DSELM Division – Syllabus Piercy

LONE STAR COLLEGE-TOMBALLENGL 1301: COMPOSITION I

Course Information Faculty InformationCourse Title: Composition I Name: Professor Van Piercy, PhDCourse Number: ENGL 1301 Office Location: S153J (at Lone Star College-

Tomball)Course Section: 3004 Office Phone: (281) 401-1814 Credit Hours: 3 credit hrs; 3 hrs. lecture Office Hours: MW 10:00 a.m.-11:00PM; TTh

12:00-2:00PM.; and by appointmentPrerequisite: ENGL 0305 or ENGL 0316 and ENGL 0307 or ENGL 0326, or ENGL 0309 OR higher level course (ENGL 1301), OR Placement by Exam

Email: van.a.piercy @lonestar.edu Online office: http://vpiercy.wordpress.comFull syllabus: http://vpiercy.wordpress.com/english-1301/

Semester: Spring 2015 Dean: Mindy Coleman , E102D, (281) 351-3347

Class Days and Times: MW 8:00-9:30AM Class Location: S259

COURSE MATERIALS:

Required:

Palmquist, Mike, and Barbara Wallraff. Joining the Conversation: A Guide and Handbook for Writers.

2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-4576-2928-0

(image from Amazon.com)

Note: There is a copy of this textbook on reserve in the library at the second-floor circulation desk (for use in the library).

A college-ruled composition notebook. (image from Amazon.com)

Ability to print 30-50 pages throughout the semester (funds, ink, printer, paper, etc.).

Strongly Recommended Materials:1) A pack of 4 x 6 index cards.

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2) Internet access . You can use the library or campus wireless if you do not have Internet access at home.

3) If you use the library or other public computers, you should get a USB flash drive for saving your own files or be sure to have access to file saving space online (e.g., Dropbox or MyLoneStar).

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.

Note: ENGL 1301 is now a pre-requisite for all 2000-level literature courses. This change was a result of recommendations by the English faculty group for the 2011 Learning Objectives project.

CORE OBJECTIVES:

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board mandated a set of Core Objectives, inspired by the Association of American Colleges and Universities national initiative, Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP). For English, there are four Objectives:

1. Critical Thinking Skills - to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information

2. Communication Skills - to include effective development, interpretation, and expression of ideas through written and visual communicationi

3. Teamwork - to include the ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal

4. Personal Responsibility - to include the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Basic skills in punctuation, grammatical usage, and diction are expected upon entrance. English faculty will utilize a usage handbook or online resource.

The following learning outcomes must appear in the syllabus distributed to students. They can be found at http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/AAR/UndergraduateEd/WorkforceEd/acgm.htm.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:1. Demonstrate knowledge of individual and collaborative writing processes.2. Develop ideas with appropriate support and attribution, following standard style guidelines in

documenting sources.3. Write in a style appropriate to audience and purpose.4. Read, reflect, and respond critically to a variety of texts.5. Use edited American English in academic essays.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Attendance Policy:

Paying to take a class gives you the opportunity to earn credit; it does not grant you a right to that credit. One of the keys to success in this course is consistent attendance. If you do not think that you can attend

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class regularly or do not think doing so is important, then you should drop this class and sign up for an online class. Listed below is the number of absences you are allowed. If you are absent more than that number and have failed to turn in a major assignment or have below a 70 average, I will drop you from the class just as a coach may drop from a team a player who frequently misses practice. Also, students who are absent three or more of the first four class periods will be dropped.

Class Schedule Number of Absences AllowedTTh or MW 4

If you should miss a class, it is your responsibility to obtain lecture notes and assignments from a classmate or to touch base with me.

Classroom Expectations:

The students in the class and I deserve a classroom environment that is free of interruptions, distractions, and rudeness that impede learning. Therefore, please abide by the following:1. Do not eat in the classroom.2. Put cell phones, laptops, music players, and other electronic devices away. Students using an

electronic device inappropriately during class will receive only minimal comments on their essays. If you cannot go seventy-five minutes without using an electronic device, sign up for an online class instead.

