TARRANT COUNTY COLLEGE DISTRICT

COURSE SYLLABUS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION2. COURSE INFORMATION 3. COURSE GOALS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES 4. COURSE REQUIREMENTS – ASSIGNMENTS 5. METHOD OF EVALUATION 6. ATTENDANCE, LATE WORK, and OTHER POLICIES 7. GENERAL ADVICE AND GUIDELINES 8. TENTATIVE COURSE CALENDAR

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Dr. Jonathan EvansEmail: jonathan.c.evans1980@gmail.comOffice: Campus LibraryOffice Hours: MTWTh, 9:30-10:30 AM or by Appointment

COURSE INFORMATION

Meeting Times: MTWTh, 8:00-9:30 AMCourse Number: ENGL 1301. 24156Course Title: Composition I Course Description: Intensive study of and practice in writing processes, from invention and researching to drafting, revising, and editing, both individually and collaboratively. Emphasis on effective rhetorical choices, including audience, purpose, arrangement, and style. Focus on writing the academic essay as a vehicle for learning, communicating, and critical analysis.

Prerequisite: TSI compliant in writing

Textbooks:

Bullock/Goggin/Weinberg, The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings and Handbook, 4 ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 2015. Print.

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COURSE GOALS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Course goals and learning outcomes support the Foundational Component Areas defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Course goals are linked to the respective Core Curriculum Competencies: Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility. Specific competencies are identified in designated course goals and learning outcomes.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of individual and collaborative writing processes by a. producing prewriting samples that reflect various invention strategies as specified by the instructor, including but not limited to clustering, free writing, listing, questioning, and/or scratch outlining; b. demonstrating mastery of the writing process, including steps such as topic selection, topic narrowing, thesis generation, topic subdivision, outlining, and drafting; c. producing writings, passages, or other texts that show improvement in focus, content, organization, and surface features from assignment to final product.

2. Develop ideas with appropriate support and attribution by a. differentiating between broad, general topics and narrow, focused topics; b. compiling sufficient information for the essay;

c. demonstrating understanding of essay structure and organization; d. developing an essay with adequate, appropriate paragraph development to support a central idea, controlling generalization, claim, or thesis; e. using appropriate attribution format when integrating supporting information.

3. Write in a style appropriate to audience and purpose by a. identifying purpose or rhetorical

occasion; b. demonstrating audience sensitivity in regard to scope, content, language level, tone, and word choice; c. including a definitive statement, located in an appropriate place in the essay, which focuses the reader on the writer’s purpose; d. writing coherent essays using appropriate rhetorical strategies, such as description, narration,

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example, process, comparison and contrast, definition, classification, cause and effect, and argumentation.

4. Read, reflect, and respond critically to a variety of texts by a. identifying the stated or implied purpose in professional/academic writing samples and in peers’ writing; b. identifying mechanical, grammatical, and spelling errors in instructor-generated materials, peer-produced texts, and other texts; c. analyzing content and rhetorical strategies in

professional/academic writing samples and in peers’ writing.

5. Use Edited American English in academic essays by a. using appropriate diction, including precise word choice and varied vocabulary; b. demonstrating proper grammatical constructions, including standard usage and varied sentence structure; c. using accurate mechanics and punctuation; d. demonstrating standard spelling; e. preparing a final copy following format guidelines.

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS

MAJOR ESSAYS:

1. Literacy Narrative (Personal Superhero Narrative) (Ch. 10)- This will be 3-4 pgs. in length

2. Analyzing Texts (Rhetorical Super-Analysis) (Ch. 11)- This will be 3-4 pgs. in length

3. Reporting Information (Super-Reporting Information) (Ch. 12)- This will be 3-4 pgs. in length

4. Arguing a Position (Super-Taking a Stand) (Ch. 13)- This will be 4-5 pgs. in length

5. FINAL PORTFOLIO – Revised versions of work compiled together (your 4 Essays) uploaded to a Wordpress.com Blog

GROUP WORK:

These assignments will aim to have you work together with members of your class to help foster collaboration and idea sharing, as well as team learning and constructive criticism (Peer Reviews). You will, as part of groups, present to the class strategies (to be assigned) useful in your writing.

1. Peer Reviews- an essential tool in constructive criticism and collaborative interaction

2. Team Strategy Presentations- these will focus on Part 5 of our textbook and strategies that 10 teams will be in charge of giving short presentations to the class on.

