Skyline College

English 100: College Composition -- Fall 2008

Theme: American Values and Ideologies

Instructor: Rachel Bell

Web page: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/bellr

Email: bellr@smccd.net, Voice Mail: (650) 738-4349

Office Hours: TTh 1-3pm & M 6-7pm, Room 1215

English office & mailboxes: Room 8114, 738-4202 Course Meetings: T Th 11:10-12:25pm

Computers and Tutoring in TLC: Bldg 5, Room 5100 Room 1124, Course Dates: 8/19 – 12/16

LSKL 853: Get help writing papers—enroll now CRN #89422 Schedule #88926 – Engl 100AG, Units 3.0

"I love the United States, but I see here everything is measured by success, by how much money it makes,
not the satisfaction to the individual." -- John Fellows Akers, former president and CEO of IBM

"The American lives even more for his goals, for the future, than the European.
Life for him is always becoming, never being." --  Albert Einstein

Course Prerequisites: Writing Prereq: Completion of ENG 836 or 400 or ENGL/READ 846 with a grade C or higher or appropriate scores on approved college placement tests. Reading Prereq: READ 836 or 400 or READ/ENGL 846 with a grade of C or higher, or eligibility for 400-level Reading courses on approved Reading placement test, or other means measures as necessary. Transfer: UC; CSU (A2).

Course Objectives: The purpose of this course is to help students develop their ability to write thoughtfully and effectively. The premise of this course is that writing is an integral part of the thinking process and that successful essay writing depends on a mixture of creative thinking and an awareness of writing styles and forms. The objective of this course is to guide students toward becoming critical readers, writers, and thinkers through recognizing the effective writing strategies of other writers, through becoming aware of their own processes of writing, and through learning to discern logical relationships between words, ideas, and arguments.

"An American is a man with two arms and four wheels." --  A Chinese Child

Required Materials:

American Values: Opposing Viewpoints ed. Mary E. Williams

Culture Jam: How to Reverse America’s Suicidal Consumer Binge by Kalle Lasn

America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories ed. Anne Mazer
The Argument Culture: Stopping America’s War of Words by Deborah Tannen

Course Reader—available at Skyline's Bookstore

English Hour-by-Arrangement Folder—available at the Skyline Bookstore

Course Policies:

(1) Attendance—Your active participation is necessary for you and your classmates to realize the objectives of this course. Therefore your attendance is crucial. A maximum of 4 (four) absences is permitted; each absence after the fourth will significantly lower your grade.

(2) Late Assignments—No late work will be accepted. All due dates are given well in advance; therefore I feel that it is unfair to the students who complete their work on time to accept the work from those who do not. However, because “life happens,” each student will be allowed two “late tickets” during the semester; twice students may choose to turn an assignment in the following class period after the due date. Late assignments beyond this will not be accepted.

(3) Class participation—Remember that participation counts--both for your grade and in your life. It is essential that you become consciously involved in class by participating in discussions and contributing thoughtful comments, questions, and answers.

(4) Disabled Students—Reasonable accommodation will be provided for eligible students with disabilities. Contact the DSPS office for an accommodation letter (650) 738-4280.

"I like America, just as everybody else does. I love America, I gotta say that. But America will be judged."
--  Bob Dylan, singer songwriter

Papers: Five major papers will be written for this class. The requirements are as follows:

(1) Due Dates-- Paper #1 (2-4 pages, 500-1000 words) Draft due 9/2, Revised 9/9

Research Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words) Draft due 9/30, Revised 10/7

Paper #3 Midterm essay exam on Thursday, October 30th

Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6 pages, 1000-1500 words) Draft 12/9, Revised 12/16

Paper #5 Final essay exam—2 ½ hours on Tues, December 16th 11:10-1:40pm

(2) Revision-- E.B. White said, “The best writing is rewriting.” Because revising or “re-seeing” a piece of writing is such an important aspect of the writing process, each of the papers has two due dates. Each student will receive feedback and suggestions on each of his/her papers through online class workshop/discussion groups; then each student will be asked to revise each paper based on peer feedback. Please note: if the first due date for a paper is missed, the paper cannot be turned in at all.

(3) Workshopping--Each paper will be read, discussed, and commented upon by student workshop groups. Students without a completed paper on the day of the workshop will not be allowed to participate in the workshop. Students not participating in workshops will lose their peer participation points for that activity, they will not receive the benefit of commentary on their writing, and if they do not turn a paper in on the workshop date, they cannot turn in a revised paper a week later for a grade. You cannot pass the course if you fail to turn in one of the five (5) major papers for the course. Below are the workshop dates--students must upload a copy of their paper for their group members and comment on the writing of their group members on the day specified:

Paper #1 Workshop: Tues, 9/2 Paper #2 Workshop: Tues, 9/30 Paper #4 Workshop: Tues, 12/9

(4) Format—Papers must meet the required minimum length or run the risk of not being accepted. All papers must be typed, double-spaced, have 1” margins, and have a font of 12.


"We must stop talking about the American dream and start listening to the dreams of Americans."
--  Reubin Askew, former Florida governor and desegregationist

Course Grade: Record Your Own Grades:

Paper 1 10% Score for Paper 1 ______ x .10 = _____

Paper 2 10% Score for Paper 2 ______ x .10 = _____

Paper 3—Midterm 10% Score for Paper 3 ______ x .10 = _____

Paper 4 20% Score for Paper 4 ______ x .20 = _____

Paper 5—Final on 12/16 15% Score for Paper 5 ______ x .15 = _____

Presentation 10% Presentation score ______ x .10 = _____

Quizzes 5% Average Quiz score ______ x .05 = _____
Homework 5% Average of homework ______ x .05 = _____

HBA Folder 5% % of HBAs completed ______ x .05 = _____

* Participation 10% Participation ______ x .10 = _____

*TOTAL: (convert total to %) ________

* Participation includes being prepared each day, meeting

with me at least once during the course of the semester, * Deduct 1% for each absence over allowed 4.

adding to daily discussion, and giving your classmates Scoring as follows: 100-90=A, 89-80=B

thoughtful responses to their writing in workshops. 79-70=C, 69-60=D, 59-0=F