North Seattle College
Arts, Humantities, and Social Sciences Division
Syllabus
English 101 Spring 2016
Item Numbers 9620, 9621
Table of Contents
Instructor and Course Information ......................................................................................... 2
Admission to the Class ........................................................................................................... 2
Due Date for English 101 Placement Forms ......................................................................................2
How to Submit English 101 Placement Forms ...................................................................................2
Required Texts ...................................................................................................................... 3
Course Outcomes .................................................................................................................. 3
This Course Addresses the Following NSC Essential Learning Outcomes (ELOs) ....................... 3
Assignments .......................................................................................................................... 3
Weekly Schedule ................................................................................................................... 4
Format of Essays.................................................................................................................... 4
REVISION POLICIES ................................................................................................................ 5
NSC English Department Plagiarism Policy ............................................................................. 5
How to Communicate Online ................................................................................................. 6
Discussion Board Considerations: ...................................................................................................7
The right tone for all written messages online: ................................................................................7
Cultural Considerations ..................................................................................................................8
Instructor Response Time ...................................................................................................... 8
Grading Policy ....................................................................................................................... 9
Late Policies ......................................................................................................................... 10
Emergencies ........................................................................................................................ 10
Grammar Counts ................................................................................................................. 11
Assistance and Technology Needed for this Course .............................................................. 11
Computer Specifications ............................................................................................................... 11
Where to get help ........................................................................................................................ 11
Choose HELP in Canvas and choose: SUBMIT A TICKET. .................................................................. 12
Minimum Technical Skills Needed for the Course ................................................................. 12
The following skills will be needed for this course: ........................................................................ 12
Google Apps for Education (Google Documents) ........................................................................... 12
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How to Create your NETID ................................................................................................... 12
To access your Google account AFTER you set up your NETID: ....................................................... 12
Student Support and Services: ............................................................................................. 13
Disability Statement: ........................................................................................................... 13
WELCOME ........................................................................................................................... 13
Instructor and Course Information
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Instructor Name: Molly Tenenbaum
Course location: https://canvas.northseattle.edu/login/canvas
Instructor Office Location: IB2423C, Suite 9, by appointment only
Instructor Contact information: molly.tenenbaum@seattlecolleges.edu or through the Canvas
in-box.
Admission to the Class
To enroll in this class, you must present evidence of your placement into English 101, which can be any
of the following:
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a copy of the Compass placement test evaluation form which directs you to English
101.
a white recommendation form from your previous English class.
An “eligibility” form, provided by and signed by an advisor, along with a copy of
qualifying test scores from another college or test service (TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, ACT,
Compass, or Accuplacer).
An “eligibility” form, provided by and signed by an advisor or the English Coordinator,
along with a copy of qualifying course work on a transcript from your previous
college.
Due Date for English 101 Placement Forms
Noon on Friday, April 8
How to Submit English 101 Placement Forms
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Preferred method: scan, photograph, or take a screenshot of your placement form, save it (as a
jpeg), and submit it electronically to me through the drop box in the “Getting Started” module.
Here are instructions for finding your Compass scores online and taking screenshots. Submit by
noon on Friday, April 8, or you will be dropped from the class.
Second-best method: Scan, photograph, or take a screenshot of your placement form, save it
(as a jpeg), and submit it electronically to me through Canvas e-mail (go to the inbox in the lefthand column) or my school e-mail (molly.tenenbaum@seattlecolleges.edu). Here are
instructions for finding your Compass scores online and taking screenshots. Submit by noon on
Friday, April 8, or you will be dropped from the class.
Less preferred method: Mail your form to me, at the following address: Molly Tenenbaum,
AHSS Division, North Seattle College, 9600 College Way N, Seattle, WA 98104. It must be
received by noon on Friday, April 8.
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Least preferred method: Fax your form to me at 206-934-3784. Do this well before the deadline,
so that the office assistants have time to collect it and deliver it to my mailbox.
Required Texts
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50 Essays: A Portable Anthology, edited by Samuel Cohen, 4th Edition
Writing with Style, by John R. Trimble, 3rd Edition
Please acquire these books right away! You will need to start reading them in the first week of class for
assignments due in the second week. The books are available at the NSC Bookstore, as well as other
sources.
