English 1301 – WHITEBIRD—Spring-- 2016
CRN:
88728, 88829, 88928
Credit: 3(3 lecture)
Instructor:
Scott Whitebird, English, Rm. 308 Spring Branch Campus, NWC
scott.whitebird @hccs).edu
Office: AD6
Office, Advising:
5-5:30 M-R, before and after class, and by appointment 2-5pm
Prerequisite: A satisfactory assessment score, completion of ENGL 0310 or (for nonnative speakers) ENGL 0349.
Texts:
The Norton Reader 13th Edition
Composition Study Guide (on Connect)
McGraw-Hill Handbook (on Connect)
Catalog Description: Intensive study and practice in writing processes, from invention
and researching to drafting, revising, and editing, both individually and collaboratively.
Emphasis on effective rhetorical choices, including audience, purpose, arrangement, and
style. Focus on writing the academic essay as a vehicle for learning, communicating, and
critical analysis.
Course Purpose: English 1301 is intended to introduce students to basic forms of
writing used in most academic contexts. ENGL 1301 is designed around writing as a
process which enables students to develop organized, focused essays. Core curriculum
course.
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 Critical Thinking Skills—to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis,
evaluation and synthesis of information
o Communication Skills—to include effective development, interpretation and expression of
ideas through written, oral and visual communication
o Personal Responsibility—to include the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences
to ethical decision-making
o 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
o Social Responsibility (Lit Only)—to include intercultural competency, knowledge of civic
responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities
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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.
English Composition I Student Learning Outcomes
1. Demonstrate knowledge of writing as process.
2. Apply basic principles of critical thinking in analyzing reading selections,
developing expository essays, and writing argumentative essays.
3. Analyze elements such as purpose, audience, tone, style, strategy in essays and/or
literature by professional writers.
4. Write essays in appropriate academic writing style using varied rhetorical
strategies.
5. Synthesize concepts from and use references to assigned readings in their own
academic writing.
CLASS POLICIES
Attendance and Withdrawal
Attendance is required. You are responsible for ALL materials covered in class. In
addition, HCCS has an attendance policy. You may miss no more than 12.5%, or six
class hours, or the instructor may drop you for non-attendance or require makeup work.
Should you have to miss class, you are still responsible for all material covered. As soon
as you can, be sure to get the name and phone number of a fellow student to contact.
You may also leave me a message on my voicemail at 718-5678 – although we should
see each other regularly at class. Should you stop attending class, it is your
responsibility to withdraw from class, or you may receive an “F.”
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Census Date
Students who have no recorded attendance before the Census Date (the Official Day of
Record) will be automatically dropped from the class by the Registrar. Students dropped
for nonattendance will not be reinstated. The Census Date varies according the session.
Please refer to the Academic Calendar for the exact date for each session.
Tardiness and Leaving Class Early
Anything more than occasional tardiness is not acceptable. Students arriving late must
make sure that class roll is correct by seeing the teacher after class. Leaving early should
be cleared/explained to instructor prior to leaving in the middle of class. Questions
already answered and topics covered will not be repeated during class time and remain
the student’s responsibility.
Class Preparation
Preparation is also required. Students should know calendar and syllabus. Consider it
prior to class, and re-read if necessary so that you can participate in class. Expect
occasional quizzes. Take notes in class; review them regularly.
Late Work
Late work costs points. Ten points off for the first two days late; 20 points off for 3-7
days late. No papers accepted more than ONE week late. Unusual lateness caused by
illness, death in the family, and/or other emergencies must be explained in writing, and
documented if possible. Papers will be collected at the beginning of class and are late
after that. Papers turned in on the specified date but after papers have been collected
will be penalized 5 points.
Make-up Work
If you know you must miss the midterm for a good reason, we can schedule a make-up
time. If you simply miss the midterm, you must have an excused absence and be ready to
take the midterm immediately when you return. The Final in class essay cannot be
rescheduled, so plan accordingly.
Scholastic Dishonesty (Plagiarism, Collusion, Cheating)
The student handbook lists cheating, plagiarism, and collusion as scholastic dishonesty.
It defines plagiarism as “the appropriation of another’s work and the unacknowledged
incorporation of that work in one’s own written work offered for credit.” It defines
collusion as “ the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written
work for credit.” Possible punishments are “a grade of 0 or F on the particular
assignment, failure in the course, and/or recommendation for probation or dismissal from
the College System.” See Student Handbook. NOTE: Teachers use computers
regularly, and advanced searches make it quick and easy for us to check phrases,
sentences, keywords, paragraphs, etc. Be HONEST, and be careful – GOOGLE
RULES. And then there’s Turnitin.com….
