Dr. Gavin Schulz
English 1302, HCC--Southwest
Spring 2015
Distance Education Composition II Syllabus
Welcome to this DE Composition II course. Though we will not be meeting in a classroom, we will be “meeting” regularly online, using the
Eagle Online system.
COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Gavin Schulz
Section: CRN# 45944
Eagle Online: eo2.hccs.edu
PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
The purpose of this course is to prepare you for the short writing assignment one encounters in college. Developing conscientious
writing habits and mastering the various forms will provide a foundation for future writing tasks, even when they demand alternative, or more
sophisticated, forms. There will be an emphasis on organization, pre-writing, and revision skills in order to teach you the connected and
interactive process of writing. This approach is intended to foster in the student the recognition that all writing, not merely poetry or fiction, is
craft.
CONTACT INFORMATION
HCC E-mail: gavin.schulz@hccs.edu
You all have been assigned an HCC Email account; you need to learn how to use it (you can find it by looking on the HCC homepage,
clicking “For Students,” and finding “Student Email” in the menu that opens up). There are times when HCC will use this system to make
general announcements, and times when I will use this system to make general announcements, so make sure you check it regularly. Because of
Phishing and viruses, I will not open emails from students that do not originate from the HCC email system!
I will check my email at least every morning; however, I generally do not check email after about 3 p.m., so if you email me late in the
day, do not expect an immediate response. The standard rule for DE classes is to respond within 24 hours.
Note that there is a Messaging system within our online class, and you are welcome to use it; however, this automatically sends all
emails to your HCC email address.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
None. All readings will be taken from online sources.
GRADING SCHEDULE
1] 2 semester essays (roughly 900 words each)
(Essay #1)
15%
(Essay #2) 20%
2] Research Paper (roughly 1800 words)
(Essay #3) 30%
3] Online Exercises/Quizzes (3 lowest scores will be dropped)
15%
4] Peer Evaluation Exercises
10%
5] Final Essay
(Essay #4) 10%
*Note that you must submit all four main essays in order to qualify for a grade in the class.
EAGLE ONLINE
Technical Compliance: Things will go smoothly if you (1) install the free Firefox browser (not the beta version), (2) run the latest
Java script, and (3) allow pop-ups. You must use the Firefox browser for full compatibility with Eagle Online. Other web browsers are not fully
supported. Be sure to use Firefox for critical, timed tasks such as quizzes and assignment submissions. You will also need Adobe Acrobat
Reader. (Note that some systems do not respond well to Firefox; if you are having trouble accessing the material in Eagle Online, switch to
Internet Explorer or Google Chrome to see if they give you access.)
Eagle Online User ID and Login: Your login user ID is your HCC User ID (sometimes referred to as the “W” number). The
password should be the one you created for HCC email. If you have forgotten your W#, go to this address
(https://hccsaweb.hccs.edu:8080/psp/csprd/?cmd=login&languageCd=ENG) and click the link for forgotten ID. Go to this address
(http://www.hccs.edu/district/students/student-e-maileagle-id/) for information about resetting your password.
Computer Access: It is the student’s responsibility to have dependable Internet access. Plan ahead—if your computer is down, keep
in mind that HCC provides computer labs for your use. Public libraries also offer computer access. This is a DE class, so access is a
requirement. If you cannot access the class, you cannot participate.
Technical Help: Many technical questions can be answered when you click on “Technical Requirements,” a link in your Online
Orientation, which is required for the course. I am glad to help you, of course, with course content, but Tech Support is there to help you with
your technical questions. If you have any problems other, contact the Eagle Online Help Desk (713-718-2000) for help.
Online Participation: You should log into Eagle Online daily to check for announcements and do the required assignments for the
week. Unless you have informed me of an emergency, failing to log in the first week, failing to log in regularly throughout the semester, and
failing to complete assignments will be regarded as not attending, and absences will be recorded.
Eagle Technical Problems: If technical problems occur, say, Eagle Online or the HCC network goes down, we will obviously have
trouble accessing the online platform and meeting deadlines. I will, then, adjust deadlines accordingly.
IMPORTANT DATES
January 20
First Day of Classes
February 2
Day of Record
February 16
PRESIDENT’S DAY HOLIDAY (Offices closed)
March 16-22
SPRING BREAK HOLIDAY (Offices closed)
March 24
Last Day to Withdraw, 4:30 p.m.
April 3
SPRING HOLIDAY (Offices closed)
May 10
Last Day of Classes
May 11-17
Final Exams (No Classes; Only Final Exams)
May 18
Grades Due
May 22
Grades Available for Students
GRADING SCALE
Evaluation Rubric: Grades will be assigned in accordance with the “Evaluation Rubric,” to which you will be given access. Grades will
be assigned on a +/- scale (point equivalents are 88/85/82 for a B+/B/B-, for example).
Grading Scale: Final grades are on an A/B/C scale. A final average of 90-100 will earn an A for the course; 80-89 will earn a B; 7079 will earn a C; 60-69 will earn a D, and 59 or below will earn F’s.
PAPERS
How to Submit Your Papers and Exercises: You must submit your work in one of the traditional word processing formats (Word,
Richtext, for example). Do not use jpegs or zipped files; the Moodle system generally does not read them. If I cannot open your submission, you
will receive a 0 for the assignment, as I cannot prove that anything was actually submitted. Save your files with a simple, clear file name that
includes your name and the assignment.
Rough Drafts: I am willing to read complete or partial drafts of essays at any time before the day that Rough Drafts are due for the
Peer Evaluation exercises.
