Course Syllabus

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English 1A: College Composition

Sections 0889 and 1069

Fall 2018

Instructor: Lauren Nahas

Email: Lnahas@santarosa.edu

Office: Emeritus 1646

Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:30-2:30 via Canvas Conference, or by appointment (for a phone call).  Also, I tutor in the Petaluma Campus Writing Center every Monday from 11-1, so that's a great time to meet with me face-to-face.  The Writing Center is inside of the Tutorial Center, in the Kathleen Doyle building, 2nd floor, room PC-427.  Come find me!

Don't hesitate to contact me for an appointment for a phone call.  Some students are shy about that, but it's actually the most common way that I communicate with my students.

Course Description

Critical reading and discussion of college-level texts with emphasis on expository and argumentative prose. Composition predominantly of analytical, reasoned, and reflective prose with particular focus on research as it pertains to supporting expository and argumentative essays.

Pre-Requisites

Completion of ENGL 100 or ESL 100 or ENGL 309; or Qualifying Placement from English Assessment. See Student Success & Assessment Services (assessment.santarosa.edu) for more information about the assessment process. 

Student Learning Outcomes

  1. Write a comprehensive, well-developed, and coherent expository essay with a focused thesis
  2. and appropriate support.
  3. Recognize and correct errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
  4. Identify and analyze argumentative, stylistic, and narrative techniques.
  5. Locate, summarize, synthesize and employ research in a well-developed and documented research essay.
  6. Employ correct use of MLA format and formal citations.
  7. Read, annotate, summarize, and discuss all kinds of academic college-level non-fiction and fiction.
  8. Comprehend and use college-level vocabulary.
  9. Explain the conventions of advanced academic discourse, including style, tone, point of view, and the importance of original thought in developing oral and written arguments.

Objectives

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
 Reading--From expository essays and full-length works of non-fiction:
  1. Identify the main idea or thesis.
  2. Identify the sequencing or order of the ideas presented.
  3. Explain how the writer supports and illustrates ideas and connects them to the thesis.
  4. Paraphrase and summarize paragraphs and essays.
  5. Annotate an essay with appropriate comments.
  6. Identify the stylistic features of an essay.
  7. Identify an essay's tone.
  8. Distinguish between literal and inferential information and identify.
  9. Identify argumentative techniques and recognize logical fallacies.
  10. Articulate comprehension of complex, college-level texts in writing or in  class discussions.
  11. Articulate opinions and assumptions in relation to reading material.

Required Textbooks and Materials

Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates (available at the SRJC bookstore)

They Say, I Say  second edition, by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein (available at the SRJC bookstore)—but you can use ANY edition of this book

Reliable and consistent internet access

Webcamera (helpful, but not required)

Adobe Acrobat Reader (downloadable for free)

Important Dates

Labor Day and Flex Holiday — 9/3-4

Last day to drop with a refund/drop without a "W" — 9/9

Veteran's Holiday — 11/12

Thanksgiving Holiday Break — 11/22-25

Last day to drop with a "W" — 11/18

Final Exams — 12/15-21

Methods of Evaluation

  • 3 Essays 
  • 1 "Final Exam" timed essay
  • Weekly whole-class discussions
  • Small-group discussions and activities
  • Writing process activities
  • Quizzes (on readings, prompts, or writing concepts)
  • Short-answer assignments

Grading Policy

This course uses a contract grading system.   

The default grade for the course is a B.  That is, if you do all that is required of you and do it reasonably well, you will earn a B.  If you do not complete a significant number of assignments, or do not complete your work sufficiently, then your grade will be lower.  If you go above and beyond the course requirements and do exceptional work, then you will earn an A.

You are guaranteed a B if you:

1.  meet the minimum standards for all major writing assignments; the minimum standards are defined as:

  • Unity and Organization: The thesis is apparent and generally controls the direction and development of the essay.  For the most part, paragraphs are unified and the essay has a logical progression of ideas.
  • Ideas and Support: The essay shows a basic understanding of the sources.  The essay develops its supporting points with adequate evidence and analysis.  The essay addresses the essay topic and meets the required length.
  • Style and Mechanics: The essay may contain some errors but they do not distract the reader or impede understanding.
  • Documentation and Use of Sources: The essay demonstrates an ability to incorporate ideas from sources (either paraphrased or quoted directly) using the basic conventions of academic writing, though there may be some problems.  The essay displays awareness of MLA documentation and citations, though there may be a few errors.

Please note: The criteria above does not require that your writing be perfect to earn a B.  It does need to show that you have a solid foundation of writing skills though.  

2.  exceed the minimum standards on at least one Major Essay 

3.  participate meaningfully in all activities and complete at least 85% of the homework portion of the course—to be clear, you do not have to complete all of the homework to be eligible for a B.  You need only to meet the 85% threshold.

  • comment thoughtfully in our discussions
  • give thoughtful peer feedback during peer review (e.g., post your drafts on time, commenting on drafts, responding thoughtfully to peer review-related discussions, answering peer questions, etc);

What is homework and how is it graded?

Homework for this class includes discussion of readings and essay topics, writing process activities (like an outline or a rough draft of an essay), quizzes (usually on readings or to test understanding of writing concepts).  At times I will also ask you to contribute to shared google documents as part of your homework.

All homework assignments are graded complete/incomplete (1 point for completed work, zero points for incomplete or sub-par work).  Mainly, my goal with the homework portion of your grade is to get you to participate meaningfully in the class activities. 

What are the Major Assignments and how are they graded?

