and EAP course information.
Finally, it is helpful to know that our program is administered by Dean Andy Anderson, who oversees our budgets and teaching schedules, and who manages personnel, hires adjunct faculty, and represents the department in college-wide administration concerns.
English Department Homepage
http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts.php/1104
Note: To provide the most up-to-date information, most of the index links on the left take you directly to the responsible source or department. Some of the links require an Acrobat Reader. Click here to download one, if necessary.
Chapter I
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
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In this chapter . . .
Student Placement in Courses
Overview of Composition Sequence
State Guidelines and the Design of Composition Classes
JCCC’s English Program attempts to combine vision with pragmatism. We are committed to helping students gain critical reasoning skills and an appreciation not just for writing, but for knowledge itself. At the same time, we take seriously our mission of ensuring that students who take the required writing courses are fully prepared for the writing, research, and reading skills demanded in other college courses as well as in the workplace. Here is our current standard writing course sequence, descriptions of which will follow:
English 102: Writing Strategies
English 106: Introduction to Writing
English 121: Composition I
English 122: Composition II
English 123: Technical Writing
The program’s focus on writing as a process, its attempt to give students exposure to both narrative and expository writing, and its insistence that students learn to write error-free prose, points to its sense of purpose within the wider academic and professional communities that it serves.
To help the program fulfill its mission, our Writing Center serves a vital function. Recognized as one of the best in the nation, it supports all JCCC students, regardless of their courses or degree programs. Staffed with a full-time director as well as instructors and trained student tutors, the Writing Center offers students free, individualized instruction and assistance with any course which requires writing and reading. Students may use computerized software or they may choose to work one-on-one with a tutor. Writing instructors are strongly encouraged to arrange a Writing Center orientation for their students in the first weeks of the semester, and they are encouraged to keep their assignments on file with Writing Center staff so that the staff can better assist students needing help.
Student Placement in English Courses–Testing Center Services
Students applying at Johnson County Community College begin with assessment and counseling. Those planning to enroll must take the Compass Test (which serves as a placement tool for both English and math courses), or they must either submit current ACT or SAT scores or present transcripts for college-level English course work they have completed elsewhere. Based on one or more of these measures, students are placed in the appropriate level writing course, based on their degree or certificate plan.
All first-level English courses have the prerequisite of a test score. If students have taken a college-entrance test, either ACT or SAT, they may be placed in Composition I if they have at least a 19 on the English portion of the ACT or at least a 460 on the SAT verbal. Native speakers of English who do not have appropriate scores on the college entrance exams take the COMPASS English skills course and place in Composition I if they achieve a score of at least 75. Lower scores place them either in English 102 or English 106.
Non-native speakers of English take the COMPASS ESL test, which determines placement either in one of the four levels of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), or, for scores of 96 and above, in Composition I.
Student Placement–Writing Course Placement Procedures
Each year, the college’s institutional research unit validates the English placement standards; consequently, writing instructors should feel confident that their students can be successful in their courses. Nonetheless, English instructors should assess their students’ writing skills in the first week of class to ensure that they are indeed appropriately placed. A diagnostic essay or paragraph is the most popular approach that instructors use to assess students. If possible, assigning two diagnostics will give a more accurate assessment.
If the student’s diagnostic writings indicate that a higher level course is advisable, the instructor may want to ask colleagues in the department for a second opinion. At that point, if a higher level course seems appropriate, the instructor consults with the Assistant Dean before advising the student.
If the student’s diagnostic writing indicates that a lower level course is advisable, the instructor and Assistant Dean can only advise a reassignment. In legal terms, if a student’s entrance assessment score indicates placement in a specific course, then that student may take that course. Nonetheless, many students will want to succeed, and given appropriate counseling on how to withdraw and add a different course, they will most likely take the instructor’s advice seriously. The program office will facilitate the add/drop process for such a student.
Occasionally, non-native speakers are incorrectly directed to take the English skills test rather than the ESL test and as a result may be incorrectly placed in English 106 or English 121. That is one of the reasons for giving a diagnostic writing assignment at the very beginning of the semester. Students who demonstrate that they lack the language proficiency to succeed in the course in which they have been placed, should be so advised, and should be immediately directed to the assistant dean and the counselors to have the enrollment problem corrected
Overview of Writing Course Sequence
Many JCCC students begin with English 106, a three-credit-hour developmental writing course which does not count towards a college degree. As with the other developmental writing courses, English 106 familiarizes students with the formal vocabulary of academic language instruction, including grammatical terms and concepts such as “topic sentence”, “thesis”, and “independent clause.” The course includes an introduction to the basic structure of English grammar, intensive work with sentence building, writing paragraphs and short essays, and developing critical reading skills. As with all of the department’s writing courses, English 106 stresses both the connection between critical reading and writing, and writing as a process.
A smaller number of JCCC students begin the required writing sequence with either a course or courses from the EAP curriculum (see page 102) or—if they are a native speaker of English–with ENGL 102, Writing Strategies. ENGL 102 is designed to help students learn basic sentence patterns, grammar and paragraph development, the course primarily adopts a workshop format to meet a wide range of student needs.
Unlike English 102 or 106, English 121 counts towards degree fulfillment at JCCC. The course focuses on writing nonfiction prose, and students ideally become proficient in all phases of the writing process, from invention through proofreading. English 121 seeks to help students make sense of the knowledge they gain from their other courses and from their own experiences, via writing and reading. Equally important is helping students understand and apply the principles of the rhetorical triangle: audience, context and purpose.
After passing English 121, many degree-seeking students are required to take a second writing course: English 122 (Composition II), or English 123 (Technical Writing). English 122 is required for students seeking an Associate of Arts degree. Students pursuing an Associate of Science degree or an Associate of Applied Science degree have the option of taking either English 122 or English 123.
English 122 continues to help students hone their skills with critical reading, as well as with expository and narrative writing, but it focuses primarily on teaching students how to synthesize information from various sources and how to analyze and evaluate information. The course teaches students to become competent researchers, using print and electronic sources to write persuasive and argumentative prose.
English 123 also incorporates skills that students learn in English 122, but it focuses primarily on business, technical, and professional writing, including how to write memos, letters, emails, and reports, as well as how to produce instructional manuals, web pages, and computer-generated graphics.
State and College Guidelines and How They Apply in the Design of Each Writing Course
While instructors are encouraged to teach to their strengths and to tailor their curriculum to fit student needs from semester to semester, each course offered at JCCC also must conform to standards and objectives that have been approved by the JCCC Education Affairs Committee and by the Board of Regents. All syllabi must contain certain information, and the Course Objectives and Course Descriptions portions of the syllabus cannot be altered, as these components have been state approved. In each chapter of the Program Guide, instructors will find each course’s official Course Outline—the document that has been officially approved by the state and which guarantees that the course is transferable and accredited. Much of the material which appears on any given Course Outline must also be included on the instructor’s syllabus. For all instructors new to the program, we ask that they read carefully each Course Outline, and that they turn to the appendix of this English Program Guide to see additional syllabi templates for required writing courses. Instructions in each chapter explain further what an instructor may and may not alter on any given course syllabus.
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ENGL 102 – WRITING STRATEGIES
In this chapter . . .
Description of the Course within the Sequence
Educational Objectives
Course Outline
Typical Assignments
Instructional Preview
Sample Syllabus
Writing Strategies is a three-credit-hour developmental writing course. It is the first course in the sequence of JCCC’s developmental writing courses and does not count for degree requirements. Writing Strategies is designed for students who lack basic sentence writing skills. The course focuses on grammar, sentence patterns, sentence writing, and basic paragraph development. A required workbook provides students with practice and application of the grammatical terms and concepts taught in class. Second language students will, as a rule, not be in ENGL 102; non-native speakers are, instead, placed in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses that focus on language issues specific to second language speakers. Like ENGL 102, students completing the upper level EAP courses will move into ENGL 106 Introduction to Writing.
Educational Objectives
Students in Writing Strategies will learn sentence writing to help them communicate meaning and self expression through writing. They will become competent in the mechanics of writing and use of varied sentence patterns and apply these skills to write effective sentences. Students will gain extensive practice in writing sentences to help them begin to gain competence in communicating through writing. As they master sentence level writing, the students will progress into basic paragraph development.
Course Outline
JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Course Outline
Liberal Arts Division
English 102 Writing Strategies
DIVISION: Liberal Arts COURSE LAST REVISED: Fall 1999
COURSE TITLE: Writing Strategies
COURSE NUMBER: ENGL 102
CREDIT HOURS: 3
PREREQUISITES AND/OR COREQUISITES: None
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: Brannan, Robert. A Writer’s Workshop: Crafting Sentences, Building Paragraphs. 1st ed. MCG.
SUPPLIES: (Varies by instructor)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course assists the student in developing strategies for sentence writing. Furthermore, the course is designed to meet a variety of learning styles, levels, and needs. Students will develop strategies for self-monitoring errors in written products. Students are taught strategies for writing a variety of sentence formats. Students have extensive practice in writing sentences as a means of implementing new information. As each objective is mastered, students move to the next. The goal of Writing Strategies is to assure that students who successfully complete the course have learned all of the basic structures of the English sentence and have acquired the ability to apply those skills in writing.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
After successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Identify sentence types and their purposes
2. Identify sentence formats
3. Recognize and label the eight basic parts of speech
4. Identify subjects in a sentence
5. Identify verbs and verb phrases
6. Identify independent clauses
7. Identify dependent clauses
8. Identify and construct simple sentences with single and compound subjects as well as with single and compound verbs
9. Identify and construct compound sentences in which the clauses are separated with a comma and coordinating conjunction
10. Identify and construct compound sentences in which the clauses are separated with a semicolon
11. Identify and construct compound sentences in which the clauses are separated with conjunctive adverbs
12. Identify and construct complete sentences with the comma used after introductory adverb clauses
13. Identify and construct various patterns of compound-complex sentences
14. Identify and correct any error in written expression
15. Compose a variety of sentence structures
16. Apply editing and proofreading strategies to correct major sentence level errors
17. Write sentences which provide information, create an image, or clarify a problem
CONTENT OUTLINE AND COMPETENCIES:
Students completing this course will be able to:
I. Identify the following five basic sentence formats and their significance in sentence
writing (Pre-sentence strategy):
A. Subject-verb
B. Subject-verb-direct object
C. Subject-verb-indirect object-direct object
D. Subject-verb-predicate nominative
E. Subject-verb-predicate adjective
II. Identify the following four sentence types:
A. Declarative
B. Imperative
C. Exclamatory
D. Interrogative
III. Identify the following eight basic parts of speech and recognize their functions and places in sentence formation:
A. Nouns
1. Common
2. Proper
3. Concrete
4. Abstract
B. Pronouns
1. Personal
a. Pronoun-antecedent agreement
b. Pronoun case: Nominative, objective, possessive
2. Reflexive
3. Intensive
4. Demonstrative
5. Relative
6. Indefinite
7. Reciprocal
8. Interrogative
C. Verbs
1. Action
2. Linking
3. Auxiliary
D. Adjectives
E. Adverbs
F. Conjunctions
1. Coordinating
2. Subordinating
3. Adverbial
G. Prepositions
H. Interjections
IV. Identify by labeling the following functions of nouns and noun substitutes in a variety of sentence formats:
A. Subjects
B. Direct objects
C. Indirect objects
D. Predicate nominatives
V. Identify by labeling the following various forms of verbs and verbals and their functions in a variety of sentence constructions:
A. Verbs
B. Verbals
1. Gerunds—function as nouns
2. Participles—function as adjectives
3. Infinitive phrases—function as nouns
VI. Explain the functions of verbs and verb phrases in the following sentence constructions:
A. Main
1. Action
2. Linking
B. Auxiliary—tense formation
1. Simple tenses—present, past, future
2. Progressive—present progressive, past progressive, future progressive
3. Perfect tenses—present perfect, past perfect, future perfect
4. Perfect progressive tenses—present perfect progressive, past perfect progressive, future perfect progressive
VII. Construct simple sentences following each of the following five formats (Sentence Strategy):
A. Single subject—single action verb
B. Compound subjects—single action verb
C. Compound subjects—compound action verb
D. Single and compound subjects—single and compound verbs—single and compound direct objects
E. Single and compound subjects—single and compound verbs—single and compound indirect objects—single and compound direct objects
F. Single and compound subjects—single and compound verbs—single and compound predicate nominatives
G. Single and compound subjects—single and compound verbs—single and compound predicate adjectives
VIII. Construct compound sentences using combinations of the following five sentence formats:
A. Identify and construct compound sentences in which the independent clauses are separated with a comma and coordinating conjunction
B. Identify and construct compound sentences in which the clauses are separated with a semicolon
C. Identify and construct compound sentences in which the clauses are separated with conjunctive adverbs
IX. Construct complex sentence using the following combinations of all five sentence formats:
A. Identify and construct complex sentences using a variety of subordinating conjunctions
B. Identify and construct complex sentences using noun clauses in various positions and punctuated correctly
C. Identify and construct complex sentences using introductory adverb clauses punctuated with the comma
D. Identify and construct complex sentences using adverb clauses in other positions within the main clause
E. Identify and construct various patterns of compound-complex sentences
F. Identify and correct any errors in written expression in printed or computerized activities
METHODS OF EVALUATION:
I. Activities
A. Objective tests will be administered routinely to assess the student’s mastery of the new skill or objective introduced in class. (30%)
B. Short quizzes will be administered as a means of assessing the comprehension of specific objectives in class. (30%)
C. Homework as a means of practicing the new skills learned in class is a required aspect of this class. (20%)
D. Class participation is essential. (20%)
II. Grading:
All work, including class participation, is graded on a point system and computed into percentages. The final grade is based in part on the percentage of total points earned at the semester’s end, as well as on the student’s demonstration of a steady increase in ability to write clear, concise, well-constructed sentences.
A A grade of “A” in this course indicates the student has mastered the tools of sentence construction, understands the rules of grammar and has demonstrated the ability to construct sound, grammatically correct sentences.
B A grade of “B” in this course indicates the student has gained a good functional knowledge of the tools of sentence construction, understands the rules of grammar and has demonstrated an ability to develop well constructed, grammatically correct sentences.
C A grade of “C” in this course indicates that the student has done a credible job of understanding the rules of grammar and has demonstrated an ability to write grammatically correct sentences.
D A grade of “D” in this course indicates that the student has not successfully grasped the concepts of English grammar and sentence construction, but has gained some knowledge of sentence writing.
F A grade of “F” in this course indicates that the student has not successfully understood the concepts of English grammar or of sentence construction.
A = 90 – 100%
B = 80 – 89%
C = 70 – 79%
D = 60 – 69%
F = 0 – 59%
Typical Assignments
Instructors give a diagnostic activity the first day of class to determine what skills each student lacks in sentence writing. The Writing Center also offers a computerized assessment. It is recommended that Writing Strategies students take this assessment and provide the instructor with a copy of the results. Non-native students are unlikely to be enrolled in the Writing Strategies class. If instructors encounter second language students, they should contact the program administrator for help in finding out whether the student should be in the EAP counterpart to Writing Strategies. Teachers should emphasize that changing to an EAP class is not a demotion; it is a lateral move into a course designed to address non-native speaker/writer issues.
The Writing Strategies workbook provides practice and application of the concepts taught in class, but it will be necessary to provide students with class activities and homework assignments that give them more practice in sentence writing than what the workbook provides. Each class period and homework assignment should include practice in sentence writing that applies the grammar concepts taught in class.
A typical assignment may include the following:
Assignment: Subordinate clauses
Review the subordinate clause introductory activity done in class.
Read the section on subordinate clauses in your workbook.
Do the practices for that section.
Write 10 sentences of your own using subordinate clauses.
Edit your sentences.
Underline the subordinate clauses in your sentences.
Reminder: Use the Writing Center!
Requiring students to keep their sentence writing assignments and assessments in a folder for the duration of the course gives them an opportunity to see their writing progress. Having students revise and edit their sentence writing assignments introduces them to revision and editing which will be required in the next developmental course, Introduction to Writing.
Instructional Preview—What to Expect
A typical classroom may include returning adults, students with hearing impairments, students with disabilities, and traditional students. Since the introduction of the EAP program, the number of non-native speakers enrolling in 102 has dropped; however, a few may appear in the course from time to time. The students’ writing skills will vary, and the instructor will need to adapt the pedagogy to meet students’ need. In general, Writing Strategies students are eager to improve their writing skills, but some may exhibit behaviors typical of developmental students, such as absences, late work, and excuses. Setting clear course requirements and expectations at the beginning of the course will help foster student accountability and success. The students may have jobs and family obligations that take priority over their homework assignment. It will be important to be empathetic, but stay consistent with requirements and expectations. Emphasize that attendance and homework assignments are necessary to help them improve their writing and for successful completion of the course.
Instructors must be prepared to provide classroom instruction that explains, clarifies, and gives numerous examples of the grammatical terms and writing concepts listed in the course objectives. Because developmental students usually lack knowledge of learning strategies, requiring them to take notes on study cards or notebook paper will foster active involvement during the class period.
Using classroom assessment techniques will give developmental students immediate feedback on their understanding of the writing concepts explained in class. The Office of Staff and Organizational Development (GEB 240) has classroom assessment technique (CAT) resources in the form of handouts available to JCCC instructors.
Many developmental writing students also lack collaborative experience that will be needed for future writing courses. Including small group classroom activities that encourage collaboration in writing sentences and peer editing can help to provide these students with that experience, even though developmental writing students can be hesitant to participate in small groups and have others view their work. Encouragement by the instructor and making the activity non-threatening will be important.
To further assist Writing Strategies students, the Academic Achievement Center offers one-credit-hour courses in spelling and vocabulary improvement. The Writing Center offers one-credit-hour courses which can be taken in conjunction with Writing Strategies.
Sample Syllabus
What follows is a sample syllabus for English 102. It offers a common approach to the course, its curriculum and its content. Although much of what appears here is legislated by the state and policies set forward in the faculty handbook and on the Course Outline included in this chapter, the English 102 syllabus can support a broad range of pedagogical teaching philosophies when determining how students will meet course objectives as defined and approved by the state. This sample is intended to be a starting place; it is not meant to be absolutely prescriptive. For more examples, instructors are encouraged to consult their colleagues’ syllabi stored in the large black 3-ring notebooks in the Program Office.
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Sample Syllabus
JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Course Syllabus
Writing Strategies
ENGL 102
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:
Name: Mailbox: CC 221, Box 80
Campus Telephone: Office:
E-mail: Office Hours:
COURSE INFORMATION:
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: None
Textbook: see bookstore.
Supplies: Students will need to purchase a three-ring notebook with dividers and a spiral notebook.
Caveats: None
Description:
Writing Strategies is a course designed to help students learn sentence boundaries and manipulate the basic phrase and clause units of a sentence in order to clearly express meaning. As students master sentence types and become competent in the mechanics of writing—grammar, punctuation and spelling—they will progress to paragraph writing. Writing Strategies prepares students for the next composition course in the English department’s curriculum sequence, Introduction to Writing.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
After successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Identify sentence types and their purposes.
2. Identify sentence formats.
3. Recognize and label the eight basic parts of speech.
4. Identify subjects in a sentence.
5. Identify verbs and verb phrases.
6. Identify independent clauses.
7. Identify dependent clauses.
8. Identify and construct simple sentences with single and compound subjects as well as with single and compound verbs.
9. Identify and construct compound sentences in which the clauses are separated with a comma and coordinating conjunction.
10. Identify and construct compound sentences in which the clauses are separated with a semicolon.
11. Identify and construct compound sentences in which the clauses are separated with conjunctive adverbs.
12. Identify and construct complete sentences with the comma used after introductory adverb clauses.
13. Identify and construct various patterns of compound-complex sentences.
14. Identify and correct any error in written expression.
15. Compose a variety of sentence structures.
16. Apply editing and proofreading strategies to correct major sentence level errors.
17. Write sentences which provide information, create an image or clarify a problem.
18. Construct unified and coherent paragraphs.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. The Plan – The course consists of direct instruction and individualized practice.
2. Participation – Regular class attendance is expected and necessary for successful completion of the course. Any absence will cause you to fall far behind and seriously damage your grade.
3. Late Work – Although much of the class is self-paced, some paper deadlines will be imposed to make sure students maintain consistent progress. Failure to meet these deadlines will mean that no grade for the work can be given although the work must be checked prior to completion of the course. Excessive lateness may cause course failure.
4. Student Access – If you are a student with a disability, and if you will be requesting accommodations, it is your responsibility to contact Access Services. Access Services will recommend any appropriate accommodations to your professor and his/her director. The professor and director will identify for you which accommodations will be arranged.
JCCC provides a range of services to allow persons with disabilities to participate in educational programs and activities. If you desire services, contact Access Services, 202 Student Center, or by telephone at (913) 469-8500, ext. 3521, or (913) 469-3885 TDD.
EVALUATION:
You must have 90% mastery on each workbook exercise before moving to the following unit or activity. For paragraphs, you must have 60% mastery in order to move to the next writing assignment.
Grading:
Workbook 100 points 100-90% = A
Quizzes and Daily Work 100 points 89-80% = B
Journals 30 points 79-70% = C
Four Sentence Tests 120 points 69-60% = D
Final Exam 100 points Below 60% = F
TOTAL 450 points
TOPICAL OUTLINE:
I. Pre-Sentence Strategy
A. Identification of nouns used as subjects
B. Comprehension of verb functions
C. Differentiation of verbs and verbals
II. Sentence Strategy
A. Simple sentences
1. Identification of independent clauses as simple sentences
2. Conversion of fragments to simple sentences
3. Differentiation of sentence fragments and simple sentences
4. Generation of four types of simple sentences
a. Single subject and single verb
b. Compound subject and single verb
c. Single subject and compound verb
d. Compound subject and compound verb
B. Compound sentences
1. Identification of compound sentences
2. Differentiation of simple and compound sentences
3. Generation of compound sentences with appropriate punctuation
C. Complex sentences
1. Comprehension of concept of dependent clause
2. Comprehension of concept of complex sentence
3. Identification of complex sentences
4. Differentiation of simple, compound and complex sentences
5. Generation of two types of complex sentences with appropriate punctuation
D. Compound-complex sentences
1. Comprehension of concept of multiple independent clauses plus dependent clauses forming compound-complex sentences
2. Identification of compound-complex sentences
3. Differentiation of simple, compound, complex and compound-complex sentences
4. Generation of compound-complex sentences with appropriate punctuation
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE:
Note: Assignments and due dates may vary from this schedule. Changes will be announced in advance of the due dates for assignments when possible. Chapter readings are to be completed prior to the class meeting on the day scheduled.
DATE SUBJECT
Week #1 Introduction to the course, the instructor and the class
Sentence pretest
What is language?
Week #2 Sentence types and purposes
Declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory
Parts of speech – overview
Nouns
Week #3 Pronouns
Adjectives and adverbs
Verbs
Week #4 Sentence formats
s/v
s/v/do
s/v/io/do
s/lv/pa
s/lv/pn
Week #5 The simple sentence
Simple subjects and verbs
Action verbs
Linking verbs
Helping verbs
Week #6 Compound subjects and compound verbs
Finding the real subject
Week #7 Avoiding sentence fragments
Sentence fragments
Lack of subject
Lack of verbs or incomplete verbs
Lack of subject and verbs
Week #8 The simple tenses
The perfect tenses
Progressive forms
Week #9 Verb tenses – incorrect tense shifts
Correct tense shifts for logical sequence
Week #10 Mood and fixed form helping verbs
Week #11 Verbals
Gerunds
Participles
Participial phrases
Infinitives
Infinitive phrases
Split infinitives
Week #12 Subject-verb agreement
Singular subject
Collective
Indefinite
Plural subject
Indefinite
Collective
Exceptions
Week #13 Four sentence patterns
Simple
Compound
Complex
Compound-complex
Coordination
Coordinating conjunctions
Conjunctive (adverbial) conjunctions
Semi-colons
Common conjunction/coordination errors
Run-on sentences
Comma splices
Week #14 Subordination
Subordinating conjunctions
Relative pronouns
Restrictive
Nonrestrictive
Modifiers
Misplaced modifier
Dangling modifier
Parallelism
Week #15-18 Putting it all together
Revising, editing and proofreading
Final class session: See the “Final Exam and/or Last Class Session” schedule.
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ENGL 106 – INTRODUCTION TO WRITING
In this chapter . . .
Description of the Course within the Sequence
Educational Objectives
Course Outline
Instructional Preview
Sample Syllabus
Description of the Course within the Sequence
English 106 is a developmental writing course which does not fulfill degree requirements. Students test into English 106, and the course is partly designed to prepare them for English 121. Focusing on a review of basic grammar and punctuation, English 106 also introduces students to all stages of the writing process, with particular attention given to invention techniques and multiple-stage drafting. Students concentrate at first on shorter writing assignments, particularly on how to write paragraphs with clear topic sentences. They balance those writings with longer, multi-paragraph writing projects.
