Instructor: Amy Reynolds
|
|
|
Most course materials are available on WebCT |
E-mail: amy.reynolds@csun.edu |
|
Office phone: 818-677-5280 |
<>Office
hours: ST 507. M/F 11:00-11:50; Fri. 2-3 pm; by appointment and by
email.
|
TEWS: This class is linked with
The Early
Warning System (TEWS), a student centered support system. This tool
was created
with the sole purpose of helping student retention by facilitating
early
interaction of faculty, students, advisors and other student
service areas.
English 098 presents an opportunity for intense work in
writing
skills, emphasizing the kind of writing you will do in college. The
course is
also designed to improve your abilities to think about and organize
ideas and
information, and to write and revise papers. In addition, the course
should
help you produce writing which demonstrates appropriate grammar,
sentence
structure and usage, which reflects the mature thinking of adult
college
students and which fosters understanding of the impact of language in
multi-cultural
society. As this is a writing class, please come prepared
to write
every day.
Additional
assignments:
I
reserve the right to
make other assignments as necessary, including
web-based and current events assignments or to change or cancel
assignments as
needed. You will receive advance notice of any additions or changes.
Portfolio: Your
successful completion of English 098 will depend upon your
end-of-semester portfolio.
Your portfolio will reflect the hard work you've done throughout the
semester
and demonstrate your grasp of the writing process. The portfolio will
consist
of the following revised, highly polished work: a narrative essay, an
issue
essay, a text-based essay; all prior drafts of those finished essays;
one
unrevised in-class timed writing sample, and a cover letter in which
you
discuss your writing process and the works you have included in your
portfolio. You
must include all prior drafts of the out-of-class essays in your
portfolio--no
portfolios will be accepted without them. Portfolios will
be due
on Monday, May 4. Portfolios
will not be accepted late.
Portfolio
Grading: Portfolios will
be
evaluated by Developmental Composition faculty readers as “Pass,”
“Low Pass,” or “Fail.” A student may receive a grade of
"credit" in English 098 if he or she receives a "Pass" or
“Low Pass” score from two different faculty readers; however, the
grade of "credit" is at the instructor's discretion even with a
"Pass" on the portfolio. In my class, students who do the required
70% of the work, and may therefore turn in a portfolio, usually pass.
Portfolios, however, must be of passing quality in order for the
student to
pass the class. Students receiving a "Fail" on the portfolio
generally do not receive a "credit" in English 098.
An instructor may appeal the grade by
letter to the Program Coordinator. Students may not appeal without an
instructor's letter.
|
Assignment: |
Points |
|
3 Revised
Essays @ 100 pts each: (Initialed 1st Drafts
attached) |
300 |
|
Workshop
Participation, Self-Evaluations, Presentations |
150 |
|
In-Class
Essays - 2 @ 50 pts. each |
100 |
|
Participation,
quizzes, online discussions, homework |
200 |
|
Writing Lab
visits, instructor conferences, add’l drafts (10 pts each) |
50 |
|
Journal -
Approx. 20 out-of-class entries, plus in-class writing assignments |
200 |
|
Total Points: |
1,000 |
|
Absence on a
workshop day or No instructor-initialed first draft turned in
with revised draft |
-50 Points |
|
For every
class meeting a revised essay draft is late; No copies for workshop,
draft un-typed, or no draft to present |
-20 Points |
|
For each
absence over 3 class meetings; Missing a prearranged conference
|
-10 Points |
|
For each late
arrival to class; Presentation errors, sloppy work, no folder, no MLA
format. |
-5
points |
Important:
Turnitin.com: Essays 2 & 3
(Issue essay and Text-Based essay) must be uploaded to Turnitin.com by
the day
they are due. I have found this a
useful step for students who wish to avoid plagiarism. We will go over
procedures for this in class; if you have problems, please email me
asap! Papers that have not been
uploaded to
Turnitin.com will be returned ungraded, and will not be eligible for
portfolio
submission.
Writing Lab Visits, Instructor Conferences:
You are required to visit the
Writing Center at least
2 times throughout the semester, the first before week 7, and the
second before
week 12. Include the Writing Lab
pink sheet in your essay folder for credit. You are also required to
visit your
instructor at least once during the semester. Each Writing Center visit
or
instructor conference earns 10 points.
Journal: Journal
entries are generally due on the day assigned on the Course Calendar.
Journal
entries must be typed. As journal assignments are designed to foster
class
discussion, they may not be emailed or turned in late. In-class entries
should
NOT be typed (since you wrote them in class!) and will usually be
turned in at
the end of class the day they are written.
