English 092
Developmental English
Spring Quarter 2012
Bellevue College
Item # 1041, Section F
M – F 1:30 pm – 2:20 pm Room A243
Instructor: Nancy
Eichner
Office Hours: By
appointment (usually available M – F 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm)
E-mail: neichner@bellevuecollege.edu E-mail is best.
Phone: (425) 564- 2090
(messages only)
Writing Lab: D
204 (Free tutors available. Free computers available when no class is
present.
N-Building computers are always
available to you.)
Weekly Writing Lab Reservation: Thursday
1:30 – 2:20 (Meet at Lab. Bring a
flash drive.
Bring dictionaries.)
Reading Lab: D
204 (Strong suggestion: Take English
080 (1 credit)—independent reading
study on computers.)
To understand college-level reading materials.
To write effective essays.
To write using correct grammar and punctuation.
Please buy your books immediately. They are available at the BC Bookstore in B
Building.
·
Sentence
Skills, Form A, 2011 ed., by John Langan
(ISBN 10:0-07-337169-6)
·
The
Impossible Will Take a Little While, by Paul Rogat
Loeb (ISBN 0-465-04166-3)
·
The
Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein (ISBN 978-0-06-153793-6)
·
A collegiate dictionary (must
have the word “college” or “collegiate” in the title)
·
A soft folder with three
fasteners (not rings) for
your Portfolio
·
A binder with three metal rings
in which to keep your notes
·
Cards (3 ˝ X 5 inches)
for vocabulary
This course is designed as a workshop class to help you
improve your reading and writing skills.
You will have the opportunity to write, revise, and edit all
of your essays before they are graded.
You will have the opportunity to receive feedback on all of your essays
from your peers in writing workshops, as well as from me in conferences for
essays one and two.
We will read and discuss published essays to use as models
of effective writing.
·
Three 500-650 word essays (minimum 3
pages), submitted in your Portfolio during the last week of the quarter (grades
given during the quarter for Essay 1 and 2; no grade for Essay 3, i.e. the
"test" essay, until it is submitted in the Portfolio).
·
Successful
completion of all assigned work (grammar, writing, reading, vocabulary).
·
Grammar tests (if deemed necessary)
·
Vocabulary tests (if deemed necessary)
·
Weekly in-class writing and editing
at the Writing Lab AND a corrected
draft based on my corrections (due at the Lab the following week)
·
10 vocabulary cards each week due at
the Lab—use the template I give you; take words from our readings.
·
Regular class attendance and constructive
participation in workshops and class discussions.
You will be expected to hand in your homework assignments on
time, that is, in class on the dates they are due.
When I give you a reading assignment, you must finish the
reading and any accompanying work before class on the day it is
due. When I give you a writing
assignment, you must complete the writing before class on the day it is
due (unless I tell you otherwise).
Keeping track of the due dates is your responsibility.
*********If you miss class, remember to phone a classmate to
ask if any assignments were given or changes made while you were gone. It is best to get the phone number of at
lease two reliable classmates. Remember:
It is your responsibility to find out what you miss when you are
absent.**********
Strong
Suggestion
(READING
IS THE KEY!!!)
Take one credit of independent learning at the Reading Lab
(D204). This credit is labeled English
080 and is Credit/No Credit. You work a
minimum of 22 hours on computer reading programs whenever you can fit it into
your schedule. There are teachers at the
Lab to guide you. If you work
diligently, I can almost guarantee that your reading skills will improve
significantly and your writing skills will improve.
It is my experience that reading is the key to language
learning, including writing and grammar.
It is also my experience that students who struggle in college are very
often weak readers.
Therefore, I want to encourage you to work hard on your
reading this quarter beyond what we
are doing in class. The Reading Lab
computer programs are designed to aid you improve comprehension, vocabulary,
and speed. You work there at your
own pace. You are supported and
monitored by skilled Reading Lab teachers who are always there to offer help.
If you miss more than 10 classes, I will ask you to repeat
the course another quarter. This is our
department policy. Please feel free to
speak with me if you are having problems with attendance.
I will start class on time.
If you are late, you will be counted absent. Please speak to me about any kind of special
problems regarding lateness.
