Web page: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/bellr
Office
Hours: TBA, Room 5108
Computers and Tutoring are in the Writing & Reading Lab and The Basic Skills Lab in Bldg 5, Room 5100
"We must work
passionately and unrelentingly for the goal of freedom, but we must be
sure that our hands are
clean in the struggle. We must never
struggle with falsehood, hate, or malice.
We must never become bitter
We must fight hate with love." --Martin Luther King Jr. A Call to Conscience
Course
Prerequisites: Writing Prerequisite: ENGL 836 or ENGL 846, or
ESOL 400 with a C or better, or eligibility for ENGL 100 on approved college
placement tests and other measures as necessary. Reading Prerequisite: READ 836, with Credit or a grade of C or
better or ENGL 846 with a grade of C or better, or ESOL 400 with a grade of C
or better, or eligibility for 400-level Reading courses on approved college
reading placement test, and other 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:
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Storm from the East by Milton Viorst
1984 by George
Orwell
Course Policies:
(1) PlagiarismParaphrasing
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
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 participationIn 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 StudentsReasonable accommodation
will be provided for eligible students with disabilities. Contact the DSPS
office for an accommodation letter (650) 738-4280.
Most students are potential revolutionaries
when you have an illegal, immoral, and unjust
situation, it should be changed. "
--Malcolm X
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 2/19,
Revised 2/26
Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words) Draft due 3/11, Revised 3/18
Paper #3
Midterm essay exam on Thursday, April 3rd
Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6 pages,
1000-1500 words) Draft 4/29, Revised 5/6
Research Paper #5 (5-7 pages, 1250-1750 words) Draft due 5/20, Revised 5/27
Paper
#6 Final essay exam2 ½ hours on Weds, May 28th
(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: Tues, Feb 19th Workshops
for Paper #4: Tues, April 29th
Workshops for Paper #2: Tues, March 11th
Workshops for Paper #5: Tues, May 20th
(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 =
_____
Presentation
5% Presentation score ______ x .05 = _____
HBA
Folder
5% % of
HBAs completed ____ x .5
= _____
*
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