BELLEVUE COLLEGE

ENGL 201: The Research Paper

Hybrid (5 credit hours)

Syllabus, Spring Quarter 2010

Thursday, 6:00-7:40 p.m. Location: L-210

Instructor: Elisabeth Kraus Office: off-campus

Vista/Bb: http://vista.bellevuecollege.edu

Office Hours: by request

Phones: 425-889-7808 (office)

elisabeth.kraus@northwestu.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The purpose of this course is to help you develop professional research and writing skills. These skills are essential in preparing you for the academic writing you produce, not only in college, but also the writing you will do in your careers beyond BC. It is a course designed to teach you how to critically evaluate others’ arguments and mount logical and ethical arguments of your own. Ultimately, you should learn to be a better thinker, writer, and communicator – someone who thinks critically about topics, other people, and yourself, one who analyzes specific situations, adjusts your writing to fit accordingly, and expresses ideas effectively.

COURSE OUTCOMES:

Upon completion of English 201, you will be able to

• objectively summarize college-level material, identifying primary and supporting assertions;
• use a variety of available research methods and sources that demonstrate a familiarity of library research skills;
• understand and evaluate these sources critically;
• correctly incorporate and cite a variety of academic research sources to support your own argument;
• plan, draft, and revise writing based on your analysis of audience, topic, and own ideas;
• synthesize the above skills into your own thesis-driven, researched argument;
• and professionally present this argument to a real person or group.

COURSE TEXTBOOKS:

Barnet and Bedau, Current Issues and Enduring Questions, 8^th ed.

Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing About Film

The MLA Handbook, 7^th Ed.

GENERAL CLASS REQUIREMENTS

You are expected to:

• Attend class faithfully and be on time for all class meetings;
• Interact productively in class discussions and small group activities;
• Spend at least four hours weekly in online discussion threads and activities;
• Be prepared each class for discussions by reading all assigned material before class;
• Submit all written assignments typed, at the beginning of the class period on the designated due date. MLA format required.

ACADEMIC HONESTY:

Plagiarism, or academic dishonesty, is the act of using another writer’s words or ideas as your own. According to the Bellevue College Arts & Humanities website, plagiarism “may take many forms, including, but not limited to, using a paper written by someone else, using printed sources word-for-word without proper documentation, and paraphrasing or summarizing the ideas of others without acknowledging the source.  Plagiarism can also occur when non-written ideas are taken without documentation--using someone else's design or performance idea, for example.  In short, plagiarism is passing off someone else's ideas, words, or images as your own; it amounts to intellectual theft--whether or not it was your intention to steal.” In this class, any student who plagiarizes fails the course automatically. I have absolutely no tolerance for this behavior.

ASSIGNED READINGS:

It is impossible to successfully complete this course without purchasing each textbook and completing each assigned reading. Furthermore, it is essential that you complete the assigned readings before the classes during which we will discuss them. You cannot expect to keep up with the course development or intelligently contribute to class discussion if you haven't completed the readings. While I realize that many students attempt to save money by borrowing textbooks from friends, doing so presents more problems than benefits, especially when your friend is still trying to finish reading an assignment on Tuesday night (for example) that you need to have read by class time early on Wednesday. Buy your books now. Stay caught up with your reading assignments.

ATTENDANCE:

If you are ill: In order to minimize the impact of the current H1N1 influenza pandemic at Bellevue College, I ask that students who experience the following symptoms DO NOT attend class: sudden fever accompanied by any of the following: chills, headache, sore throat, muscle aches, cough, vomiting, or diarrhea. However, do pick up the phone and call me – or e-mail me prior to missing class. You may return to class once your fever is gone for 24 hours without the use of medication. A note from your physician or student health office is not required; simply notify me ahead of time via e-mail. Thank you for your help protecting our community.

That said, please keep in mind that due to the fact that this is a late-start hybrid course, your presence in class is crucial. Unless you are sick (see above), please make sure you are in class. From my years of experience, I can assure you there is a very high correlation between attendance and success in class. I am also aware that illness and emergencies do arise. As such, the attendance policy this quarter is as follows:

·  In accordance with the Arts and Humanities policy, students are allowed to miss no more than 2 class sessions.

· Attendance is taken promptly at the beginning of class.  If you arrive late, you will need to check with me at the end of class to have your attendance record changed. If you do not do so, and I have marked you absent, I will not later change the attendance record. Thus, it is your responsibility to ensure that I know you are in class.

When you are absent:

· Study Partner: At the beginning of the course, find another student in class with whom you can trade e-mail addresses or phone numbers. Then, in the event you are absent from a class, the study partner can provide you with information you have missed in class, such as class notes.

· Instructor: Although you do not need to give a reason for your absence, please, once again, do notify me by e-mail when you will be absent and for what length of time.

