WINTER 2012

ENGL& 101 - ENGLISH COMPOSITION I

INSTRUCTOR: Pat Andrus 

E-MAIL:  Always contact instructor through our mail at class site.  Only if site down, e-mail instructor here: pandrus@bellevuecollege.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Welcome to English #101 online. In this class you will have opportunity to be exposed to and chew on a number of essays in our anthology Essays from Contemporary Culture, further explore ideas through developing and completing your own essays using the writing processes all writers employ, and provide constructive and supportive feedback to essays our other class members compose. Since good reading and good writing are intimately linked, be prepared to READ at least two to four essays a week and participate in discussion with the whole class. 

What will you then typically do from week to week? Here's a listing of most English 101 activities you'll do during the course:

• Really read two to four assigned essays each week. Lorri Nandrea's essay as part of week 2 is a demanding/exciting essay, so allow extra time for that.  In another words, read the essay at least three times and take notes (or whatever method of remembering works for you best).

• Join other students in a large group discussion for shared responses to readings where you will be graded on your posted responses and comments.

• Begin, revise, and then post with your writing groups three major essays during the course of the quarter.   Check out  the Writing Lab on campus for resources, including tutoring assistance.  You can get help in revising or editing your papers:  http://bellevuecollege.edu/asc/writing

• Provide constructive comments for other members' essays in your writing group for which you will be graded.

• Submit your revised/final copy of each essay to your instructor for grading and comment.

GRADING:

Introductory Narrative Paper and posting of bio = 5%

Essay #1 = 15%

Essay #2 = 15 %

Essay #3 = 20%  

 Participation (quality and level) on text reading responses = 15%

Meeting deadlines for posting your FULL essay for workshop review = 10%

Workshop feedback (including deadline) for other group essays 15%

Self Evaluation for the course = 5%

*GRADES FOR ANY WORK COMPLETED AFTER DEADLINE WILL BE LOWERED CONSIDERABLY, PARTICULARLY INVOLVING DEADLINES OF ESSAYS POSTED WITH YOUR GROUP MEMBERS OR FINAL DRAFT ESSAYS DUE TO ME. 

*IN ORDER TO GET ANY CREDIT FOR THE COURSE, ALL WORK MUST BE COMPLETED BY THE LAST DAY OF OUR CLASS ONLINE,  DECEMBER 1.

TEXT BOOK:

ESSAYS FROM CONTEMPORARY CULTURE by Katherine Ackley (5^th ed!)

COMPUTER SKILLS AND THIS CLASS:

You need to know the basics: Navigate around the web, be able to use both Explorer and Navigator browsers (or Mae equivalent), mail your work with attachments (and open up others), be comfortable with a word processing system, AND HAVE ACCESS TO AND USE WORD, NOT WORD PAD, upload (and down load) programs and files with ease, have all the hardware and software necessary, and so forth. What's important in all this is that you know when YOU or your computer is lacking in something, or your provider, or when the server Blackboard is at fault.  Finally you must always have a back-up plan for completing your work, in case your server is down, your computer broken, etc.  And for distance education questions, contact the folks in Distance Education (via landerso@bellevuecollege.edu or Phone: 425-564-2438 or l-877-641-2712 (toll free). DO keep this address and these telephone numbers handy for easy access!!!  If you contact me, for example, with a problem (via our class mail), I may advise you to contact these folks but I won't use precious "class time" to  type the e-mail and/or telephone numbers.

ETHICS WITH ONLINE WORK:

Do you think this is a subject everyone thinks about but no one talks about? Well here is the scoop for this course. Do your own work. If you use ideas from one of our essays, be sure you let the reader know. If you "borrow" an essay from another, either a relative, a friend, or someone online and submit it as your own, you will receive an F for that assignment. If it happens again, you will receive an F for your final grade. You should find the work YOU DO in this course to be enriching and rewarding. You may even discover a beginning of a novel or collection of essays in your writings by the end of the quarter. But, for a definition of plagiarism including examples, click on this link, provided by the Writing Lab on campus:  http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml

ONLINE ETIQUETTE:

1. Be honest but courteous in your postings, responses, comments. Remember that unlike a traditional classroom, we don't have the other ways of communicating including the whole world of body language, of speaking and seeing and listening IN PERSON.  We just have our screen and our words.

2. Rude or disrespectful comments directed either to other members of the class or to the instructor are not acceptable.

3. If you feel a student has attacked you or treated you without respect, do not respond.  Instead, contact your instructor and she will handle the matter.

4. Consider this class like a community where we learn from each other in a supportive and academic environment.

5.  Please refer to the Arts & Humanities Policies for all subject policies.  Web address is http://belluevuecollege.edu/artshum When you get to this point, click on student information.  Under that, click on Student Procedures and Expectations.

       6.  Always respond to any questions your instructor asks you in an e-mail.

ENGLISH OUTCOMES (Abilities students will possess upon completion of this course):

***Think and read critically:  demonstrate an understanding of an essay's thesis/main idea with relevant supporting details.  Read carefully, analyze, interpret and evaluate points of view, differentiating between facts, opinions, biases, and judgments.

***Compose and revise in context:  Consider flexible strategies for writing, drafting, revising, and editing. Develop and support a thesis statement that is appropriately complex and significant.  Provide unified paragraphs with supporting details that build on the thesis.  Utilize various ways of development such as description, comparison and contrast, illustration and/or analysis.  Include other points of view to reflect an understanding of the complexity of the issue.  Employ style, tone, and correct mechanical conventions appropriate to the demands of a particular purpose.

***Reflect and evaluate:  Develop or improve ability to critique ones own work and that of others.  Gain a clearer perspective of behaviors that may detract from the effectiveness of ones writing.  Respond to comments and feedback from instructor and peers.