Dr. Gavin Schulz English 1302, HCCS--Southwest Spring 2011 Course Syllabus PURPOSE OF THE COURSE The purpose of Composition II is to foster the understanding that all aspects of a written text must be viewed as “craft,” that, like fiction, drama, or poetry, essays must be crafted with care. To further this end, this course provides instruction and practice that will help students master a variety of writing situations. This will enable students to build upon the writing process, upon critical reading skills, upon computer skills, and upon the research process— generating essays that demonstrate thesis-driven, analytical thinking. CONTACT INFORMATION Email: gavin.schulz@hccs.edu I am available to meet with you M/W/F from 6:30-7:00 a.m. and T/Th 11:00-11:30 a.m. on an appointment basis. REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS Fowler, H. Ramsey, Jane E. Aaron, and Janice Okoomian, eds. The Little, Brown Handbook. 11th ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. GRADING 1] Two short essays 2] Mini-Research Paper 3] Handbook/Policy Quizzes 4] Peer Evaluation Responses 5] Final In-Class Essay 20% (#1) 20% (#2) 35% (#3) 5% 10% 10% GRADING SCALE Grades will be assigned in accordance with the “Evaluation Rubric.” Grades will be assigned on a +/- scale (point equivalents are 88/85/82 for a B+/B/B-, for example). Note, however, that final grades are on an A/B/C scale. For the purposes of grade calculation, an average of 90-100 will earn an A for the course; 80-89 will earn a B; 70-79 will earn a C; 60-69 will earn a D, and 59 or below will earn F’s. PAPERS ** Draft Check Day: All three semester essays must be submitted on the draft check days—no exceptions. Failure to include a legitimate draft on these days will result in a zero (0) for the assignment. To be safe, show me your draft in advance, as soon as you have it. ** Rough Drafts: I am willing to read complete or partial drafts of essays at any time before the draft check dates. You must give me a typed, double-spaced copy in such situations. Electronic Copy: Papers will not be graded without the electronic copies. You must give me both the hard copy you want me to grade and an electronic copy in class, on the due date, or it will be considered late. Essay #3 and the In-Class Final Essay: These must be completed on the date assigned—no exceptions except for documented emergencies. Failure to submit the Research Paper on the due date will result in a 10 point penalty, with a further 10 points deducted for each day it is late; failure to write the In-Class Final Essay on the final exam day will result in a 0 for the assignment. It takes roughly two weeks to grade a stack of essays. However, all essays turned in (both hard and electronic copies) after class on the due dates, for whatever reason, will be placed in a separate pile and will be graded only after all of the on-time essays have been completed. Please keep a copy of your papers for your own file; should a paper be lost, it is your responsibility to give me another. ESSAY REQUIREMENTS Essays that have failed to fulfill the assignment’s requirements will be penalized; these essays will be marked down 10 points for each requirement that has not been satisfactorily fulfilled. Essays #1 and 2, however, will be returned unread, and you will be given one chance (7 days) to revise them in order to bring the material up to college level; essays turned in after the original due date will have the same resubmission date. Note that these essays will be considered late and will be graded after all the other papers have been completed. GRAMMAR Essays that do not meet the minimum grammatical requirements for college level writing in this class will be penalized; these essays will earn an average of two grades: the grade for the essay and an F (50 points) for grammar. Essays #1 and 2, however, will be returned, and you will be given one chance (7 days from the return date) to revise them in order to bring the material up to college level. (Late papers will have the same resubmission date.) ATTENDANCE AND WITHDRAWAL POLICY Absences: Attendance is required by HCCS at all class meetings. I am instructed to withdraw students who have missed six hours or more of class by the last day to drop. Tardiness: Note, however, that showing up twenty minutes late to class each day does not mean that you have perfect attendance; it means that you have missed one-quarter of the semester (almost a month)! Therefore, tardiness of 1/4 of the class period or more (20 minutes) will be considered an absence. Withdrawal: While I am instructed to withdraw students with excessive absences, it is ultimately the student’s responsibility to withdraw; so, should you decide to drop the class, do not merely stop coming. Note that we no longer have the option to assign "W"'s at the end of the semester, so all students still on my roll at the end of the semester will receive grades. You are, in any event, responsible for any material assigned or collected on those days that you are absent or tardy. If a paper is due on a day that you are going to be absent, it is your responsibility to find a way to turn it in. Missed exercises/quizzes may not be made up. * TEXAS ATTENDANCE RULE * Students who repeat a course three or more times, or who accumulate 6 or