YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR WRITING SKILLS AND ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS! COURSE HANDBOOK/SYLLABUS ENGLISH 101-160 TUTORIAL SECTION Table of Contents Pages: 1. Instructor Information & Office Hours 1. Books/Materials Needed 1-3. Course Outline for ENGL 101-160 (Tutorial Section): Schedule Criteria for Mid-Term and Final Grades 3. Final Exam Information 4. ENGL 101 Departmental Syllabus Departmental Requirements for ENGL 101 Grading Scale DELGADO COMMUNITY COLLEGE ENGLISH 101 COURSE SYLLABUS SECTION NUMBER: INSTRUCTOR’S NAME: OFFICE HOURS: OFFICE PHONE: COURSE LECTURE-LAB-CREDIT and/ CONTACT HOURS: 3-0-3/45 COURSE MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT: 25 LAB FEE: $15.00 COURSE NAME: English Composition I COURSE PREFIX AND NUMBER: ENGL 101 COURSE DESCRIPTION: A college entry course which teaches academic writing through an integrated reading and writing approach. PREREQUISITES: A minimum score of 8 on Delgado Placement Test, an English ACT score of 18-24, or successful completion of ENGL/ENRE 061, 062, or 063 (not a Y grade) or equivalent developmental courses from a transfer school. (If the student’s ACT score is 25 or higher, the student can be recommended for advanced placement.) GOALS: In order to develop skills in critical thinking, communication, and problem solving, students will learn how to write with demonstrable proficiency essays in response to prompts. In addition, students will be able to compare texts, to synthesize information, and to formulate and to develop an original thesis based on other texts, personal experiences, or class discussion of ideas, and to support the thesis with supporting points, discussions, and examples. COURSE OBJECTIVES: By the end of ENGL 101 the student will be able to accomplish the following tasks: Write an academic essay in response to prompts Generate ideas around a central thesis or main idea Develop ideas and generalizations with specifics Write a clear introduction, body, and conclusion Revise for content and structure Edit for grammatical errors COURSE CONTENT: The introductory course in expository writing is based on writing in response to prompts on common topics with emphasis on various modes of thinking. Students will read, analyze, and discuss texts on various topics, then write essays related to the topics, synthesizing material from published writers with their own personal experiences. In addition to reading and writing, a review of basic English grammar and mechanics is interwoven with essay assignments. Varied writing assignments are required to reinforce the concept of reading, analyzing, synthesizing, and responding to printed texts. The students are taught the skills necessary to communicate information in written form and then encouraged to put these skills to use by drafting and writing essays based on what they have learned. Classroom activities may include lecture, discussion (an interchange of different perspectives is integral to critical thinking), drafting, writing, and editing papers (individually and in groups), answering questions, reading, and taking short quizzes on reading assignments. TEXTS: See your instructor. OTHER MATERIALS: 2 Examination Blue Books for the exit exam (available in Delgado’s bookstore) A college level dictionary A notebook or binder with loose leaf paper for writing assignments and pockets for handouts Pen or pencil, white out is optional GRADING: There are no exams per se: the student’s essays and quiz grades are the basis for assessing his/her progress. The purpose is to build on developing skills, to strengthen them, and with each assignment, to shift more and more responsibility from the teacher to the student. FINAL GRADE: The student’s final grade will be based upon proficiency in course goals as demonstrated in the following areas: 6-8 academic/formal essays, including at least 2 timed in-class writings of approximately 400 words, in which the student will respond to prompts. The accumulated average of quizzes taken on reading assignments A passing score on the Departmental Exit Exam. It is necessary to pass the final examination to pass the course, no matter what the student’s average is otherwise. In case of failing the final examination, the instructor may recommend a retake based on the student’s in-class writing. NOTE: An essay with excessive grammatical errors will not receive a passing grade, no matter how well it fulfills the assignment. Major errors include subject-verb agreement errors, verb form errors, fused sentences, comma splices, fragments, and errors involving “s” endings. Major errors will be reviewed at the beginning of the semester. No student may pass this course without passing the final exam. Passing the exit exam does not guarantee that the student will pass the