An Introduction to College Writing
Through Critical Reading, WR115.04
Fall 2011, Sept. 26 – Dec. 15, 2011
Mary Kelly-Klein, Instructor
Course Syllabus
Class time & Location Mondays & Wednesdays, 10 to 11:50 AM, AC 1657
Instructor Contact
Information
Office Hours, Humanities 2383: Mon 9:15-9:45 AM & 12:30-2:30 PM; Tue 1-3 pm;
Wed 9:15-9:45; Thu 1-2:30; Fri 9:15-10:15 & 10:15-11:15 by appointment only
Email: mary.kellyklein.mhcc@gmail.com (preferred) & mary.kelly-klein@mhcc.edu
(campus)
Office phone: 503-491-7126; text messages: 503-784-1498
Course Description,
4 Credits
This course introduces students to college-level writing that is informed by critical
thinking and the ideas of others as found in texts. The primary focus is on writing
short analytical, expository essays based on readings, outside materials and, to a
lesser extent, personal experience. Summary writing, organization, development,
sentence style, grammar, and beginning documentation also are stressed.
Information literacy is introduced. WR115 is a preparatory course for students who
need to improve their writing skills before they begin the standard transfer college
composition sequence. Prerequisite: Placement in WR115 is based on the college
writing placement (CPT) test scores, a grade of C or better in WR090, a grade of C or
better in both ENL201R and ENL201W, or instructor permission. Proficiency Required:
Reading, Writing.
Official MHCC Course
Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the students will be able to:
1. Academic Discourse and Conventions
A. Engage in and value a respectful and free exchange of ideas
B. Participate in class discussion and activities
C. Explore varying points of view through reading college-level texts and writing
D. Practice active reading skills, including: annotation, cultivation/development of
vocabulary, identification of the thesis and main ideas of source material
E. Listen to, reflect upon, and respond to the ideas of others in discussion and in written
work
F. Use appropriate technologies in the service of writing and learning. For example: use
word processing tools to prepare and edit formal writing assignments (spell
check/grammar check, find and replace); understand the limitations of such tools;
locate course materials and resources online; and use online communication tools
such as e-mail
G. Practice using Edited Standard Written English to address an academic audience
2. Organization, Thesis and Development
A. Foreground the importance of focus, organization, and logical development of written
work
B. Try more than one organizational strategy in essay drafts
2
3.
4.
5.
D.
C. Track evolution of ideas in essay drafts and choose the best from among them
D. Link essay paragraphs to thesis/main idea including the use of transitional phrases or
cues
E. Write unified and coherent paragraphs
F. Use summary, paraphrase, and quoting as part of a writing assignment
G. Develop the ability to integrate and connect a writer's ideas with one's own ideas
Audience, Purpose, and Voice
A. As a writer, develop awareness of audience and begin to consider the readers' needs
Writing Process
A. Use informal writing to explore the ideas of others
B. Use prewriting tools such as brainstorming and free writing to develop topics and
purpose
C. Develop paragraphs and short essays through a flexible writing process that proceeds
from discovering ideas through drafting, peer review, revising, editing and
proofreading
D. Work effectively and collaboratively with other writers to evaluate and revise essays,
sharing work in process and providing constructive feedback to others according to
established guidelines
E. Begin to appraise own writing skills and writing process, identifying strengths and
addressing weaknesses including revising essay drafts to emphasize thesis/main idea
and foreground the relevance of evidence
F. Improve essays through revision incorporating instructor feedback
G. Discover available writing assistance/resources
Research and Documentation
A. Objectively summarize source material
B. Weave a relevant quotation from source material into an essay
C. Practice crediting source material using MLA style
Maintain academic honesty by acknowledging all sources in written work, beginning with
use of signal phrases
WR115: Introduction to College Writing with Aplia
Stephen McDonald | William Salomone
Cengage Learning (Publisher)
Required Text
This textbook is a custom edition of The Writer’s Response, 5th Edition (ISBN-10: 1133-23349-X) and is available in the MHCC Bookstore.
Other Requirements
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About the Course
USB flashdrive (for saving your work) and access to the internet, a computer,
and a printer
A looseleaf binder or portfolio of at least 1.5 to 2.0 inches deep with 8 or more
dividers
An email address that clearly indicates who you are by name (e.g.,
firstname.lastname@email.com)
In this class you will read critically so you can write focused (3) formal summaries
and (4) essays. You will learn an essay-writing process that is systematic, well
organized, and results in essays that introduce, analyze, explain, develop, and
support a main idea in five or more paragraphs. You will write to clearly make a
point, clearly communicate your ideas, and clearly inform your reader. You will
engage in review and revision of your papers because, as you will discover, you will
learn more from reviewing and revising your work than you will in doing the original
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writing. Moreover, you will learn to make grammar, spelling, and punctuation serve
you and your communication needs—not the other way around! And finally, you
will learn and use more complex vocabulary along the way. You will learn to use and
evaluate web-based resources (Aplia, the Portal and the Internet) and library
resources to meet your information and research needs. You will use at least one
writing conference to improve your work, either with me or with a writing tutor in
the Learning Success Center.