more “W”’s during their college career, face significant tuition/fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. If you are considering course withdrawal, confer with your instructor/counselor as early as possible about your study habits, reading and writing homework, attendance, course participation, and opportunities for tutoring that might be available. ELECTRONIC DEVICES Use of recording devices, including camera phones and tape recorders, is prohibited in classrooms and other locations where instruction, tutoring, or testing occurs. Inappropriate use of a recording device will be reported to the police and may be a felony offense. SPECIAL CONDITIONS/CIRCUMSTANCES Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychological, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office at the beginning of each semester. POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Scholastic Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: 1] “Plagiarism”--the appropriation of previously written work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one’s own written work for credit. 2] “Collusion”--the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work for credit. 3] ‘Cheating’—obtaining or providing answers from/to another person during a quiz. A student guilty of a first offense will earn a grade of 0 on the assignment involved. For a second offense, the student will earn an F for the course. Class Assignments/Reading Schedule (* Assignments are to be completed for the class they are listed under *) Week 1: Jan . 19] Course Introduction 21] Diagnostic Essay Week 2: 24] Sample Diagnostic Essay 26] Introduction to Essay #1 / Citing Anthologies in APA Read before class: Online articles listed on my Learning Web page Due at start of class: A three-sentence summary for each article 28] Introductions / Quiz #1 (bring Handbook!) Week 3: 31] Thesis Statements / Plagiarism Feb. 2] Analysis Paragraph Structure 4] Opposition/Response Paragraphs / Quiz #2 (bring Handbook!) Week 4: 7] Conference/Workshop Day / Quiz #3 (bring Handbook!) 9] Conference/Workshop Day 11] ** Draft Check Day ** Peer Evaluation of Rough Draft Essay #1 (Part I) Bring: 1 copy of rough draft (as specified in Essay #1 assignment sheet) Week 5: 14] Peer Evaluation of Rough Draft Essay #1 (Part II) Bring: 1 copy of rough draft (as specified in Essay #1 assignment sheet) 16] ** Final Draft of Essay #1 Due / Quiz #4 (bring Handbook!) Turn in to me: Final draft, any peer evaluation responses, and an electronic copy of your essay 18] Introduction to Assignment #2 / Citing web pages in Chicago format Week 6: 21] PRESIDENT’S DAY HOLIDAY !!! 23] Brainstorming Ideas / Quiz #5 (bring Handbook!) Read before class: stories listed on my Learning Web site 25] Defining Character Traits Week 7: 28] Cause & Effect Argumentation Mar. 2] Transitions / Conclusions 4] Conference/Workshop Day / Quiz #6 (bring Handbook!) Week 8: 7] ** Draft Check Day ** Peer Evaluation of Rough Draft Essay #2 (Part I) Bring: 1 copy of rough draft (as specified in Essay #2 assignment sheet) 9] Peer Evaluation of Rough Draft Essay #2 (Part II) Bring: 1 unmarked copy of rough draft (as specified in Essay #2 assignment sheet) 11] Conference/Workshop Day Week 9: 14] SPRING 16] 18] BREAK VACATION !!! Week 10: 21] ** Final Draft of Essay #2 Due / Quiz #7 (bring Handbook!) Turn in to me: Final draft, all research xeroxes, any peer evaluation responses, and an electronic copy of your essay 23] Introduction to Research Paper Read before class: The International Herald Tribune (Mar. 23 edition) found at www.iht.com 25] Titles / Thesis Statements / Quiz #8 (bring Handbook!) Week 11: 28] Argumentation Paragraph Structure / Quiz #9 (bring Handbook!) 30] Opposition Paragraph / Response Paragraph Apr. 1] Library & Research Introduction / Legitimate Sources Meet In: we will meet in the Library on this day Week 12: 4] Database Research Introduction / Quiz #10 (bring Handbook!) 6] Database Research 8] Incorporating Sources--Strategies Week 13: 11] Incorporating Sources (continued) / Quiz #11 (bring Handbook!) Bring: One source (one book or one magazine/journal or one Internet article or one database article--preferably one you might use as research, though it can be anything) 13] In-Text Citations (Part I) ** Thurs. Apr. 14: Last day to drop with a "W" ** 15] In-Text Citations (Part II) / Quiz #12 (bring Handbook!) Bring: Your research paper draft Week 14: 18] Works Cited Citations (Part I) Read: in The Little, Brown Handbook--pgs. 656-665 Bring: One book 20] Works Cited Citations (Part II) Read: in The Little Brown Handbook--pgs. 666-670 Bring: One magazine 22] EASTER HOLIDAY !!! Week 15: 25] Works Cited Citations (Part III) Read: in The Little, Brown Handbook--pgs. 670-682 Bring: One database article 27] ** Draft Check Day ** Works Cited Citations (Part IV) Bring: One Internet article 29] Conference/Research Day Week 16: May 2] Conference/Research Day 4] ** Final Draft of Research Paper Due ** / Introduction to Final Essay Turn in to me: Final draft, original graded draft, all xeroxes of research material 6] Final Essay Preparation Day * * * * * Final Exam Date (In-Class Essay): Monday, May 9 from 7:00 a.m.-8:50 a.m. in our regular classroom. (** Note: changes can and may be made at the Instructor’s discretion **)