Educational Objectives
Along with preparing students to take English 121, English 106 attempts to foster students’ confidence in writing. A process-based approach is crucial to building that confidence, as it allows students ample opportunity to experiment with and practice various writing strategies to discover which work best for them. Students study professional and student authors’ essays and paragraphs to find ideas and models, and in working with their peers, they refine their reading, critiquing and revising skills. By semester’s end, English 106 students ideally have gained proficiency with writing, they have become familiar with the basic vocabulary of composition, and most importantly, they have discovered that writing is an essential communication tool and can be pleasurable.
Course Outline
Johnson County Community College
Course Outline
English & Journalism Division
ENGL 106 Introduction to Writing
DIVISION: English & Journalism Division COURSE LAST REVISED: Fall 2006
COURSE TITLE: Introduction to Writing
COURSE NUMBER: ENGL 106
CREDIT HOURS: 3
PREREQUISITES: English 102 or appropriate test scores
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: Brannan, Robert. A Writer’s Workshop: Crafting Paragraphs, Building Essays. 3rd ed. New
York: MCG, 2010.
Handbook: Lunsford, Andrea. EasyWriter: A Pocket Reference. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. (Optional for all except instructors during their first three semesters.)
SUPPLIES: (Varies by instructor)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Beginning with a review of basic sentence skills, this course focuses on paragraph development, including subject selection, topic sentences, methods of development, transitional devices, and effective introductions and conclusions. The last part of the course will focus on developing multi-paragraph essays.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course students should be able to:
1. Work effectively in groups to develop and refine their writing
2. Use all stages of the writing process to develop and refine their writing
3. Construct and manipulate effective sentences
4. Focus, organize, develop, and revise paragraphs
5. Focus, organize, develop, and revise short essays
6. Demonstrate proficiency with skills necessary to enter Composition I
CONTENT OUTLINE & COMPETENCIES:
I. Work effectively in groups to develop and refine their writing
A. Follow oral and written instructions
B. Participate in group discussions
C. Critique group members’ writing
D. Apply to their own writing critical feedback from group members
II. Use all stages of the writing process to develop and refine their writing.
A. Demonstrate skill with several prewriting methods
1. Create clusters
2. Freewrite
3. List
4. Answer journalist’s questions
B. Learn how to focus and organize effectively
1. Create topic sentences
2. Create thesis sentences
3. Devise forecasting statement
4. Apply transitions and other devices for linking sentences and paragraphs
5. Use global arrangement strategies: chronological, order of importance, spatial, classification, comparison/contrast
C. Develop paragraphs and essays with effective examples
1. Recognize the difference between general and specific examples and how to apply them appropriately
2. Recognize the difference between abstract and concrete examples and apply them appropriately
3. Develop some facility with patterns of development: description, narration, illustration, comparison/contrast, process analysis, definition, classification, cause/effect
D. Revise writing for content, organization, and expression
1. Recognize weaknesses in material and demonstrate ability to add, delete, or rearrange material as required to correct the weaknesses
2. Recognize and correct flaws in organization on the essay, paragraph, and sentence levels (ranging from an overall essay pattern such as comparison/contrast through cohesive devices such as thesis and topic sentences to sentence-level connectors such as transitional words and synonyms)
3. Recognize and correct flaws in expression on the word and sentence level (ranging from precise word choice to variety in sentence structure)
E. Revise writing for standard matters of mechanical correctness
1. Recognize and correct writing for errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation
2. Perform to the departmental standard as set forth in the English Program Guide on the majority of evaluated paragraph and essay assignments (no more than seven major errors per essay; no more than three major errors per paragraph)
III. Construct and manipulate effective sentences
A. Develop ability to recognize and construct the four grammatical sentence types
B. Identify and use the four functional sentence types
C. Recognize and manipulate the fundamental units of the sentence; phrase and clause
IV. Focus, organize, develop, and revise paragraphs
A. Determine purpose of paragraph and write for a specific audience
B. Construct effective topic sentences
C. Create unified and coherent paragraphs
D. Expand paragraphs using several of the patterns of development
E. Develop ability to recognize and achieve a degree of sentence variety
V. Focus, organize, develop, and revise short essays
A. Determine purpose of essay and write for a specific audience
B. Recognize and write effective introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs
C. Select and use an appropriate overall organizational pattern for the essay
D. Select and use effective organizational pattern for the paragraphs
E. Link paragraphs successfully
VI. Demonstrate proficiency with skills necessary to enter Composition I
A. Write at least one essay that achieves a grade of “C” or better
B. Demonstrate a good command of the mechanics of writing (adhering to the departmental standard established in the Major and Minor Errors Checklist)
METHODS OF EVALUATION OF COMPETENCIES:
2-4 essays 30%-40%
2-7 paragraphs 30%-40%
Prewriting, quizzes, homework, in-class group work 20%-40%
_____________
TOTAL 100%
FINAL GRADES
A 90%-100% D 60%-69.9%
B 80%-89.9% F under 60%
C 70%-79.9%
Instructional Preview—What to Expect
The English 106 class is composed of an extraordinarily diverse range of students: returning and traditional, motivated and not, some enthusiastic, some anxious, some with reliable transportation, others without it, some with computers at home, some without, native speakers, and English as a Second Language students. The one reliable assumption that English 106 instructors can make about their English 106 classes is that they will be diverse.
The chief reward in working with developmental writers is that instructors will see remarkable improvement in their students’ writing and their confidence levels over the semester. English 106 courses ideally offer students a space where they can work through ideas both in writing and orally, where they can “screw up” and not be unduly punished for their attempts, where they gain consistent and understandable instruction in grammar and mechanics—instruction that many of them have either never had previously, or which has never made sense to them. The more writing an instructor can integrate into each class period, the better the students tend to be. “Hands on” workshops and in-class writing varies the pace and keeps students motivated.
Also fundamental to achieving success in an English 106 classroom is helping students gain trust in their peers and in the instructor. Students learn to write best when they establish that trust and can rely on the instructor and fellow students to offer them substantive feedback and suggestions. Learning the students’ names as quickly as possible, writing personal responses when grading their paragraphs and essays, offering ample opportunity for group discussions on topics that interest and motivate them, as well as fostering a collaborative writing environment, will do much to help developmental writers gain writing fluency.
Up to 33% of new JCCC students will be enrolled in a pre-college writing course. Hence, the EAP curriculum, English 102 and English 106 are designed to help students who plan to attend college achieve the basic skills necessary for higher-level thinking, writing, and reading. Teaching English 106 with this objective in mind will help the students gain an understanding of the program’s expectations for college-level writers. Therefore, it is essential for instructors to remember that their standards and evaluation methods should focus on each student’s ultimate fitness to succeed at the C level or above in English 121. Passing English 106 students who will not be capable of passing English 121 does the student and the English 121 instructor alike a disservice.
To help English 106 students meet the goals and expectations outlined in the Course Outline, instructors are encouraged to draw on numerous college resources, including Writing Center tutors and self-paced one-credit-hour courses; the Academic Achievement Center, as well as EAP opportunities described at more length later in this Program Guide.
Sample Syllabus
What follows is a sample syllabus for English 106. It offers a common approach to the course, its curriculum and its content. Although much of what appears here is legislated by the state and policies set forward in the faculty handbook and on the Course Outline included in this chapter, the English 106 syllabus can support a broad range of pedagogical teaching philosophies when determining how students will meet course objectives as defined and approved by the state. This sample is intended to be a starting place; it is not meant to be absolutely prescriptive. For more examples, instructors are encouraged to consult their colleagues’ syllabi stored in the large black 3-ring notebooks in the Program Office.
Sample Syllabus
JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Course Syllabus
Introduction to Writing
ENGL 106
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:
Name: Mailbox: CC 221, Box 80
Campus Telephone: Office:
E-Mail: Office Hours:
COURSE INFORMATION:
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: ENGL 102 or an appropriate test score
Textbooks: Brannan, Bob. A Writer’s Workshop. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2010.
Lunsford, Andrea A. Easy Writer: A Pocket Reference. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006.
Supplies: Standard writing supplies (pens/pencils and writing paper) and a three-ring notebook. A current dictionary and thesaurus would be helpful resources.
Caveats: When setting goals for this course, the successful student will attend class consistently, prepare assignments on time, and contribute to discussion and group work.
Description: Beginning with a review of basic sentence skills, this course focuses on paragraph
development, including subject selection, topic sentences, methods of development,
transitional devices, and effective introductions and conclusions.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course students should be able to:
1. Work effectively in groups to develop and refine their writing
2. Use all stages of the writing process to develop and refine their writing
3. Construct and manipulate effective sentences
4. Organize, develop, and revise paragraphs
5. Organize, develop, and revise short essays
6. Demonstrate proficiency with skills necessary to enter Composition I
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Papers – Write at least 7 major evaluated paragraph and essay assignments.
2. The writing process – Students will develop their papers by using prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. Collaborative writing, peer critiquing workshops, and writing exercises will also be significant parts of the writing process.
3. Preparation of papers – Type or word process and double-space all final out-of-class drafts. Each paper will include a heading with the student’s name, instructor’s name, course, section number, and date. Also, indicate the type of assignment (i.e., Remembered Event, Process Analysis). Number your pages.
4. Late work – Present all work in class, in person, and on time, except in cases of emergency. If you anticipate a special problem getting an assignment in on time, speak to the instructor before the due date. Otherwise, 10% will be deducted for each class session the paper is late. A paper more than one week late will receive no more than 50% of the points possible.
5. Attendance – Discussion and group work cannot be made up. Students earn daily grades for class discussions, quizzes, and in-class writings. So, make your job as a student easier: come to class. Remember, more than 4 absences (unless for a medical emergency) may lower your grade for the course.
6. Plagiarism – Misrepresenting another’s work as your own is a serious offense and will result in failure for an assignment or perhaps even the course (see Student Code of Conduct).
7. Mechanical revisions – After I return your major assignments, I will expect you to correct all mechanical errors (and make occasional sentence or paragraph revisions) within one week.
8. Student Access – If you are a student with a disability, and if you will be requesting accommodations, it is your responsibility to contact the Access Services (http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts.php/5111) on the third floor of the Student Center. They will recommend appropriate accommodations to me and my Director, and you will be notified when the accommodations are arranged.
EVALUATION:
Major Assignments:
3 Paragraphs (200 – 250 words) @ 75 points each = 225 points
4 Essays (500 – 600 words) @ 100 points each = 400 points
Subtotal = 625 points
Additional Work:
12 Drafts @ 5 points each = 60 points
25 (approx.) homework assignments @ 3 points each = 75 points
6 Journal grades @ 10 points each = 60 points
2 Quizzes @ 15 points each = 30 points
6 Modules @ 5 points each = 30 points
30 Class-participation grades @ 4 points each = 120 points
Subtotal = 375 points
Total Possible = 1,000 points
Grading Scale:
A = 1000 – 900 points C = 799 – 700 points F = 599 – 0 points
B = 899 – 800 points D = 699 – 600 points
Please note that a significant part of the grade in this course is based on work other than your major papers. To earn a superior grade, you should attend class conscientiously and complete all class work.
WRITING CENTER:
The Writing Center in LIB 308 offers free tutoring. The tutors will not proofread papers for grammar and spelling errors, but they will help you with a variety of issues such as audience awareness, organization, development of ideas, and creativity. If you have grammar and spelling questions, the tutors are happy to help in those areas as well. The Writing Center also offers computer software to help with grammar. You may bring in your work at any time during the writing process. No appointment is necessary. The Grammar Hotline phone number is 469-4413.
Note: The Writing Center offers several one-credit-hour courses that can be particularly helpful to non-native speakers and students having special difficulty with elements of composition, including mechanics (grammar, spelling, and punctuation). These courses can be taken concurrently with English 106. If you feel you would benefit from this additional instruction, ask your professor for further details.
CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR:
Our philosophy is mutual respect for each other and for the instruction presented in each class meeting. Please be considerate of your fellow students and your professor by avoiding social chatter and any other activity that might detract from the learning environment.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Note: Assignments and due dates may vary from this schedule, but I will announce changes in advance when possible.
Note: Page numbers refer to A Writer’s Workshop (AWW) unless designated EW (EasyWriter).
Week 1
Chapter 1: Introduce the writing process. Work students through prewriting methods. Have students write a diagnostic paragraph. Evaluate diagnostic writing samples and adjust curriculum to the needs of the students.
Chapter 2: (optional) Introduce the reading process.
Week 2
Chapter 3: Introduce the paragraph. Assign selected portions of Chapter 3 to help students with paragraph structure and development.
Chapter 5: Begin the first major assignment chapter—description (you can easily link student diagnostic writing from Chapter 1 to Chapter 5, and you might allow students who wrote a descriptive paragraph as a diagnostic paper to revise and build on it for their Chapter 5 assignment). Assign activities, journal entries, and student models as needed. Use the Annotated Student Model to illustrate revision efforts.
Chapter 4: Revise the first draft of descriptive paragraphs, using the First-Stage Draft Questions for Descriptive Paragraphs.
Chapter 20: Begin working with basic sentence grammar and punctuation.
Week 3
Chapter 5: Use the Annotated Student Model to illustrate revision efforts.
Chapter 4: Revise the second draft of the descriptive paragraph, using the Second-Stage Draft Questions for All Patterns of Development. Edit second drafts, using the Editing Review and Editing Problems for All Patterns of Development. Review Proofreading.
Chapter 20: Continue working with sentence parts and punctuation.
Chapter 22: Begin working with run-ons, comma splices, and fragments.
Chapter 26: Begin working with comma errors (the Big Three).
Paper #1: Description (paragraph) is due (eighth class session).
Chapter 6: Begin second major assignment chapter—narration (as alternatives or additions to Chapter 6, you will find two full narrative assignment chapters included as Appendixes 3 and 4 of this instructor’s manual). Assign activities, journal entries, and student models as needed.
Week 4
Chapter 6: Continue Chapter 6, assigning activities, journal entries, and student models as needed. Use the Annotated Student Model to illustrate revision efforts.
Chapter 4: Revise the first draft of the narrative paragraph, using First-Stage Draft Questions for Narrative Paragraphs.
Chapter 20: Continue working with basic sentence grammar and punctuation.
Chapter 22: Finish working with run-ons, comma splices, and fragments.
Chapter 26: Continue working with comma errors (the Big Three).
Week 5
Chapter 20: Finish sentence parts and punctuation (review periodically). Quiz students over A Writer’s Basic Sentence Grammar (optional).
Chapter 21: Review coordination and subordination, introduced in Chapter 20.
Chapter 26: Continue working with comma errors (the Big Three).
Chapter 4: Revise the second draft of the narrative paragraph, using the Second-Stage Draft Questions for All Patterns of Development. Edit second drafts, using the Editing Review and Editing Problems for All Patterns of Development. Review Proofreading.
Paper #2: Narration (paragraph) is due (fifteenth class session).
Chapter 7: Begin third major assignment chapter—illustration. Assign activities, journal entries, and student models as needed.
Week 6
Chapter 26: Continue working with comma errors (secondary categories).
Chapter 3: Review Developing Body Paragraphs and Creating Coherence.
Chapter 7: Continue Chapter 7, assigning activities, journal entries, and student models as needed. Use the Annotated Student Model to illustrate revision efforts.
Chapter 4: Revise the first draft of the illustration paragraph, using First-Stage Draft Questions for Expository Paragraphs.
Chapter 23: Review verb form and agreement as needed (introduced in Chapter 20).
Week 7
Chapter 26: Work with other punctuation and mechanics.
Chapter 4: Revise the second draft of the illustration paragraph, using the Second-Stage Draft Questions for All Patterns of Development. Edit second drafts, using the Editing Review and Editing Problems for All Patterns of Development. Review Proofreading.
Chapter 24: Review pronoun reference, agreement, and form as needed (introduced in Chapter 20).
Paper #3: Illustration (paragraph) is due (twenty-first class session).
Chapter 9: Begin fourth major assignment chapter—cause and effect. Assign activities, journal entries, and student models as needed.
Week 8
Chapter 9: Continue Chapter 9, assigning activities, journal entries, and student models as needed. Use the Annotated Student Model to illustrate revision efforts.
Chapter 4: Revise the first draft of the cause/effect paragraph, using First-Stage Draft Questions for Expository Paragraphs.
Chapter 25: Review adjectives and adverbs (faulty modification) as needed (introduced in Chapter 20).
Week 9
Chapter 4: Revise the second draft of the cause/effect paragraph, using the Second-Stage Draft Questions for All Patterns of Development. Edit the second drafts, using the Editing Review and Editing Problems for All Patterns of Development. Review Proofreading.
Chapter 18: Begin working with sentence variety (introduced in Chapter 20).
Paper #4 Causes/Effects (paragraph) is due (twenty-seventh class session).
Chapter 12: Begin essay unit. Compare paragraphs to essays, recognizing overall form and parts.
Week 10
Chapter 12: Work with thesis sentences, introductions, and conclusions. Review coherence.
Chapter 14: Begin fifth major assignment chapter—expanding paragraphs. Review Explaining the Writing Assignment, choose a paragraph to expand (suggested for this syllabus arrangement: either illustration or cause/effect), review expanded paragraph excerpt under Drafting, review key concepts in appropriate paragraph chapter from Unit II, assign student models and questions for essay analysis as needed.
Chapter 18: Continue working with sentence variety.
Chapter 13: Revise the first draft of the expanded paragraph, using First-Stage Draft Questions.
Week 11
Chapter 13: Revise the second draft of the expanded paragraph, using the Second-Stage Draft Questions. Edit second drafts, using the Editing Review and Common Editing Problems. Review Proofreading.
Chapter 18: Continue working with sentence variety.
Paper #5: Expanding a Paragraph (essay) is due (thirty-third class session).
Chapter 11: Begin sixth major assignment chapter—comparison and contrast. Assign activities, journal entries, and student models as needed. Reiterate that although Chapter 11 treats comparison and contrast as a paragraph assignment, students will be writing an essay and using the essay models in Chapter 14 (and/or Unit VI).
Week 12
Chapter 18: Continue working with sentence variety.
Chapter 19: Begin focusing more on effective word choice.
Chapter 11: Continue Chapter 11, assigning activities, journal entries, and student models as needed. Use the Annotated Student Model to illustrate revision efforts.
Chapter 13: Revise the first draft of the comparison/contrast essay, using First-Stage Draft Questions.
Week 13
Chapter 19: Continue working with effective word choice.
Chapter 13: Revise the second draft of the comparison/contrast essay, using the Second-Stage Draft Questions. Edit second drafts, using the Editing Review and Common Editing Problems. Review Proofreading.
Paper #6: Comparison/Contrast (essay) is due (thirty-ninth class session).
Chapter 15: Begin seventh major assignment chapter—defining ideas. Assign activities, journal entries, and student models as needed. (For additional help with the patterns of development, refer students back to Chapter 1, and you might have them skim the introductions of any pattern chapter from Unit II that you have not covered in class.)
Week 14
Chapter 19: Continue working with effective word choice.
Chapter 15: Continue Chapter 15, assigning activities, journal entries, and student models as needed. Use the Annotated Student Model to illustrate revision efforts.
Chapter 13: Revise the first draft of the definition essay, using First-Stage Draft Questions.
Week 15
Chapter 19: Continue working with effective word choice.
Chapter 13: Revise the second draft of the definition essay, using the Second-Stage Draft Questions. Edit second drafts, using the Editing Review and Common Editing Problems. Review Proofreading.
Paper #7: Definition (essay) is due (forty-fifth class session).
Chapter 17: Begin eighth major assignment—taking essay exams. Assign activities, journal entries, and student models as needed. (If you have planned to work with this essay-exam chapter from earlier in the semester, students may now have gathered one or more essay questions from their other courses.)
Week 16
Chapter 17: Continue Chapter 17, assigning activities, journal entries, and student models as needed. Use the Annotated Student Model to illustrate revision efforts.
Chapter 13: Revise the essay exam first draft, using First-Stage Draft Questions. (Although this assignment chapter asks students to write their essay-exam response in class, you might encourage students to bring a rough draft before the final exam time to help, especially, with organization and development.)
Review important course concepts.
Week 17
Paper #8: Taking Essay Exams (essay) will be written in class during final.
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ENGL 121 – COMPOSITION I
(back to index)
In this chapter . . .
Description of the Course within the Sequence
Educational Objectives
Course Outline
Instructional Preview
Sample Syllabus
Description of the Course within the Sequence
Composition I constitutes the first half of the two-semester, college-transfer composition sequence at JCCC. The course is designed to give students continued practice in making meaning, through writing, for themselves and with their readers. Through varied and regular writing tasks, students increase their fluency and develop confidence in their writing ability as they consider audience, purpose, diction, style, voice, tone, organization, usage, and mechanics—among other things. In particular, students gain more experience in making meaning within the conventions of Standard Edited English, conventions which students are expected to acquire as they begin to write academic discourse. The range of Composition I writing tasks might include journaling, free writing, reflective pieces about the students’ own learning and writing, short papers assigned for various purposes, and several longer essays. Instructors often assign readings that model effective writing, and student texts also become models if students are invited to share their work with their peers in the class. One of the essays takes the form of a research paper, which challenges students to supplement their own knowledge with the knowledge of “experts.” However, most of our students stand on shaky ground in terms of finding and evaluating relevant sources, incorporating those sources into a paper, synthesizing the material in those sources, and citing and documenting the sources according to the dictates of the Modern Language Association. So, Composition I gives students a chance to learn and practice those skills in a supportive environment that allows them to revise and correct until they gain some measure of success.
Educational Objectives
As happens at many schools, the challenge of learning academic discourse has given Composition I its reputation as a course that students often just want to get out of the way. Even though most of our students are certainly literate and certainly skilled at communication in many forms, many of them have had limited exposure to the writing of the academy and may have little confidence in their ability to write for academic purposes, or for any purpose, for that matter.
Fortunately, Composition I gives students ample opportunity to become more confident writers, partly because much of what they write comes from what they know best—their own experiences. The field of composition has come to value more and more the knowledge our students bring with them, and Composition I affords them the opportunity to write about, and perhaps examine and reflect upon, that knowledge and then extend that knowledge with research. Also, largely because composition theory has shown that writing is a process—discursive, developmental, messy, human—grades are not necessarily a “one-shot” deal. Instructors often require, or at least invite, students to write two or more drafts of each paper so the papers can grow and develop as a result of helpful, constructive feedback from the writers’ peers and from the teacher. This combination of both high stake and low stake assignments, in conjunction with promoting writing as a process, helps increase the productivity and fluency of student writers. Composition I is not a gatekeeper; we want our students to succeed so that they can each develop their own theory of what makes writing work and then transfer that theory to other disciplines and situations as they continue to write in college, their chosen careers, and their personal lives.
Course Outline
JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Course Outline
Liberal Arts Division
ENGL 121 Composition I
DIVISION: English & Journalism Division COURSE LAST REVISED: Fall 2007
COURSE TITLE: Composition I
COURSE NUMBER: ENGL 121
CREDIT HOURS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Introduction to Writing or appropriate test
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS: (see department for current adoptions)
SUPPLIES: (Varies by instructor)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Composition I focuses on writing non-fiction prose suitable in its expression and content to both its occasion and its audience. Student will have an opportunity to improve in all phases of the writing process: discovering ideas, gathering information, planning and organizing, drafting, revising, and editing. Each essay written in the course should clearly communicate a central idea or thesis, contain sufficient detail to be lively and convincing, reflect the voice of the writer and use carefully edited standard written English.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
After completing Composition I, the student will be able to:
I Demonstrate mastery over the basic writing process:
A. Begin a writing task by using appropriate methods for discovering ideas and
gathering materials.
B. Decide on a suitable controlling idea and arrangement for the supporting ideas.
C. Write an essay that presents an idea and supports it with sufficient detail to be
convincing and interesting.
D. Make and assist others to make significant revisions in the organization, development of ideas, stylistics, and mechanics of essays using comments from the instructor and/or other students.
II. Read and think critically about texts:
A. Identify and profile an appropriate audience for texts.
B. Identify controlling ideas and organizational patterns in texts.
C. Evaluate the biases and reliability of sources.
CONTENT OUTLINE & COMPETENCIES:
I. The writing process:
A. Begin a writing task by using appropriate methods for discovering ideas and gathering materials:
1. demonstrate proficiency with brainstorming techniques.
2. locate supporting materials and evidence from personal experience as well as field/library research.
B. Decide on a suitable controlling idea and arrangement for the supporting ideas:
1. develop and express a controlling idea for papers of different lengths and rhetorical aims.
2. select a pattern of organization appropriate to the purpose of an essay.
3. demonstrate the ability to write with expressive, informative and persuasive purposes.
C. Write an essay that presents an idea and supports it with sufficient detail to be convincing and interesting:
1. clearly narrate events or state points of analysis that support the essay’s main idea.
2. select and effectively integrate appropriate support into a text including quotations, examples, and statistics.
3. account for other viewpoints, including the opinions of people who hold different political, religious, or cultural views.
4. write introductions that effectively introduce the topic to the audience and conclusions that reinforce the writer’s point and brings closure to the text.
5. paraphrase and summarize written sources effectively.
6. document outside sources with appropriate in-text and parenthetical citations.
