Courses: ENGL. 098 and 108 Instructor: Dianna Russell
Section: 278, Spring 2008 Office Hours: TBA
Classes: T Th
12:30-3:20, Room B2-02 Email: drussell@ccp.edu
Learning Lab: TBA Phone: 751-8954
FUNDAMENTALS OF WRITING/ LEARNING ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES
Course Information and Assignment Schedule
Required Texts and Materials
Langan,
John.
Troyka, Lynn Quitman, and Jerrold Nudelman. Steps in Composition, 8th Edition. Upper
Additional Grammar Exercises
Dictionary
Folders for Exercises and Class Notes
Course Descriptions
Course Objectives
The purpose of these linked courses is to help
you develop as a writer and a thinker. They
are designed to build your confidence and encourage you to explore increasingly
varied and complex kinds of written expression.
Writing assignments, readings, exercises and skills practice will
familiarize you with the techniques that will make you proficient at absorbing,
synthesizing, and evaluating information.
In addition, the courses will lead you through each stage of
composition, from pre-writing and development, through editing, revision, and
research, to presentation of a fully constructed position paper.
Course Requirements
·
Attendance:
Daily attendance is expected. Unless
s/he provides sufficient justification, a student with four or more absences
will be withdrawn from the course. If
the absences occur after the withdrawal period, the student will receive an F
for the semester. Lateness or early
departure will count as half (1/2) an absence.
·
Deadlines: Papers and assignments are expected on their
due dates; those not handed in will receive a failing grade. Late papers/assignments will be penalized one
letter grade for each day late. Those
not fulfilling the instructor’s guidelines or expectations will not be graded,
and must be re-written. Students may
completely revise any position paper to earn a better grade, providing they
receive the instructor’s permission on the day the paper is returned to them. The revision must be received by the
instructor within three days. Exam
papers may not be revised.
·
Contact
Information: Students
must provide the instructor with a current email address. Students may also provide a telephone number
by which they can be contacted, if they so desire. However, the instructor will not email or call to check on students’ absences/missing assignments. It is expected that students will be
responsible for their own success in college.
The instructor is not a babysitter.
Students might consider exchanging email addresses with classmates to
keep up on missed work.
·
Participation: Active classroom participation is expected,
accounting for 10% of a student’s final grade in both 098 and 108. Participation includes discussion, group
work, prewriting, quizzes, exercises, Learning Lab, and conferences.
·
Grading: The grades for Engl. 098 are as follows:
P: Pass MP:
Making Progress F: Fail
A final grade of P indicates the
student will move on to Engl. 101, a requirement for graduation. A final grade of MP indicates the student is
making progress
in
writing, but not enough to pass the course. S/he will re-take the course, continuing at
the same level until proficiency is gained (Please see attachment “A
Fact
Sheet on the MP Grade”). A
grade of F
means the student has not fulfilled the requirements of the course, has not
completed assignments, or has missed
too
many classes, and has thus failed. The
instructor will grade each paper on a sliding scale to assist students in determining
their exact placement.
The grades for Engl. 108 are
as follows:
A: Excellent (90-100%) B:
Good (80-89%) C: Average (70-79%) MP:
Making Progress (60-69%) F: Failure (Below 60%)
MP and F do not
represent passing grades.
·
English
098 Assignments:
Four formal position papers and two in-class essay exams will be
assigned in Engl. 098. To pass 098, students
must earn a P or P+ grade on two of the four papers and on the Final Exam,
participate in class (see above), and complete all weekly vocabulary and
grammar exercises.
·
English
108 Assignments:
Two formal journal entries, two formal summaries, a persuasive presentation, and two
comprehensive exams will be assigned in Engl. 108. The journal entries, summaries, and
presentation will each comprise 10% of the final grade; the exams will each
comprise 20% of the final grade. To earn
transferable credit for 108, students must earn a C or better on every
assignment and exam, participate in class (see above), and complete all weekly
exercises and annotations.
·
Academic
Integrity: Cheating
and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Papers that exhibit plagiaristic tendencies
will receive F grades. Second instances
of plagiarism will result in an F for the course. Students who cheat on tests/assignments will
receive an F for the course.
·
Special
Accommodations: Students
who are registered with the Center on Disability must inform the instructor by
the end of the first week of classes if special accommodations are requested.
Course Schedule:
Jan. 15-17:
Introduction to Courses; Brainstorming and Prewriting Techniques;
Purpose;
Self-Evaluation and Motivational Skills. Have read Troyka
3-30, Langan 1-37,
Packet #1. Writing
Sample Due; Skills/Goals Exercises Due.
Jan.
22-24: Audience; Topic Sentences;
Narration and Description; Classroom Note-
Taking. Have read Troyka 31-49, Langan 41-71, Packet #2. Exercises 1A, 1B,
1G, 1H Due; First
Journal Entry Due; Personal Narrative Assigned.
Jan.
29-31: Paragraph Development; Drafting
and Organizing; Time Management;
Concentration. Have read Troyka 50-78, Langan 73-94. Exercises 2A, 2C Due;
Weekly Schedule Due; Personal Narrative Draft Due;
In-Class Peer Review.
Feb.
5-7: Revising; Run-on Sentences and
Fragments; Annotation and PRWR. Have
read Troyka 79-124, Langan 95-117, Packet
#3. Exercises 3A, 3B; 3G Due;
PRWR Exercises Due; Personal Narrative
Due; Conferences.
Feb.
19: Professional Development Day – No
Classes.
March 4-6: Spring Vacation – No Classes.
March 11-13: Pronoun Agreement and References; Cause/Effect; Comparison/Contrast;
Research Skills. Have read Troyka 249-302, 544-556, 569-580; Langan 249-262,
Packet #5. “Try It Out” (Pages 250-260), Exercises 7A, 7B
Due; Cause/Effect and
Comparison/Contrast
Exercise; Cause/Effect OR Comparison/Contrast Essay
Assigned; Library Visit.
March 25-27: Plurals; Transitions; Argument/Persuasion; Reading Comprehension:
Recognition Skills. Have read Troyka 364-397, 597-600, Langan 315-366,
Packet #7. Exercise
9B Due; In-Class
Comparison/Contrast Essay Due; Persuasive Paper/Presentation
Assigned.
April 1-3: Word Choice, Language; Parallelism; Reading Comprehension: Outlining,
Summarizing, and Thinking Skills. Have read Troyka 398-451; Langan 367-433.
Exercises
10A, 10B, 10E, 10H, 11A, “Try It Out” (Page 447) Due; In-Class
Summarizing
Exercise; First Summary Due; Persuasive Presentation In-Class
Peer
Review.
April 2: Last Day to Withdraw from Classes with a “W” Grade.
April 8-10: Prefixes and Suffixes; Skim-Reading and Rapid Reading. Have read Troyka
463-473, 615-624; Langan 437-438, 463-466. Exercises 12A, 12B Due; In-
Class
Skim
Begin.
Langan
527-565, 587-598. Exercises 13A, 13B,
13M, 13N Due; Persuasive
Presentations Continue.
April 25:
Study Day – No Classes.
April 28-May 1:
Fifteenth Week – 108 Final Exam; Conferences.
This schedule is subject to change. Any alterations will be carefully explained.