3. Cell phones should be silenced and put out of sight. If you are on call for some reason, please put your phone on vibrate and exit the classroom quietly should you need to take a call. If your behaviors distract me or other students, I will give you a warning. If you continue the behavior, I will ask you to leave. If you don't want to be in class and you have more pressing matters to attend to, do not come.

4. Avoid coming to class late. If you come to class late, please get class notes from someone besides me. Get contact information for sharing class information from other students the first day of class.

5. Read the syllabus. Please come prepared. Read the assignments before class . Do the assigned homework so that you may participate fully in class discussion. There will be occasional quizzes on the readings.

6. I do not mind if you have a coke, soda, or a cup of coffee that you can sip quietly without drawing attention to yourself, but please do not bring food or a full meal to class (whether that includes a sandwich or plate of food or large pile of chili fries with cheese, or a box of chicken with sides, along with bag of chips, etc.).

7. Please treat our classroom and those in it in a professional, courteous, and respectful manner. Be polite.

ParticipationI keep track of participation in class in my gradebook every class period. Points are awarded for being polite and considerate, and of course for speaking up in class in a way that advances class discussion. Points are deducted for behavior that distracts from our work in the class or that interrupts others in the process of pursuing the goals of our coursework. Being late and leaving early are causes for deductions of participation points.

Late or Missed Assignments:

With some conditions, I accept late work and allow missed work to be made up, but unless you offer me a documented reason (e.g. doctor’s note, mechanic’s bill) for missing an assignment, the following deductions apply. All make-up assignments will be administered in the Lone Star College-Tomball Assessment Center. Out-of-class essays: Essays are due at the beginning of class. Ten (10) points per class period will

be deducted for each class period an essay is late. In-class essays: Ten (10) points per class period will be deducted until the essay is completed in the

assessment center.

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Exam: Ten (10) points will be deducted, and the make-up exam must be completed in the assessment center before the second class period after the exam was first administered. (Quizzes cannot be made up.)

Homework: Thirty (30) points will be deducted from homework turned in late, but it will be accepted only the following class period.

Keep in mind that failure to turn in a major assignment can have a significant impact on your grade. For example, if you otherwise have an 82% average—a “B”—but don’t turn in an assignment worth 15%, your average will be 67%--a “D.” Again, quizzes cannot be made up.

Grading Policy:

Final grades are determined by averaging the total of each area listed below.

Requirement Percent of Final AverageEssays: 3 @ 15% 45%Research paper 20%Final 10%Exam on conventions of writing 10%Exercises, homework, reading reactions, quizzes

15%

Total 100

Grading Scale:

Assignment requirements:

1. All essays written outside of class must be typed. They should be double-spaced on 8.5” x 11” paper with one-inch margins and 12 point font. Computers are available in the open computer lab (S212) and the library; printing costs ten cents per page or so.

2. It is your responsibility to have a copy of your essay in case one of us loses it.3. Staple (once) pages together in the upper left-hand corner, and please do it before class begins.4. For in-class essays, use white, lined, 8.5" by 11", loose-leaf (not spiral) notebook paper with a

margin on the left, and write only on the front of the paper.5. Along with the title, the following information should appear on the title page of essays:

Your nameENGL 1301 (and the day and time that the class meets)Prof. PiercyDate

Essay Formatting (Revised from "MLA Formatting and Style Guide" at owl.english.purdue.edu by Russell, et al.)

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90-100 A80-89 B70-79 C60-69 D

Below 60 F

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General Guidelines

All essays written outside of class must be typed. Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper.

Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). Whatever font you choose, MLA recommends that the regular and italics type styles contrast enough that they are recognizable one from another. The font size should be 12 pt. Computers are available in E268, the Learning Assistance Center, and the library; printing costs ten cents per page.

Leave only one space after periods and one space after other punctuation marks (unless otherwise instructed by your professor).

Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides. Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the Tab key

as opposed to pushing the Space Bar five times. Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top

and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor may ask that you omit the number on your first page. Always follow your instructor's guidelines.).

It is your responsibility to have a copy of your essay in case one of us loses it. Back-up your work! If you have any endnotes, include them on a separate page before your Works Cited page. Entitle the section Notes

(centered, unformatted).