D. Make and assist others to make significant revisions in the organization, development of ideas, stylistics, and mechanics of essays using comments from the instructor and/or other students:
1. demonstrate proficiency in effectively writing and manipulating clauses and phrases in accordance with the conventions of written English.
2. use figurative language and sentence variety to add interest and clarity.
3. develop a written voice with appropriate and varied vocabulary.
4. write paragraphs where ideas progress logically through coherent sentences.
5. write essays with transitions that connect paragraphs and major sections of the text logically.
6. critique the work of peers to assist them in improving the focus, organization, support, clarity, correctness and effectiveness of their essay.
II. Reading and thinking critically about texts.
A. Profile an appropriate audience for texts:
1. identify approximate demographics for an ideal audience.
2. determine if the vocabulary and supporting materials are sufficient and appropriate.
B. Identify controlling ideas and organizational patterns in texts:
1. summarize content effectively.
2. describe the author’s intended effect on the reader through the text.
3. identify the organization pattern(s) used in the text to develop ideas.
C. Evaluate the biases and reliability of sources:
1. identify language that reveals a bias.
2. distinguish and identify arguments based in logos, pathos and ethos.
3. locate logical fallacies in texts and in popular culture with guidance.
4. recognize some personal and cultural biases that influence reading.
METHODS OF EVALUATION OF COMPETENCIES:
Evaluation of student mastery of course competencies will be accomplished using the
following methods:
5-7 essays 70-80%
Peer review 5-10%
Prewriting and in-class writing assignments 15-25%
TOTAL 100%
FINAL GRADES
A 90% – 100%
B 80% – 89.9%
C 70% – 79.9%
D 60% – 69.9%
F under 60%
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Instructional Preview—What to Expect
If you were to ask a group of first graders who among them are good writers, all the students would raise their hands. If you asked a group fifth graders, you might see half the students’ hands in the air. The higher the grade, the fewer the hands. If you ask your Composition I students who among them are good writers, you may get only a small number of hands. It’s possible no one will raise a hand. When you ask the question, most of the students will think of writing for school; a good number enter Composition I with little confidence in their ability to do that kind of writing, and with a certain amount of fear, having been told that college composition is a “killer” course—extremely difficult, probably boring, unrelentingly burdensome. Part of the reason for this state of affairs is that some of your students have been prepared for college writing by being taught a rather rigid writing format, perhaps five-paragraph themes, paragraphs containing a certain number of sentences, or conclusions that always summarize the paper, no matter how short it is.
A good number of them are convinced that a good paper ALWAYS tells the reader what the paper is going to say, gives the reader the information, and then tells the reader what the paper has said. The students’ beliefs concerning when to employ first person point-of-view (almost never) and when to begin sentences with “and” and “but” and “because” (never) are well-entrenched. Most students have not been invited to think about where they are situated in their own writing, or about any reader other than the teacher. Some have been asked only to correct, not to revise focusing on the substance of the paper. They often use the words “structure” and “flow,” and while they have a sense of what those terms mean, they have difficulty articulating those definitions in terms of their own writing. Most of them do not consider themselves to be very good school writers, but many do nourish a faint glimmer of hope that, in Composition I, they will finally “get it.” So, one of the joys of teaching Composition I is seeing your students realize that “getting it” does not necessarily mean finally understanding and applying the rules. It’s rewarding to see them relax a little as they realize that they will be invited to write about their own experiences, that what they bring to their writing is valued, and that their writing has more to do with audience and purpose than with rigid formats and rules.
Although lack of confidence is common among Composition I students, your class will be quite diverse otherwise–traditional and non-traditional students, high school students, students of varying ethnicities and cultures, students demonstrating widely diverse abilities, etc.—so finding ways to reach all of them is challenging. One way to address this diversity is to ask students to work together, responding to each other’s writing, practicing strategies as groups, even writing together. Their differences contribute to a rich learning mix, and also they can see that they are not alone in their fears and misgivings about their own writing. If you spend time teaching them how to work productively together, they will come to trust, respect, and support each other. However, you can expect that many of your students will report only negative group experiences, and the negative experiences often involve groups in which one person did all the work. In fact, you may be surprised to find a whole room full of students who were the only ones who did any work in their groups in the past!
In many cases, students are accustomed to being allowed to hand in late work, and to being reminded many times about assignments. They are sometimes surprised to find that being in class is important, having perhaps been told by their friends that in college, students just have to show up occasionally and take the exams. They may be annoyed about an attendance policy, or about what they perceive as inflexibility when you set high expectations. However, as much as we might like to think otherwise, part of our job as Composition I instructors is to acculturate students to college, so they may be learning all kinds of things—like time management, responsibility to themselves and the class, consequences for procrastination, study habits—either directly or indirectly from you. They may have expected to be able to remain anonymous, so discovering that you remember their names and have an interest in their success is disappointing to some, and a relief to others.
We teach a subject that some students have come to fear and dislike even though it is so much a part of their lives. The joy of teaching Composition I is seeing students develop confidence in their writing, and seeing them connect with their peers as they form a community of learners. We get to see them begin to think of themselves as writers, and if some of our students complete our classes having had some positive experiences in dreaded Composition I, we can feel that the class was a success, and we can (quietly) credit ourselves with having created the space in which those positive experiences were made possible.
What follows is a sample syllabus for English 121, Composition I. This syllabus is descriptive of a common approach to the course, its curriculum, and its content. Although much of what appears here (the elements, placement, and in places even the specific wording of the description and objectives) are legislated by the state and policies set forward in the faculty handbook, the outline still supports a broad range of pedagogical approaches and faculty are encouraged to use their personal judgment, experience, and teaching philosophies when determining how their students will meet the course objectives as defined and approved by the state. This sample is intended to be a starting place; it is not meant to be absolutely prescriptive. For more examples, instructors are encouraged to consult their colleagues’ syllabi now stored on SharePoint each semester. A sample syllabus for the Rawlins text is located in the appendix.
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Sample Syllabus
[Note to Instructors: This is strictly one person’s syllabus. Although this is a “sample” rather than a “standard” syllabus, efforts were made to include key components of a syllabus for Comp I for the convenience of JCCC composition instructors. Please refer to pages 11-18 in The Norton Field Guide to Writing: A Guide to Teachingfor standards for developing a syllabus and another sample syllabus. Components of Course Requirements, Policies, and Requirements may vary somewhat by instructor.]
JOHNSON COUNTRY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Course Syllabus for English 121: Composition I
Semester:____
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Name:
Campus Phone Number:
Email:
Mailbox: CC 221, Box 80
Office Location:
Office Hours:
COURSE INFORMATION
Credit:
3 hours
Prerequisites:
Successful completion of Introduction to Writing or an appropriate test score
Textbooks:
Bullock, Richard, and Maureen Daly Goggin. The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings. New York: Norton, 2007.
Lunsford, Andrea. EasyWriter: A Pocket Reference. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006.
Supplies:
Students need standard writing supplies and access to a word processor. (Word processors are available on campus.)
Description:
Composition I focuses on non-fiction writing suitable in expression and content to its occasion and audience. Students have the opportunity to improve in all phases of the writing process: discovering ideas, gathering information, planning and organizing, drafting, revising, and editing. Writing that communicates a central idea or thesis, contains convincing detail, reflects the writer�s voice in a manner appropriate for the writing situation, and uses edited standard written English is the goal of this course.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
After completing Composition I, students will be able to
I. Demonstrate mastery over the basic writing process:
A. Use appropriate methods for discovering ideas and gathering materials.
B. Identify and adapt writing tasks to specific audiences and situations: for example, academic,
workplace, public.
C. Decide on suitable controlling ideas and arrangements for supporting ideas.
D. Write documents that present ideas, and support them with convincing detail.
E. Make and assist others to revise the organization and development of ideas, style, and mechanics using
comments from the instructor and/or other students.
II. Read and think critically about texts:
A. Recognize intended and potential audiences for texts.
B. Identify controlling ideas and organizational patterns in texts.
C. Evaluate biases and reliability of sources.
CONTENT OUTLINE
[Note to instructors: See pages 119-125 in The Norton Field Guide to Writing: A Guide to Teaching for a variety of sample course plans. This plan is generic.]
Thinking about Rhetorical Situations: Literacy NarrativeReading for Writing: Summary and ParaphraseWriting About Yourself: Memoir or ReflectionWriting About Others: ProfileInforming Others: Abstract and ReportConvincing Others with Research: Proposal or EvaluationCOURSE REQUIREMENTS
The Process: The emphasis of this course is improving the writing process. As part of the process of preparing for the major assignments, students complete a number of shorter writing exercises throughout the term. In addition, peer review exchanges will be an important component several times during the term.
Papers: The study of various aspects of the writing process and types of writing will lead to composing five-six major papers, several of which are supported by research. All major papers must be completed in order for the student to qualify to pass the course.
Presentation of Essays: Final drafts of major papers need to be word-processed using MLA documentation standards (see page 226 of the EasyWriter handbook). In addition, the instructor may require that preparatory work and additional documentation be attached to the final submission.
Academic Integrity: Students need to represent their work honestly, and give credit according to accepted conventions to the work of others, whether they gained use of it from a paper, an electronic source, a visual, or from a conversation. Misrepresenting the work of others–their specific words or their ideas (whether summarized or paraphrased or otherwise represented)–is academic theft (plagiarism) and a violation of academic integrity. Using others to produce work is also a violation of academic integrity. These violations will result in a zero for the paper and a letter in the offender’s academic file.
Students need to manage computer files responsibly, so that no one can intentionally or inadvertently use them. This is an especially important caution for those sharing computers with others taking the same course.
Unless a student and this instructor come to a prior agreement, the instructor expects that each major paper is the student’s original work for this course and this course only. In other words, it is not acceptable to recycle papers or submit papers for multiple courses, even if the student is the sole author. This policy is included because students who attempt to recycle papers tend to submit inadequate products that fail to meet assignment specifications.
Grading Scale: A=90-100%; B=80-89%; C=70-79%; D=60-69% Students seeking to transfer this course to another institution need to earn a C or above.
POLICIES
Course Engagement: Learning at the college-level requires that students explore new issues, and previously explored issues in new ways, in order to engage in the critical thinking that is so necessary for college-level work. Topics and materials are presented for discussion in order to stimulate thinking and inquiry; the fact that they are presented does not suggest that this instructor agrees with or promotes a particular idea. Instead, this instructor tries to teach in a manner that encourages students be critical thinkers. Students need to come to class with a willingness to learn of a variety of points of view in order to develop their own informed thinking.
This course requires that students be self-motivated, pro-active learners who take responsibility for time and task management. The greatest predictors of success in sections of composition that this instructor teaches are students who attend regularly and who complete the preparatory work as well as major papers. College Composition courses teach the writing process, which means that the work of the course consists of preparatory reading, discussion, and writing-for-learning activities in addition to major papers. Students need to be in class for the time of each class meeting fully prepared for that day’s activities. They also need to schedule regular homework time for this course–at least six hours a week. If they find it necessary to be absent, students should check the course calendar and contact a classmate for any notes or details. THEN, if clarification is needed, contact the instructor via email. Students are accountable for missed work upon their return to class.
The variety of activities in the course provide ample opportunity for success; therefore, students should not anticipate extra credit. College students do not expect a teacher to do extra work because students have not done theirs.
Calendar: Students should review the JCCC calendar and final schedule, especially for the following: Break, the final for this class, the end of the term, and final grade availability. They should not request adjustments for conflicting Breaks, nor should they request grades to be available before the school publishes them at the end of the term.
Attendance: JCCC offers this course in many different time and platform options. Students in this class chose to take this course at this time and with this mode of delivery, so all should plan to be in class ready to work each class day for the full class period. This instructor takes roll and holds people accountable for all that has gone on during a class period. Attendance begins on the first day of class after the day of a student’s enrollment. For most students, that will be the first day of the term.
The attendance policy is simple: Students need to come to class equal to or in excess of the percentage of the letter grade that they seek. In other words, a student who wants an A must earn at least 90% out of the possible points AND must be in class at least 90% of the class meetings. Less than 90% attendance jeopardizes the letter grade. Currently, the meeting dates for this term equals X. That means that, to be eligible for
an A, students may miss no more than X class meetings.a B, students may miss no more than X class meetings.a C, students may miss no more than X class meetings.This course has no excused or unexcused absences; therefore, students need not provide explanations for absences or bring in permits. The exception: school policy that permits absences for official religious observances and participation in official JCCC functions. Students need to provide a letter from sponsors to verify the school function.
Students who experience unforeseen personal or medical problems that cause them to be absent for extended periods of time should withdraw from the course and attempt it at a later time. There are no incompletes for this course and no “second starts” after extended absences. (Note: At JCCC it is the students’ responsibility to withdraw to prevent Fs from appearing on transcripts.)
Late work: Major papers that are submitted after the last possible due date for that assignment will be penalized five percent of the possible points each day (on a seven-day calendar) they are late. Major papers turned in more than one week late will not be graded. The rationale is that the tardy submission of the papers is undermining the process of the course. These papers must still be submitted in satisfactory form, however, in order for students to qualify to pass the course.
This instructor reserves the right to refuse to accept late preparatory work. The preparatory work is exactly that–preparation for the major paper. If it is late, therefore, it is no longer relevant to the progress of the class. On the other hand, designated preparatory work essential for the completion of a major assignment may be required as a prerequisite for submission of the final draft of the major paper. Details of requirements and conditions of acceptance of preparatory work will accompany major assignments.
Privacy and Learning Management System Access: Access to learning management software is extended to students for the duration of enrollment in the course, providing that the student complies with class and school policies. Students may not share that access with other persons (including but not limited to parents, siblings, and spouses) who are not enrolled in the course. The act may lead to the violator being denied access to the course shell because such activity violates the privacy of other students as well as school policy.
On occasion, others have permission to enter the course in order to critique class instruction, view the operations of the course, or work on a technical problem. When that happens, the class will be notified. For the entire term, the course technical consultant has access to provide continuity should anything unexpected occur.
Copyright and Ownership Notice: Class materials that this instructor has created are copyrighted. Similarly, all work students create is copyrighted by the individual student. No one should be allowed to make copies and/or distribute a student’s work or use large portions of a student’s work without that student’s specific permission.
Special Services: If a student has a disability that necessitates special accommodations, it is that student’s responsibility to contact Access Services in the Student Center (http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts.php/5111). Access personnel may recommend appropriate accommodations, and they notify the student when the arrangements are complete. Responsibility for notifying the instructor rests with the individual needing accommodation.
RESOURCES:
Academic Computer Lab: OCB 304
Writing Center: The Writing Center in LIB 308 offers free tutoring throughout the writing process. While the tutors will not proofread papers for grammar and spelling faults, they will help students with a variety of issues related to composing essays such as getting started, audience awareness, organization, development of ideas, etc. The Writing Center also offers computer software to help with grammar practice. For quick help with specific grammar questions, call the Grammar Hotline at 469-4413.
Sample Schedule of Assignments
Complete all reading assignments BEFORE the class discusses the associated topic. The instructor will inform you in class of any changes to the schedule. Page numbers refer to the Norton Field Guide with Readings unless the assignments note “HB” for Easy Writer Handbook. The asterisks indicate a major paper.
[Note for instructors: This is a genre-based, generic course plan. A Guide to Teaching that accompanies the Norton text includes several specialized course plans on pages 123-125: personal writing, research, pre-professional writing, textual analysis, and a course focusing on a theme.]
Week 1
Thinking about Rhetorical Situations
Diagnostic: #5 on page 498
Bullock: “How I Learned about the Power of Writing” (pages 25-27)
Chap. 1: “Rhetorical Situations”
HB: “How to Use This Book” (pages v-vii)
Writing Center tour
Week 2
Literacy Narrative–Planning
Review Major Errors sheet (JCCC Writing Center)
HB: “Find It. Fix It.” (20 most common errors) (pages 1-10)–quiz on Bedford St.Martin”s web site
Chap. 2: “Literacy Narrative”
Readings: pages 487-517
Major paper assignment: #5 on 491, 504, 511, OR 517
Week 3
Literacy Narrative–Drafting and Reviewing
Draft
Chap. 37: “Narrating”
HB: Section 1L “Revising” (revision heuristics) ( pages 18-19)
Peer Review–prompts on pages 36-37
Week 4
Literacy Narrative–Revising and Publishing
HB: Section 42b “MLA Manuscript Format” (pages 197-199 and sample paper pages 226-231)
HB: Section 4: “Writing with Computers: The Basics” (pages 34-37)
Editing and Proofreading Target: HB: Section 19 “Commas” (pages 102-110)
Revise and submit Literacy Narrative *
Week 5
Reading for Writing: Abstracts
Chap. 38: “Reading Strategies”
Carter: “Just Be Nice” (pages 583-588)
Steele: “On Being Black and Middle Class” (pages 611-624)
Chap. 10: “Abstracts”
Chap. 42: “Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing”
HB: Summarizing (pages 185-86); paraphrasing (pages 183-85)
Revise and submit Abstract*
Week 6
Writing for Yourself: Memoir–Planning, Drafting
Preparatory Writing–#5 on page 723
Chap. 15: “Memoirs”
Readings: pages 715-746
Major paper assignment: # 5 on page 729, 734,740, OR 746
Draft
Chap. 23: “Drafting”
HB: Section 29 “Writing to the World” (pages 138-141)
HB: “Integrating Quotations” (pages 187-89)
Week 7
Writing for Yourself: Memoir–Reviewing, Revising, Publishing
Self-Assess and Peer Review
Chap. 24: “Assessing Your Own Writing”
Chap. 25: “Getting Response and Revising”
Editing and Proofreading Target: HB: Sections 12, 13 “Comma Splices and Fused Sentence/ Sentence Fragments” (pages 82-86)
Revise and submit Memoir*
Week 8
Writing About Others: Profile–Planning, Drafting
Preparatory Writing–#5 on page 751
Chap. 16: “Profiles”
Readings: pages 747-775
Major paper assignment: #5 on pages 751, 757, 764, OR 775
Draft
Chap. 34: “Describing”
Chap. 35: “Dialogue”
Week 9
Writing About Others: Profile–Reviewing, Revising, Publishing
Self-Assess and Peer Review
Editing and Proofreading Target: HB: Section 32 “Diction” (pages 146-150); Section 23 “Quotation Marks” (pages 117-121)
Revise and submit Profile*
Week 10
Crediting Others: Academic Integrity and MLA Documentation
Academic Integrity
HB: Section 39 “Evaluating Sources and Taking Notes” (pages 176-187); “Integrating Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism” (pages 187-192)
Chap. 43: “Acknowledging Sources, Avoiding Plagiarism”
MLA Documentation
HB: Section 42 “MLA Style” (pages 196-231)
Chap. 44-45: “Documentation” and “MLA Style”
Week 11
Informing Others: Report–Planning, Drafting
Chap. 40: “Finding Sources”
Library Orientation/Tour
HB: Section 38f “Field Research” (pages 175-176)
Chap. 8: “Reporting”
Readings: pages 554-581
Major paper assignment: #5 on pages 560, 566, 571, 574, OR 581
Week 12
Informing Others: Report–Reviewing, Revising, Publishing
Chap. 47, 48, 49: “Media/Design”
Peer Review
Revise and submit Report* as an oral presentation supported with PowerPoint
Week 13
Convincing Others with Research: Anno. Bibliography and Proposal
Chap. 17: “Proposals”
Readings: pages 776-807
Major paper assignment: #5 on pages 780, 786, 794, OR 802
Chap. 11: Anno. Bib
Major paper assignment: create an anno. bib. of the general subject to be researched
Peer Review of Citations
Revise and submit Anno. Bib.*
Week 14
Convincing Others with Research: Proposal–Planning and Drafting
HB: Section 2 “Analyzing and Constructing Arguments” (pages 20-31)
Chap. 39: “Developing a Research Plan”
Chap. 41: “Evaluating Sources”
Chap. 29: “Guiding Your Reader”
Chap. 31: “Classifying and Dividing”
Week 15
Convincing Others with Research: Proposal–Reviewing
Chap. 48: “Oral Text”
Oral presentation of work in progress
Week 16
Convincing Others with Research: Proposal–Revising, Publishing
Revise and submit Proposal* as both a written and oral presentation
FINAL
Assessing Yourself
Pages 229-235: Reflecting on Your Writing Portfolio. While you have not been asked to develop and submit a portfolio, the questions and sample on these pages can serve as a guide for your reflection of your work and growth as a writer this semester.
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ENGL 122 – COMPOSITION II
In this chapter . . .
Description of the Course in the Sequence
Educational Objectives
Course Outline
Typical Assignments
Instructional Preview
Sample Syllabus
Description of the Course in the Sequence
Composition II is the second half of the two-semester, college-transfer composition sequence at JCCC. It is a readings-based course focusing on higher order thinking skills like evaluation, analysis, and synthesis. Using college-level readings on complex issues, students write a variety of papers designed to help them use reading and writing as tools to comprehend new ideas and incorporate new concepts into their expanding worldview.
Composition II is required for most Associate’s Degree-seeking and “transfer” students; however, many certificate students and those who are undecided will take the course. The class focuses on refining several aspects of the students’ individual writing processes, stressing the use of both critical reading and writing skills to work with more complex ideas from various academic disciplines. Composition II emphasizes understanding the conventions of the academic discourse community in terms of audience, writing style, and methods of inquiry.
Educational Objectives
Like Composition I, students in English 122 will use writing to explore and learn about subjects of interest to the student; however, this course also asks students to use reading and writing skills to make discoveries about and connect personally with topics that are less familiar and issues to which they have had less exposure. Because they are working to comprehend new information, synthesize it into their existing personal knowledge, and question accepted ideas, students in Composition II should feel challenged by their writing assignments; nevertheless, the course should also help students to gain a greater understanding of and autonomy in their personal writing processes. In addition, Composition II should contribute to student confidence about writing in accordance with the traditions and standards of the academic community.
Course Outline
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JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Course Outline
English & Journalism Division
ENGL 122 Composition II
DIVISION: English & Journalism Division COURSE LAST REVISED: Fall 2007
COURSE TITLE: Composition II
COURSE NUMBER: ENGL 122
CREDIT HOURS: 3
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: (See department for current adoptions.)
SUPPLIES: (Varies by instructor)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Because so much writing required in college and in the workplace demands the ability to synthesize information gathered from various sources, Composition II will focus on skills essential to gathering, comprehending, analyzing, evaluating and synthesizing information. Composition II also emphasizes organizing and polishing steps important in composing expository, evaluative, and persuasive prose.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
I. Student will integrate the research process into the basic writing process:
A. Begin writing tasks with appropriate methods for discovering ideas, gathering materials, and comprehending concepts from secondary sources.
B. Decide on a suitable controlling idea and arrangement of supporting ideas for compositions with explanatory, evaluative, and argumentative purposes drawing on secondary sources (including field, library and on-line sources).
C. Write essays that synthesize original positions with the ideas of others and develop the student’s thesis with critically sound and interesting sources.
D. Make and assist others to make significant revisions in the organization and development of ideas using comments from the instructor and/or other students.
E. Develop a written style within the conventions of standard edited prose.
II. Students will demonstrate ability to read and think critically about texts:
A. Be able to profile texts and determine appropriate audiences and potential biases.
B. Comprehend and summarize the content and intention of academic texts.
C. Evaluate the biases and reliability of sources
CONTENT OUTLINE & COMPETENCIES:
I. Integrating the research process into the basic writing process.
A. Begin a writing task by using appropriate methods for discovering ideas and gathering materials appropriate to a range of purposes and subjects:
1. demonstrate ability to read and formulate objectives of an assignment.
2. locate supporting materials and evidence from field/library/on-line research, including professional journals.
3. read, comprehend, and summarize appropriate sources.
B. Decide on a suitable controlling idea and arrangement for the supporting ideas:
1. develop and express a controlling idea for papers that reflect the range of assignments and audiences for academic writing across the curriculum.
2. select a pattern of organization appropriate to support a complex thesis.
3. demonstrate ability to write explanatory, evaluative, and argumentative papers drawing on secondary sources.
C. Write an essay that synthesizes original positions with the ideas of others and develops the student’s thesis with critically sound and interesting sources:
1. analyze, organize, introduce and interpret evidence that supports the essay’s main idea.
2. critically select and utilize evidence free of logical fallacies.
3. develop arguments using principles of logic (syllogism, enthymemes, presuppositions, etc.).
4. effectively integrate and correctly punctuate appropriate support into a text including quotations, examples, and statistics.
5. account for other viewpoints, including the opinions of people who hold different political, religious, or cultural views.
6. write introductions that effectively introduce a topic (including its vocabulary, importance, and appropriate historical background) to a specific audience and conclusions that reinforce the writer’s point and brings closure to the text.
7. paraphrase and summarize complex written sources effectively.
8. document outside sources with appropriate in-text and parenthetical citations.
D. Make and assist others to make significant revisions in the organization and development of ideas using comments from the instructor and/or other students.
1. revise organizational patterns to allow ideas to progress more smoothly and logically through coherent sentences, paragraphs, and major points of development.
2. insert additional materials where needed for support and eliminate repetitive, irrelevant or ineffective and unreliable information.
