COMPOSITION II
English 102 (Three Credits)
Great Basin College - Room Three
Interactive Sending Site
Monday & Wednesday 1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Instructor: Susan Davis
Fall 2013
Office Hours: By appointment. 635-2664
Texts:
How To Lie With Statistics
ISBN # 9780393094268
Huff
(Required)
The Scott, Foresman Writer 5th Edition
ISBN # 9780205773206
MLA: The Easy Way (MLA Update)
ISBN #9780923568955
Ruszkiewicz
(Required)
Houghton
(Required)
Catalogue Description:
Continuation of English 101. Emphasizes writing from sources, argument, the investigative
paper, and research techniques. Prerequisite: English 101.
Course Description:
Composition II focuses on research. We will use many forms of research – field, library,
Internet – while exploring a variety of topics This enables us to think about and to synthesize
information from multiple sources and to incorporate that information into our academic writing.
Course Objectives
This course addresses the major goals of research-based writing:
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to enjoy the academic project of research for its own sake;
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to read with critical facility, especially for future academic work;
English 102 concentrates on learning to read closely and reflectively and on integrating
the material that you’ve read into an intelligent, accessible written version for another
audience which will include students and the teacher.
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
to produce clear, concise, interesting writing.
English 102 recognizes that we can all write, but that all of us can always get better at it.
It is both a skill and an art that requires the regular practice that perhaps only a writing
course provides.
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to understand and practice the key academic research skill: synthesis.
Synthesis is that technique which combines the material discovered during research
into a new, coherent piece of writing.
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to understand the use and misuse of statistics.
English 102 offers the perspective that, although research involves statistical data, not all
of that is reported in good faith or with clear motive. Researchers must be able to
evaluate the use of statistics and to recognize the inflated, sensational, or oversimplified
use of them. The text How to Lie with Statistics has been chosen to further our
understanding of mass data.

to learn to use documentation formats, esp. MLA & APA guidelines
Writers are expected to follow standardized footnote and reference formats, but English
102 reviews each of these two widely used, academic, professional set of conventions
and requires their appropriate use in assigned papers.
Methods of Instruction:
Students will be given a variety of methods of instruction. These methods will include
classroom discussion, lecture, the practice of key writing standards, cooperative learning,
testing, assigned reading and writing, individualized tutoring as well as whole class
delivery, and student led classroom activities.
Tutoring:
There will be a tutor available to assist with your papers and assignments. You are not
required to use the tutor, but having her give you ideas or tips about your writing can be
invaluable.
Class Assignments:
You will be given an assignment schedule which sets the assignments and due dates for this
class. Please take care of this schedule as it will assist you in determining or remembering the
pertinent paperwork for this class. Remember, assignments are due the day they are assigned. I
will allow you the opportunity to turn an assignment in late on the day it is due, but no later. See
me if you have any questions about this policy.
Grading:
Five essays:
 Essay #1: The Contract Proposal  1 page (5% of final grade)
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Essay #2: The Clarification Project (reflective reading response)  3-5 pages (10%)
Essay #3: The Information Project (informative report)  6 pages min. (15%)
Essay #4: The Exploration Project (exploratory essay)  6 pages min. (15%)
Essay #5: The Working Document (research paper with a purpose)  6-8 pages (20%)
In-class participation and writing – (35%).
Total: 100%
Attendance:
Students are expected to attend classes regularly. You are allowed three absences from class
in this semester. If you accumulate a fourth absence, you will be dropped from this class. I will
take emergencies into consideration and expect to talk with you if you have an emergency
situation which results in an absence. I also expect that you will be prompt in your class
attendance. Two tardies will equal an absence, and seven tardies will result in your being
dropped from this course. This policy is taken from Great Basin College’s attendance policy.
Make-up work will be allowed after an absence. Please ask me about the work you need to make
up prior to your absence or after you come back. It is your responsibility to get your make up
work.
Class Rules:
I do not have many classroom rules, but those I do have are important. You may bring cell
phones to class, but make sure they are on vibrate. If the call is important, please take it outside
of the classroom. Texting will not be allowed in class except by permission of the instructor.
Next, make sure that you are respectful to other members of our class. Finally, make sure the
work you do is your own. You may ask for help from others, but the final product should be
yours. If the final product is the work of another person, GBC rules state that you may fail the
assignment, and/or the class as well as be removed from the institution as a student if the
infraction(s) are serious enough. Please take this issue seriously as it has already had
repercussions in other classes.
