Composition II (M/W/F 7 a.m.)
Dr. Gavin Schulz
English 1302, HCCS--Southwest
Fall 2008
Course Syllabus
PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
The purpose of Composition II is to foster the understanding that all aspects of a written text must be viewed as “craft,” that, like fiction, drama, or poetry, essays must be crafted with care. To further this end, this course provides instruction and practice that will help students master a variety of writing situations. This will enable students to build upon the writing process, upon critical reading skills, upon computer skills, and upon the research process—generating essays that demonstrate thesis-driven, analytical thinking.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Email: gavin.schulz@hccs.edu (I cannot print from email at home)
I am available to meet with you M/W from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and
10:00-10:30 a.m. T/Th in the Scarcella Faculty Lounge
(ask for me at the front office) or on an appointment basis.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
75 Arguments. Ed. Alan Ainsworth. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008.
Fowler, H. Ramsey, Jane E. Aaron, and Janice Okoomian, eds.
The Little, Brown Handbook. 10th ed.
Longman, 2007.
GRADING
1] Two short essays 15%
15%
2] Classroom Activities 20%
3] Handbook Quizzes 5%
4] Peer Evaluation Responses 5%
5] Research Project 30%
6] Final In-Class Essay 10%
GRADING SCALE
Grades will be assigned in accordance with the “Evaluation Rubric.” Grades will be assigned on a +/- scale (point equivalents are 88/85/82 for a B+/B/B-, for example).
Note, however, that final grades are on an A/B/C scale. For the purposes of grade calculation, an average of 90-100 will earn an A for the course; 80-89 will earn a B; 70-79 will earn a C; 60-69 will earn a D, and 59 or below will earn F’s.
“In Progress” grades: an essay that does not meet the minimum grammatical requirements for college level writing will not be graded. These essays will be returned with a grade of IP and must be rewritten in order to bring the material up to college level. Essays that fail to meet the minimum passing criteria for grammar after this rewrite will earn an average of two grades: the grade for the essay and an F for grammar.
PAPERS
All papers must be submitted to me in class, on the days that they are due. Papers that are not in my hands by the time the class period ends will be considered late. (note that papers turned in to my box after I have left will be considered late.)
Late papers will be penalized 1/3 grade, with an additional penalty of 1/3 grade each successive day they are late. You may, however, turn in one of the two shorter essays one day late without penalty.
Both the Research Paper and the In-Class Final Essay must be competed on the dates assigned--no exceptions. Failure to submit the Research Paper to me in class on the day it is due will earn double the previously mentioned penalties; failure to write the In-Class Final Essay on the final exam day will result in a 0 for the assignment.
It takes roughly two weeks to grade a stack of essays. However, all essays turned in after the due dates, for whatever reason, will be placed in a separate pile and will be graded only after all of the on-time essays have been completed.
Please keep a copy of your papers for your own file; should a paper be lost, it is your responsibility to give me another.
ATTENDANCE AND WITHDRAWAL POLICY
Attendance is required by HCCS at all class meetings. I am instructed to withdraw students who have missed six hours or more of class by the last day to drop. Note, however, that showing up twenty minutes late to class each day does not mean that you have perfect attendance; it means that you have missed one-quarter of the semester (almost a month)!
You are, in any event, responsible for any material assigned or collected on those days that you are absent or tardy. If a paper is due on a day that you are going to be absent, it is your responsibility to find a way to turn it in.
Should you decide to drop the class, do not merely stop showing; it is your responsibility to withdraw from the class; all students still on my roll at the end of the semester will receive grades (we can no longer assign "W"'s at the end of the semester).
* NEW HCCS ATTENDANCE RULE *
Students who repeat a course three or more times, or who accumulate 6 or more “W”’s during their college career, face significant tuition/fee increases ($50 per credit hour) at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. If you are considering course withdrawal, confer with your instructor/counselor as early as possible about your study habits, reading and writing homework, attendance, course participation, and opportunities for tutoring that might be available.
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
We will use a variety of activities during the course. There will be some lecturing, but this is a “hands-on” course, so you should expect to participate in group-work. This will include analysis of each other’s work (so be prepared to share your work with your fellow classmates) and reading assignments (and any exercises I assign). Be aware that this category includes things like bringing your books when I ask you to, reading the material assigned, etc.
None of these classroom activities will earn grades. Instead, you will earn points for each activity in which you participate--wrong answers are as instructive as right ones, so I will not distinguish between right & wrong responses on homework assignments. All of these points will be added together and will constitute your participation grade. This will be a percentage grade, so it is possible, if you show every day, do and bring all that is required, to earn a 100% score; be aware, though, that it is also possible to score below an F (55%).
Note that any homework assigned is due in class on the days listed in the schedule. These must be turned in even if I do not ask for them. It is your responsibility to turn the homework exercises in to me. Late exercises will not be accepted.
ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Use of recording devices, including camera phones and tape recorders, is prohibited in classrooms and other locations where instruction, tutoring, or testing occurs. Inappropriate use of a recording device will be reported to the police and may be a felony offense.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS/CIRCUMSTANCES
Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychological, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office at the beginning of each semester.
POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Scholastic Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:
1] “Plagiarism”--the appropriation of another person’s work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one’s own written work for credit.
2] “Collusion”--the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work for credit.
A student guilty of a first offense will earn a grade of 0 on the assignment involved. For a second offense, the student will earn an F for the course.
Class Assignments/Reading Schedule
(* Assignments are to be completed for the class they are listed under *)
(* You should bring both books to class each day *)
Week 1:
Aug. 25] Course Introduction
27] Diagnostic Essay
Bring to class: paper & pen/pencil (unless you want to type it)
29] Sample Diagnostic Essay
Week 2:
Sep. 1] LABOR DAY HOLIDAY !!!
3] Introduction to Essay #1 / Citing Anthologies
Read before class: in 75 Arguments--read one or
more of the chapters except Chapter 12
5] Thesis Statements / Outlines
Read: in The Little, Brown Handbook--pgs. 179-197
Week 3:
8] Topic Sentences / Plagiarism
10] Introductions
12] IKE
Week 5:
22] Argumentation / Paragraph Structure
Read: in The Little, Brown Handbook--pgs. 199-213
Your rough draft so far
24] Opposition Paragraphs
Bring: Your rough draft so far
26] Response Paragraphs
Bring: Your rough draft so far
Week 6:
29] Conference Day
Bring: working draft of your essay
Oct.. 1] Conference Day
Bring: working draft of your essay
3] Peer Evaluation of Rough Draft Essay #1 (Part I)
Bring: 1 copy of rough draft (as specified in Essay #1 assignment sheet
Week 7:
6] Peer Evaluation of Rough Draft Essay #1 (Part II)
Bring: 1 copy of rough draft (as specified in Essay #1 assignment sheet)
8] ** Final Draft of Essay #1 Due
Turn in to me: Final draft, any peer evaluation responses, and a copy
of your essay on disc
10] Introduction to Assignment #2
13] Brainstorming Ideas
Read: one or more of these stories:
1] Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper"
2] Updike, John. "A & P"
3] Bambara, Toni Cade. "The Lesson"
4] Baldwin, James. "Sonny's Blues"
5] Jewett, Sarah Orne. "A White Heron"
6] Mansfield, Katherine. "The Garden Party"
15] Defining Character Traits / Research
17] Cause & Effect Argumentation
Read: in The Little, Brown Handbook--pg. 98-100
Bring: Your rough draft so far
Bring: working draft of your essay
24] Conference Day
Bring: working draft of your essay
Week 10:
27] Peer Evaluation of Rough Draft Essay #2 (Part I)
Bring: 1 copy of rough draft (as specified in Essay #2 assignment sheet)
29] Peer Evaluation of Rough Draft Essay #2 (Part II)
Bring: 1 unmarked copy of rough draft
31] Introduction to Research Paper / Drafting the third argument
Bring: Copy of Essay #1
Week 11:
Nov. 3] ** Final Draft of Essay #2 Due
Turn in to me: Final draft, all research xeroxes, any peer evaluation
responses, and a copy of your essay on disc
5] Library & Research Introduction / Legitimate Sources
Meet In: we will meet in the Library on this day
(over in B Building, where the bookstore is)
** Thurs. 6: Last day to drop with a "W"
7] Database Research Introduction
Nov. 10] Database research
12] Inconporating Sources--Strategies
14] Incorporating Sources (continued)
Bring: Your research project
One book or one magazine/journal or one Internet article or
one database article (preferably ones you might use
as research, though they can be any book/magazine)
Week 13:
17] In-Text Citations
Read: in The Little, Brown Handbook--pgs. 647-656
Bring: Your research project
One book & one magazine/journal
19] In-Text Citations (Part II)
Bring: Your research project
One database article & one Internet article
21] Works Cited Citations (Part I)
Read: in The Little, Brown Handbook--pgs. 656-665
Bring: One book
Week 14:
24] Works Cited Citations (Part II)
Read: in The Little Brown Handbook--pgs. 666-670
Bring: One magazine/journal
26] Works Cited Citations (Part III)
Read: in The Little, Brown Handbook--pgs. 670-682
Bring: One database article
28] THANKSGIVING DAY HOLIDAY !!!
Week 15:
Dec. 1] Works Cited Citations (Part IV)
Bring: One Internet article
3] Conference/Research Day
Bring: working draft of your essay
5] Conference/Research Day
Bring: working draft of your essay
Week 16:
8] ** Final Draft of Research Paper Due **
Turn in to me: Final draft, original graded draft, all xeroxes of
research material
10] Introduction to In-Class Final
Read: in 75 Arguments--Chapter 12
12] Final Essay Preparation Day
* * * * *
Final Exam Date (In-Class Essay): Monday, Dec. 15 from 7:00 a.m.-8:00 a.m. in our regular classroom.
(** Note: changes can and may be made at the Instructor’s discretion **)