3. critique the work of peers to assist them in improving the focus, organization, support, clarity, correctness and effectiveness of their essay.
E. Develop a written style within the conventions of standard edited prose.
1. select and correctly use vocabulary appropriate to the topic and audience.
2. write sentences that grammatically convey clear and complex relationships.
3. use figurative language appropriately to add clarity and interest.
4. edit prose into standard edited English.
II. Evaluating rhetorical elements in texts.
A. Profile texts and determine potential biases.
1. identify approximate demographics for the ideal audience of individual articles, journals, books, and student essays.
2. determine biases or viewpoints appealed to through analysis of the
3. vocabulary, support, and organization of a text.
B. Comprehend the content and intention of academic texts:
1. summarize an article’s content effectively.
2. describe the author’s intention or agenda.
C. Evaluate the biases and reliability of sources:
1. identify language that reveals a bias.
2. distinguish and identify arguments based in logos, pathos and ethos.
3. locate logical fallacies in student and professional texts independently.
4. recognize personal and cultural biases that influence readers.
METHODS OF EVALUATION OF COMPETENCIES:
Evaluation of student mastery of course competencies will be accomplished using the following methods:
Papers demonstrating the completion of the objectives
(including a major research paper) 60-80%
Peer review 5-10%
Prewriting and in-class writing assignments 15-35%
TOTAL 100%
FINAL GRADES
A 90% – 100% C 70% – 79.9% F under 60%
B 80% – 89.9% D 60% – 69.9%
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Typical Assignments
The two major objectives for Composition II are commonly demonstrated in many ways (the following lists are not meant to be exhaustive—see sample syllabi for examples of the variety of assignments possible).
· Students can “demonstrate ability to read and think critically about texts” through a variety of assignments including:
o Writing summaries and responses.
o Compiling annotated bibliographies.
o Participating in small and large group discussions.
o Collaborating on readings-based projects or writing assignments with classmates.
o Completing a reading log or journal.
· Students can demonstrate the ability to “integrate the research process into the basic writing process” through a variety of writing assignments including:
o Locating and selecting library, Internet, and primary sources relevant to a topic.
o Drafting an evaluation of potential sources for biases and reliability.
o Composing analyses of resource and literary texts with a focus on their rhetorical or literary elements (note: the focus of English 122 is not literature, but analysis is one higher order thinking skill that should be taught in Composition II).
o Synthesizing new concepts and ideas with the students’ existing knowledge into texts that express unique ideas, including writing at least one substantial research paper with appropriate citation and documentation.
o Developing an argument or position using the principles of logic and rhetorical appeals.
o Revising and editing their own work and offering suggestions on the work of others to increase the effectiveness of the writing.
Instructional Preview—what to expect
Composition II is a rewarding class to teach for many reasons. The instructor can expect to have students who are familiar with the writing process, peer review, and the basics of research and citation. Composition II students have been in college for at least one semester, so they are generally familiar with the resources available to them (although there are always a number of transfer students and those students who delayed taking Composition II for several semesters, so you cannot assume that everyone knows how the current library databases work or what the Writing Center is). Also, because some of the students are taking or have taken classes where a variety of citation styles are used, hybrids of MLA and APA citation styles sometimes appear in Composition II papers as students struggle with the multiple systems they are expected to master. This can sometimes make them appear more confused about citation than Composition I students, even though they have more experience and will generally understand the purposes of documentation more thoroughly.
Composition II gives students the opportunity to work with complex issues in more depth than they often do in their previous courses. In addition to using a textbook/rhetoric that focuses on higher order thinking processes (like synthesis) rather than paper structure, Composition II employs thematic readers with college-level essays centered on several topics. When students are engaged with these topics—either alone in their papers or in large or small group work—most instructors have the opportunity to watch their students as they learn and expand their personal knowledge by grappling with new concepts and then integrating the opinions and ideas from their sources and their classmates into a new understanding of the issues. Because students are sharing their thoughts and work on common academic topics, Composition II provides excellent opportunities for discussion and debate.
In many cases, however, the readings can be a challenge for instructors teaching Composition II. The amount and content of readings in Composition II is much different than in Composition I, which often uses readings primarily as models for student writing. Composition II uses readings primarily as sources for responding to and expanding upon (although the rhetorics do offer model papers and many of the “resource” essays can easily be used in this way). Additionally, the readings in Composition II are frequently more demanding than much of the writing students will have encountered in other courses, so instructors often find it helpful to review some critical reading strategies that students might employ when confronted with a difficult article. Using a reading log or assigning a summary of an essay early in the semester are strategies that can help impress upon students the need to employ more sophisticated reading techniques when working with the articles found in the Composition II reader.
Sometimes several students (or perhaps even the Composition II instructor) will dislike the topics included in the selected reader. The instructor can use a number of strategies to minimize this potential problem—discussing topics that have worked well in past semesters with fellow instructors, reviewing and adopting the approved alternate reader for the next semester, asking students to select the chapter(s) to be used for the upcoming assignment, or allowing students to work in groups on one of several chapters instead of requiring all students to work with the same subject at the same time. Ultimately, however, instructors often find that the departmentally-adopted readers surprise them—chapters that may look too challenging or abstract or controversial or “boring” can work more effectively than chapters that appear more accessible at first glance. Even if the instructor doesn’t use the “canned” assignments presented at the end of every chapter in the readers, reviewing the kinds of assignments the textbook editors have proposed can be an effective way to estimate how “student-friendly” a chapter will actually be.
At times, teachers may feel uneasy tackling a subject that seems far from their own area of comfort and expertise, and that is fine—no subject is “required” even if it is used in the sample syllabus in the EPG or textbook materials. However, before rejecting a topic because they are not “experts,” it is important to remember that Composition II instructors are teaching writing, not biology or psychology or whatever subject is covered in the thematic chapter itself. All of the essays in the reader will be well within the comprehension level of the instructors hired to teach these classes. Of course, there might be topics that individual instructors must struggle with more intensely before the unfamiliar information is integrated into the world view that they can personally bring to the classroom, but that is exactly the experience the students will also be facing. Ultimately, one of the greatest benefits of teaching Composition II is this opportunity to become a learner along with our students.
Sample Syllabus
What follows is a sample syllabus for English 122, Composition II. This syllabus is descriptive of a common approach to the course, its curriculum, and its content. Although much of what appears here (the elements, placement, and in places even the specific wording of the description and objectives) are legislated by the state and policies set forward in the faculty handbook, the outline still supports a broad range of pedagogical approaches and faculty are encouraged to use their personal judgment, experience, and teaching philosophies when determining how their students will meet the course objectives as defined and approved by the state. This sample is intended to be a starting place; it is not meant to be absolutely prescriptive. For more examples, instructors are encouraged to consult their colleagues’ syllabi now stored in SharePoint each semester. Sample syllabi for the alternate readers are located in Appendix III.
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Sample Syllabus Using the Default Textbook (Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum)
JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
COURSE SYLLABUS
ENGLISH & JOURNALISM DIVISION
COMPOSITION II
ENGL 122
Semester: ____
Instructor Information:
Name:
Telephone:
E-mail:
Office Hours:
Mailbox: CC 221, Box 80
Course Information:
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisite: ENGL 121 (Composition I)
Required Textbooks: Behrens, Laurence, and Leonard J. Rosen. Writing and Reading Across
the Curriculum. 10th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2008.
Lunsford, Andrea. Easy Writer. Third ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006.
Supplies: Standard writing supplies and access to a word processing program
Course Description:
Because so much writing required in college and in the workplace demands the ability to synthesize information gathered from various sources, Composition II will focus on skills essential to gathering, comprehending, analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information. Composition II also emphasizes the organizing and polishing steps important in composing expository, evaluative, and persuasive prose.
Course Objectives:
I. You will integrate the research process into the basic writing process:
A. Begin writing tasks with appropriate methods for discovering ideas, gathering materials, and comprehending concepts from secondary sources.
B. Decide on a suitable controlling idea and arrangement of supporting ideas for compositions with explanatory, evaluative, and argumentative purposes drawing on secondary sources (including field, library, and on-line sources).
C. Write essays that synthesize original positions with the ideas of others and develop your thesis with critically sound and interesting sources.
D. Make and assist others to write significant revisions in the organization and development of ideas, using comments from the instructor and/or other students.
E. Develop a written style within the conventions of standard edited prose.
II. You will demonstrate an ability to read and think critically about texts:
A. Profile texts and determine appropriate audiences and potential biases.
B. Comprehend and summarize the content and intention of academic texts.
C. Evaluate the biases and reliability of sources.
Content Outline and Competencies: on the JCCC web site.
Course Requirements:
1. Essays: five essays of 700-900 words each, and one research paper of 1200 words will be required.
2. Other graded work: quizzes, workshops, and summaries will also be required.
3. Paper format: all final drafts of essays must be typed and double-spaced, with one-and-one-quarter-inch margins,
printed on one side of the paper only.
4. Late work: you should present your work in class, in person, on time. All papers are due on the stated due date at the
beginning of class, not later the same day. Work will be accepted in my mailbox only with my permission. One essay
(except for the final) may be turned in late, up to one week, with no penalty; other essays submitted late will be penalized
one point per calendar day up to two weeks, after which they will earn a grade no higher than 50. In-class work cannot be
made up; editing quizzes can be made up only with a documented excuse. DO NOT EMAIL ASSIGNMENTS TO ME; I
WILL NOT ACCEPT THEM
5. Attendance: success in this course requires consistent attendance and preparation for class. If you cannot attend class
regularly, you should drop the course. Twenty-five percent of your course grade will be based on in-class work and editing
quizzes.
6. Plagiarism: misrepresenting another’s work as your own is a serious offense and can result in failure for an assignment or
even dismissal from class. Refer to the “Student Code of Conduct” in the College Catalog for more details.
Evaluation:
Your course grade will be determined according to the following percentages:
Essay #1 10% Essay #5 10%
Essay #2 15% Essay #6 (final) 5%
Essay #3 15% Other work 5%
Essay #4 20% Editing Quizzes 10%
Your essays and research paper will receive point grades according to the following scale. Your “other work” will total one hundred points for the semester, as will the editing quizzes.
A+ = 100 B+ = 88 C+ = 78 D+ = 68
A = 95 B = 85 C = 75 D = 65 F = 50
A- = 90 B- = 80 C- = 70 D- = 60
Grading Rationale:
The rationale offered here provides an overview. Additional criteria will be given for each essay assignment.
The A essay demonstrates the following:
· Outstanding achievement of all assignment requirements;
· A clear and purposeful thesis that evokes thought and interest in the reader;
· A variety of lively, convincing, and fully integrated supporting materials;
· An organization that is appropriate to the development of a complex line of thinking and which may integrate more than
one strategy;
· A direct appeal to the characteristics of the intended audience;
· Interesting and original use of language and vocabulary;
· An engaging style with highly effective diction and sentence skills, and perfect or near-perfect mechanics.
The B essay demonstrates the following:
· Highly satisfactory achievement of assignment requirements;
· A clear and purposeful thesis which shows insight;
· Significant and varied evidence used in the development of ideas;
· Clearly connected points of development logically ordered;
· Recognition of the desired audience with appropriate vocabulary and contextualization;
· Concrete language with little repetition;
· Effective variety and specificity in diction and sentence style, with very few major errors.
The C essay demonstrates the following:
· Adequate achievement of assignment requirements;
· Appropriate and identifiable thesis;
· Clear and supported points of development;
· Purposeful organization;
· Awareness of a specific audience;
· Clear and accurate use of language with minimal repetition and ambiguity;
· Writing style and mechanics are generally correct with some major errors.
The D essay demonstrates the following:
Marginal achievement or weak grasp of assignment requirements;
· Flaws in one major area: central thesis, organization, paragraph logic, development, or support of assertions;
· The writing style and mechanics, though passable, require considerable improvement.
The F essay demonstrates the following:
· Unsatisfactory achievement of assignment requirements;
· Two or more serious flaws: lack of clear overall point, extreme brevity, failure to follow the assignment, or plagiarism;
· The writing style and mechanics contain SEVEN OR MORE MAJOR MECHANICAL ERRORS (as described in the
English Program Objectives).
Other Information:
If you have a disability that may prevent you from fully demonstrating your abilities, you should contact the student Access Office as soon as possible to discuss accommodations necessary to complete the course requirements.
You may be eligible for Honors Composition II. If you are interested, see me for more information.
Computer labs are available if you do not have access to a computer or a typewriter: Micro and Mainframe Labs are in OCB 304, 306, 343A, and 374; Win-Mac Lab is in LIB 357; GEB Word Processing Labs are in GEB 351A/B and 353A/B (GEB Labs are open labs only when no classes are meeting.
Additional help with your writing is available in the Writing Center, in LIB 308.
Last day to drop a course and receive a W: November 15.
Turn off your cell phone or pager before you enter class.
I recommend that you email me through My JCCC. Both faculty and students have an email account in this system (stumail). If you want information about your progress in the course, I can reply to messages sent to me only through your My JCCC account (due to privacy concerns). I would advise you to check your college email regularly, for messages from your instructors.
If you lose your syllabus, ask me for another.
Please don’t arrive late or leave early.
Keep an open mind.
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE
Note: assignments and due dates may vary from this schedule. Changes will be announced in advance. Readings are to be completed
prior to the week scheduled. Specific instructions for assignments will be given in class.
WRAC refers to Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum; EW refers to Easy Writer.
Date Assignments
August 16: Course introduction. Introduce summary.
August 21, 23: WRAC 3-21, 192-193. Write a practice summary in class. WRAC 54-55. Write a second summary
in class class for points. Essay #1 assigned: Critique. WRAC 50-75.
August 28, 30: Critique continued. WRAC 112-113, 114-116, 154-155, 157-159. Introductions, Theses, Conclusions, WRAC 76-98.
September 4, 6: Workshop in EW: run-on sentence, sentence fragment, comma splice, comma. Essay #1 due on 9/6. Editing Quiz #1. Es sassigned: Explanatory Synthesis.
September 11, 13: Explanatory Synthesis continued. WRAC 99-144; 349-420 or 428-495. MLA documentation. Works Cited page.
September 18, 20: Review articles. Optional conferences time permitting.
September 25, 27: Workshop in EW: dangling modifier, pronoun-antecedent agreement, confusing shifts, spelling. Essay #2 due on 9/27. Editing Quiz #2. Essay #3 assigned: Argument Synthesis.
October 2, 4: Argument Synthesis continued. WRAC 146-180; 349-420 or 428-495. Documentation review. Works Cited page. c
October 9: Logical fallacies. Brainstorm topics. Analyze articles. No class on 10/11.
October 16, 18: Workshop in EW: apostrophe, colon, italics, quotation marks, hyphens, numbers. Essay #3 due on 10/18. Editing Quiz #3. Essay #4 assigned: Research Paper.
October 23, 25: Research paper thesis and organization. Electronic documentation. Library research.
Oct. 30, Nov.1: Library research. Workshop in EW: parallelism, active and passive voice, appropriate diction.
November 6, 8: Editing Quiz #4. TBA.
November 13, 15: TBA.
November 20: Essay #4 due. Essay #5 assigned: Letter of Application and Resume.
November 27, 29: Work on letter and resume in class. Essay #5 due on 11/29. Essay #6 (final) assigned.
December 4, 6: Essay #6 (final) written in class.
Tuesday, December 11, 9:30-11:20 a.m.: Finish final in class.
(back to index)
Sample Syllabus Using A Brief Guide to Writing from Readings and Ideas Across Time
ENGLISH 122- COMPOSITION II
Johnson County Community College
English & Journalism Division
Fall 2007
Instructor Information
Name:
Campus Telephone:
E-Mail:
Mailbox: CC 221, Box 80
Office:
Office Hours:
Course Information
Credit Hours: 3
Class Section:
Class Time:
Class Room:
Class Dates:
Prerequisites: English 121
Textbooks:
Lunsford, Andrea. Easy Writer. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford-St. Martin’s, 2006. (optional)
Webb, Igor. Ideas Across Time. New York: McGraw Hill, 2008.
Wilhoit, Stephen. A Brief Guide to Writing from Readings. 5th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010.
Supplies:
Standard writing supplies and access to a word processing program.
Course Description
Because so much writing required in college and in the workplace demands the ability to synthesize information gathered from various sources, Composition II will focus on skills essential to gathering, analyzing, and synthesizing information. Composition II also emphasizes the organizing and polishing steps important in composing expository, evaluative, and persuasive prose.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course the student should be able to:
Integrate the research process into the basic writing process.Begin writing tasks with appropriate methods for discovering ideas, gathering materials, and comprehending concepts from secondary sources.Decide on a suitable controlling idea and arrangement of supporting ideas for compositions with explanatory, evaluative, and argumentative purposes drawing on secondary sources (including field, library and on-line sources).Write essays that synthesize original positions with the ideas of others and develop the student’s thesis with critically sound and interesting sources.Make and assist others to make significant revisions in the organization and development of ideas using comments from the instructor and/or other students.Develop a written style within the conventions of standard edited prose.Demonstrate ability to read and think critically about texts.Profile texts and determine appropriate audiences and potential biases.Comprehend and summarize the content and intention of academic texts.Evaluate the biases and reliability of sources.Content Outline and Competencies
I. Integrating the research process into the basic writing process.
A. Begin a writing task by using appropriate methods for discovering ideas and gathering materials appropriate to a range of purposes and subjects:
1. Demonstrate ability to read and formulate objectives of an assignment.
2. Locate supporting materials and evidence from field/library/online research, including professional journals.
3. Read, comprehend, and summarize appropriate sources.
B. Decide on a suitable controlling idea and arrangement for the supporting ideas:
1. Develop and express a controlling idea for papers that reflect the range of assignments and audiences for academic
writing across the curriculum.
2. Select a pattern of organization appropriate to support a complex thesis.
3. Demonstrate ability to write explanatory, evaluative, and argumentative papers drawing on secondary sources.
C. Write an essay that synthesizes original positions with the ideas of others and develops the student’s thesis with critically sound and interesting sources:
1. Analyze, organize, introduce and interpret evidence that supports the essay’s main idea.
2. Critically select and utilize evidence free of logical fallacies.
3. Develop arguments using principles of logic (syllogism, enthymemes, presuppositions, etc.).
4. Effectively integrate and correctly punctuate appropriate support into a text including quotations, examples, and
statistics.
5. Account for other viewpoints, including the opinions of people who hold different political, religious, or cultural views.
6. Write introductions that effectively introduce a topic (including its vocabulary, importance, and appropriate historical
background) to a specific audience and conclusions that reinforce the writer’s point and brings closure to the text.
7. Paraphrase and summarize complex written sources effectively.
8. Document outside sources with appropriate in-text and parenthetical citations.
D. Make and assist others to make significant revisions in the organization and development of ideas using comments from the instructor and/or other students:
1. Revise organizational patterns to allow ideas to progress more smoothly and logically through coherent sentences,
paragraphs, and major points of development.
2. Insert additional materials where needed for support and eliminate repetitive, irrelevant or ineffective and unreliable
information.
3. Critique the work of peers to assist them in improving the focus, organization, support, clarity, correctness and
effectiveness of their essay.
E. Develop a written style within the conventions of standard edited prose:
1. Select and correctly use vocabulary appropriate to the topic and audience.
2. Write sentences that grammatically convey clear and complex relationships.
3. Use figurative language appropriately to add clarity and interest.
4. Edit prose into standard edited English.
II. Evaluating rhetorical elements in texts.
A. Profile texts and determine potential bias:
1. Identify approximate demographics for the ideal audience of individual articles, journals, books, and student essays.
2. Determine biases or viewpoints appealed to through analysis of the texts.
3. Vocabulary, support, and organization of a text.
B. Comprehend the content and intention of academic texts:
1. Summarize an article’s content effectively.
2. Describe the author’s intention or agenda.
C. Evaluate the biases and reliability of sources:
1. Identify language that reveals a bias.
2. Distinguish and identify arguments based in logos, pathos and ethos.
3. Locate logical fallacies in student and professional texts independently.
4. Recognize personal and cultural biases that influence readers.
Course Requirements
In this class you will be writing every class period. Major papers include a summary, an explanatory synthesis, a critical review, an argumentative synthesis research paper, an annotated bibliography, an analysis of satire, and a final exam. Students will complete papers using the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising and editing).
You will also bring drafts to class for each peer evaluation day, take quizzes, do formal and informal in-class and out of class writings and assignments, and keep a vocabulary log.
We will also be reading a significant number of challenging texts this semester that focus on such topics as American identity, science, economic life, democratic society, race and gender, art, death and dying, protest, and satire.
In addition, you are required to take the Writing Center’s writing skills assessment test (must complete assignment at 80% or retake after consultation with me).
Research Project
The major essay this semester is the research project. This will be an argumentative synthesis research paper of approximately eight pages that will incorporate a number of outside sources. Your research essay will require you select a current, ongoing protest and, using at least three of the readings identified in the assignment, as well as 5 additional outside sources (for a total of 8 sources), make the case that this protest is or is not effective.
All students are required to conference with me in my office at least once during the semester.
MLA (Modern Language Association)
Our discipline uses MLA for documentation style. All work submitted for a grade must be presented in Times New Roman or Arial 12 point font, be double spaced, and include your name, my name, course, section number, and date (MLA format). One-inch margins are standard, and, of course, all out-of-class work must be typed. All essays will be submitted with at least one draft and a reflective writing on the process. All papers should include a Works Cited page appropriately formatted.
Essay minimum length will be noted on assignment sheets—Work that falls short of page length requirements will not receive a passing grade.
Grading
Grading Scale:
Points
Summary essay
50
Explanatory Synthesis essay
150
Critical Review essay
150
Annotated Bibliography
50
Research Project—includes prospectus and oral presentation
200
Analysis of Satire Essay
100
Quizzes
75
Writing Exercises
75
Peer Review Exchanges
50
Bulletin Board Postings
50
Final Exam 50
Total 1000
90% = A, 80% = B, 70% = C, 60% = D
Grading Scale
A=900-1000
B=800-899
C=700-799
D=600-699
F=599 and under
I offer no make up work or extra credit, and I will only reschedule major assignments for students who have experienced a documented emergency. Borderline grades (example: 799/1000) will be rounded up at my discretion. Those students who are consistently prepared, present, and enthusiastic often find I am willing to round up a grade.
Evaluation of Work/Scoring Guide
The scoring guide is attached to this syllabus. It provides specific criteria for how your work will be evaluated and assigned points. Please refer to this guide often, as it will give you invaluable guidance on what I am specifically looking for in your writing. I will attach this scoring guide to all work I evaluate for class, and include on that scoring guide specific comments intended to point out the strengths of your writing, and give you advice and feedback on those areas that need improvement.
We will go over the criteria often in class, and please feel free to ask if at any time you have questions about the scoring guide. Please note that not all the work you do in class will be formally evaluated. All writers need opportunities to free write and journal write without formal structure or the goal of a grade. Some class work will only be afforded points for completion (appropriate length and topic).
Drafts and Peer Evaluation
Because one of the objectives in the course is to “[m]ake and assist others to make significant revisions in the organization and development of ideas using comments from the instructor and/or other students” it is a requirement that all students participate in peer review workshops. You will be prewriting, drafting, revising and editing all your formal work in this class. As a part of this process approach to writing, you will also be sharing your work with your classmates.
You will be required to bring drafts for peer evaluation. Keep in mind your audience (your classmates, me, a general readership) and make sure topic selections are appropriate for classroom discussion and analysis.
The process of reading and evaluating your classmates’ work is an excellent way to practice the skills we have learned in class as well as receive valuable feedback on your work. Your contribution to the process will be diminished if you are not prepared with a typed draft on these days. For this reason, anyone without a completed, typed draft on peer evaluation days will receive a one-letter deduction on the final draft.
Late Work
As a rule, I do not accept late work, nor allow students to make up missed work. Occasionally, there is an emergency situation that warrants an extension of time to complete a writing assignment. To make such an exception, I need to be notified before the paper is due (if at all possible) to determine if I will accept a paper late. Justifiable reasons may include a death in the family, an emergency, or a serious illness or life event.
If I don’t hear from you by the due date, I will assume you did not intend to turn in the paper or work. Please do not contact me weeks after a paper or assignment is due and ask what you can do to save your grade.
Problems with the computer or printer are not valid excuses for a time extension. Please do not attempt to print your paper a few minutes before it is due—invariably, the computer senses your anxiety and will not cooperate! To protect yourself against the unthinkable (somehow erasing your entire file, complete with your essay due in five minutes), save your work often, and print a hard copy occasionally.
Successful students rarely, if ever, turn work in late. They understand that setting the alarm, finishing and printing the paper well before it is due, and checking before class starts to make sure it is there and complete is their responsibility. This work ethic is often rewarded with less stress and a higher grade. Be one of those students!
To accommodate the occasional writer’s block or particularly stressful week, I have included a one time only “Late assignment” sheet. This can be stapled to the back of any major assignment, and will allow you to turn in that assignment up to one week late, no questions asked and no penalty.