Presentation
of Work:
All assignments, including
homework and
journal entries, must be typed. Multiple-page assignments must be
turned
in stapled, so invest in a mini-stapler to keep with you. I do not
carry a
stapler for student use. Work that is turned in hand-written or
unstapled will
not be accepted. The only exception is for in-class journal
entries,
which are not to be retyped.
Late Work:
An important goal of Eng. 098 is the
development of
responsible study habits and the ability to meet deadlines. Therefore, Late
homework, journal assignments, and workshop critiques will not be
accepted. Late
essays will automatically cost 20
penalty
points for every class meeting the essay is late, regardless of the
reason
for the late submission. After three class meetings the essay
will be
considered "missing" and no points will be given if it is finally
turned in. Please come and talk to me if you find you are falling
behind!
Take time now to solve technical and logistical problems that may cause
you
trouble later.
Common courtesy is expected at all times. This means listening when others are
speaking, giving
your attention to class business, not wasting my time or the time of
other
students. You should come to class on time, prepared, and ready to
participate
in discussions or class work. I would also ask that all students
be
respectful of the views of others in the class in order to participate
in
rigorous, college-level academic discussion. And finally, please be
respectful
of the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of the class. You may be
asked to
leave the class if you cannot follow these requirements.
Absences and lateness: If you skip class or often show up late, you
miss important information
as well as work that cannot be made up. While I will assume you have a
good
reason for missing any amount of class time, after 3 “free”
absences, you will be charged 10 points for every class meeting absent. Because of the participatory nature of
the class, six or more absences will likely result in a failing grade.
As it is
disrespectful to me and to your fellow students to interrupt the flow
of the
class by coming in late, each late arrival will incur a 5 point penalty.
Cell
Phones, iPods, etc. must be turned off and put away, out of sight. No
texting in class!
Don’t be rude, please. Our class is small and your involvement matters.
If your phone interrupts class, your grade may be adversely affected.
If you
bring a laptop to class, use it responsibly. If
in my opinion your laptop distracts
you or your classmates, you will need to shut it down during class.
Email Policy: Email is
a great resource for students and teachers that is often abused. Please
note
that emails sent after 10 pm will not be replied to until the next day.
Conversely, I will make every effort to reply to emails sent before 10
pm.
Please use your CSUN email for communications with me. When you email
any
instructor, always include your full name and the class you are in.
Don’t
make me guess. Please read over your emails before you send them to me,
and
remember that I am not a Facebook pal. Finally, do not commit the
academic faux
pas of emailing me to ask, "Did I miss anything?" Obtain the email
addresses of several other students to ask about assignments &
class
activities first. Homework assignments & journal entries are
not to be
emailed. We may be uploading some assignments to WebCT.
Plagiarism: Please
review the University's policy toward plagiarism
-- the use of others' words without giving proper credit --
in the catalog. Plagiarism is, in fact, fraud perpetrated upon your
classmates,
your instructor, and the University. Cheating cheapens your degree and
destroys
trust. Plagiarism certainly includes the purchase of essays on the
Internet,
but also includes excessive help by others (friends, relatives, etc) in
the
writing of your essays. Note that the penalty for plagiarism may be a
fail for
the class. We will be discussing and adhering to the university's
academic
standards for the crediting of ideas. Remember that writing is an
incremental
process, demonstrated by drafts that show your development as a writer.
Uncharacteristic, last-minute miracles in your writing may result in
your
portfolio being rejected out of fairness to others. Your best insurance
against
such an event is a good "paper trail" of drafts. SAVE ALL
DRAFTS UNTIL THE SEMESTER IS OVER. Drafts must be included in your
portfolio!
Finally, be responsible: Every
day, people struggle to maintain employment and make their lives work.
Everyday
students jump seemingly impossible hurdles to succeed in their classes.
I have
seen students face devastating crisis and daunting personal challenges
and
still be in class with their assignments prepared. You know the course
policies
and you know what is expected of you. Please do not come to me with
excuses
about why you were absent and didn't get your work in on time. If a
personal
crisis arises, talk with me and let me know what is going on before you
jeopardize
your success in the course. You are responsible for all
assignments (on
the schedule or assigned in class). It is up to you to get the notes
and copies
of handouts from peers (most will be available on WebCT). I
suggest that
you acquaint yourself with classmates before you leave class today and
trade
phone numbers and/or email addresses so you can keep up with what's
going if
you must be absent. Being absent is not an acceptable excuse for
incomplete
work. Late assignments will not be accepted, other than essays as
outlined
above. Remember: College
is your full-time job!
Talk To Me: Got
questions? Comments? Concerns? Let's talk. Don't suffer in
silence. If
you need special course adaptations or accommodations because of a
disability
or you have special medical information to share, please speak to me
early in
the semester. I am happy to help all students participate and
benefit
from the class equally.
|
Portfolios
Due: Monday, May 4, 2009 |