English 450—Fundamentals of Composition, Section #54059
Spring 2009—Chaffey College—Chino Campus
Instructor: Robert C. Nazar
Classroom: CHMB-260 [computer classroom]
Class Time: MW, 8:00-9:30am
Office Hours: MW, 7:30am-8:00am and 11:00am-12:00pm; TTH, 8:00-9:00am
Office Location: CHMB-212
Message Phone: 909-652-8013
E-mail: robert.nazar@chaffey.edu
Final Exam: Monday, May 18th, 8:45-11:15am
Welcome to ENGL-450! You will soon discover that I am approachable and genuinely interested
in helping you to obtain valuable writing skills that will serve you in all of your future endeavors
as well as in this class. Feel free to ask me questions at any time in person or via e-mail.
COMPUTER CLASSROOM: For this section, computers may be used for in-class writing, journaling, and
note taking; thus, basic typing and computer skill knowledge is recommended for success. Do not expect
to print notes/journals/homework/essays, etc. in the classroom, so please take care of any printing
needs in advance of class. Students who abuse classroom policy by surfing the web, checking e-mail,
IM, etc. during class will be dismissed from class.
**NO FOOD OR DRINKS ALLOWED IN THE COMPUTER CLASSROOM**
REQUIRED TEXTS: The following texts for this class are available at the Chino Campus Bookstore:
 Eggers, Philip. Steps for Writers: Composing Essays. Vol. 2. New York: Pearson, 2007.
 Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books, 1996.
**Some of the discussions/essays may include the use of objectionable language and “adult” topics**
RECOMMENDED MATERIALS:
 A flash drive or another type of storage device [and/or plenty of lined white paper]
 Access to Internet, an active e-mail account, and ability to print various documents
 A standard college dictionary
 Pens, black and blue ink only, and a highlighter
PREREQUISITE: Eligibility for ENGL-450 as determined by the Chaffey assessment process, or completion
of ENGL-550 or BUSOT-455.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: ENGL-450 is a three-unit course designed to teach the fundamentals of
composition. It emphasizes the careful study and practice of expository writing techniques and the
frequent writing of integrated paragraphs and essays, with the ultimate goals of writing an essay using
sources and preparing the student for ENGL-1A.
STUDENT-CENTERED CLASSROOM: This course will be “student-centered.” In other words, you are
expected to be “active” rather than passive members of the class. Your experiences and perspectives
are valuable resources, and your active involvement in learning is essential to your continued
development as a writer, reader, and critical thinker.
Robert Nazar, Chaffey College
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: The Chaffey College English Department has adopted the following policy:
“Plagiarism, the misrepresentation of the ideas or words of another as one’s own, will not be tolerated
in Chaffey College English courses. At the discretion of the professor, plagiarism will be punishable by
either an F for the assignment or an F in the course.”
For this course, the first offense—whether it is an outright theft of another’s work, an instance of lazy
paraphrasing, or somewhere in between—will result in an automatic failure of the semester. In
addition, a disciplinary record will be established and kept on file with the college.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of ENGL-450, the students will be able to:
1. Develop critical thinking strategies through a variety of 1,500 word or shorter
persuasive/argumentative essay readings.
2. Develop the ability to think logically and express thoughts in clear, effective prose.
3. Explain and be better able to apply the principles underlying the creation of unified and
coherent compositions.
4. Recognize and formulate clear and specific controlling ideas and develop these into unified
and complete compositions.
5. Analyze the structure of various kinds of composition development, including exposition and
argumentation, and construct compositions in such patterns.
6. Demonstrate an understanding of the various logical relationships of ideas within a
composition and apply these in their own writings.
7. Study their own grammatical and punctuation errors to make their writing more effective.
8. Study and practice the coherency and rhetorical devices that make a composition rational,
clear, and aesthetically sound.
Note: All of the above will be measured by reading and writing assignments, and by homework
exercises, possibly objective tests, and class participation.
ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION: Since much of what you learn in ENGL 450 will be the result of
participation in discussions, group work, and writing activities, regular class attendance and active
participation is required.
**English Department policy mandates that missing 5 or more classes may result in being dropped for
non-attendance or receiving an FW grade in the class.**
**Also, more than 5 absences will result in 0 points for your attendance/participation portion of your
grade [10%]**
Three late arrivals (arriving more than 5 minutes late) equals one absence. Also, coming to a draft
workshop without the required writing equals one absence. Failure to attend a conference equals
two absences. In short, to achieve success in a writing course, one must be in class ready to work every
day.
