Skyline College

English 100: College Composition—Fall 2015

Course Theme—Mastering the Mind

Professor: Rachel Bell	Class Meetings: Tues/Thurs 11:10-12:50pm, room 8118
Office Location: 7306 and Office Phone: 738-4349	Course Number 88926, 3.0 units
Web Address: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/	Office hours: Tues/Thurs 2:30-5pm Call or email to book an appointment
E-mail: bellr@smccd.edu and bellrachel@hotmail.com	Course dates: 8/18/15 to 12/15/15
English office & mailboxes: Room 8112-8114, 738-4202 Online course orientation: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/Orientation.htm	Take advantage of campus support services: Bldg 5: Tutoring in Learning Center (1^st floor) and Librarian assistance (2^nd floor). Bldg 2: Academic counselors, health services, and other student support services in the Student Services Center.

“The mind is everything. What you think you become.” ― Buddha

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway
in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must
think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” -- Henry David Thoreau

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 ENGL 846 with a grade of C or higher, or eligibility for 400-level Reading courses on approved Reading placement test.

Course Description:
Course designed to help the student recognize and critically evaluate important ideas in short and book length texts, and express facts and thought logically and gracefully in clear and correct prose. Students will write critical expository essays dealing with a variety of ideas at a skill level appropriate to a college transfer level class. Transfer credit: UC; CSU (A2, 3).

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.

Student Learning Outcomes: By the end of the semester, students will be able to do the following:

1. ESSAYS: Write focused, organized, well-developed, and text-based essays appropriate to the college
transfer level using effective paragraphs, which support a clear thesis statement, and
demonstrate competence in standard English grammar and usage.

2. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: Demonstrate critical reading, writing, and thinking skills through analysis, synthesis,
and evaluation of important ideas.

3. SOURCES: Effectively evaluate and fluidly integrate relevant sources, using appropriate research strategies
and tools, and documenting them according to according to MLA guidelines.

“The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”
― Malcolm Forbes (publisher of Forbes magazine)

"One must be careful of books, and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us."
—Cassandra Clare, The Infernal Devices

Required Textbooks and Materials: "We read to know we're not alone" -- C.S. Lewis

(1) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
(2) How Children Succeed: Grit, Personality, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough

(3) The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
(4) A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink

(5) Department Rhetoric (at Skyline's Bookstore). You can use the electronic version in
class if you bring a laptop or iPad: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/

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— In coordination with the Disability Resource Center office, reasonable accommodation will be provided for eligible students with disabilities. For more assistance, please contact the DRC Bldg 5, Room 5132 or call 650-738-4123.

(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.

“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe” – Gustave Flaubert

Papers: Five major papers will be written for this class:

(1) Due Dates-- Paper #1 (2-4 pages, 500-1000 words) Draft due 9/8, Revised 9/15

Research Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words) Draft due 10/6, Revised 10/13

Paper #3 Midterm 75-minute essay exam on Tuesday, November 10^th
Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6 pages, 1000-1500 words) Draft 12/8, Revised 12/14

Paper #5 Final essay exam—2 ½ hours on Tuesday, December 15^th 11:10-1:40pm

For detailed paper guidelines and topics, visit: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/papertopics100F15.htm

(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 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 bring 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: 9/8 Paper #2 Workshop: 10/6 Paper #4 Workshop: 12/8

(4) Format— Papers must meet the required minimum length or run the risk of not being accepted. For final papers turned in for a grade, 5% taken off for half a page under and 10% taken off for a full page under the required minimum. All papers must be typed, double-spaced, have 1” margins, and have a font of 12. When you email me assignments as attachments or post assignments in WebAccess, 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.


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 = _____

Quizzes 10% Average Quiz score ______ x .10 = _____
Homework 10% Average of homework ______ x .10 = _____

* Participation 10% Participation ______ x .10 = _____

TOTAL: (convert total to %) ________

* Participation includes being prepared each day,

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

Departmental Grading Standards: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/6EvaluatingWriting.htm
Online grade calculator: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/GradingMenu.htm