ENGL 10 – Essential Language Skills
SYLLABUS
ENGL 10 – Essential Language Skills
Course Description
This course explores an integrated approach to the mechanics of communication,
emphasizing the practical application of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Instruction
in sentence structure, verb-tense agreement, and punctuation strengthens the student’s
written and oral communication skills. 3 units
Prerequisites/Co-Requisites
None
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Write paragraphs using various formats (cause and effect, comparison/contrast,
persuasion, description, and narration).
2. Use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
3. Edit their written sentences and paragraphs.
4. Prepare and give a presentation.
Instructor Information
Teri Tosspon
Oct 2012 Term
Email: ttosspon@gmail.com
Resource website: http://ttosspon.wikispaces.com/English+10
Personal Phone: (949) 682-8374
Office hours: by appointment
Topics Covered
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Introduction: Importance of Communication, Classroom Policies, and Textbook
Recognizing the Elements of Good Writing
Working with Paragraphs: Topic Sentences and Controlling Ideas
Vocabulary
Working with Paragraphs: Supporting Details
Parts of Speech Review
Finding Subjects and Verbs in Simple Sentences
Making Subjects and Verbs Agree
Understanding Fragments and Phrases
Developing Paragraphs: Illustration
Combining Sentences Using Three Options for Coordination
Combining Sentences Using Subordination
Developing Paragraphs: Narration
Correcting Fragments and Run-Ons
Developing Paragraphs: Description
Choosing Correct Pronouns
Developing Paragraphs: Process Analysis
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Correct Capitalization and Punctuation
Working with Adjectives, Adverbs, and Parallel Structure
Practicing Irregular Verbs
Mastering Verb Tenses
Review of Paragraph Writing
Textbook(s)
Bundle ISBN: 1111289123
This bundle consists of:
Scarry, S. & Scarry, J. (2011). The Writer's Workplace with Readings: Building College
Writing Skills (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. ISBN 1439082103
Merriam-Webster. (2004). The Merriam-Webster English Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. ISBN
087779930X
Robitaille, J. & Connelly, B. (2003). Writer’s Resources CD-ROM 2.0 ( 2nd ed.). Belmont,
CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. ISBN 0838406742
Grading
Exams
Projects and Assignments
Participation
30%
60%
10%
A grade of 90% or higher earns an A grade; 80% to 89% earns a B grade; 70% to 79%
earns a C grade; 60% to 69% earns a D grade; 59% and below earns an F grade. A
minimum grade of C is required as designated in the Heald catalog in courses that are
prerequisites for advanced courses. Please note that Heald does not grant extra credit
points.
Course at a Glance
Course at a Glance*
RWS = READING WORKSHEET
COURSE AT A GLANCE
· Introductions
Week 1 · Importance of Communication
10/15
· Course Policies and Syllabus
“What is Intelligence” 669
Homework: Read Chapter 1
RWS “Strategies… Active Reader” 614
Writing 1: Reflection/Plans
All Homework is due next class meeting
· Recognizing Elements of Good Writing
Week 2
· Working with Paragraphs: Topic/ Controlling
10/22
Vocabulary Sign Up
· Homework: Read Chapters 2, 16
Writing 2: Money
RWS “Changing American Family, ” 674
· Parts of Speech Review
Week 3
· Subjects and Verbs
10/29
· Making Subjects and Verbs Agree
Homework Read Chapters 3, 4, 17
Writing 3- Changin
RWS “Dream Houses” pg 653
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· Subjects and Verbs
· Making Subjects and Verbs Agree
Week 4
· Developing Paragraphs: Illustration,
11/05
Homework Chapter 4
Read “Why Don’t These Women Just
Leave?” 682 Writing 4 &
Writing 5 Illustration (choose Assign
1, 2, 3, or 4 pgs 363-366)
*Test 1*-Chapters 1-4 – SCHEDULE FOR SAT 11-10
Week 5
11/12
Week 6
11/19
HOLIDAY! No class
· Understanding Fragments and Phrases
· Developing Paragraphs: Narration
Homework: Read Chapters 5, 18
Writing 6: Narration (choose Assign 1,
2, 3, or 4 pgs 381-384)
RWS “My Daughter Smokes,” 620
· Combining Sentences Using Coordination
· Combining Sentences Using Subordination
Week 7
Developing Paragraphs: Description
11/26
Homework: Read Chapters 6, 7, 19
Writing 7: Description (choose Assign
1, 2, 3, or 4 pgs 405-408)
RWS “A Day at the Theme Park” 631
Correcting Fragments and Run-Ons
Week 8 Final Paper Pre-Writing
12/03
Homework Read Chapter 8, 20
Final Paper – Rough Draft
(if you do not bring the rough draft
next class, you will lose 50 points)
Capitalization and Punctuation
Week 9 Developing Paragraphs (chpt 21): process
12/10
analysis
Homework Read Chapter 13, 21
Holiday/ School Break 12/17-01/01/2013
Week
10
Final Paper due to Tosspon @
ttosspon@gmail.com
Week 11 Review of Course Material
Final Exam
01/07
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* Instructor reserves the right to update or adapt this schedule based on the needs of the students, as
determined by assessments and need.
