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     All the tired horses in the sun, how we going to get any riding done.

 ENGL 271 and 272 EXPOSITORY WRITING I

Syllabus

Fall 2010  ITEMS 1111 & 1099

 

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

Thoreau - from the "Conclusion" to Walden

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Instructor:  Woody West

E-mail: wwest@bellevuecollege.edu

Phone: 425-564-3161

Office location: R 230 N

Office Hours:

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Course Information

Course Outcomes

 

 

 

How Outcomes will be met

 

 

      NOTE: YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THREE TYPES OF PAPERS:

         FORMAL PAPERS

         DRAFTS - PREPARATIONS FOR FORMAL PAPERS

         SEMINAR RESPONSE PAPERS

 

    1. PRESENTATION OF FORMAL PAPERS

Formal papers must be word-processed. Before you submit drafts for presentation, they must be double spaced, stapled (no plastic folders), neat, and they must have the MLA title page format for a research paper found in your LBH text (1 inch margins all sides, 25-27 lines per page, and standard type [12 FONT] or adjust the length of your paper if your type is larger). Papers will be refused counted as late if not as above. It is the student's responsibility to keep all papers and drafts for the final portfolio.

“Save" all drafts on a back up disk and include them in your portfolio. Revision is a major part of your grade and I will need to see your revision process. Also be sure to save all drafts and seminar papers with my comments for your portfolio.

Important -- formal papers must comprehensive with a strong focused thesis statement that is completely supported by the body of the paper.

Also Important - This is not course that includes research, however if you decide to research a subject for your paper, you will need to photocopy the pages of books or articles from which you have drawn quotations or paraphrased and staple them to each draft that you submit. Highlight or underline section used. This is part of the assignment and it must be completed to receive credit.

 See this site. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html

 

 

2. PRESENTATION OF DRAFTS

DRAFTS MUST BE ON TIME TO RECEIVE credit. Be careful not to confuse FORMAL PAPERS (the final draft) with workshop drafts. I will keep record of word processed drafts but only if you bring them in when we WORKSHOP.  PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL A DRAFT TO ME OR PUT IT IN MY MAIL BOX AND LEAVE. You will receive credit if you bring a draft and “participate” in a workshop.

 

 

3. PRESENTATION OF SEMINAR RESPONSE PAPERS

AT LEAST ONE FULL PAGE SINGLE-SPACED. SAVE ALL RESPONSE PAPERS WITH MY COMMENTS FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO. PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL A RESPONSE TO ME OR PUT IT IN MY MAIL BOX AND LEAVE BEFORE THE CLASS. You will receive credit if you bring the response paper on time and “participate” in the complete seminar. MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION BELOW.

 

PLEASE SAVE ALL RESPONSE PAPERS FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO.

 

 

SEMINAR RESPONSE PAPERS

Written seminar responses are mainly for you, to help you prepare for your seminar by focusing on the text. They are also means of demonstrating that you in fact read and thought about the assigned material.

 

These papers respond to or deal with specific ideas in our reading or viewing. Write your response papers in complete sentences, and please be sure they are readable. Your seminar response papers should be about one page long (single space). Because these are preparations, they cannot by definition be turned in late; they must come in at the start of the seminar session itself.  They must come in on time.

 

You might think of this as interacting with the text, as part of a dialogue between you and what is there on the page. You write comments, questions, responses, arguments, etc. And page numbers (or some other means of locating and identifying in the case of video or film) are absolutely essential.

 

Response papers are not overviews or summaries; they are not reading notes or outlines. Nor are they diary entries; a diary is about you while a response paper is mainly about the text and your interaction with it--the emphasis is on the text.

 

These written comments will help prepare you to have something to say in seminar they will also be useful to you when you come to write essays for this program. And don't forget that these response papers will be turned in at the end of the quarter as part of your portfolio.

 

Response paper may include material from other readings, lectures, etc.  As the quarter progresses, you should begin to draw parallels and connections.

 

 

HINTS FOR SEMINARING                                                               Jim Harnish, Fall 1988

GOAL - To develop the skills of an analytical reader/listener/writer.

A book seminar is the mode of learning in a coordinated studies program.  The seminar in coordinated studies is what sets this class apart from other types of classes. So what is a seminar? How do you prepare for a seminar?  What and how do you learn in a seminar?

A seminar brings together an interested group of learners who have done some preparation, including having read, thought and written about a particularly good book.  This solitary preparation should include marking the text for interesting passages, reviewing those sections, organizing one's thoughts on paper and producing significant questions that need to be explored.

In the seminar the group is responsible for exploring the text and probing the ideas people have brought from their individual reading of the text. It is a time "to mine" the text, to work it over as a group, to think out loud about it, to test some ideas against the group.  For example the following might be overheard in a seminar: "I don't know if this is valid but it seems that the author is saying..." or "Here on page 15 at the bottom of the page the author says (reads from text) this seems to be his most important point.  What I think he is saying is..."

A seminar is not an arena for performance to show you've read the text or a reporting session to read your papers.  It's more than a class discussion and it definitely is not a time for a lecture from an expert who will tell the group what they should get from this book. There may be a place for those activities but not in seminar.