Special Accommodations
Students needing special accommodations must give the teacher a current request from
The NWC ADA office. Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical,
learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc) who needs to arrange reasonable
accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office at the respective college at
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the beginning of each semester. Faculty are authorized to provide only the
accommodations requested by the Disabilities Support Services Office.”
Repeating Courses Three Times or More
Students who enroll for most credit or CEU classes for s third time of more will be
charged an additional $50.00 per semester credit hour and $3.00 per contact hour.
EGLS3 -- Evaluation for Greater Learning 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.
TITLE IX OF THE EDUCATION AMENDMENTS OF 1972, 20 U.S.C. A§
1681 ET. SEQ.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires that institutions have policies
and procedures that protect students’ rights with regard to sex/gender discrimination.
Information regarding these rights are on the HCC website under Students-Antidiscrimination. Students who are pregnant and require accommodations should
contact any of the ADA Counselors for assistance.
It is important that every student understands and conforms to respectful behavior
while at HCC. Sexual misconduct is not condoned and will be addressed promptly.
Know your rights and how to avoid these difficult situations.
Log in to: www.edurisksolutions.org . Sign in using your HCC student e-mail account,
then go to the button at the top right that says Login and enter your student number
ESSAYS
All out of class work, including reading log entries, must be typed or computer
printed in 12 pt. type, double spaced with a title page and in correct MLA form. An
essay package should contain title page, final draft, rough draft, peer analysis, and
anything else required by the instructor for that specific essay (Source verifications
(copies of outside sources) required for research paper). Please staple title all
materials together in the order listed. NO PLASTIC SLIPCOVERS PLEASE.
CONNECT
All online. Using class URL, register in the first weeks. Registration will be open
only through Aug. 24-31.. Instructions in class. Click on the butterfly icon for electronic
texts Composition Study Guide and McGraw-Hill Handbook. Two completion grades,
one for midterm on March 7, one on April 25, will be averaged for your Connect grade,
with the post diagnostic test available April 26-May 4. Failure to complete your Post
diagnostic will cost 10% on your Connect grade.
Connect includes the Learn Smart Achieve plan (LSA), the NWC Composition
Study Guide (CSP), and the McGraw-Hill Handbook (MLA).
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READING RESPONSE LOG
During this semester, you will keep a log of directed responses to each assigned
reading which will make 20% of your course grade. Each entry should be at least a
hundred words long, but need not ever exceed 200. Revise these, add a title page and
table of contents for Monday Nov. April 25 and staple together securely.
This assignment puts a premium on work habits and rewards completion. If you
finish all 40 entries, address each writing prompt, and turn the logs in on time and in
correct form, you will earn either an A or a B on this 20% of your final course grade.
PORTFOLIO
50% of the student’s grade will be based on a revised Portfolio of work which must include a
one expressive essay (essay #1), one analytic essay (essay #2), your revised midterm, and an
original self assessment (500 words) on your strengths and weaknesses as a writer and your
portfolio revisions. Turn in marked copies and all succeeding revisions. Once a marked paper
is returned to you, you may revise it, and I will read it again and comment as many times as
you wish. Put marked and revised essays in a pocket folder. Due May 2.
Left side
Right side
500 word Self assessment
(strengths/weaknesses/
Portfolio defense)
Marked Narrative or Identity (#1)
Revised Narrative or Identity
Marked Critical Analysis (#2)
Revised Critical Analysis
Marked Midterm
Revised Midterm
Graded MLA Research Paper
(Teacher puts in folder)
Grading Scale
Portfolio
50%
Midterm and Final
20%
Response Logs
20%
Connect LSA
10%
Essays
Learning narrative or Identity essay (#1)
750+ word
Analysis of an essay ( #2)
1000+ words
*Midterm/Final
750 words
Research Paper (#4)
1500-2000
Assessment/Portfolio Defense
500+ words
*An average of “C” (70%) must be earned on the two in-class essays (midterm and final)
to receive a grade of “C” of better in the course. A “D” (60-69) on these essays will
mean a course grade of “D.” An “F” average (0-59) on these essays will mean an “f” in
the course, regardless of your other grades(Departmental Policy).