Attendance
This is a work-shop oriented class, and your faithful attendance is required. JCCC only excuses an absence for 1) A generally recognized religious observance 2) Representing JCCC at, for instance, an athletic competition or debate tournament 3) Jury duty.
Students who accumulate more than 4 unexcused absences will not receive credit for the class (i.e., receive an “F”), regardless of their grade in the class.
Students who miss only one class or less will be exempt from the final exam.
Please reserve your unexcused absences for those situations that require your attention (a sick child, a work conflict, an illness). You do not need to inform me when you miss class, and informing me, regardless of the reason, does not excuse an absence in terms of the above policy. Work missed because of an unexcused absence cannot be made up!
Successful students understand that a lot goes on in class. They miss very rarely, and never ask, “Did we do anything in class on the day I missed?” Assume, with or without you, we will always be doing something significant in class.
A note on attendance: I take roll at the start of class and expect you to be on time and stay the entire class period. If you arrive after I take roll, please bring this to my attention after class, and you will be marked late. Two late arrivals, or early departures, will constitute an absence in my class.
I will not accept papers or homework from students who are not present the entire class period of the day the work is due. Please do not slide papers under my door or leave them in my box without prior permission.
Participation
Participation in class discussions and group work not only demonstrates your preparation for and engagement with the class, but also allows others to benefit from your insights and observations. I encourage you to respond both in writing and verbally to what you find interesting, descriptive, powerful, meaningful, irritating, inspiring, exciting, important, enraging, repetitive, etc. in the assigned readings. Of course, it is essential that all of us carefully consider and listen to the viewpoints and comments of each member of the class. This courtesy fosters the trust necessary to establish an effective, tolerant, and helpful classroom culture.
Student Conduct
The JCCC student guide states that “No student shall behave in a manner that is unacceptable in a learning environment or that endangers or infringes on the rights and/or safety of himself or herself or other students or staff.”
A successful writing course requires, in part, a culture of trust and respect in the classroom. To foster this culture, it is imperative that we all listen carefully to one another’s insights and contributions, treat one another with respect and dignity, and work to create a supportive and enthusiastic environment. Behaviors that detract from this ideal include late arrivals and departures, talking or sleeping in class, coming to class unprepared, zipping up backpacks before class is dismissed, eating loudly, and text messaging or allowing cell phones to ring in class.
Successful students know that these behaviors are unprofessional and unworthy of a college classroom, and they work diligently to make most productive use of classroom time.
The Writing Center
The Writing Center in LIB 308 offers free tutoring. The tutors will not proofread papers for grammar and spelling errors, but they will help you with a variety of issues such as audience awareness, organization, development of ideas, and creativity. If you have grammar and spelling questions, the tutors are happy to help in those areas as well. The Writing Center also offers computer software to help with grammar. You may bring in your work at any time during the writing process. No appointment is necessary. The Grammar Hotline phone number is 469-4413.
Note: The Writing Center offers several one-credit-hour courses that can be particularly helpful to non-native speakers and students having special difficulty with elements of composition, including mechanics (grammar, spelling, and punctuation). These courses can be taken concurrently with English 106. If you feel you would benefit from this additional instruction, ask for further details.
ADA Statement
If you are a student with a disability, and if you will be requesting accommodations, it is your responsibility to contact the Access Services (http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts.php/5111) in the Student Center. They will recommend appropriate accommodations to me and the Dean, and you will be notified when the accommodations are arranged.
Plagiarism
The Student Code of Conduct (319.01) states the following concerning cheating or plagiarism:
No student shall engage in behavior that, in the judgment of the instructor of the class, may be construed as cheating. This may include, but is not limited to, plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty such as the acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic materials and/or distribution of these materials. This includes students who aid and abet, as well as those who attempt such behavior.
Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional claim that another person’s writing, thoughts, or ideas are your own. This would include not attributing source material to the original source (citing a source), copying words, phrases, or sentences and presenting them as your own, or claiming authorship when submitting another student’s work.
In our field, plagiarism is the most serious of ethical breaches, and, in my class, it will be treated accordingly. The minimum consequence for such behavior would result in a failing grade for the paper or assignment, and a strong possibility of a failure for the course. All such instances of plagiarism or cheating will also result in a letter submitted to the violator’s college file. Please consult me if you have any concern about plagiarism, or want advice or direction on how to avoid plagiarism in your own work.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Note: Assignments and due dates may vary from this schedule, but I will announce changes in advance when possible. This only represents major assignments and readings. Quizzes, writing assignments, bulletin board responses, in-class activities and other class work will be noted on the board per class period.
Note: All page numbers refer to Ideas Across Time or Wilhoit’s A Brief Guide to Writing from Readings. Work from the Easy Writer handbook will be assigned as needed throughout the semester.
Note: Be sure to bring all texts to class every day!
Week 1
Aug. 22
· Review syllabus
· Class introductions
· Writing diagnostic
· Introduction to Summary essay
Week 2
Aug. 29
· Syllabus Quiz!! (10 points)
· Read Sherry Turkle’s “How Computers Change the Way we Think” p.
220, Rosie Mestel’s “Of Mice and Men: We’re Quite Similar,
Genetically” p. 148 and Luther Standing Bear’s “Nature” p. 187.
· Quiz on readings
· In-class work on summary/annotation/paraphrasing
Week 3
Sept. 5
· Read pp. 97-112 Wilhoit.
· Workshop–Essay #1 draft due. Bring to class a complete, typed draft
for peer evaluation. Make sure to bring at least 3 copies.
· Work on summary essays (focus on organization and integration of
quotations)
· Bring Easy Writer
Week 4
Sept. 12
· Essay #1 due.
· Write in class reflection on writing process.
· Introduction to Explanatory Synthesis essay
· Read Dickinson, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” p. 659
· Read Thomas, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, p. 659
· Discuss comparison/contrast strategies for synthesis
· In-class work on synthesis
Week 5
Sept. 19
· Pick two to read:
· Terkel, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” p. 631
· Plato, “Socrates’s Defense (Apology), p. 640
· Aurelius, “Meditations,” p. 646
· Kubler-Ross, “On the Fear of Death,” p. 677
· Quiz over readings
· Review of MLA (pp. 196-231 Easy Writer)
Week 6
Sept. 26
· Workshop day-Essay #2 draft due. Bring to class 3 copies of a
complete, typed draft
· Review of Works Cited page
· Introduction to Critical Review essay (pick essay to review)
Week 7
Oct. 3
· Essay #2 due. Write in-class reflection on writing process. Include this
writing with draft when turning in final essay.
· Pick one to read:
· Zakaria, “The Democratic Age,” p. 330
· Swerdlow, “Changing America,” p. 11
· Singer, “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” p. 308
· Quiz over readings
· Analysis of major points, strategies, tone, organization and evidence
presented in essay
Week 8
Oct. 10
· Critical Review essay due
· Write in class reflection of the process
· Introduction to Research Project
· Introduction to Annotated Bibliography
Week 9
Oct. 17
· Prospectus due
· Read Jefferson, The Original Declaration of Independence,p. 354
· Read Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience, “ p. 371
· Read King, “Letters from Birmingham Jail,” p. 511
· Focus on rhetorical strategy, tone, audience, and purpose
Week 10
Oct. 24
· Read Engels, “The Communist Manifesto, “ p. 264
· Machiavelli, “On the Exercise of Power,” p. 339
· Tocqueville, “Equality and Individualism,” p. 458
· Quiz on readings
· In-class work on research project outline
Week 11
Oct. 31
· Annotated bibliography due
· Workshop day on research project
Week 12
Nov. 7
· Oral Presentations
Week 13
Nov. 14
· Research Project due! Write in class a reflection of the process.
· Introduction to satire
· Read in class Swift, “Modest Proposal”
Week 14
Nov. 21
· NO CLASS
Week 15
Nov. 28
· Bring to class examples of written social satire
· Write in class a rough draft of analysis of satire essay
· Peer edit rough draft
Week 16
Dec. 5
· Write in class final draft of Analysis of Satire essay
· Review for final exam
· Review and sign grade sheets
· Final course wrap up
Final Exam
Dec. 12
(back to index)
Chapter VI
A NUTS AND BOLTS GUIDE TO TEACHING AT JCCC
In this chapter . . .
Classroom Policies, Procedures and Guidelines
FERPA (Access to Student Information)
Rosters and Attendance
Withdrawing from a Class
Plagiarism
Student Disruptions
Computer Access for Students
Textbooks
Instructor Absence Policies
Class Cancellation Policies
What to do in an Emergency
(back to index)
Classroom Policies, Procedures and Guidelines
STUDENT INFORMATION, ACCESS TO–
FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA)
Please read Access to Student Information.
Information on class cancellations, class changes, class rosters, course withdrawals, student attendance/grades, incomplete grades, grade changes, English policy,College Close to Home (CCH) and field trips is available at, http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts/1104/site/facultyresources/toc_faculty_handbook/toc_classroom_procedures.
In a perfect world, our students would all be motivated by a love for learning, and we could focus our energy on developing and teaching meaningful, relevant, inspired curriculae. However, we must hold students accountable, and the truth is, many students are only motivated by the extrinsic rewards or punishments they earn for their work. Therefore, as we create our syllabi, we must think about such things as attendance, what to do with disruptive students, plagiarism, etc.
Student Attendance
Please read the Academic and Student Policies and Procedures
The English Program itself does not have an official attendance policy, so instructors are free to invent their own. Most of us want to send the signal to students that being in class is important, so most of us have an attendance policy of some kind. Some instructors allow a certain number of absences and then deduct points for any absences in addition to those allowed. Some instructors consider a student absent if he or she comes late (say 10 minutes late) to class or leaves early. Some instructors state that missing class will affect grades simply because the students miss class work that cannot be made up if they are not in class. Some instructors distinguish between excused and unexcused absences, and some do not. Many state that if students miss more than roughly 20% of the scheduled classes, they will automatically fail the class. Instructors must keep careful track of attendance the first few weeks of class because they will be asked to report students who have attended at least once. For the rest of the semester, faculty should continue to track attendance since absences may become an issue in calculating the final grade or in a grade appeal. Also, instructors will be asked to record the last day of attendance for any student who fails the class when final grades for the semester are entered (many financial aid programs deny aid to students who did not complete at least 60% of the majority of their classes).
JCCC students, probably like their counterparts at many other community colleges but somewhat unlike students at residential colleges, typically have major responsibilities in addition to their education, especially jobs and family obligations, both of which can be rich wellsprings of subjects for their writing. At the same time, family and work are the most common reasons that JCCC students cite for being absent or being late with assignments such as drafts of their writing.
An absence is legitimate, meaning the student may have an opportunity to make up class work, under these conditions: 1. A generally recognized religious observance; 2. Representing JCCC at, for instance, an athletic competition or debate tournament; and 3. Jury duty–a rarity.
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PLEASE READ: REPORTING ATTENDANCE (information updates each semester)
ROSTERS
Class rosters must be downloaded from MyJCCC. (see MyJCCC Portal for information on how to access this feature.) This process will bring up the rosters for your courses, and you can print them.
STUDENTS NOT ON ROSTER
The college policy is that students MAY NOT attend classes they are not registered for. If students come to class but do not appear on the roster, send them to the Student Success Center in the Student Center, Room 253, immediately if they feel their names should have appeared on the roster. DO NOT let them continue to sit in your class If they have come to your class to ask you to admit them, and the class is full or if it is past the registration deadline, they will not be allowed to add the class. They can see the Assistant Dean if they have questions concerning this policy. (It is also a good idea for instructors to look at the student’s schedule—particularly in the Fall—since it is very easy for students to go to the room for their 10:00 class at 9:00; or to go to their MWF 11:00 on a Tuesday at 11:00; or to go to CC 312 instead of CC314 by mistake.)
WITHDRAWING FROM A CLASS
An instructor can recommend that a student withdraw from a class if the instructor sees that the student cannot possibly pass the class. Withdrawal policies are covered in Course Withdrawals.
PLAGIARISM
Definition
On the subject of cheating, see also JCCC’s Student Code of Conduct.
If you believe a student has intended to commit fraud, there are several routes you can take, but JCCC has no official policy as to what instructors should do if they suspect or are sure of academic dishonesty. Instructors in the English department handle these cases differently, sometimes depending on whether it’s the student’s first offense. For a first offense, a teacher might speak to the student and then take an action such as assigning a zero or F for the paper, or asking the student to write a new paper. This second chance creates a teaching opportunity by which the student is able to correct the mistake and learns how to avoid academic dishonesty in the future. Some instructors report a first offense to the Vice President of Student Services, and, in fact, the Vice President of Student Services recommends that a faculty member report all cheating so that students will understand the severity of their offense, and so patterns of cheating can be identified. If a student is caught trying to commit fraud a second time, an F in the class, and a report to the Vice President of Student Services, are certainly warranted even if an instructor chooses not to report it the first time.
Most of our students, however, are simply struggling with the conventions of citing and documenting sources, and most instructors realize that students benefit from being given ample time and opportunity for revision. Providing student with interim due dates for a variety of materials which reinforce the writing process allows students and instructors alike greater opportunities to identify and explore citation issues.
Occasionally, an instructor will have reason to believe that a student has received so much help that the paper is not the student’s anymore. Most of us expect and encourage our students to get help from each other, the Writing Center, their friends and family, etc., so it’s important to give the students ways to acknowledge that help so we (and they) can see if it’s appropriate. For instance, all the help that a student has received might be specified on an “acknowledgements” page or listed on a paper or process log. Students can be asked to do some reflection in writing on their own writing process, including who worked with them as they wrote their papers and what kind of revisions resulted from that work. For more strategies on ways to help students avoid plagiarism, see the article, Preventing Cheating in Appendix I.
STUDENT DISRUPTIONS
JCCC’s Student Code of Conduct has a section on disruptive behavior. Some instructors include it (paraphrased or verbatim) in their syllabi, adding other behaviors they find disruptive, e.g. use of cell phones in class.
COMPUTER ACCESS FOR ADJUNCTS AND STUDENTS
Computers are available for adjunct use in the OCB 204 office area. For additional information on training and technology resources available to JCCC faculty, refer to JCCC Technology Resources, http://www.jccc.edu/home/download/9901/Technology_Orientation.pdf.
JCCC students may use the computers lab in OCB 304 by presenting a current JCCC photo ID, available at the check-out desk on the third floor of the Billington Library and at the information desk on the first floor of the Student Center. Hence, a teacher need not be troubled about the “digital divide;” requiring students to word process their writing is a reasonable expectation.
TEXTBOOKS
Newly hired faculty will use the “default” textbooks, including a required handbook, during the first year of employment. Otherwise, Composition I instructors have a choice between two textbooks and may make the handbook optional. Composition II instructors may select either an all-in-one rhetoric reader or a short, stand-alone rhetoric paired with one of two readers. Composition II instructors who require a handbook should allow students who have previously purchased a handbook for another course to continue using the handbook rather than requiring them to buy a new one.
Tips for Developing Culturally Sensitive Assignments
Offering students the opportunity to develop cultural sensitivity can bring a dimension of diversity—and fun—to the classroom. One way to enhance mutual understanding is to make brief announcements such as “Today is Mexican Independence Day ” or “Next week the Chinese New Year begins.” Encouraging students to “write, pair, share” can bring a broader scope to assignments if students write about their own experiences, then share their responses with the class.
Perhaps the easiest way to develop culturally sensitive assignments is to ask students to work together in teams according to their mutual life interests and experiences. Classmates from different countries can interview each other on topics of mutual interest which are experienced quite differently in various cultures. Similarly, team activities can be used for brainstorming to find topics or for taking group quizzes in which each team member shares his or her own examples. In some classes, teams collaborate on mutually composed compositions, bringing a breadth of experience not otherwise possible in a “do it alone” setting.
INSTRUCTOR ABSENCE POLICIES (back to index)
Excused Adjunct Absences are covered in the Faculty Handbook, http://www.jccc.edu/home/handbook/faculty/toc_title_comp_benefits/adjunct_faculty/adjfacabsence.
The absence policy for full-time faculty is available at http://www.jccc.edu/home/handbook/faculty/toc_title_comp_benefits/full_time_faculty.
CLASS CANCELLATION POLICIES
For classes starting at or before 8:00 AM or evening/weekend classes Campus Security (ext. 0) needs to be called. They will post the class cancellation notice. Next, the program office needs to be informed. At all other times, call the program office (ext. 3659) first. If sufficient notice is given, a substitute may be arranged.
Finally, a Report of Absence form needs to be filled out (download from Forms for Faculty page), signed and turned in to the program office.
WHAT TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY
JCCC’s Emergency Response Plan & Building Floor Plans
Pick up one of the red phones located in the hallways and security will respond quickly to your request. Security also has signs available that say SEND HELP.
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Chapter VII
TECHNOLOGY AT JCCC
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In this chapter . . .
Technical Support
Getting Connected to JCCC Technical Resources
JCCC IDs
Distance Learning
E-Mail
Educational Technology Center
Telecommunications
Proximity Cards
Listservs
Online Class Schedule
Making Technology Work for You Over Breaks
FACULTY & STAFF TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Help Desk (RC 247), 469-8500 x4357 (HELP)
Option 2 –Emergency in Lab or Classroom
Option 3 –Faculty or Staff needing technical assistance
http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts/helpdesk
STUDENT TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Help Desk 469-8500 x4357 (HELP)
Option 1,1 –Students needing assistance with MyJCCC userid/password
Option 1,2 –Students needing technical assistance
http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts.php/S00013/site/Student_Support
Getting Connected to JCCC Technical Resources
The first step in accessing services at JCCC is to visit the Human Resources office. After all necessary information has been provided by the new employee and processed by Human Resources staff, My JCCC, Network and E-Mail accounts will be created through an automated process. Once these accounts have been created, the automated process will send e-mail notification to the Dean who will then forward this information to the employee.
How many ID names and numbers do I have?????
All JCCC staff and faculty are assigned three unique and important types of identification for the computer system.
Campus User Name—this is the set of letters (and possibly numbers) that appears in your email address and that will be used to log-in to MyJCCC, to retrieve campus email via Online Web Access (OWA), and to log into the library’s journal databases from off campus.PIN number—this is the 6-digit password assigned to you by Human Resources–usually the last six digits of your social security number. You will need it the first time you log-in to MyJCCC or to access pdf pay stubs sent to you via email.Password–You will need it to log in to MYJCCC, EASY, My Courses and JCCC Applications or to log into the library databases when you’re off campus.JCCC Employee/Student Identification number—this is the 8-digit identification number the college uses to pay you, assign your courses, and various other things. Also, when you are in the library catalog, you use the 8-digit ID number (along with your last name) to view your account status, reserve or renew books, and so on.How do I find those numbers and IDs?
· For your JCCC ID or MyJCCC User name: Click on MyJCCC (on the JCCC home page) and follow instructions.
· For your PIN: contact Human Resources at 913-469-3877.
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For information on JCCC’s e-mail system and how to activate and combine your two accounts, please click here.
JCCC asks–and this department expects–that instructors use their JCCC e-mail accounts when communicating with students and the department for a variety of legal and logistic reasons:
1. Confidentiality. If a student e-mails you a note telling you she will miss class because she just suffered a miscarriage, or if another electronically submits a paper describing the day he knew he needed to stop drinking, that student has the right to expect that you, and not the other people in your household who may use the same personal e-mail address, will have access to student-teacher communication.
By the same token, it is important that, whenever you communicate about grades or classroom performance, you use the student’s JCCC e-mail account. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) guarantees confidentiality to students, and sending a graded paper to an address they share with parents or friends violates this.
2. Security. The JCCC server has excellent virus-detecting software. Virtually all viruses embedded in e-mail attachments will be identified and removed from the file by the server before you receive it. This will prevent you from accidentally contaminating the computer system (whether it is the school’s or your own) with bugs.
3. Accountability. Certain requests will automatically be mailed to your JCCC account that you will need to respond to—the Dean may ask for your schedule request, a prospective student may want information on your course.
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OTHER RELATED TECHNICAL SERVICES
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY CENTER
DISTANCE LEARNING
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
(Instructions for activating and accessing JCCC’s voicemail system.)
You will be assigned a 4-digit phone extension which you will need to activate and personalize with a greeting. Students will be transferred to this number when they call and ask to speak with you. Check your voice-mail regularly–at least every 90 days to avoid being de-activated–even if you have given students alternate ways to contact you. The department does not give out home or cell phone numbers.
· To check for messages while on campus pick up any phone, and follow these steps:
1. Push the “Messages” button.
2. Enter your extension preceded by 11 followed by the # key and password followed by the # key.
· To check for messages while off campus:
1. Call the voice-mail system at 913-469-4444.
2. Enter your extension and password, as above, followed by the # key.
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TO REQUEST SPACE ON THE JCCC STAFF & FACULTY PAGES CLICK HERE.
PROXIMITY CARDS
The white plastic card you are issued through security will allow you to “unlock” secured doors of those rooms assigned to the English department. When OCB 204 or CC 221 are locked (at night or on the weekends), the card will allow you entry to check your mailbox or use the copier or computers. The card will also allow you access to thoseclassrooms equipped with a proximity reader. The department administrative assistant will request the necessary permits for you.
If you are teaching in a computer classroom or one of classrooms with a “smart” teacher station, please lock the room when leaving or make sure that the class following is, in fact, meeting and that the teacher is present. If the next class is cancelled or there is no class following your meeting time, always lock the door to prevent theft. you will need to carry your card with you.
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JCCC LISTSERVS (Electronic Mailing Lists)
A listserv is a distribution list that performs a “mass mailing” of messages to subscribed members of that list. You will automatically be subscribed to Infolist (important college news and information) and JCCCList (informal discussions and items/services for sale) . To unsubscribe from the JCCCList, send e-mail from your Exchange account (…@jccc,edu) toleave-jccc@list.jccc.edu).
To subscribe to one or more electronic mailing lists, click here, select JCCC Main Menu for Mailing Lists and follow the instructions for log in.
o Locate the “Join list” button. If there is no “Join” button, that indicates this list is “closed” and you must speak to the list’s owner directly to subscribe. Otherwise, you will be taken to a short form.
o Complete the application with the information required. You will be asked for your e-mail address, name and mailing preferences.
o Select “Save” to submit subscription request. You will receive acknowledgement that you have successfully subscribed. You will be asked to confirm by replying to the e-mail.
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CLASS SCHEDULE BY SEMESTER
If you want to see what courses are being taught across campus, check what room your classes are in, get a quick read on enrollment, find out when other instructors are teaching, or find the name of the person who teaches in GEB 215 just before you do, JCCC maintains an online version of its schedule. The online version of the course list reflects recent cancellations and additions to the schedule as well as current enrollment. To view the schedule, click above and follow these steps:
Use the scroll bars and drop-down menus to select the semester and courses you want to see (i.e., you can look at all English courses, all morning classes taught in the ATB, all on-line courses across the curriculum, or identify just your own classes by varying the settings).
After selecting the correct parameters, click the “Show Classes” button.
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HOW TO MAKE TECHNOLOGY WORK FOR YOU OVER BREAKS
Elementary school children are sometimes shocked to learn that their instructors do not, in fact, actually live in their classrooms. Sometimes, college students (or even our colleagues) also seem to assume we live our lives hooked into JCCC. When it comes to emotional issues (like a missed final or an unexpectedly poor grade) or time-sensitive issues (like contract changes), it is not uncommon for people to lose a little perspective about communication. The gentle question left on your voice mail about a grade on December 23rd becomes a growling request on December 26th and is a screaming rant on incompetence by January 2nd. Never mind that the student is naïve to think the instructor will be on campus over the break or would be obligated to respond to them immediately over a holiday, the fact is that the student’s frustration could be easily avoided by using technology to “baby sit” your communication tools while you are off enjoying your break.
Leave a temporary greeting on your phone stating you are currently off campus and when you will return. This is one easy way to circumvent frustration—this message will play each time someone calls until the expiration date. To access this feature, pick up any JCCC phone and log in as though you were going to retrieve messages:
o Push the “Messages” button or log into the system by dialing 469-4444. Enter your extension followed by the “#” and your password followed by a # as prompted.
o Select “8-2”. This will give you access to the greeting menu.
o Select “3” for a temporary greeting. The temporary greeting is only good for a specified time, after which the system immediately defaults to your original message.
o Push the “5” to start recording your greeting. Have what you want to say in mind because you will immediately hear a beep and then it is show time. Identify yourself, say you will be out of the office until a specific date, invite people to leave a message, and assure them you will return their call when you are back on campus.
o Push the “#” to stop the taping. Once you stop recording by pushing the “#,” the phone will give you the options of listening to your temporary greeting (“2”), adding to it (“5”), or setting the expiration date (“9”). If you panicked and know you hate the message you left, press “7-6,” the normal delete code, then re-record. When you have the message as you want it, select “9.”
o Set the expiration date (“9”). By setting the date, the temporary greeting is eliminated automatically, so you don’t have to remember to change back to your normal greeting. To set the date, the system will ask you to enter the number of the month followed by the “#,” then the number of the day followed by the “#,” then the hour followed by a “#,” and finally it will ask you to identify if that hour is a.m. or p.m.
o Exit the system by pressing “4.”
