ENGL 111 COURSE SYLLABUS
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more
time. Thomas Edison
ENG 111 O55C
English Composition I
Fall 2009 – 8 week session
Professor: Kathy O’Connor
Tidewater Community College, Chesapeake Campus
Phone: 822 - 5214 office (voice mail)
Email: koconnor@tcc.edu or tcoconk@tcc.edu
Office: Room 129 (TCC Chesapeake campus, Pass Bldg.)
Office Hours: Virtual and by appointment
Required Text:
The Little, Brown Compact Handbook, seventh edition
ISBN 10: 0-205-65170-4 or ISBN 13: 978-0-205-65170-2
(You should have access to this reference book)
Additional Course Materials:
Sample essays and handouts provided by the instructor on the course Blackboard
Free online dictionaries:
http://www.m-w.com/
Objectives:
or http://dictionary.msn.com/
To experience the writing process and practice a variety of modes
To reinforce writing mechanics
To examine, discuss and model good writing
To find and develop your writing voice
To gain confidence and competence in writing
To improve writing through a review and revision process
To write and present a short documented paper prepared in MLA style
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Course Requirements:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
2 Personal Expressive Essays
1 Expository Essay
1 Documented Essay – documented argument using MLA style format
Discussion Board Writing / 8 Peer Reviews (150 word minimum for each review)
Final Mechanics Test
Grade will be an average of this work:
3 Essays
Documented MLA style Essay
Discussion Board Writing and Peer Reviews
Final Mechanics Test
60 %
15%
15%
10 %
Final Grade computed using the following scale:
A
B+
C+
D+
F
= 95 and above
= 88
B = 85
= 78
C = 75
= 68
D = 65
= below 60
A- =
B- =
C- =
D- =
92
82
72
62
*Important Note:
Plagiarism is turning in or passing off someone else's work as your own intentionally or
accidentally. Sometimes, the line between borrowing and stealing is unclear. In an intellectual
community, ideas are passed around freely. Most intellectual inquiry could not take place without
borrowing from the work of others. Responsible, honest writers indicate their debts to others by
clearly citing material that they have borrowed. Irresponsible or dishonest writers often fail to cite
their borrowings and thus become guilty of plagiarism.
from http://www.tcc.vccs.edu/lrc/pubs/plag.htm
Plagiarism is a serious offense resulting in an F on the assignment and in the course.
Accommodations: Please notify me within the first week of the session and provide any documented
paperwork should you require accommodations in this course.
“When I face the desolate impossibility of writing 500 pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me, and I
know I can never do it. Then gradually, I write one page and then another. One day's work is all I can
permit myself to contemplate.” John Steinbeck
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ENG 111 Outline – Fall 2009 - 8 week course
This is a very concentrated course, so it will be very important for you to make note of all due dates
and not get behind on your work. You will have to complete 4 Essays for this course; you will
have approximately 2 weeks to do the work for each Essay. The work includes: reading sample
essays, pre-writing activities, working on drafts of your essay, posting your finished essay on the
Discussion Board, reviewing at least two classmates’ essays, reading the reviews you receive, and
submitting your revised essay on time. All deadlines for work are indicated in red below (early
submissions recommended;) please mark your calendar.
Pre-writing Assignments: (10/15 - 10/19)
Personal Writing Survey and Writing Overview
Discussion Board Entry # 1
 Personal Survey
Discussion Board (DB) Entry # 2
 “Open Letter to Students” reaction
1.
Post these two entries in the appropriate Forums on the Bb no later than 11:59 PM,
Sun. 10/18
2. Take the Diagnostic Mechanics Test by 11:59 PM, Mon. 10/19
Essay 1: Personal Expressive (10/20 – 10/30)
Read these selections (found on Bb) for Essays 1 & 2
Josh C., Front Porch-Sitting
Jim Moran, Back in the USSR
Melissa H., Crystal -Clear Mirage
Levi Asher, The Bridges of New York City
Kari S., Home Again
Melissa B., My House is a War Zone
Laurie W., The View Along The Way
Langston Hughes, Salvation
3. Essay 1 (Personal Expressive) due by 11:59 PM, Fri. 10/23. Post on DB
4. Read all instructional materials for Essay 1 found in the ASSIGNMENTS and COURSE
DOCUMENTS tab on Bb
5. Complete two peer reviews in the appropriate Forum on the Bb by 11:59 PM, Mon. 10/26
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6. Review all feedback and submit essay to me via email by 11:59 PM, Fri. 10/30
“Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over Seaside Heights, a
life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water gap or the way a baby
scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a Cheerio with her thumb and first finger.” Anna
Quindlan
Essay 2: Personal Expressive
1.
(10/31 - 11/12)
Re-read or finish reading sample essays (found on Bb) for Essays 1 & 2
Additional essays in Course Docs
2. Read Guidelines for Essay 2 (found in ASSIGNMENTS tab on Bb)
3. Post Essay 2 on the DB by 11:59 PM, Fri. 11/06
4. Complete two peer reviews in the appropriate Forum on the Bb by 11:59 PM, Sun. 11/08
5. Essay 2 (final version) due to me via email by 11:59 PM, Thurs. 11/12
Essay 3: Expository (11/13 – 11/25)
1. Read sample essays (found on Bb) for Essay 3
Susannah C., Hemp to the Rescue
Sherman Alexie, I Hated Tonto (and still do)
Roger Rosenblatt, Memory
Anne Fleming, The Things They Carry
Rick Bodamer, Litter-Bugged
Additional essays in Course Docs
2. Read Guidelines for Essay 3 found in the ASSIGNMENTS tab on Bb
3. Post Essay 3 on the DB by 11:59 PM, Wed. 11/18
4. Complete two peer reviews in the appropriate Forum on the Bb by 11:59 PM, Fri. 11/20
5. Essay 3 (final version) due to me via email by 11:59 PM, Wed. 11/25
November 26 - Happy Thanksgiving!
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Essay 4: Documented Argument Essay
(11/27 – 12/10)
The Documented Argument Essay
Read sample essays for Essay 4:
“High Stakes Educational Testing: Curse or Cure?”
“The Difference is Natural”
Additional selections and excerpts posted in Course Docs
1. Read The Basic Concepts of Documentation Style: Documenting Sources/ MLA. In-Text
Citation Works Cited
2. Review MLA style (Little, Brown Handbook, pp.461-518) for use with the Documented
Argument Essay
3. Post Documented Argument Essay Argument Statement and Opening Paragraph by
11:59 PM, Mon. 11/30 (I will comment on some of these in the DB)
4. Post Documented Argument Essay in DB by 11:59 PM, Fri. 12/04
5. DB Peer Review: Peer review two Documented Argument Essays / Post your reviews on
the DB by 11:59 PM, Sun. 12/06
6. Revise and submit final Documented Argument Essay by 11:59 PM, Thurs. 12/10
Last Requirement
Final Mechanics Test – complete, save, and email to me by 11:59 PM, Fri. 12/11
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