Seminar is a special time for a unique intellectual activity. The exchange of ideas must be focused on a source, a book or play or film. A good way to keep focused on the text at hand is to respond to the following three questions:

1. WHAT IS THE AUTHOR SAYING? - Point to the exact page and paragraph so everyone can read along.

                2. WHAT DOES THE AUTHOR MEAN? - Explain the passage in your own words.

                3. WHY IS THIS POINT IMPORTANT? - Agree or disagree or compare it to other's ideas.               

Make sure you keep these three questions distinct, because each forces the group to discuss the text in different ways. Sometimes the seminar will be focused but still free flowing, searching, questioning, going deeper to understand ideas from a book, from others and within yourself.  Sometimes the group will come to some conclusions; sometimes it will seem like a series of disconnected activities, like a popcorn popper with ideas jumping up around the table without clear connections. It is a place to discover new ideas and a checkpoint to test out old ideas, or a way of making insightful connections.

In the words of Richard Jones in the book Experiment at Evergreen: "In seminar one learns how to do the more important things that need to be done to information by an educated adult; choosing and finding it, weighing it, criticizing it, analyzing it, comparing it, reflecting on it, editing it and then expressing what has been made of it by way of the spoken and written language." The teacher's role in a seminar is at best to be a model of an experienced learner and not the focus of attention or authority who will tell you what you should learn. Don't let the faculty give a lecture in seminar! Everyone has to take responsibility for co-leading and sharing ideas.

Participants must learn to listen actively to each other and speak openly to the whole group not just to the leader. The group must learn to be sensitive to the needs of all. The "mouths" must be disciplined in order to learn how to listen better. The quiet people must learn to be more assertive and resolve to share their insights even if they are not comfortable doing that. Shyness is neither a virtue nor an excuse to withhold your thoughts from the group.  Everyone should speak during each seminar.

Speak in turn and allow others to finish their thoughts, do not interrupt one another. Silent periods are OK. Silence gives time to process thoughts, try to become more comfortable with it. Address an idea or argument by connecting it to what someone else has said. Summarize the point you are responding to, and then provide your own idea.

Finally if things are not going well, it's our responsibility individually and collectively to put things right.  Keep taking the pulse of the group and make adjustments so that everyone can have the opportunity to have a meaningful intellectual experience in seminar.  The best question to ask is not how am I doing but rather how is our seminar going?

Leaving the seminar with more questions or being somewhat confused or overwhelmed with new ideas and conflicting insights into the reading is a sign your seminar is working.  You will come to realize in seminar that a great book is not something you read over once and feel satisfied you have learned all you can from it, but rather it is one which stimulates a continuing intellectual curiosity which demands from you a re-reading and continuing discussion of it--maybe for the rest of your life.

•               Don't let the faculty lecture in seminar

 

A COMPLETE PORTFOLIO WILL CONTAIN:

5 -10  PAGES FORMAL WRITING - A COMPLETE EVALUATION OF FORMAL PAPERS AND SEMINAR WORK

6-8  RESPONSE PAPERS

LETTERS TWO ESSAY EXAMS

  

GRADING (approximate percentage)

33% - MID-TERM AND FINAL EXAM

33% - SEMINAR PARTICIPATION AND RESPONSE PAPERS

33% - YOUR EVALUATION OF FORMAL PAPERS AND SEMINAR WORK

 

 

Grading

 

CRITERIA FOR GRADING PAPERS AND PORTFOLIOS AND EXAMS

A (superior). An A paper meets the standards in all these areas and excels in one or more of them:

 

The paper as a whole presents a fresh subject or main idea or treats it in an interesting or original manner, displaying unusual insight. The paper has a clear pattern appropriate to the audience. The paragraphs are fully developed with de­tail that supports the main idea; sentences within the paragraphs are clearly linked, forming an appropriate pattern; transitions are effective. Sentences are var­ied and imaginative in style, concise and creative in wording. The paper contains few errors in grammar and punctuation or errors in sophisticated matters, and few spelling errors.

 

B (strong). A B  paper meets the standards in all these areas:

The paper as whole presents an interesting subject or main idea and approaches in a consistent and careful manner, displaying good insight, although without the freshness or originality characteristic of the A paper. The pattern of the essay is appropriate to its purpose and the writing makes use of consistent rhetorical strategies and a tone appropriate to the audience. Paragraphs are, with only a few exceptions, adequately developed and generally successful in support­ing the main idea; transitions are clear, and sentences within most paragraphs are for the most part clearly related. Sentences are clear and correct in structure and style and are not excessive wordy. Word choice is usually appropriate. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling follow accepted conventions, except for a few mi­nor errors.