Your papers must present your own ideas in your own
words. If you copy someone’s exact
words, you must put them in quotation marks and reference the source. If you summarize or quote someone else’s
ideas, fact, or words, you must say where the information came from. If you do not do this, you will be considered
unethical—a plagiarizer (an idea thief).
Saying where ideas and words come from is called “citing
your sources.” I will teach you the
basic conventions for citing your sources now, and you will learn more about
these conventions as you take higher-level courses.
I will not accept an essay you have copied from someone else
or an essay in which you present someone else’s ideas or words as your own.
ABOUT
ALL WRITTEN WORK
TO BE HANDED IN
Format
for ALL Written Work
1. Type: Please word process (use a computer to type) all work. If you don’t know how to word process, don’t worry. Go to the Library and librarians there will show you how. If you don’t have access to a personal computer at home, you may use the computers at the Library.
2.
Label:
Please put a label in the upper left-hand
corner of all assignments (called the MLA label). Write the following information on the first
page (5 lines):
Your First and Last Name
English 101
Instructor: Nancy Eichner
Kind of Assignment (for example, ESSAY
1, First Draft; or, Response to
Ackerman's
"A Slender Thread" in Impossible, p. 22)
Date
·
On the second page and all ensuing
pages, put the following label in the upper right-
hand corner:
Last
Name Page Number [Example:
Tran 2]
3. Staple: Staple
all your papers together BEFORE you get to class. I will not accept unstapled
work. I do not bring a stapler to class.
4. Title: Give each essay a title. Center the title. Capitalize the first letter of the first
word and all
important words. Do not use any punctuation. Leave two spaces between the
title and the first line of the essay.
5. Margins: Leave margins of about 1 ˝ inches on the
sides and at the top and bottom. Most
computer word processors do this automatically when they print, even if the
margins don’t show on the screen.
6. Font
and Size: Use a clear font (Arial, for
example) and size 12 print.
7. Spell
Checker: Use the spell-checker to help
check your spelling. However,
don’t rely on the spell-checker to find all your mistakes. Proofread
OUT LOUD all your writing.
8. Grammar
Checker: Do not use the grammar checker on a computer. It is often wrong.
9. Paragraphs: Indent (use the TAB key) all of your
paragraphs.
10. Last-Minute
Corrections: If you need to make minor changes after you have printed your
work, make them neatly by hand. Use dark
ink, not pencil.
ABOUT THE
At the end
of the quarter, you will submit three essays in your Portfolio. I will give you a grade on your first two
essays during the quarter after you have discussed them two times in a workshop
and with me in a conference.
You should
be working all quarter on improving your essays. You will have the opportunity to receive
feedback and help from your writing workshop group during class. Also during class, I will work with you in
individual conferences.
Essay 3
will be a "test" essay. That
is, you will submit it in your Portfolio and will not have a chance to receive
any feedback from me before handing it in.
You will have workshops regarding Essay 3, but not a conference with
me.
Please use
the tutors at the Writing Lab (D 204) for additional assistance. It is best to make an appointment, although
that is not mandatory.
PREWRITING
is the first step in the writing process.
You gather as many ideas as possible using whatever method of
brainstorming works best for you. Also,
when writing a research paper (for example, in English 201), research is also
part of the prewriting phase.
ORGANIZING
is the next step in the writing process.
Put your ideas in logical order and make connections between all ideas
clear. Your writing should flow easily
and make sense to your readers because you present your ideas logically. You may use any organizational method that
works well for you. Many people make an
outline to organize their essays.
The FIRST DRAFT of an essay is to be
written as well as you can, but without worrying about grammar
corrections. You will read your first
draft out loud two times to your writing workshop group. Your classmates will give you feedback on the
content (NOT the grammar) of your writing.
What was interesting, touching, pleasing, important? What was NOT clear? Where would you need some more examples or
information? What was confusing? What was effective, and why? What was not effective, and why?
The REVISED DRAFT of an essay is an
improved version of its contents.
Consider the feedback your workshop group and I have given you; use your
own imagination and rethinking of your ideas to help you improve the writing. This is also the stage of the writing process
in which you work on correct word usage and enrichment of your written
expression.
