Instructor: Gary Olson
E-mail: g.olson@bellevuecollege.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
WR A Writer’s Reference (with exercises), Hacker & Sommers,
7th ed
25 Twenty-Five Great Essays, Robert DiYanni
J A journal for writing, about 7.5 x 9.5
inches (not larger)
A
good college dictionary is recommended but not required
Bring both
texts and journal every day to class!
After
completing this course, students will be able to
Think and read critically: carefully read, analyze, interpret and
evaluate claims, beliefs, texts and/or issues.
· consider
multiple points of view and differentiate between assumptions, beliefs, facts,
opinions, and biases.
· read and
respond to various texts critically for purposes of interpretation, analysis,
synthesis, evaluation, and/or judgment.
· demonstrate an
understanding of a text’s main point/thesis and its relevant supporting
details.
Compose
and revise in context: shape
written responses for different audiences and purposes.
· consider
flexible strategies for prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing.
· develop and
support thesis statements that are appropriately complex and significant.
· construct
unified paragraphs with topic sentences and supporting details that advance the
thesis.
· apply various
methods of development such as illustration, comparison and contrast, and/or
analysis.
· employ
style, tone, and mechanical conventions appropriate to the demands of a
particular audience or purpose.
Reflect and
evaluate: recognize and incorporate newly acquired skills.
·
develop the ability to critique their own
and others’ work.
·
gain a clearer perspective of habits that
may detract from the effectiveness of their own writing.
·
respond to comments from their instructor
and peers.
This
course focuses on producing effective essays, paragraphs, and sentences. The key to becoming better and more confident
college writers is to do a lot of writing, and you’ll be writing drafts of
papers, revisions, homework exercises, and writing in your journal. You will read and comment on others’ drafts,
and you’ll work in groups on exercises and problems for discussion. The key here is buy-in: I will commit to
giving you prompt, helpful feedback in a positive classroom environment; you
will commit to doing all the work and—for this quarter—envisioning yourself as a writer. This also means becoming more
attentive to language—how words and sentences can enhance experience.
Course evaluation: You will have the
opportunity to give me informal, anonymous feedback several times during the
quarter. This will help me know if I am on track with my expectations and your
learning needs.
Grading
Grading
will be based on your writing and performance on quizzes and homework as
follows:
Papers,
including drafts and revisions 70%
Journal 10%
Quizzes
and homework 20%
You
will complete two essay sets and one in-class paper. An essay set
consists of your plan, your first draft, your revised draft, and your final
copy, which is turned in for a grade. More weight will be placed on the second
and third papers. You will receive a 4.0
for your journal if you do 95% of the entries, 3.0 if you do 90% of the
entries, and 2.0 if you do less than 90% of the essays. Late entries should be made up within one
week. (More on the journal during the first week.)
Missing
more than 10% of the class will lower your final grade, and students with
absences exceeding 20% of all class meetings for any reason will receive no
credit for the class. This policy is in line with the Arts and Humanities
Division’s guidelines, which recognize the importance of classroom attendance
and participation to academic success. Students who attend only part of a class
meeting will be marked tardy if they miss fewer than 10 minutes or absent if
they miss 10 minutes or more of the class. Every two instances of tardiness
will count as an absence. If you’re arriving late or leaving early, please be
discreet and avoid creating distractions. Finally,
because workshops are important for all members of your group, not being
prepared for the workshop (for example, your paper is not ready) will count as
an absence.
Life
is unpredictable. If you have an emergency, please let me know.
Due Dates
When you see
a reading assignment on the calendar, it means you must finish the reading
BEFORE CLASS on that day. When you see a writing assignment, you must complete
it BEFORE CLASS on that day.
Occasionally,
if the needs of the class change, I may add or subtract an assignment or change
a due date. If you miss class, check class calendar on the web site or remember
to ask if I made any changes while you were gone. It is your responsibility to
find out what you missed.
If you miss
a quiz or journal entry, you may make it up, as long as you do so within a week
of the original due date. I won't accept any work that's more than a week late
unless you make special arrangements ahead of time. Journals will be turned in three times during
the quarter.
Decorum
I expect all
participants in the class to treat each other with respect. Our job--yours and
mine together--is to use class time efficiently to improve your ability to edit
your own writing. In my experience, this happens best if you
Cheating,
stealing and plagiarizing (using the ideas or words of another as one’s own
without crediting the source) are violations of the Student Code of Conduct at
Bellevue College. Your essays must
present your own ideas in your own words. If you copy someone’s exact words,
you must put them in quotation marks. If you summarize or quote someone else’s
ideas, facts, or words, you must say where they came from. Saying where words
and ideas came from is called “citing your sources.” You will learn the basic
conventions for citing your sources now, and you’ll learn more about these
conventions as you take higher-level courses.
I won’t
accept an essay you’ve downloaded from the Internet or copied from someone
else, an essay you wrote for an earlier class, or an essay in which you present
someone else’s words or ideas as your own. If you plagiarize, you’ll receive a
zero for the assignment or assignment sequence and I’ll report your name to the
Associate Dean. If you plagiarize a second time, you'll fail the course.
Plagiarism is an intellectual, as well as an ethical, issue. English
instructors tend to regard plagiarism as evidence either that you are not able
to achieve the intellectual goals of the course (see Goals section) or that you
are disrespectful, lazy, dishonest, or all three.
The
Student Code, Policy 2050, in its entirety is located at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/policies/2/2050_Student_Code.asp
A
good resource for learning how to avoid Plagiarism is the Writing Lab: http://bellevuecollege.edu/writinglab/Plagiarism.html
Disability Resource Center
(DRC)
I
am committed to ensuring access to classes, course materials, and learning
opportunities for students with disabilities. 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 the DRC 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 me to develop a safety plan
within the first week of class.
From the Disability
Resource Center: 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
BC Public Safety Department’s 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. Public Safety is located in K100 and on the web: http://bellevuecollege.edu/publicsafety/
Schedule of Readings and Assignments: Weeks 1-5
WR = Writer’s Reference; 25 = Twenty-five Great Essays
WEEK 1 4/2
M-T Overview; Introductions
W WR Overview: Understand how it’s organized and general areas of
coverage
Th 25 Introduction 1-15
F WR A1, C1
WEEK 2 4/9
M WR C2, 3; 25 Intro
15-30; Bacon 31-33
T “20 Common Errors”
Handout
W WR A2, 4; 25 King 114-130; First Paper Topics Out
Th WR B1, G5
F First Paper Plans due
WEEK 3 4/16
M
WR W1 (first half), G6; 25 Dillard 62-66; Ehrlich 84-87
T
WR W1 (second half)
W
First draft due (workshop)
Th Quiz 1
F
First draft turned in to me
WEEK 4 4/23
M WR S1, W2; drafts returned for global revisions; conferences
T WR W3; Conferences
W ?Conferences
Th 25 Tan 165-171
F Second draft due
WEEK 5 4/30
M
Second draft returned for edit-level revisions
T WR G1
W
WR G2; White 186-192
Th WR P1, 2; S7
F Final of First Paper Due