SYLLABUS
Jeffrey Snodgrass
Department of English
Prince George's Community College
Office: M3059
snodgrjl@pg.cc.md.us
Tentative Office Hours:
7-7:55;10-11 A.M., M-F
Or by appointment
Phone#: 301.386.7541
jsnodg1013@msn.com
English 100
Course Description [CD], Course Objectives[CO1-CO3], Policy Overview[P1-P6],
Grading[G1+G2], Resources[R1+R2]
REQUIRED
TEXTS:
Kelly & Lawton, Odyssey, 3rd ed.
Hacker, Writer's Reference, 5th ed.
Webster's New World Dictionary (ISBN:0671519824)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
[CD]A writing course designed for students who have progressed beyond the
development level but who need more writing practice before entering English
101. The course focuses on expository essays and paragraphs and provides
direct instruction in major rules of grammar, punctuation, and sentence
rhetoric. This course will not fulfill the English requirements for transfer
or graduation. Prerequisites: a satisfactory score on the placement test or a
P1 grade in DVE 001 or placement by essay at the time of placement testing.
COURSE OBJECTIVES & OUTCOMES:
[CO1-CO3] Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
1.
Write well-developed paragraphs of at least 150 words and essays of at
least 500 words in Standard English that have unified, restricted, and
precise thesis statements; clear topic sentences that support the thesis;
adequate development of topic sentences in paragraphs; and a variety of
sentence patterns and lengths.
2.
Write prose without fragments; run-ons (comma splices and fused
sentences); faulty parallelism; dangling and misplaced modifiers; or
incorrect subject/verb agreement, verb forms, agreement and case of
pronouns, possessive and apostrophes, punctuation, or spelling.
3.
Write either a summary or an analysis of a specific document in order to
demonstrate comprehension of reading materials.
POLICY OVERVIEW:
[P1]ATTENDANCE: Attendance means that you physically*/** come to class,
complete all required assignments, and participate. I expect you to attend
every class session. This course requires that skills build upon one another;
accordingly, your success depends upon class activities. However, if for
whatever reason you cannot come to class, you have three (3) excused absences.
Use them at your discretion. I do not need to know why you were absent unless
you exceed the (3) excused absences. On days when I ask you to bring a rough
draft, an absence will count twice. If you accumulate more than three
absences, see me at once. If any student misses a total of 25% of class
meetings throughout the semester, that student will fail, per departmental
policy. Weather Policy: The college provides the media with information
pertaining to weather. Please use the radio or television station most
convenient for you to check delayed opening and/or cancellation schedules. If
the college is open, regardless of the weather, then we will officially have
class. If the college opens late-later than our class time, meaning that our
class does not meet-then we will reschedule that class. The college has
reserved dates for make-up classes.
**************Coming to class late is an absence. If you are not seated and
ready to learn by the time I finish taking attendance, then you are
absent.**************
*Prior permission is required to use a tape recorder and you must be present to
use it.
[P2]DISABILITIES: If you have a diagnosed (**)physical or learning disability
that requires accommodation and you feel comfortable discussing it with me, you
may voluntarily see me after class or during office hours to discuss
arrangements.
[P3]DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR STATEMENT: Disruptive behavior is any behavior that
prevents learning. Disruptive behavior includes but is not limited to arriving
late for class, leaving class early, leaving class and coming back, disruptive
talking-either to another student or on a cell phone-cell phone ringers (all
cell phones should be turned off unless your job involves saving lives), pager
noise(s), music (earphones or not), and, in general, any sound or behavior that
prevents someone from learning. Physical violence will not be tolerated. The
college has a prepared, detailed statement concerning disruptive behavior. If
further clarification is required, please see me.
[P4]PLAGIARISM: Broadly defined, plagiarism is the use of someone else's
writing or ideas or work as if it were one's own. Plagiarism occurs sometimes
in researched writing when the student uses sources without adequate
documentation, and sometimes when a student puts his or her name on another
person's writing (this includes test answers) and submits it as original work.
