Instructor Contact Information: Phone: Conferences: Website: Course Overview and Philosophy:

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1 Summerville Union High School Tuolumne Road, Tuolumne, CA CP English 11: Mrs. Dewey Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. -Lou Holtz Instructor Contact Information: Phone: Ext: 285 Conferences: I am available to meet for a parent/teacher conference or a student/teacher conference by appointment only. Website: deweyenglish16.weebly.com Welcome to College Preparatory (CP) 11 th Grade English! Below you will find a course overview that will be an essential aid to you this school year. Please keep this syllabus for the remainder of the year. We will refer back to the essential questions of the course and certain policies and procedures. Course Overview and Philosophy: The goal of CP English is to prepare students for the full spectrum of language skills necessary for college and professional success. This course is designed to provide you with the intellectual challenges and workload consistent with an upper-level English course. During the year, you will learn effective reading, writing, research, note taking, discussion, peer-editing, and response strategies. In this class we will practice informal and formal writing constantly; you will become critics of literature and will learn how to write meaningful theses and organize you thoughts effectively. Informal writing assignments will include creative pieces, reflective pieces, poetry, and journal entries. The formal written assignments will include one formal letter addressed to me, one persuasive writing piece, one synthesis piece, two literary analysis pieces, and one formal research paper. You will revise certain pieces of your writing into polished drafts. During the writing process, you will focus on the appropriate use of diction, create varied and syntactic structures, create coherent and logical organization, balance generalizations with specific and illustrative details, and overall, create an effective essay. You will also write in-class essays that will prepare you for college midterms and finals or for the several writing opportunities you will face in the work force. In addition, you will concentrate on grammar, vocabulary, mechanics, writing style, and the research method. Throughout the year, you will continue to grow as confident writers who will establish your own unique styles. 1

2 Turnitin.com: Many formal and informal assignments will be submitted to Turnitin.com. Not only does Turnitin.com check for authentic work, but it is also a method of grading and communication between student and instructor. As you have experienced turnitin.com throughout high school, we will review this information during the first week and with your first writing assignment. Below you will find the log in information for each class period. CPE 11, 4A Class ID: password: rockstar2016 CPE 11, 1B Class ID: password: rockstar2016 CPE 11, 2B Class ID: password: rockstar2016 CPE 11, 3B Class ID: password: rockstar2016 CPE 11, 4B Class ID: password: rockstar2016 Curriculum Plan: Texts may include but will not be limited to the following titles: McGraw Hill s StudySync Techbook JFK Inaugural Address Dust Storm 30 of the Most Powerful Images & Aristotle s Triangle What you Pawn I will Redeem Everything s An Argument 4 th Edition Textbook The Great Gatsby The Glass Castle The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night The Yellow Wallpaper Major Writing Styles Addressed: Formal Letter Stylistic Analysis Synthesis Response to Literature Rhetorical Analysis Persuasion Research Vocabulary and Grammar: Vocabulary includes literary terms that students will define, use, and master. There will also be regular grammar lessons and quizzes on parts of speech, clauses, phrases, sentence structure, usage, and mechanics. Participation: It is crucial for students to be in class and to be active participants. Participation includes class discussions, writing response groups, literature circles, small group activities, and warm-up activities. 2

3 Formal Essays, Timed Writing, Journals, and Reading Responses: Throughout the year, students will be writing and revising a number of formal and informal essays. Students will be asked to complete several analytical essays in which they use textual details to support their interpretations. Students will demonstrate the ability to produce essays that are revised, clear, well-organized, and thoughtful. Students will compare different author s literary choices in order to identify each author s unique style. Essays will be reviewed and edited by peers and/or the instructor. Students will continually improve their writing through in-class, timed assignments and process essays. In class, timed essays will be graded using rubrics and will receive feedback as to the grade they earned. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Regular Attendance: Be here and be on time! When you are not, it has a negative impact on your participation in the class and on your grade. I will follow the Summerville policy on regarding tardies. Tardy policy: First tardy is free and upon the 2 nd, a ½ hour detention will be assigned. On the 3 rd tardy, a 1-hour detention will be assigned, the 4t h will be a Saturday school, and the 5 th tardy will be a 1-day suspension. Moral of the story = be on time J Leaving the Classroom: Leaving the classroom is something that should need to happen very rarely. You re a mature student, and I assume that you are able to take care of your personal needs during your passing periods. Grading: An exemplary grade is the result of exceeding outstanding expectation set forth by the grading rubrics. Earning an A in our class is completely dependent upon the hard work and dedication of each student. Simply completing work and wanting an A (or B) does not automatically guarantee it. Being prepared to learn and work above and beyond our normal expectations will result in an excellent grade. Above and beyond means studying the materials outside of class, continually working on the writing process, rewriting essays, playing an integral role in-group work, and earning A s on our summative assessments as well as our end of the semester cumulative projects. For each project and essay, students will receive grading rubrics to ensure that the expectations are clear. They will also receive anchor papers (model essays) so they can see what an excellent paper looks like. Grades are computed on a point system. Grades will be posted online frequently throughout the semester. Please me if you would like additional grade reports throughout the term. 3

