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NORTH SEATTLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Quarter:
Class:
Time:
Room:
Fall 2011
English 101.10
11:00-11:50 Daily
CC3350
Instructor:
Molly Tenenbaum
Office:
IB2423C, Suite 9
Office hours: MW, 1:30-2:30, except for the first Monday of the month. If you do plan
on
stopping by, please let me know. If this time is not good for you, we can
usually find an alternative time.
Phone:
(206) 934-4553
e-mail:
molly.tenenbaum@seattlecolleges.edu
www:
http://angel.northseattle.edu
Admission to the Class: To enroll in this class, you must present
 a copy of the placement test evaluation form which directs you to English
101,
or
 a white recommendation form from your previous English class.
or
 TOEFL scores accompanied by a form signed by someone in the Testing
Center or in the International Student Office, approving these scores for 101.
If you have none of these things, you cannot be in this class. Please see me if you have
questions.
Basic Skills Needed: This class assumes basic skills such as the ability to write
complete, grammatical sentences, organized paragraphs, and the ability to proofread.
If I see that you need more practice with these skills, I will let you know, and you
will need to do more work on your own in order to keep up with the class. Help is
available from the Loft Writing Center, on the second floor of the library. You need
these skills to pass the class with even the most minimum grade.
Disability Services: I want to support all students in this class. If you have a condition that will
affect your performance in this class please let me know. Students with disabilities are
encouraged to use Disability Services for support in implementing reasonable accommodations.
You may make an appointment with Disability Services by calling 527-3697 or stopping by the
DS office on the 2nd floor of the College Center.
Diversity: One of NSCC’s key values, all of which you will find listed on North’s website under
“Mission and Accreditation,” is embracing diversity: “We create a richer environment by
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embracing diverse cultures, ideas, perspectives, and people." I want to emphasize that in this
class we welcome, appreciate, encourage, and learn from everyone.
REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS
50 Essays, 3rd Edition, edited by Samuel Cohen
Writing with Style, 3rd Edition, by John R. Trimble
Recommended: The Everyday Writer, 4th Edition, by Angela Lunsford (If
you already own another recent English handbook, feel free to use
that
one instead.)
A dictionary to bring to class regularly
Books:
Internet & computer:
Easy access to word-processing for the many and frequent papers in this class.
A good connection to the internet, so you can look things up, and, in
emergencies, e-mail your instructor and classmates
Easy access to a working printer: If you are using an unfamiliar printer, make
sure before the last minute that your documents are compatible with that printer. Plan
ahead for the long lines you may find at the printers in the computer labs just before
class, and be aware of the computer lab’s policies regarding the use of printers. “I had to
wait to print my paper” is not an acceptable excuse for being late to a writing group or
for turning your paper in.
About our course website: Your username is your entire student number. Your
password is the first five letters of your last name, or, if your name is fewer than five
letters, your whole last name. Here you will find course announcements, links to
resources, and all the course handouts and assignments. You can also check your grades
here.
Materials:
Folders for turning in essay portfolios.
A notebook with pockets, in which to keep all assignments, handouts, essays, etc.
Blank, lined paper, and pens with blue or black ink.
COURSE GOALS
Course outcomes/Learning Objectives:
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1. Read critically.
2. Write about and respond to texts.
3. Use the writing process—generating material, drafting, reviewing, revising, and
proofreading.
4. Use peer review.
5. Produce writing with a thesis or central purpose.
6. Produce specific details, facts, or examples to support the thesis.
7. Demonstrate critical thinking.
8. Produce coherent, logically organized prose, using transitions.
9. Choose an appropriate organizational pattern.
10. Make writing choices based on various audiences and purposes.
This course addresses the following NSCC Essential Learning Outcomes (ELO’s):
 Knowledge: Facts, theories, perspectives and methodologies within and across
disciplines.
 Critical thinking and problem solving.
 Communication and self expression.
 Ethical awareness and personal integrity.
 Synthesis and applications of knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to new settings and
problems.