Either one is dishonest scholarship and unacceptable at this college. This is
my personal statement on plagiarism. Below is a copy of the plagiarism
statement used by Prince George's Community College:
PLAGIARISM is using someone else's work (for instance, information from a book,
a magazine, a newspaper, or another student's essay) without giving credit to
the original source. Credit to the source must be given in either the text of
your paper or in a footnote or endnote.
There are five basic forms of plagiarism:
1. Copying a source word for word without using quotation marks and without
identifying the source.
2. Extensive borrowing of words and phrases from a source without using
quotation marks and without identifying the sources.
3. Too close paraphrasing.
4. Using other's ideas or information (including graphics, statistics,
observations, or research data and findings) without giving credit to the
source in the text of your paper in a footnote or endnote.
5. Submitting the work of someone else as your own.
Your instructor may wish to refine the above definition of plagiarism or add to
it. Use the space below to record any refinements or additions.
Be advised that plagiarism is dishonest and carries severe academic penalties,
which can include suspension from the college. In cases of plagiarism, an
instructor may take such action as he or she sees fit, including giving a
failing grade for the assignment and reporting the incident to the Office of
the Vice President for Student Services for disciplinary action.
[P5]DUE DATES: Written assignments are due on the assigned date, at the
beginning of class. If for any reason you cannot turn an assignment in to me
on time, make other arrangements no later than the due date. Late essays will
be lowered one letter grade per class each day over the assigned due date. You
must turn in all written assignments to receive a passing final grade. Submit
all written assignments, even if they fail due to missing a due date. An "F"
counts more than a "zero." I would rather assign a failing grade than a place
holder.
[P6]PAPER FORMATS: All formal written assignments should be typed or wordprocessor printed. Use 8 ½ by 11" white paper. Your margins should be one and
one-half inches on left and right sides and one inch on top and bottom. At the
top left of the first page, list your name (last, first), assignment (paper)
number, and the date; Do not use a title page of any kind (save a tree), nor
any form of binder. Please double-space your texts on one side of the page
only (in other words, do not print on the back of the page, too). If you
discover errors after printing your final copy, hand correct the errors in blue
or black ink. If you find more than five errors per page-or that extensive
corrections are needed-correct and reprint the paper. Staple all work together
in the upper left-hand corner before coming to class.
GRADING:
[G1]GRADING PERCENTAGES: Many factors determine your final grade.
observe these percentages:
Essays 1-3 (500-550 words/paper)
40%
2 Paragraphs
20%
3 Grammar Tests
30%
Midterm
5%
Final Exam
5%
I will
And while your official grade report does not reflect "shaded" grades, the
grading scale does. My grading scale is as follows:
A+
A
AB+
=
=
=
=
96.7-100
93.3-96.6
89.9-93.2
86.5-89.8
B
BC+
C
C-
=
=
=
=
=
83.1-86.4
79.7-83.0
76.3-79.6
72.9-76.2
69.5-72.8
D+
D
DF
=
=
=
=
66.1-69.4
62.7-66.0
59.3-62.6
00.0-59.2
[G2]The final grade is calculated as follows:
FINAL GRADE = ((40 * P)+(20 * PP)+(30 * GT)+(5 * M)+(5 * F))
100
P
PP
GT
M
F
=
=
=
=
=
Average of
Average of
Average of
Midterm
Final exam
paper grades
paragraph grades
Grammar Tests
grade
RESOURCES:
[R1]WRITING CENTER: The writing center is available to all students who seek
free tutoring. The staff at the center can help you organize your ideas,
present your information, and teach you ways to improve your writing outside of
the classroom. The staff will help you solve specific writing problems.
Please bring a copy of your assignment and any relevant texts to the center.
The writing center is located on the 3rd floor of Accokeek Hall. Call 301.3220748 to make a half-hour appointment.
[R2]COMPUTER RESOURCES: PGCC campus offers multiple labs for student use. The
hours and locations of computer facilities may change. Some facilities are
restricted. Lab locations and hours are available. See me for details.
†
PGCC provides computer labs to students.
Bring your own disk.