The EDITED DRAFT is written when you
are satisfied with the content of the essay and want to correct the mechanical language
problems, such as sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling. Try to find your mistakes yourself on your
final revised draft. Then, bring it to
your workshop group and ask for editing feedback. Work together to find and correct mistakes.
Ask me for help in class when necessary.
The edited draft should, then, be the draft you present for grading in
your Portfolio. It is the final draft of
an essay.
Note: Bring 3 copies of a draft on WRITING WORKSHOP
days. The members of
your writing group need to be able to read along as you read your essay out
loud.
If members
of your group are not working seriously enough to satisfy your needs, change
groups! It is your responsibility to get
as much as possible from the feedback opportunities offered you in this
class. If you need help in joining a new
group, come see me.
Essay Format
LABEL:
Each draft of your essay MUST have a label in the upper left hand corner of the first page:
First
and Last Name
English
092
Instructor: N. Eichner
Essay
#____: FIRST DRAFT
(or—Revised
Draft
or—Edited Draft)
Date
Ensuing pages get a label in the upper right corner: Last Name Page #
(Ex.: Tran 2)
TYPE, MARGINS, FONT, SIZE:
Each essay draft must be typed on a computer (word
processor) and double-spaced. The
margins should be about 1 ˝ inches all
around. (Usually the default margins on
a computer are about this size.) Use
size 12 print. Please use a clear print
style, such as Arial or New Times Roman.
TITLE:
Also, an essay or a story always has a title, which is centered above the first line. Double space between the title and the first
line of your essay (in other words, the spacing is the same as the rest of the
paper). Only the first letter of the
first word and all the first letters of all important words of a title are
capitalized. A title is NOT written in
all capital letters. There is no
underline or other punctuation marking a title.
ABOUT THE
You will
give me a portfolio of your writing to be graded at the end of the
quarter. A portfolio is a collection of
your best work presented in a formal way.
Here are
the requirements for your portfolio presentation:
1. Use
a soft folder with three fasteners.
Please,
do not put your writing in plastic.
Please, do not use a binder with metal rings, or a folder with a
compression strip (they fall apart too easily).
2. On
the cover, print:
Writing Portfolio
Student: First and Last Name
English 092
Instructor: Nancy Eichner
Quarter
3. Make
the portfolio easy for me to read through.
·
Put a divider with a labeled tab in
front of each essay.
·
Make the first page a Table of
Contents, giving the titles of your essays in the order you present them.
4. Order
of the essays:
Essay 1, Essay 2, Essay 3
ABOUT
THE GRAMMAR ASSIGNMENT
Introduction
The Langan
book is based on the principle of Mastery Learning. That means you may continue learning and
practicing a particular point of grammar until you have mastered it.
The Langan book has many grammar
chapters. In each chapter, there are
explanations of a particular point of grammar, exercises to help you practice,
a review test at the end of every chapter, and a section of mastery tests which
concentrate on editing (finding mistakes and correcting them).
Diagnostic
Exercise:
Immediately at the beginning of the quarter, everyone will do a diagnostic
exercise in the book to determine which points of grammar need
clarification and practice. You will
generate your personal list of grammar needs based on this exercise.
Assignments
Everyone in the class will do certain chapters of grammar
together. I will lecture on these
chapters and you will do the practices at home.
In addition, you will be responsible for any extra chapters
about grammar points for which you feel you need more work. You will have to calculate how many
additional chapters you should do each week in order to have completed your
program by the end of the quarter. Let
me know what grammar has not yet become clear, and we will try to spend more
time in class practicing it.
You must CHECK YOUR ANSWERS by comparing them with the
answers at the back of the book!!!! This
is very important. Ask me in class to
explain whatever you have gotten wrong.
The goal is that, by the end of the quarter, you feel
confident of the grammar in your own writing.
In-Class Writing,
Editing, and At-Home Correcting
Once
a week, we will meet at the Writing Lab (D204).
I will give you a very short writing assignment. You will write for 30 minutes.
Then,
you will correct your language mechanics, including grammar, spelling, and word
usage, using your grammar books and dictionaries.