Formatting the First Page of Your Paper

Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested. Staple pages together in the upper left-hand corner, and please do it before class begins. In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor's name, the course, and the date.

Again, be sure to use double-spaced text. Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks; write the

title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters. Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text: Fear

and Loathing in Las Vegas as Morality Play; Human Weariness in "After Apple Picking" Double space between the title and the first line of the text. Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page

number; number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor or other readers may ask that you omit last name/page number header on your first page. Always follow instructor guidelines.)

Here is a sample of the first page of a paper in MLA style:

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Image Caption: The First Page of an MLA Paper

DIRECTIONS FOR ACCESSING ONLINE MATERIAL:

1. Go to http://www.lonestar.edu/tomball.htm.2. Click on the “myLoneStar” link, which is towards the top of the window.3. Fill in your user name and password. If you don’t know your user name and password, note the links

below the login boxes that will help you get them.4. Once you’ve logged in, click on the link for “LSC Online” and “Go to D2L Courses.”

5. Click on the link for “Composition & Rhetoric II ENGL-1301.” (However, the first time that you access D2L, you may need to complete an online orientation.)

6. Once you’re in the class, click on the Content link (at the top of the window in the middle).7. Click on Table of Contents or “Supplemental material” link on the left side.

EXTENDED LEARNING CENTER AND TUTORING:

The Extended Learning Center (ELC) is available to help students perform better in their academic classes. Free tutoring by professional tutors, resource materials, and computer-based instruction are available to help

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students with their academic goals. Tutoring is also available in the Tomball On-line Writing Lab (one of the Community Groups at myonline.lonestar.edu).

The English department highly recommends taking advantage of the resources available through our tutors and reference librarians.

WHERE TO GET HELP

1. Come see me in S153J.2. Go to the Extended Learning Center on the second floor of the library. Writing tutors are available,

free of charge, during posted hours. One may also submit essays online to the Tomball On-line Writing Lab. (Go to myLoneStar.edu, enter your online classes, look for Community Groups, click on the Find a Group link, and search for “Tomball on-line writing lab.”)

3. Reference librarians are available for help with researching.

WITHDRAWAL POLICY:

Withdrawal from the course after the official day of record (see current catalog) will result in a final grade of “W” on the student transcript, and no credit will be awarded. Prior to the official day, it is the student’s responsibility to initiate and complete a request for withdrawal from any course. Withdrawals are processed only if the student completes and submits for signature(s) the required withdrawal form(s) available from the Admissions Office.

If you are considered a first-time college student, a new law was passed in Fall 2007 that limits to six the number of courses you may drop (withdraw with a grade of "W") while enrolled at any Texas public institution of higher education. A first time in college student is a student not currently enrolled in high school and who has never taken a college or university course anywhere at any time.

If you consider dropping this course during the semester, you might want to go to advising prior to dropping and get information about the Six-Drop Rule.

CODE FOR ACADEMIC HONESTY:

The System upholds the core values of learning: honesty, trust, respect, fairness, and accountability. We promote the importance of personal and academic honesty. We embrace the belief that all learners–students, faculty, staff and administrators–will produce their own work and must give appropriate credit to the work of others. No fabrication of sources or unauthorized collaboration is permitted on any work submitted within the System. Even inadvertent cheating or plagiarizing must be avoided by careful documentation of the other people’s ideas and language. Please refer to the Academic Integrity and Student Success brochure for more information: http://www.lonestar.edu/departments/libraries/academic_integrity_brochure.pdf.

The Lone Star College System subscribes to Turnitin.com, an online collaborative learning tool for faculty which supports faculty in their quest to uphold academic integrity. Student coursework may be submitted to the scrutiny of the Turnitin software. Please note that these submissions of assignments to Turnitin do not necessarily constitute an accusation or suspicion of plagiarism on the student’s part.

In my class, students guilty of intentional plagiarism, cheating, collusion, or other forms of academic dishonesty as described in the Academic Honesty and Student Success brochure will receive an F in this course and will be reported to the EEM dean.