·    Assignments will not be given out before they are assigned to the whole class.

● All assigned work is still due in class, even if you are absent.

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.

CLASS PARTICIPATION & EXPECTATIONS:

Bertrand Russell once said, "Most people would rather die than think--and most do!" Thinking and reflecting are essential for the development of optimal writing skills, and the best way for you to sharpen your capacity to think is for you to be actively involved in class. This means not only that you show up for class, but also that you are attentive once you get here, that you participate in class discussion and other assigned activities. Failure to do so will negatively affect your final grade. You may earn – or lose – 100 points of your final grade for your active in-class participation – or your lack of same.

I expect you to contribute to the work of your peers in constructive ways and to participate fully in small-group work in class. This includes listening to and reading the work of others attentively, being prepared to share your own writings with group members, and being prepared to discuss the assigned readings.

Do all that you can to make everyone’s experience positive. Unacceptable behavior in this class includes: doing anything cell-phone related in class; working on non-class materials; eating or drinking disruptively; using tobacco; putting your head down for a nap; talking or whispering when someone else is trying to talk; and making comments that are intentionally disrespectful to another student. If I tell you that you are disrupting the class in some way, I expect you to change your behavior immediately. If you do not, I will ask you to leave the classroom. Online, I expect you to avoid using offensive language and to try to give feedback in a positive, civil manner, even when you disagree.

Please note: As I have tried to make clear, because this is a hybrid class, your online participation is just as important as your in-class participation. I will monitor discussion threads daily, and I expect to see each of you fully participating. You may earn – or lose – 300 points of your final grade for your active on-line participation in the discussion threads – or your lack of same.

I understand that many students have important responsibilities outside of the classroom: families, work, sports, etc. I am sensitive to these issues and will do all that I can to assist with scheduling conflicts as they relate to class activities. I ask that you let me know ahead of time of any conflict you might have with scheduled class time, and we will try to work things out. Please realize though, while I am flexible, that flexibility only goes so far.

Also, please note: Class begins promptly at 6:00 p.m. – not 6:05, 6:10, or 6:20. I expect you to be on time for each class. Late entry or early departure will be noted and will also negatively affect your in-class participation grade.

DEADLINES & DUE DATES:

It is your responsibility to meet all deadlines for class assignments. I accept no late papers for any reason. If you miss a deadline, the grade for that paper is F (0 points).

Specifically, note the following: If you are absent from class on the day when an assignment is due – that assignment is still due. I am often amazed to discover that many students tend to think they may submit an assignment late if they are not in class on the due date. That is not the case in this class. Due dates are solid, firm, and you must adhere to them.

In other words: If you are absent, you must still get the paper to me – prior to the start of class – not during class, not after it. Submit your paper via email as an attached WORD document: elisabeth.kraus@northwestu.edu. If I do not receive the paper before 5:30 p.m. (30 minutes before the start of class) once again, your grade for that assignment is F (0 points).

DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTER:

The Disability Resource Center serves students with a wide array of learning challenges and disabilities. Please visit the DRC if you have any questions about classroom accommodations whether you are a student or a faculty member.

If you are a student who has a disability or a 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 the DRC staff as soon as possible.

The DRC office is located in B132 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

Remember if you are someone who has either an apparent or non apparent disability and you require 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.

INCLEMENT WEATHER: Where to Check for Closure Information

BC provides a number of distribution methods for getting this information to you. You are encouraged to use one or more of these services or tools to check for campus status.

• Visit this website to view the most updated status message posted at www.bellevuecollege.edu/publicsafety/status/;
• Call BC's 24-hour recorded hotline at (425) 401-6680.
• Your e-mail, phone or mobile device! Students and employees may sign up to receive emergency e-mail or text message alerts directly from BC as soon as changes are made to the campus status during emergency situations. Go to the BC Alert System sign-up page to learn more or sign in to edit your profile.
• Use Schoolreport.org—BC also provides emergency information to this website during inclement weather-related closures. This resource also provides an e-mail notification service you may sign up for if you are not eligible to use BC's Alert System. With Schoolreport.org you will receive emergency information for Bellevue College as well as 125 other Puget Sound-area schools and school districts.

INCOMPLETE GRADES

I do not assign incomplete grades for any course, for any reason.

LAPTOPS, CELL PHONES & SIMILAR INSTRUMENTS OF DISTRACTION

As much as I’ve resisted doing so, I am banning laptops from the classroom this quarter. Why? Because, quite simply, I don’t want you checking e-mail, surfing the Internet, scrolling through Facebook, or writing an assignment for another class as you pretend to be participating in mine. I’ve tried getting around this problem and am tossing in the towel. I admit defeat. NO LAPTOPS OPEN IN CLASS. You will use your laptop or home desktop to complete the online portion of the class – when you are not in class.

