ENC 1101
Rocky Marcus
Freshman English I
COURSE DESCRIPTION
ENC 1101 is a three credit expository writing course for first-year college students. According
to HCC Catalog, this course will focus “on the writing process of various expository methods
with consideration of the writer’s purpose, limitations of time, and audience. Students must
write unified coherent essays that include theses and introduction, body, and conclusion
paragraphs. Students must demonstrate effective use of word choice, employ conventional and
effective sentence structure, and observe conventions of standard English grammar and usage.”
The main emphasis of study and practice is upon writing three-part essays which display the
conventions of Standard American English. Lectures, discussions and workshops will focus
upon the movement from topic to completed essay. Sentence structure, diction and mechanics
will be discussed relevant to the drafting/revising/editing stages of the writing process.
Prerequisite: A satisfactory score on the HCC placement test or ENC 0020 with a grade of C or
better. College level reading and writing skills are required.
This is a Gordon Rule course and requires a minimum of 6,000 words of writing.
TEXTS
Harbrace Handbook, 16th Ed
At a Glance: Essays, 3nd Edition, by Lee Brandon
Students should also bring a paperback dictionary and thesaurus (“electronic” versions are
acceptable) to class.
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
The following outline presents minimal requirements for every Freshman English ENC 1101
class taught at HCC.
I. Placement
In addition to a mandatory placement as required by tests and policies established by the
Florida State Board of Education, the English faculty will require writing samples from students
enrolled in ENC 1101. The writing samples will be required during the first week of class, and
the students who demonstrate deficiencies on the writing samples will be advised to adjust into
an appropriate writing skills class (such as ENC 0010 or 0020).
II. Course Competencies and Course Objectives
A. The students shall demonstrate competency of the following basic rules of grammar
and mechanics exhibiting conventions of standard American English grammar and
usage:
1. Standard verb forms
2. Agreement between subject and verb, pronoun and antecedent
3. Proper case forms
4. Standard practice for spelling and capitalization
5. Punctuation
B. The student shall demonstrate competency of the following writing skills as required
by the Florida State Board of Education:
1. Organization
a. Selecting a topic which lends itself to expository writing
b. Determining the purpose of writing
c. Limiting the subject to a topic which can be developed adequately
within the requirements of time, purpose and audience
d. Formulating a thesis statement which reflects the purpose
e. Developing the thesis statement in the following ways:
(1.) Providing adequate support which reflects the ability to
distinguish between generalized and concrete evidence
(2.) Arranging the main ideas and supporting details in an
organizational pattern appropriate to the expositional purpose
(3.) Writing unified prose in which all supporting material is
relevant to the thesis statement
(4.) Writing coherent prose, providing effective transitional devices
which clearly reflect the organizational pattern and the
relationships of the parts
2. Effective word choice
a. Using words which convey the denotative (specific) and connotative
(associational) meanings required by context
b. Avoiding slang, jargon, cliches and pretentious expressions
c. Avoiding wordiness
3. Conventional sentence structure
a. Placing modifiers correctly
b. Coordinating and subordinating sentence elements according to their
relative importance
c. Using parallel expressions for parallel ideas
4. Effective sentence structure
a. Using a variety of sentence structures
b. Avoiding unnecessary use of passive constructions
c. Avoiding awkward constructions
d. Avoiding fragments, comma splices and fusions
5. Consistent point of view
6. Proofreading and revision
C. The student will write several well-organized compositions which
demonstrate knowledge of the techniques necessary for writing an expository
paper. The compositions may be definition, classification, cause and effect,
comparison/contrast or topic-based expository writing.
D. The student will demonstrate mastery of impromptu timed writing.
III. Evaluation
A. The student will demonstrate ability to do the following:
1. Formulate a thesis statement
2. Develop an outline
3. Write a 4-6 paragraph 3-part theme with an adequate introductory
paragraph, sufficiently supported and developed body paragraphs, and an
effective concluding paragraph
4. Use appropriate transitional devices
5. Use standard English grammar
B. The student will meet the Gordon Rule requirement of writing 6,000 words or more
of original nonfiction prose.
SPECIAL NOTE: Instructor will focus upon composition and grammar skills in order to prepare
students for the CLAST and for the objective themes they will write during the remainder of
their college experience.
CONFERENCES
Some conferences will occur during class. At other times, in-office conferences will be required.
WRITING PROJECTS
This course requires written compositions totaling 6,000 words. Students will write two rough
drafts of 500 words and one rewrite of 500 words that will be critiqued but not graded. Students
will also write one in-class essay (500 words), four out-of-class essays (500 words), and one inclass final essay exam (500 words) that will be graded. Two essays must be professionally
reviewed, and one must be peer reviewed. These essays will be based upon instructor-approved
topics and will reflect various organizational strategies (see weekly schedule). These essays may
be rewritten (within one week) for a higher grade. Rewrites for an A must be both peer reviewed
and professionally reviewed. No rewrites will be accepted after the final exam. Any rewrites of
an in-class essay must be scheduled with the instructor either in the test center or during office
hours. Students will also draft in-class (timed) compositions based upon instructor-provided
topics.
GRADING
Each essay will be graded holistically. Essay grades will be based on continuity, coherence, and
unity as defined by the student’s thesis statement (see sections II. B. 1-6 of instructional
objectives) as well as any grammatical errors (see sections II. A. 1-5 of instructional objectives).
There will be 10 announced grammar quizzes of 10 points each. These quizzes may be retaken
for a higher grade. The cumulative grade of the grammar quizzes will equal one essay grade.
The course grade will be determined by dropping the lowest “essay” grade and averaging the
remaining ones.
Scale: A=Excellent (100-90), B=Good (89-80), C=Average (79-70), D=Below
Average (69-60), F=Failing (59-0)
PARTICIPATION
Attendance will be taken at every class meeting. (Be sure to initial the roll!)
Students are expected to participate in every class meeting. In the case of emergencies, three
nonparticipation days are allowed without penalty. A student may turn in a 250- word handwritten journal entry (exploring some aspect of grammar or rhetoric) for every nonparticipation
day after the allowed three or the instructor will drop the student’s highest “essay” grade one
letter grade for each day of nonparticipation.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Plagiarism of written work is prohibited in any form. Any infraction will result in the student
receiving a grade of F for the work. There will be no rewrites allowed due to failure for
plagiarism. Any student failing a paper due to plagiarism will be required to write all further
class papers in an in-class/test center setting.
ACCOMODATION: If, to participate in this course, you require an accommodation due to a
physical disability or learning impairment, you must contact the Office of Services to Students
with Disabilities. You may reach this office by phone: (813) 757-2208 or TDD: (813) 7572166.
WITHDRAWAL DATE noted in course schedule (see daily schedules)
SUCCESS CENTER: A Writing Center and Tutoring Service—PSCI 108
(Walk in or call 757-2202 for an appointment.)