ENGL&
101 – English Comp I
Summer Quarter 2011
Instructor:
Lucy Czesak (pronounced Chezik)
e-mail: lczesak@bellevuecollege.edu
Contacting Me
The best way to contact me is through the e-mail on the class site (go to
email tab and click on recipients and then find course instructor or Lucy
Czesak). I will respond to all e-mails
within 24 hours during the week and within 48 hours on the weekend. If the system is down you may reach me at my
Bellevue College e-mail. I do not live
in the State of Washington, so I am not able to have office hours.
A
little about me: I
have been an English instructor at Bellevue College for 7 years. While I have taught mostly on campus, I have
instructed online nearly every quarter for 5 years. Whether students are in my campus class or in
my virtual classroom, I love the English language and working with the diverse
student body. Each of us comes to class
with various strengths and weaknesses, and I aspire to meet each student where
they are at and build from there.
I attained my B.A. from University of Washington and my M.A.
from Seattle University. Part of my
studies at Seattle University was in Adult Education and Teaching English as a
Second Language, so I enjoy working with native and non-native English speakers
alike.
Required Materials:
• The Curious Writer – Bruce Ballenger, 3rd edition (not brief or concise version)
ISBN: 978-0-205-70764-5
• English
Brushup – Langan & Goldstein, any
edition is fine.
• Reliable computer, Internet Access, and
Microsoft Word.
About 101
In this college composition course you
will hone your writing skills through exposure and practice in various
rhetorical modes. You will find that a
main emphasis of this course is inquiry and revision instead of thesis and editing. While it is true
that we will devote class time to the finer points of thesis, editing and
grammar, we will not stop there. By also
slogging our way through the messy, cyclical process of inquiry and revision
you might just surprise yourself by being able to “ say what you wanted to say”, or better yet, “say what you didn’t know you wanted to say”.
Classroom Atmosphere: What
makes or breaks a class experience is not always if the teacher is “good” or
“bad”. I believe what creates a great
classroom experience is how you feel
in class. If you feel relaxed, clear on
the expectations of the course, and connected
to your classmates, you will have a more productive and memorable course. I will try to do my part by being specific
and clear about the course, and request that you ask for clarification anytime
you feel lost. In order for us all to feel relaxed and
connected to others, I want your help in creating a welcoming, inclusive and
respectful atmosphere.
How to Navigate this Course and Expectations
Besides completing all of the assigned work in a timely
manner, you will need to
develop this daily routine:
If your goal is to successfully complete this course, you
will need to do the
following each day during the week, Monday-Friday and once
during the
weekend:
• Log into the course
• Check email (this is the main way I will
communicate, and the place where
you will attach your essay assignments and get them back from
me)
• Go to the Discussions Tab (this is where everything
happens)
- Check the Kitchen Table for my answers to student
questions
- Check the Grammar Room and read new student posts
and my
responses.
- Check the Weekly Discussion and read new student
posts.
- Check the Grade Book if you have any new grades
posted.
- Check the Calendar
Additionally, think about how best you learn and how best you
keep track of due
dates and criteria.
Some students like to print out the syllabus, calendar, and
essay assignments to refer to or to make notes. On the left side of the course
site, you should
see a Notes tab. This is for your
personal use if needed.
Turning in
Assignments:
You will submit your Inquiry (essay)
Assignments as an attachment to my course site email address (go to mail tab,
then click on recipients, and find course instructor or Lucy Czesak). Your attachment should be in a Microsoft Word
Document. In the
first day of the course, be sure to complete the test email to ensure that your
future work will get full points. Look
in your email for instructions on how to complete this first assignment.
Paper Format: Use this
standard for your typed assignments: 12
point font, double-spaced, 1 inch margins, Ariel or New Times Roman. Please
remember to include a heading with your name, date and assignment at the top of
your essay. Just as a
friendly reminder for those who text more than write: “I” should not be lower case, use two spaces
after a period, and “thru” I assure you is spelled “through” 99% of the
time.
Ownership:
The papers that you write for this
class are expected to be your original work, written for the specifications of
the assignment for this class. Save drafts, outlines and other preliminary
steps toward your finished work in case a question of ownership arises. Burden of proof belongs to the student.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s
words and ideas as if they were your own.
It is important that you learn the proper MLA citation techniques to
avoid plagiarism. Papers turned into
my class many times will be scanned and downloaded to services that Bellevue
College subscribes to for plagiarism detection.
According to the Bellevue College policy on plagiarism or cheating, you
may be given an “F” for an assignment or the entire course if part or all of
your paper is plagiarized. In addition,
it must be reported to the Dean of Student Services. According to the Dean of Student Services,
students who plagiarize may not be asked back to BC.
