Skyline College     

  English 110 Online: Composition, Literature and Critical Thinking—Fall 2014

                                 Course Theme—Outward and Inward Journeys

 

Professor: Rachel Bell

Course Number 92599

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: 8/18/14 to 12/12/14


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 (1st floor) and Librarian assistance (2nd floor).  Bldg 2: Academic counselors, health services, and other student support services in the Student Services Center.


                                "A person needs at intervals to separate from family and companions and go to new places.

                One must go without familiars in order to be open to influences, to change" --Katharine Butler Hathaway

                      "As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep,
                           so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily,
                                                  to appreciate more lovingly, our own. --Margaret Mead


Course Prerequisites: 
Completion of English 100 or 105 with a letter grade of “C” or better. 

 

Course Description: 
Transfer-level course introduces students to major imaginative genres of poetry, drama, and fiction from diverse cultural sources
and literary critical perspectives. Students will write analytical essays, employing methods of literary analysis and research and
demonstrating critical thinking skills appropriate to a college-level writing class. Transfer: UC; CSU (A2, A3, C2).

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 (bldg 5)
and the CALT (bldg 2) 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:

By the end of the semester, you will have developed a strong understanding of what it means to think, read, and write critically as these
skills apply to the analysis of fiction, poetry, drama, and literary criticism.  Through the writing and reading you do in this course, you will
be able to understand the relationship between meaning in literature and language; to evaluate and analyze the relationship between
meaning and the use of sophisticated literary forms and strategies; to identify unstated premises and hidden assumptions in writing; to
recognize the similarities and differences between arguments of an author and his/her character(s); to evaluate arguments in literary criticism;
and to properly integrate source material into essay writing.

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 advanced college transfer level using the
conventions of literary analysis and criticism, and demonstrate competence in standard English grammar and usage.

2. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: Demonstrate critical reading, writing, and thinking skills through synthesis and evaluation of important ideas and
through analyzing major themes and literary techniques.

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


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

(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)Poetry: American Diaspora: Poetry of Displacement  eds. V. Suarez and R. Van Cleave

(3)Short stories: The Best Women’s Travel Writing: 2011 ed. Lavinia Spalding

(4)Play: The Overwhelming by J.T. Rogers

(5)Novel: A Woman in Jerusalem by A.B. Yehoshua

(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 and chat
discussions and 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 650-738-4228. 

(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 more you have thought and written on a given theme, the more you can still write. 
                                  Thought breeds thought.  It grows under your hands”  -- Henry David Thoreau

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 9/9, Revised 9/16

                       Research Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words)      Draft due 10/14, Revised 10/21

                                     Paper #3  Midterm 75-minute essay exam on Tuesday, November 11th  
 Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6 pages, 1000-1500 words)  Draft 12/4, Revised 12/11

                       Paper #5 Final essay exam—2 ½ hours on Friday, December 12th

For detailed paper guidelines and topics, visit: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/papertopics110.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:  9/9                 Paper #2 Workshop:  10/14                      Paper #4 Workshop: 12/4



(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. 



                        “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat
                                  worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other,
                                                           we may even become friends.” --Maya Angelou


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

                       

For an online grade calculator, go to:  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.


                                                       “Not all those who wander are lost.” ~J.R.R. Tolkien