ADA STATEMENT:

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If you require reasonable accommodations because of a physical, mental, or learning disability, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor during the first two weeks of class. Check the System Office Catalog for the statement concerning people with disabilities.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT:

Check the System Office Catalog for the statement concerning the equal opportunity principle.

EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION:

Lone Star College System (LSCS) is committed to maintaining the safety of the students, faculty, staff, and guests while visiting any of our campuses. See http://www.lonestar.edu/oem for details. To receive emergency notifications about Lone Star College, register for LoneStarAlert at https://lscsalert.lonestar.edu/index.php?CCheck=1. In the event of an emergency contact LSCS Police at (281) 290-5911 or X5911. The number for the LSCS police for non-emergencies is (832) 813-6800.

DIRECTIONS FOR ACCESSING ONLINE MATERIAL:

8. Go to http://www.lonestar.edu/tomball.htm.

9. Click on the “myLoneStar” link, which is at the top of the window towards the middle.

10. Fill in your user name and password. If you don’t know your user name and password, note the links below the login boxes that will help you get them.

11. Once you’ve logged in, click on the link for “LSC Online (Online Classes).” If given an option, choose D2L (Desire2Learn).

12. Click on the link for “Composition and Rhetoric I – ENGL 1301.”

13. Once you’re in the class, click on the Content link (at the top of the window in the middle).

14. Click on Table of Contents or “Supplemental material” link on the left side.

REPEAT COURSE NOTIFICATION:

If you are retaking a course and want the grade to replace the previous grade, be sure to fill out a “repeat course notification” form, which is available in the Admissions Office.

INKLING CREATIVE ARTS MAGAZINE AND CREATIVE WRITING CLUB

Inkling, LSC-Tomball's creative writing club, will meet in the South Building, room 154, at 2:00 every other Thursday (beginning September 11 and ending December 4). At each meeting students will write, discuss their work, plan events (like open mic readings and readings by authors who visit our campus), and arrange for publication of student writing and artwork in Inkling, LSC-Tomball's creative arts magazine. If you are interested, feel encouraged to join and/or submit your poem, story, and/or artwork (e.g., photo, painting, and/or drawing) for possible publication in Inkling. Inkling offers cash prizes in three genres: fiction, poetry, and artwork. For more information, visit the website at http://www.lonestar.edu/inkling.htm or go to the Facebook page of "LSC-Tomball Inkling."

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ENGL 1301 Tentative Schedule (Spring 2015)

NOTE: All reading and writing assignments are to be completed before class on the date on which they appear on the schedule. Also, bring your book to class every day. It is a good idea to mark the due dates of major assignments from all your classes so that you can see what weeks will be especially busy. (Note: You do not have to do the exercises in the books unless they are specifically assigned.)

WEEK 1

Jan 12 Receive introduction to the course.

Jan 14 Read Sherman Alexie’s “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” (link). Read Joining the Conversation (JtC) pp. 99-104 “Writing to Reflect.” (If you don’t have a textbook, you

can use the copy on reserve in the library at the second-floor circulation desk or access the copy of these pages that I scanned and placed in the online classroom.)

WEEK 2

Jan 19 Dr. Martin Luther King HOLIDAY—NO CLASSES

Jan 22 Read Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (link). Read Salvatore Scibona’s “Where I Learned to Read Salvatore Scibona” (link). Read JtC pp. 3-26 “Making Connections.” (If you don’t have a textbook, you can use the copy on

reserve in the library at the second-floor circulation desk or access the copy of these pages that I scanned and placed in the online classroom.)

WEEK 3

Jan 26 Read Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read” (link). Read JtC pp. 28-32 “How Can I Analyze an Assignment.” Read JtC pp. 133-55 “How Can I Write a Reflective Essay.”

Jan 28 Turn in a typed, double-spaced draft of the reflection essay. This draft must be at least 500 words

long and organized into five paragraphs. Read Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” (link). Read JtC pp. 517-40 “Drafting and Designing.”

