Instructor: Dr. Jan Strever jstrever@scc.spokane.edu
Office: 239 A Old Main -- Office Hour: 10:30 -11:30 M - R
Phone: (509) 533-8035
Class homepage: http://ol.scc.spokane.edu/jstrever/online201Please
read this syllabus very carefully and ask questions about any item that is unclear to you.
This syllabus is an agreement that defines our mutual expectations and responsibilities as
instructors and students in this course.
Course Texts --
A daily subscription to
the New York Times for an entire
quarter.
Pellegrino. a writer's guide to transitional words and expressions.
A handbook of some type, for example Quick Access, Keys
for Writers or the Beacon Handbook.
Overview of Course*
In this course you will learn to READ, REACT to what you read and then write about your
reactions. The course material will be learned through the following components:
Active class discussions: Participation through discussion is a vital
and mandatory part of class thus, all students will be expected to engage in discussion.
Seminar Papers: You will write short essays both in and outside of
class expanding on the essay format you learned in English 101. All of your essays will be
written in MLA format.
Research Papers and/or Projects: You will write one 4-8 page research
essay using MLA format and one 6-10 page research paper.
Audience Journals: you will write and post a weekly journal.
Course Outcomes:
The student will be able to write a clear, organized, detailed, college level essay
incorporating personal experiences as well as other sources in standard English both in
class and out of class.
The student will be able to critically read and analyze professional and peer writing
and discuss this analysis using correct terminology.
The student will be able to revise a draft and improve the quality of writing,
organization and content in subsequent drafts.
The student will develop and/or refine his/her process for future writing in college
classes, in the work place, and in personal correspondence.
The student will be able to research and find information on a variety of topics in a
variety of ways.
Students will become proficient at incorporating and analyzing research in their writing
while maintaining a personal voice.
Students will better understand computer applications and be better able to experiment
with them.
Students will understand the "flexible responsibility" necessary to succeed in
an online course.
Responsibility Outcomes
A critical step in becoming a truly educated individual is that of taking
responsibility for one's own The following outcomes address this step:
Participating in class discussions in an informed and professional manner.
Asking questions when a concept is not clear.
Setting and balancing priorities.
Understanding and accepting consequences.
Demonstrating respect for others.
Class Procedures and Requirements
1. Readings
Reading assignments are related to seminar questions for both in-class writing and out of
class seminar papers
2. Feedback
Once a week, all students are required to participate in a team
feedback. What this means is that you will need to be
available for feedback sessions once each week. Read papers carefully, marking important or difficult passages, and take notes in
the margin; write down questions you have, so that when you are reading a class member's
paper, you will be able to make informed criticism. A copy of the feedback
will be given to the author, and then turned into me along with the final draft. Active participation is required and evaluated.
3. Seminar Papers You will be writing an assignment a week.
Being on time and on task is imperative. You will be alternating between exercises
and essays. Both will be given feedback.
4. Research Essays
Academic writing most often requires research. Therefore, many papers will require using
either the text and/or outside sources; all students will be expected to demonstrate an
understanding of basic research and documentation skills. Two longer papers will require
this type of research. All papers should use MLA documentation form.
5. Weekly Journal Blog Each week students are expected to respond to the questions posed for discussion.
6. Assessment Activities
In addition to writing assignments and class discussion, there might be reading quizzes,
both announced and unannounced, class activities, and self-evaluation opportunities. Each
assignment will be worth a certain number of points, and the total points for the quarter
will be the basis for your final grade. These points will be converted to percentages and
ultimately decimal grades based on the Community Colleges of Spokane's grading scale (see
catalog).
7. Reading Journal Students will submit a one to two page response to the
readings. These journals will receive a
=10, + =12, ++ =14 or a
-=7 points.
ATTENDANCE AND OTHER HOUSEKEEPING POLICIES:
- Keep in regular contact with your instructor and other class members. The on-campus
meetings are mandatory--there are no exceptions. If you miss the initial meeting, you will
have not met the requirements of the class and cannot pass the class with a 2.0 or better.
- This writing course will largely be a workshop. You are expected to play an active role
as a member of a community of writers. Throughout the course you will be writing to a
variety of audiences.
- Please familiarize yourself with what constitutes plagiarism
and the consequences of it.
- All papers and assignments are due at the time listed on the class web page.
- The key requirement is to be prepared and to participate and to do all of the assigned
work--readings and writings--on time. You are responsible for all information presented in
the class, whether or not you log-on to retrieve it.
- If you have anything that might hinder your progress in this class, you need to let me
know, so that I can help you. If you have special accommodations that need to be made to
ensure your success in class, I need to be notified during the first part of the
class.
- Participation and good attendance are essential to any
class. Meeting deadlines and attendance at the class meetings are mandatory, online
or real time.
- Late Work and Withdrawals -- To receive credit for an assignment,
please turn it in at the time and date specified on the calendar.
- Papers will not be accepted late; however, to allow for the
unexpected, you may turn in one paper late without an excuse or penalty if you submit it
within one week of its due date. To do this, you must attach your late paper certificate
to the front cover. If you submit all papers on time (in other words, if you do not use
your late-paper option), ten points will be added to your overall grade points at the end
of the quarter.
There is NO late paper option for the
research essays. You will know their due dates well in advance and, therefore, should be
able to plan for the unexpected. You should be aware that I do not give "Z"
grades. If you stop attending the class, or you decide to stop attending school
altogether, please withdraw officially. If you are ill and cannot come to campus, SCC can
assist you in such a situation.
Grading
To encourage you to take ownership of your progress in class, we will use web grading.
You can access your grades at
https://secure.scc.spokane.edu/UserSpace/default.asp
Your user name is your student id, and your password
is your birthday, expressed 10291960 in other words
10/29/1960.
Grades are updated each Monday and Tuesday. It is your responsibility to check your own
progress.
If you have questions or concerns about a particular grade, please use the comment
feature in the gradebook to notify me of the concern. Also, please notify me
within one week of the publication of the grade, so that we can stay
current. I will
not go back further than that, so please stay on task.
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Also, my philosophy about
grades is that you earn them....I do not give them to you.