Late Penalties for Essays 1, 2, and the Final Essay: Papers are due by 11:55 p.m. on the days they are due. Failure to submit your
paper by this time will result in a 5 point penalty, with a further 5 points deducted for each successive hour it is late.
Late Penalty for the Research Paper: Essay #3 is due by 11:55 p.m. on the date assigned. Failure to submit these papers by this
time will result in a 10 point penalty, with a further 10 points deducted for each successive hour it is late.
Failure to Submit an Essay: I will not accept an essay until the previous essay has been submitted for a grade. So, for example, if
you do not submit Essay #1, you will not be permitted to submit any of the other essays.
Returning Graded Papers: It will take about two weeks to grade a stack of essays.
Grading Late Papers: All essays turned in 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.
Lost Papers: It is the student’s responsibility to back up files regularly. Do not get caught by a technical glitch. Keep a copy of your
papers for your own file; should a paper be lost in the system, it is your responsibility to give me another.
Peer Evaluation Exercises: You must have all of the paragraphs requested to participate. No partial participation will be allowed.
EXCUSES
Broken computers, printers out of ink, car running out of gas, illness, etc. These may be reasons why you cannot turn in your paper
on time, but they are not excuses. If you wait until the last minute to turn something in and fate conspires against you, then you have only
yourself to blame. Always keep a backup copy of your essay and do not wait until the last minute to submit your work.
EXTRA CREDIT
There is none. Your grade in this class will be determined by how well you do on the assignments themselves.
ESSAY REQUIREMENTS
Essays that have failed to fulfill the assignment’s requirements will be penalized 5 points for each requirement that you have failed to
fulfill, or 10 points for ignoring a requirement.
ATTENDANCE AND WITHDRAWAL POLICY
Absences: Attendance is required. Students who have no record of attendance (including logging in and submitting work) before the
Census Date (the Official Day of Record) will be automatically dropped from the course by the Registrar’s department. Students who are
dropped for nonattendance will not be reinstated.
In addition, attendance (including submitting online work) is required by the State of Texas and HCCS at all class meetings.
Instructors are expected to drop students who have missed more than 6 hours of class or its online equivalent. What does this mean?:
1] Students who fail to complete at least 50% of the online exercises by March 24 will be dropped.
2] Students who fail to submit Essay #1 will be dropped.
FX Grades: In addition, should you fail because you have stopped attending/participating, the State of Texas now requires that you be
given an “FX”—a failure for reasons of attendance. What does this mean for us?:
1] Since all essays must be submitted in order to get a grade in the class, students who fail to submit even one of the final three essays
(Essay #2, 3, and the Final Essay) will be assigned an FX (regardless of whether or not you submit the other essays).
Withdrawal: It is the student’s responsibility to withdraw; so, should you decide to drop the class, do not merely stop logging in to class.
While it is my intention to drop students for the reasons listed above, it is not my responsibility to drop you. If you are still on my roll at the end
of the semester, for whatever reason, you will receive a grade.
* TEXAS WITHDRAWAL 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. HCC has instituted an Early Alert process by which your professor may “alert” you and DE
counselors that you might fail a class because of absences and/or poor academic performance.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Receiving a “W” or an “FX” in a course may affect the status of your student visa. Once a “W” or an “FX” is given for the course, it
will not be changed to an “F” because of the visa consideration. Please contact the International Student Office at 713-718-8520 if you have any
questions about your visa status and any other transfer issues.
TUTORING: THE WRITING CENTER
The Southwest College Writing Centers provide a student-centered environment where professional tutors support student success for
all HCC students. The primary goal of the Writing Centers is to offer free, convenient, and personalized assistance to help students improve their
writing at any stage of the writing process required in any courses at HCC. Tutors will also assist students with their job application letters,
resumes, and scholarship/transfer essays. In one-on-one consultations tutors collaborate with students in understanding a writing assignment,
developing ideas, shaping content, writing a thesis, drafting, revising, self-editing, and learning to proofread. Tutors will also assist students with
learning about research and using sources. Furthermore, the Writing Centers offer access to computers and interactive websites for improving
grammar skills. At the Southwest College Writing Centers, each tutoring session becomes a learning experience.
The Southwest College Writing Centers are located in Room N-110 (Scarcella Center) at the Stafford Campus and Room C-218 at the
West Loop Campus, where tutoring is available. The hours will be posted each semester.
TUTORING: ASKONLINE
Askonline online tutoring strives to foster educational autonomy through asynchronous guidance in the writing process. It provides
one-on-one feedback from faculty tutors on student writing in grammar, structure, content, organization, and critical thinking in all subject areas,
not just English. Students can submit papers and questions 24/7/365 and can reasonably expect responses within 18 - 24 hours. All current HCC
students can register at hccs.askonline.net. We strongly suggest that all students view the 8-minute video on the log-in page before sending their
first submission.
BOOKSTORE
Please note that the bookstore is not run by HCC. It is a Barnes and Noble facility. We, therefore, have no say in how it is run, what
books they stock, how many copies of each book they stock, or what they claim you will need for any specific class.
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 (713-718-7909) at the beginning of each semester.
