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Eng 112 College Composition II
Section 45
Instructor Susanna Ferrara
Mondays to Wednesdays online
Thursdays * 11am-12:15pm * CS238
Instructor Contact Information
Email: sferrara@nvcc.edu
Office phone: 703-323-3461
Office location: CC 105
Office hours: Tuesdays: 11am-12:15pm and 2-2:30pm; Thursdays: 10:15-10:45am and 22:30pm.; additional hours available by appointment
NOVA Webpage: http://blogs.nvcc.edu/sferrara/
Course Description
Eng 112 continues to develop college writing with increased emphasis on critical analysis essays,
argumentation, and research, developing these skills through examining a range of texts about
the human experience. The course requires students to locate, evaluate, integrate, and
document sources and effectively edit for style and usage.
Prerequisites
Before taking English 112, students must successfully complete ENG 111 or its equivalent and
must be able to use word processing software. Reliable Internet service and a basic knowledge
of Blackboard functions are required to complete the course.
This course is offered in hybrid format. This means that approximately 50% of the class will take
place online in the Blackboard classroom. Online activities and lectures are essential to the
course; they are not supplemental to the activities taking place in the classroom. Therefore,
students are expected to treat each portion of the class with equal care and attention.
For students who need to brush up on Blackboard navigation skills and/or appropriate tone and
content for online communication in this course, please see the folders with resources for these
elements of the course in the syllabus.
Disabilities
Accommodations for students with disabilities are available. Please contact the Office of
Disability Services (703-323-3200; http://nvcc.edu/current-students/disabilityservices/index.html) if you need accommodations. Accommodations can only be provided with
the appropriate documentation from the Office of Disability Services.
Course Goals
This course encourages critical thinking, analysis, and writing; helps students to improve the
persuasiveness of writing; and helps students to refine their ability to locate, evaluate, use, and
document information to support an argument. By the end of the course, students will be able
to:
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engage in all phases of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and
reflecting
develop strategies for critical thinking, reading, and writing processes
examine subjects from multiple perspectives and formulate and express their own
perspectives
gather, evaluate, and present evidence effectively
recognize and employ the parts of an argument including proposition, concession,
refutation, and confirmation
analyze and incorporate reading and experience into writing
apply logical reasoning to evidence while avoiding logical fallacies
make choices for evidence, language, organization, and other strategies that
appropriate for the writing situation
apply organizational strategies to open and close texts and to move the reader between
and within ideas, paragraphs, and sentences
follow grammatical and mechanical conventions in the preparation of readable
manuscripts
write a text of a minimum of 1,000 words that incorporates documented research
Course Texts & Required Materials
The Bedford Reader, 11th edition by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron
A looseleaf binder with lined paper
Access to a computer so that you can log into Blackboard at least 3 times each week for hybrid
learning activities and general access to class materials
Optional Digital Course Resources
You must be able to log into Blackboard to access our virtual classroom for the hybrid portion of
this course. You can do this in a couple of ways, either from a computer (desktop or laptop), or
using a mobile device if you have one. The Blackboard Mobile Learn app is free for you to
download and you can use it to access your course materials on the go. It may help you to
enable notifications on your mobile device so that when I post an announcement in Blackboard,
the app will alert you there is something new to view. Note: The Blackboard Mobile Learn app
does not use HTML for the course content pages; you will need to click on the links to view
content on mobile browser to access multimedia in order to view Blackboard exactly as it would
look on a computer.
Grading Information and Coursework
Your course grade will be determined by your scores on the quizzes, journals, discussions,
homework assignments, annotated bibliography, formal essays, and exams according to the
following percentages. Please note: You must pass the midterm exam with at least a D (more
than 60%) to move onto the subsequent units in the course. You need to earn passing grades on
all formal papers and both exams (at least a D -- more than 60%) in order to pass the course.
Assignment
Blackboard
Quizzes
Journals
Blackboard
Discussions
HW collected
at Class
Meetings
Unit One Essay
Unit Two Essay
Annotated
Bibliography
(Unit Three
Project)
Unit Four Essay
Midterm
Final Exam
Total:
Weight
% of
Final
Grade
2%
8%
15%
10%
10%
15%
10%
10%
10%
10%
100%
Grades for most homework assignments and weekly activities will be posted within
approximately one week after the assignment is collected.
