Skyline College     

                   English 100: College Composition Online—Fall 2010


Course Theme—Exploring Memoir: Overcoming Adversity and Journeying to Selfhood

 

                                                                            
                                                                           Instructor:  Rachel Bell     

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

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

                                   Office Hours: M 3:30-4:30pm and T Th 1-3pm, Room 7306
                      (office hours are done by half hour appointments—call or email to book)

                                                         

     English office & mailboxes: Room 8110-1112, 738-4202       Course Dates: 8/19 – 12/15          
     Course Meetings at: http://smccd.mrooms.net/                                 Schedule #91114 and 91932, Units 3.0

           


                                                               
"Memoirs are the backstairs of history." –George Meredith

 

           “We weave our memories into narrative, from which we construct our identities.  -- Leonard Shengold


Course Prerequisites: 
Writing Prereq: Completion of ENG 836 or ESOL 400 or ENGL 846 with a grade C or higher or appropriate scores on approved college placement tests. Reading Prereq: READ 836 or ESOL 400 or 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).

The Online Environment:  Online is not easier than the traditional educational process.  In fact, many learners say it requires much more time and commitment, so be prepared for this as you take an online English course.  Be willing to commit 5 to 10 hours per week per online course.  Also, you will need a "Plan B" in case your home computer experiences any difficulties.  Skyline has two computer labs in the TLC (bldg 5) and the CALT (bldg 2) that students have access to with Internet connected PC and Mac computers.  Missing any online quizzes, exams, or postings due to technical difficulties will not be a valid excuse.  With that said, taking an online course can open up new ways of learning for you and often increases student participation with the pressures of public speaking in the traditional classroom removed.

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.

                                                

 

"We read to know we're not alone"  -- C.S. Lewis

Required Materials:
                     

(1)   SMCCD EMAIL ACCOUNT:  All the course emails (about 2 to 5 per week) will be sent to your smccd.edu email account so you must set it up and then check it daily throughout the semester.  If you prefer, there are directions in the online classroom on how to forward your smccd email to another email account.

(2)   Philippines – The Oracles: My Filipino Grandparents in America by Pati Navalta Poblete

(3)    Vietnam – The Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars by Andrew X. Pham

(4)    Pakistan – In the Name of Honor by Mukhtar Mai

(5)    Honduras – Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario

(6)   Optional: Unless you prefer a print version, you are not required to purchase the course reader as it will be 
                  provided for you electronically at: 
http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/Reader.htm 


Course Policies:
  

(1)  Plagiarism—Paraphrasing or directly copying any text and using it as your own without proper attribution, done intentionally or not, is plagiarism and will result in failure.  In an online environment with its anonymity, it might be tempting to pull material from online sources without acknowledging their source.  Plagiarism is a serious academic offense and will result in full prosecution according to school policy.

(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 48 hours after the initial due date.  Late assignments beyond this will not be accepted.  Late tickets cannot be used for timed online exams.
 Please note: technical difficulties will not be accepted as an excuse for late work.  Due dates are given well in advance so don't wait until the last minute and risk a blackout or computer crash that occurs right on a deadline.

(3)  Class participation—In an online classroom, it is essential that you become consciously involved by participating in forum and chat discussions and contributing thoughtful comments, questions, and answers. 

(4)  Saving and Submitting Work—You must create a back up file of every piece of work you submit for grading.  All files should be in DOC or RTF file formats (note: Do not post .docx files as not all students can open this type of file). When sending any email, identify yourself fully by name. I will check email frequently and will respond to course-related questions within 24-48 hours. 

(5)  Disabled StudentsReasonable accommodation will be provided for eligible students with disabilities. Contact the DSPS office for an accommodation letter (650) 738-4280.

                          “The more you have thought and written on a given theme, the more you can still write. 
                                  Thought breeds thought.  It grows under your hands  -- Henry David Thoreau

 

Papers:  Five major papers will be written for this class.  The requirements are as follows (all due by 12am on due date):

(1)  Due Dates--           Paper #1 (2-4 pages, 500-1000 words)           Draft due 9/7, Revised 9/14

                       Research Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words)          Draft due 10/12, Revised 10/19

                                     Paper #3  Midterm essay exam on Tuesday, November 9th 
 Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6 pages, 1000-1500 words)  Draft 12/7, Revised 12/14

                       Paper #5 Final essay exam—2 ½ hours on Weds, December 15th

                                   

(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 and will not receive a grade.

 

(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 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, 9/7        Paper #2 Workshop:  Tues, 10/12               Paper #4 Workshop: Tues, 12/7

 

(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. 

 
           Autobiography is the most fascinating thing you can do because you get to touch the human condition.
      And in the end, what else is there? To me, it's the ultimate affirmation of life, and a miracle of this transient,
                   extremely fragile organism. To celebrate that, I think, is a noble thing to do.”
-- Jim Dine

 

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 12/15                      20%                                         Score for Paper 5         ______ x .20  =  _____           

Presentation                                         10%                                         Presentation score        ______ x .10  =  _____

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

* Participation                                      10%                                         Participation                  ______ x .10  =  _____

 

                                                                                                TOTAL:      (convert total to %)   ________

 

Participation includes contributing timely and well   

constructed postings, chat discussions, providing                            Scoring as follows:  100-90=A, 89-80=B

thoughtful peer feedback on papers and postings, and                          79-70=C, 69-60=D, 59-0=F

communicating with me during online/phone office hours.                       


 

For an online grade calculator, go to:  http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/ReaderGradingMenu.htm