ENGL&101.04: Composition I
Education and Learning
Instructor: Jim Jewell
Email: Jim.Jewell@seattlecolleges.edu (best)
Phone: 206-934-4569 x3 (terrible)
Class blog: people.northseattle.edu/blogs/jjewell
Classroom: CC 3349
Office Hrs: by appt
Office: IB 2423 Cubicle #4
Welcome to ENGL&101! The focus of this class will be developing your voice and your understanding of
academic writing: what it is, what it does, and how best to approach it. We will work through four major essay
projects to help achieve that goal: a personal narrative, to help develop style and understand essay
conventions, a problem/solution essay, to help develop an argument, an analysis essay, to begin writing in
response to a text, and a synthesis essay, to start developing your own ideas by drawing on multiple texts.
This class will be demanding, but I believe it can also be fun and rewarding. I very much believe in a
cooperative approach to teaching, and am eager to get to know each of you and welcome your input on
achieving our shared goals.
I most want to help you develop an active, reflective writing process: active because good writing does
something, has a purpose; reflective because experienced writers know what they are doing and why, and are
able to reflect on their choices; and a process because even the best writers don’t just sit down and create
writing, but rather have a series of recursive steps on which they can rely. Throughout this class, we will
focus on the concept of purpose, both as what drives our own writing and as evidenced in the texts we read,
and making conscious, informed choices at each step in the writing process.
Though ENGL101 does not have the same thematic focus as does ENGL102, I have decided to bring a soft
focus to this class. Our readings and our writing projects will focus on various aspects of learning (what we
actually do when we acquire new skills) and education (the systems put into place to help us acquire new
skills). Often, you, your fellow students, and the NSCC campus will be the subjects of our inquiries
Required Readings
50 Essays edited by Samuel Cohen
Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing by John Trimble
(Recommended) EasyWriter by Andrea Lunsford
Required Materials
3-Ring Binder (at least 1” -- try to find one with pockets)
Writing journal (a wire-bound notebook is fine)
Writing implements for writing in class
Two-pocket folder for submitting papers
Assignments/Grading
Major Essays (60%)
There will be four major projects assigned for this class. The first will be a 2-3 page Personal Narrative
(15% of final grade) that explores a learning experience. The second essay will be a 3 page
Problem/Solution Essay (15%) that addresses some issue on the NSCC campus or related to college
education in general. The third essay will be a 3 page Analysis Essay (15%) that examines a class reading indepth to illuminate deeper meanings. The fourth essay will be a 3-4 page Synthesis Essay (15%) that utilizes
ideas from multiple texts to create your own original ideas that go beyond what any referenced text says
alone.
In-Class Essay (10%)
In the second half of the quarter, once we have covered the basics of the writing process, you will assigned
one essay to be written entirely in class (this is separate from short in-class writing exercises covered under
homework). The purpose of this essay is to prepare you for higher-pressure writing situations, such as essay
questions on final exams.
Reflective Commentary (10%)
Your final project will be a Reflective Commentary that discusses the ways you have changed or improved
as a writer, and is intended to illustrate the awareness and control of your process that you bring to bear on
writing projects. Reflective commentaries can be difficult to write, but provide a good measure for how well
students are likely to be able to apply course concepts in the future.
Homework and In-Class Writing (10%)
You will regularly be assigned 1-2 page summary and response essays on required class readings. The
purpose of these assignments is both to develop and refine your reading and writing skills and to facilitate
class discussion. I will also assign short in-class writing exercises from time to time.
Class Participation (10%)
You are expected to attend class every day and actively participate in class discussions and peer review
sessions. This grade will be based on self-evaluation, my observations about your participation, and
attendance. Attendance is mandatory; if you are absent for 20% or more of class meetings this quarter, you
will forfeit your participation grade.
Grading and Late Policy
Specific evaluation criteria will be handed out with each assignment. Late essays will drop 5% for every class
day they are late, up to a maximum of a 10% reduction. Essays more than one week (five class meetings) late
will NOT be accepted. Late homework will not be accepted; if you know you will not be in class, you must
make some other arrangement with me to get homework submitted on time. In-class writing cannot be rescheduled without prior arrangement.
Grade Ranges
Above 94%
90-93%
87-89%
84-86%
80-83%
A
AB+
B
B-
4.0 - 3.9
3.8 - 3.5
3.4 - 3.2
3.1 - 2.9
2.8 - 2.5
77-79%
74-76%
70-73%
67-69%
65-66%
64% or less
ENGL&101 Exit Standards and Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of ENGL&101, students will be able to:
1. Read critically.
2. Write about and respond to texts.
3. Use the writing process.
4. Use peer review.
5. Produce writing with a thesis or central purpose.
6. Produce specific details, facts, or examples to support thesis.
7. Demonstrate critical thinking.
8. Produce coherent prose (transitions).
9. Choose an appropriate organizational pattern.
10. Make writing choices based on various audiences and purposes.
11. Write clear, grammatically and mechanically correct prose.
12. Develop style and voice.
13. Integrate sources ethically and effectively.
14. Exhibit academic honesty.
C+
C
CD+
D
F
2.4 - 2.2
2.1 - 1.9
1.8 - 1.5
1.4 - 1.2
1.1 – 1.0
0.0
Class Policies
Attendance
Class begins promptly at 10:00am, and I will often make important announcements at the beginning of class.