Cell phones, as well, are an increasing problem in classroom culture, due to incoming calls and text-messaging. I approach this problem simply and directly:

●Your cell phone is to be stored in your backpack and/or purse.

I don’t want to see it on your desk, in your lap, in your hands.

A cell phone has no place in the classroom.

●Additionally, your stored cell phone is to be turned completely off – not

just on vibrate. If you are responsible for more than one “in-class ringing” incident, I will reduce your final grade by one full letter.

Bottom line: No laptops, cell phones, Blackberries, etc. in class. No calls. No texting. I expect you to be fully engaged with the material at hand and fully involved in the moment – and the moment belongs to English 201.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT:

What follows is the Bellevue College Arts & Humanities Division policy on classroom behavior:

The college's ‘Affirmation of Inclusion’ is posted in each classroom and sets forth the expectation that we will all treat one another with respect and dignity regardless of whether or not we agree philosophically. This expectation is in line with the principle of free speech in a free society:  we have the right to express unpopular ideas as long as we don't show disrespect for reasonable people who might believe otherwise. In an on-line [or hybrid] course, you will be expressing ideas through the medium of the course site rather than face to face in the classroom. In that case, these expectations refer to the courtesy with which you communicate with one another through e-mails and e-discussions.

Part of this respect involves professional behavior toward the instructor, colleagues, and the class itself. Disruptive behavior is disrespectful behavior. The Arts and Humanities Division honors the right of its faculty to define "disruptive behavior," which often involves such things as arriving late, leaving early, leaving class and then returning, talking while others are trying to hear the instructor or their group members, doing other homework in class, wearing earphones in class, bringing activated beepers, alarm watches, or cell phones into class, inappropriate comments or gestures, etc. In on-line courses, “flaming’ anyone in the class is also considered disruptive behavior. Such behavior interrupts the educational process. When you are in doubt about any behavior, consult your instructor during office hours. We recognize the judgment of the instructor as the final authority in these matters.

When disruptive behavior occurs, instructors will speak to or e-mail the students concerned. Those students are then responsible for ending the disruptions at once.  Failure to do so may result in removal of the students from class.

All students should check BC Student Procedures & Expectations web address at http://www.bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/studentinfo.html

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

MLA FORMAT: I require you to use proper MLA format for all rough and final drafts. This includes not only the way the paper actually looks on the page, but also in-text citations and a Works Cited page. You should have learned MLA format in high school, but if for some unknown reason you are unfamiliar with MLA, refer to The MLA Handbook. Pay specific attention to the sample research paper.

OTHER REQUIRED COMPONENTS:

You must have easy, reliable Internet access. This is a hybrid course and a required component of the class takes place online in Blackboard/VISTA.

WRITING LAB:
Please make use – often – of the Bellevue College Writing Lab. The lab offers tutoring and help (both personal and computerized) on grammar and basic skills. The Writing Lab is located in D-204. Check the website for hours of availability: www.bellevuecollege.edu/writinglab

The Writing Lab is a place where students can work on developing college-level writing skills. Students can come to the Writing Lab (not more than once per day) for individual help on revising their writing for class, college applications, or personal projects. Tutors can listen to ideas and ask questions to help students focus on one topic, correct and avoid punctuation and grammar errors, and review papers to ensure they are clear and follow the assignment instructions. However, tutors do not edit papers!

While students can drop in any time the Writing Lab is open, it is better to make an appointment at least two days before a paper is due by calling 425-564-2200. If students do not have an appointment and all of the tutors are busy, they may have to wait or come back later.

EVALUATION:

Objective summary 100 points

Annotated bibliography 100 points

Final research paper 200 points

Online participation in Blackboard/VISTA 300 points

In-class participation 100 points

TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE = 800 points

Note: I reserve the right to adjust the number and type of assignments, depending on class progress. In the event that adjustments prove necessary, I will modify the final grading scale to reflect those changes.

FINAL GRADE SCALE

94-100% = A 752-800 points

91-93% = A- 728-751 points

88-90% = B+ 704-727 points

84-87% = B 672-703 points

81-83% = B- 648-671 points

78-80% = C+ 624-647 points

74-77% = C 592-623 points

71-73% = C- 568-591 points

68-70% = D+ 544-567 points

64-67% = D 512-543 points

60-63% = D- 480-511 points

59% & below = F 479 & below

SUCCESS IN ENGLISH 201:

You will have the greatest success in class by observing the following:

Ö BE PREPARED:   Check the course schedule and complete readings and assignments before class. Make a plan and at least one backup plan to get word processed work printed and to class when it is due. Bring your books to class. Take notes in class. Keep important papers organized.

