ENGL 0308 Syllabus-Gibson121S Course Syllabus COURSE: ENGL 0308 Developmental English III Institutional credit only. A writing course which focuses on multi-paragraph essays. Laboratory attendance is required as scheduled. Laboratory fee $35. F, Sp, Su (3201085312) 3 semester credit hours (institutional only) Prerequisite: Appropriate placement test score or a C or better in ENGL 0306 INSTRUCTOR: Janell Gibson Office: Old Main 110 semester) Email: jgibson@kilgore.edu COURSE RATIONALE: Effectively and successfully completing any course, application, or business transaction requires the ability to formally communicate with the written word. This course provides students instruction and practice with their writing skills. The focus on multi-paragraph essays, using various modes of writing to address a specific purpose and audience, will prepare students for success in completing writing assignments in college courses as well as in other formal writing situations. EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS: Text: Along These Lines: Writing Paragraphs and Essays Fifth Edition by John Sheridan Biays and Carol Wershoven Supplements Required: Account with Turnitin.com plagiarism service (You will receive instructions from the instructor on how to register online with the service at no cost to you.) 1Dead in Attic: After Katrina by Chris Rose Required Supplies: 1 yellow highlighter 1 pkg. short Scantrons 1 blue highlighter 1 long Scantron 1 USB memory stick (flash drive) 2GB for saving papers Loose-leaf notebook paper for in-class writing assignments Resources: Weaver Instructional Systems Education reading program If a student completes through level K and at least reaches level L in both comprehension and vocabulary on the Weaver Instructional Systems Education reading program, I will add 10 points to his/her lowest major writing assignment grade [no grades higher than 100]. The student is responsible for contacting me to set up an account and to get the login instructions.
EVALUATION: Examinations: 2-5 Reading examinations over assigned reading Quizzes: 5 (one each over correct sentence structure, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, pronouns, and regular/irregular verbs) Assignments, essays, oral presentation, in-class exercises Final exam: Two parts 1 multiple-choice grammar exam, 1 hand-written, multi-paragraph essay Method of Calculation of Grade: Quiz Average=1 Major Grade Reading Examinations Average=1 Major Grade Daily Grade/Homework Average=1 Major Grade Paragraph Grade(s)=1 Major Grade each Essay Grades=1 Major Grade each (4 essays) Lab Average=1 Major Grade Oral Presentation=1 Major Grade Average of all Major Grades counts 66% of course grade Final Exam Average counts 34% of course grade CLASSROOM POLICIES: Attendance policy: The purpose of this course is to remedy deficiencies in students writing and grammar skills. Therefore, attendance is essential to the students being prepared for college-level classes. Absence for the equivalent of two weeks of class during a regular semester may result in your being dropped from class. Lab absences combine with class absences; therefore, a combination of 7 hours of class and lab, class alone, or lab alone will result in the student s being dropped from the course. Students who arrive to class more than fifteen minutes late and students who leave class before the instructor dismisses class will be counted absent. Make-up assignment policy: I do not give make-up assignments, and I do not accept late work. Assignments are due at the first of class on the due date. If a student is absent, he or she will receive a zero for any assignment due on the date of the absence unless he or she arranged to have the assignment turned in early or on time despite the absence. Since I do not accept late work or allow make-ups, I drop one low daily grade, 1 low quiz grade, and one low essay grade. Academic honesty policy: Students are expected to turn in work that is their own, original work, done exclusively for this course. The Kilgore College Catalog states, It is the responsibility of students and faculty to help maintain scholastic integrity at the college by refusing to participate in or tolerate scholastic dishonesty. Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty undermine the very purpose of the college and diminish the value of an education (36). Plagiarism is the act of using someone else s ideas or writing as one s own. Please note that plagiarism does not have to be word-for-word copying; it also refers to paraphrasing or putting someone else s thoughts into one s own words. The college maintains sanctions (legal ramifications) for scholastic dishonesty in the Kilgore College Student Handbook. The penalty could include withdrawal from the course, failing the course,