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION:

Coming and attending class is not simply enough. For one to learn and really absorb information requires that one come to class and not only listen, but also take notes, engage with other students/teachers, and ask questions. I want to seriously encourage everyone to NOT be afraid of asking questions because more than likely, someone else is already thinking it and it provides wonderful moments to help clarify information we are discussing. In addition, there will be in-class assignments, the keeping of a response journal, and so on.

LAB JOURNALS:

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As part of your lab hours for this course, you will keep a response journal. Topics will be assigned every other week for class and pertain to material relevant to the class that you will respond to as part of your ongoing exploration of college writing and reflection on strategies to writing. Typically this will require you to write at minimum one page of material in reference to the topic. This will ultimately account for 10% of your overall grade in the course. You will be responsible for 10 journal assignments worth a total of 100 points. Once you’ve earned 100 points, you may do extra journal assignments to earn up to 20 points extra credit. All journal assignments must be completed before the last day the class meets.

FINAL EXAM:

Final Exam will be over and cover the application of proper MLA formatting

METHOD OF EVALUATION

Your evaluation for this course will come from the FOUR major areas described above in the Course Requirements.

MAJOR WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: 50% (5% for each paper draft, 30% for final portfolio)

GROUP WORK: 10%ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION: 15%LAB JOURNALS 10%FINAL EXAM 15%

Grades:

To see the rubric by which your papers will be graded, please see the English 1301 & 1302 Essay Grading Criteria Rubric found in our Blackboard course shell

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ATTENDANCE, LATE WORK, and OTHER POLICIES

ATTENDANCE POLICY:

All classes are to meet as scheduled. I want to stress the importance of attendance. In addition, missing an unacceptable number of days (more than 6 in-person classes = 2 weeks) will adversely affect your grade that may keep you from passing this course.

Make-Up or Late Work:

As a rule, I DO NOT accept late or make up work unless proper absence documentation and reasoning has been obtained. This will also require that you MEET WITH ME IN PERSON. Even if this is done, it is at my discretion whether I can or will allow you to make up work. You MUST come and speak to me about this matter and get my permission. In addition, if you know that you are going to be absent, please come and speak to me in advance if you can – this is VERY helpful and makes it more likely we can work out a way, if you are going to be out, to make up or submit any work that you will miss.

Withdrawal Policy: See the current Collin Registration Guide for last day to withdraw.

Last Day to Withdraw is OCT. 6, 2016.

STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY RESOURCES

Any student with a documented disability needing academic accommodations is required to contact the Student Accessibility Resources (SAR) Office located on each campus to schedule an appointment with the Coordinator of SAR. All discussions are confidential. Because SAR accommodations may require early planning and are not provided retroactively, students are encouraged to contact SAR as early in the semester as possible. SAR is responsible for approving and coordinating all disability-related services. TCC professors will honor requests for accommodation when they are issued by SAR.

SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY

Students are responsible for adhering to the TCCD policy on scholastic dishonesty as stated in the online student handbook at www.tccd.edu.

RESOURCES

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For additional information regarding the student handbook, academic calendar, course evaluations, attendance policy, SCANS skills, Core Competencies, etc., see www.tccd.edu.

GENERAL ADVICE AND GUIDELINES

This section is an ongoing creation filled with material aimed at answering the usual Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that often arise. In addition, contained in here is information and advice aimed at helping students understand and hopefully succeed.

Tips for Succeeding in First Year Composition

Read the syllabus. This document is the most important success tool that you will receive all semester. It provides information on course expectations, how grades are tabulated, and advice on coping with issues that may arise. When in doubt about an assignment deadline or course policy, your first step should be to check the syllabus.

Pay attention to any possible syllabus changes. This document is subject to change. It may be necessary to modify portions of this syllabus (particularly the calendar of assignments) to adjust to issues in the classroom, learning needs of students, availability of resources, changes in university or department policy, or other pedagogical reasons. When changes occur they will be announced on the class Blackboard site and an amended version of the syllabus will be made available on Blackboard for upload. Handouts and assignment prompts distributed to students during the term, physically or virtually, are considered extensions of this syllabus. Always refer to the most recent version of the syllabus.

Purchase your textbooks. The course textbooks were carefully chosen to provide you with resources to develop your writing skills over the semester. If you can’t do the required reading, you are placing yourself at an immediate disadvantage in the classroom.

Take the pre-test and post-test seriously. To assess how our First-Year Composition program is doing, we will ask you to complete two written in-class tests, one near the beginning of the term and one near the end. These tests are required of all composition students. Completion of the two exams is worth a combined 20% of your grade. If you do not do well on the first test, we will provide opportunities for you to make up some of the points you lost through additional work, but the second test occurs late enough in the term that no such opportunities can be offered for it.

