ENGL 50: Basic Composition and Reading Modesto Junior College, Summer 2012

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1 ENGL 50: Basic Composition and Reading Modesto Junior College, Summer 2012 Instructor: Dr. Jason Wohlstadter Phone: Section: #1085; 8:00-10:05; Founders Hall 276 Office: Founders Hall 260P Office Hours: by appt. For more course information, go to our class website at Required Texts: * Mirror on America (4 th ed.) * The Least You Should Know about English (Form B, 10 th ed.) * The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian --See the Week One Information Handout for more details Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of ENGL 49 or qualification by the MJC assessment process. Course Overview: This is a 5-unit class designed to help you improve your ability to read and write effectively. To strengthen your command of the fundamentals of composition, we'll be working with the book The Least You Should Know about English. You'll also read selections from a variety of writers, and you ll write essays in response to the topics they address, topics such as these: innovations in technology, advertising (why we buy), cultural/gender identity, the influence of family, and the power to overcome obstacles and to change as individuals. In a broad sense, all these topics could be placed under one thematic heading: self understanding. What do we want to have? What appeals to us? What forces shape our identity? What do we want to become? Why? How? These are the kinds of questions our readings will encourage us to explore. Students who pass this course will be able to write clear, focused, organized, and well-developed essays. Helping you strengthen your skills in those areas is the main purpose of this challenging course. My job is to help see you through its challenges and to help you improve as a writer. Your job is to come to class on time and prepared, to contribute to class discussions and group activities, and to see me during office hours if you have questions or concerns. Student Learning Outcomes: Students successfully completing ENGL 50 will 1. Demonstrate the ability to articulate the main idea (or thesis) of a reading selection, or the main unifying theme, perception, or impression in narrative and descriptive writing; 2. Demonstrate the ability to make and support reasonable inferences about the attitudes and thoughts of a writer based on evidence supplied in a reading selection; 3. Demonstrate the ability to write coherent essays that A) are controlled by a clear unifying theme, perception, or thesis; B) are organized in a sequence that contributes to clarity and helps fulfill the purpose of the writing; C) use diction appropriate to the purpose of the writing (e.g., technical, formal, informal, slang, etc.); and D) are clearly proofread and edited for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Note: This course has a technological component. You will need to revise papers on a computer as well as read and print homework assignments and some brief readings off our class website. MJC provides students with computer labs with internet access see p. 58 of the current school catalog for more information. The technological aspect of this course is pretty basic, but please feel free to see me if you have any questions.

2 Administrative Deadlines: June 5: Last day to drop and be eligible for a refund June 11: Last day to withdraw without a W. July 23: Last day to withdraw (and receive a W). Repeat Policy (effective summer 2012): A student who has earned a grade of D, F, NC/NP or W in a course may repeat the course twice for the purpose of grade improvement, but a third attempt needs to get approval through Basic Skills counseling. This allows the student a maximum of three attempts to successfully complete the course. This includes all courses taken in the Yosemite Community College District, even those taken prior to summer Course Contract: The course contract must be signed and submitted to me by Tuesday, June 5th or you may be dropped from the course. Attendance Policy: Attendance is very important in this class. If you re absent from our first class meeting, it will be assumed that you re not interested in taking the course and you may be dropped to make room for other students. Absences can have a negative impact on participation grades since students cannot participate when they are absent. Absences can also have a negative impact on quizzes since there are no make-up quizzes. Absences can also have a negative impact on essay grades because the final draft of a student who does not participate in peer review or does not meet the minimum requirements of peer review will be reduced by 3.5 points (for example, from an 88.5% to an 85%). Being absent does not mean that a student has more time to submit an assignment. Assignments are due on their due date even if a student is absent. Having more than six absences (for whatever reason) is considered excessive and is grounds for being dropped from the course. If a student s seventh absence occurs after the withdraw deadline (July 23), the student may receive no participation points, thus reducing the student s final course grade one full letter. Tardiness: Roll is taken at the beginning of class. Students who arrive after roll is taken are marked late, and being habitually late has a negative impact on one s participation in the course. Students who arrive to class more than ten minutes late or who leave class early may be counted as absent. If you arrive after roll is taken, it is your responsibility to let me know at the end of the period. Otherwise, it s possible you might get marked absent rather than late. Late Paper Policy: Work must be submitted at the beginning of class to be considered on time. The midterm and final cannot be taken late, unless we ve made a prior arrangement. Take-home essays may be submitted one class meeting late, but they will automatically be reduced one full letter grade. Beyond that point, extra-late essays may still receive credit but will automatically receive a failing mark 59 points or less, depending on quality. Students who plan to turn in late work should inform me of it on the day it is due or earlier (inform me at the end of class, call me, or me). Note: A more detailed class policy regarding attendance and late work is attached at the end of this syllabus, and the general campus policy on attendance is listed on p. 44 of the school catalog.