Ö BE HERE:   Plan to attend every class session in its entirety.  It’s important to be on time and ready to work each week.  If you have scheduling conflicts – traffic, a class across campus, pending absences – that will prevent your being here on time every day, you need to make changes in your schedule accordingly.

Ö BE HERE NOW:  Give your full attention to the class activity by avoiding side conversations and socializing and by silencing and stowing out of sight all electronic devices. 

Ö BE CONSIDERATE:   Respect the rights of others in class to voice opinions that differ from yours.  Avoid distracting and disruptive behaviors.  Please do not eat during class time – beverages are fine.

Ö BE CURIOUS: Ask questions.  Look up words that are unfamiliar.  Search for more information on a topic.

Ö BE ASSERTIVE:   Ask for help from your instructor: I will gladly help you. Also, ask for help from the Writing Lab: make an appointment with a writing tutor to go over your writing assignments. 

HOW TO FAIL ANY ENGLISH CLASS:

1. Don’t come to class. Woody Allen said “Ninety percent of success is showing up.” I don’t know if that is true, but 90% of failure is definitely not showing up. Failure to attend class means just that: failure.

2. Don’t write anything down. After all, you can just remember all the assignments, and who needs class notes anyway, right?

3. Don’t turn in assignments. Think about it: Even if you complete an assignment but receive a grade of “F,” you’ll usually earn about 50 points. However, for an assignment you don’t turn in, you earn zero points. One missing essay lowers your quarter grade more than one full letter grade.

4. Don’t pay any attention to the comments I make on your papers and don’t make any changes in the way you write. Continue to make the same grammar errors over and over and ignore the recommended changes in paragraph or essay structure. In other words, just don’t show any progress at all, and your final grade will reflect your effort.

5. Ignore my very specific organizational instructions for each essay assignment. Think, “Oh, she really doesn’t mean that.”

6. Plagiarize your assignments. Cut and paste sentences, paragraphs, whole essays from the Internet into your paper and turn it in as your own work. Forget the fact that instructors have fantastic tools for detecting plagiarism, thanks to Google. Forget the fact that the instant I detect plagiarism, you have failed not just the assignment but also the course. Irrevocably. No excuses.

WRITING GUIDELINES:

1. Learn to spell--and don't depend on a computer program to do it for you.

Human beings program spell check functions. Many of those anonymous human beings cannot spell (and know very little about grammar). Do not trust those anonymous individuals with your grade in this class.

I allow three (3) spelling errors/typos per paper.

When I find a fourth one, I stop reading,

and you earn a grade of "F" for that paper.

The “F” is permanent; you may not re-write the assignment.

I will assign only half credit for the paper.

2. Do not submit a paper to me that you have not proofread carefully. In fact, do not submit a paper to me that has not been edited by at least three other people who know much more about writing, editing, and proofreading than you do – and you’re certain they know what they are doing.

3. Follow all directions I give you for each assignment. I am anal retentive, pathologically organized, and therefore, the directions will be highly specific. I give them for a reason. Read each assignment thoroughly. You ignore or skim instructions at your grade’s peril.

4. Essay content is important. However, I cannot get to the content if you do not pave the way for me. Translation? If you fill your paper with sentence fragments, run-ons, comma splices, incorrect punctuation, agreement problems, UFPs (unidentified flying pronouns), etc. — that is what I will see first. I will never get beyond those errors to the rich, deep content in your words.

5. Some of you do not know what a sentence fragment is. Some of you do not

know how to recognize comma splices or run-on sentences. Some of you

have never learned how to use an apostrophe to indicate possession. Some

of you do not know how or why or when or if to use a comma. Some of you

would not recognize a coordinating conjunction if it walked up to you in broad daylight, clapped you on the shoulder, shook your hand, and called you by name. However, it's time to learn. Papers filled with these errors will never rise above a grade of D in this class.

6. Please understand that I have no faith in high school English grades, especially when they have been consistently high. It has been my experience that many students may have a track record of "A" and "B" grades in high school English--and yet cannot spell or compose a grammatically correct sentence. In other words, those good grades have simply been gifts – not earned. What is important to me is the quality of the writing you submit to me now, during this quarter, in this class.

7. Grade inflation is rampant at colleges and universities across the country.

Generally speaking, students expect grades of "A" and "B” – usually with little effort. Do not expect that in this class. Know now that in English 201:

A means EXCELLENT

B means GOOD WORK

C means AVERAGE WORK

D means POOR WORK

F means UNACCEPTABLE COLLEGE LEVEL WORK

8. I do not “give” grades. Students earn their grades.

9. Final grades are just that: final. I do not change final grades for any reason.

10. If you are nervous by now, that's probably a wise reaction. I'm not a tyrant,

not a dictator, not a creature dressed in black wielding an English handbook

with an evil cackle (most days, anyway). But I am serious about writing. If you want to do well in this class, you must be also.