Use the Out-of-Office Assistant to leave an auto-response message for your e-mail. When the Out-of-Office Assistant is on, the system automatically generates a response e-mail to anyone attempting to contact you. You can individualize the message to include information as to when you will return or the name of another person or office that individuals can contact for help while you are gone.
o If you use Microsoft Outlook from your desktop—
§ From Tools trace down to Out-of-Office Assistant
§ Select the “I am currently Out of the Office” option.
§ Write your message—remember it should be appropriate for any person attempting to contact you while you are gone.
§ Select the “OK” to enable the feature.
If you access through the web at http://owa.jccc.edu
Click on the “Options” icon at the far left of the screen.
Select the “I am currently Out of the Office” option.
Write your message—remember it should be appropriate for anyone attempting to contact you while you are gone.
Select the “OK” to enable the feature.
·Reduce the amount of e-mail you receive by setting your list preferences to “digest” or “nomail.” If you are going to be gone for an extended period of time, you might find it useful to change the mail settings for any JCCC listservs to which you belong. The “digest” option will compile all the postings sent to a list into one anthologized post per day. The “nomail” option will remove you from the list temporarily (until you reset your options).
o Direct your browser to this URL: http://list.jccc.edu.
o Find the list for which you wish to change your mail settings and log in with your e-mail address.
o Once logged in, select the “Your Settings” link.
o Change the Status for your mail delivery. Use the drop-down menu to select the option that works best for you.
Select “Save” to activate the changes.
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Chapter VIII
PROGRAM RESOURCES
In this chapter . . .
The Writing Center
Guidelines for Using the Writing Center
Major/Minor Errors List Coordinated with WC materials
Writing Center Resources for Major Writing Objectives
EAP Courses and Resources (see Global English Institute)
Learning Strategies Program (web link)
THE WRITING CENTER
The Writing Center is located in LIB 308 and is open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Friday; 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday; and noon to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Summer hours are from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The Center is staffed by full- and part-time faculty, peer tutors, and both a full and part-time administrative assistant. The facility is open to serve the writing needs of not only JCCC students and faculty, but also the community.
For the instructor, the Center offers:
Tours–Your class can be scheduled to come to the Writing Center for a brief orientation.
Class Visits–The Writing Center Instructor will come to your class to talk about the materials and services available.
Writing Assignments–The staff will post assignments currently being addressed by your students so that when they need help or clarification, the tutors or faculty can direct them to each assignment objective.
Resource Center–The Center has a number of professional books covering mechanics, writing, research, theory, evaluation, etc., as well as an impressive collection of computer software that can assist students with grammar weaknesses, composing problems, or editing questions.
Professional Assistance–The Writing Center instructor will provide support for editing and revising your own professional writing and on designing writing assignments for any of your classes.
For the student, the Writing Center offers:
Several workshops each semester. These workshops deal with some of the problems writers may encounter when they write. In the past, workshops on proofreading, revising, and research documentation have been provided. The interactive workshops are free and open to all students and staff members. For more information, check with the Writing Center for the current semester’s schedule.
The Writing Center also offers Assessment/Diagnostic Tests–These will help to identify specific writing weaknesses so that a program of study can be developed to help the students improve their writing ability.
Assistance with Assignments–The staff will help critique student papers for organization and development. They will not, however, proofread and correct the papers for the student. Students must bring in their assignments and drafts for feedback. They may not drop the papers off to be critiqued.
Computer Assisted Instruction–The Center offers software that deals with composing, drills, and word processing.
Individualized Instruction–The tutors and faculty will work one-on-one with the student to help improve the paper quality and assist the learning process.
The Center also has a number of sample papers, resource and reference books, and programs/courses intended to improve writing skills.
CREDIT COURSES offered by the Writing Center
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The Writing Center’s Proofreading Policy
Because the Writing Center emphasizes the process of writing, not the product, TUTORS DO NOT PROOFREAD. Tutors will not produce an error-free paper for you. You are the writer, and PROOFREADING IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.
We want you to become an effective, independent writer. By working hard and taking advantage of all the Writing Center resources (books, handouts, software, sample papers, as well as tutoring sessions), you can improve your writing. Please talk to Kathryn Byrne, the coordinator of the Writing Center, if you have any comments or suggestions.
NAME___________________________________ DATE________________________
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Johnson County Community College
English Program
Objectives
Students at Johnson County Community College will be assigned grades for individual papers according to the degree of competence achieved in fulfilling the following objectives.
A. The student will demonstrate skills in invention in the following manner:
1. The student will discover ideas through appropriate invention methods.
2. The student will select a serious, relevant subject.
3. The student will treat that subject with logical, imaginative thought.
4. The student will clearly identify and address a specific audience for each assignment.
Resources Available in Writing Center LIB 308
Writing Center Handouts
Easy Writer, 3rd. ed
pp 12-17
B. The student will demonstrate skills in organization in the following manner:
1. The student will write an introduction
a. that leads into the thesis,
b. that clearly attempts to arouse the interest of the reader, and
c. that clearly states the thesis statement.
2. The student will develop a body for the paper that has
a. an appropriate number of paragraphs,
b. an appropriate sequence of ideas (inductive, deductive, chronological, spatial, etc.), and
c. paragraphs which have topic sentences clearly relevant to the thesis.
3. The student will write a conclusion of the paper when appropriate
a. that contains an interesting, fresh emotional appeal, or
b. that recommends investigation, or action, or
c. that adequately and appropriately summarizes the paper.
Companion website
www.bedfordstmartins.com/easywriter
Easy Writer
pp 17-19
Developing Writing Skills (Writing Center software)
C. The student will demonstrate skills in paragraph development in the following manner:
1. The student will write clear topic sentences relevant to the thesis.
2. The student will write unified paragraphs with all evidence supporting the topic sentences.
3. The student will write coherent paragraphs with all ideas flowing together and linked smoothly to the following paragraphs. Transitions are used appropriately.
4. The student will write paragraphs using specific, concrete details to support topic sentences, making use of the traditional support such as facts, examples, illustration, testimony, and/or reasons.
Blue Pencil (Writing Center software)
Grammar 3-D–Transitions (Writing Center software)
Developing Writing Skills(Writing Center software)
D. The student will demonstrate skills with style in the following manner:
1. The student will avoid a choppy style and write sentences that are clear, complete, rhetorically effective, easy to read, smooth-flowing, and varied in length and structure.
2. The student will demonstrate skills in diction by avoiding wordiness and by choosing appropriate and effective words and figurative language.
3. The student will maintain a consistency of style-tone, point of view, appropriateness, etc.
Blue Pencil and Perfect Copy(Writing Center software)
Editor and Writer’s Workbench are editing programs that work well when combined with tutor sessions.
Easy Writer
pp 138-150
PREREQUISITE SKILLS:
The student will demonstrate college-level skills in mechanics and proofreading by keeping all errors to an absolute minimum. The English Department of Johnson County Community College believes that producing error-free prose is an extremely important objective since even the best essays lose credibility when riddled with mechanical errors. To help accomplish this objective, the English Department has adopted the following policy: After the first assignment, no essay with seven or more, nor paragraph with three or more of the following errors can be given a passing grade.
JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MAJOR ERRORS CHECKLIST
Assessment of Skills – Microlab
MAJOR ERRORS
(In addition to software, handouts on most of these errors are also available in the Writing Center.)
1) Major sentence level errors
a) Run-on (or fused sentence). Main clauses must be properly connected.
b) Comma splice. Commas alone cannot join main clauses.
c) Fragment. Only main clauses can stand alone.
d) Parallelism
2) Verb problems
a) Lack of agreement. Subject/verb. Subjects and verbs must agree in number and person.
b) Improper verb form. The form must be in standard English.
c) Shift in tense. Tense must be consistent.
3) Pronoun errors
a) Pronoun/antecedent. Pronouns must agree with their antecedent.
b) Vague pronoun reference. Pronouns (3rd person) must have antecedents.
c) Pronoun case.
4) Faulty modifiers
a) Dangling modifiers. Modifiers need something to modify.
b) Misplaced modifiers. Modifiers must be near the word(s) they modify. Adverb form.
COMPUTER SOFTWARE
· Microlab: Distinct Sentences
· SMGW: SB1 & SB2
· Glencoe: Topic 1.6
· Glencoe: 1.6
· SMGW: GS6
· Microlab: Complete Sentences
· Microlab: Subject-Verb Agreement
· SMGW: GS6
· Grammar Links
· Glencoe: Topic 3
· Microlab: Pronoun Choice
· Glencoe: 4.26
· SMGW: GS 1-7
· Microlab: Orderly Sentences
· Glencoe: Topic 5
EASY WRITER
3RD ed.
p 82
p 84
p 96
p 65
pp 58-61
pp 61-63
p 98
p 79
p 80
p 76
p 75
p 74
5) Word errors
a) Misspelled or wrong word, and typographical errors. All words must be spelled correctly.
6) Unnecessary Punctuation
MINOR ERRORS
(3 MINOR ERRORS COUNT AS 1 MAJOR ERROR)
7) Apostrophe missing or used incorrectly. Use apostrophes with possessives and in contractions.
8) Incorrect comma usage
a) Commas are needed before the coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.
b) Commas are needed after introductory words, phrases, and clauses.
c) Commas are needed to set off non-restrictive or non-essential elements.
d) Commas are used between items in a series and in lists.
e) Commas are used between two or more adjectives that equally modify the same word.
f) Commas are used for convention.
i) To separate items in dates, names, addresses, letters, and numbers.
ii) To introduce quotations or follow them.
iii) To prevent misreading.
9) End punctuation needed or misused.
a) Periods are used at the end of statements.
b) Questions marks are used at the end of questions.
c) Exclamation points are used at the end of exclamatory statements.
· Spell Checkers
· Glencoe: Topic 14
· SMGW: M9
COMPUTER SOFTWARE
· Microlab: Apostrophes
· Perfect Copy
· SMGW: P7
· Glencoe
· Microlab: Commas
· Glencoe
· SMGW: P1
· Glencoe
· Perfect Copy
· SMGW: P 12-14
p 36
(spell checkers only)
EASY WRITER, 3RD ed.
p 114
p 103
p 102
p 103
p 106
p 106
p 106
p 107
p 108
p 109
pp 112-114
10) Semicolon ( ; ) needed or misused.
a) Semicolons are used
i) between two independent clauses
ii) to separate clauses with internal punctuation
iii) to avoid confusion.
11) Capitalization misused or omitted.
a) Capitalization occurs in proper nouns, the first word of each sentence, the pronoun “I,” and titles.
12) Quotations marks ( “ ) and block quotations misused.
a) Quotation marks set off all direct quotations, titles of short works, and words used in a special sense.
13) Parentheses ( ) misused.
a) Parentheses are used to enclose extraneous information.
14) Brackets ( [ ] ) misused.
a) Brackets are used to enclose information that clarifies.
15) Dash ( — ) misused.
a) A dash is two hyphens used to set off information.
16) Hyphen ( – ) misused.
a) A hyphen is used in compound words and to avoid ambiguity.
17) Italics/Underlining confused or misused.
a) Italics or underlining is used to mark the titles of separate publications, foreign words, and for convention.
18) Ellipsis ( . . . ) misused.
a) An ellipses (three spaced periods) is used to indicate omission of information.
· Glencoe
· Microlab: Semicolons
· SMGW: P3
· SMGW: M2
· Glencoe: 12
· Microlab: Capitalization
· Perfect Copy
· Glencoe: 13
· Microlab: Quotation Marks
· SMGW: P6
· Glencoe: 13
· SMGW: P8
· Microlab: Parentheses
· SMGW: P9
· Glencoe: 13
· SMGW: P5
· Microlab: Dashes
· Glencoe: 13
· Glencoe: 13
· SMGW: P11
· Microlab: Italics
SMGW: P10
p 110
p 127
p 117
p 121
p 122
p 123
p 135
p 133
p 125
19) Slash ( \ ) misused.
a) The forward slash is used in URLs, email addresses, and newsgroup name.
20) Colon ( : ) misused.
a) Colons are used before formally introducing quotations, statements, and series.
21) Numbers misused.
a) Numbers that requires more than two words are written as figures as are dates and times.
22) Online punctuation
a) Asterisk
b) Angle brackets
c) Underscore before and after a title
23) Documentation (MLA, APA, CMS, and so on) used incorrectly.
a) Internal parenthetical documentation appears within the paper.
b) Complete resource information is noted at the end of the paper using chosen documentation for Works Cited, References, Bibliography, and so on.
24) ESL concerns
a) Prepositions
b) Articles
c) Order of words in a sentence
d) Singulars and plurals in nouns
e) Gerunds, infinitives used appropriately
f) Verb phrases
g) Conditional sentences
h) Two-word verbs
· SMGW: P11
· Glencoe: 13
· SMGW: P4
· Microlab: Colons
· SMGW: M4
· Perfect Copy
· SMGW
· Online Sites
· (Prentice Hall resources available)
· Word Attack
· Idiomagic
· SMGW: ET 1-6
· Grammar 3-D
· TOEFL Mastery
· Tutor Tapes
p 125
p 124
p 126
Ø MLA
pp 196-231
Ø APA
pp 232-251
Ø Turabian or
Chicago Style
pp 252-266
Ø CSE (Science,
formerly CBE)
p 267-280
Ø Handouts
p 161
p 155
p 165-166
p 154
p 159
p 157
p 160
p 164
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EAP/ESL Courses and Resources at JCCC
The EAP Program is now administered by the Global English Institute
Other Courses
Academic Achievement Center (LIB 227) (Jeffrey Merritt, Ext 3320)
AAC courses of particular merit for non-native students include the following:
Reading Comprehension (AAC 104)
Vocabulary Improvement (AAC 106)
Basic Spelling (AAC 102)
Learning Strategies Courses (Maggie Ackelson, Ext 3335)
LS courses teach students the study and thinking strategies necessary for success in college-level courses, including memory strategies, test-taking techniques, and notetaking skills.
Reading Courses (Roz Bethke, Ext 3792)
Many students are required to take a three-credit reading course. This placement is determined by their entrance assessment scores. In particular, the Basic Vocabulary and Reading Skills (RDG 124) course was developed for non-native and access students. Students are advised to talk with their counselors about specific reading courses.
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Chapter IX
SUPPORT SERVICES FOR INSTRUCTORS
In this chapter . . .
Staff and Faculty Help Desk
Computer Labs for Students
Billington Library
Document Services (Copies and More)
Guidelines for Copying Printed Materials
Testing Services
Mailboxes
Professional Development
Access Services
Staff and Faculty Help Desk
The JCCC Help Desk provides first-level technical support to all faculty and staff. We are dedicated to servicing the computer and telecommunication needs of all employees by providing detailed resolutions and general system information for common problems.
COMPUTER LABS FOR STUDENTS
COMPUTER LABS ARE OPEN ONLY WHEN CLASSES ARE IN SESSION.
Computer Lab Hours and Locations
Computer Lab Policies
STUDENT COMPUTING SUPPORT
Several open labs are available to students when they are ready to begin writing. Many word processing packages are available on campus, and students should check with lab monitors to see if their particular package is available. In some labs, brainstorming and style checking software is also available. Students may want to check with the Writing Center to identify word processing software most suitable for writing.
BILLINGTON LIBRARY http://library.jccc.edu/
Check Website for Hours
Resources:Catalog
Databases
Interlibrary Loan
JCCC Journals
My Account
Reference Shelf
Search Engines
Web Links
Help:Ask-a-Librarian
Research Guides
Tutorials
Information:About Us
Newsletters
Services & Rules
Suggestions
Search the Catalog | Course Reserve SearchWe’ve turned the page on our new website design!
This is a work in progress, so please let us know what you think. Click here to comment.
In the coming months, this box will feature programs, displays, or information our Librarians choose to spotlight.New Databases:
Ethnic NewsWatch, LearningExpress Library,
Testing and Education Ref Center, Wilson OmniFile.Summer Semester Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 7:30am – 10:00pm
Friday: 7:30am – 5:00pm
Saturday: 8:00am – 5:00pm
Sunday: Closed
Early in the semester, writing teachers typically arrange a library orientation for their students, particularly because most English courses require the use of sources, and electronic databases have steadily become richer, more complex, and more extensive; for instance, refereed journals are much more electronically accessible than they used to be. Also, databases increasingly require sophistication and skill to use effectively. We sometimes think that college students are “geeks” who can master any database. However, in reality, library databases are hard for our students to use effectively without the training that JCCC librarians offer in a computer classroom on the first floor of the Billington Library (LIB).
To arrange an orientation to JCCC library databases, call 469-8500 extension 3178.
To visit the JCCC library web site (which makes its periodical databases accessible to students via the Internet 24-7) go to http://library.jccc.edu
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DOCUMENT SERVICES (Copies and More)
Copy Center and Document Services forms will ask for your department’s cost center number. Ours is 1104.
Document Services request forms are available at http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts.php/1104/site/facultyresources/forms.
Copiers are available in office areas, including OCB 204, for instructional use. Teachers are asked to use these office machines for small runs of 15 copies or less. Photocopies for distribution to a class are made in the Copy Center, LIB 226 on a first-come-first-served basis; often, the job can be done as the teacher waits, although wait times are sometimes longer, especially at peak times every morning and around 5:00-6:00 p.m. To gauge how busy the Copy Center is, a phone call to extension 3158 beforehand is often useful.
For larger orders, for printing on colored paper, or for special jobs (i.e., tape-bound booklets, documents requiring advanced word processing skills, materials printed on NCR or carbonless-copy paper), teachers may send materials to Document Services. Document Services jobs take at least 2 days to be completed and will be delivered directly to the instructor’s mailbox. Forms and a drop-off box are available for Document Service orders in the Copy Center. For more information on the services Document Services provides, please see http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts/4302.
GUIDELINES FOR COPYING PRINTED MATERIAL
I. Single copying for teachers
A single copy may be made of any of the following by or for a teacher at his or her individual request for his or her scholarly research or use in teaching or preparation to teach a class:
A. A chapter from a book
B. An article from a periodical or newspaper
C. A short story, short essay, or short poem, whether or not from a collective work
D. A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper
II. Multiple copies for classroom use
Multiple copies (not to exceed in any event more than one copy per pupil in a course) may be made by or for the teacher giving the course for classroom use or discussion; provided that:
A. The copying meets the test of brevity and spontaneity as defined
B. The copying meets the cumulative effect test as defined.
C. Each copy includes a notice of copyright
Definitions
Brevity
1. Poetry: (a) A complete poem if less than 250 words and if printed on not more than two pages or, (b) from a longer poem, an excerpt of not more than 250 words.
2. Prose: (a) Either a complete article, story, or essay of less than 2,500 words, or (b) an excerpt from any prose work of not more than 1,000 words or 10% of the work, whichever is less, but in any event a minimum of 500 words.
(Each of the numerical limits stated in 1 and 2 above may be expanded to permit the completion of an unfinished line of a poem or of an unfinished prose paragraph.)
3. Illustration: One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture per book or per periodical issue.
4. Special works: Certain works in poetry, prose, or in “poetic prose” which often combine language with illustrations and which are intended sometimes for children and at other times for a more general audience fall short of 2,500 words in their entirety.
Special works may not be reproduced in their entirety; however, an excerpt comprising not more than two of the published pages of such special work and containing not more than 10% of the words found in the text thereof, may be reproduced.
Spontaneity
1. The copying is at the instance and inspiration of the individual teacher.
2. The inspiration and decision to use the work and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission.
Cumulative Effect
1. The copying of the material is for only one course in the school in which the copies are made.
2. Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay, or two excerpts may be copied from the same author, nor more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term.
3. There shall not be more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term.
(The limitations stated in 2 and 3 above shall not apply to current news periodicals and newspapers and current news sections of other periodicals.)
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (back to index)
The college and the English program both provide various in-service and off-campus professional development opportunities available for all faculty throughout the year. The Adjunct Certification Training (ACT) program offers training in a variety of topics of interest to adjuncts. Adjunct faculty can also apply for a conference participation grant of up to $600.00 through a CTL special grant (as long as monies are available in that fund). For more information, instructors can contact the Center for Teaching and Learning or the Office for Staff and Organizational Development (GEB 238, ext. 7654).
TESTING SERVICES—Student Center 334
This office provides a variety of services including administration of assessment tests for students enrolled in credit courses. Please see Testing Services for full information.
ACCESS SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
On the sample syllabi, you’ll see a statement designed for students with special needs. JCCC has a significant population of students with disabilities, so you can expect to have such a student in your class occasionally. Please see the Access website for full information on services provided.
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MAIL and MAILBOXES
Mail is delivered to the Division Office twice daily. The gray tubs near the entrances in OCB 204 and CC 221 are for outgoing mail which is picked up twice daily. Mail can also be sent through the Writing Center or other campus office areas.
All faculty teaching English at JCCC are assigned a mailbox in CC 221, and mailboxes should be checked frequently for important notices from the program office and college. Students also leave communications and papers in mailboxes. Faculty teaching online or off-campus are expected to check their mailbox on a regular basis.
OTHER
There are many other services available. Please consult your Faculty Handbook for further information.
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Appendix I
NOTES FROM THE FACULTY
(Essays on Instructional Issues)
In this appendix . . .
“Summary, Analysis, Evaluation?” Bob Brannan
“Preventing Cheating,” Andrea Broomfield
“Collaboration in the Writing Classroom,” Kami Day
“Approaches to Critical Reading,” Maureen Fitzpatrick
“Reporting and Synthesizing,” Monica Hogan
“Reflective Writing in the Comp. Classroom,” Ginny Nelson
Summary, Analysis, Evaluation?
Bob Brannan
Students at all levels of composition instruction often have difficulty understanding what we mean by summary, analysis, and evaluation as processes and even more difficulty in producing writing assignments that focus primarily on one or another. Since Comp II is primarily a course that deals with analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, most students eventually learn the differences through repeated exposure, but to shorten the learning curve, there are several approaches that can work.
First, it helps to discuss the processes in relation to one another, even early in a course when the emphasis is likely to be on the simplest of the three, summary; and we can begin by defining terms:
1. Summarize: select only the main points; goal: clarity and compression
2. Analyze: break into pieces to better understand the whole
3. Evaluate: judge: express an opinion based on criteria and supported through specific examples and thorough explanations arrived at by careful analysis.
Before we move into larger assignments that we call “a summary,” “an analysis,” or “an evaluation,” we can next discuss how the processes work together. For example, in order to gather the material for a summary, a writer must be able to analyze a text to determine a thesis, main ideas, and significant examples. In order to select material, the writer must judge which ideas and examples are most essential to communicate the author’s central point. If a writer is to summarize well, she must also be able to analyze and, to a limited extent, evaluate a text.
One effective way to illustrate these points is to have students analyze a single paragraph of, say, 150-200 words for its main points and significant examples. Next, students can summarize the main points, and then in groups and whole class discussion, students can compare summaries.
When the class moves beyond summary as an individual assignment into evaluation, of course, analysis is still essential. If students have written one or more synthesis essays before they tackle an “evaluation essay,” they have had additional practice with analysis and summary, particularly if instructors have assigned frequent brief summaries of the course readings. However, to move students beyond analysis into evaluation, now we need to stress the element of opinion/judgment that has been less important with the previous, expository, assignments.
One way to do this is to reiterate the definition of evaluation and then contrast several instances of analysis with evaluation. For example, you might ask students to analyze a pizza. What are its elements? When they answer, predictably, dough, tomato sauce, cheese, etc., you can ask them next what kind of pizza they like most and why? When they begin to express a preference, you can draw them out a bit on some of the details that make one pizza different from another and more or less desirable to one person or another. From here it is a short step to determining some criteria for judging one pizza next to another. Of course, the instructional point is that students are going beyond analysis when they make a value judgment, and this is the essence of evaluation.
After the class has worked with a few topics that contrast analysis with evaluation (cars, vacation spots, rock groups, movies, restaurants, etc.), you can move them into analyzing and evaluating written texts. As in their introduction to summary, students can more easily practice with short texts before they take on a full-length evaluation assignment. If you teach evaluation along with argumentation (or writing with a persuasive goal), you will, of course, be discussing criteria and their weighting and how appropriate they are for a given audience.
You can ask students to analyze a paragraph or short essay first for certain specific points that you lay out. For example, students can identify elements of argument: appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos; or they can focus on organizational concerns, such as thesis, topic, and summary sentences, unity of ideas, and coherence devices; or they might locate style points, such as specific word choices, sentence variety, and figures of speech. It helps to emphasize that analysis adopts a relatively objective tone, observing, identifying, and explaining, but not judging.
After students have looked at the pieces of an argument, they can take the next step, to evaluate how well the text achieves its purpose. Assuming that the class has been studying persuasive writing and is familiar with the elements of argument, you can establish a limited set of criteria on the board (i.e., defines the issue clearly, takes a defensible position, offers solid support, presents persona effectively, etc.) and begin to evaluate the text in relation to the criteria. How effective is the evidence: is it current, complete, accurate, reasonably unbiased? Does the author explain how the evidence supports his thesis? Has the author anticipated the needs of her audience: are terms sufficiently defined (or over-defined), is there enough background information provided for the reader to understand the issue or assertion being made, is the author making accurate assumptions about the audience’s background (beliefs, prejudices, knowledge level, etc.)? Working with the class with a short text and walking students through analysis and evaluation—in relation to one another—will make it easier for students to take on larger evaluative tasks on their own.