Grades for formal essays will be posted one to two weeks following the date collected. If a
formal essay is not submitted to SafeAssign, it will not be read or graded and it will not count
towards your work in the course.
Your final grade will be based on your weighted average in the Blackboard Grade Center. The
following scale represents final grade calculations:
Grade Percent
A
90-100
B
80-89
C
70-79
D
60-69
F
0-59
Course Policies & Grading Criteria for Formal Essays
Formal papers will each have detailed instructions provided well in advance of due dates. All
formal papers will have a separate rough draft due date. Each formal paper assignment will
provide its own grading criteria specific to that assignment. All formal papers must be
formatted according to MLA guidelines. All formal papers must be written in a sequence of
steps as indicated by the weekly assignments list. Process steps are not optional and must be
completed on time in order to receive credit for a formal writing assignment. All final drafts of
formal essays must be posted to the Blackboard “SafeAssign” link by the specified date and time
in doc, docx, or rtf format.
Peer review is an essential step in the writing process. It will help you develop a sense of
audience awareness and it will also set you up to learn from and with your peers about how to
structure and organize good academic writing. Every semester, students tell me that they find it
so much easier to see the "good" and "bad" stuff of writing in other students' papers--this
building block, being able to see the elements of good and bad writing in other students' work,
is the first step towards developing an awareness of what is working and not working in your
own writing.
Revision is also essential to the writing process, and true revision means making substantive
changes to your first draft so that it's clear you put fresh thought and renewed perspective into
the structure, organization, language, and idea of your paper. Even if your rough draft is "good,"
that doesn't mean you're off the hook for revision.
But what if something happens? FAQs:
 If you miss a rough draft deadline and/or peer review due to unavoidable circumstances
for which you can provide documentation, then I may provide you with an alternative
plan for completion of the assignment, such as required tutoring at the AN campus
writing center or one-on-one conference(s) with me. As long as you provide
documentation that the circumstances are unavoidable, there will be no grade penalty.
 If you miss a rough draft deadline and and you cannot provide documentation to show
that the circumstances were unavoidable, but you participate actively in peer review
and you work with me to develop a plan for your revision, then your final draft will be
penalized 10%.
 If you do not receive feedback from your peer review group that you find helpful
towards revision, it is your responsibility to contact me immediately for additional
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guidance. If you post a rough draft to your peer review group on time, and you
complete peer review, but you do not make any substantive revisions to your final draft,
then your paper will not be eligible to earn a grade higher than 65 or D.
If you post your rough draft to the peer review forum on time, but you fail to complete
peer review feedback for all of the members of your assigned group by the deadline,
then your paper will receive an automatic failing grade.
Essays submitted more than a week after the final draft due date will not be accepted.
All formal papers will be graded according to the following standards:
An A paper is characterized by outstanding writing marked by superior readability and
demonstrated insight into the subject matter. These traits are demonstrated in the
following ways:
1. The substance and organization follow a clear, logical sequence that makes the
information easily accessible to the reader.
2. The purpose is clearly expressed, and the selected details of the assignment reflect
this purpose.
3. The audience is accommodated throughout the assignment as reflected in effective
communication and style.
4. Words are chosen and sentences are constructed to make the information
understandable.
5. The grammar, mechanics, and format are flawless.
A B paper is characterized by distinguished writing that successfully fulfills the
requirements. The writing responds directly to the assignment; it is essentially well
organized, and sentences are usually clear and grammatically correct,
A C paper is characterized by competent, satisfactory writing. It responds to the assignment.
It may fail to offer insight into the topic and may not organize its points in a consistently
clear manner. Readability is usually clear but may occasionally be hindered by consistent or
repeated sentence problems.
A D paper struggles to communicate information and contains weak writing, but responds
to the assignment.
An F paper should not occur with the drafting process that is part of the course. Fs are
usually assigned due to extremely late submission, absent drafts, or a failure to meet the
minimum standards of the assignment.
Note: Students have the option of revising one of the first two essays for a different grade.