Course Outcomes
Upon successful of this course, you will be able to:
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Read critically.
Write about and respond to texts.
Use the writing process—generating material, drafting, reviewing, revising, and proofreading.
Use peer review.
Produce writing with a thesis or central purpose.
Produce specific details, facts, or examples to support the thesis.
Demonstrate critical thinking.
Produce coherent, logically organized prose, using transitions.
Choose an appropriate organizational pattern.
Work collaboratively to generate ideas and written products.
Make writing choices based on various audiences and purposes.
This Course Addresses the Following NSC Essential Learning Outcomes (ELOs)
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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.
Collaboration: group and teamwork.
Lifelong learning and personal well-being.
Assignments
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Five essays: Of these five essays, four will go through the drafting, peer review, and revision
process. The fifth essay will be timed writing in response to one of the readings (the equivalent
of an in-class essay), based on an essay question that the class helps to develop.
Reading Discussions: For the weekly discussions of assigned readings, you’ll work in groups of
approximately 7-8 students, and will be required to make an initial post and several replies in
response to specific questions about the reading. Generally, initial posts will be due mid-week,
and all replies will be due at the end of the week. Specific deadlines will be detailed in each
discussion assignment.
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Peer Review: Each of the first four essays will go through a peer review process in which you
work in groups of approximately 4-5 students, offering specific feedback and responding to
feedback.
Exercises, practices, Experiments, Quizzes, and other Discussions: Every week, we will practice
one or several element(s) of writing that will contribute to whichever essay we are working on
at the time. This might be a short exercise that you post to a discussion, and for which you offer
replies to your classmates. This might be a brief quiz or exercise on a grammar issue. It might be
a free-write or writing experiment that helps you get ideas for your writing. The specific
assignments will be detailed within each module.
Weekly Schedule
Specific deadlines are detailed in each assignment and in the weekly instructions, and they may vary, but
generally we will follow the schedule of deadlines below. All times listed are Pacific Daylight Time (PDT):
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Mondays, noon: Draft essays due to workshop groups or revised and completed essays due to
me.
Wednesdays, midnight: Initial posts due to workshop groups, to the reading discussion, and to
the exercise or exercises.
Thursdays, midnight: Sometimes there will be an exercise due.
Fridays, midnight: Replies to workshop groups, to reading discussions and some exercises due.
On weekends, there generally will not be posts due, but you will have reading and writing to
complete, and you should be working on your posts for the week ahead.
Exceptions to the above schedule: In addition to these regular deadlines, various short
exercises may be added in at other times; Additionally, Week 1 will vary because we’re including
some Getting Started activities, Week 9 will vary because Monday is the Memorial Day Holidlay,
and Weeks 10 & 11 will vary because we’ll be working on different kinds of assignments for
concluding the quarter and doing the timed essay.
Specific deadlines are detailed in each assignment and in the weekly instructions.
Working Ahead: I recommend that you work ahead on the weekends to meet the Monday morning and
Wednesday midnight deadlines. Use the weekend not only to draft and revise your essays, but to do the
reading and prepare your initial posts for the reading discussions and exercises. I hope you post early to
these discussions rather than waiting till Wednesday night. The more the sooner, the better the
discussion will be.
You may work in the current week’s module and in the next week’s module, but the rest of the modules
will be closed until we get closer to them. This is because you’ll learn more, and your writing will
improve more, when you complete the coursework in order and in discussion with others, rather than
leaping ahead to complete something just because you want to finish it. You might not know how yet!
Format of Essays
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All essays must use Modern Language Association formatting. Links and details will be provided
on our course website, but here are some of the highlights of this format:
Double-space
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Center the title above the text, and capitalize all words except prepositions (such as of, between,
through), articles (such as a, the, and an), and conjunctions (such as but, and, or; however,
capitalize them if they begin the title or the subtitle)
Title: Do not underline or italicize your title or put it in a bold font. Use what is called “Title
Case”: Capitalize the first word and all major words.
To start a new paragraph, indent 5 spaces (or one tap of the “Tab” key)
Except for the title, which is centered, align your text with the left margin. Do not justify the
margins. (Justified margins make the text in to a straight light on both the right and left sides. Do
not do this. The right margin should be ragged.)
