English 0349
Course Syllabus
Instructor: Alan Harrison
Email: alan.harrison@hccs.edu
Office phone: 713-718-7750
Texts and Supplies
New Directions, Second Edition, by Peter S. Gardner (required)
English collegiate dictionary (no bi-lingual dictionaries)
loose-leaf notebook paper
a flash or thumb drive
one manila folder for a comp portfolio
an email address
a highlighter marker
a red pen
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 comp, 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 comps for accurate grammar, spelling, and punctuation
 expand vocabulary
 recognize the author’s tone in writing
 demonstrate ability to paraphrase and summarize
 use accurate MLA style guidelines to cite sources in-text
 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 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 comp for
a grade. All parts of the comp 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 the final draft (except for the midterm and final exam)
in 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and identify their work in the
upper left corner of page 1 with the student’s name, course number, professor’s
name, date, and comp number.
Journal NOTE: the email delivery is only an option; a notebook works well, too
Students will use e-mail to submit their journal writing. Each week, the journal
assignment is due by 12 noon on the Friday in which the topic is given. The
weekly topics are included on the course calendar in italics. Length will vary, but
in general, each journal response should be between 100-200 words. No late
journals are accepted. If the journal is not posted by 12 noon of the week that it
is due, I will not respond to it or count it for a grade. The format for responding to
journal topics is as follows, for example:
Journal # 1: In order to avoid intercultural misunderstandings, a visitor to
(X country) should know that…
Journal # 4: I agree (or I disagree) that students who are accused of
plagiarism should get an F for the assignment.
You must make sure that I understand which topic you have chosen by
paraphrasing or quoting from the topic in the topic sentence of your journal
response.
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. 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:
 identify the author and his/her credentials
 summarize the author’s purpose
 locate the thesis and main supporting details
 coordinate the discussion of “Reflecting on Content” questions
 See the reading assignment titles on the course calendar.
Quizzes
Quizzes generally cover the material from the reading assignments and
vocabulary. These 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.
Final Exam
The final exam consists of an impromptu essay based on the writing skills that
are learned in New Directions. This essay will have a persuasive purpose and is
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 final exam with a 70% or
higher grade will have his/her portfolio reviewed by the Asst. Department Chair
for Academic ESL.
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. Also, 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 return
from a break, leave early, or fall asleep in class, I will mark you absent for the
time you miss. If you are absent from class, you are responsible for contacting
me 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. A comp or paper that is turned in past the due date will be lowered by 10
points for each class day that it is late. There are no make-up tests or quizzes,
but I will drop the lowest test/quiz grade for each student at the end of the
semester. NOTE: All cell phones and electronic devices must be turned off and
out of sight when the class is in session. 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
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.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 (may differ depending on calendar option)
The final grade is calculated as follows:
Comps 1 & 2
20%
Comps 3 & 4
30%
Mid-term Essay
15%
Homework, Journal
10%
Final Exam
15%
Quizzes
10%
College Grading Scale
90—100
A
80—89
B
70—19
60—69
C
IP or F
Academic Dishonesty
Students are expected to do their own work. The instructor can not help a
student unless she knows who is authoring the assignments. Copying another
person’s words without giving credit to the source is considered cheating and
called “plagiarism.” 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.
Repeated problems with academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action,
including being asked to leave the class and/or referral to the Academic Dean of
Instruction.