Please note that a revision does not guarantee a higher grade for the essay, as expectations for
quality work will be higher. A revised essay must be turned in within one month of the original
being returned to the student. It is suggested, but not required, that students meet with the
instructor prior to turning in a revised essay. The revision option cannot be used for papers that
were never turned in the first time, or for papers that were given a “zero” due to plagiarism.
Course Policies
This class is a small community of learners. From the first day of class to the last, we are all
learning from each other. The following policies help to ensure a safe, cooperative, and focused
learning environment for all.
Attendance
Because Eng 112 focuses on the process of writing, and because each section is rather small,
regular attendance is critical not only to individual success but also to the success of the class as
a whole. This section of Eng 112 is a hybrid class that meets half in a classroom and half online.
Online attendance is measured by visible posts. If no work is posted during the specified time
period, the student is counted as absent.
Any and all work completed in class, such as a quiz, reviews of drafts, and of course class
discussion cannot be made up. Therefore, the class participation grade will be negatively
affected by frequent absences. Please note that any combination of three significant late
arrivals or early departures from classes will count as one absence.
Online discussion boards rely on active and timely participation from all participants. Discussion
board work is interactive and usually geared toward the upcoming essay assignment. Discussion
board work must be posted within the week assigned and cannot be made up.
You should plan to log onto Blackboard at least 3-4 times every week throughout the entire
semester to ensure that you consistently post your work on time and have access to any
announcements and and/or changes to instructions that may take place.
Minimum Passing Standards; Dropping or Withdrawing from the Course
You can choose to drop the course with a full refund by January 26th.
After January 26th, you can choose to withdraw from the course with a grade of “W” through
March 23rd. You should withdraw from the course by that date if you do not feel able to
complete the course assignments.
You will automatically fail the course, and therefore should withdraw in time, if any of the
following circumstances comes to pass:
1. More than 25% of the class meetings – that is, more than eight meetings – are missed.
Please note that both face-to-face classes and online discussion forums count as
meetings.
2. Two consecutive weeks of class meetings – that is, four classes in a row – are missed
without any efforts to contact the instructor (e.g., email, phone call, etc). Again, please
note that both face-to-face classes and online discussion forums count as meetings.
Email
You have been assigned a VCCS email address for use in this and other courses that you take
through NOVA or other colleges in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). You are
required to use this email account for any course-related email communication so that we can
insure your privacy as required by law. If you don't know your VCCS email address, go to My
NOVA and look for your address.
Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty is unacceptable. The first time a student submits an assignment
demonstrating evidence of academic dishonesty, he or she will receive a grade of “0” on the
assignment and have his or her name recorded in a department database. Any student who is
found to have committed a second act of academic dishonesty will fail the course in which the
instance occurred and may be referred to Ray Jones in the Office of Student Conduct.
According to the Student Handbook, academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to,
cheating on an assignment by giving, receiving or soliciting information or using unauthorized
materials; obtaining or distributing material purported to be on an upcoming assignment;
substituting on an examination for another person, plagiarism; collusion with another person on
an assignment; and knowingly furnishing false information to the college.
In classes such as this one, the most common form of academic dishonesty is
plagiarism. Plagiarism is any act wherein you do not properly acknowledge the thoughts or
words of another or attempt to present those thoughts or words as your own. Please note
that this includes failing to submit a works cited page with your assignment or even accidentally
forgetting in-text citations or quotation marks.
All work should be independently produced by you for this specific course without outside
assistance. Collusion, or working with another person in the preparation or editing of
assignments submitted for credit, is also unacceptable, unless such collaboration has been
specifically approved in advance by me. In this course, you may only use the academic support
services provided by NOVA to get additional assistance on your assignments. On campus, you
have access to the writing center for tutoring and revision help on your papers. (Here is the
website for more information: http://www.nvcc.edu/annandale/lrc/writing/index.htm).
Whenever you use the services of the writing center, you must get a note from your tutor to
verify your participation with the service. If you use online tutoring, you must forward the
details of your online tutoring session to your instructor before the deadline for the final draft of
the paper. If you have questions about what constitutes academic dishonesty, please discuss it
with your professor before you submit your assignment.