Instructor: Margie Ricks
Email:
Margie.ricks@hccs.edu
Course:
ENGL0300
Room Number: MOCC-Rm 214
Days/Time: M-Th 8- 11:20 a.m.
Office Hours: M-Th 11:20-11:50am
or by appointment
CRN: 36372
Phone: 713-718-5561
ENGLISH 0300 SYLLABUS AND CALENDAR
TEXTBOOKS: The Writer’s World: Paragraphs and Essays (WW)
Lynne Gaetz and Suneeti Phadke
Software: My Writing Lab
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the time students have completed English
0300, they will be able to:
1. Write sentences that demonstrate proper use of grammar and mechanics.
2. Read analytically.
3. Write in response to reading.
4. Develop a thesis and use supporting paragraphs to strengthen and support
the thesis.
5. Write a variety of paragraphs including introductory, supporting, and
concluding paragraphs.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: 3 Essays (10% each)
Collaborative Writing Project
Quizzes
Lab (My Writing Lab - MWL)
Journals
Class Participation
Final Essay (In class)
Final Exam (Objective)
IMPORTANT DATES:
06/30
07/05
07/06
07/07-08
30%
10%
10%
05%
10%
05%
20%
10%
Last Day for Withdrawals
Independence Day Holiday
Instruction Ends
Final Exams
COURSE CONTENT: The instructor will make specific page assignments and dates for
assignments. The instructor may make additional assignments and/or changes in
assignments during the semester.
Session One: Monday, 06/07:
Diagnostic essays; Introduction to Course
The Writing Process: Chapters 1, 2 and 3
1
Writing Process; reading and writing strategies and key terms; Purpose and audience;
Methods of content development: Chapter 3
Writing the Essay: Chapter 13
Illustration Pattern of Development Chapter 4, Chapter 14 Pages 205-209, and Reading
Selection #18 Pages 594-595
Terms to know: Purpose, audience, the writing process, pre-writing, thesis, topic
sentence, paragraph, essay, pattern of development (rhetorical mode), transitions,
introduction, conclusion, and illustrative (exemplification) pattern of development and
figurative language
Session Two: Tuesday, 06/08
Complete discussion of Chapters 1-4, 13 and 14
Practice Exercises: Chapter 1- Practice 1, Chapter 2 – Practice 1, Practice 7,
Chapter 3 – Practice 5, Chapter 4 – Practice 1
MWL: Diagnostic Pre-Tests (Sentence Grammar, Punctuation and Mechanics,
Usage and Style and Basic Grammar); The Writing Process; The Essay and
Paragraph Patterns
Discuss Illustration essays; Reading Quiz; Reading journal (Illustration) in class
Begin Essay One with essay assignment, topic (Pages 68 #1, 2 or 3; P. 209 #2, 6, 9 or
10; or 596 # 1 or 2) and inventions; Topic and pre-writing due for Essay One
Session Three: Wednesday, 06/09:
Illustration Reading journal due
Rough Draft Essay One Due
Terms to know: Parts of speech
Parts of Speech: Pages 398-404, 436-451, 603
MWL: The Editing Handbook- Section 5: More Parts of Speech; The Editing
Handbook- Section 6: Modifiers
Session Four: Thursday, 06/10:
Discuss parts of speech
Practice Exercises Parts of Speech : Page 401- Practice 2, Page 404 – Practice 4, Page
439- Practice 2, Page 440 – Practice 3
Essay One (Illustration/exemplification) Due
Narration/description essays Chapters 5 and 6, Chapter 14 Pages 210-218, and Reading
Selection #15 Pages 586-587
Session Five: Monday, 06/14:
Discuss Narrative/descriptive essays
Reading Quiz – Narrative/descriptive essay
Begin Narrative/descriptive Reading journal in class
Graded Exercises Parts of Speech: Page 402 – Practice 3, Page 443- Practice 6,
Final Review – Page 450
Session Six: Tuesday, 06/15:
Narrative/descriptive Reading Journal due
Practice Exercise Page 75 – Practice 3
2
Sentence Types Chapters 16, 17, and 18, Page 604
Terms to know: The four grammatical sentence types, phrase and clause
MWL: The Editing Handbook-Section 1: Effective Sentences
Begin Essay two with essay assignment, topic (P.94 Writing Activity 1 #4 or 12; P.213
#1, 2, 3, 4, or 10; P 218 # 1, or 7, 11, or 12; or P. 588 #1 or 2 and inventions (In class)
Discuss Sentence Type
Session Seven: Wednesday, 06/16:
Sentence Types Practice Exercises: Page 268-269 – Practice 2, Page 274 -Practice 6,
Page 280 -Practice1, Page 292- Practice 1
Rough Draft Essay Two Due - In Class
Session Eight: Thursday, 06/17:
Graded Exercises Sentence Types : Pages 274-275 - Practice 7, Page 281- Practice 2,
Pages 301-302 – Final Review
Grammar Quiz – Parts of Speech and Sentence Types