Instructor’s Biography
Teri Lynn Tosspon grew up on a farm in the middle of Nebraska. Daughter of a
farmer and an elementary school teacher, she fell in love with books, language, and
literature. After a study-abroad program at Oxford University (Mansfield College), Teri
acquired two masters degrees: in English from the University of Nebraska and in History
from University of California Irvine. She also has extensive coursework in Teaching English
as a Second Language from UC Irvine. Her research interests were in the cultural influences
of North Africa on early-modern (15th – 18th Century) England. Teri Tosspon has given
lectures on this topic at conferences around the country and has had pieces of creative
writing published. Her teaching methods focus on student-centered classrooms, interactive
strategies, and application to promote retention. In her free time, she writes, manages
websites, bakes and paints. Heald provides Teri with an opportunity to directly assist
students in a caring, compassionate environment. At Heald, she has taught Success,
Humanities, and all levels of English. Teri can be reached at ttosspon@gmail.com or via
phone at
(949) 682-8374 (between the hours of 6am and 11pm).
Heald Policy Reminders
Heald College policies can be found in the Heald Academic Catalog. Please review the
reminders below and, if needed, refer to the Academic Catalog for complete policy details.
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Attendance Standards
Students are expected to attend all classes as scheduled, to arrive on time, and to
remain until the end of each class. Absences should occur only in the event of illness or
unforeseen and unavoidable situations or emergencies. Students should inform their
instructors of planned absences in advance via email and/or telephone. Students may be
subject to additional attendance monitoring requirements and conditions as needed to
promote good attendance and academic success. A student must attend 50% of a
scheduled class session to be counted present. It is the responsibility of the instructor to
make this determination, and students who believe there was an error made in posting
attendance must speak directly with the instructor to resolve the issue.
This section applies only to residential courses offered on campus. The attendance
standards for online courses are comparable to traditional, classroom based attendance
standards; however, the means of measuring attendance have been adjusted for the
modality of the course.
All students are expected to attend classes beginning with the first day of each quarter.
Students who have not posted attendance in any class by their first class meeting after
the Add/Drop period will be unscheduled from their courses and withdrawn from school
and will need to apply for re-entry if they wish to return in another term.
Students who attend some, but not all, of their scheduled courses and do not notify
Academic Affairs in writing of their desire to be removed from scheduled but unattended
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courses during the Add/Drop period will be withdrawn from those courses after the first
scheduled meeting after the Add/Drop period. A grade of W will be assigned.
Students who have posted attendance in a term and then stop attending and fail to
withdraw from one or more, but not all, courses will receive the earned grade in each
course.
Students who miss excessive classes in individual courses must meet with their
instructors to determine the possibility of future success in the courses and may be
advised to drop the courses rather than fail them. The last day to drop a course and
receive a W grade is 11:59 pm on Thursday of the 10th week of the term.
Students who have posted attendance in a term but then fail to post attendance in any
of their classes for 14 consecutive calendar days will be withdrawn from school. W
grades will be assigned in all registered courses. In instances where the 14th
consecutive calendar day is not a scheduled class meeting for that student, the student
will be allowed the opportunity to post attendance at his/her next regularly scheduled
class meeting.
Saturdays and Sundays are included in the consecutive absence count. Holiday and
break days are excluded. The 14 consecutive calendar day count restarts on the first day
of each term in which the student is enrolled.
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Tardy or Early Departure from Class
There may be occasions when students enter after a class has started or may have
reason to leave before the end of a class. Students are expected to inform their
instructor in advance and enter or leave class quietly, minimizing any disruption.
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Makeup Policy
Each student has the opportunity to make up one missed major in-class graded event.
Your instructor will inform you of which graded events fall into this category in this
course.
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Out-of-Class Activities
One credit hour is equivalent to approximately 30 hours of academic activities over the
duration of an academic quarter. Such academic activities include class time,
homework, other assignments, lab activities, and/or internship/externship hours.
Generally, students should expect to spend two hours on class related activities for
every one hour spent in class.