Pay attention to the schedule. The schedule is done in advance to give you an opportunity to be prepared for class each day. Pay careful attention to assignment due

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dates as well as your homework each day. One tool that can be helpful for your success is a calendar. At the beginning of the semester, place all of your assignments and homework on those calendars. If you do this for every class, you can begin to see when your difficult weeks are likely to be and you can plan your work in advance to manage your work more effectively.

Attend class regularly. Student success in this program depends a great deal on whether a student shows up and participates: Missing a writing class isn’t like missing a lecture, where a friend who takes good notes can help you get caught up. Missing a writing class is more like missing team practice or a workout: Someone can tell you that everyone ran laps or practiced batting or did drills, but that isn’t going to help you get caught up on the workout that you missed. For the most part, what happens in writing classes benefits only the people who fully participate in them: the act of giving an effective peer review sharpens your own ideas of how to write better; the act of analyzing and discussing a text in class teaches you a process you can use on other texts; the pre-writing, researching, and sentence strategy exercises in a writing class help students write better papers.

For this reason, if you miss a class, you need to understand that you will probably not be able to make up the missed experience, and there will probably be consequences in terms of your understanding or performance later, even if the absence is excused. (Note: We assume in this class that you have read and understood the TWU Student Handbook, which will tell you that the Office of Student Life only approves absences due to illness, hospitalization, official school activities, recognized holidays, or death in the immediate family. It will also tell you that having excused absences doesn’t absolve you from having to make up the work you missed and that you may fail a class due to excessive absences even if they are excused.)

Unexcused absences hurt more: If your absence is unexcused, you will not be able to make up anything you missed, including pop quizzes or point-bearing activities. Disruptive behavior that makes teaching or learning difficult or a pattern of non-participation or lack of preparation can lead to you being marked absent even if you are here physically. If you miss the equivalent of two weeks of classes (2 class sessions for a class that meets once a week, or 4 class sessions that meets twice a week), you can be failed in this course.

Absences do not exempt students from academic requirements. Excessive absences, even if documented, may result in a student failing the course.   An incomplete may be granted if the student has a passing grade, but only if the instructor determines that it is feasible for the student to successfully complete remaining assignments after the semester. Pursuant to university policy, such determinations are within the discretion of

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the instructor.

Contribute in class. The best learning is collaborative learning. The classroom is a space where everyone from the instructor to the student can learn from each other. To achieve that optimal learning environment, you need to contribute to the class. Contribution doesn’t involve merely showing up to class, however: pay attention to the work being done in class, take assignments seriously, provide support and feedback to others in class, and contribute meaningfully to class discussion.

Complete the course assignments. This syllabus provides a list of assignments for this class, along with their respective weights. Pay attention to the percentage that each assignment is worth.

Essay and final grades will follow an A-F grading system. Letter grades can be interpreted as follows: A-Excellent; B-Good; C-Average; D-Below Average (but passing); or F-Failure.

To receive credit on a completed paper, you must have completed and submitted on time (or with excused delays) – Late work, will NOT be accepted unless you hold a conversation with me or provide proper documentation for an excused absence.

 More details below –

Turn your assignments in on time. As a rule, the first-year composition program DOES NOT accept late assignments. Absence is not an excuse for late work. If you must miss class when an assignment is due, turn it in prior to the due date. I may accept a late assignment, but only in extremely extraordinary circumstances and with prior approval. However, even with approval, your grade on the work may be reduced half a letter-grade for each class day the assignment is late.

Keep a professional attitude. This comes down to respecting your classmates and your instructor. When you use electronic devices or do work that is unrelated to the course, you are potentially infringing on the educational opportunities for others in class. Turning off or silencing cell phones, using the class printer before class, putting away ear-buds, saving your text messaging until after class is over, and keeping your computer screen focused on class-related activities all help everyone else around stay focused, too.

Professionalism also means that when you communicate with your professor by email that you use professional standards, which includes crafting a subject line that reflects the main purpose of your message, using appropriate language, and signing your first and last name to the email as well as your class section day and time. I do not normally answer emails on weekends and I am unlikely to respond to emails that use profanity

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or other inappropriate language. For group assignments, consider other students your professional colleagues: do them the courtesy of addressing them respectfully when you communicate with them, and honor any promises to meet or complete work.

Communicate with your instructor. To get the most from the classroom experience, you should communicate to me any issues that you may be having. Attend my office hours or make an appointment if those hours do not work for you. I cannot always know you are having trouble understanding something if you don’t communicate it – keep me informed!

