ENGLISH 1104: TECHNICAL WRITING
ANOKA-RAMSEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
FALL 2015 COURSE SYLLABUS
General Course Information
Professor: Ms. or Professor Bean
Office: H210
Phone: (763) 433-1139
E-mail: catherine.bean@anokaramsey.edu
E-mail is the best way to communicate with me throughout the semester,
as
check it frequently, Monday-Friday.
I do NOT use the Pager function in D2L.
Office Hours:
Mondays:
Tuesdays:
On Campus: 1-2 p.m.
Online 3-4:30 p.m.
On Campus: 1-2 p.m.
Online 3-4:30 p.m.
Course Web Sites:
D2L Brightspace Login: https://anokaramsey.ims.mnscu.edu/?logout=1
Professor’s Homepage: www.ar.cc.mn.us/bean/main
Texts
In addition to being available at the campus bookstore, all textbooks can now be
ordered online. Go to www.arccbookstore.com to do so.
Anderson, Paul V. Technical Communication: A Reader-Centered Approach. 8th
ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2014.
Bullock, Richard, Michal Brody, and Francine Weinberg. The Little Seagull
Handbook. 2nd ed. New York:
W. W. Norton & Company, 2014.
Learner Outcomes
At the conclusion of this course, students should be able to
1. Master a reliable, effective writing process.
2. Participate effectively in group discussion and projects.
3. Analyze a writing situation and respond to it with writing that is appropriate
and effective in terms of its purpose.
4. Grow in confidence and skill in reproducing and presenting technical and
professional documents.
5. Employ language appropriate to professional and technical contexts.
Attendance and Active Class Participation in an Online Environment
Because this class is conducted as a collaborative writers’ workshop, your
participation is vital to your success and the success of the other writers in the
class. Therefore, regular, active participation is required. Regular participation
includes interacting with others online to tackle assignment questions, proofread
and give feedback on writing projects, complete collaborative projects, and
participate in discussions.
For online courses, attendance translates into active online involvement in the
coursework and promptly responding to communications from other students and
the professor; failing to be actively engaged will negatively affect your grade.
Because class participation is critical to your success in this class, if you do not
actively participate in our class or respond to communications with the professor
for two consecutive weeks, a Last Day of Attendance (LDA) will be automatically
entered into the student record system, which will result in a failing grade being
issued for the class. Once the LDA is entered, you may request to be withdrawn
by going to the Records Office before the withdraw deadline in order to get a W
assigned as your final grade, instead of an F.
The College allows students to withdraw from classes with a W grade through
the 80% point in the semester. This date varies, depending upon each course’s
specific start-date. Refer to the online ARCC Course Schedule for this
semester’s last withdrawal date.
Work Expectations
It is expected that all participants in this class are committed to putting forth their
best effort in successfully completing all class assignments. This includes
submitting work that conforms to the prescribed format specifications and that is
professional in appearance. Work that does not meet formatting guidelines or is
not professional in appearance will be marked down.
Likewise, all class communications with the professor and other students must
remain professional and respectful at all times. Read the Effective Online
Communication rules prior to beginning our online communications.
Work that does not meet formatting guidelines or is not professional in
appearance, and communications that are rude or unprofessional, will be marked
down.
It is important that you always keep copies of all of your work throughout the
semester, in case of loss or concerns about your grade.
Students should realize that grades are earned based on the quality of work
completed and submitted, and not on the basis of effort or time spent completing
an assignment. The time needed to successfully complete assignments will vary
from student to student.
Due Dates, Electronic Submissions, Late Work, and Late Vouchers
ALL ONLINE DISCUSSIONS CLOSE, AND ALL CLASS ASSIGNMENTS ARE
DUE, IN THE COURSE’S D2L DROPBOX BY NOON ON TUESDAYS.
All due dates are located on our course Schedule.
THE D2L DROPBOX CLOSES PROMPTLY AT NOON ON TUESDAYS. The
D2L Dropbox will not accept any items after this time. Assignments that are not
submitted on time will earn a zero, which will negatively affect your final grade.
All Assignments must be submitted as Microsoft Word (or MS Wordcompatible, such as .odt and .rtf) documents to our D2L Dropbox by the
assigned due date and time. Assignments that are not submitted as MS Word or
Word-compatible documents are subject to a grade penalty.
All work that is submitted to the Dropbox is considered complete and final,
and will be graded as such; therefore, be certain to ONLY submit work to the
Dropbox when it is completely finished and ready to be graded; revisions,
subsequent submissions, and alternate work will not be accepted or graded.
Because legitimate disruptions do occur in life, you have a one-time
exception to our Late Policy: a Late Voucher. You can access your copy of
the Late Voucher on our D2L Homepage, in the table in the center of the
page.
All of the policies for the use of the Late Voucher are right on the document itself.
Please be sure to read it carefully.
Students who successfully submit all of their work on time and therefore do not
use the Late Voucher may redeem it for extra credit. The rules for redeeming
your extra credit are also printed right on the Late Voucher. Please make sure
you are aware of these guidelines, too.
The absolute last day to submit late work accompanied by a Late Voucher
is printed on our class Schedule. This is also the last day to redeem any
unused Late Vouchers for extra credit.
It is very important that you understand this late policy and its potential effect on
your class grade. Make sure that you do.
Plagiarism and Collusion
You must do all of your own work in this class. Plagiarism and collusion will not
be tolerated. Cheating is strictly forbidden.