3 Grading: Course grades are determined by the following: Percentages: Essay #1 10% Essay #2 10% In-class Essay 15% Essay #3 15% Essay #4 15% Final 20% Participation 10% Journals & Quizzes 5% Course Grades are based on a standard scale: A Excellent B Good C Satisfactory D Less than satisfactory (not passing) F Below 60 Failing Essays Papers must follow MLA standards, including standard 12 pt. font size and 1 margins. All work prepared outside of class for a grade must be typed, unless otherwise noted. ed work may be accepted, but I prefer to receive course work on paper. Please see the detailed policies on near the end of this syllabus. Students, especially those who re-take my course, must keep electronic copies of essays and hold on to graded and marked copies of all their work. Note: To be eligible to pass the course, one must complete the six major essay assignments and have a passing overall average on one s writing grade (that is, all the assignments except participation). If one s overall writing grade is below passing, then one s participation grade cannot be factored in to raise one s average to a passing total. Journals: There will be about 16 journal entries over the course of the semester. Students who keep up with their journal entries tend to have more to contribute to class discussions and tend to earn higher marks in participation. More details about journals are on our class website and will be discussed in class. Quizzes: There will be about 10 quizzes over the course of the semester. Upcoming quizzes are usually announced in class a day or two ahead of time, but they may be unannounced. A student s lowest quiz score will not be factored into his or her quiz grade. Participation is based on one s level of engagement in class. This includes listening politely and participating effectively in discussions and class activities such as peer review. Participation also depends upon preparation. Coming to class without assigned books, print outs, and/or homework leads to a lower participation mark. Good engagement in class leads to high participation marks; poor attendance, lack of involvement, and breaches in class etiquette lead to low participation marks. Etiquette: Treat the classroom as a positive learning environment and be aware of the school s regulations regarding disruptive behavior, misconduct, and harassment (MJC Catalog 45-48). Behavior that disrupts the learning environment of the classroom will not be tolerated. Cell phones and electronic devices must be silent and out of sight. * Do not text in class. * If an electronic device is disruptive, I may ask that it be kept at my desk. Students leaving the classroom may be asked to keep such devices at my desk as well. Try to stay seated. There s an obvious correlation between staying seated, not texting, and doing well in the course. Do not eat or sleep in class. Do not do homework for other courses during class.