Analyzing and judging texts are high-order critical thinking skills that most students need much practice with to do well. If you begin your Comp II course with summary and synthesis assignments, students can get that practice before they take on the more complex assignments of critique and rhetorical analysis. Of course, there is no foolproof way around the “summary syndrome,” and some students will happily churn out summaries in place of analyses and evaluations all semester (perhaps into their next lifetime). But defining the processes early on, contrasting them, and working with them in class will limit the summary/analysis/evaluation confusion.
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Preventing Cheating
Andrea Broomfield
College composition courses are the traditional training ground for teaching students how to research and how to write arguments which incorporate research. Because many students are new to writing academic prose and are still novices with the research process, they will likely struggle with how and when to document sources, how to use direct quotations, how to summarize, and how to paraphrase another’s ideas. Hence, unintentional plagiarism is a reality, and writing instructors have the responsibility of helping students become proficient with the challenges of documentation, rather than unduly penalizing them for their legitimate errors with the research process. Nonetheless, some students will deliberately attempt to cheat, and the following tips might help instructors make their assignments as “cheat proof” as possible.
Vary assignments frequently, from semester to semester. The more you use a particular assignment, the more likely the assignment will be placed in a file where students can merely copy a former student’s work, alter a few words, and turn it in as their own.
Require a paper history (notes, drafts, outlines, interviews, sketches, prewriting, bibliographies) along with the paper itself. Conduct a periodic check of the paper history (i.e., have students bring their shoebox or file of notes and drafts, etc. to class with them at least once before the final draft and paper history are due).
Never assume that students understand MLA, even if they have had Composition I. Class time, quizzes, even a test, should be devoted to covering how to use MLA, and what constitutes paraphrase, summary, direct quotation.
Make writing assignments “eccentric.” The more specific and individualized your expectations, the more difficult a time a student will have in buying a term paper or commissioning a fellow student to write the paper. Make the chore of cheating much more time-consuming than honestly completing the assignment.
Require students to do at least two in-class writing (essay exams, diagnostics, a short writing). Keep one or more of these in-class writing assignments on file. Usually, an instructor can use such writing to help determine if another assignment from the same student is plagiarized.
Consider collaborative writing assignments, where a small group of students works together to produce one, unified, piece of writing.
Websites such as www.turnitin.com (the online resource free to instructors who are using the Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers) can help instructors check for student plagiarism on the Web, as can a simple Google search. Using quotations, type in a portion of the writing that might be plagiarized, and see what comes up.
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Collaboration in the Writing Classroom
Kami Day
The JCCC English department supports (but does not mandate) student collaboration. Part of the mission of the program is to “foster collaborative learning,” and one of the objectives for both Composition I and II is that students will be able to “assist others to write significant revisions in the organization and development of ideas using comments from the instructor and peers.” Collaboration, or cooperative learning if you prefer that term (they’re often used interchangeably), acknowledges that learning is socially constructed and that students can make meaning together, enriching their individual knowledge and perspectives as they interact; respond to each other’s work; and even write together. A survey of the instructors in our department would reveal that some do not ask their students to collaborate at all and some immerse their students in collaboration. Teachers who are thinking about adopting collaboration pedagogy must ask themselves some very important questions:
· Can I tolerate noise in the classroom?
· Can I give up the control a traditional classroom teacher enjoys?
· Can I tolerate some messiness and confusion?
· Can I figure out the most important concept/strategies/ skills I want my students to learn and focus on those, giving up some of the less important ones (collaborative activities take a lot of time)?
· Can I be flexible?
· Do I believe students can learn from each other?
The last question is by far the most important. Teachers who distrust collaboration often doubt that student writers have much to offer each other. They worry that students will only lead each other astray, that students do not have enough expertise to teach each other anything but how to avoid staying on task. But teachers who value collaboration believe that students have a great deal to teach each other (especially about writing—they’ve been writing most of their lives), and that as students practice strategies or work out problems or plan a project together, their various strengths come to the forefront and a richer experience or project results. More and more research is showing that we learn from group conversation. In their book Learning in Groups, editors Clark Bouton and Russell Y. Garth emphasize that “learning involves speaking about what we do not yet know . . . and that process requires the opportunity to speak and to hear the responses of others” (77). Not only that, some instructors believe students practice very important concepts such as acknowledging and valuing difference, negotiating difference, becoming more aware of how they are situated in the world, and learning to see and appreciate the strengths of others.
Answering all the questions instructors have about how to make collaboration work would be impossible to do in this short essay. However, some things MUST happen to establish a productive community of learners. Students must begin creating an ethos of collaboration on the first day of class. This could take many forms: students interviewing and then introducing each other, students forming groups and finding things in common among themselves, you and the students playing a game to help them learn each other’s names, etc. You must be willing to devote at least the first couple of classes to building the community. Thereafter, the students should meet in their groups at least once a week, but in some classrooms, the students work in groups every day. One question teachers always ask is “How do I put students in groups?” and no research exists to show that one way works better than another. You can simply tell them to get into groups (although it’s good to stipulate that these groups include both men and women since feminine and masculine approaches to learning are traditionally different, and there’s value in one experiencing the other). Other methods might be asking the students to move around for a week or two so you see different combinations and then assigning them to groups that mix extroverts and introverts, or strong and not-so-strong writers, or traditional and non-traditional students. You could hand out playing cards and ask all the 4’s, for instance, to get in a group together. You could have them pick numbers out of a hat. As far as how many should be in a group, four or five works best. Because of the attrition rate in most institutions of higher learning, it’s best not to create groups of three because if you lose a student, a very small group remains.
Trust and respect are essential in a class in which students are sharing parts of themselves in their writing, so permanent groups established early foster this trust and respect. These groups can form bonds quickly by, for instance, choosing a name and establishing their group identity, and a class roster makes it possible for group members to get in touch with each other. Members of groups often become friends, and it’s not unusual for them to care about one another. Creating these kinds of relationships helps students provide support for each other as they negotiate the unfamiliar and often daunting terrain of college. However, some instructors prefer to move students around, and students often say they like to be able to get to know students other than the ones in their groups.
Once the groups have been established, any strategy or concept can be taught by developing a group learning activity so students can explore and practice what the instructor wants them to learn. If invention is the day’s topic, each group can be asked to explain one invention strategy and then demonstrate an example for the rest of the class on an overhead. If you want students to practice adding detail to their writing, you can give each group a generic paragraph, and each group can work to flesh out and rewrite a couple of sentences from the paragraph, putting all their co-authored sections together in the end to see how a whole paper has developed. Students can practice MLA documentation and citation, synthesis, paraphrasing, sentence combination, editing skills—anything—together, pooling their abilities, learning from each other, having fun. Each activity, though, must be carefully structured; putting students in groups and telling them to go to work without some carefully thought-out instructions is a recipe for disaster. In addition, one of the most important things to remember is that the students must see the groups as integral and essential to their learning, not just group work stuck on at the end of the period, or thrown in for variety, or forced in because a teacher thinks someone in authority wants them to “do group work.” If they can see that they learn better together, and that you value that learning, they will take it seriously and value it even though it’s sometimes difficult.
Yes, sometimes groups break down, and most teachers have heard or can tell stories of unsuccessful group work, stories that make them leery of diving into the sometimes murky or turbulent waters of collaboration. Instructors might see the value of collaboration in theory, but worry justifiably that one disgruntled student will ruin the course for everyone, or that collaboration is not an effective use of time. Some do not feel they know enough about how to help students work together successfully, or are hesitant about managing several groups when they are used to the whole class being focused on the same task at the same time. These are real concerns, and sometimes it’s true that the mix of students proves to be unproductive or even disastrous. But, when a teacher begins early to establish the collaborative community, and when students are taught carefully how to work together, unproductive groups are the exception. Of course, there is a great deal to say about considerations of race, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, and other differences that must be taken into account when students work together. But, most of us who are convinced of the value of student collaboration can say that our students create together a deep pool of ideas, expertise, and possibilities. The feedback we receive from our students about their groups is overwhelmingly positive, about both their cognitive and affective gains. They often say the groups were the best part of the class. They are relieved to find they are not alone in their academic and personal struggles. They are amazed at how much they learn from each other and sometimes surprised at their own ability to contribute productively to the group.
If you are interested in making collaboration part of your pedagogy, several instructors in the department would be good sources. Also, below is a short bibliography of sources that are useful in terms of theory and practical application.
Bibliography
Bouton, Clark, and Garth, Russell Y., eds. Learning in Groups. New Directions for
Learning and Teaching, no. 14. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1983.
Roskelly, Hepzibah. Breaking (into) the Circle: Group Work for change in the English Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/cook, 2002.
Roskelly’s book is about collaboration in the college composition classroom. It includes some theory, a great deal about issues that must be considered when teachers put students together, and practical suggestions for making collaboration work.
Dale, Helen. Co-authoring in the Classroom: Creating an Environment for Effective Collaboration (Theory & Research into Practice) Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1997..
Dale’s book resulted from a study of a high school writing class but is relevant to teaching freshman composition. It focuses on students writing together.
Panitz, Ted. http://home.capecod.edu/~tpanitz/
Panitz’ terrific website concerns collaborative/cooperative learning; it includes scholarly articles and articles about how to make collaboration work with students. Panitz is a mathematics teacher, but the strategies he has developed work in any discipline.
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Approaches to Critical Reading in the Composition Classroom
Maureen Fitzpatrick
According to the most recent North Central report, roughly 15% of students enrolling at JCCC test into one of the college’s developmental reading classes—about half the number who are required to take a developmental writing class and only a fifth of the number who will be placed in pre-college level math. While those statistics might sound very encouraging as far as reading goes, this fact does not mean, unfortunately, that the 85% or so of our first-year students who are not placed into a reading class are prepared to face the challenges of academic reading completely on their own. Even students who score well on the reading test can benefit from additional instruction in reading strategies.
The popular assumption is that we finish learning to read when we are very young, but the truth is that most of us simply stop receiving formal training in this subject around middle school, even though we don’t finish developing as complete readers until years later. Indeed, most college students arrive in our classes with little experience in reading non-narrative texts or scholarly writings so that—when confronted with an academic essay or an economics textbook—the techniques they do possess often fail them miserably. What they need, however, is not a refresher in reading basics but new techniques to help them through the transition. Because of this need, consciously or unconsciously, every teacher of writing becomes, by default, a teacher of reading.
Teaching critical reading skills in composition classes, however, is not a matter of remediating skills or providing information our students may lack; it is genuinely a matter of enlightened self-interest. Research at all levels of schooling demonstrates that one of the best ways to improve students’ writing abilities is to elevate their reading level. Indeed, an individual’s capacity to express complex ideas is always at least a little behind his or her skill in comprehending them. So, in order to cultivate students who do sophisticated things with language, we must nurture students to recognize, appreciate, and comprehend what is going on when complicated and useful things have been done with language in the materials they read.
The close relationship between critical reading and writing ability is reflected in the course outlines for virtually every course taught in the core English curriculum. Fortunately, many first-year composition textbooks have also begun including chapters on critical reading, and there are a variety of writing assignments that can enhance students’ critical reading skills within the context of a composition class by focusing attention on different aspects of the text or purposes for reading.
· Focus student attention on the meta-cognitive level and the physical act of reading. People (particularly students) often think of reading as a passive activity, but it is actually a dynamic, complex, vigorous, and multi-faceted act during which the mind absorbs, predicts, calculates, relates, connects, contemplates, revises, and reflects on new ideas encountered in texts in relation to what the mind already knows. Although the body often looks at rest, the nerves may feel soothed, and the spirit might feel renewed, the act of reading itself is far from passive. As we read, our mind does not busy itself storing information like a computer downloading; instead, it looks forward, speculating about what will come next based on its previous experiences with life and the stories it knows from the past. When a text does not follow the patterns or stories we already know, it challenges the reader and demands more engaged attention and a different strategy for reading.
Our students are often not conscious of themselves as readers and frequently get frustrated when the skills they use to read for pleasure don’t work on college materials. Early in the semester, it can be beneficial to focus student attention specifically on the physical components of their reading habits—what is their reading speed—for example, how long do they think it will take them to read a 10-page essay (and how long does it actually take)? How do they approach or “pre-read” assignments? How much light or quiet do they require to read comfortably? How long can they read before they lose the ability to concentrate? What can they do to make themselves refocus? What is the most likely distraction in their home? It is important to stress that these answers will be individualized and students should try a variety of things that might work rather than sticking to habits they know fail them. By making students aware of themselves as readers, we give them the tools to comprehend how they comprehend and encourage them to think about what they need to do to make the time they spend reading useful.
· Hold students accountable for readings in a variety of ways. Teachers can employ a variety of strategies that not only to encourage students to do their readings but which develop language awareness and higher-order thinking skills.
¨ Encourage students to read for comprehension. Basic comprehension can be demonstrated by having students write summaries of a text, answer questions about what was most and least familiar in the passage they read, or compose questions about the reading which they can then exchange in class so that other students can answer or comment on the questions. Assigning these short pieces of writing to be done prior to class (on worksheets, in reading logs, or on note cards) will not only provide a tangible reminder to the students of the more abstract reading assignment but will encourage them to dwell on and process the information after they have finished reading.
¨ Encourage students to read for stylistics. Often in composition classes, issues of style can get pushed aside by concerns like audience, purpose and correctness. An instructor can, however, bring student attention to the stylistic elements in an essay by having them do one of a variety of activities prior to class: students might list what they did or did not like about the author’s voice in an assigned essay or reading; analyze and imitate the style and structure of a specific section; select and concretely praise (or criticize) sentences they thought particularly effective or ineffective; pick out a metaphor for explication or revision; or compose a different introduction for the essay to make it appropriate for a different audience or rhetorical purpose.
¨ Encouraging students to read for rhetorical elements. With a little modeled practice and some well-designed questions, students should be able to analyze many of the rhetorical basics in the essays they read. Rather than simply summarizing, students can be encouraged to describe the ideal audience for a text, explicate what the writer is attempting to do in their writing (supported by quoting passages where the author uses different appeals or types of proof), or identify various strategies (in organization, in presentation, in supporting materials cited) being used to influence or manipulate the reader.
· Move students toward reading for higher-level concerns. Ultimately, for academic purposes, students read so they can do something with the ideas and materials that confronted them in the texts. When readers can relate what they have just read to what they already know by synthesizing it with their experiences or applying it discriminatingly to problems, questions, and situations they encounter in as well as out of any classroom, then they have truly comprehended the materials and are prepared to do the hard work required in academic writing.
¨ Reading to evaluate information. Throughout their education, many students have been taught the myth of objectivity—the idea that print media is unbiased—and have misapplied it to cover anything that is written, including agenda-driven magazines, anonymously-published web pages, and other texts. As students begin to look at texts as sources of information, their attention often needs to be directly focused on the credibility of their material. Effective strategies to accomplish this in writing might focus students on making overt comparisons: asking students to contrast articles from professional and popular presses; distributing several sources of varying reliability on a single topic and asking students to rank them, collaboratively or individually, from most reliable or useful to least; or assigning letters or essays that argue opposing sides of an issue so the class can analyze the arguments and tone, then discussing the credibility of each author or negotiating a compromise.
Students can also focus on articles individually when reading to evaluate by identifying logical fallacies employed in the arguments; compiling an annotated bibliography that justifies the selection of each source; researching the authors of potential sources to document their qualifications; or profiling the magazine, journal or website from which an article has come for its demographic target and editorial slant. Having students study their sources and write about their findings will reinforce good critical reading skills as well as provide the teacher with a quick way to be certain the reading was done and understood.
¨ Reading to personalize and synthesize information. No matter how much time students spend with a text, unless they make a personal connection with what they are reading, the information will leave them in a matter of days. Often, research-type papers come in as a mish-mash of quotes or a patchwork of sources because students (sometimes intentionally) keep themselves personally, emotionally, and intellectually removed from the materials they are reading. To persuade students to take ownership of the information they are finding, our assignments should encourage them to forge a relationship in writing between what they know and the materials they are discovering.
Students can be asked to respond both academically and personally to texts with a variety of questions: What specific information from the reading complements or conflicts with what they already believe? What ideas or artifacts does the article present that they suspect most people don’t know, and how would they take this information to a wider audience of their peers? What are the key terms they feel a person needs to know in order to understand the point the author is making? What personal or public events may have prompted the writing of this piece and/or what events have occurred since that might have changed how people (or even the author) view the author’s position? Essentially, any questions that compel students to form a connection between what they have read, the knowledge or experience they have or the people they know will move them away from compartmentalizing and, consequently, forgetting the material they encountered in their readings.
Teaching reading skills is not a role that many college-level English instructors inhabit easily; after all, most composition teachers receive little if any formal instruction about how to teach reading. Ultimately, however, reading and writing skills are so intertwined, it is not possible to affect one without impacting the other, and, fortunately, much of what we already do can be used, with only a little rethinking, to stress comprehension and critical thinking as well as writing skills. Whatever techniques an instructor elects to use, one strategy to keep in mind is to vary the assignments and mix the kinds of written responses to readings we require of students. The more routine an assignment feels, the greater the likelihood that some students will dismiss its importance. The main thing is just to get them reading, thinking about, and writing with the kinds of challenging materials they will be encountering throughout their college careers and in life.
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Reporting and Synthesizing: Teaching Composition II Students These Skills
Monica Hogan
Reporting
Synthesizing
OED definition: “To relate, narrate, tell, give an account of (a fact, event, etc.).”
OED definition: “To make a synthesis of; to put together or combine into a complex whole; to make up by combination of parts or elements.”
To string research together without drawing a conclusion. Reporting rarely asks why.
To take research and draw a conclusion. Synthesizing usually asks why.
Answers factual questions who, what, where, and when
Answers why by the combination of who, what, where, and when. May be a conclusion that may not be factual, but rather is based on logic and experience in combination with factual information.
Context is not necessarily important.
Context is very important.
Simply a repetition of what others say
A “complex whole” of what others say put together in way only the synthesizer could.
In Composition II, we’ve a strong emphasis on synthesizing. The single and multiple source essays are typical and expected. Consequently, a large challenge of Composition II is helping our students move from reporting (a task that mostly requires reading and repeating) to synthesizing (a task that requires fuller understanding of reading materials and contemplation of those meanings).
This shift in what we do with what we read is often daunting for some. However, shifting into synthesizing can be made easier, beginning by establishing the expectation of a careful and full reading of each assigned text. For us, this expectation may mean fewer reading assignments initially with more work focused on each reading. For example, a paraphrasing activity or a summary writing which seems so simple to us becomes more demanding to our students. We expect an articulation of the ideas in the passage or the article, reflecting comprehension.
If our Composition II students have difficulty paraphrasing (and in turn summarizing) skillfully, they’ll most likely have difficulty writing a synthesis. The primary obstacle of paraphrasing is first understanding what the passage under scrutiny means. Paraphrasing, though steps may be offered, is not like an algebraic equation; phrases can’t simply be rearranged and then synonyms applied. Before successfully paraphrasing, students must have individualized understandings. Once paraphrasing is mastered, summarizing comes more easily.
Likewise, the primary difficulty of synthesizing is first understanding what’s been read. Under a lack of understanding of the materials, writers may resort to reporting, which only requires them to arrange the facts that they’ve found in a logical order (often source by source). Instead, with paraphrasing and summary skills mastered, students can summarize, and prewriting and group discussions can facilitate the making of meanings of the collected readings. These discussions and/or prewritings encourage students to do the contemplation work before they face the task of writing the synthesis. The catch is, by doing the talking and writing around, much of the synthesizing work is done, and may even be written. The remaining task for us in the synthesis assignment is to help our students identify and use the ideas and writings they’ve already generated for their synthesis audience.
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Reflective Writing in the Composition Classroom
Ginny Nelson
Inexperienced writers often approach the writing process with preconceived notions of the essay’s success or failure. Even though student writers work through the process steps, listen to and apply the insights of their peers, their teachers, and Writing Center tutors, they may still only dimly comprehend the significance of the process. Focused on the final product and its grade, they do not really grasp what went wrong with the essay or if they learned anything. If they are disappointed in their grade, the students become frustrated and are often, despite help, unable to judge what went wrong. Even if they earned the grade they desired, they still may not fully understand why one paper succeeds while another flounders.
In his studies, Lev Vygotsky concluded that understanding what one has learned is the key to achieving higher learning skills. As writing teachers, we believe that writing is the means to learning. To paraphrase Donald Murray, Ann Berthoff, Peter Elbow, and others, we write to learn and to discover what we know. Blending reflection and writing empowers students to understand themselves and their relationship with their writing process. Reflection offers students the opportunity to pause, look at their work, and judge the weaknesses and strengths of their writing and the learning process.
Service-learning advocates have long believed this theory; they assert that reflection is the most significant component of student-participation in a service-learning project. Reflection invites service-learning participants to examine the act of the service project so that they understand what they have learned and achieve a stronger sense of self. Without this component, the project becomes simply another instance of volunteerism.
Reflective writing takes many forms—both informal and formal. It includes journal writing, two-minute in-class writings, and reflective responses at the conclusion of a writing project. An evaluative approach is to ask students at different times during the semester to reflect on their response to assignments, problems in research, deadlines, etc.; this approach helps the teacher assess the students’ frustrations and needs and determine strategies to enable the student to move beyond the stage of frustration. But reflective writing throughout the semester can, in the long run, be more helpful to students’ self-understanding. Early in the semester, ask students to write an informal essay reflecting on their writing process and attitudes prior to taking the current course. This gives them a point of reference to refer to throughout the semester. Then, as the semester progresses, ask students to reflect on their own writing process for each assignment and identify what was helpful or not helpful as they wrote the essay. Prompt them to identify the steps in their process—including delaying tactics (eating, checking the refrigerator, answering e-mail, etc.) as well as those important times when they just sat and mulled over their ideas. Identifying and reflecting on the process encourages students to understand why the writing process flows smoothly at times while at other times the process is inadvertently sabotaged.
Another informal assignment is to request students to reflect on the assignment or revision that they have just submitted. Prompts can help them get started. What went well with this assignment? What do you like about your essay? What would you do differently if you had more time? Responses to this last question usually range from assuming responsibility for procrastination or not seeking help in the Writing Center to proofreading more carefully. When students assume responsibility in writing for both positive and negative behaviors, they are more accepting of the final grade or requested revision. But the more significant insight for which we are looking occurs as they analyze their writing strengths and weaknesses and set goals for improving content development, smoother transitions, or style in the next essay. After they submit their next assignment, they again reflect while comparing how well they met the goals they set for themselves and, also, determining their successes as well as the strategies that still need work.
The formal reflection essay is written at the end of the semester or when students turn in their portfolios. Its objective is to describe how their work, their attitude, and their writing process have changed over the course of the semester. The assignment involves their re-examining the semester’s work: reflective essays, teachers’ comments, peer reviews, writing center visits, pre-writing, revisions, and final essays and/or portfolio. If they wish, they may elect to concentrate on one or two pieces of writing while comparing and contrasting it with other work or they may look at their work chronologically. They must support their assertions with details and quotations from their writing. Surprise is also to be considered. When they re-examined their work, what surprised them? Is this surprise a fruitful one that will lead to some future change? Sometimes they are surprised that, in retrospect, they have a clearer comprehension of their teacher’s and peers’ feedback. To conclude the essay, they go beyond the steps of exploration and set goals for the future. The document becomes one that they can re-read and that reminds them of what they have learned and understand about themselves as writers.
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Appendix II
DIAGNOSTICS, PERMISSION-TO-USE & OTHER DEPARTMENT INFORMATION AND FORMS
In this appendix . . .
Sample Diagnostic Writing Prompts
Permission-to-Use Release
Advanced Course Descriptions
JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Student Number _______________________________
Name of Class _________________________________
DIAGNOSTIC EXERCISE
Relax. You will not be assigned a grade for this exercise, which is intended to give me a general idea of how you write.
Take about 30-40 minutes and write a short paper about one of the following:
1. A season of the year that you particularly enjoy. Describe it. Discuss what you like about it and why.
2. An incident that brought you a new awareness of yourself. Briefly summarize the incident, tell how you felt during your involvement in it, and what new understanding of yourself resulted.
3. A person whom you have observed a good deal and who causes a strong reaction in you (regardless of what the reaction is).
Follow these instructions:
1. Allow time to plan your writing. On a separate sheet of paper, put down the raw material about your subject. See what point it adds up to.
2. Write your draft legibly and double-space it.
3. Make corrections/revisions on the blank lines.
4. Include your name and class at the top of the first sheet.
JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Student Number _______________________________
Name of Class ___________________________________
DIAGNOSTIC EXERCISE
Relax. You will not be assigned a grade for this exercise, which is intended to give me a general idea of how you write.
Take about 30-40 minutes and write a short paper about one of the following:
1. Describe a situation in which your values or beliefs were questioned by someone you respect. How was the issue resolved?