Unless otherwise indicated, all of your assigned written work must be typed, doublespaced, printed with a standard non-italic 10- or 12- point font, and have margins
between 1” and 1.25 inches. Indent every paragraph. Your name and page number
must be in the upper right corner of each page.
Required Writing
Format
Writing assignments that are not typed or are submitted in a different format will be
returned to you ungraded. Not knowing how to type and/or not having a
computer/printer/Internet connection at home is not an acceptable reason for
submitting handwritten papers in lieu of typed ones. You have the option of using
the excellent computers and printers on campus in order to learn to type/keyboard
and to complete your work. If you need help with the writing format, please ask.
Grammar homework and first drafts may be handwritten.
The Classroom
Learning Environment
The classroom learning environment is critical to the scholarship of all members of
the classroom community. Our most important task, of course, is to come to class
prepared for the day’s lessons and learning experiences. But aside from being
prepared, there is much that each of us can do to make our classroom learning
environment as good as it can get. In general, it is important that all members of
the community stay focused on the learning tasks at hand, and at the same time, be
aware of the learning needs of other members of the community. This can be a
challenge because so much goes on in our classroom during a typical class session.
Indeed, much of our work will be hands-on—workshops, discussion, in-class group
exercises, and the like. For this reason, we need to have a few rules, rules that I will
politely and firmly enforce.
The most basic rule is that all members of the class behave civilly and respectfully
towards others. We will maintain courtesy in all interactions with others, we will
disagree respectfully by using “I” rather than “you” statements, and we will dialogue
with each other for mutual understanding. After all, a college education is not about
convincing others about the rightness of a particular opinion as much as it is about
understanding other points of view. This requires active, attentive listening to
others, which is best facilitated by another rule: no side conversations, texting, or
telephone calls during class. It also means that scholars should raise their hands
when they wish to ask a question or make a point during class discussion. I will
attempt to make sure all voices are heard in our classroom learning community.
Arriving reasonably on time and exiting quietly if you must leave during class,
eating quietly and cleaning up after yourself, and organizing yourself before class
so you don’t distract others by shuffling papers around will help all of us stay focused
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on our work. Similarly, please do not sleep in class, do homework for other classes,
pack up your things before the end of class, or make noises that annoy others.
Please be aware that students with hearing aids—which are nearly invisible these
days—have a great deal of trouble with background noise and the side conversations
of others in class. This is because modern hearing devices automatically tune to
human voices, which can create a nightmare scenario for these students.
Distractible students similarly have trouble staying focused by classroom noise and
side conversations.
Electronic devices in the classroom require special rules—for a whole variety of
reasons. Cell phones, earbuds/earphones, listening devices, and like electronic
devices are to be out of sight and silenced while class is in session, unless you have
cleared it with me first. If a cell phone or other device is in evidence during an exam
or quiz, you will lose all points for that exam/quiz. Computers in use during class
time are to be kept on pages having to do with the course. Internet cruising,
checking email, Facebook and similar pages, and other off-topic use of the Internet
will result in loss of computer privileges for the term.
And just so you know, one the most frequent behavior-related complaints I hear
each term has to do with off-topic use of laptops and netbooks, which are highly
distracting to others. As human beings, our eyes are drawn to changing light and
moving images on a screen. The second most frequent complaint has to do with side
conversations and classroom noise. Students who ask another student what is going
on in class are guaranteeing that the other student (and everyone within earshot)
will miss whatever is going on while the question was being asked and answered. In
this instance, everyone loses. A better solution is for the questioner to ask the
instructor the question, or if this is inappropriate, jot the question down and ask
later.
Attendance Policy
Attendance is important. Absences will result in reduced learning, lower
achievement, and lower grades. In-class sessions are heavily hands-on, with
workshops, in-class writing and practice, and discussion dominating class time. This
type of learning is nearly impossible to make up, so strive to be in class for every
class session.
 All absences result in a loss of attendance and participation credit for the
day. ABSENCES, QUIZZES, HOMEWORK, and DAILY WORK cannot be made up.
