Instructor: Dr. Roger George
E-mail: rgeorge@bellevuecollege.edu
Phone: (425) 564 2021
Office location: R 230 D
Office Hours: Daily, 11:30-12:20
Course Outcomes
At the end of this courses, you will be able to write essays which demonstrate the ability to:
How Outcomes will be met
The goal of this course is to boost your
skills—mainly your writing skills, but also your reading and critical analysis
skills. College classes demand a kind of
disciplined communication and a special set of skills that you might not have
developed fully; by the end of this course, you should be better prepared to
succeed in all of your college
classes.
The “core” of the course will be four polished, revised essays of
different types, calling upon you to analyze and comment upon ideas, issues,
and events. These will be similar to
papers you might write for other classes, and you’ll be given the opportunity
to apply what you’ve learned throughout the quarter to their revision. You may also have the chance to write shorter
papers in response to your reading and to improve your grade through a variety
of activities.
All
good writing comes from observation. You
have to see for yourself, to observe an event or object, or even consider an
idea, as it appears to you -- not as you think somebody else wants you to see
it. This means learning to observe
details, and then finding connections between them. It means finding the words to describe what
you've seen to someone else. It means
paying attention not just to what something is (nouns), but also to what it does (verbs). It means that you
have to learn to start with the basic unit of writing, a concrete noun and an
action verb (a simple declarative
sentence), and build upon it, adding more and more detail, focusing your
perceptions, and zeroing in on the point of it all until you produce a vivid,
interesting, and coherent essay.
So we'll start with the basics: simple sentences. We'll make those sentences more complex, and
build them into paragraphs. Then we'll
build paragraphs. And, finally, we'll
link paragraphs into complete essays.
Grading
I use a points system. Every aspect of the class, including
attendance, is worth a certain number of points. The more you do, the more
you'll earn. The points will be based,
of course, on quality as well as
quantity—and revised work will potentially earn many more points than
preliminary drafts.
Among the things you will earn points for are:
1) Essays. You will produce four finished, revised
essays, which are to be considered samples of the best work of which you are
capable. All final drafts must be
revised from at least one earlier draft; if you do not submit a rough draft on
an assigned topic you will not be allowed to submit that paper for one of your
final revisions, and you cannot substitute another additional paper for one of
the assigned ones. The draft will be
worth a small number of points (usually 100); the revision will be worth much
more (up to 1000).
All essays, rough drafts and revisions,
shall be submitted electronically (email or a USB drive), in either Word or
Works (for PC) format. If they are not
electronically submitted, they will not be accepted. I prefer that you email your papers to me,
but be sure to get confirmation that I received them. If I don’t confirm receipt, the paper may not
be graded.
Papers are due on the date assigned.
If you miss the deadline, they become worthless, as they would in the
real world. I may award a fraction of
the available points, but only if you discuss with me the reason the assignment
was late.
2) Writing Lab. On your own, you may go to the Writing Lab.
The lab offers tutoring, and help (both personal and computerized) on grammar and
basic skills.
3) Reading Responses. In class,
we’ll be reading essays from Writing In
Context.. Class time will be devoted
to discussing the ideas within these essays.
Many of these essays also included suggested writing assignments, and I
may assign one of them for a “response paper.” These response papers are not
reports; you are not writing to summarize the essay or prove that you've read
it. And they are not a judgment; you are
not writing to inform us whether you liked the essay or not. They must contain ideas and questions worth
discussing; they are a supplement to and a continuation of the essay you've
read. Later in the quarter, response
papers may be an opportunity for extra credit.
4) Class participation. You
will receive points for your contributions to class discussions. You will also
earn points for participating in writing groups.
YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BE A PARTICIPANT AND NOT A
SPECTATOR IN ALL OUR VENTURES.
One last note. Earn as many
points as you can. In order to go on to
English 101, you must earn at least a “C-“ in English 092.
NOTE: ALL
ESSAYS PRODUCED FOR THIS CLASS WILL BE CONSIDERED TO BE PUBLIC WRITING, AND
THEY MAY BE USED (ANONYMOUSLY, OF COURSE) AS DEMONSTRATION PAPERS FOR FUTURE
CLASSES, UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY REQUEST OTHERWISE IN WRITING. ESSAYS MAY ALSO BE SUBMITTED TO TURNITIN.COM
FOR AN ANALYSIS OF THEIR ORIGINALITY.
