Skyline College

English 100 Online: College—Fall 2015

Course Theme— Mastering the Mind

Professor: Rachel Bell	Course Number: 91932 and 93291
Office Location: 7306 and Office Phone: 738-4349	Class Meeting online: http://smccd.mrooms.net/
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: 8/17/15 to 12/10/15
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 support services. Bldg 8—rooms 8119 & 8121: Computers and printing for students.

“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).

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. The Skyline campus has computers for student use in the Library (bldg. 5), in the Learning Center (bldg. 5), and in the Business Lab (rooms 8119-8121, bldg. 8): http://www.skylinecollege.edu/academics/technology.php. 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.

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.

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

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

(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 (activate your account by logging in at
http://my.smccd.edu/) and then check it daily throughout the semester. If you prefer, there are
directions in our online classroom on how to forward your smccd email to another email account.

(2) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success edited by Carol Dweck

(3) How Children Succeed: Grit, Personality, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough

(4) The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
(5) A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink
(6) Department Rhetoric--Optional: Unless you prefer a print version (which you can purchase
in Skyline’s Bookstore), you are not required to purchase the course reader as it will be
provided for you electronically at: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/

Course Policies:

(1) 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. When you post a late assignment, you must email me to let me know, so I know to go back and give you credit.

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.

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

(3) 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.

(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-- The work you submit/present must be your own. All paraphrases and quotations must be cited appropriately. The Skyline College Student Handbook has a complete statement defining cheating and plagiarism, available online. If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing another person’s work, you may be disciplined in one or more of the following ways:

1. You will be given an F on the assignment;

2. Your name will be submitted to the dean and your name will be added to a list of students
who have been guilty of plagiarizing and this list can be shared with your current and
future instructors.

3. You may be referred to the College Disciplinarian for further sanctions which range from a
warning to expulsion from Skyline College.

Please note: if you have any questions about appropriate ways to cite sources or if you are unsure
how to incorporate your own ideas with ideas you read, please ask.


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

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 9/15, Revised 9/22

Research Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words) Draft due 10/13, Revised 10/20

Paper #3 Midterm 75-minute essay exam on Thursday, November 5th
Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6 pages, 1000-1500 words) Draft due 12/1, Revised 12/8

Paper #5 Final essay exam—2 ½ hours on Thursday, December 10th

For detailed paper guidelines and topics, visit: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/papertopics100F15online.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 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: 9/15 Paper #2 Workshop: 10/13 Paper #4 Workshop: 12/1

(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.


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

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 = _____

Forum postings 10% Average of Forum Posts ______ x .10 = _____
Quizzes 10% Average Quiz score ______ x .10 = _____
Peer Paper Review 5% Average Peer Review ______ x .05 = _____
Homework 5% Average of homework ______ x .05 = _____

TOTAL: (convert total to %) ________

Scoring as follows: 100-90=A, 89-80=B

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

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. Building 8—rooms 8119 & 8121 has computers and printers for student use.