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COURSE SYLLABUS for Composition & Grammar ENGL 1301 FALL 2006

Catalog Description - Lecture and discussion for a study of the principles of expository and argumentative writing with special attention to sentence and paragraph structure, diction, punctuation, outlining, and note taking; analysis and discussion model essays; preparation of a bibliography, essay writing..

Textbooks & MaterialsRequired / Recommended
Kirszner and Mandell. Patterns for College Writing. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/Martin’s, 2004.
Kirszner and Mandell. The Concise Wadsworth Handbook. 1st ed. Thomson Wadsworth, 2005.
A recent standard dictionary

Instructor’s Name
Gabrielle Fletcher
Office Phone #
668-3316

E-mail Address
gfletcher@nctc.edu
Office Hours
TBA or by appointment/room 2001

Scholastic Integrity - Scholastic dishonesty shall include, but not be limited to cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion. See Student Handbook “Student Rights & Responsibilities: Student Conduct [FLB- (LOCAL)]” #18.

Attendance Policy -Regular attendance and active, prepared participation of all students is essential. Students who miss more than 20% of the course (6 class dates or the equivalent three weeks in a standard semester) before the drop date will be dropped by the instructor. There are no "excused" absences. Missed work will not be “made up” unless there are serious mitigating circumstances. Students are also expected to arrive on time and not to leave before the end of class. Late arrivals and early departures (which are distracting to both professor and students) will be recorded and every two instances will count as one absence.

ADA Statement - North Central Texas College does not discriminate on the basis of disability for admission or access to its programs. The College is committed to providing equal access to its students with disabilities by providing appropriate accommodations; a variety of services and resources are made available through the ACCESS Department. Students are responsible for notifying the ACCESS Department of their need for assistance. Students with documented disabilities, such as mobility impairment, hearing or visual impairment, learning, and/or psychological disorders are eligible for services. The Corinth ACCESS Department is located in Room 120. The Gainesville and Bowie ACCESS Department is located in ASC 108 (next door to the bookstore) on the Gainesville Campus. For assistance, stop by one of these offices or call Beverly Neu Menassa at (940) 498-6207 on the Corinth Campus or Mary Martinson at (940) 668-4216 on the Gainesville Campus. Mary Martinson will meet with students on the Bowie campus by appointment. In addition, students can access information online at http://www.nctc.edu/Student_Services/Access/Access_program.html.

EEOC Statement - North Central Texas College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, or disability in the employment or the provision of services.

Cell Phones/pagers/Beepers are not allowed in class. Please turn them off and make sure they are not audible or visible when you come in each day. If your phone goes off in class, be prepared for a zero for the day.

Grades:
Class participation/projects/quizzes/assignments – 25%
Paper 1 - 10%
2 - 10%
3 - 15%
4 - 15%
5 – 20%
Final Exam 5%

Grading Scale - After years of receiving inflated grades ("earning" a C for simply attending, "earning" a B for doing the work in the course), students are frequently surprised and disappointed in the grades they receive in this course. This is a college course, however, and in this course students will be held to the standards of college-level work, not the standards of high school.

90-100 (excellent work) = A
80-89 (good work) = B
70-79 (minimally competent work) = C
60-69 (less than competent work) = D
0-59 (failure) = F

Writing Standards
While to some degree the evaluation of writing entails subjective judgments, there are clearly definable standards of competent academic and professional documents. These standards examine conventions, composition, and content in the document or project. "Convention" means that the writer has conformed to the standard formats and document design of the assigned task (a memo should look like a memo, an academic paper should follow all MLA format and documentation conventions). "Composition" means that that the writer has used standard spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence construction, and paragraph coherence devices. "Content" means that the ideas are clear and coherent, logically developed, and supported by details.

90-100 (A) Excellent writing sets the gold standard. It does not simply meet the specifications of the assigned task; it exceeds them and does so with conspicuous excellence. It is not simply free of serious composition errors or relatively free of minor errors generally; it is exemplary (i.e. could be a textbook example). Therefore, it is rare.
80-89 (B) Good writing meets the specifications of an assigned task very well. It is free of major errors, though it may have some minor composition errors. It may fall short of the sophistication and thoroughness of excellent writing, but it is not embarrassing and demonstrates the writer's intelligence and thought.
70-79 (C) Minimally competent writing only meets the minimal specifications of an assigned task. It has minor composition errors and it falls short in several areas.
60-69 (D) Less-than-competent writing seriously falls short in from one to a few areas of an assigned task. It has serious composition errors.
0-59 (F) Failed writing either completely does not succeed in meeting the specifications for a task, is plagued with serious errors, or has violated academic honesty (plagiarism).