THEME: REVOLUTION
Although we will read and write about many things this quarter, our assignments will often
return to theme of revolution, since that is NSCC’s Year of Learning theme this year. We’ll
be reflecting on what constitutes a revolution and on the different kinds of revolutions there
may be. We’ll consider both personal and public revolutions, and we’ll consider how we
might revolutionize our own writing.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Four formal essays. For each of these essays, you’ll bring either one or two drafts to
class for in-class activities and peer review. After the peer review, you’ll revise the
essay to turn in for a grade.
2. One in-class essay: We will practice writing in class according to several prompts,
and on the day of the in-class essay, you’ll be given a different but related prompt to
write an essay in response to.
3. Lead a Discussion: We’ll form small groups, and each group will take a turn leading
a discussion of the readings..
4. Seminar papers, summaries and other responses to the readings. These are short
pieces that respond to the readings and prepare you for class discussion and practice.
5. Informal writing activities. These will include short in-class writings, verbal
exercises, practice with the “Grammar/usage feature of the week,” and various
brainstorming, prewriting, and editing activities.
6. There may be Quizzes on grammar and sentence issues.
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7. Small and large group activities. These will include collaborative discussions of the
readings, group brainstorming sessions, and discussions of essay drafts.
8. Final: The final will be a gift you prepare and present to everyone on the last day of
class. This is a writing gift, an English class gift, not something you buy. We’ll clarify
it in class when the end of the quarter approaches.
GRADING, ATTENDANCE, AND OTHER COURSE POLICIES
Assignments are given point values, and these are added up and averaged, as follows:
Assignment
Revised essays
In-class essay
Lead a discussion of readings
Workshop discussions
Seminar papers and
responses to readings
Participation activities (includes in-class
projects and discussions)
The Gift
Total
Points each
100
50
25
15
8-10
3-5
pts
10
Points per quarter
400
50
25
60
150-170
50-100
10
745-815
Whatever your percentage of the total, that’s your course grade. Below is a conversion
chart to show how percentages convert to grades on the 4-point system, standard for all
colleges.
Percent
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Decimal Grade
4.0-3.9
Letter Grade
A+
93-90
3.8-3.5
A-
89-87
3.4-3.2
B+
86-84
3.1-2.9
B
83-80
2.8-2.5
B-
79-77
2.4-2.2
C+
76-74
2.1-1.9
C
73-70
1.8-1.5
C-
69-67
1.4-1.2
D+
66-64
1.1-0.9
D
4
5
94
63-62
4.0-3.9
0.7-0.7
61 less than 0.7
A+
DF
To be succeed in English 102: The NSCC English Department recommends that you
pass English 101 with a 2.0 or higher. Those with lower grades tend to do very poorly in
English 102.
Attendance:
 You must attend class. If you miss class, you miss the activities for that day, and these
cannot usually be made up.
 If you must miss class for a valid reason, please let me know immediately and consult
with me about how to stay caught up.
 If you miss class, it is your responsibility to meet with me or contact your classmates find
out what you missed.
 If you are absent when papers are returned, please make sure you pick them up from me,
or you’ll miss out on what I hope is valuable feedback.
 If you need to leave class early for any reason, please clear it with me first.
Never ask me, “Did I miss anything?” If you miss class of course you miss something!
Tardiness: Excessive tardies will also affect your grade by causing you to miss some or all of
various class activities.
For Running Start Students: You are responsible for resolving any schedule conflicts
between your work here and your work at your high school. No matter how important
your high school activity, I never excuse you from any of your work or attendance here.
Please make sure all your instructors know this.
LATE AND MISSING WORK
Late work receives half credit. Any assignment turned in after our class time on the due date
is considered late.
Work over a week late is not accepted. Period.
Late seminar papers are not accepted at all. In addition, you must be present during the class
discussion of the reading for your seminar paper about the reading to be accepted, since its
purpose is to prepare you for class discussion.
To earn credit for the discussion of readings: You must not only be present for the
discussion, but also turn in that reading’s seminar paper during that class session.
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Missed class activities and missed discussions cannot be made up.
