Web page: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/bellr
Office Hours: TBA, Room 5108
Computers and Tutoring are in the Writing & Reading Lab: Bldg 5, Room 5100
Great ideas often receive
violent reactions from mediocre minds "
--Albert Einstein
"The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by
success" --Bruce Feirstein
"There is no
great genius without some touch of madness" --Seneca, Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD
Course
Prerequisites: Writing Prereq: Completion of ENG 836 or 400 or ENGL/READ 846 with a
grade C or higher or appropriate scores on approved college placement tests. Reading Prereq:
READ 836 or 400
or READ/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
and the CALT) 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.
Required
Materials:
Mrs.
Dalloway by
Virginia Woolf
Heart
of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad
Streetcar
Named Desire
by Tennessee Williams
One
Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey
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. This action is a serious
academic offense and will result in immediate removal from and a failing grade
in the course.
(2)
Late AssignmentsNo 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. 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 WorkYou must create a back up
file of every piece of work you submit for grading. When
files are sent attached to an email, the files should be in DOC, RTF, TXT, or
PDF file formats.
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.
Papers: Six major papers will be written for this class. The requirements are as follows:
(1) Due Dates-- Paper #1 (2-4 pages, 500-1000 words) Draft
due 2/13, Revised 2/20
Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words) Draft due 3/6, Revised 3/13
Paper #3
Midterm essay exam on Thursday, March 22nd
Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6 pages,
1000-1500 words) Draft 4/24, Revised
5/1
Research Paper #5 (5-7 pages, 1250-1750 words) Draft due 5/15, Revised 5/22
Paper
#6 Final essay exam2 ½ hours on Tues, May 15th, time TBA
(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.
(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 6 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:
Workshops for Paper #1: by noon Tues, Feb
13th Workshops for Paper #4: by noon
Tues, Apr 24th
Workshops for Paper #2: by noon Tues, Mar 6th
Workshops for Paper #5: by noon Tues, May 15th
(4) FormatPapers 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.
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
..10% Score
for Paper 3 ______ x .10 =
_____
Paper
4
..15% Score
for Paper 4 ______ x .15 =
_____
Paper
5
..15% Score
for Paper 5 ______ x .15 =
_____
Paper 6
..10% Score
for Paper 6 ______ x .10
= _____
* Participation
...10% Participation ______ x .10 =
_____
* Participation includes contributing
timely and well *TOTAL: (convert total to %) ________
constructed postings, chat
discussions, providing * Deduct 1% for each absence over allowed 4.
thoughtful peer feedback on papers and
postings, and Scoring as follows: A=100-90, B=89-80,
communicating with me during
online/phone office hours. C=79-70, D=69-60, F=59-0