TULSA COMMUNITY COLLEGE SOUTHEAST CAMPUS COURSE SYLLABUS
ENGLISH 1113 - COMPOSITION I
Fall 2013
Instructor: Derek Sharp (derek.sharp@tulsacc.edu)
ENGL 1113-377
12241 Class
11:00 am-12:20 pm
SEBLD3 3116
Instructor Contacts:
1-Mail Box: Academic and Campus Support (ACS), Room SE2202
2-derek.sharp@tulsacc.edu
3-please allow 24 hours for response to email communications
TO CONTACT THE DIVISION OFFICE:
Communications Division, Room SE1202 Interim Communications
Associate Dean: TBD
COURSE PREREQUISITES: ENGL 0933 with a grade of C or better, or appropriate placement score.
Please review pages xxii-xiv in Little, Brown to make sure you are prepared to succeed in this class.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The first in a sequence of two courses. Introduces students to academic
writing, basic research, and documentation. Course work will include writing exercises,
summaries/reading responses, three essays, one of which may be revised for a better grade, and a final
exam essay. Quizzes will be given periodically.
NEXT COURSE IN SEQUENCE: English 1213, Composition II.
TEXTS:
The Little, Brown Handbook, TCC Custom Edition, Fowler & Aaron
They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff & Birkenstein, 2nd edition
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The primary objective in this class is to teach you to write various kinds of
academic arguments. In addition, you are expected to learn to
•
Analyze academic writing situations to determine purpose, audience, and focus for a written
composition
•
Choose the best possible words to communicate clearly and effectively
•
Construct sentences that emphasize your meaning and make your writing interesting
•
Think critically to develop and support thesis statements about different subjects
•
Create a coherent, unified essay with an orderly progression of ideas
•
Write focused, detailed, coherent paragraphs that develop your ideas
and support your arguments with evidence appropriate to the academic
situation
•
Incorporate other sources into your writing by quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing, and
documenting correctly, according to MLA format
•
Use the TCC Learning Resource Center (also known as the library) for
college-level research
•
Read, comprehend and respond to college-level texts
TEACHING METHODS:
Each class period will involve a variety of activities including lecture,
discussion, group work, oral questioning and writing. For more information, see pages XXX in Little,
Brown.
GRADING: Grades will be determined according to the following scale:
Class participation/Homework/Quizzes
300 pts
Essays
Reading Repsonses/Summaries
Final and/or Midterm Exam
TOTAL
300 pts
250 pts
150 pts
1000 pts
A=1000-900; B=899-800; C=799-700; D=699-600; F=599-0
Essays and summaries/reading responses, including the final exam essay, will be graded using the criteria
described on pages xvii-xxii in Little, Brown.
To earn a B for class participation, you must miss no more than three hours of class, bring all required
materials (e. g., print outs of assigned readings, Little, Brown), complete any group work or in-class
activities, and engage earnestly and respectively in all class discussions. Students whose in-class work and
contributions to discussions are especially thoughtful, informed, and intelligent will earn A’s. Students
who miss more than three hours of class, who fail to bring required materials, and/or who violate the
etiquette policy below will receive a C or lower, depending on how often they engage in these behaviors.
The class participation grade rewards you for doing what you should do to learn the material presented.
English Professors assign "I" grades only when genuine emergencies prevent a student from completing
the class and/or from withdrawing before the deadline and only when the student is earning a satisfactory
("C" or better) grade.
LATE WORK: Essays and summaries will be penalized no less than one letter grade for each day late,
including days when class does not meet, regardless of the reason for being late. In addition, any
assignment submitted late is not eligible for revision. Late work should be submitted to the Academic and
Campus Services Office, Room SE2202, or to the assignments area in Blackboard within 72 hours of the
due date. After 72 hours, I will not accept late work.
Any homework or in-class assignment, including quizzes, cannot be taken at a later date under any
circumstances. I do NOT accept emailed assignments unless the college notifies me that Blackboard is not
functioning. All work must be submitted to the appropriate area in Blackboard.
ATTENDANCE: Missing more than three hours of class, for whatever reason (illness, family emergency,
etc.), is considered excessive and may affect your final grade. I will take attendance each class and will
note any late arrivals or early departures. If you miss class, contact a classmate and log onto Blackboard to
determine what you missed. I do not meet with students to review what was covered during class; it’s the
student’s responsibility to find out what was missed.
