English 074
Spring 2008
Dr. Gordon Leighton
Office: C207H Phone: 425-564-6168 E-mail: gleighto@bcc.ctc.edu
Note: Please send all
electronic communications from your BCC student address rather than from your home
address, as my filter weeds out all mail coming from non-BCC accounts.
Office Hours: Daily 7:30-8:20 and by appt. Mailbox: R230W
Texts: Please do not buy books until I tell you.
Buscemi: 75
Hacker: The
Class policies:
1. Please refer to
the Arts and Humanities web page for our handout on Student Expectations http://www.bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/studentinfo.asp
, all of which apply in my classes. The educational process requires that we
all treat one another with respect and civility. 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
Please read “Professionalism in the Classroom,” posted on the class website. Note that failure to maintain professionalism may result in a lowered participation grade.
2. This course is graded Credit/No Credit. You may repeat Developmental English as many times as you need to in order to learn the skills required for English 092 or 093. At the end of the course, you will be given a writing/reading test, which will determine whether or not you need to repeat. Please note that you may receive “Credit” and still need to repeat—the “Credit” just acknowledges that you completed the work of the course. It is to your advantage to work hard, do all the work on time, and get through Developmental English as soon as possible so that you won’t have to go through the time and expense of repeating. See posted evaluation guideline for specifics.
3. Your work will receive comments, but not letter grades. You get credit if you turn the work in on time and attend classes. I reserve the right to refuse credit to any student who misses more than ten classes and/or fails to turn in more than 25% of the work on time and in proper form. Late work should be turned in as soon as possible, but no later than the next week. I collect work every Monday and return it by Friday.
4. In summary, the course is structured so that you do not have to worry about grades; rather, you need to make sure that you learn basic English skills. We’ll go over the objectives of the course during the first week.
5. Save all of your work. This will enable your instructor to review your performance regularly and to give you more meaningful feedback. ESL students are eligible to earn five transferable credits in Humanities for every fifteen credits of developmental work, but they must show their work to verify their eligibility. If you think you may be eligible, please see me.
6. Along with this course, you are required to take 1-2 credits of Reading Lab (080). I strongly recommend two credits so that you can get more practice—which means more opportunity to learn basic skills.
7. Homework: The usual guideline for college courses is two hours of outside preparation for each hour of class. Since this class meets two hours per day, expect about four hours of work each evening for the next day. Reading Lab gives more credit and demands two hours per week per credit. So you can see, we have designed an intensive developmental program where the students are expected to work hard and learn a lot in a short time.
8. Your lab fee entitles you to use the Writing Lab computers. We will meet in the Writing Lab once each week, and I will show you how to use the word processors. You should use them for all of your outside writing. The Lab also provides free tutorial help. We will meet with the lab folks during the first week.
9. Be sure to ask about any of our campus services: Writing Lab, Reading Lab, Multicultural Services, Women’s Center, Disability Support Services, etc. We have many resources for our students, and we all want to help you succeed. See me if you would like to know more about available help.
10. Please read the Writing Lab website essay on “Avoiding Plagiarism”: www.bcc.ctc.edu/writinglab/Plagiarism.html This document is also part of the syllabus and must be followed. All instances of plagiarism will be reported to the dean, who will likely put offenders on academic probation. The penalty for plagiarism will be failure of the work without possibility of rewrite. Repeated plagiarism may cause failure of the course.
11. If you have medical information to share with me in the event of an emergency, please contact me via email or come to see me during office hours. Emergency preparedness is important. Please review the emergency procedures posted in the classroom.
If you need course modifications/adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, I can refer you to our Disability Resource center (DRC). If you prefer, you may contact them directly by going to B132 or by calling 425.564.4110. Information is also available on their website at http://bellevuecollege.edu/drc/
12. If you contact me via email with papers, etc., please send them from your college mail address (either bcc.ctc.edu or bellevuecollege.edu). I cannot be responsible for communications sent from outside addresses.
13. The schedule is tentative and probably will be changed from time to time, either orally in class or with a new posting.
Good Luck in this Class! Always remember that I am on your side. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to enhance your learning. You will learn a lot if you work hard and come to class. If you experience difficulty, please let me know during office hours, and I can get you tutorial or other help as needed. My students tell me that my classes are challenging, but rewarding. Anything you learn in English will help you succeed in all of your other classes, and nothing makes me happier than waving to my students at graduation!