English 0349 CRN#54792
Course Syllabus
Monique Fresolo Adams
Email: monique.adams1@hccs.edu
Contact # 713-502-9268
M/W 8:00AM -10:00AM
Texts and Supplies
New Directions, Second Edition, by Peter S. Gardner (required)
English collegiate dictionary (no bi-lingual dictionaries) (suggested)
Other Materials: TBA
Course Goals
English 0349 helps ESL students prepare for American core academic college
courses. Students learn composition (comp) skills for writing in a variety of
academic classes, such as in the humanities, social sciences, and business.
ENGL 0349 is the exit-level comp class for non-native speakers who plan to
continue their education and earn a college degree. After passing this course,
students should be ready to take ENGL 1301, freshman composition, and to
successfully complete any state-mandated writing assessment designed to
measure college readiness, such as THEA.
Specific course objectives include:
 read, comprehend, and be able to discuss academic texts
 write well-written 500-1000 word essays in response to those texts
 use of a variety of rhetorical strategies (exemplification, comparison/contrast,
cause/effect, argumentative) to develop a thesis
 apply critical thinking skills in writing
 edit compositions for accurate grammar, spelling, and punctuation
 work collaboratively to complete the writing process (for one comp)
 expand vocabulary
 recognize the author’s tone in writing
 demonstrate ability to paraphrase and summarize
 use accurate MLA style guidelines to cite sources
 demonstrate ability to address a wide variety of writing tasks (journals,
essays, short-answer and test questions, e-mail)
Compositions/Papers
Students will write 4 compositions (comps), a midterm, and a final exam. Much of
the class time is arranged as a writing workshop in which students discuss ideas
for writing, pre-write, draft, edit, and revise their work with assistance from
classmates and the instructor. One or two drafts may be written before the final
draft. Only the final draft is graded, and students do not revise further after
turning in a composition for a grade. All parts of the composition process are kept
in a manila folder, called a portfolio, and turned in with the final draft. Unless
otherwise directed, students must type or word-process each final draft (except
for the midterm and final exam) in 12 point Times New Roman font, doublespaced, and identify their work in the upper left corner of page 1 with the
student’s name, date, course number, and comp number.
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Journal
Students will use e-mail to submit their journal writing. For each chapter, a
journal assignment is due. The topics are included on the course calendar in
italics. Each journal response should be approximately 1 ¼ page in length
following the assigned formatting. Late journals will automatically lose ½ the
assignment points. Your answer must be ON TOPIC and refer specifically to the
article or you will lose points.
Homework
Students are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the readings listed
on the course calendar. Most reading assignments require students to work on
some preliminary vocabulary work and answer either pre-reading questions or
post-reading discussion questions that are in the textbook. All homework will be
collected. Homework that is not collected at the requested time will be
considered late.
TBA/OPTIONAL: Except for the Althen article, “American Values and
Assumptions,” every student will take a turn at leading a small group by using the
following 4-step process to discuss one of the reading assignments on the
course calendar:
 name the author and tell about his/her credentials
 tell the group the author’s main purpose (try to locate the thesis)
 identify one thing that you disagree with (and discuss)
 identify one thing that you do not understand well (vocab, detail, assertion)
 See the reading assignment titles on the course calendar.
Quizzes
Quizzes generally cover the material from the reading assignments and
vocabulary. Reading comprehension quizzes are unannounced. Therefore,
students should be prepared for a quiz on every reading on the course calendar
whether or not they are leading a small discussion group.
Midterm and Final Exams
The midterm and final exams consist of impromptu essay topics based on the
reading assignments in New Directions. These essays will have a persuasive
purpose and are used, along with the other work done in this class, to determine
whether or not a student is ready to succeed in college credit classes. A student
who has a passing class average but who does not pass the midterm and the
final exam with a 70% or higher grade will have his/her portfolio reviewed by the
Asst. Department Chair for Academic ESL.
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Texas Public Universities, Placement Rules
Beginning in the Fall 2003, the Texas legislature instituted new rules for
developmental students called the Texas Success Initiative (TSI). Under TSI
rules, most new students must be tested for placement (with THEA, ASSET or
COMPASS) and placed into developmental courses if they do not score high
enough to demonstrate college readiness. Successful completion of
developmental coursework, ENGL 0349 and GUST 0342 (or an appropriate test
score) enables students to advance to ENGL 1301.