Web site – for additional help and support check out the website: http://members.tripod.com/~rgfletch/Syllabus.html

Classroom Decorum - A college classroom is not a publicly subsidized form of adult day care. Behavior that is disruptive or hostile will not be tolerated. The professor reserves the right to dismiss any student from the classroom, either temporarily or permanently. Students should consult the "Student Handbook" section of the College Catalog in order to acquaint themselves with the student code of conduct.

Workshops - Drafts will have peer evaluation in class. We will spend time talking about papers and how to improve them. You will be placed in small peer editing/revising groups, and you will be responsible for giving each member in your group a copy of your paper. We will discuss how to analyze and give appropriate feedback. Your failure to participate (bring a draft) or attend these conferences will reduce your class work grade dramatically each time you miss: 0 for not attending; D for attending but no paper, C for attending with a paper that is weakly presented and an average job on peer review; B for attending with a completed, well-worked draft & doing a good job on peer reviews; A or higher for attending with a completed, well-worked draft & doing an excellent job on peer reviews. These workshops are a means by which you can get feedback and learn how to improve your writing skills.

Papers - We will be developing your writing skills throughout the semester. Each paper will have similar skills that I will expect to see improvement on, as well as specific skills that you will need to show you have mastered. Grading will get harder as we progress. Papers will have a word count to determine length. No paper will be accepted without a revised and edited draft(s) – automatic F. All papers are to be typed, double-spaced, 12 point font, New Times Roman, with one inch margins. I will take points off if you do not follow these directions. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. This is an illegal, dishonest act that is against college policy. Penalties are severe for such acts; see your student handbook for further information. All papers are to be handed in on time. No papers will be accepted more than 1 day late (Due Thursday, I will take your paper no later than Friday at 3 PM, with a 15 point drop) – with exception of Paper #5, which will not be accepted late! Due dates are identified in the syllabus. Many community college students live complex lives, however, and students may take one 24-hour extension on a normal deadline (with no penalties incurred) provided that they contact the professor in advance of the deadline (not at the time it is due) to inform her of the situation, provided the reason is legitimate.

My box is located in the business office or you may drop it off at my office: CPA 2001. You have the option of rewriting one of your papers (compare/contrast, analysis, etc). Just correcting mechanical errors that were marked on your paper will not necessarily raise your grade. Complete and thorough revision, not just editing will be required. I will not take rewrites after 11/28/06– I will not remind you. Your first grade and new grade will be averaged together. Library Website

- Secure a classmate’s phone number:
__________________________________________

This is a college level course. You will be expected to maintain a professional attitude at all time, and you will be expected to display individual responsibility. I will go out of my way to assist you, but please do not suppose that I will allow you to slide by without meeting the minimum requirements for this course.

Syllabus:
*I reserve the right to add or delete readings when necessary depending on circumstances. You should have the reading assignments listed under each completed for that class period.

T/R Class

Week 1
AUG 29 Syllabus/writing sample (LO 4-9)
AUG 31 Writing Review & Patterns Ch 1 & 2 (LO 1,2)

Week 2
SEPT 5 Syllabus Quiz, Read Patterns pp. 135-142 & Patterns 175 (LO 1,2,3)
SEPT 7 Read Patterns 153 & 158 (LO 1,2,3)

Week 3
SEPT 12 Read Concise Ch 4 pp 46-56; Patterns 143-150 (LO 1,2,3)
SEPT 14 workshop #1 Narrative/Descriptive Paper (LO 2,4,8)

Week 4
SEPT 19 #1 Narrative/Descriptive Paper Due (LO 4-9)
SEPT 21 Patterns 335 ; Concise 363-369 (LO 1,2,3)

Week 5
SEPT 26 Patterns 456, 407, 505 (LC 1,2,3)
SEPT 28 Concise 48-49 (LO 6)

Week 6
OCT 3 workshop #2 Compare/Contrast (LO 2,4,8)
OCT 5 #2 Compare/Contrast Due (LO 4-9)

Week 7
OCT 10 Patterns 303-312, 325 (LO 1,2,3,4,5,6)
OCT 12 Patterns 340; Concise 162-166 (LO 1,2,3)

Week 8
OCT 17 Patterns 351 & Concise 379-389 (LO 1,2,3)
OCT 19 Concise 157-161 (LO 1,2,3)