Essay Two (Narrative/descriptive) due
Comparison/contrast essays Chapter 10 and Chapter 14 Pages 232-235, Reading
Selection #10 Pages 570-571; Major Sentence Errors Chapter 20
Session Nine: Monday, 06/21:
Terms to know: The three major sentence errors
MWL: The Editing Handbook-Section 2: Common Sentence Errors
Discuss comparison/contrast essays; Practice Exercises Comparison/contrast – Pages
142-143 – Practice2, Pages 235-236 – Practice 15
Discuss Major Sentence Errors
Begin Comparison/contrast Reading journal in class
Reading Quiz- Comparison/contrast essay
Session Ten: Tuesday, 06/22:
Comparison/contrast Reading Journal due
Practice Exercises – Major Sentence Errors: Page 318 – Practice 1, Pages 319-320 –
Practice 2, Pages 320-321 – Practice 3, Page 333 – Practice 4, Pages 324-325 – Practice 7
Begin Essay Three with assignment, topic (P.149 #3, 4, 5, or 11; P. 236 #2, 5 or 12; or
P. 572 #1, 2, or 3), and inventions
Session Eleven: Wednesday, 06/23:
Graded Exercises- Major Sentence Errors: Pages 322-323 – Practice 5, Pages 323-324 –
Practice 6, Page 326 – Practice 8, Pages 327-328 – Practice 9
Grammar Quiz – Major Sentence Errors
Rough Draft for Essay Three Due
Session Twelve: Thursday, 06/24:
Essay Three (Comparison/contrast) Due
Subject Verb Agreement Chapter 25
Terms to know: Subject verb agreement, third person, and subject verb agreement rules
MWL: The Editing Handbook-Section 4: Verb Agreement and Consistency
3
Read Chapter 12; Discuss Collaborative Writing Projects/Argumentative Essays
Reading Quiz Argumentative Essay
Discuss CWP: Select groups and topics
Session Thirteen: Monday, 06/28:
Discuss Subject Verb Agreement
Practice Exercises- Subject Verb Agreement: Page 380 – Practice 2, Pages 381-382 –
Practice 3, Pages 382-383 – Practice 4
Topic and pre-writing and copies of source due for CWP Due
Begin Reading Journal – CWP – In Class
Individual Rough Draft for CWP due
Session Fourteen: Tuesday, 06/29:
Graded Exercises: Subject Verb Agreement Pages 390-391 – Final Review
Verb Tense: Chapters 22 and 23 and Pages 605-606; Discuss Verb Tense
Terms to know: Irregular verb and participle verb form, irregular verbs in past tense,
present participle, and past participle form.
MWL: The Editing Handbook-Section 3: Problems with Verbs
Practice Exercises Verb Tense: Pages 345-346 – Practice 3, Page 356 – Practice 1,
Page357 –Practice 2, Pages 364-365 – Practice 8
Pronoun Case, Antecedent Agreement, and Reference Chapter 28
Discuss terms to know: Pronoun case (subjective, objective and possessive), pronoun
agreement and pronoun reference, the rule for the use of who and whom.
MWL: The Editing Handbook- Section 5: More Parts of Speech (Pronouns,
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement, Pronouns- Vague Pronouns
Group Rough Draft for CWP Due
Session Fifteen: Wednesday, 06/ 30:
CWP DUE
Graded Exercises Verb Tense: Page 354 – Final Review, Page 366 – Final Review
Grammar Quiz – Subject Verb Agreement and Verb Tense
Optional Journal Due
Pronoun Practice Exercises: Pages 417-418 – Practice 1, Page 420 – Practice 2, Pages
424-425 – Practice 5
Prepare for CWP Presentations
MWL: Post Diagnostic Post Tests
My Writing Lab Due
Session Sixteen: Thursday, 07/01
CWP Presentations
Discuss Final In Class Essay
Graded Exercises Pronouns: Page 427 –Practice 6, Pages 428-429 – Practice 7
Quiz: Pronoun Case, Reference and Agreement
Session Seventeen: Monday, 07/05
Review for Final Objective Exam
4
Begin Final In Class Essay
Session Eighteen: Tuesday, 07/06
Final In Class Essay
Session Nineteen: Wednesday, 07/07:
Final Exam Objective – Wednesday - 07/07
5
8:00-10:00 a.m.
NOTES
Course Prerequisites and Placement: Students are responsible for registering for and
taking the correct courses to meet department, institutional, and state requirements. A
student who is taking developmental English, reading, or math to meet minimum
standards as set by the state government will be blocked from registering for certain
college-level courses based on a lack of prerequisites. Example: a student tries to
register for History 1301; however, the student has not passed the reading and writing
sections of the placement test. The student also has not completed GUST 0342 and
ENGL 0310 (or ENGL 0349 for the non-native speakers). The student will be blocked
from registering for HIST 1301 because prerequisites have not been met.