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Grading
Some courses require a minimum grade of C because they are prerequisites to other
courses or are considered “major” courses. When a D grade is earned in one of these
courses, it needs to be retaken and passed with a minimum C grade. Only a single
repetition of the course may be counted toward qualifying enrollment status for Title IV
Financial Aid funding eligibility.
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Professional Appearance
At Heald College, student appearance standards have been established to be at or above
those normally required in a professional business, industry, or healthcare workplace.
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The dress standard helps prepare a student for the workplace and fosters a professional
appearance, which is a positive factor in job placement. The professional appearance
policy is discussed in the enrollment process and is available in the Academic Affairs
office. Following medical or dental professional dress practices, healthcare students are
required to wear appropriate medical or dental uniforms.
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Academic Integrity
True learning can take place only when students do their own work honestly, without
copying from other students or other sources. Heald College enforces the highest
standards of academic integrity, both to preserve the value of the education offered and
to prepare students to become productive members of the workforce and society. At
Heald, it is considered a breach of academic honesty for students to employ any form of
deception in the completion of academic work.
When a violation of this policy occurs, disciplinary action will be taken. Subject to the
severity of the violation or repeated/multiple occurrences, academic dishonesty may
result in an “F” grade for an assignment, project, assessment, or the course itself, or
may result in dismissal from the College. All violations of the Academic Integrity Policy
are documented and made a permanent part of a student’s record. Further information
is available from the Academic Affairs Department.
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Students with Disabilities
It is the student’s responsibility to make his/her disability known and to present certified
documentation of the disability. A student who chooses to make his/her disability known
and seeks accommodation should contact the Academic Affairs Department immediately
upon recognizing the need for an accommodation. The Director of Academic Affairs
(DAA) or DAA Designee will discuss the recommended accommodations with the student
to determine a reasonable means for delivering a specific accommodation.
Documentation of recommended accommodations from a physician or other healthcare
professional will be required prior to provision of the accommodation.
Instructor’s Classroom Policies
The fundamental guideline for this class is the ever popular golden rule: treat others as
you would like to be treated. Translated to our policies this means Respect. I require
that all students respect me, each other, and our classroom. This general principle
guarantees a pleasant and safe environment that promotes learning and the sharing of
ideas. In addition to this general rule we have 5 specific policies:
1. Be courteous and respectful of everyone and everything
2. Be prepared for class and actively participate (This includes completing assignments
and having required materials)
3. Raise hand to speak when others are speaking.
4. Electronic devices are not allowed in class unless they are specially needed and
approved by the instructor.
5. Food or drinks other than water in a re-sealable water bottle are not allowed.
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Late Work:
1. Any work turned in late will be graded down 10% for each day late. Thus, If an
assignment is due Monday at 9am and is turned in Tuesday at 8am, the
maximum grade for that assignment will be 90%.
ABSENCES ARE NOT AN EXCUSE. The technology today allows you to email the
work. You will still be docked for turning in work late.
2. Work must be turned in within one week (7 calendar days of the original due
date), or it will receive a 0.
3. Work that is submitted before or on the day it is due in class or via e-mail is not
considered late.
4. Late work should be submitted via email or to the LRC.
5. Work conducted during class that is missed cannot be made up under any
circumstances (except in the case of tests).
6. No late or make up assignments will be accepted after the 10th week of
class.
Resubmission of assignments. If a student is displeased with his/her grade on a
project or homework assignment, the student may request to re-do the assignment. It
MUST be an assignment the student turned in on time. Late work is not eligible for
resubmission. The student must follow the procedures below:
1. Contact the instructor via phone, text message, email, or web post about the
assignment
2. Make corrections to the assignment as suggested, instructed, or researched
3. Turn in the resubmitted work no later than 1 week after it was returned to the
student. Example if the student originally turned in the assignment on the 1 st,
received the assignment back on the 8th, the latest the work could be
resubmitted would be on the 15th.
Instructor Errors – I am human and will, therefore, make mistakes from time to time.
If you feel that I have made an error on grading, or failed to input the grade into the
Online Gradebook (myportal.heald.edu), then please write a note on the assignment in
question and place it back into the “Turn In Here” folder. If I make an error on a power
point, please let me know in a polite way (perhaps at a class break).
Portfolio
A portfolio represents the assembly of – and reflection upon – the depth and breadth of
learning that has taken place at Heald College during your program of study. It can be used
during the job interview process to highlight the skills and knowledge gained throughout
your education.
You should start saving key assignments from each class in your first quarter at Heald
College. You will select those documents that best highlight your skill development
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throughout your time at Heald. In general, the portfolio should contain evidence of learning
related to your program’s outcomes including written communication, business, computer
and keyboarding skills, as well as interpersonal skills and teamwork. Consult with your
instructor on strategies for collecting evidence.