4 One of the best things students can do in class is to participate in discussions by expressing their views and ideas; however, when students speak in class it should contribute to the class environment, not disrupt it. Do not have distracting, private conversations. Do not talk when another is talking. Avoid dominating a class discussion or making hurtful remarks. Share your point of view but be mindful of others. After a first warning, those who continue to be disruptive will be asked to leave the room and may, according to college policy, be suspended. Academic Integrity: Cheating, academic dishonesty, and plagiarism are violations of academic integrity, and serious violations will be reported. MJC defines plagiarism as the deliberate adoption or reproduction of ideas, words or statements of another person as one s own, without acknowledgement (MJC Catalog 46). The consequences of plagiarism, as outlined in the school catalog, are as follows: The grading of a student s work rests on the fundamental idea that an instructor is evaluating a student s own work, so cheating or plagiarism demonstrates a failure to complete this most basic requirement of any course. Thus a faculty member may administer academic consequences for violating the Academic Integrity Policy ranging from partial credit to an F on the assignment or exam. The instructor may also consider that a student s violation of academic integrity should be a consideration for disciplinary measures. (46) To prevent plagiarism, your instructor may upload assignments to Turnitin.com. For information on avoiding plagiarism, see me or this site: < Getting Help: Office Hours and I encourage you to contact me whenever you have questions about the course. Please note that I use office hours for conversations, and I use for quick replies. Time does not permit me, over , to answer broad, open-ended questions such as what did I miss in class today? or how can I improve my draft? Let s have a conversation about such matters. I m glad to answer very specific questions over , but I just give brief replies to focused questions. There s time for more detailed discussion during office hours, and I enjoy using that time for that purpose. The Writing Center: Helpful peer tutors there will be glad to assist you, but they will not fix your work for you. The school catalog provides the following information on MJC s Writing Center: At the Writing Center, you can get the support you need to improve your writing skills. Tutors will work with you on any writing-related task for any subject to help you understand your assignment, gather ideas, focus on the topic, and organize the paper. (MJC Catalog 60) EAST CAMPUS: Classroom Annex 103 WEST CAMPUS: 235 Yosemite Hall (in the Integrated Learning Center) * More information about the Writing Center will be provided in class. * Disability Services: MJC offers accommodations for students with special needs. If you are going to need accommodations, please communicate with me within the first couple weeks of class so they can be arranged. The MJC Disabilities Services Center is located at room 160 of the Journalism Building on East Campus (phone: ).

5 Class Policies on , Absences, and Late Assignments (* Additional Details *) ed Work: at your own risk. If you want to be sure information or work gets to me, provide it in person, or call as well as . If you choose to , send your work both as a Microsoft Word or PDF file attachment and as a message pasted into the body of your . Also, ask for a receipt (example: "please respond letting me know you received this message"). In short, the following excuse is not acceptable: "Did you get the work I sent? I swear I ed that to you." If you cannot come to class for some reason, consider having a friend or classmate submit your work for you. Excused Late Work: With a legitimate excuse, written class work may be accepted and evaluated without a grade deduction. Only a documented illness or emergency will be regarded as a legitimate excuse. Such documentation must include a phone number and address of a professional who can testify to the authenticity of the document. Do not forge or falsify documents; violations will be reported. If you have a legitimate, documented excuse, and you want your work evaluated without a grade deduction, it is your responsibility to take the initiative in letting me know and in providing me with documentation in a timely manner. In other words, I will not ask you for documentation; you need to furnish it without me asking for it. I will accept some assignments late, but quizzes, the midterm and the final cannot be taken late. However, if, for some important, unavoidable, legitimate reason, you cannot be in class on the day of a quiz, in-class essay, or exam, and you let me know of this conflict days in advance, then we might be able to schedule a time for you. There are no make-up quizzes, but sometimes re-scheduled ones are allowed. Grade Deductions on Late Work: If you plan to submit an essay late, please let me know early or at the time the assignment is due. If you ever submit an essay one class meeting late (with a grade reduction), you do not need to let me know why. I just need to know that I should expect the work late. However, if there is something you would like me to know about your circumstances, always feel free to communicate that with me. Grades on unexcused late assignments will reflect the fact that they were submitted late: Grades will be reduced by a full letter when essays are turned in one class meeting late. For example, a paper due Monday can be submitted on Tuesday, or a paper due Thursday can be submitted on Monday. Both would be reduced by 10%. After being more than one class meeting late, extra-late essays may still receive credit but will automatically receive a failing mark 59 points or less, depending on quality. All assignments are always due at the beginning of class, as stated in the syllabus. This means, for example, that an assignment due on Thursday at 8:00 that is submitted on Thursday at 8:10 will be considered late. This strict policy helps make the classroom a better learning environment because it discourages many people from disrupting the class by arriving late on days assignments are due. A final tip: Be sure that your computer and printer are working (and that you have extra ink), and be sure you have a backup plan if you run into technical difficulties. Students often tell me that they had a problem with accessing their work at the computer lab or that they had some such difficulty, and I always believe them because I've experienced such problems so often myself. Even so, despite my sympathy for students hampered by such situations, technical difficulties will not be regarded as legitimate excuses for late work.