Developmental Courses and ENGL 1301: Students taking developmental English and
reading courses to meet state and institutional requirements must complete GUST 0342
and ENGL 0310 (or ENGL 0349 for non-native speakers) before taking ENGL 1301.
Course Overview: English 0300 is a refresher course devoted to improving basic
English skills for native speakers. This course emphasizes the connections between
reading and writing and provides thorough instruction in the rules governing sentence
structure, word forms, and punctuation. While grammar, usage and mechanics are
covered in this course, the central focus is on the Writing Process.
Academic Honesty: 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.
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).
Attendance Policy: Class attendance is mandatory. Students will be dropped from the
course after missing six hours of class (three absences). In cases of emergency, contact
the instructor as soon as possible. Find a “class buddy”. That person can get handouts for
you if you are absent and let you know about any assignments you missed.
ADA Compliance (Americans with Disabilities Act): Please notify the instructor in
writing if you have a medical condition or personal circumstances that may limit your
ability to complete the work in this class. Faculty are authorized to provide only the
accommodations requested by the Disability Support Services office. Dr. Beck Hauri is
the ADA counselor for SW College; she can be contacted at 713-718-7910.
Sexual Harassment: It is a violation of HCCS policy for an employee, agent or student
of the college to engage in sexual harassment as defined in the EEOC guidelines.
(EEO/AA Compliance Handbook 47)
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Punctuality Policy: Punctuality is expected of all students. Three tardies of 15+
minutes will be recorded as one absence. If you are more than half an hour late, you will
be marked absent. If you leave early, you will also be marked either absent or tardy,
depending on when you leave.
Late Paper Policy: 1-2 days = -10
3-4 days = -20
5-6 days = -30
7+ days = not accepted
If you email your essay and I do not receive the email, the late paper policy will
apply based on the day that I receive the essay.
Grading Scale:
90 – 100
80 - 89
70 - 79
0 – 69
=A
=B
=C
= IP/F
In Progress Grade – IP: Students taking developmental courses may only receive an In
Progress or IP grade one time for each course. The student must receive a letter grade in
the second attempt (A, B, C, or F).
NOTE: A “D” is not a passing grade in a developmental course.
Note: Students who repeat a course three or more times may soon face significant
tuition/fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. If you are
considering course withdrawal because you are not earning passing grades, confer with
your instructor/counselor as early as possible about your study habits, reading and writing
homework, test-taking skills, attendance, course participation, and opportunities for
tutoring or other assistance that might be available.
Texas Law Change to Withdrawal Policy for Texas Institutions: In 2007, the Texas
Legislature determined to limit the number of withdrawals a student may receive in the
course of a college career (four years for a bachelor degree) to six withdrawals. Students
who exceed this number may pay increased tuition. Students who receive financial aid
may also be affected. Students who stop attending class after the last day for withdrawals
will receive an F grade for the course. HCCS has determined that students must now
receive counselor advisement to drop a course. If you plan to drop a course, contact your
instructor and/or a counselor to determine the best course of action.
Grade Reports: Students will get their grades online at www.hccs.edu
Extra credit work: As the course assignments are given for the semester and there are
no unreasonable demands requested of students beyond minimum course requirements,
no extra credit work will be given.
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Bonus Points – journals: Rough draft with tutor signature or Ask on Line
documentation attached to final draft +3
Bonus Points - compositions: Rough Draft with tutor signature or Ask on Line
documentation attached to final draft +5
Negative Points – compositions: No grading profile attached -5
Grading profile attached but not scored -4
Grading profile attached but scored incorrectly -3
Dictionary Policy: use of a dictionary for translation, spell check, definition, etc. is
encouraged for out of class assignments; however, no dictionaries are allowed for in class
writings.
Format of compositions: Typed (12 pt. Font), double spaced, front side only
Classroom Conduct:
 Get handouts and returned work before class begins or after the class ends. DO
NOT walk up to the instructor’s desk during the class.

Turn off cell phones and electronic devices prior to entering class. No calls, text
messages, photographs, or any other electronic communication should be sent or
received during class. If your phone rings, you make calls in class or you send
text messages, I will note it in a special “Classroom Interruption” log. You will
get a verbal warning. If it happens again, you will be dismissed from the class for
the rest of the day. If it happens a third time, you will be dropped from the class.

If you sleep in class, on the first occurrence you will receive a verbal warning. If
it happens again, you will be dismissed from the class for the rest of the day. If it
happens a third time, you will be dropped from the class.
Completion of course: Students must write a minimum of five essays (two in class) and
must earn a minimum of 70 on: 1)the final in class essay and 2) overall course average to
successfully complete this course.
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