4 Grading will be broken down as follows: A = 90%-100% D = 60%-69% B = 80% - 89% F = 50% - 59% C = 70%- 79% Passing Score: 60% or higher Late Work: As you are now upper-classmen, with higher expectations, late work will only be accepted for the following reasons: Excused absences o For a long-term assignment, meaning an assignment that the student has been made aware of anytime prior to their absence (excused or not), it will still be collected for up to 50% credit if turned in late, even if the student was absent the day the assignment was due. o If a student had an excused absent and missed the smaller assignment and was unaware of it, they will have as many days as they were out to complete the assignment. An IEP/504 that allows for extended time when prearranged with me For no credit, but to allow for the opportunity to complete an additional, alternate assignment for 50% credit For no credit, up to three times, with the third late assignment resulting in in Saturday school, where the student can complete the assignments missing for no credit (but opportunity to earn extra credit, if offered, later) Make Up Exams and Quizzes: In cases of excused absences, you may make up a test or quiz within two weekdays of your return to school. You are responsible for setting up an appointment with me to make up the work. If you do not make an appointment or do not show up, you will receive a zero. Please check-in with me or a classmate after all absences to learn about missed work, tests, and quizzes. Formal Written Assignments: All essays, papers, and written projects need to be typed, double-spaced with oneinch margins on all sides, and need to include the MLA formal heading (unless otherwise stated). Use Times New Roman font at all times. Eating and Drinking in class: Please refrain from eating in class because it causes distractions. Use your breaks wisely to eat snacks. Feel free to bring water or other drinks with a closed cap to class. Electronic Devices: Cell phones, ipods, headphones are not to be used or seen. If I see them out, I will 4

5 confiscate them for the school day. If a student is found texting during class, he or she will be referred to administration. WHAT IS PLAGIARISM? Plagiarism, in a nutshell, is using someone's WORDS, WORK or IDEAS in your essay and failing to give them credit. Acquiring an essay online or from any other source and turning it in as your own work is plagiarism. Using a written or spoken phrase, sentence, excerpt, paragraph, or section from another source and using it without giving credit to the original source is plagiarism. Forgetting to cite something is plagiarism. Paraphrasing or re-wording someone else s ideas or words without giving the original source credit is plagiarism. The use of someone else s ideas or words without giving him or her credit, whether it is intentional or unintentional, is plagiarism. Sharing answers, using identical words or phrases or sentences or ideas from another student or parent or teacher or mentor or tutor without giving him or her credit is plagiarism. o The act of collaboration is absolutely encouraged in academic settings. Collaboration includes discussion, synthesizing ideas, and contemplating new ways to approach a task. Recording the ideas created from collaboration must be done independently and all written work must be in your own words in your own style. Any information that comes from an outside source that you would not have known without consulting that source must be cited, or it is plagiarism. HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM! Make sure to either cite the original source before or after you include the information in each sentence where the information is included. If you mention the author s name before including his words or ideas in a sentence, then include the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. If you include the words or ideas of another person without mentioning her name, then include both her last name and the page number in the parentheses at the end of the sentence. If you continue to take information from the SAME source in one single paragraph, you may use the page number only in the parentheses at the end of each sentence where the source information is included. This system may feel excessive, but it s the correct way to cite. TO AVOID PLAGIARISM: 1. Take careful notes. As you take notes, be sure to indicate whether you've paraphrased, summarized, or quoted information so you won't forget later. Separate your own thoughts from information from a source. 2. Let readers know exactly what information is not your own. Use quotes around distinctive phrases that are unique to a source; introduce the source or author in your essay as you use their material; paraphrase carefully to avoid overlapping too much with the original. 3. Cite your information PER SENTENCE in your essay by using the in-text citation system and including a Works Cited page. 5

6 4. Provide a bibliographic entry on the Works Cited page for every source cited parenthetically in your paper. 5. Omit sources consulted but not cited (e.g. sources you looked at but never used in your essay) from the Works Cited page. YOU MUST CITE: paraphrase quotation summary if it is specific special terms or definitions unique to a source ideas, analyses, or conclusions of others case studies experiments others' examples, even if hypothetical others' surveys YOU DO NOT NEED TO CITE: commonly-known information (capitals of cities, e = mc2) established historical dates (D-day, JFK's assassination) basic facts agreed upon by all sources basic, dictionary-style definitions, unless quoted exactly conclusions you came to or ideas you had that you later saw in a source Remember, if in doubt, cite! It's much easier to take out unnecessary citation than it is to add citations after the fact Accountability for syllabus: Students: We will practice the annotation process with this syllabus in class our first day. You will then take a quiz on the information contained in this syllabus on Friday. Parents: You will fill out a Google Form, answering questions about the syllabus. This is to make sure you have thoroughly read the syllabus and are aware of the expectations set forth in this class. 6

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