Research
Student’s choice from five social/cultural topics highlighted by readings:
American Educational; Reading in our Lives; Technology Effects and Issues; What
Animals Tell Us About Being Human; or Stereotyping. You must use 1 sources from the
book plus three outside sources (one book, one professional article, and a database). Each
of these four sources should be used at least twice and documented correctly. Paper
should be 1500-2000 words long (4 ½ to six pages) with correct MLA format,
including a Works Cited Page and Internal Citations, and source verifications
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(copies of sources) Put all materials (Rough Draft, peer analysis, Final Draft
w/Works Cited, and source verification)s in a brown clasp envelope with your name
on the outside.
Learning Narrative or Identity Essay – Assignment # 1
Tell a story from your life with a clear outcome or lesson. Use both narration and
description, include a clearly described central incident highlighted by sensory detail.
Or discuss in an essay the factors or influences you think were most important in
forming your identity.
Critical Analysis –Assignment #2
Read. Think. Write (to think further). Analyze the writing and the essay for
how/why it works and what it accomplishes. This is separate from whether you like or
don’t like the essay, and separate from whether you think the essay is “good” or “bad”.
Do not retell the author’s content, or argue with them about their subject. Analyze the
writing, the way the essay fits together or works, and the effects the essay achieves or is
supposed to achieve.
Conventions (shared rules) of critical analysis include: Write in the third person
(academic voice) unless instructed otherwise. Include the author’s full name and the title
of the essay you are analyzing in the first paragraph of your essay. Thereafter, refer to the
author by last name only.
Your essay should have a thesis on the writing/essay examined, supported by
points you develop in discussion, and should offer evidence from the essay in quotes,
paraphrases, and through specific subject/content or summary references documented in
correct MLA form.
Authors make choices writing essays. Those choices include audience, purpose,
thesis (subject= author’s attitude toward the subject), genre and rhetorical approaches, the
author’s bias (attitude or point of view) and tone (diction, word choice, or overall
description), voice, and style.
Besides these basic choices, a student can analyze organization or structure, the
flow of words, sentences, and paragraphs, or the author’s message as developed from the
thesis in supporting points and their discussion/development, and the kind, use, and
credibility of evidence used by the author.
For this assignment, choose one of these author :Hurston, Douglass, Welty,
Ephron, or Gladwell. You may pursue an analysis we developed in class, or you may
choose your critical focus to develop. Support your analytic points with quotes from the
essay as evidence.
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English 1301 – Composition 1 –Spring-- 2016 – Whitebird
Jan 18,20
25,27
Feb 1, 3
8,10
15,17
22, 24
29, March 2
7, 9
14,16
21,23
28,30
April 4,6
11,13
18,20
25,27
May 2,4
9, 11
Monday
Wednesday
HOLIDAY
Course Intro. Zen Parables 1127
Hughes 1059, Doyle 502
King 443, Franklin 25
White 79, Wolfe 126
Alexie 355, Eighner 31
Rough Draft Assign. 1 due.
FINAL DRAFT ASSIGN. #1 DUE.
Hurston 12, Dillard 110
Douglas 346, Welty 350
(Norton Reader Intro)
HOLIDAY
Ephron 657, Gladwell 249
Rios 40, Cofer 116
Orwell 784
Rough Draft Assign 2 due.
FINAL DRAFT ASSIGN. # 2 DUE.
Holt 358, Kozol 267
Momaday 119, JJ Goode 43,
(American Education)
MIDTERM
MIDTERM
First half Connect completed.
SPRING BREAK
Nabokov 973, Goodman 978
Carr 226, Baker 915
(Reading in our Lives)
(Technology effects, issues)
Abbey 496, McPhee 504,
Staples 314, Baldwin 304
(Animals,Humans)
(Stereotyping)
Working Bibliography due.
Annotated Bibliography due.
Rough Draft Research due.
Walker 55
Morrison 135
Gates 260
Williams 423,
FINAL RESEARCH PACKAGE DUE.
Lee 3, Strebeigh 276
Buzzell 97, Kristoff 272
MLK 818
Sanders 100
RESPONSE LOGS DUE.
Extra Credit Report
CONNECT COMPLETE.
IN-CLASS FINAL
IN-CLASS FINAL
PORTFOLIOS DUE.
5:30 PORTFOLIO CONFERENCE 2:00 PORTFOLIO CONFERENCE
7:00 PORTFOLIO CONFERENCE
EXTRA CREDIT
Read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
and write a 3 page report due April 27 for up to 5 pts. on your Final Grade.
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