reduction or changing of a grade in the course, a test, assignment, or in other academic work; denial of a degree and/or performing additional academic work not required of other students in the course (33). Classroom civility policy: The instructor will enforce the college s civility statement found in the Kilgore College Student Handbook. Students are expected to assist in maintaining a classroom environment that is conducive to learning. Inappropriate or distractive classroom behavior is prohibited in order to assure that everyone has the opportunity to gain from time spent in class. Should a disruptive classroom incident occur, the faculty member in charge may remove the student on either a temporary or a permanent basis (5). Student accountability Students will demonstrate an effort to learn the objectives of the course by a. attending class regularly and on time b. doing homework or in-class assignments on time (see instructor s syllabus for their policy regarding homework) c. following the directions of the instructor, and d. maintaining classroom behavior conducive to learning. Failure to demonstrate an effort in the course may result in the student being dismissed from the course with a grade of F. Additional Policies: 1. The instructor requires that all electronic devices be out of sight and silent during class. 2. NO cell phones, digital music players, or other electronic devices are allowed to be visible to the owner of the device nor to anyone else during class. 3. Students are not allowed to wear earphones, hoods, or sunglasses during class. 4. Please do not bring children or guests to class. Additional Information: 1. All typed assignments must be submitted to Turnitin.com, and the originality report must be attached to the typed paper when the paper is turned in to the instructor. 2. I encourage students to schedule at least one appointment with me during my office hours. My office hours are posted on my office door at OM 214. I will send an email to students college email with my office hours each semester. Drop Date: Students are not allowed to drop or to be dropped by the instructor after 75% of the course is completed. Before that date, a grade of W will be assessed for drops. After that date, a performance grade will be assessed (usually F since work can t be turned in if a student is not in class). It is the student s responsibility to drop the course or withdraw from school in order to receive a W if he or she is unable to attend class. DISCLAIMER: I, as the instructor, reserve the right to modify the content and schedule as necessary to promote the best education possible within prevailing conditions affecting this course.
COMMON COURSE OUTCOMES: Expected Student Learning Outcomes for ENGL 0308 Having completed this course, students should be able to 1. apply logic, rhetoric, and correct grammar conventions to a written multi-paragraph essay (*1,2,4,5,6,7,8) Strategies Lecture, Group discussion/peer review, modeling Procedures The student will compose paragraphs and essays throughout the semester using various patterns of development presented in model essays such as description, narration, example-illustration, and argumentation. Assessment Minimum of 1 paragraph, 3 multi-paragraph essays, and a final exam essay 2. recognize and classify sentence-level grammar errors (*1,4,5,7,8) Strategies Lecture, group practice, textbook activities, lab activities Procedure The student will recognize and correct grammar errors in classroom and homework activities and in computer activities during required lab time. Assessment Homework in textbook and/or handouts, grammar quizzes in class, completion grade from lab, multiple-choice grammar final exam 3. deliver an oral presentation reflecting a well-written essay from the semester s assignments (*1,2,4,5,6,7) Strategies Lecture, modeling, group work, planning rubric Procedure The student will develop an outline for and give a speech based on a previously written essay and will peer review classmates outlines. Assessment Oral presentation grade based on a rubric/checklist given to the student in the planning phase *SCANS (Secretary s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills) COMPETENCIES: 1. Reading 2. Writing 3. Speaking and Listening 4. Thinking Skills 5. Personal Qualities 6. Workplace Competencies 7. Basic Use of Computers ENGL 0308 Syllabus-Apple 5