NEW STUDENT SURVEY SYSTEM
At Houston Community College, professors believe that thoughtful student feedback is necessary to improve teaching and learning.
During a designated time, you will be asked to answer a short online survey of research-based questions related to instruction. The anonymous
results of the survey will be made available to your professors and division chairs for continual improvement of instruction. Look for the survey
as part of the Houston Community College Student System online near the end of the term.
MENINGITIS IMMUNIZATION REQUIRED FOR SPRING REGISTRATION
Texas Senate Bill 1107 passed in May 2011, requires that new HCC students and former HCC students returning after an absence of at least one
fall or spring semester who are under the age of 30 are required to present a physician-signed certificate showing they have been vaccinated
against bacterial meningitis. Beginning with Spring registration, November 7, students will have to satisfy this requirement prior to enrollment.
For more information and a list of exemptions please go to
http://www.hccs.edu/hccs/admissions-registration-center/new-student-general-admissions-steps/submit-meningitis-documentation
VIRTUAL CLASSROOM CONDUCT & EAGLE ONLINE LMS
As with on-campus classes, all students who log into Eagle Online courses are required to follow all HCC Policies & Procedures, the Student
Code of Conduct, the Student Handbook (http://www.hccs.edu/hccs/current-students/student-handbook ), and relevant sections of the Texas
Education Code when interacting and communicating in a virtual classroom with your professor and fellow students. Students who violate these
policies and guidelines will be subject to disciplinary action that could include denial of access to course-related email, discussion groups, and
chat rooms, or even removal from the class.
POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Scholastic Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:
1] “Plagiarism”—using another person’s paper, words, or ideas without quotation marks (if exact words are used) or appropriate citation.
2] “Collusion”--the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work for credit.
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.
______________________________________________________________________________
ENGLISH MISSION STATEMENT
The purpose of the English Department is to provide courses that transfer to four-year colleges; introduce students to literature from diverse
traditions; prepare students to write clear, communicative, well-organized, and detaioled prose; and develop students’ reading, writing, and
analytical skills.
ENGLISH 13O2 COURSE DESCRIPTION
English 1302 is a more extensive study of the skills introduced in English 1301 with an emphasis on critical thinking, research and documentation
techniques, and literary and rhetorical analysis. English 1302 is a core curriculum course.
COURSE PURPOSE
English 1302 is designed to help students write multi-paragraph, analytical, and argumentative essays that have the following qualities:
·
clarity in purpose and expression,
·
appropriate and sensible organization,
·
sound content, including applications of concepts from and references to assigned readings,
·
completeness in development,
·
unity and coherence,
·
appropriate strategies of development,
·
sensitivity to audience,
·
effective choice of words and sentence patterns,
·
grammatical and mechanical correctness, and
·
appropriate MLA citations format.
Core Objectives
Given the rapid evolution of necessary knowledge and skills and the need to take into account global, national, state, and local cultures, the core curriculum
must ensure that students will develop the essential knowledge and skills they need to be successful in college, in a career, in their communities, and in life.
Through the Texas Core Curriculum, students will gain a foundation of knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, develop principles
of personal and social responsibility for living in a diverse world, and advance intellectual and practical skills that are essential for all learning.
Students enrolled in this core curriculum course will complete a research project or case study designed to cultivate the following core objectives:
o
o
o
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Critical Thinking Skills—to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information
Communication Skills—to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual
communication
Personal Responsibility—to include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making
Teamwork (Comp I, Comp II, and TW)—to include the ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to
support a shared purpose or goal
Social Responsibility (Lit Only)—to include the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making
Student proficiency in Communication Skills will be assessed as a formal written out-of-class essay, which is at least 3 pages long and which includes an
oral presentation component as well as a visual component. Student proficiency in Critical Thinking will be assessed by a formal out-of-class essay
assignment. Personal, Social Responsibility, and Teamwork will be assessed as part of long unit or major essay assignment, which will include assigned
reading responses, pre-writing activities, multiple drafts, and group activities (such as peer review or group presentations). Student project grades will
account for at least 5% of the final course grade.
English Program Student Learning Outcomes
(Composition, Literature, Creative Writing, and Technical Writing)
1. Write in appropriate genres using varied rhetorical strategies.
2. Write in appropriate genres to explain and evaluate rhetorical and/or literary strategies employed in argument, persuasion, and various
genres.
3. Analyze various genres of writing for form, method, meaning, and interpretation.
4. Employ research in academic writing styles and use appropriate documentation style.
5. Communicate ideas effectively through discussion.
Dr. Gavin Schulz
English 1302, HCCS--Southwest
Spring 2015
DE Course Calendar
(* Assignments are to be completed by 11:55 p.m. on the days they are due *)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------** First Week Exercises **
Week 1:



HCC Email Response—Due Sun., Jan. 25
Diagnostic Essay—Due Sun., Jan. 25
Syllabus Quiz—Due Sun., Jan. 25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
** Beginning of Essay Assignment #1 Module **
Week 2:
Week 3:



Read articles listed for Essay Assignment #1 ( see “Readings for Essay Assignment #1” found at top of class, listed under
heading “ESSAY ASSINGMENTS AND READINGS”)
Read lectures for Essay Assignment #1 (found in Week 2 section)
Brainstorming Exercise— Due Sun., Feb. 1

Plagiarism Exercise— Due Sun., Feb. 8
Week 4:

APA Citation Exercise— Due Sun., Feb. 15
o
Logic Chain Exercise— Voluntary Exercise (submit any time before Sun., Feb. 15)
Week 5:
Feb.
16] Offices Closed—President’s Day Holiday



Rough Draft Submission— Due Tue., Feb. 17
Peer Evaluation Exercise—Due Fri., Feb. 20
Essay Assignment #1 Final Draft Submission— Due Sun., Feb. 22
** End of Essay Assignment #1 Module **
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------** Beginning of Essay Assignment #2 Module **
Week 6:
Week 7:
Week 8:



Read stories listed for Essay Assignment #2
Read lectures for Essay Assignment #2
Brainstorming Exercise—Due Sun., Mar. 1


Chicago Citation Exercise—Due Sun., Mar. 8
Transition Exercise—Due Sun., Mar. 8

Conclusion Exercise—Due Sun. Mar. 15
o
Cause/Effect Chain Exercise—Voluntary Exercise (submit any time before Sun., Mar. 15)
o
Extended Definition Exercise—Voluntary Exercise (submit any time before Sun., Mar. 15)
Week 9:
Mar.
16-22] Offices closed—
Spring Break Holiday
Week 10:
Mar.
24] ** Tue. Mar. 24: Last day to drop with a "W" @ 4:30 p.m. **


Rough Draft Submission—Due Tue., Mar. 24
Peer Evaluation Exercise—Due Fri., Mar. 27

Essay Assignment #2 Final Draft Submission—Due Sun., Mar. 29
** End of Essay Assignment #2 Module **
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
** Beginning of Essay Assignment #3 Module **
Week 11:
Apr.
Week 12:
Week 13:
Week 14:
Week 15:
3] Offices Closed—Spring Holiday


Read lectures for Essay Assignment #3
Brainstorming Exercise—Due Mon., Apr. 6

Opposition Response Exercise—Due Sun., Apr. 12


Legitimate Sources Exercise—Due Sun., Apr. 19
Incorporating Sources Exercise—Due., Sun. Apr. 19


In-Text Citation Exercise—Due Sun., Apr. 26
MLA Works Cited/Format Quiz—Due Sun. Apr. 26

Title Exercise—Due Sun., May 3

Essay Assignment #3 Final Draft Submission—Due Fri., May 8
Week 16:
** End of Essay Assignment #3 Module **
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
** Final Exam Week **
Final Take-Home Essay—Due Fri., May 15
(** Note: changes can and may be made at the Instructor’s discretion **)