My policy is: 1st offense = F on the assignment; 2nd
offense = F for the quarter. Each time
you will be reported to the Dean of Student Services.
Assignments:
Inquiry #1 (Personal Essay)
Inquiry #2 (Writing a Profile)
Inquiry #3 (Writing a proposal)
Inquiry #4 (Ethnographic Essay)
Grammar Room 10% of total grade
Portfolio 60% of
total grade
Discussion Thread 15% of
total grade
Journals 15% of
total grade
Inquiries
1-4
– You will write 4 inquiries
(essays). In order to promote an
environment where students can feel freer to experiment with revision, voice,
“failure” and rhetorical modes, these inquiries will not be assigned a grade
until you submit your portfolio at the end of the quarter. Instead, when you (the writer) submit your
inquiry on the due date, it will receive plenty of comments and feedback from
me (the editor). This system should
allow you more time for “re-thinking” your inquiry, just like a professional
writer would make changes to a book before final publication (or in your case a
final grade).
Due Date: Must be
turned in within 24 hours of due date, or you will lose your chance to have me
review your Inquiry before final grading in the Portfolio.
Portfolio
– Your portfolio will be comprised of
your final drafts of Inquiries1-4 and a self-evaluation. More information about this final assignment
will come later in the quarter. Due Date
Firm.
Homework
Journal
– Individual
work
In the discussion tab, under Journal
heading, you will see readings and exercises assigned from your textbook. You will complete and keep these in a
“running” journal on our course site. To
get full credit I am looking for thorough completion of activities and
thoughtful responses. Notice I did not
say “perfect” answers. I simply want to
see that you are invested in learning on your own at home. These journals will not be available for the
class to read. Your journal work is
private between the student and instructor.
Weekly
Discussion Thread – Whole class
Each week you will see
a new discussion thread posted. These
discussions will be based on The Curious
Writer and the Inquiry Assignments.
Your new discussion will be posted on Friday and you have one full week
to respond. To get full credit you
should post the following:
Of course, you may
find yourself posting more and this is great!
The more conversation the better for our class atmosphere and learning.
Grammar Room - Whole Class Activity
We
will be reviewing and studying grammar from our book, “English Brush-up”. Every two weeks I will create a new Grammar
Room discussion thread based on our bookwork.
Besides responding to my thread prompt, the Grammar Room will be a place
to come and ask your big or small questions about grammar. While I will step in to answer these
questions, I encourage the class to help one another.
To get full credit you
should post the following:
Privacy
I
respond only to direct inquiries from students.
Therefore, I discourage third parties (parents, spouses, friends) from
involving themselves because this can slow student growth and progress. I do so
because we are committed to student self-advocacy and independence. I also do it because federal law (the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act)
mandates that we protect the privacy of student education records, and Bellevue College policy mandates that
we keep academic performance as a matter between the institution and the
student. Requests by students to include
third parties in any instructor-student discussion of academic performance will
be considered at the discretion of the instructor. You may see the full text of this entire
policy (Arts and Humanities Commitment
to Student Growth and Development) aRCwww.bellevuecollege.edu/artshum.
Resources to Help You:
Students
with verified and documented educational disabilities must demonstrate the same
progress as other students with reasonable accommodations, such as additional
time. Students with disabilities who have accommodation needs are required to
meet with the Disability Resource Center (DRC) office, room B132 (telephone
425-564-2498 or TTY 425-564-4110), to establish their eligibility for
accommodation. The DRC office will provide each eligible student with an
accommodation letter. Students who
require accommodation in class must review the DRC accommodation letter with
each instructor during the first week of the quarter. Students with
mobility challenges who may need assistance in case of emergency situation or
evacuation should register with Disability Support Services, and review those
needs with the instructor as well.
Technical Difficulties:
My
answer to all technical problems of any kind this quarter which might impede
you completing the assigned work on time is:
“I am sorry you are having problems.
Please use your back-up plan.” In
other words, have a back up plan now before you have troubles. (Even I have a back up plan).
NWCET Open Lab (N250)
The open lab has over 200 PCs and
Macintosh computers available to all registered students. Internet access and software applications
that support academic and vocational courses are available.
N250 - Schedule
Monday - Thursday
7:00am - 9:30pm
Friday
7:00am - 7:00pm
Saturday
9:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday
9:00am - 6:00pm
Academic Success Center
Provides
free writing tutoring and other help.
Location D204
Phone (425) 564-2200
Hours Fall, Winter and Spring Quarter:
8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Monday – Thursday
8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Friday
11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Closed Holidays
and days when classes do not meet.