If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out what you have missed and to read the syllabus to
find out what you need to do to prepare for the next class. Being absent is not an acceptable excuse for
being unprepared when you return, so it might be a good idea for you to exchange contact information
with a few of your classmates.
Robert Nazar, Chaffey College
STUDENT SUCCESS CENTERS: In the last few years, Chaffey College has created Student Success Centers,
which offer tutorials, workshops, study groups, and computer access to assist students in their academic
development and success. Three of the centers, located on the Rancho Cucamonga campus, are
designed to address specific subject needs:
Math Center
PS-12
(909) 652-6452
Language Success Center
EEC-101
(909) 652-6907
Reading Success Center
EEC-101
(909) 652-6932
Writing Success Center
Library
(909) 652-6820
The remaining four centers are multidisciplinary, designed to serve students in all subject disciplines.
Rancho Success Center
EEC-101
(909) 652-6932
Chino Success Center
CHMB-145
(909) 652-8150
Chino Reading & Writing Center
CHMB-240
(909) 652-8160
Fontana Success Center
CCFC-107 (909) 652-7408
Call the centers or consult the college website at www.chaffey.edu for more details.
SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION: ALL ENGL 450 students must log a minimum of 5 hours of attendance in
one of the Student Success/Writing Centers [worth 10% of your overall grade]. The five required hours
must be spent completing either a Directed Learning Activity [DLA] within the center or attending a
Success Center sponsored Workshop. If students are only meeting with a tutor to revise a paper or use a
computer [which is highly encouraged!], this does not qualify as part of your 5 hour requirement. Each
DLA or workshop takes about an hour to complete.
DISABILITY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES: If you have a disability documented by a physician or another
appropriate professional and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact the DPS office
at (909) 652-6379. Please be sure to allow adequate time to arrange for an appropriate accommodation.
EOPS & CARE: Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) is designed to ensure student
retention and success through academic support and financial assistance for eligible students.
Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education (CARE) is a program that serves a limited number of EOPS
students who are single heads of household parents. It provides additional support services beyond
those available through EOPS. The ultimate goal is completion of a certificate program, an associate
degree, and/or transfer to a four-year college. Call (909) 652-6345 for more information.
CHAFFEY COLLEGE EARLY ALERT SYSTEM: In order to assist students when they need support, Chaffey
College uses an Early Alert System that allows your instructor to notify you if your success in this course
appears to be in jeopardy. This system is designed to provide you with individualized attention while
there is still time for you to successfully complete this course. The Early Alert Office may send you a
letter or email followed up with a telephone call to discuss your classroom performance and the oncampus resources available to you, so please use My ChaffeyVIEW to keep your contact information upto-date.
ONE BOOK, ONE COLLEGE: The One Book, One College Committee strives to create a community of
readers across the curriculum at Chaffey College and within the communities it serves. Each year, the
committee selects a college book and creates a diverse series of related events. Students are
encouraged to participate in these activities to enrich their educational experience at Chaffey.
Robert Nazar, Chaffey College
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1] Homework Assignments are listed on the syllabus. Students are expected to complete all homework
assignments before the scheduled date and be ready for class discussion on the material.
2] Journal Entries are to be completed on a daily basis and students will be asked to share information,
reactions, or ideas recorded in their journals. I will collect these entries randomly throughout the
semester, so do not get behind in your writing. Each entry should be at least a ½ page long. Journal
entries are an opportunity for you to feel comfortable with writing without worrying about grammar,
punctuation or spelling. I will assign all journal topics.
Unannounced Quizzes may be given based on the amount of response the class generates. Active class
discussion = no quizzes! There will be no make-up quizzes for students who are tardy or absent.
3] Essays—Four out-of-class essays and one in-class essay [the Final Exam] are required of ALL
students.
**All five essays MUST be submitted for students to receive a passing grade**
Your work will be shared with the members of this class for their benefit, appreciation, and constructive
feedback. Do not write about a subject that you would feel uncomfortable discussing in an open forum.
All out-of-class essays and drafts must be typed and follow standard Modern Language Association
[MLA] policy: double-spaced, standard 8½ by 11 paper, 1” margins at the top and bottom, 1.25”
margins on the sides, using 12pt Times New Roman as the font. The proper heading should be located
in the upper left-hand corner of the first page and the proper header in the top right-hand corner.
Rough Drafts are vital components of the writing process. They will be usually due one-two weeks
before the final draft is due. If you do not turn in a rough draft of your essay on the assigned due day,
the final draft will be brought down by one whole letter grade.