Use The Write Site or Writing Center. Services are free to all students.  Any student can schedule up to two hours of appointments per week to work one-on-one with a writing consultant, who can assist you with any phase of the writing process.  As you meet with a consultant, you’ll discover ways not only to improve the assignment you’re currently working on, but also realize how to improve as a writer.

Remember that writing is public. Even when writing is in draft form, professional writers circulate copies of what they are working on for feedback. Even when writing is meant to be private, it leaks into the public realm with startling regularity. For this reason, writers need to become comfortable sharing their writing with others and hearing, seeing, or reading reactions to it. In this class, you can expect to share your work with your peers, either face-to-face and one-on-one or, at times, with the entire class at once. This sharing is intended to provide you with models of effective writing, feedback to improve your writing, and give you experience offering feedback. It is imperative we all respect this process and come to class prepared to share writing and comment constructively.

Follow the assignment directions. Every assignment has a specific set of instructions. Be sure to check the assignment sheet when you receive it, before you begin working, and before an assignment is due to ensure you are meeting the criteria for the assignment. In addition to the assignment-specific criteria, all major writing assignments should be printed from a digital file (double-spaced) in black ink using a Times New Roman font (no larger or smaller than 12pt). Use MLA guidelines for spacing, margins, heading, and page numbering. Print a hard copy of your work before closing the program you’re using. Always save your work on your hard drive and email it to yourself. You should also save your work on a separate flash drive.

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TENTATIVE COURSE CALENDAR

ENGL 1301FALL, 2016

*Note, though we will work on papers in-class, you should be working on them outside of classroom as well in order to have them completed on time*ALL assignment sheets for each Essay can be located in the Assignment folder in Course Modules on Blackboard*ALL Rough Draft submissions will be done via a Discussion Forum in Blackboard. They should be posted as MS Word attachments (Assignments folder)*Final Portfolios will be submitted to a Turnitin.com link in Blackboard (Assignments folder)

WEEK 1(August 29, 30, 31, and September 1)

Monday Introduction and discussion of SyllabusDiscuss: Norton’s chapters on “Purpose,” “Audience,” “Genre,” and “Stance,” as well as on “Writing in Academic Discourse” (Ch. 1-4, and 5, 6, and 8)Set up Strategy GroupsWriting Assignment: How do you feel about writing and why? – TYPE UP FOR WEDNESDAY.Read: Norton’s Ch. 10 – Writing a Literacy Narrative

Tuesday Review of Part 1 and 2 of Norton’sReview and Turn in Writing Assignment from Monday.

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Identify and discover thesis statementsHow to Read Comic Book Page*

Discuss Norton’s Ch. 10 (finish discussing)Discuss “What is your writing process?”

Make sure Strategy Groups clearly understand responsibilities

Read: Norton’s Chapter 25 “Writing a Inquiry” and “Collaborating” (Ch. 26) for Friday, Exert from Fun Home.

Wednesday Assign Essay 1 – Literacy NarrativeDiscuss Assignment sheet and expectations

Discuss Norton’s Ch. 25 and 26

Get started on Essay 1

Group Work: Discuss and Describe the Details from Fun Home exert

(p. 990).

Reading: Fear and Loathing GN and Novel (print out)Thursday Group Work: Figuring out the relevance in connect to reading

Discuss: Compare and Contrast Readings.

MLA Exercise: Putting My Paper In Format*

Debate Topic: What is the value of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs?

WEEK 2(September 5, 6, 7, and 8)

Monday LABOR DAY – NO CLASSTuesday Strategy Group (SG) 1 presents on Norton’s “Beginning and Ending”

(Ch. 33)Discuss SG 1 presentation and value to the writing process

Work on Essay 1 and drafting processDrafting day for Essay 1

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Read Norton’s “Generating Ideas and Text” (Ch. 27)Wednesday Peer Review of Essay 1 in-class

“Generating Ideas and Text” (Ch. 27)

Discuss chapter and work on practice evaluations as a genreThursday Strategy Group (SG) 2 presents on Norton’s “Guiding Your Reader”

(Ch. 34)Finish Discussing Norton’s Ch. 24 and Discuss SG 2 presentation and value to the writing process

Discuss Evaluations and their purpose, usefulness

Essay 1 – Literacy Narrative Due

Read Norton’s “Analyzing Texts” (Ch. 11)

Week 3(September 12, 13, 14, and 15)