Classroom Policies
Placement in ENGL 0349 is based on not only test scores and previous
coursework but also on the in-class assessment during the first weeks of the
term. A student who is not qualified to stay in this class will be notified and
advised to take the appropriate class. Students who fail to follow the teacher’s
recommendations for course placement will be referred to the college counseling
department.
Students are expected to arrive ON TIME to class. I will mark you absent for any
time missed after the class is scheduled to begin. If you are late, leave early, fall
asleep in class, or take extended independent breaks, I will mark you absent for
the time you miss. In general, three lates, leave early, or extended breaks will be
counted as one absence. If you are absent from class, you are responsible for
contacting me by email about the missed work. When students are absent on the
day of a scheduled in-class assignment, they must come to the next class
prepared to make up the work. An essay that is turned in past the due date will
receive a 10-point penalty for each class day that it is late. There are no makeup tests or quizzes.
IMPORTANT: All cell phones, laptops, and electronic devices must be
turned off and out of sight when the class is in session. Use of any of
these devices during class will result in a student being asked to leave the
classroom. You will be counted absent for that class. If you have an
emergency and must have a phone handy, please tell me before class
begins.
College Grading System
Students may earn an A, B, C, F, or IP in this class. IP means “In Progress” and
is given to the student who makes a good-faith effort to complete the work of the
class but is not ready to advance to the next level and could benefit from another
semester in 0349. If a student receives an IP, he/she must repeat ENGL 0349.
However, if the student is repeating 0349 for the second time and not passing,
the final grade will be F.
The W grade is given to the student who exceeds the allotted number of
absences (8 hours) before the last day for Administrative Withdrawals. An F is
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given to students who do not make a good-faith effort to successfully complete
work in the class and to those who take 0349 for the second time but fail it.
Students are responsible for completing the process to drop a class if they wish
to stop attending. See the “Last Day to Withdraw” date in the HCCS Schedule of
Classes.
Tutoring and the Language Assistance Center (LAC)
You are encouraged to take advantage of the student services at your campus.
Tutors are available to assist you with any reading/writing assignments that you
need help with. You may make an appointment in advance or drop in (if no one
has an appointment when you arrive). Prepare yourself before you see a tutor to
ask specific questions in order to use your time together well. Reminder: the tutor
is not your editor and will not write papers for you. In addition, online tutoring is
available at: www.hccs.askonline.net
Each campus has an LAC where you can use a computer to work on grammar
software, online resources, and word processing. No appointment is needed to
use an LAC; however, if a teacher schedules a class there while you are visiting
the lab, you might be asked to leave. NOTE: Unless otherwise directed by the
teacher, students must pay for all copies printed in the LAC. Lab aides manage
the labs and are there to assist you with technical questions about the
computers.
English 0349 Grading Formula
The final grade is calculated as follows:
Comps 1 & 2
20%
Comps 3 & 4
30%
Mid-term Essay
15%
Final Exam
15%
Homework, Journal, & Quizzes 20%
College Grading Scale
A (90-100/Excellent)
B (80-89/Good)
C (70-79/Fair)
IP or F (60-69/in progress/fail)
W (Withdrawn)
Academic Dishonesty
For each student to meet the course goals and as effective writing skills are
central to success in college and the work place, student honesty is required on
all assignments and exams. Turning in any work for a grade and claiming it as
your own when it was taken in whole or part from any other source, without
proper credit is plagiarism. This includes material taken from the Internet, books,
newspapers, magazines, other students, or any person besides yourself.
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Student Handbook: “Possible punishments for academic dishonesty may include
a grade of 0 or F for the particular assignment, failure in the course, and/or
recommendation for probation of dismissal from the College System” (35).
In other words, students are expected to do their own work. The instructor can
not help a student unless she knows who is authoring the assignments. All other
forms of cheating as defined by the Student Handbook are penalized as
plagiarism: a grade of 0 is recorded for all forms of academic dishonesty that
appear in ANY of the work done in this class.
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