Taking a class like this one has its own issues. Please do not be afraid to ask questions. It
is better to ask questions then take a poor grade on a paper. Also, make sure that you attend the
entire class each time you come. Unless you make arrangements with me, if you leave early, it
will be counted as an absence. Please confine conversation with other students to appropriate
times in the classroom period.
Withdrawal Information:
If you choose to withdraw from this class with a W, it must be done by October 28, 2013.
Withdrawing from this class after October 28 will result in a grade of an F for this class. This is
according to GBC policy. Other dates for withdrawals that affect financial returns are located in
your class schedule booklet available at the Battle Mountain GBC office. If you have any
questions about this, please do not hesitate to ask.
Policy of Academic Integrity:
Of special concern in a research semester is your attention to GBC’s policy of academic
integrity: students are expected to be honest. If ideas are borrowed, the source must be given
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credit. Internet sources are subject to documentation as well as careful evaluation. We will
address the matter of unintentional plagiarism in class, but it occurs when a student’s paraphrase
is too close to the original or a quote from a source is not properly cited. Plagiarism is a
violation of the standards of intellectual honesty. Students who violate such standards are subject
to consequences ranging from failing an assignment to dismissal from the institution.
If you have concerns or academic problems, or if you feel you need special assistance, please
discuss all matters with me first and as soon as you can. Check the GBC General Catalogue
pertaining to the procedure to follow should you need to protect your rights in any class.
Confidentiality:
Students have a right to expect that information pertaining to their academic status in a
particular class, their attendance, or any other information concerning classroom work or
behavior is confidential. No student will give academic or behavioral information about another
student from this class to anyone in or outside of this English 102 class for any reason. The
consequences for doing this can be serious. I have a responsibility to report any such incidences,
and it is possible for personnel from the Elko campus to become involved if the situation
warrants which could result in potentially severe consequences.
Learner Outcomes: General Education and English 102
1. Communication Skills
Written Communication
Students who complete general education courses will demonstrate the ability to use written
communication skills in the following ways.
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Choose essay/paper format appropriate to audience and purpose.
Choose diction and style appropriate to audience and purpose.
Integrate evidence, examples, and details to support the central idea or thesis of the text.
Develop coherent and effective paragraphs.
Use standard edited English and the documentation style appropriate to the discipline.
Accessing Information
Students who complete General Education courses will demonstrate the ability to access
information.
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Collect information from electronic, print and live sources
Evaluate the validity of the information
Organize information into usable format
Document sources of information
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Reading Skills
Students who complete General Education courses will
 Adjust reading speed according to genre, difficulty of text, and reading purpose.
 Recognize functions of various selections of text, i.e. offering evidence to support a
point
 Identify the purpose of the author as presented in a text
 Summarize and /or paraphrase main points
 Define vocabulary
 Identify and explain cultural codes in texts
 Create new text which integrates and synthesizes pre-existing knowledge and
knowledge gained from reading in the writing of new texts (papers, essays, and the
like)
Measurement of learner outcomes
100 % of English 102 students will produce research papers which fulfill the above standards as
measured by a standard rubric developed by the English department; the rubric is attached to the
syllabus (rubric numbers 1 – 11). In addition, individual classroom assessments such as testing,
peer editing, teacher evaluation and classroom assignments are developed to test these items.
Students will complete these elements successfully 90% of the time.
2. Critical Thinking
Quantitative Ability
Identify problems that require mathematical solutions
Apply appropriate mathematical operations to problems and achieve correct solutions
Measurement of learner outcomes
100 % of students will read How to Lie With Statistics and analyze the statistical content of an
article chosen from a current publication, applying such concepts as the base for calculating
percentages, calculation of mean, median and mode averages, and size of sample successfully at
a 90% rate.
Reasoning and Independent Thought
Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of multiple sources in synthesis exercises and to identify
connections between the theses they are developing and those of their sources.
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Measurement of learner outcomes
In synthesis assignments, 100 % of students must create clear theses and utilize opposing
arguments to strengthen their own positions successfully 95% of the time.
Scientific Understanding
Apply the scientific method to problem solving and understanding, and to utilize the results to
make predictions and analyze the implications and consequences.
Measurement of learner outcomes
100% of students will apply the scientific method by developing a hypothesis, gathering
supporting data, drawing conclusions, and presenting those conclusions in a research format 95%
of the time. A writing rubric is used to assess the resulting paper (4, 8, 9) as well as peer editing
and teacher evaluation.