course. The teacher must indicate that the student is fulfilling course requirements and doing passing work. The grade being earned prior to the exit exam is not to be considered as the course grade until the student passes the exit exam. STUDENT FOLDERS: It is the responsibility of the student to keep all essays, particularly the in-class writings, in a manila folder. Each essay should be dated and clearly labeled “In-Class” or “Out-ofClass.” If a student who has an “A” or “B” average all semester should fail the exit exam and the re-take, it is possible but not required for the teacher to submit the in-class writings for evaluation by the department. Missing essays or folders are entirely the responsibility of the student. ATTENDANCE: All students are expected to attend regularly and punctually all classes in which they are enrolled. Failure to do so may jeopardize their scholastic standing. The equivalent to two weeks of absence in a class (ten percent of the total classes), whether consecutive or not, is grounds for being dropped from the course: a total of six absences is allowed from MWF classes; a total of four absences is allowed from TR and MW classes. Any student who surpasses his limit on absences will be dropped from the class. Any student who fails to take his final exam will not pass the class. This policy will be adhered to strictly. In other words, if you exceed two weeks of absence in a class, you will be dropped from this course. TARDINESS: If you are late for class, enter quietly and take the nearest seat. It is your responsibility, after class, to ensure that the instructor has not marked you absent for the class meeting. Students should make every effort to avoid being repeatedly late to class. All students are responsible for all material covered in class whether or not they are present in the classroom. If the instructor is late, students are required to wait 15 minutes. They may then leave after signing a roll sheet, and a student should take it to the appropriate office. For day classes, the Communication Division is in 1-111W, and for evening classes, the Evening Division is 1-221E. DISCIPLINE: The college expects of its students a high degree of integrity. Cheating on any test or plagiarizing is a very serious offense. An instructor may assign an F to any work on which a student cheated or plagiarized and may fail the student for the entire course. Also, cheating and/or plagiarizing may result in more serious disciplinary actions, such as expulsion. Before any action is taken, the instructor will discuss the matter with the Department Head of English. Instructors will discuss plagiarism with the students in the class at the beginning of the semester. DROPPING A COURSE: Each semester calendar indicates the last day that a student can drop a course with a W (Withdrawn). After that date, a letter grade must be given. In other words, if you do not complete the course, you must drop by the deadline date to avoid an F. Students should go to the Registrar’s Office for specific details about dropping classes. THE “I” GRADE: A grade of I (Incomplete) indicates that satisfactory work has been done in a course, but the student has been prevented from taking the final examination. The I is not given unless the student contacts the instructor and requests an I grade. It must be removed by the end of the next semester or sooner; otherwise, the grade becomes an F. In other words, if you miss the final and do not contact the instructor and gain his or her agreement before grades are turned in, you will receive an F. I’s are given at the point when 90% of the class work is successfully completed. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES: Before a student comes to Communication’s Division Office, he/she should FIRST consult with his/her instructor to try and resolve the situation. If the student and the instructor cannot resolve the issue, the student should come in to see the Department Head of English. During the initial meeting, the Department Head will function as a mediator. Further action will depend upon the outcome of this meeting. MISCELLANEOUS: Students must turn off all electronic devices (pagers, cell phones, head phones) before entering class, and these devices must remain off during class. DISABILITY SERVICES STATEMENT: It is the general policy of Delgado Community College to assure equal opportunity for all qualified persons. Reasonable accommodation for qualified persons with disabilities will be made provided the students have self-identified with the Office of Disability Services and have provided required documentation. Individual instructors will modify the methods, requirements, and procedures of courses and examinations appropriately to accommodate the special needs of students with disabilities, provided the academic