 

C (adequate). A C paper is seriously deficient in one of these areas:

The paper as whole presents a clearly defined subject or main idea, but the treatment may be trivial, uninteresting, or too general and the insight adequate but not marked by independent thought. The plan and purpose are clear but inconsistently or incompletely carried out; tone may be inconsistent. Some para­graphs may lack adequate supporting detail or may be only loosely linked to the main idea. Sentences within paragraphs may be only loosely related, and some transitions may be missing. Sentences, are generally correct in structure and style but may be excessively wordy, vague, or, at times, even incorrect. Style and word choice may be flat, inconsistent, or not entirely appropriate to the audience. The paper may display isolated serious errors in grammar and punctuation or frequent minor errors that do not interfere substantially with meaning or that do not greatly distract the reader: the paper may contain occasional misspellings.

 

D (weak). A D paper is seriously deficient in any one of these areas:

The paper as a whole presents a poorly, defined or inconsistently treated subject or central idea and displays little insight. The plan and purpose are not treated consistently. The tone is inappropriate to the audience. Paragraphs contain little supporting detail. Sentences within paragraphs are frequently unrelated to the main idea, and transitions are lacking. Sentences are frequently incorrect in structure, vague, wordy, and distracting. Style and word choice are inappropriate, incorrect, or inconsistent. The paper may contain serious and distracting errors in gram­mar and punctuation as well as numerous irritating minor errors and frequent misspellings.

 

F (unacceptable/no credit). An F paper is unacceptable in one of these areas:

The paper as a whole does not have a clear subject or main idea and has no ap­parent purpose or plan; or the subject and main idea are defined and treated in a way that clearly does not meet the requirements of the assignment. Paragraphs are not related to the main idea; sentences within paragraphs are unrelated, and transitions are missing. Sentences are so faulty in structure and style that the essay is not readable. Frequent serious errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling indicate an inability to handle the written conventions; there are excessive minor errors or misspellings.

 

We can use criteria above to talk to each other about your work in class. You will find that most of my comments will be spoken comments during our conferences; I will do very little actual writing on your drafts. This becomes a form of editing (composition theory sees this as the teacher "taking possession" of the students paper) and a good portion of this class is devoted to teaching the student how to edited his or her own paper. Take notes during our conferences.

 

The link to the College Grading Policy is located on page 10 of the Course Catalog and also on the web at: http://bellevuecollege.edu/policies/3/3000_grading.asp.

 

Books and Materials Required

 

ABSENCE OF MIND: DISPELLING OF INWARDNESS FROM THE MODERN MYTH ROBINSON

ISBN:9780300145182

REQUIRED

 

LITTLE,BROWN HANDBOOK

FOWLER

ISBN:9780205651719

REQUIRED

 

NEVER LET ME GO

ISHIGURO

ISBN:9781400078776

REQUIRED

 

[Replace this text with a list of books and materials required to be successful in this class. If expensive materials are required, please list them as “required” so that students may use financial aid funds to buy them. In some cases, materials not officially “required” are not eligible expenses.]

Classroom Learning Atmosphere

Instructor’s Expectation

 

ATTENDANCE POLICY

1. Any student who needs to be absent for an extended period must notify the instructor in advance. The 3rd and following “lates” will count as an absence. More than 10 minutes late will count as an absence. In keeping with the division policy, after 4 (the equivalent to two full weeks) absences, the student will not receive credit for the class.

2. If you do not have a response paper or a draft, be sure to submit a brief letter explaining the problem so we can discuss it during conference.  Please read the Arts and Humanities Division - STUDENT PROCEDURES AND EXPECTATIONS.

3. The first week is essential- Students who miss the first week may attend class but it is unlikely that they will receive credit for the class.

 

CLASS BEHAVIOR

The atmosphere in class must be free from any sort of disruption.

1. There will be no reading of materials other than those under discussion in class.

2. No open laptops, ringing cell phones, texting, eating, drinking, or any behavior that is deemed discourteous by the instructor.

 

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

 

Values Conflicts:

Essential to a liberal arts education is an open-minded tolerance for ideas and modes of expression that might conflict with one’s personal values.  By being exposed to such ideas or expressions, students are not expected to endorse or adopt them but rather to understand that they are part of the free flow of information upon which higher education depends.

 

To this end, you may find that class requirements may include engaging certain materials, such as books, films, and art work, which may, in whole or in part, offend you.  These materials are equivalent to required texts and are essential to the course content.  If you decline to engage the required material by not reading, viewing, or performing material you consider offensive, you will still be required to meet class requirements in order to earn credit.  This may require responding to the content of the material, and you may not be able to fully participate in required class discussions, exams, or assignments.

 

Arts and Humanities Commitment to Student Growth and Development

http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/artshum/AHGdlns-StdntGrwth.htm

 

PLAGIARISM

Any paper submissions that contain substantial unacknowledged borrowings of language/wording and/or idea from another source--and thereby represented as the student’s own work--will receive a failing grade on that assignment and possibly the course.

A paper may be submitted for credit in only one class. For example, papers for which students have received English 101 credit may not be submitted again for English 102 or 271 credit. Any student who resubmits a paper will receive a failing grade for that assignment and possibly the course.

 

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

 

[If you plan to use a plagiarism checking service, you should indicate so in your syllabus. Please make sure your penalty for plagiarism does not contradict official college policy.]

Important Links

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/

 

 

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.