WEEK 4

Feb 2 Read Jonathan Kozol’s “Still Separate, Still Unequal: America’s Educational Apartheid” at

http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2005/American-Apartheid-Education1sep05.htm. Turn in a response (typed, double-spaced) of at least 150 words to Kozol’s article. For example, you might relate something in the article to your own life or that of someone you know, disagree with a particular claim he makes, or evaluate his evidence.

Read JtC pp. 32-48 “Finding and Listening In on Conversations.”

Feb 4 Read Adrienne Rich’s “Claiming an Education” (link). Turn in a response (typed, double-spaced) of at

least 150 words to Rich’s article. For example, you might relate something in the article to your own life or that of someone you know, disagree with a particular claim she makes, or evaluate her evidence.

Read JtC pp. 383-86 “What Americans Keep Ignoring about Finland’s School Success.” Read JtC pp. 49-80 “Reading to Write.”

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WEEK 5

Feb 9 Read pp. 633-46 “Revising and Editing.” Turn in Reflective essay.

Feb 11 Read pp. 159-208 “Writing to Inform.”

WEEK 6

Feb 16 Keith Grant-Davie, “Rhetorical Situations and Their Constraints” (handout and link)

Feb 18 Read pp. 609-25 “Using Sources Effectively.” Read pp. 497-504 “Developing a Thesis Statement.”

WEEK 7Feb 23 Re-read pp. 185-208. Pay special attention to the student essay by Ellen Page. Bring student ID (homework grade). Read pp. 435-52 “Beginning Your Search.”

Feb 25 Turn in typed thesis statement and at least three topic sentences for the informative synthesis

essay (for a total of at least four complete sentences). Detailed outlines get bonus points. Read pp. 453-75 “Locating Sources.” Read pp. 483-94 “Avoiding Plagiarism.”

WEEK 8

March 2 Zachary Talbot, “A Rhetorical analysis of authors on the CIA Torture Inquiry” (handout). Read pp. 213-235 “Writing to Analyze.” Discuss rhetorical analysis.

March 4 Turn in informative synthesis. Turn in journal.

WEEK 9 SPRING BREAK March 9-March 15

WEEK 10

March 16 Read Peg Tyre’s “The Writing Revolution,” the main essay by Tyre, her blogged response, plus two

other blog posts on her article (link).

March 18 “Can Writing on a College Entrance Exam Be Properly Assessed” (NYT—link) Turn in typed outline for the rhetorical analysis/synthesis essay. See page 514 for how to outline.

Roman numerals II through IV should contain the element of rhetoric topic sentences, the second level (a and b) should identify the authors you’re connecting in each section, and the third level (i, ii, etc.) should identify the ideas you’ll be discussing with each author.

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WEEK 11

March 23 Review for exam. Read pp. 505-16 “Organizing.”

March 25 Take exam over writing conventions and textbook chapters.

WEEK 12

Monday, Nov. 10, is the last day to withdraw and receive a “W,” which does not affect one’s GPA.

March 30 Rhetorical analysis/synthesis due

April 1 Read pp. 377-397 “Writing to Convince or Persuade.”

WEEK 13April 5 LAST DAY TO DROP AND RECEIVE A “W” Continue discussing argumentation. Read pages 398-428 in chapter 10. Exploring conversations.

April 7 Review logical fallacies, pp. 410-412 for in-class work: Logical fallacy analysis and parodies. For multimodal projects, read pp. 557-82 “Working with Genres.” Review pp. 649-70 “Using MLA Style.”

WEEK 14

April 12 Turn in draft of Works Cited page with at least 5 citations for library sources. Turn in outline of argumentation essay. Handout: Writing in the 21st Century Carol Dweck videos on the growth mindset

April 14 Turn in note cards (at least 10). Continue discussing argumentation.

WEEK 15

April 19 Draft of research paper Read pp. 81-96 “Working Together.”

April 21 Research paper workshop. Peer edit. Bring a clean copy of the latest draft of your research paper.

WEEK 16

April 26 Turn in argumentative essay (research paper).

April 28 Discuss final essay.

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WEEK 17

Write final essay in-class: Monday, May 4, 8:00AM-9:50AM

You may view the final exam schedule for all classes at http://www.lonestar.edu/examschedule.htm.

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