If you have not arrived in class by 10:10am, you will be marked late; every two late arrivals will count as an
absence. If you have not arrived in class by 10:25am, you will be marked absent regardless of whether you
attend or not. If you arrive at a peer review session without a printed copy of your current draft, you will be
asked to leave and you will be marked absent. These absences will count against your participation grade.
Statement on Participation
Your active participation in class is expected. You should be ready to ask and to answer questions about the
readings, and to make thoughtful contributions to group discussions in class. Occasionally, I may ask you
write a brief response to a question ahead of time, write a question or set of questions in anticipation of class
ahead of time, or write a brief response to a question in class. These written products will be collected and
included in the assessment of your in-class writing grade. Excellent and poor levels of participation will
impact your participation grades alike. If you have any questions or concerns about your level of class
participation as the quarter proceeds, please see me.
Essay Expectations, Grades, and Revision
Work that is due should be brought to class in paper form. Only in a documented emergency will I accept
homework or essay drafts via email. It is a good survival policy for you to locate several possible printer
locations on campus where you could print out your work if your home printer is not working. A printer not
working is not a valid excuse for missing the due date of a piece of written work and does not allow you to
turn that work in late.
Drafts and revisions are required for the major papers. The major writing assignments will go through a
typed draft version and a final, corrected version before a grade is assigned. In terms of the grading system,
having separate drafts, supporting materials, and final versions constitute separate grades. Typically, the
draft/supporting material portion of the major paper grade is a completion grade, but if those materials are
haphazard or incomplete, you will not receive full points. Failure to bring drafts or supporting materials to
class on the peer review days will result in a zero for that portion of the grade. Drafts and supporting
materials will also be turned in with final version in a two-pocket folder.
My essay grades are final. I am happy to review my comments and the essay rubric with you, but I will not
make changes to essay grades once the essays have been returned to you.
Page One Writing and Language Center (formerly The Loft Writing Center Plus)
Page One is the campus language lab/writing center, located on the top floor of the library. One of the
primary attributes of Page One is the free tutoring! The tutoring sessions last 30 minutes, are held on a firstcome first-served basis, and can help you with reading, writing, grammar, listening, and speaking. Although
you will not be required to use the services of Page One in order to be successful in this class, many students
have found their services helpful.
Instructor Conferences
You are encouraged to visit your instructor during office hours to discuss any aspect of the course. I will be
happy to receive feedback about the course or simply get to know you a bit better, help you wrestle with
difficult texts or concepts, review and comment on rough drafts, or address any concerns you may have.
Classroom Etiquette
I’m happy to allow beverages in class, but in consideration of all of us, I do ask that you refrain from eating
food during class. I also ask that you be sure to take your cans and/or bottles with you at the end of class and
not leave them on your desk or the floor.
Students who wish to use laptops during class should consult with me first and commit themselves to using
their computers only for work directly associated with this course during class time.
Lateness is actively discouraged: chronic lateness is disruptive, rude, and damaging to your academic success;
therefore I will personally counsel students I observe to be habitually late to find another section of this
course that better fits their schedules.
Finally, I insist that you silence your cell phones while you are in the classroom and that you do not send or
receive text messages during class.
Academic Honesty
It goes without saying that the grade you earn is supposed to reflect your learning. Out of fear or ignorance,
students sometimes submit other people’s work as their own. 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 and complete acknowledgement, words and
sentences from a print, electronic, or oral source
- inserting longer passages (such as four or five consecutive sentences or whole paragraphs) of
somebody else’s writing into your own without complete acknowledgement
- paraphrasing so closely or so extensively from a source that sentences or ideas really belong to the
original writer
- submitting as your own entire essays written by another person or taken from a printed source or
off the internet
- receiving so much help from another person that the work could not honestly be called your own.
Students, by their attendance here, agree to adhere to the Student Code of Conduct, which states, in part, that
“academic dishonesty, to include cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing 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. Responses may include the following:
- requiring that a piece of writing be revised to eliminate the plagiarism
- denying credit for a piece of writing in which the plagiarism has been found
- recording a ‘0’ grade in the student’s class record for the project, thereby
- lowering the student’s final grade.
Because the papers we write in this class require multiple drafts, plagiarized papers typically do not go
unnoticed. When I have encountered plagiarized papers in the past, my policy has been to record 0 points on
that assignment and to file a formal report with the college requesting disciplinary action. ‘Warnings’ are
typically not given, even for first or unintentional offenses.
Disclosures
Reasonable accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities. Students should contact
Disability Services (located in Student Success Services in the College Center building) to discuss their
accommodation needs as soon as possible. Students who are registered with Disability Services and receive
accommodations should notify me as soon as possible to avoid any delays in implementing those
accommodations. Student who are not already registered but may be eligible due to a documented disability
should visit Disability Services (located in Student Success Services in the College Center building) to discuss
accommodations.
Student Responsibility
I value student responsibility above all else. I will always strive to provide as much support as each of you
needs, but it is your personal responsibility to turn work in on time, to ask questions if you are unclear, and to
seek help when you need it. I am far more likely to make exceptions to rules if you approach me before they
become an issue, and will encourage you to take ownership of your education in every way.