Monday Assign Essay 2 – Analyzing Texts

Talk about interconnectivity of Essays 2 - 4

Discuss Norton’s Ch. 11 and what “Analyzing Texts” is and why its important

Ice Breaker: Tell me your favorite movie

Reading: “The 20 Most Extreme Cases of ‘The Book Was Better Than The Movie’”-fivethirtyeight.com

Tuesday SG 3 presents on Norton’s “Analyzing Causes and Effects” Ch. 35Discuss Critical Reading strategies and SG 3 presentation and value to the writing process

In-Class Evaluation Assignment: Coming up with Criteria*

Ice Breaker: Annotations

Read Norton’s “Drafting” (Ch. 28) and “The Coddling of the

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American Mind”Wednesday Discuss Norton’s Ch. 28

MLA Exercise: In-Text Citations and Works Cited Entries Part 1*

Debate Topic: What do we really gain from Rhetorical Analysis?

Group Work: Annotating and Analyzing “The Coddling of the American Mind”

Reading: Opening Page of Action Comics #1, Superman #1, and All-Star Superman

Thursday SG 4 presents on Norton’s “Arguing” (Ch. 36)Discuss SG 4 and value to the writing process

Group Work: Comparative and Contrastive Analysis of Reading 2

MLA Exercise: In-Text Citations and Works Cited Entries Part 1*

Drafting day for Essay 2

Read Norton’s “Getting Response and Revising” (Ch. 30)

Week 4(September 19, 20, 21, and 22)

Monday Midterm conferences one on one- will meet and discuss progress and standing in the course so far.

Tuesday SG 5 presents on Norton’s “Classifying and Dividing” (Ch. 37)SG 5 presentation and value to the writing process

Peer Review of Essay 2 in-classWednesday Discuss Norton’s “Getting Response and Revising” (Ch. 30)

Essay 2 – Analyzing Texts due

Assign Essay 3 – Reporting Information and Discuss Essay 3

Read Norton’s “Reporting Information” (Ch. 12)Research gathering day for your topic regarding Essay 3

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Ice Breaker: “It Could be You” from Psychiatric Tales

Reading: Scott McCloud “Setting the Record Straight” Understanding Comics.

Thursday SG 6 presents on Norton’s “Comparing and Contrasting” (Ch. 38)Discuss SG 6 presentation and value to the writing process

Discuss: McCloud Reading.

Group Work: Come up with your own definition and description of what makes a superhero, with examples.

Reading: Scott McCloud “Time Frames” Understanding Comics.

Week 5(September 26, 27, 28, and 29)

Monday Discuss: McCloud reading from Thursday

Group Work: Practice Expressing the Passage of Time

MLA Exercise: In-Text Citations and Works Cited Entries Part 2*

Debate Topic: What causes the promotion of misinformation in our world today and what inclines people to accept it without critique?

Tuesday SG 7 presents on Norton’s “Defining” (Ch. 36)Discuss SG 7 presentation and value to the writing process

Drafting day for Essay 3Wednesday Peer Review of Essay 3 in-classThursday SG 8 presents on Norton’s “Describing” (Ch. 39)

Discuss SG 8 presentation and value to the writing process

Review Norton’s Ch. 19 some more, with examples

Essay 3 – Reporting Information dueAssign Essay 4 – Arguing a Position

Read Norton’s “Arguing a Position” (Ch. 13)

Week 6(October 3, 4, 5, and 6)

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Monday Discuss Norton’s Ch. 13Discuss assignment and what is argument, refer to text Part 1 of Norton’s text

Review Classical Model Approach*

Ice Breaker: Don’t know much about Arguments?

Outlining and Thesis StatementsTuesday SG 9 presents on Norton’s “ Dialogue” (Ch. 41)

Discuss SG 9 presentation and value to the writing process

MLA Exercise: Review of MLA*

Debate Topic: Are superheroes a good or bad thing for our society today?

Wednesday Read Norton’s “ Compiling a Portfolio” (Ch. 32)

Discuss Naysayers in Essay 4.Thursday SG 10 presents on Norton’s “Explaining Processes” (Ch. 42)

Discuss SG 10 presentation and value to the writing process

More MLA Review

Week 7(October 10, 11, 12, and 13)

Monday Look over drafts of Essay 4 in-class

In-Class writing day to work on, with supervision, Essay 4 draftsTuesday Peer Review of Essay 4 in-class

Wednesday Discuss Portfolio process and points

Essay 4 – Arguing a Position due

Begin revision and portfolio processThursday In-Class Guided Revision Day for Essays 1-4

Week 8(October 17 and 18)

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Monday Final Portfolio Due by 11:59 PMLAB Journals Due by 11:59 PM

Tuesday MLA final exam

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