Mt. San Antonio College
AMLA 43W
Spring 2015
Teacher: Todd Windisch
Voicemail: (909) 274-7500 Ext. 3910
Time: Tue & Thu 12:00pm – 2:10pm
Website: toddamla.weebly.com
Location: Building 66, Room 246
E-mail: twindisch@mtsac.edu
Thursday Location (Beginning 3/5): Building 26B, Room 1555
Course Objectives:
For the next 16 weeks, students will participate in various classroom and homework
assignments that will enable them to:
 Formulate ideas on a topic and narrow the ideas to a single topic
 Use various organization methods for pre-writing
 Write coherent and unified paragraphs utilizing a variety of rhetorical modes
 Identify and utilize common essay/composition structure
 Use complex transitions to achieve cohesion in writing
 Develop ideas through the use of specific details, illustrations, and support
 Construct original complex and compound-complex sentences with consistent
accuracy
 Express ideas using the appropriate register and expanded vocabulary
 Edit for common grammatical errors
 Read, critically analyze, and utilize texts in original writing
Textbooks (MUST BE PURCHASED):
1. Developing Composition Skills: Academic Writing and Grammar (3rd Edition)
By Mary K. Ruetten ISBN: 978-1-111-22055-6
2. Understanding and Using English Grammar with Answer Key (4th Edition)
By Betty S. Azar & Stacy A. Hagen ISBN: 978-0-13-233331-3
**You can purchase the course textbooks at the Mt. SAC bookstore in Building 9A.
Class Materials:
Please bring your textbooks, a notebook with lined paper, pens, and pencils with you
to every class. Also, you must bring a USB flash drive with you when we go to the
computer lab on Thursdays to save your work. It is very important that everybody in the
class is prepared every day.
Attendance:
It is important that you attend of every class and that you come to class on time.
Absences and tardiness will result in missed class work and affect your grade.
If you are going to be absent please send me an e-mail or leave me a voicemail with the
reason for your absence. Please make friends with your classmates and share contact
information, so, in the event of an absence, you can ask your classmate for any
homework that you may have missed.
Make-up Policy
There will be no make-up exams or quizzes. Late assignments will not be accepted.
Please plan accordingly. If you encounter an emergency that requires you to miss an
assignment or exam, notify your teacher immediately to make arrangements.
Emergencies must be documented.
Cheating & Plagiarism
It is essential that you do your own work in order to improve your English skills. The
following are examples of dishonesty:
 Turning in homework that is copied from another student
 Copying answers from another student during a quiz or test
 Copying work from another source (i.e. the Internet) without proper credit and
citation given to the author
If you are dishonest in any of these ways, you will get a “0” for the assignment, and
the instance of cheating will be reported to the Office of Student Life. Please refer to
the College Academic Honesty Policy in the Mt. SAC College Catalog.
Student Responsibilities:
✷
Participation: Practicing what you learn is important. Please volunteer responses
and ask questions. Don’t worry about making a mistake; we all make mistakes,
and they are always the best learning opportunities! ☺
✷
Attention/Respect: Please pay attention when both I and your fellow classmates
are speaking. Listening to your fellow classmates offers you many opportunities
to learn. Everybody has something to teach someone!
✷
Assignments: Come to class prepared by completing all homework and
assignments by their due date. If you are unprepared for class, it is difficult to
participate fully, and you will miss out on great learning opportunities!
✷
Cell Phones: Silence all cell phones in class and refrain from using them while in
the classroom. If you have a question, ask me. If you need to take an emergency
call, please quietly step outside of the classroom.
✷
Children/Friends: I am sorry, but it is school policy that you cannot bring
children or friends to class with you or ask them to wait for you in the hall.
Evaluation:
✷
Grammar Quizzes: There will be approximately 10 grammar quizzes throughout
the semester on the topics covered in class. Please see the Course Outline for
approximate dates.
✷
Reading Responses: Students will be given four articles to read and respond to.
The articles can be taken home, but the written responses will be done in class.
There are no make-ups for reading responses.
✷
Homework: Students are required to complete all homework and bring it with
them to class on the day that it is due. Homework is announced in class, so, if you
are absent, you must get the homework assignment from a classmate.
✷
Writing Packets: During the class, we will cover all of the steps of the writing
process (pre-writing, outlining, drafting, revising, etc.) for several styles, or
modes, of writing, and students will turn in packets that include all of their work
using the writing process and their final draft to be graded. No late work will be
accepted.
✷
Final Exam: The final exam will be given on Tuesday, June 9th at 10:30AM.
No make-ups will be allowed.
Grammar Quizzes
Reading Responses
Homework
Writing Assignments
Final Exam
90 –100%
80 – 89%
70 - 79%
60 - 69%
Below 60%
15%
15%
10%
35%
25%
=
=
=
=
=
A
B
C
D
F
Course Outline (SUBJECT TO CHANGE):
Week
Content
Introductions
1
DCS Chapter 1: The Paragraph
Important Information
Tue: Diagnostic Exam
2
DCS Chapter 1: The Writing Process
EG: Verb Tenses (ch. 1-4)
3
DCS Chapter 2: Narrative
EG: Verb Tenses Cont’d (ch 1-4)
EG: Subject-Verb Agreement (ch 6)
Tue: Quiz 1
4
DCS Chapter 2: Narrative Cont’d
EG: Adverb Clauses of Time (ch. 17)
Tue: Quiz 2
Thur: Reading Response
5
DCS Chapter 3: Description
EG: Adjective Clauses (ch 13)
Tue: Quiz 3
Thur: Writing Packet 1 Due
6
DCS Chapter 3: Description Cont’d
EG: Adjective Clauses Cont’d (ch 13)
EG: Coordinating Conjunctions (ch 16)
*Run-ons & Comma Splices
Tue: Quiz 4
7
DCS Chapter 4: Analyzing Reasons
EG: Adverb Clauses (ch 17)
Tue: Quiz 5
Thur: Reading Response, Writing
Packet 2 Due
8
DCS Chapter 4: Analyzing Reasons Cont’d
EG: Adverb Clauses Cont’d (ch 18)
9
DCS Chapter 4: Analyzing Reasons Cont’d
EG: Connectors (ch 19)
Tue: Quiz 6
10
DCS Chapter 5: Analyzing a Process
EG: Connectors Cont’d (ch 19)
Thur: Writing Packet 3 Due
11
DCS Chapter 5: Analyzing a Process Cont’d
EG: Nouns & Pronouns (ch 7 & 8)
Tue: Quiz 7
Thur: Reading Response
12
DCS Chapter 6: Comparing & Contrasting
EG: Noun Clauses (ch 12)
Tue: Quiz 8
Thur: Writing Packet 4 Due
13
DCS Chapter 6: Comparing & Contrasting
Cont’d
EG: Gerunds & Infinitives (ch 13)
Tue: Quiz 9
14
DCS Chapter 8: The Essay
EG: Modals (ch 9 & 10)
Tue: Quiz 10
Thur: Writing Packet 5 Due,
Reading Response
15
DCS Chapter 8: The Essay Cont’d
EG: Modals Cont’d (ch 9 & 10)
16
Finals Week
Tue: Final Exam, Tuesday June 9th
@ 10:30 AM