Plagiarism consists of knowingly presenting another person’s ideas or writing as
your own without appropriate citation. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to,
cheating on a quiz or test, copying someone else’s words or ideas into a paper or
other assignment, and borrowing, buying or downloading papers that you then
submit as your own work. Plagiarism is both unethical and illegal. Presenting
another person’s ideas or writing as your own without full, clear, and appropriate
citation will result in an “F” for the entire course, and you will be reported to the
Dean of Educational Services for a Violation of the Student Conduct Code.
Collusion is also prohibited. Examples of collusion include extensive use of
another's ideas for preparing a creative piece, undue assistance in the
preparation or editing of written materials, or working with others on individual
assignments. Such collaboration in work submitted by students is prohibited
unless specifically approved in advance by the instructor. Engaging in collusion
is unethical, and will result in an “F” on that assignment, and you will be reported
to the Dean of Educational Services for a Violation of the Student Conduct Code.
This course utilizes TurnItIn.com to assist with plagiarism identification. Any
student work in our class may be submitted by the professor to TurnItIn.com to
verify originality and authorship.
Grading
Your grade for English 1104 will be based on the following components:
Formal Writing (70%)
This is the average of your formal assignments, or writing projects.
Informal Writing (5%)
The entirety of your assignment submissions is graded, including the Process
Memo accompanying each assignment, in terms of professionalism, tone, format,
and content.
Active Class Participation (20%)
Your productive participation in writing groups and class discussions will be
evaluated. Both quantity and quality of participation will be considered.
This portion of your final grade includes many components, such as participating
in our online discussion forums actively and regularly, presenting complete rough
drafts, giving constructive and useful feedback on others’ drafts in writing groups,
participating actively in group work, and responding promptly and professionally
to class e-mails.
A lack of active participation will negatively affect this portion of your grade, as
participation is impossible if you are not regularly active in our online
environment.
Writing Groups are an extremely important part of a writer’s success in this
class.
Quantitatively, you are required to post a minimum of 3 comments to our small
group Discussion Rooms per Assignment qualify for a C. Correspondingly, a
minimum of 4 posts per Assignment are required to qualify for a B, and a
minimum of 5 posts are needed to qualify for an A. These posts must be made
on multiple days throughout each week, in order to both earn these grades, and
more importantly, to enable real, back-and-forth discussions to take place.
Because both quantity and, most importantly, quality are considered when
determining Active Class Participation grades, quantity alone does not guarantee
any particular grade. It is the quality and frequency of your posts, once you’ve
met the minimum number, that determine your grade.
Students who are aiming for an A or B in this category should aim for several
things:
1. Post on several days throughout the week for maximum impact.
Students that merely make all of their comments on one or two days of
the week are not fully engaged in or absorbed by long-term, ongoing
discussions, nor are they allowing their thoughts to adequately
percolate and develop over time.
2. Post insightful, high-quality ideas—strive to see things in new ways, to
challenge yourself and others.
3. Respond to others in a thoughtful, reflective manner. Remember that
we are contributing to an interesting intellectual DISCUSSION, not a
one-sided monologue.
Final Exam (5%)
The final exam, rather than a traditional test, consists of a final class project that
incorporates skills learned throughout the term. Details of the final project will be
announced and posted later in the semester.
All course Grades will be posted on D2L at the Grades tab, located under
Assessments on the toolbar at the top of the page. This way, you can not only
see your grade on each individual assignment or discussion, but you can easily
keep track of your overall course grade. Grades are posted in D2L as
percentages. Here is the key that will allow you to translate these numbers into
letter grades:
90-100
80-89
70-79
60-69
0-59
A
B
C
D
F
The content of college courses is intellectually rigorous, and requires a
considerable amount of time, striving, and hard work. In college courses, grades
are EARNED. Grades do not merely indicate participation in and completion of
the course.
Grades of C are perfectly acceptable, reflecting that the student has shown an
average level of competence and mastery of difficult material. A grade of B is
very good, showing that the student has consistently demonstrated an aboveaverage performance. Lastly, an A is tough to earn, and exemplifies outstanding
achievement on every marker of learning.
Official College Communications
E-mail is the official means of communication at Anoka-Ramsey Community
College. This is the way that the College communicates important information to
students, such as registration information, important dates, and other
announcements. E-mail is also the means by which professors communicate
with students outside of face-to-face classroom meetings, so be certain to check
your College e-mail on a regular, consistent basis. Failing to read your College
e-mail does not constitute a valid excuse for not being aware of the information
communicated to you. You are responsible for knowing all information conveyed
in ARCC e-mails, so check your account frequently.
Establish Class Contacts
Become acquainted with the members of our class, and your small Discussion
Group in particular. Everyone’s e-mail address is available by clicking on the
Classlist tab on D2L, located under Communications. Click on students’ names
to access their e-mail address.
Classmates are an excellent source of information, and they can often quickly
and thoroughly answer your day-to-day questions about our course,
assignments, due dates, etc.
Online instructors tend to receive hundreds of e-mails a week from their students,
so whenever you are able to ask a question of a classmate and solve it that way,
I very much appreciate it.
I’ll reiterate here what it says at the top of this syllabus: when you need to contact
me, I definitely prefer e-mail, as this is the mode that helps me respond to you
most quickly and effectively. (I do NOT ever use the Pager feature in D2L.)
Pass/Fail Option
Students who wish to opt for a Pass/Fail grading option must set this up with the
instructor within the first week of class.
Incompletes
Incompletes will only be granted to those who have a documented medical or
family emergency in the final two weeks of the semester. To receive an
incomplete, all of your other work in the class must be complete and average at
least a "C." All incompletes must be completed by the end of the fourth week of
the following semester. Notify me as soon as possible if this is your situation.