However, you may use extra-credit work (see below) to re-coup the points
for one quiz, one absence, and one homework assignment.
 Except in rare or extreme circumstances, there are no excused absences in
this class.
 If you must miss more than 3 days of class for any reason, you MUST CONFER
with me in order to successfully complete all components of this course.
 Please notify me by email whenever an emergency occurs or should you
need to miss two or more classes in a row. I will also work with you to help
you stay current in the class in the event that you have an illness or family
emergency.
Three (3) tardies will be treated as equivalent to one absence. You will be
considered tardy if you are ten (10) minutes late.
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Homework
Homework assignments are due at the beginning of each class, although they will
not be collected until the end of each class session. You must bring a paper copy of
assignments to class on the due date or your work will be considered late. You
should save all of your work in one of the following formats: rtf (Rich Text Format),
doc or docx (Microsoft Word Document and Open Office). Your term will be quite
busy, so I do not allot any time for you to leave class in order to print out your
papers. Please plan ahead if you need to use one of the College’s excellent printers.
Please know that you can obtain excellent help from the staff of the Learning
Success Center’s computer lab staff if you do not know how to save your work.
The purpose of doing most homework assignments is to prepare you for the learning
that you will do in that class on that day. Not having your work with you will impede
your learning, so make it a point to bring your flashdrive, your homework, your
portfolio, and your textbook with you to class every class period.
Although your homework assignments and due dates are posted on the portal under
What’s Due When, both the due dates and the assignments themselves are subject
to change. I will attempt to keep this schedule current, but it is your responsibility to
keep track of these changes.
Late Work Policy
The purpose of homework is two-fold: to extend in-class learning and to prepare to
continue learning. If homework is not done in a timely manner, both of these
purposes are lost. Hence, with the exception of your writing work (summaries and
final drafts of papers), I do not accept late homework. Please see me if you miss
handing in an assignment and would like to make it up with extra-credit work
(below, under “Extra-Credit”).
Although I will accept late writing work (summaries and final drafts of essays), please
be aware of the fact that this work will not receive as much feedback from me as
work that is submitted on time and that LATE SUMMARY OR ESSAY WORK WILL LOSE
ONE LETTER GRADE FOR EACH CLASS MEETING IT IS LATE.
Please contact your kind and understanding instructor if you are having a problem
with getting your assigned work completed/turned in. I will work with you to help
you bring your study and organization habits up to a standard so that you can
complete and submit your work in a timely fashion.
Tutoring
You can significantly boost your performance in WR115 by working with a tutor in
the Learning Success Center, which is located on the third floor of the Library. Your
best bet for getting the help you need is to schedule an appointment with a tutor
soon after you receive a writing assignment. Please be aware of the fact the tutors
are there to help you with the writing process and to help you understand
grammatical rules. Please do not use the tutors for proofreading your papers;
proofreading is a skill that improves with practice, practice that you should do on
your own. Again, if you have questions about correctness issues that are interfering
with your ability to proofread, please do ask a tutor (or me) for help.
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Bring the following with you when you visit a tutor:
 The written directions I provide you for every writing assignment
 Drafts and materials required for completion of the assignment (blueprints,
guides)
 The Extra-Credit Form (posted on the Portal) for the tutor to complete
 Your textbook
Extra-Credit
Extra-credit can be submitted until December 1st. Extra-credit can boost your final
grade by up to half of a letter grade. You may earn extra-credit points in four ways:
1. Some of your assignments will carry extra credit opportunities. These
will be clearly indicated.
2. You will earn extra-credit when you use the Learning Success Center
tutoring services. Please use the form provided on the Portal.
3. You may write a review of a book, play, movie, outdoor event,
recreational area, art exhibits, or restaurant. See the Extra-Credit
PowerPoint on the portal.
4. You may complete a service-learning project. Since you will need at least
8 weeks to complete this project, please schedule a conference with me
in the early weeks of the term.
Extra-credit work does make a difference—and it all adds up! Extra-credit will NOT be
accepted as a substitute for a summary or an essay.
Evaluation & Grades
In this course, evaluation is a process that involves the instructor, the student, and
the learning community. We will use two different but related forms of evaluation in
this course, grades and rubric scores. You will need to earn a C or better in WR115 to
move up to WR121. In order to receive a C or better in WR115, you will need to (1)
earn 70% overall, and (2) meet the writing standard for the course, determined by
the Writing 115 Scoring Rubrics (distributed and used in in-class workshops and
posted on the Portal).
GRADES
Grading is one type of evaluative process that assigns a letter grade to a level of
effort and performance. You will earn a letter grade for each graded assignment and
for the course according to the follow scale:
A -- 90-100
B -- 80-89
C -- 70-79
D -- 60-69 F -- 59 and below
This course will utilize a percentage system, outlined below.
