English
101
Winter 2007
Name: Phone: Email: Name: Phone: Email:
Instructor:
Telephone: 425-564-2346, option #2
Email: lczesak@bcc.ctc.edu
(I accept assignments
via email only by special permission)
Office: R230L (I do not accept assignments in my mailbox)
Office Hours: 7-7:30 am or
by appointment
Required Materials:
The Curious Writer – Bruce Ballenger, 2005
A Writer’s Reference – Diana
Hacker, 5th Edition
Writing / homework journal
Access to reliable printer
and word processor
Stapler
Recommended Materials:
A good college dictionary
and thesaurus (Longman or Webster)
About
English 101
This course is designed to
prepare you for college composition 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:
Like most college level
classes, you will find that this class will move briskly and will require daily
preparation and study. We will learn together
in small groups, pairs, and as a class.
Discussions with your classmates about the readings and assignments are
a great time to gather other perspectives and thoughts that could boost your
own writing. These important
interactions with your peers require common courtesy such as good listening
skills, respecting other’s opinions, and treating each other with dignity. Please turn off cell phones and pagers. Please no IPods or other musical
devises. Please no laptops unless by
special permission. Absolutely no
text messaging. In other words,
please attend class as a courteous adult.
Beverages and snacks are welcomed.
I expect to have a lot of fun this quarter, and I am excited to help you
grow as a writer and thinker.
Keys to Success in
my Class
·
Participate
in class discussions and group work.
·
Take
ownership of your education.
·
Seek
additional help if needed through the Writing Lab, tutoring or me.
·
Complete all
assignments and homework.
·
Be on time
and come to all class meetings.
·
Come with a
smile and be ready to learn.
Attendance:
You cannot pass the class if
you are absent more than 8 classes. If
you are more than 10 minutes late or leave early, it will count as a 1-hour
absence. I start counting attendance the
very first day of the quarter whether the student is registered or not. Please keep track of your own absences
because I will not warn you of impending peril (grade or attendance). Please refer to the college calendar for
withdrawal dates.
Tardiness:
Coming to class late is not
acceptable. If you come late
frequently you will lose your participation grade. The same holds for leaving early. A general rule of thumb is: If the classroom door is shut, you are too
late to attend class that day. I
recommend students withdraw from this class if they are a person who is
habitually late (most people know if this personality trait is a part of their
persona or not).
Please, do not test me on
this.
Turning in Assignments:
You may turn in assignments
TWO ways: You may turn it in at the
beginning of class or send it with a classmate. If there is a family emergency, or severe
illness, it is your responsibility to contact me ASAP and propose a plan for
turning in your assignment. If you do
not contact me on the day the assignment is due there is no way that I can help
you. Thorough communication with me will
benefit you!
If you miss a due date for
Inquiry 1-4, you will be marked down one full grade earned on the inquiry in
your portfolio at the end of the quarter.
Additionally, you will forfeit your privilege for me to give you
corrections and feedback on that assignment before it is turned in for a final
grade.
I do not accept late portfolios. I do not accept late Reading Group Questions.
Ownership:
The papers that you write for
this class are expected to be your original work, written for the
specifications of the assignment. 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
database. This is a web service that
My policy for English 101 is: 1st offense = F on the entire
portfolio; 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)
In Class Write #1 15%
of total grade
In Class Write #2 15%
of total grade
Portfolio 50% of total grade
Reading Group Seminar 10% of total grade
Participation, attitude, 10% of total
grade
preparedness
Inquiries 1-4 – You
will write 4 out of class inquiries. 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. 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).
A complete assignment will
contain the following:
Portfolio – Your portfolio will be comprised of all course
work completed this quarter. This means
all drafts, notes and in class work too.
Please keep an organized folder so nothing is lost. I cannot help you at the end of the quarter
if you have misplaced a part of the required portfolio.
Homework Journal –
In your daily schedule you
will see readings and exercises assigned from your textbook. You will complete and keep these in a journal
to be graded with your final portfolio.
We will have a graded check point mid-way through the quarter during
conferences, but otherwise I will not “check” your homework until the end of
the quarter. If you choose to complete
the homework on the computer that is fine, but you still must compile them in a
binder or folder for me to grade. 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.