2. Is there a particular academic or intellectual effort that has enlarged or affected the way you think? This effort could include independent research, study or reading, work in the arts, science projects, etc. Please explain carefully.
3. How do you incorporate fun into your schedule?
Follow these instructions:
1. Allow time to plan your writing. On a separate sheet of paper, put down the raw material about your subject. See what point it adds up to.
2. Write your draft legibly and double-space it.
3. Make corrections/revisions on the blank lines.
4. Include your name and class at the top of the first sheet.
JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Student Number _______________________________
Name of Class _________________________________
DIAGNOSTIC EXERCISE
Relax. You will not be assigned a grade for this exercise, which is intended to give me a general idea of how you write.
Take about 30-40 minutes and write a short paper about one of the following:
1. In the last two years, have you changed your opinion about any aspect of your life, such as people you know, important involvements, etc.?
2. Describe an experience that has resulted in knowledge of a culture other than your own. Write about how the experience has affected you.
3. Tell about a childhood memory that has continuing importance to you today.
Follow these instructions:
1. Allow time to plan your writing. On a separate sheet of paper, put down the raw material about your subject. See what point it adds up to.
2. Write your draft legibly and double-space it.
3. Make corrections/revisions on the blank lines.
4. Include your name and class at the top of the first sheet.
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Permission to Use Form
I, _________________________ (please print), give __________________ (instructor’s name) permission to use my writing in my logs, occasional papers, letter of reflection and memos, and major papers for her research and writing, presentations, and models for other students.
_______________________________________________ __________
signature date
I would like to remain anonymous.
I would like to choose a pseudonym (another name) and it is ______________________
I would like my professor to use my real name.
I, _____________________________ (please print), give _______________________ (instructor’s name) permission to use my image in photographs for her research and writing, presentations, and models for other students and for faculty.
_______________________________________________ __________
signature date
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ADVANCED ENGLISH COURSES
SEE CATALOG FOR CURRENT OFFERINGS
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Appendix III
ADDITIONAL SAMPLE SYLLABI
In this appendix . . .
Syllabus I: Composition I (The Writer’s Way)
Syllabus II: Composition I (Rhetorical Visions: Reading and Writing in a Visual Culture)
Syllabus I
JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Course Syllabus
Composition I
ENGL 121
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:
Name:
Telephone:
Office:
Office Hours:
e-mail:
Mailbox: CC 221, Box 80
COURSE INFORMATION
Credit Hours*: 3
Prerequisites: Introduction to Writing or appropriate test score
Textbooks:
Rawlins, Jack. The Writer’s Way. 6th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.
Lunsford, Andrea. Easy Writer: A Pocket Reference. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006.
Supplies: Students will need standard writing supplies.
*An additional 1-hour honors contract is available for interested and qualified students.
Description: The conscientious graduate of Composition I should be able to write non-fiction prose suitable in its expression and content to both its occasion and its audience. Student will have an opportunity to improve in all phases of the writing process: discovering ideas, gathering information, planning and organizing, drafting, revising, and editing. Each essay written in the course should clearly communicate a central idea or thesis, contain sufficient detail to be lively and convincing, reflect the voice of the writer and use carefully edited standard written English.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
After completing Composition I, the student will be able to:
I. Student will demonstrate mastery over the basic writing process:
A. Begin a writing task by using appropriate methods for discovering ideas and
gathering materials;
B. Decide on a suitable controlling idea and arrangement for the supporting ideas;
C. Write an essay that presents an idea and supports it with sufficient detail to be
convincing and interesting;
D. Make and assist others to make significant revisions in the organization,
development of ideas, stylistics, and mechanics of essays using comments from
the instructor and/or other students.
II. Students will demonstrate ability to read and think critically about texts:
A. Be able to profile an appropriate audience for texts;
B. Identify controlling ideas and organizational patterns in texts;
C. Evaluate the biases and reliability of sources.
GRADING AND EVALUATION PROCEDURES:
For this class, students will be producing a portfolio of work representing a variety of approaches to learning and problem solving through writing. To pass this course the student must produce a portfolio of written materials containing at least 20 total pages of acceptable text in 5 formal papers (plus 3 annotated bibliography entries) representing different types of writing problems (most subjects will be left up to the student) and a final reflective paper. The portfolio should represent the student’s best work from the semester and suggest the scope of topics, writing strategies, and developmental techniques the student was introduced to and explored in the class.
Because this is a class about learning through writing as well as learning to write, other student responsibilities focus on generating discussion and topics for papers, practicing rhetorical analysis on materials and opinions brought into class, analyzing your individual process of writing, critiquing your own and other students’ work, and becoming more familiar with standard English practices. This will be accomplished through various activities.
PAPER TOTAL POINTS 1400 PTS
PORTFOLIO 700 pts
Expressive Paper 100 pts
Informative Paper 100 pts
Persuasive Paper 100 pts
In-class Evaluative 100 pts
Research Paper 200 pts
Reflective Paper 100 pts
*Missing drafts will result in a 50% grade reduction
Portfolio Points– 700 pts
Each of the 20 pages to be completed in your portfolio will be given additional weight by earning points on a 35 point scale. If you complete more than 20 pages, I will use only the 20 pages earning the highest grade. If you have less than 20 pages, you will lose the entire 35 points per page you are under.
OTHER POINTS 600 pts
Daily Work
***Writer’s notebook (30 entries @ 5 pts) 150 pts
***Peer Critiques (20 @ 5 pts) 100 pts
***Reading Analyses
from book (6 @ 25 pts) 150 pts
annotated bibliography (3 @ 20 pts) 60 pts
***Handbook exercises (7 @ 20 pts) 140 pts
COURSE TOTAL 2000 total
A = 1850 + points and up C = 1550 – 1699 points F = 1399 or fewer points
B = 1700 – 1849 D = 1400 – 1549 points
Please note: when I calculate my grading scale I assume all students will get full credit for *** items–therefore, failing to complete these assignments, doing them very poorly or turning them in late will have a direct impact on your final grade.
GENERAL WARNINGS:
Plagiarism is claiming another’s words, exact writing structures, images, or ideas as your own. Instances of plagiarism, or any kind of cheating are not tolerated at JCCC and will result in the student being failed for the course and possibly suspended or dismissed from the college. MISSING MORE THAN FIVE CLASSES MAY LOWER YOUR FINAL SEMESTER GRADE. Students who are more than 10 minutes late or who leave more than 5 minutes early are absent. Any final draft that comes in after the portfolio due date will be downgraded. Students who miss more than 60% of any class put their financial aid at extreme risk.
Students with recognized and documented learning, physical, or medical conditions that may interfere with the normal completion of this class should contact Access Services in the Student Center (http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts.php/5111).
GRADING RATIONALE
A The A paper demonstrates:
· Outstanding achievement of all assignment requirements
· A clear and purposeful thesis that evokes thought and interest in the reader
· A variety of lively, convincing and fully integrated supporting materials
· An organization that is appropriate to the development of a complex line of
thinking and which may integrate more than one strategy
· A direct appeal to the characteristics of the intended audience
· Interesting and original use of language and vocabulary
· An engaging style with highly effective diction and sentence skills; perfect
or near perfect mechanics.
B The B paper demonstrates:
· Highly satisfactory achievement of assignment requirements
· A clear and purposeful thesis which shows insight
· Significant and varied evidence used in the development of ideas
· Clearly connected points of development logically ordered
· Recognition of the desired audience with appropriate vocabulary and contextualization
· Concrete language with little repetition
· Effective variety and specificity in diction and sentence style; very few major errors.
C The C paper demonstrates:
· Adequate achievement of assignment requirements
· Appropriate and identifiable thesis
· Clear and supported points of development
· Purposeful organization
· Awareness of a specific audience
· Clear and accurate use of language with minimal repetition and ambiguity
· Writing style and mechanics are generally correct with some major errors.
D The D paper demonstrates:
· Marginal achievement or weak grasp of assignment requirements
· Flaws in one major area: central thesis, organization, paragraph logic, development,
or support of assertions
· The writing style and mechanics, though passable, require considerable improvement
F The F paper demonstrates:
· Unsatisfactory achievement of assignment requirements
· Two or more serious flaws: lack of clear overall point, extreme brevity, failure to follow
the assignment, or plagiarism
· The writing style and mechanics contain SEVEN OR MORE MAJOR MECHANICAL
ERRORS (as described in the English Program Objectives).
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE:
Week #1 Introductions
In-class Freewrite: Exploring your writing history
READ: Ch. 1 “Learning to Write” pp. 3-19
READ: One essay from the collection on pages 368-379
Handbook A: commonly confused words
Week #2 READ: Ch. 3 “Finding Something to Write About,” pp.38-52
Write 6-8 prompts from the Expressive Invitations to Write
READ: Ch. 14 “Personal Writing,” pp. 217-228
A second essay from pages 368-379
Assign Personal Essay
Week #3 READ: Ch. 5 “From First Thoughts to Drafts” pp. 76-90
Pentads, storylines; sensory detail
Handbook B: colons, semi-colons, dashes
Week #4 READ: Ch. 10 “Peer Feedback,” 146-154.
Workshop on Personal Essay
Handbook C: formatting papers
Revising; READ: Ch. 2 “What Makes Writing Good,” pp. 20-34.
Week #5 Personal Writing Assignment DUE
READ: Ch. 6: “Organization Part 1: Mapping and Outlining” pp. 94-105
Write 6-8 Invitations to Write for Informative Paper (14-16 total for semester)
READ: one essay from the treasury of good informative essays pp. 379-392
Week #6 Assign Informative Paper
READ: Ch. 15 “Writing to inform” pp. 230-245
A second essay from the informative treasury (pp. 379-392)
READ: Ch. 4 “Thesis, Purpose, Audience and Tone” pp. 54-74.
Handbook D: Fragments & Run-ons
Week #7 READ: “Beginning, Ending and Titling” pp. 122-131
Workshop Informative Paper
READ: Ch. 9 “Making the Draft Shorter or Longer” pp. 134-145
Week #8 Informative Paper DUE
READ: Ch. 16 “Writing an Argument, Part 1″ pp. 246-264
Select an essay from treasury of argumentative essays, pp. 392-404
Write 6-8 Invitations to Write for Argumentative Paper (18-24 total for semester)
Week #9 Assign Argumentative Paper
READ: Ch. 17: “Writing an Argument, Part II” pp. 266-281
Select an essay from the academic treasury (pp. 404-414)
Handbook E: to cite or not to cite
Week #10 READ: “Rewriting for Style” pp. 162-177
Workshop on Argumentative paper
Evaluating a source–
establishing a criteria to tell if an internet site is credible or not.
READ: Appendix A “Essay Tests” 302-307
Select a web site to evaluate for in-class essay
Week #11 Argument Paper DUE
In-class essay: Evaluating a Web Site:
Would you include this as a source for a paper? (site found prior to class)
Write Invitations to Write to complete the notebook
READ: “Research” pp. 308-323
Week #12 READ Ch. 7 “Organization, Part II: Abstracting” pp. 108-120
Assign Research Paper and annotated Bibliography
(To include 3 bibliographic entries + summaries of source articles)
Library
Week #13 Annotated Bibliography Due
READ: Ch. 24 “Using Sources” pp. 324-337
Ch. 25 “The Research Paper” pp. 314-322
Outlining multi-strategy papers
Handbook F: footnote form
Week #14 Handbook G: Works Cited Page format
Workshop Research Paper
Research Paper DUE
Week #15 Revision Workshops
Final Portfolio (expressive, informative, persuasive & research due)
End of semester reflective paper assigned
Week #16 Workshopping and revising reflective essay
APPENDIX A
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
PORTFOLIO: This folder is the place where all your work should always be kept. This
should have everything in it always—every draft, every in-class writing, every process log, everything you want credit for doing during the semester.
WRITER’S NOTEBOOK: A collection of short writings and prewritings that lead to your final papers. I assume that students will explore several topics and options before they select the one that they will develop into a formal paper. I will collect the notebooks for each unit. To receive full credit, the notebook should contain 6 to 8 writings per unit for a total of 30 in the term. The writings may be inspired by Invitations to Write issued in the idea book, topics covered in the text, or your own ideas.
INVITATIONS TO WRITE: At face value these will look very much like assignment sheets, but they are actually just good starting places for the papers you will be writing. Each unit (expressive, informative, persuasive, and research) will have a different section in the idea book or the class webpage. In each section there will be several “invitations to write” or exercises and ideas that will lead you to topics for the writer’s notebook and, eventually, for the formal papers.
DRAFT: A written text that can be referred to as a paper in progress. A draft is not random notes or an outline, but it is not necessarily an entire or very finished piece. A draft can be handwritten unless your writing is worse than mine.
FINISHED DRAFT: A typed paper that has been workshopped and looked over at least once and is ready to be graded. Only finished drafts will be graded, but no grade is final until the portfolio is due. All papers–including finished drafts–can be revised until you are satisfied or the portfolio due date.
READING ANALYSIS: In each unit we will look at several examples of writing which achieve the goals of the unit. You will select essays for each unit, read and respond to them and prepare to discuss the work, including its purpose, audience, and its success or failure as an essay.
CRITIQUE: A written response to a student writing which comments on the writing’s effectiveness in terms of focus, organization, purpose, editing, and which responds to the writing’s content. By the end of semester you should have written at least 10 critiques for other people (keep a copy in YOUR portfolio) and should have collected at least 10 critiques from other students concerning your writings. These will be done in class on workshop days.
HANDBOOK EXERCISES: These hopefully focus more on teaching the students how and when to use a handbook than on specific skills. Samples can be found athttp://staff.jccc.edu/mfitzpat/handbook.htm
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Syllabus II
JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Course Syllabus
Composition I
ENGL 121
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:
Name:
Telephone:
Office:
Office Hours:
e-mail:
Mailbox: CC 221, Box 80
COURSE INFORMATION
Credit Hours*: 3
Prerequisites: Introduction to Writing or appropriate test score
Textbooks:
Hesford, Wendy S., and Brenda Jo Brueggemann. Rhetorical Visions: Reading and Writing in a
Visual Culture. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2007.
Lunsford, Andrea. Easy Writer: A Pocket Reference. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. (optional)
Supplies: Students will need standard writing supplies
*An additional 1-hour honors contract is available for interested and qualified students.
Description: The conscientious graduate of Composition I should be able to write non-fiction prose suitable in its expression and content to both its occasion and its audience. Students will have an opportunity to improve in all phases of the writing process: discovering ideas, gathering information, planning and organizing, drafting, revising, and editing. Each essay written in the course should clearly communicate a central idea or thesis, contain sufficient detail to be lively and convincing, reflect the voice of the writer and use carefully edited standard written English.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
After completing Composition I:
I. Students will demonstrate mastery over the basic writing process:
A. Begin a writing task by using appropriate methods for discovering ideas and
gathering materials;
B. Decide on a suitable controlling idea and arrangement for the supporting ideas;
C. Write an essay that presents an idea and supports it with sufficient detail to be convincing and interesting;
D. Make and assist others to make significant revisions in the organization,
development of ideas, stylistics, and mechanics of essays using comments from
the instructor and/or other students.
II. Students will demonstrate ability to read and think critically about texts:
A. Be able to profile an appropriate audience for texts;
B. Identify controlling ideas and organizational patterns in texts;
C. Evaluate the biases and reliability of sources.
Welcome to Composition I:
Welcome, writers! One of my goals for this semester is to help you learn to think of yourselves as writers, and to that end, our class will be as much like a writing workshop as possible. You will begin with a short paper in which you explore your identities as writers, and after that, you will have pieces of writing in various stages of progress for the rest of the semester. Topics will usually be self-selected, and you will draw on experiences and knowledge you have brought with you. I hope, though, that you will challenge your own perceptions and assumptions, make discoveries, learn more about yourselves and your place in the world, and find your own voices. Most papers you will do at your own individual paces, but at least one you will write with your group. The point is to write, write, write! I hope, through varied and constant writing experiences, you will learn strategies for invention, narration, using the writing of others to inform an audience or support a position, evaluating sources, collaboration, revision, editing, research, etc. Mostly, though, I hope you will learn to enjoy writing and come to think of yourselves as good writers with something to say and the skills to say it.
Experience has taught me, and research shows, that many of us learn best when we work together, so collaboration will be an important element of this class. You will be part of a group and will share drafts of your papers and write with this group. Even when you are working individually on projects, I hope you will learn to seek feedback from your peers. This skill will prove valuable to you during your college career (in any class) and even throughout your life. You will also be collaborating with me in one‑on‑one conferences I have with you.
The mechanics of writing are not my first priority, but we will spend some time in class on punctuation, spelling, usage, etc. Any recent handbook is a good reference for these mechanics, and we will participate in some editing exercises and some group activities for more practice. For help with editing and all other writing concerns, I would also highly recommend that you make a habit of visiting writing tutors to discuss your works in progress. In JCCC’s Writing Center, LIB 308, you will find qualified writing tutors who can give you feedback on your papers, advice and tips on writing in all your courses, and guidance on special writing tasks. No appointment is necessary. The Writing Center is open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Saturday. For quick help with grammar questions, call the Grammar Hotline at 469‑4413.
I do not like to be the center of the class, although that role is hard to get away from. I’ll do my best, though, to talk as little as possible. I’ll be writing, sharing, and learning along with you, and I welcome feedback. If you have ideas, suggestions, etc. for making the class better, please tell me about them. This is your class.
EVALUATION:
Portfolio 200 pts
Instead of grading papers individually, I will look at your collection of work at the end of the semester. Of course, we’ll also discuss your writing in class and in conferences, so I will be very familiar with your work by the end of the semester. You’ll be able to choose the essays you feel best about (out of the 4), plus other pieces of writing, for evaluation. However, keep in mind that you need to keep everything you write (including freewrites and drafts), even though a piece may not be your choice for final evaluation. We’ll discuss portfolio assessment in more detail later, but I’ll be looking for real revision—change, development, improvements, corrections—in the papers, thoughtful writing about your writing and about your performance in the class, and, of course, a complete portfolio.
Other points (these terms are defined in Appendix A) 350 pts
Occasional Papers (4 @ 10 pts, 1 @ 20 pts.) 60 pts
Drafts of essays (15 pts. each) 120 pts.
Logs (20 entries @ 3 pts) 60 pts
Engagement (responsibility to group, attendance, etc.) 75 pts.
Conference with instructor 30 pts.
SSR (silent sustained reading) 30 pts.
Final presentation 20 pts.
Course total 550 pts
Please be aware…
Plagiarism is using another’s words, exact writing structures, images, or ideas but intentionally failing to give the author or creator credit for their work. Instances of plagiarism, or any kind of cheating, are not tolerated at JCCC and may result in the student being failed for the course and possibly suspended or dismissed from the college.
Special needs
I will try my best to meet each of your needs as far as a successful experience in this class is concerned, so any student in this course who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of abilities should contact me as soon as possible so that we can discuss ways for you to have a successful semester. If you have a disability and need special accommodations, you need to contact Access Services in the Student Center (http://www.jccc.edu/home/depts.php/5111). They will recommend appropriate accommodations, and you will be notified when the arrangements are complete.
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE:
Week #1 Introductions
Occasional Paper 1: Exploring your writing history
READ: Ch. 1 “Introduction to Rhetorical Visions” pp. 1-23
Week #2 Share OP 1
Detail and development
Explore concept of rhetorical context (discuss Ch. 1)
READ: Ch. 2 “Reading and Writing Rhetorically” pp. 25-40
Occasional Paper 2: Close Description
Week #3 Share OP 2
Explore reading and writing rhetorically (Ch. 2)
Begin Essay 1: “ Making of a Map”
Invention
Choose groups
Week #4 Draft 1 of Essay 1 due for peer review
Revision
READ: Introduction to the chapter your group has chosen to focus on
and skim the readings in preparation for a discussion about readings you’ll choose
Week #5 Draft 2 of Essay 1 due for peer review
Sentence combining
READ: One of the readings your group has chosen
Begin Essay 2
Week #6 Draft 3 of Essay 1 due for peer editing
Draft 1 of Essay 2 due for peer review
READ: one of the readings your group has chosen
Week #7 Draft 2 of Essay 2 due for peer review
Non-essential words
Introduce I-Search Paper
READ: “Doing Research” pp. 571-597
Week #8 Draft 3 of Essay 2 due for peer editing
Library orientation
Occasional Paper 3: Prospectus for I-search paper
Week #9 Interviewing (and practice interview)
Summary and paraphrase
Share OP 3
Occasional Paper 4: Annotated bibliography of sources for I-search
Week #10 Documentation and citation
Week #11 Source integration practice
OP 4 due
Week #12 Draft 1 of I-Search essay due for peer review
Punctuation game
READ: reading from your group’s chapter
Week #13 Draft 2 of I-search due for peer review
Begin Essay 4—collaborative, in-class essay
Week #14 Draft 3 of I-Search essay due for peer editing
Work on Essay 4
Occasional Paper 5: Metaphor for Writing
Week #15 Work on Essay 4
Share OP 5
Week #16 Finish Essay 4 and share with class
Get portfolios ready (they are due with your final presentation)
APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY OF TERMS
ESSAY: An essay is a personal exploration that includes thoughts, observations, feelings, reflections, and stories about something—an experience, a person, an issue (political, environmental, personal, etc.), a concept (like friendship or love or conflict), a place, etc.—and attempts to discover what that something means in the writer’s life. The writer might also endeavor to connect the focus of the essay with the larger world.
PORTFOLIO: A portfolio is a folder that contains a collection of your best writing.
OCCASIONAL PAPER: These short (one page minimum typed) papers are opportunities for you do some informal exploratory writing.
DRAFT: A written text that can be referred to as a paper in progress is a draft. A draft is not random notes or an outline, but it is not necessarily an entire or very finished piece. A first draft can be handwritten. All other drafts should be typed.
FINAL DRAFT: A typed paper that has been reviewed by your peers and me, revised, and placed in your portfolio. All papers can be revised until you are satisfied or until the portfolio due date.
LOGS: Research shows, and I agree, that keeping a log is a useful thinking tool. In these logs (a record of your learning), you will reflect on readings, getting started on an essay, feedback you have received on drafts, revisions you plan to make, etc. You will divide the page for each entry into 2 vertical columns. In the left column, you will write your entry, and in the right one, members of your group and I will write our responses to what you have written. Each entry will need to be at least ¾ page word processed. We’ll take the first few minutes of most class periods to read and respond to each other’s logs.
ENGAGEMENT: A great deal of the work this semester will be done in class collaboratively with your group members. If you are not in class, you will not be able to do that work, and you cannot be responsible to your peers. Their success partly depends on you, and yours depends on them.
CONFERENCE: We will meet in my office, and you will come prepared to talk about your own writing.
SSR (silent sustained reading): The first 20 minutes of one class period a week will be set aside for you to read a book (not a magazine, newspaper, or textbook) of your choice. This will be reading for pleasure and you will not be asked to write a book report. If you begin a book and decide you don’t like it, you can find another one you enjoy more.
FINAL PRESENTATION: During finals week, you will each share with the rest of the class the knowledge you gained in writing your I-search paper (your research project). These presentations are short so they must be prepared carefully.
APPENDIX B: GRADING RATIONALE
I do not put grades on drafts during the semester, but of course, you do earn a grade for the whole semester’s work, and part of that grade is based on your essay writing. So, below you will find the characteristics of A, B, C, D, and F essays.
A The A essays demonstrates:
Outstanding achievement of all assignment requirements
Substantive revision from draft to draft
A clear and purposeful thesis that evokes thought and interest in the reader
A variety of lively, convincing and fully integrated supporting materials
An organization that is appropriate to the development of a complex line of thinking and which may integrate more
than one strategy
A direct appeal to the characteristics of the intended audience
Interesting and original use of language and vocabulary
An engaging style with highly effective diction and sentence skills; perfect or near perfect mechanics.
B The B essay demonstrates:
Highly satisfactory achievement of assignment requirements
A few substantive revisions
A clear and purposeful thesis which shows insight
Significant and varied evidence used in the development of ideas
Clearly connected points of development logically ordered
Recognition of the desired audience with appropriate vocabulary and contextualization
Concrete language with little repetition
Effective variety and specificity in diction and sentence style; very few major errors.
C The C essay demonstrates:
Adequate achievement of assignment requirements
Very little substantive revision
Appropriate and identifiable thesis
Clear and supported points of development
Purposeful organization
Awareness of a specific audience
Clear and accurate use of language with minimal repetition and ambiguity
Writing style and mechanics that are generally correct with some major errors.
D The D essay demonstrates:
Marginal achievement or weak grasp of assignment requirements
No substantive revision
Flaws in one major area: central thesis, organization, paragraph logic, development, or support of assertions
Writing style and mechanics that, though passable, require considerable improvement.
F The F essay demonstrates:
Unsatisfactory achievement of assignment requirements
No substantive revision
Two or more serious flaws: lack of clear overall point, extreme brevity, failure to follow the assignment or plagiarism
Writing style and mechanics that make reading the paper difficult.
(back to index)
last updated 05/27/2009 blove@jccc.edu
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