After
you try your best to make the necessary corrections, I take your paper home and
correct at least the first page of what you have overlooked or, possibly, have
not understood.
You
retype the section I have edited for you, using my corrections, and you give me
this corrected draft the following week at Lab.
Label: In-Class Writing and
Editing: (title)--Corrected Draft.
For
your edification, you must think about why I made the corrections I did AND, if
you do not understand why, ASK ME TO EXPLAIN!!!
This is one of the most significant learning tools I can offer you.
In
class, I will put some of your sentences up on the board and we will analyze
the grammar
errors. This activity is called Error Analysis.
Students have told me they find this activity a very useful learning tool.
ABOUT
VOCABULARY CARDS
There will
probably be many new words in our reading selections or other reading you do
throughout the quarter. I suggest you
keep new words on cards, which you keep in alphabetical order in a box.
Each
vocabulary card should use the format I will illustrate on the board.
·
You
will make 10 vocabulary cards each week (using the format I give you) and hand
them in to me at the Writing Lab. Flag the words with a post-it note
about whose definitions you are unsure even after looking the words up in the
dictionary. I will answer your questions
during lab time.
Bring your dictionaries to class every day! A note about using the dictionary: This is one of the most important activities
for a student of language.
Reading
is the key to language skills--both reading comprehension AND writing strength
(including grammar). Vocabulary is at
the heart of reading ability.
If reading is an area in which you need more practice, I strongly
suggest you take a reading class (English 089) or, at least, one credit of
Reading Lab (English 080) to work independently on your reading skills.
ENGLISH 092
Note: The whole class will do these chapters. You will do any additional chapters in your
program as determined by the Diagnostic Test.
Note: * Indicates the chapters we will discuss in
class. The other chapters must be done
on your own.
1. *Subjects and
Verbs
2. *Fragments
3. *Run-Ons
4. *Additional
Information About Verbs
5. *Irregular
Verbs
6. *Subject/Verb
Agreement
7. *Pronoun
Reference, Agreement, Point of View
8. *Pronoun
Types
9. *Adjectives/Adverbs
10. *Misplaced
Modifiers
11. *Dangling
Modifiers
12. *Faulty
Parallelism
13. *Capital
Letters
14. *Apostrophes
15. *Comma
16. *Other
Punctuation Marks
17. *Quotation
Marks
18. Commonly
Confused Words
19. Effective
Word Choice
20. Sentence
Variety I
21. Sentence
Variety II
DUE DATES
OF
ESSAY DRAFTS, WORKSHOPS, CONFERENCES, EXAMS
NOTE: Standing Writing Lab (D204) reservation for
our class is Thursdays, 1:30 – 2:20 pm.
Essay 1
First Draft Tue., Apr. 17 Give Nancy a copy.
Apr.
18 - 20 Workshops and
Conferences (Bring 3 copies.)
Grammar
in groups when workshop is finished.
Revised
Draft Mon., Apr. 23 Give Nancy a copy.
Wed.,
Apr. 25 Error Analysis
Thur.,
Apr. 26 Editing Workshop at
Lab
Edited
Draft Mon., Apr. 30 DUE for grading (at the
beginning of class)
Essay 2
First Draft Mon., May 7 Give Nancy a copy.
May
9 - 11 Workshops and
Conferences (Bring 3 copies.)
Grammar
in groups when workshop is finished.
Revised
Draft Mon., May 14 Give Nancy a copy.
Wed.,
May 16 Error Analysis
Thur.,
May 17 Editing Workshop at
Lab
Edited
Draft Mon., May 21 DUE for grading (at the
beginning of class).
Essay 3
First Draft Wed., May 30 Workshops (Bring 3 copies.)
Revised
Draft Thur., June 7 Editing Workshop at Lab
Edited
Draft Fri., June 8 DUE for grading in your
Portfolio.
Portfolio Fri.,
June 8 DUE at the
beginning of class. Contains the
graded drafts of Essay 1 and Essay 2 and the
ungraded edited draft of Essay 3.
Grammar Test (maybe) Mon.,
June 11
Portfolio Tue.,
June 12 Returned with
grades;
And Last
day of class
Grammar Test