Emergencies:
 I will determine what constitutes an emergency, but emergencies, by my definition, do
not mean computer problems, printer lines, jobs, traffic, confusion about the assignment,
writer’s block, etc. Please plan ahead to allow for these.
 If you have been attending regularly and keeping up with assignments, I will be more
likely to be sympathetic and will work with you to resolve the situation.
Extended emergencies: Occasionally very dramatic events happen during the course of a
quarter: Car accidents, family illnesses, etc. Even if these are legitimate emergencies, they may
cause you to miss too much coursework. In that case, I will advise you that it may be better to
drop the class and take it again at a better time.
Do not e-mail me assignments unless we have specifically arranged this.
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PARTICIPATION AND CLASSROOM COMMUNITY
Be here on time, and be prepared for class, ready to share your insights.
Turn off all cell phones.
Stay in the room for the entire class period. Do not go in and out. Please take of all excretion
and telephone needs before class.
Ask questions! Share your confusions generously!
Avoid distracting behavior. Do not have private conversations in class, do not eat or drink in
class, do not make clicking or zipping noises, and do not pack up your materials before class
is officially over.
Food and drink in the classroom are OK if the wrappers don’t crinkle, the food doesn’t
crunch, the tops don’t pop, and your manners are considerate of others. You are always
welcome to bring enough for everyone.
Adhere to NSCC's fragrance-free policy.
NSCC ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
POLICY ON PLAGIARISM
To take the words or ideas of someone else and present them as your own is plagiarism and is
unacceptable in academic life. The nature and causes of plagiarism may cover a range from the
accidental to the dishonest. Examples of plagiarism encountered in academic writing may
include the following:
 incorporating into your own writing, without proper acknowledgment, words and
sentences from a print, electronic, or oral source
 paraphrasing so closely or so extensively from a source that sentences and ideas
really belong to the original writer
 submitting as your own whole essays or seminar papers written by another person
or taken partially or in whole from a printed source, including from the internet
 receiving so much help from another person that the work cannot honestly be
called your own
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By your attendance here, you’ve agreed to adhere to the Student Code of Conduct which states,
in part, that “academic dishonesty, to include cheating, plagiarism, and providing false
information to the college” may bring disciplinary action. The policy of the NSCC English
faculty is to exercise its professional judgment as to the nature and cause of each case of
suspected or proven plagiarism and to respond in a manner suited to the case. Our responses
may include the following:
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requiring that a piece of writing be revised to eliminate the plagiarism
denying credit for a piece of writing in which plagiarism has been found
recording a “0” grade in the student’s class record for this project or paper,
thereby lowering the student’s final grade
forwarding the student’s name to the Vice President for Student Services for
possible further action
GRAMMAR COUNTS
Surface errors distract from the content of your thoughtful and brilliant writing and
misrepresent you to the world. Please take advantage of the many resources for working on
grammar:
 The Loft Writing Center is upstairs in the library. There you can
work one-on-one with a writing tutor, and make use of a variety of
other learning tools. See the Loft website:
http://www.northseattle.edu/services/loft/
 The Quick Access Handbook or another current English Handbook
can be helpful. If you don’t understand an explanation, please ask.
 The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/679/01/
 And don’t forget your instructor and classmates of course.
COURSE SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
The course schedule provided gives you a general picture of the main due dates and reading
assignments. The daily details will be filled in as we go. The frequent brief in-class writing
experiments are not included in the schedule, as they arise unpredictably in the course of
discussions.
For each assignment, I will provide a detailed sheet with the topics, due dates, formatting
requirements, etc.
WELCOME
Aside from all that, welcome to English 101. This course will keep all us of very busy. It
will require a great deal of work outside class as well as in class, and can also give you
many rewards. I hope this quarter will bring you not only the fun of playing with language,
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but also the satisfaction of working hard for the tangible result of saying meaningful things
clearly and beautifully. I hope that this class will help to make you confident in your
writing, so that you can leave here knowing how to approach whatever new assignments the
world provides.
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