Skyline
College
Instructor: Rachel Bell
Web
page: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/bellr
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)
"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 Students—Reasonable 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 =
_____
* 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