3. Personal and Cultural Awareness
Analyze and differentiate the roles of individuals in society, and describe divergent attitudes,
values and beliefs in society.
Measurement of learner outcomes
Students choose topics in which they have an interest and explore multiple perspectives from
sources on that topic. Students’ writing responds to what others think and believe; this writing
must demonstrate 95% of the time an understanding of the perspectives of others. 100% of
students must also synthesize ideas from their reading and thinking to create a new text which
displays their own ideas 95% of the time. A writing rubric is used to assess the resulting paper
(4, 8, 9) as well as peer tutoring, and teacher evaluation.
4. Personal Wellness
Explain the knowledge, skills, and behaviors which promote personal well-being.
Measurement of learner outcomes
Self-expression is one of the most important aspects of personal wellness. It empowers students
to succeed in academic endeavors as well as in the workplace and social settings. 100 % of
students will demonstrate accurate and fluent self-expression 90% of the time as evidence
through a writing rubric attached to each student paper (8, 10, 11) as well as peer tutoring and
teacher evaluation.
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5. Technological Understanding
Use basic computer technology competently in current applications.
Measurement of learner outcomes
100% of students will demonstrate the ability to use word processing programs to produce
accurately formatted papers 100% of the time. Students will also successfully access and
evaluate sources for research papers through library databases and the Worldwide Web with
100% accuracy as evidenced through an appropriate writing rubric (2, 3, 4) and appropriately
quoted and cited sources mentioned in student essays.
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Communication Skills: See #1 above
Analyze statistical content of article
Collect and evaluate information from
Internet sources as well as use a word
processing program effectively
Develop hypothesis, gather data, draw
conclusions, present conclusions in written
format
Analyze, differentiate roles of individuals
in society; describe divergent attitudes,
values and beliefs; synthesize ideas from
reading and thinking to create new text.
Communicates and expresses thoughts
fluently and expressively.
Measurement
100 % of students will produce a
completed research paper which
successfully demonstrates the elements
listed in the rubric attached to the syllabus
90% of the time.
100 % of students will demonstrate
effective written statistical analysis 95% of
the time as evaluated with attached rubric,
esp. #4, 8, 9., and a classroom practice.
100 % of students will demonstrate an
ability using the internet and data bases to
gather appropriate information for essays
100 % of the time. Students will use a
word processing program effectively
100 % of the time.
100% of students will write an essay in
which they demonstrate the ability to
develop a hypothesis, gather data, and draw
conclusions with 95% accuracy. This will
be evaluated with a rubric, peer evaluation,
and teacher evaluation.
100 % of students will submit an
effectively written essay which evaluates
the roles of individuals in society as well as
divergent attitudes 95% of the time. This
will be evaluated by the use of the attached
rubric, esp. # 4, 8, 9, and peer evaluation as
well as teacher evaluation.
100% of students will demonstrate the
communication and expression of fluent
and expressive thought by writing an essay
which has these elements 90% of the time.
This will be evaluated by the use of a
rubric, peer editing and teacher evaluation.
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RESEARCH WRITING EVALUATION FORM
Writer_______________________Assignment_______________________Date_________
Minimum Standard Requirements
An essay receiving an evaluation of “unacceptable” in
any of these first three areas is considered unfinished
and receives no grade.
Excellent
5 points
Good
4 points
Adequate
3 points
Weak
2 points
Unacceptable
1 point
(1) The essay uses the conventions of standard edited
English (spelling, punctuation, grammar, paragraphing,
etc.).
(2) The essay’s format and presentation follow the
specifications of MLA or APA format (typed with
standard margins, fonts, correct parenthetical
references, etc).
(3) The essay’s sources (whether primary or secondary
sources) and the use of those sources are appropriate for
college writing. This includes the quality and quantity
of sources, as well as the analysis and integration of
them into the essay.
(4) The essay completes the assignment specified by the
instructor.
Additional Requirements
(5) The essay’s purpose is clear and persuasive.
(6) The essay is directed toward and meets the needs of
its audience.
(7) The essay is well-organized, focused, and unified,
with an effective beginning, middle and end.
Transitions between paragraphs and sections are clear.
(8) The essay provides effective supporting arguments,
evidence, examples, and details.
(9) The essay uses appropriate language and tone.
(10) The essay shows originality and creativity in
realizing (1) through (8).
(11) The reader’s voice is clear.
Overall Evaluation
Total points __________
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Grade
Comments:
__________
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