Books and Materials Required
Writing in Context, by Laurie Kirszner and Stephen
Mandell
Affirmation of Inclusion
Bellevue College is committed to maintaining an environment in which every member of the campus community feels welcome to participate in the life of the college, free from harassment and discrimination.
We value our different backgrounds at Bellevue College, and students, faculty, staff members, and administrators are to treat one another with dignity and respect. http://bellevuecollege.edu/about/goals/inclusion.asp
Division Statements
[READ
THE POLICIES OF THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES DIVISION AT THE FOLLOWING URL: http://www.bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/policy.html THESE ARE THE POLICIES OF THIS CLASS, AND YOU
WILL BE EXPECTED TO HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THEM—ESPECIALLY THE POLICIES ON
ATTENDANCE AND ACADEMIC HONESTY.
CLASS
INFORMATION, THE SYLLABUS, ASSIGNMENTS, AND USEFUL WEB LINKS WILL BE POSTED ON
YOUR “MYBCC”WEB PAGE.
I may even
establish a discussion page. You will be
expected to use this website as part of the class.
Information about
Bellevue Colleges copyright guidelines can be found at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/lmc/links/copyright.html
A good resource for Plagiarism is the Writing
Lab: http://bellevuecollege.edu/writinglab/Plagiarism.html
Student Code
“Cheating, stealing and plagiarizing (using the ideas or
words of another as one’s own without crediting the source) and
inappropriate/disruptive classroom behavior are violations of the Student Code
of Conduct at Bellevue College. Examples
of unacceptable behavior include, but are not limited to: talking out of turn,
arriving late or leaving early without a valid reason, allowing cell
phones/pagers to ring, and inappropriate behavior toward the instructor or
classmates. The instructor can refer any
violation of the Student Code of Conduct to the Vice President of Student Services
for possible probation or suspension from Bellevue College. Specific student rights, responsibilities and
appeal procedures are listed in the Student Code of Conduct, available in the
office of the Vice President of Student Services.” The Student Code, Policy 2050, in its
entirety is located at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/policies/2/2050_Student_Code.asp
Bellevue College E-mail and access to MyBC
All students registered
for classes at Bellevue College are entitled to a network and e-mail
account. Your student network account can be used to
access your student e-mail, log in to computers in labs and classrooms, connect
to the BC wireless network and log in to MyBC. To create your account,
go to: https://bellevuecollege.edu/sam .
BC offers a wide variety of computer and learning labs to enhance learning and student success. Find current campus locations for all student labs by visiting the Computing Services website.
Disability Resource Center (DRC)
The Disability Resource Center serves students with a wide array of learning challenges and disabilities. If you are a student who has a disability or learning challenge for which you have documentation or have seen someone for treatment and if you feel you may need accommodations in order to be successful in college, please contact us as soon as possible.
If you are a person who requires assistance in case of an emergency situation, such as a fire, earthquake, etc, please meet with your individual instructors to develop a safety plan within the first week of the quarter.
The DRC office is located in B 132 or you can call our
reception desk at 425.564.2498. Deaf
students can reach us by video phone at 425-440-2025 or by TTY at
425-564-4110. . .
Please visit our website for application information into our program
and other helpful links at www.bellevuecollege.edu/drc
Public Safety
The Bellevue College (BC) Public Safety Department’s well trained and courteous non-commissioned staff provides personal safety, security, crime prevention, preliminary investigations, and other services to the campus community, 24 hours per day,7 days per week. Their phone number is 425.564.2400. The Public Safety website is your one-stop resource for campus emergency preparedness information, campus closure announcements and critical information in the event of an emergency. Public Safety is located in K100 and on the web at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/publicsafety/
Final Exam Schedule
There will not be a final exam in this class.
Academic Calendar
The Bellevue College Academic Calendar is separated into two calendars. They provide information about holidays, closures and important enrollment dates such as the finals schedule.