Reading Group
Seminar - For one Friday in the quarter you will lead
your reading group in a literary discussion that you create based on a short
story that I will hand out. Your
literary discussion will be based on a group of questions that I will
demonstrate at the beginning of the quarter.
You will bring enough copies of your questions for your reading
group. You will also submit a copy of
your questions (with your answers) to me for a grade. All work must be typed and neatly done. If you are absent on your assigned day you
cannot make it up.
In Class Writes - You will write two literary analyses in class
writes during the quarter. You will
choose 1 out of 3 questions to answer that I will hand out at the beginning of
the exam day. These questions will be
based on the short stories discussed in the reading groups. You might be asked to analyze a character,
writing style, rhetorical mode, compare two readings etc. You will have 50 minutes to write. These writes will be graded on the quality of
thought and analysis, and if you answered the question asked, in addition to
grammar, punctuation and organization.
See schedule for dates.
Paper Format - For all work produced in this class you will use MLA
style documentation and format. Please
refer to your handbook for more information.
In general, follow these guidelines:
typed, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12- point font, indented
paragraphs, page numbers, title and heading.
Part of college writing is proper format and documentation, so I take it
very seriously. Incorrect MLA, no
credit portfolio.
Grading:
Final course grades are
posted through your BCC online account as letter grades. All of the work submitted for a grade in this
class will be averaged with the stated weight listed above. Please keep track of your own grades because
I will not be able to calculate them in class.
Additionally, keep all of your graded work, not only for portfolio
purposes, but for your own “protection” if a calamity befalls your instructor.
Grade Point to Letter Grade Conversion According to
4.0 = A Outstanding Achievement
3.7 = A-
3.3 = B+ High Achievement
3.0 = B
2.7 = B-
2.3 = C+ Satisfactory Achievement
2.0 = C
1.7 = C-
1.3 = D+ Poor Achievement
1.0 = D
0 = F Unsatisfactory Achievement
Dates to Remember
(Subject to change)
Inquiry #1 (Personal
Essay, chapter 4) due-------------Jan 11 – peer draft
Jan 16 – final draft to me
Inquiry #2 (Writing a
Profile, chapter 5) due-------------Jan 30 – peer draft
Jan 31– final draft to me
Inquiry #3 (Writing a
Proposal, chapter 7) due----------Feb 14 – peer draft
Feb 15 – final draft to me
Inquiry
#4 (Writing an Ethnographic Essay, chapter 10) due- March 5 – peer draft
March
6 – final draft
Reading Group Seminar Leader
– one of the following dates: 10% Grade:
_____
(Jan 12, Jan 19, Jan 26, Feb
9, Feb 16, Feb 23)
In
Class Write #1-------------------------------Feb 2 15% Grade: _______
In
Class Write #2 -----------------------------March 9 15% Grade: _______
Portfolio
Final due----------------------------March 16 50%
Grade: _______
The only item not included in this list is your
participation grade, and this is worth 10% of your final grade. Things I consider when giving a participation
grade are attitude, attendance, tardiness, preparedness for class and the
extent of your participation.
Worst
Case Scenario
Coming
up to your instructor on the day an assignment is due and explaining your
technical woes is not acceptable or resourceful. PLAN AHEAD!
Take
ownership of your education and use these resources for ALL
computer, printer, email, disk, memory stick, roommate, and web disasters.
If
you are unfortunate enough to forget to save your work, or a storm cuts the
power and you lose your paper there is only one option – write your paper
again.
Kinko’s
For
probably $1 you can print your paper here from a disk or memory stick. If you do not have a disk, or a faulty disk,
you can email you paper to Kinko’s and then print it when you get there. Additionally, you can type and print
your paper there.
Hotmail,
Yahoo etc
Sign
up for a free email account that you can access from any computer on campus or
Kinko’s. Email your paper to this
account and print out at your chosen venue.
Hey, have BCC pay for your print outs because you already pay a
technology fee each quarter.
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 (Winter 2007)
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Writing Lab (D204D) – print out your paper or get free
tutoring!
Hours:
Monday
– Thursday 8:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday
Saturday 11:00 am – 4 pm
Sunday 11:00 pm – 4:00
pm