Learning Activity
Percentage
Attendance & Participation CANNOT BE MADE UP
Summaries (3 summaries)
Essays (4 essays)
Homework & Aplia CANNOT BE MADE UP
Quizzes CANNOT BE MADE UP
Extra-Credit and Service-Learning
10%
15%
50%
15%
10%
Up to 5% of
final grade
100%
TOTAL
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Many homework assignments will be scored with an (work is complete, work
shows a good effort, and directions were followed), + (in addition, work is typed
and correct), - (work is incomplete, contains more than a few errors, and/or
directions were not followed).
The grade you earn in this class is reflective of how carefully you review your own
work, how complete it is, and how closely you follow directions. Please know that it
is your responsibility to keep track of your grades. If you detect an error, please do
let me know. I maintain an electronic record as well as a manual one in an oldfashioned grade book, but I have been known to make recording or computational
errors! I will be happy to make the necessary repairs.
Rubric Scores
Rubrics are scoring devices that allow you and your instructor to measure where you
are with your writing. Your rubric score must average 3 or above in order for you to
progress to WR121.
1
2
3
4
5
Beginning
learner
(Beginning to
learn)
Approaching
the standard
(Some
mastery)
Meets
standard
(Basic task
mastery)
Meets
standard
(Skilled task
mastery)
Exceeds
standard
(Highly skilled
task mastery)
All of your summary and essay work will be evaluated using rubrics like these. I will
apply the above rubric differently for each lesson. In general, I will expect more of
you as the term progresses. For example, while your initial summary work will be
expected to meet Standard 3, later summary work will need to meet Standard 4 on
one or more parameters. Throughout the course I will look at a number of criteria
when I evaluate your work—evidence of critical thinking, skill in organizing and
developing your ideas, use of standard edited English to communicate your ideas
correctly and effectively, adherence to the required format, use of evidence,
examples, and scenarios in developing your ideas, and the like.
I encourage you to schedule writing conferences with me so that your work can
receive one-on-one focused attention, both during the writing process and during the
revision process. Many students report that the writing conferences, which usually
last around 20 minutes, were critical to their understanding of the writing and
review process. Most students who regularly conference with their writing
instructors pass their courses with good to excellent grades
Although evaluation is a shared responsibility, in the end I will make the decision
about how well prepared you are for the challenges of college writing (WR121).
Remember: (1) writing is really thinking on paper; and (2) critical thinking is the
foundation of a good college-level writing. And as you know well, a house is only as
good as its foundation!
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Prewriting, Revision
Rewriting, and ProofReading
Pre-writing, revision, rewriting, and proofreading your work are essential parts of the
writing process. It is only by critically reviewing your ideas—essentially how you
have organized, developed, and supported them—that you can take charge of how
well you write.
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You are required to participate in the pre-writing process—including peer
review—for all of your papers.
This pre-writing process includes meeting with your writing group or peer
review partner. If you are having difficulty meeting with your reviewer,
please see me.
And to this end, you are required to keep and submit drafts for each paper. I
will provide you with instruments for this purpose.
You are encouraged to re-write your first summary and your first essay.
Re-writes will NOT be possible for subsequent papers. This course moves too
fast to accommodate re-writes for your second and third summaries and
second and third essays. However, you are encouraged to schedule essay
preview conferences for subsequent essays. This means that you and I will
preview your paper together before you turn it in.
Please be aware that most of your college instructors will not allow rewrites; once
you have submitted a paper, it’s a “done deal.”
Disability Services
Please allow the kind and understanding people in the Disabilities Services Office to
guide you in documenting your disability and in helping you attain the
accommodations that you need to succeed in college. Please do contact this office at
503-491-6923, 503- 491-7670 (TDD), 503-491-7549 (FAX), or stop by to make an
appointment. I understand how difficult and scary it may be to contact this office,
and as a result, I am most happy to help you, and to this end, I will accompany you, if
you like, to your first visit. In fact, I would be honored to do so.
Syllabus Supplement
Please know that you are responsible for understanding the Syllabus Supplement,
located on the portal. It contains more vital information, such as detailed
information about plagiarism, the use of another’s words or ideas without
attribution. If you do not understand something, ask! And please remember that
revisions to this syllabus and its supplement (should they be necessary) will be
promptly posted on the portal.
A Final Word
The only silly question is the one NOT asked! So please do
ask—either in class, in an email, in a text message, by calling
me, leaving a voice message, or best, by stopping by my office.
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