WITHDRAWAL POLICY: The last day to drop this course and receive a refund is _________.
Students who drop before ___________ will receive a W on their transcripts. Students who are not
making satisfactory progress may be dropped from the class, which will result in an “AW” on the
transcript. A “W” and an “AW” are grade-point neutral, but non-completion of a class may affect financial
aid for the current and future semesters. Students who drop or who are dropped by an instructor may
receive an outstanding bill from TCC if the recalculation leaves a balance due to TCC. Contact the
Counseling Office at any TCC campus to initiate withdrawal from a course (“W” grade) or to change from
Credit to Audit.
FORMAT FOR COURSE WORK: For the final draft of major essays, you should follow MLA format as
described in the Handbook. Students may be required to submit assignments to SafeAssign to be checked
for plagiarism. Students who do not submit assignments to SafeAssign when required will receive a “0”
for the assignment. For help submitting essays to SafeAssign, visit the Writing Center.
WRITING CENTER: Students should be aware of the many services offered in the Writing Center,
room 1102. For more information, see “Teaching Methods” on page xxiv of Little, Brown.
PLAGIARISM POLICY: Please see “Plagiarism” on page in your Little, Brown. If you submit any
assignment containing plagiarism of any kind, and it is your first offense, you will receive a “0” for that
assignment. It is your responsibility to schedule a conference with me to discuss the situation and make
sure that you understand why you received the 0, what the plagiarism is, and how to avoid it. If, after
conferring with you, I am convinced the plagiarism occurred accidentally or as the result of ignorance
rather than deliberate intent, I may choose to allow you to rewrite the assignment, but I am under no
obligation to do so. A rewrite will not be permitted for cases in which the plagiarism appears to be
deliberate. If you submit an assignment containing plagiarism and it is your second offense, you will
receive a grade of F for the course, and I will report you to the Dean of Student Services and the Associate
Dean of the Communications Division for violation of TCC’s policies on academic integrity.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY OR MISCONDUCT: Academic dishonesty or misconduct is not
condoned nor tolerated at campuses within the Tulsa Community College system. See the college’s
Academic Integrity Statement: http://www.tulsacc.edu/ page.asp?durki=2984&site=16&return=126.
CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE: See Little, Brown, page xxix. Students who do not follow the etiquette
policy may be dismissed from class and required to meet with the dean of student services. Moreover,
violation of the etiquette policy will affect the class participation grade.
DISABLED STUDENTS/ADA POLICY: See p. xxvi-xxvii in Little, Brown.
EMAIL: Every student enrolled at Tulsa Community College is issued a TCC email account. Students are
expected to check their College email account on a frequent and regular basis in order to stay current with
College-related communications, particularly those that may be time sensitive in nature. Students will be
held responsible for the information transmitted to the College email account. Information about email
addresses, user names and passwords may be found at https://portal.tulsacc.edu/cp/home/ displaylogin
For more information, see Little, Brown p. xxix. You need to check your MyTCC account regularly so that
the college does not deactivate it. I strongly suggest you log onto Blackboard through MyTCC. I check
email frequently and will respond to emails in less than 24 hours. If you do not receive a reply from me
within that time, you can assume I didn’t receive your email.
RESOURCES: It is the policy and practice of Tulsa Community College to create inclusive learning
environments. Accommodations for qualifying students in compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are available. To request
accommodations, contact the Education Access Center (EAC) at eac@tulsacc.edu or call (918) 595-7115
(Voice). Deaf and hard of hearing students may text (918) 809-1864.
TOBACCO POLICY:
Tulsa Community College is a Tobacco Free college in accordance with the Governor’s Executive Order
2012-01 and Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, Section 1-1523 which prohibits smoking or the use of any
tobacco products in all public places, in any indoor workplace, and all vehicles owned by the State of
Oklahoma and all of its agencies and instrumentalities. This Order includes property leased, rented, or
owned by TCC including, but not limited to, all grounds, buildings, facilities, and parking lots. Tulsa
Community College’s policy includes a tobacco free environment on all campus and off-campus locations
conducting TCC credit or non-credit classes. The TCC Campus Police is responsible for ensuring
compliance with the Tobacco-Free Environment Policy. Violations of the policy may be addressed
through issuance of campus or state citations.