REVISION POLICIES
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You may revise one essay—Essay #1, #2, or #3—and re-submit it for, we hope, a higher grade. A
revision is usually a complete re-vamping of the essay, not merely a correcting of errors.
This revision is optional.
Essays receiving more than 85 points may not be revised. Only essays of 85 points (3.0) or fewer
may be revised.
Before you begin revising your essay, you must discuss it with me (through Canvas e-mail or by
phone) to make a revision plan. I will not accept revisions of essays that we have not gone over
together to make a plan for revision.
This optional revision is due 9am Monday, June 6.
This optional revision is to be submitted to the original Canvas assignment for that essay.
NSC English Department Plagiarism Policy
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:
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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.
Including outside material into your own writing (without acknowledgement) when the
assignment requires only your own thinking and no outside material.
submitting assignments produced for one class in another (or previous) class without permission
of both instructors (auto-plagiarism).
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.
Communication
Netiquette
The online classroom involves written discussions, chats and real time communication. The term
"netiquette" comes from the words, "Network" and "etiquette."
It refers to codes of practice when communicating online. At North Seattle College
we have a rich and diverse student body. It is important for online communication to maintain
a respectful online voice at all times.
In order to prevent misunderstandings and promote engaging, meaningful collaboration and learning,
care must be taken into how you communicate online. Classes will be composed of native and nonnative English speakers, different cultures which bring a different point of cultural
reference, understanding of humor and expectations of learning. This diversity enriches our courses and
asks that we recognize our part in communicating responsibly.
How to Communicate Online
In order to avoid misunderstandings and to promote an encouraging environment for all communicators
always take the following guidelines into consideration before posting, sending your message and
interacting on the Discussion Boards:
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Be professional at all times. You are preparing yourself to be a career professional. Remember
this as you communicate online.
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Be considerate. The sending of spam mail to fellow classmates or instructors is not allowed.
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Be respectful of other people. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion.
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Be calm. If you are upset or frustrated, keep this out of your communications with your fellow
students or instructors. An angry or sarcastic comment does little to win respect or cooperation.
Think about what you are going to say in an unemotional, professional manner. Provide
adequate information when asking for help or assistance from your instructors or classmates.
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Humor and sarcasm. Because there are no visual cues in distance education, humor and
sarcasm are impossible to discern. Be very careful when interjecting humor and refrain from
using any remarks that are sarcastic in nature.
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Harassment and other offensive behavior. The online learning environment is no place to
harass, threaten, or embarrass others. Comments that can be viewed as offensive, sexist, or
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racially motivated will not be tolerated. It is never appropriate to put anyone down because of
his or her age, race, religion, color, sex, or sexual preference.
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Offensive material. Students may not post, transmit, promote, or distribute content that is
racially, religiously, or ethnically offensive or is harmful, abusive, vulgar, sexually explicit,
otherwise potentially offensive.
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Copyrights and intellectual property. Students may not post, transmit, promote, or distribute
content that know or could reasonably be expected to know is illegal, or content that violates
copyright or other protected intellectual property rights.
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Capital letters and bolding. In written communication, the use of capital letters and/or bolding
is used for emphasis. In much of the corporate world, writing in all caps is considered yelling.
Yelling is not tolerated in a residential classroom and, therefore, is not acceptable in any online
communications with students.
Discussion Board Considerations:
 Explore on a new discussion group for a while, so you can get a feel for the kind of messages and
responses that are posted.
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Keep messages relevant to the group.
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In your first discussion reply sentence, reference the topic or comment you are replying
too. Make life easier for the recipient: always address the person being written to by name
clearly indicate who the message or post is coming from.
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Reply to an existing post only if your thoughts are directly related to it. Otherwise create a new
message. This eases threading for all later on.
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Share what you know. It's what makes online discussions exciting!
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Include a notation in your subject line (e.g. [long message]) if you are posting something that's
particularly lengthy.
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Remember that newcomers may make mistakes. Be patient.
The right tone for all written messages online:
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Always maintain a cordial and respectful tone in written messages.|
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When in doubt, ask yourself, ‘Would I feel comfortable saying this to the person standing in
front of me?
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Never use BLOCK capitals, which is shouting online.
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Treat any online discussions, chats or email contributions confidentially. Remember, however,
that email messages in general are not secure. Don’t reveal more than you would on a postcard,
for example!