integrity of the course or examination is not violated, and the heath and welfare of all students are safeguarded DISCLAIMER: Students who elect to pay tuition and fees on a payment plan are responsible for paying the charges on the dates specified. Failure to pay will result in the student being withdrawn from all classes and not receiving a final grade(s). Mere attendance and participation in the class does not warrant a grade without payment in a timely manner. ENGL 101-160 TUTORIAL SECTION of English Composition I The tutorial section is an individualized section of English Composition I (ENGL 101) taught in the Writing Center (1/216W) by the director. After a series of diagnostic tests and learning-style assessments, exercises and writing projects will be assigned. These are written mainly in the Writing Center and discussed one-to-one as completed. You will learn to identify writing and grammar strengths and weaknesses and ways to improve your writing. BY THE END OF THIS COURSE, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO: Identify and correct your patterns of grammar and punctuation errors (at the word and sentence level) Read critically Write Thesis Statements Write well-developed paragraphs with controlling ideas (Topic Sentences) Write an organized essay on an assigned topic Pass the English 101 Exit Exam by writing an organized essay in response to an assigned topic/reading Course Outline--English 101-160 (Tutorial) English Composition I Fall 2006 (Supplements Departmental Syllabus—See Attached) Instructor: Cheryl Mott Location: 216W (Writing Center/English Composition Lab) Telephone: 483-1849 (Messages: 483-4021) E-mail address: csmott@dcc.edu Office Hours: 1:30p.m. - 5:00p.m. M&W 1:00-5:30 p.m. T & Th 1:30 p.m.- 3:30 p.m. Fri. Books Required: To Be Supplied by Instructor Supplies: Portfolio with pockets and inside binder for looseleaf paper 4 Blue Books (available at Bookstore) Please note that the following schedule is adjusted according to each student's progress throughout the semester. Weeks 1-3: Enrollment Diagnostic Tests: Relevance of Patterns Diagnostic Test, Logic and organization Test, and In-Lab 2 hour Diagnostic Essay Discussion of diagnostic results and Language Skills Self-Assessments Weeks 4 through 6: Development of Word and Sentence Level Skills: Tools: Sentence combining exercises (The Writer's Options--Only available in Lab where all work in this area is done and discussed as finished). Exercises: Punctuation Patterns, Relevance of Patterns and other tutorial materials in Composition and Grammar Skills Labs as needed and assigned by instructor. (Assignments in the Grammar Skills area of the Lab are generally done as outside assignments.) Weeks 6 through Mid-term:* Continuation of above with additional work on sentence level skills, including work on verbals, relative clauses if needed, and paragraph patterns. Outside Assignments: Chapters in Simon & Schuster Handbook, including chapter and notes on "Critical Thinking and Reading" (Students begin a journal in a portfolio for notes on readings.) *Mid-term grade is determined by satisfactory progress in the above areas and attendance is part of the grade. Mid-term through the End of Semester (Weeks 8 through 15): Outside Assignments: Readings (To be assigned) Reader's Notes--To be kept in journal in portfolio In-Lab Assignments: Freewriting, planning and writing essays based on discussion of first three chapters of Simon & Schuster Handbook First one or two essays may take 2-3 weeks to write and revise. Last 2-3 weeks of the semester essays are timed and in practice exam format. Tutorial on computers if needed. (Students with special needs may choose to take the exit exam on the computer.) Final Exam: Regular 101 Exit Exam (see Master Syllabus) taken in English Composition Lab. (Retake, if necessary, may be taken with other sections as per retake instructions for English Department. Students will be provided with further information during the last few weeks of the semester.) *Final grade depends on: Attendance Completion of Assignments—Note: Since this is a tutorial section, student works at his or her own pace to complete assignments, the majority of which must be done in class, so there is no make-up time. Excessive absenteeism from class periods—see attached English 101 departmental syllabus—excused or unexcused, can mean the student will not be able to complete assigned work and this can affect final grade. Final/Exit Exam (Student must pass 101 Exit Exam to pass course.) FINAL EXAM: DATE: Tuesday, December 5, 2006 TIME: 10:30AM-1:30PM (DAY STUDENTS) 6:00-9:00PM (EVENING STUDENTS) PLACE: 1/216W Note: This syllabus (and course outline) is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor. Changes will be handed out in written form as an addendum to the syllabus.