Skyline
College
Instructor: Rachel Bell
Web page: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/bellr
Online class orientation: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/Orientations.htm
“It is
health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” --Mahatma Gandhi
“What is
called genius is the abundance of life and health.” --Henry David Thoreau
Course Prerequisites and Credits:
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.
Credit: Applicable to AA Degree. Partially satisfies
Specific Area E2, GE Requirements 4A, and courses required for the English
major. Meets
Skyline College information literacy requirement. Transferable to CSU in GE Areas A2 and
A3. Transferable to
UC and IGETC Area 1A.
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.
Required Materials: "We read to know we're not alone"
-- C.S. Lewis
Course Reader (at Skyline's Bookstore). Also available
online: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/Reader.htm
Key Debates in Healthcare by Gary Taylor and Helen Hawley
Mountains
Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
28
Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
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
over the course of the semester.
Exceeding these absences will adversely affect your participation 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. You cannot use late tickets on in-class exams.
(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.
(5) Plagiarism-- Paraphrasing or directly copying any text and using it as your own
without proper attribution, whether you’ve done it intentionally or not, is
plagiarism and is unacceptable and will result in failure. We will carefully look at how to integrate
and properly document outside sources.
(6) Technology
Policy—These policies are made with this idea in mind…
You’re in college to gain knowledge from the classes you have signed up
for. This information is going to help
you be successful in many areas. Ideally
you will excel in these classes, achieve your goals, and earn a degree that you
will have for life. To accomplish this
you need to not just be physically present but also mentally present which
means don’t text, surf the net, take calls in the
hallway or in any other way use technology to be “elsewhere” during class time.
Laptops and iPads:
Can be used in the classroom and can
be a very effective learning tool.
However, if you are suspected of misusing the laptop and using it for
non-class related activities (checking email, posting on Facebook,
instantly messaging, completing homework for another class), you will be
required to email your class notes to the instructor 10 minutes after the
conclusion every class session. If you
are not able to produce the requested notes, you will lose in-class laptop/iPad
privileges.
Cell phones: You do not need cell phones for any reason
during class time. Before you enter the
classroom, turn your cell phones off.
This does not mean put them on vibrate; it means to turn them off. Nothing is more distracting than phones
ringing during class. There is also no
need to ever be texting during class, and yes the instructor can see you when
you are texting under the desk. Going
out in the hallway to answer a call or make a call is also unacceptable during
class time. Students guilty of any of
these activities will be marked absent for the day.
IPods or other listening devices: These are inappropriate in the
classroom. Before you enter the
classroom, turn off and put away any such device.
Papers: Five
major papers will be written for this class:
(1) Due Dates-- Paper
#1 (2-4 pages, 500-1000 words) Draft
due 9/18, Revised 9/25
Research Paper #2 (3-5 pages,
750-1250 words) Draft due 10/23,
Revised 10/30
Paper #3 Midterm essay exam on Thursday,
November 8th 11:10-12:25pm
Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6
pages, 1000-1500 words) Draft 12/6,
Revised 12/13
Paper #5
Final essay exam—2 ½ hours on Thursday, December 13th 11:10-1:40pm
(2) Revision-- 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 in class workshop groups of
three; 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 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: 9/18 Paper #2 Workshop: 10/23
Paper #4 Workshop: 12/6
(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. If you email me any assignments as
attachments, they must be in .DOC or .RTF format or else I will not be able to
open your document and your work will not be counted as on time.
“Without
health life is not life; it is only a state of languor and suffering - an image
of death.”
--Buddha
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 20% Score
for Paper 5 ______ x .20 = _____
Presentation 10% Presentation
score ______ x .10 =
_____
* 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, Scoring as follows: 100-90=A, 89-80=B
adding to daily discussion, and
giving your classmates 79-70=C, 69-60=D, 59-0=F
thoughtful responses to their writing in workshops.
For an online
grade calculator, go to: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/ReaderGradingMenu.htm
“Be careful
about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.” --Mark Twain
“It is no measure of health
to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” --Jiddu Krishnamurti
Additional campus information:
Available Support Services: The Learning
Center (Building 5) provides support for writing, reading, math, and other
subjects. Sign up for LSKL 800 for
general tutoring, or for LSKL 853 for reading and writing support through the
Writing & Reading Lab in the Learning Center. Librarians, on the 2nd floor of
building 5, can assist with research projects and library questions. Academic
counselors, health services, and other student support services are available
in the Student Services Center in Building 2.