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Reread your written text before posting or emailing.
Wait 24 hours before responding to a seemingly inflammatory message or post. Online conflicts
unnecessarily tend to get blown out of proportion. A good rule of thumb is to give the author
the benefit of the doubt and to end your response with a positive statement.
Cultural Considerations
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Be aware of differences in date formats and measurements.
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Be careful with sarcasm and humor, avoid ridicule.
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Allow extra time for responses, especially in chats.
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Remember that language fluency does not reflect intelligence.
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Admit mistakes and apologize.
Communication management
Good online communication practice is also about being mindful of online communicators’ ownership,
time and bandwidth. The following tips will help keep online communication manageable and enjoyable
for all involved.
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Be aware of the copyright on the material you are posting or sending. Acknowledge the owner
of any material that is not your own.
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Never forward a written text without the author’s consent.
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Avoid replying directly to emails containing file attachments – this unnecessarily fills up the
original sender’s mailbox.
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Be careful when using the reply features in email. Ask yourself if your message is really relevant
to all recipients.
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Check for the validity of email. Realize that hoaxes, spam mail, forgery and viruses are easily
sent via email. When in doubt the mail is best left unopened and then deleted.
Instructor Response Time
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Email response within 24 hours of your email (M-F, excludes Sat and Sun)
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Grades and comments available on essays: within one week of due date (often sooner, but not
guarenteed)
Grades and comments available on discussions, workshops, and exercises: within four days of
due date (often sooner, but not guaranteed).
I will notify you if there are any changes to my response time or if I am going to have any lengthy
periods offline.
Usually I am online M-F from 9am-8pm and will be able to respond to your concerns faster than
listed above. I am online frequently either Saturday or Sunday, but try to take one 24-hour
period offline each weekend. I will let you know as it comes up when this time offline will be.
Grading Policy
Assignments are given point values, and these are added up and averaged, as follows:
Assignment
Points each
Points per quarter
Essays
100
400
Final timed essay
25-50
40
Peer review discussions
10
40
Quizzes
5-20
10-80
Reading discussions
10
80-90
Exercises and other discussions
5-10
50100
Total
620750
Whatever your percentage of the total points possible, that’s your course grade. Below is a
conversion chart to show how percentages convert to grades on the 4-point system. These
conversions are standard across the Seattle Colleges System.
Student Performance
Percentage of Points
Earned
Letter Grade
Equivalent
Numerical Grade
Excellent
97%-100 %
A+
4.0
94%-96%
A
3.9
90%-93%
A-
3.8-3.5
87%-89%
B+
3.4-3.2
High
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Average
Minimum
84%-86%
B
3.1-2.9
80%-83%
B-
2.8-2.5
77%-79%
C+
2.4-2.2
74%-76%
C
2.1-1.9
70%-73%
C-
1.8-1.5
67%-69%
D+
1.4-1.2
65%-66%
D
1.1-1.0
64% and below
F
0.0
Checking your grades: During the quarter, you can check your grades on our course website. At
the end of the quarter (four business days after the last day), you can look up your final course
grade at: https://northseattle.edu/online-services/grades.
After English 101, to 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.
For more about North Seattle’s Grading and Plagiarism policies, see pages 21-22 of the Student
Handbook.
Late Policies
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The Four Essays: Whether one hour or a day late, late essays are given half credit. Late essays
for half credit will be accepted up to one week late. Essays more than one week late are not
accepted.
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Not accepted: Late reading discussion contributions, late exercises, late quizzes, late exercises,
late workshop contributions, late quizzes, or the final timed essay. None of these will be
accepted late.
Emergencies
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I will determine what constitutes an emergency, but emergencies, by my definition, do not
mean computer problems, jobs, traffic, confusion about the assignment, writer’s block, etc.
Please plan ahead to allow for these. Have a back-up plan in case you lose your usual wi-fi
connection—a café, the computer labs at school, a friend’s house, for example. You must
Please get in touch with me right away if something comes up, and we will figure out how to
keep you caught up. If you do not contact me before the assignment is late, there will be
absolutely no way for it to be made up.
If you have been participating regularly and keeping up with assignments, I will be more likely
to be sympathetic and will work with you to resolve the situation.