Major assignments include the 4 formal essays for this class.  They are graded traditionally (A, B, C, etc), and they are evaluated according to both the minimum standards listed above, and the minimum requirements for that specific essay (list at the bottom of the essay prompt).

Breakdown of Requirements for Each Grade

Grade Earned

Percentage of Homework Completed

Late Essays

Major Assignments Average Grade
A 85% 0-1 A
B 85% 0-1 B
C 75% 2 C
D lower than 75% 3 or more D

Your average grade for the Major Assignments is an important indicator of your overall grade.  For example, if you have a C-average in that category, and you have done at 85% of the homework, then you will still receive a C.  If you have received a D-average for the Major Assignments, this indicates that your work is not at the passing level yet, so you will receive a D in the class regardless of how much homework you have done.  So, to achieve a particular grade, you need to meet all the requirements in that row.  

About grades lower than B

The quickest way to C, D, or F is to miss assignments. This much is non-negotiable: You are not eligible even for a passing grade of C- unless you have completed 75% of the homework assignments, and earned a C-average in the Major Essays portion of the course.  In addition, all Major Essays must be submitted to pass the class.

Other Key Policies

Late Work

See the table above for the acceptable number of late essays for each grade (for example, for a B or A, you can only turn in one essay late).  If your work is going to be late, I expect you to let me know before the deadline, or at least shortly after, and we will set up a new due date (usually I give people an extra week). 

I do not accept late homework.  You can turn it in to at least get feedback on it, but you will not receive credit for it.  This is because often our assignments are time-sensitive and you miss out on aspects of the purpose of the assignment if you don't submit on time.  

Revisions

You may revise one major essay for a better grade.  That optional revision will be due towards the end of the semester.  The final, timed exam cannot be revised.

Feedback

My goal is to update homework assignment grades the week after they are turned in.  At times I get behind though.  For major essays, my goal is to return them to you with feedback within 2 weeks.  If I get behind in grading, I will inform the class. 

Instructor Communication

I will be responding to multiple methods of communication (email, Canvas messages, and Question and Answer discussion posts) Monday-Thursday.  You can expect a response from me within at least 24 hours.  

Discussions

The discussions in an online class serve the exact same function that they do in face-to-face classes—they are there to help you work through the course's content and bounce ideas off of other students.  Therefore, I often do not respond to each individual student's posts.  I always monitor and read through the discussions, and I will usually respond to your discussion posts via an Announcement to the whole class, commenting on that discussion in general.  However, some discussions require individual feedback from me, and that is noted in the discussion prompt. 

Attendance and Participation

During the a regular semester, college policy requires me to drop students who do not attend more than two weeks of the course. If I do not see you actively participating in the course for more than two weeks, I will drop you. However, if you decide not to complete the course, be sure to drop yourself so that you don’t receive an F in the course.

Behavior

In face-to-face classes, I expect students to behave professionally and with respect towards me and other students in the class. I have the same expectations for our interactions in this online course. However, I think it is much easier to slip into rude behavior in an online course where we cannot see each other. If something that comes up in one of our discussions disturbs or angers you, please take a moment before responding. Stop, reflect, and respond as calmly as you can. Please refrain from being rude or dismissive towards other people’s ideas—we are all trying to learn here (including me), so let’s be gentle with each other.

Plagiarism

Basically, plagiarism is taking the writing (the actual phrases and sentences) or ideas of another author and presenting them as if they were your own.  So, cutting and pasting ANY text (that is not placed in quotations marks) into your essays is considered cheating, or plagiarism.  We will cover plagiarism in the course, and you might also read about SRJC's Academic Integrity Policy in the SRJC Catalog, Policy 2.8.2.

If I find plagiarized writing in any of your assignments, I will report it to the college and I will give you an F for that assignment.

Helpful Resources

Disability Services

If you need disability related accommodations for this class, such as a note taker, test taking services, extra time on exams, etc., please provide the Authorization for Academic Accommodations (AAA letter) from the Disability Resources Department (DRD) to the instructor as soon as possible. You may also speak with the instructor privately during office hours about your accommodations. If you have not received authorization from DRD, it is recommended that you contact them directly. DRD is located in the Bertolini Student Center on the Santa Rosa campus, and Jacobs Hall on the Petaluma Campus.

The Writing Center

The Writing Center offers free, individual assistance for any writing assignment you have in any class.  English instructors and instructional assistants are available for drop-in conferences to help you with any writing-related work, including: brainstorming essay ideas, developing a thesis, essay organization and development, using correct documentation format, and how to edit for grammatical and mechanical errors.  The Writing Center also offers the use of computers for writing, research, and completing online learning modules.  Students may print for free one copy of their own written work, such as drafts of essays, college transfer applications, scholarship applications, and other college writing tasks.

Check the Writing Center's hours on their website.

The Tutorial Center

The Santa Rosa Junior College Tutorial Centers provide tutoring for SRJC students needing assistance with coursework in many subject areas, at all academic levels, to individuals and small groups in a supportive, interactive environment that fosters student success and independence. Help is free. The centers are staffed by instructional assistants who are experts in their subject areas and by instructor-recommended students who not only have succeeded in the courses they tutor but who enjoy helping others succeed.

Net Tutor

Canvas's Net Tutor offers live one-on-one tutoring  with  24/7 help available in many subject areas

NetTutor is an online tutoring system that allows you to meet with a tutor from anywhere - you just need a computer, tablet or smartphone with Internet access.

Here is more information about how Net Tutor works and how to access it.

Course Summary:

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