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES AND LABS: Unit 1: first quarter of the semester [8 daily grades, 2 major grades, 2 quiz grades, 4 lab sessions] Class Day 1: Cover course overview and syllabus. Explain use of Performance on the Spot (POTS): Any text book or homework assignment is a potential Performance On The Spot opportunity. The instructor will randomly draw the name of any student in the class for that student to explain the concept(s) covered in the assignment to the class basically to re-teach the concept while going over the answers to the assignment. Each student will be accountable for POTS at least once during the course for a daily grade. Students will submit their name to the hat at the first of the semester from which the instructor will draw. If the student is not present at the time his/her name is drawn, the name will be returned to the hat one time. The second time the name is drawn, the student will receive a zero for his/her POTS grade if absent. The POTS grade will be assessed by the instructor, based on the degree to which the student is prepared with the assignment. The POTS grade is not eligible to be dropped as a low grade. Do an in-class writing assignment (daily grade). Class Day 2: The instructor will make a reading assignment from 1 Dead in Attic: After Katrina and discuss her choice of comprehension strategy. Class Day 3: Attend the lab class! We will cover correct sentence structure and structure errors (fragments/comma-splices/run-ons). Class Day 3: In regular class, the major paragraph assignment will be made. We will cover Turnitin.com information and take a reading assignment exam and then discuss the reading. Class Day 4: Paragraph rough draft is due. Peer edit rough drafts. Discuss revision/polishing. Class Day 5: Chapters 15, 16, and 18 are due. Type the final copy of your paragraph and save the file to your flash drive before lab time. Class Day 6: Attend the lab class! Access the final copy of your paragraph and submit it to turnitin.com and print the originality report. Class Day 6: Final copy of the descriptive paragraph is due. Quiz over fragments/comma-splices/run-ons. 1 Dead in Attic: After Katrina in-class assignment. Read Chapter 2 over illustration paragraphs and Chapter 12, pages 273-278 over the illustration essay before next class. You will be held responsible for the information. Read Spanglish on pages 603-605. Class Day 7: Cover the formal illustration essay assignment (could be POTS opportunity). 1 Dead in Attic: After Katrina homework assignment. You will have to have the outline and rough draft of the illustration essay ready for class day 9. Class Day 8: Attend the lab class! We will be working on subject-verb agreement and formatting the essay. Class Day 8: Receive graded descriptive paragraph. In-class writing exercise based on reading homework (will reinforce subject-verb agreement). Remember to complete the illustration essay outline and rough draft to bring to class next time. Also, prepare for class 9 by completing Ch. 25. Class Day 9: Do peer editing of the illustration essays. In-class exercise (clickers) over Chapter 25 subjectverb agreement (daily grade). Unit 2: second quarter of the semester [6 daily grades, 3 quiz grades, 3 major grades, 4 lab sessions] Cover instructor s choice of essay pattern for a multi-paragraph essay assignment. Daily grades assessed for brainstorming and rough draft/peer review. The final, typed draft and originality report will be for a major grade. In grammar, cover punctuation, pronoun case, pronoun reference, and pronoun agreement. There is one quiz per grammar topic covered. Two reading assignments from 1 Dead in Attic: After Katrina will be assigned and comprehension assessed. Students will complete lab sessions at the scheduled times. Unit 3: third quarter of the semester [5 Daily grades, 2 quiz grades, 1 major grade, 4 lab sessions] ENGL 0308 Syllabus-Apple 6
Cover instructor s choice of essay pattern for a multi-paragraph essay assignment. Daily grades will be assessed for brainstorming and rough draft/peer review. The final, typed draft and originality report will be for a major grade. In grammar, cover regular/irregular verbs. There will be one quiz over regular/irregular verbs. One reading assignment from Readings for Writers section of the textbook will be assigned and comprehension assessed on an examination. Two assignments from 1 Dead in Attic. Students will complete lab sessions at the scheduled times. Unit 4: fourth quarter of the semester [1 daily grade, 1 major grade, 2 lab sessions, 1 grammar final exam, 1 essay final exam] Students will do an oral presentation over one of their essays. Students will complete lab sessions at the scheduled times. Students will complete a grammar final exam review (daily grade). The multiple-choice grammar final exam will be administered. The multi-paragraph essay final exam will be administered.