In the case of an extended emergency, get in touch with me to find out if it is possible to stay
caught up. Be aware, though, that in this case it may be better to drop the class and take it again
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when you are able to fully participate.
In the case of power outages or problems with Canvas, I will know and will make adjustments
accordingly.
Grammar Counts
In English 101, we write an English sometimes called “Classic Style” or “General English”; this style
uses conventions accepted in academic and professional communities. In these communities,
surface errors distract from the content of your thoughtful and brilliant writing and make you
appear ill-mannered and careless. In fact, according to Steven Pinker, linguist and author of The
Sense of Style, certain errors “have become tantamount to the confession “I am illiterate,’ and no
writer should be caught making them” (284). Our class grammar lessons and quizzes are meant to
help you with some important grammar and style issues. Beyond these important cases, we don’t
do much grammar work in English 101; however, your writing must still use conventional English
grammar. Therefore, please take advantage of the many available resources:
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The Page One Writing Center is in HSSR building. There you can work one-on-one with a writing
tutor, and make use of a variety of other learning tools. They offer e-tutoring also. Go to their
website to sign up.
The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University.
And don’t forget your instructor and classmates of course.
Assistance and Technology Needed for this Course
You will need Flash Player to view videos and interact with games. Be sure you download from the
Adobe site.
Download Flash player (Links to an external site.)
Computer Specifications
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What are the basic computer specifications for Canvas?
Which browsers does Canvas support?
How do I clear my browser cache on a Mac?
How do I clear my browser cache on a PC?
FireFox, Chrome, Safari and the latest version of Internet Explorer will work with Canvas. FireFox and
Chrome are best. If you have issues with something in Canvas, try another browser first! It is good to
have two different browsers to use.
Browser Downloads
Where to get help
 Check with your classmates! In our “Basic Information about the Class” Module, we have a
“Here to Help” student forum. Ask your questions and answer questions here. Let’s all help each
other discover how this class works.
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Email your instructor in Canvas with specific details of the issue, the steps you have taken and
where you got stuck. For example:
"I cannot upload my image. I am on my Mac (or PC) computer at home. I clicked on reply in the
Discussion forum, chose the image picture icon and I could not find my photo."
Choose HELP in Canvas and choose: SUBMIT A TICKET.
This will come directly to the student support desk in eLearning. Please give very specific information so
the help desk can trouble shoot the issue and get back to you. If you choose help and submit the ticket
where you are having issues, we can view the issue directly!
Bad Example: The Discussions don't work
Good Example: I am on a PC in Firefox. When I choose reply in the Discussion, I get a place to write my
words but I cannot see where to attach a file.
Contact eLearning:
Call the eLearning office at 934-3738 or email elearning@northseattle.edu
Minimum Technical Skills Needed for the Course
The following skills will be needed for this course:
 Using email with attachments
 Creating and submitting files
 Using a word processor: Microsoft word, free alternatives or Google Documents
 Copying and pasting
Alternatives to Microsoft Word
Open Office
FreeLibre
Google Apps for Education (Google Documents)
All students at North have a Google account and can use Google Apps for Education which include
Google documents to submit assignments.
How to Create your NETID
Your NETID username and password will give you access to:
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Computers on campus
NETID Mail: a northseattle gmail account and access to Google Apps for Education
To access your Google account AFTER you set up your NETID:
 Log into North Seattle Website
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Choose LOG IN by the search tab
Log in with your NETID
Choose NETID MAIL
You can use any Gmail account to submit assignments in Canvas. I would suggest that you use your
North Seattle Gmail to keep all your school work organized in one place. You will need to authorize
Canvas to have access to your Gmail so be sure you have access to your North Seattle Google account or
one that you prefer to use.
How Do I submit Assignments using Google?
Student Support and Services:
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Veterans’ Services
Women’s Center
Counseling Center
Page One Writing and Language Center
Computer Tutoring
E-Tutoring
Disability Services
E-learning Student Support
Disability Statement:
North Seattle College seeks to ensure that online courses are accessible for all students. If you locate
content in this course that is not accessible, please contact your instructor immediately. If you are a
student with a disability and would like to register for services, please contact:
North Seattle Disability Service
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 and can also give you many rewards. I hope this quarter will bring you not
only the fun of playing with language, 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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