LATE AND MISSED WORK POLICY: I will NOT accept late work without a documented medical reason. If
you find yourself in a situation where you must miss class on the day an essay is due, arrange with a
classmate, friend, or family member to bring it into class for you.
NO ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED VIA E-MAIL. In-class activities may NOT be made up, and I offer
very little opportunity for extra credit.
4] Peer Response: Before turning in the final draft of an out of class essay, you will have the opportunity
to receive feedback from your peers. On peer response days, you must bring a TYPED and COMPLETED
draft of your essay to share with your writing partners [usually at least two pages in length]. You will be
responsible for reading and responding carefully, specifically, and critically to your peer’s essay,
providing him/her with feedback that focuses on the content of the essay. Peer response worksheets
will be graded for thoroughness and thoughtfulness of the feedback given to the writer.
5] Revision—Writing is a process, and revision proves a crucial element in this process. Therefore, you
have the option to revise ONE of your first three out-of-class essays. Remember, revision involves rethinking your ideas, not simply “correcting” mistakes.
Robert Nazar, Chaffey College
6] Conferences—Each student will have at least 1 scheduled conference with me during the semester.
This conference will give us the opportunity to discuss your writing one-on-one and focus my feedback
on your specific writing questions/concerns. The conferences will last 15-20 minutes long and will be
scheduled before, during, and after class time.
**A NO-SHOW at a conference equals 2 absences**
7] Internet Access—Each of you is encouraged to have an e-mail account active during the semester.
You can obtain FREE e-mail through several different services and access it free of charge through a
campus computer. The easiest service to use is www.yahoo.com.
Your first writing assignment of the semester is to e-mail me with a response to this prompt that is
worth 15 points:
Write an honest response in which you discuss a specific choice/decision that you made and how that
choice/decision affected your life [either for the better or for the worse].
There are two ways to do this: 1) Type your response directly into the e-mail (make sure it is about 2002500 words) and send it, or 2) type your response in Microsoft Word and send it as an attachment.
Either way, this is due to me via e-mail by Tuesday, January 13th, by 12:00 p.m.
**Make sure your full name and class time is clearly displayed in the subject line of the e-mail**
Electronic Reserve [ERes]. Students are required to routinely participate in activities related to the class
using the ERes database that can be accessed through the Chaffey College Library website
[http://www.chaffey.edu/library]. This database can be accessed by either a computer on campus or
your personal home computer. Activities include the posting and responding to student writing and
participation in chat room discussions with the instructor and fellow students. Also, if a student is absent
or a handout is misplaced, it can be retrieved from the ERes database. In short, it is another resource to
assist in the development of the student writer.
8] Grading Breakdown:
4 Essays (4 @ 15%) = 60%
Final Essay Exam = 10%
Journals, Homework, Quizzes = 10%
Writing Center Requirement (5 hours) = 10%
In-Class Participation & Attendance = 10%
------100%
100-90% = A [100-97 = A+; 96-92 = A; 91-90 = A -]
89-80% = B [89-87 = B+; 86-83 = B; 82-80 = B -]
79-70% = C [79-76 = C+; 75-70 = C]
--------------69-60% = D
**Please feel free to discuss with me at any time your grade**
Robert Nazar, Chaffey College
HOW TO SUCCEED IN ENGLISH 450:
Personal Responsibility—Understand that you are responsible for your own success and education.
This attitude is key and forms the basis for the following list:
o Take Notes—The most effective way to stay engaged in class is to take notes during lectures
and discussions. Write down key ideas and supporting information. Then be sure to utilize the
information.
o Ask Questions—When you are unclear about any piece of information, ask a question that
will help clarify the information for you.
o Come to class—Students who skip class rarely pass.
o Set up a Study Schedule—Time management is the key to academic success. Budget
enough time for reading and writing as well as recreational activities.
o Read Comments on Returned Work Carefully—I write extensively on student papers. My
comments usually point to specific points throughout the margins in a paper and globally at the
end of a paper. Both are equally important and should be understood for effective learning to
take place. If you are confused about any comments, please come and see me.
o Proper Classroom Demeanor: I consider ringing cell phones, text messaging, private
conversations, and intolerant or abusive reactions to others’ ideas disruptive and will ask those
who engage in these activities to leave the classroom without hesitation.
I have read the requirements, policies, and guidelines outlined in this syllabus, and I agree to follow
them without any exception or excuses. I understand that I must attend every class session in order to
have the best chance of success and that passing the course means earning 70% or greater.
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Robert Nazar, Chaffey College
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