We recommend creating both an electronic and paper storage system and storing evidence
as you complete each course in your program. You can create a folder in your P: drive titled
“Portfolio” in which to place portfolio documents. You can also buy a two-inch binder and
start saving paper copies of your work.
Turnitin
Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission
for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted
papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely
for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is
subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com site.
MLA Paper format should look like the text below (arrows placed to draw
attention):
Notice: if you have a quote of more than 4 lines, you will need to indent 1” additionally.
MLA format (required )
__12 point font
__Times New Roman,
__Double spaced
__1 inch margin
__ Last name/Page in upper
__Heading line 1 = Name
__Heading line 2 = teacher
__Heading line 3 = Class
__Heading line 4 = Date
__Heading line 5 = Title
__1st line of Each Paragraph
indented 0.5
If you are using the words, thoughts, ideas, or data of other people, you will need
to formally cite using the MLA style. MLA resources are available online
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ and www.easybib.com to help you in
your citations.
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I’m going to be absent, what should I do?
1. Contact Mrs. Tosspon by text or phone at 949-682-8374 or via email
ttosspon@gmail.com. Tell her when you will return to class, and what your plan is for
turning in work and picking up homework.
2. Check the class website for assignments:
http://ttosspon.wikispaces.com/English+10
3. Turn in all of your assignments - via email or to the LLRC. Remember, each DAY late
is -10% from the assignment grade. No work may be submitted more than 1 week
late.
4. If you do not understand the assignment, watch the powerpoint on the class website.
Re-read the assignment instructions. Then contact a classmate.
Classmate Contact list
Name
Phone
Email
I don’t know how to write a paper. What should I do?
1. Decide on a Topic & Controlling idea - See Chapter 16
2. Brainstorm - See Chapter 1
3. Thesis: Your thesis is your main point, summed up in a concise sentence that lets the reader know
where you're going, and why.
4. Outline: Sketch out your essay before straightway writing it out.
5. Write the essay! Now sit down and write the essay. The introduction should grab the reader's
attention, set up the issue, and lead in to your thesis. Your intro is merely a buildup of the issue, a stage
of bringing your reader into the essay's argument. DON’T FEEL PRESSURE HERE to come up with a “good”
intro. You’ll readdress your intro after you’ve written the essay.
6. Paragraphs: Each individual paragraph should be focused on a single idea that supports your thesis.
Begin paragraphs with topic sentences, support assertions with evidence, and expound your ideas in the
clearest, most sensible way you can. Speak to your reader as if he or she were sitting in front of you. In
other words, instead of writing the essay, try talking the essay.
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7. Conclusion: Gracefully exit your essay by making a quick wrap-up sentence, and then end on some
memorable thought, perhaps a quotation, or an interesting twist of logic, or some call to action. Is there
something you want the reader to walk away and do? Let him or her know exactly what .
8. Introduction: The title and first paragraph are probably the most important elements in your essay.
This is an essay-writing point that doesn't always sink in within the context of the classroom. In the first
paragraph you either hook the reader's interest or lose it. Of course your teacher, who's getting paid to
teach you how to write an essay, will read the essay you've written regardless, but in the real world,
readers make up their minds about whether or not to read your essay by glancing at the title alone.
9.
MLA Style: Format your essay according to the correct guidelines for citation. All borrowed
ideas and quotations should be correctly cited in the body of your text, followed up with a
Works Cited (references) page listing the details of your sources.
10. Language: Wait over night. Then revisit your essay. You're not done writing your essay until you've
polished your language by correcting the grammar, making sentences flow, incoporating rhythm,
emphasis, adjusting the formality, giving it a level-headed tone, and making other intuitive edits.
Proofread until it reads just how you want it to sound. Writing an essay can be tedious, but you don't want
to bungle the hours of conceptual work you've put into writing your essay by leaving a few slippy
misppallings and pourly wordedd phrazies.
Resources
Resource / Used for
Username
Password HINT
(write your username here)
(do not write your
password)
Firstname.Lastname
Can reset in LLRC
FirstinitialLastname+last3ofID
Password will be emailed to you
Email address
Will rec’ via email
NONE NEEDED
NONE NEEDED
NONE NEEDED
NONE NEEDED
NONE NEEDED
NONE NEEDED
Campus Computer Login
http://my.heald.edu
- Check grades, messages
http://www.turnitin.com
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Check for plagiarism
http://ttosspon.wikispaces.com
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Class materials: handouts,
assignments
http://healdcares.com
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Resources to help with finances,
counseling, legal help
http://www.easybib.com
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Website to help you create Works
Cited pages in MLA format
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