Instructor Information: Weekend office hours: Saturdays of class
from 8 till
e-mail: anschick@cdnet.cod.edu
fax: (630) 466-3879
COD phone: 630/942-2800, extension:___________
TEXT for all
English Levels:
The Little Brown Handbook
Note: In the interdisciplinary Weekend Studies program, a Writing-Across-the-Curriculum approach is used for all English composition levels; therefore, students work on similar writing assignments and undergo concurrent class instruction. Different skill levels are addressed through slight adaptations in assignments, individualized instructor feedback, and grading criteria pertinent to each level.
Department COURSE DESCRIPTION: ENGLISH 101
Description: English 101 introduces
students to the expectations and skills for general college level writing. The student will explore the writing process
and experiment with various methods of invention, planning, organizing, and
composing. The student will also review
grammar essentials and have opportunity to work individual weaknesses in
writing. The student should also become
more aware of him/herself as a reader -- noticing, responding, analyzing -- in
order to become more objective in his/her own work and in order to explore
various styles and techniques of expression.
General
Course Objectives:
1. To teach forms appropriate to a text's
content and purpose:
·
Thesis and specific support,
·
Introductions and conclusions,
·
Discernible patterns of development,
·
Optional sentence structures
2. To assess the writing
situation by
·
Anticipating reader needs,
·
Defining purpose
·
Choosing appropriate forms and levels of
discourse
3. To call upon useful
methods for accomplishing each stage in the writing process:
·
Ordering
·
Inventing
·
Composing
·
Drafting
·
Revising
·
Polishing
·
Proofing
·
Sharing
·
4. To understand and
practice the recursive nature of the process, and...
5. To see projects through to completion such that the text meets conventional standards of acceptable prose.
Department
COURSE DESCRIPTION: ENGLISH 102
Description: English 102 reviews and reinforces student
practice of the stages of the writing process, the basic patterns of
organization, conventions of correctness, and consideration of the reader. English 102 emphasizes the student reading,
listening, and responding in order to write.
The student in English 102 should come to understand that his or her
language always occurs within a context of other language to which he or she
responds. English 102 develops the
student's power to determine how his or her writing shall be situated with
respect to the discourse of others.
General Course Objectives:
1.
With respect to reading:
a. to teach methods of
reporting that demonstrate understanding of written texts: summarizing, paraphrasing, analyzing;
b. to teach conventions
of quotation for purposes of illustration and demonstration;
c. to teach students to
observe patterns of organization and details of style.
2.
With respect to writing:
a. to teach methods of
reporting to demonstrate understanding of written texts: for example, summary, paraphrase, analysis;
b. to teach rhetorical
methods of development;
c. To teach techniques of incorporating and responding to
other points of view within one's own writing;
d. to teach conventions
of citation and documentation.
Department
COURSE DESCRIPTION: ENGLISH 103
Description: English 103 is the last composition
course in the sequence. Its purpose is
to apply the skills students have honed in 101 and 102 to more advanced college
writing assignments culminating in the research paper with 10-15 pages of
text. Students will put to use their
idea-gathering and developing skills to construct a research question. Then they will explore a variety of sources
including but not limited to library materials to acquire background, discover
theory, and support conclusions. Students
will then prepare a final research report according to standards set in this
syllabus and in other handouts and oral directions.
General CourseObjectives:
1. To teach forms general used in college level undergraduate
research.
2. To explore and apply idea-generations methods such as
preliminary reading, brainstorming, conceptualization, rough outlining,
thesis/hypothesis construction, library and other research methods (such as
interview), note-taking organization with the help of note cards and other
formats, drafting and finalizing the research paper into an acceptable form,
complete with appropriate documentation and visual supplements.
3. To refine writing
style through emulation of the styles of research sources and class essay
assignments in the analysis of the arts.
4. To strengthen individual writing skills through revision of
essays and other pertinent work decided upon with instructor.
5. To see projects through to completion such that the text
meets conventional standards of acceptable prose.
FOR ALL STUDENTS:
REQUIREMENTS:
1)
Attendance:
Since this is a “reduced seat time” class, attendance is essential. It is
impossible for instructors to ”fill in” details of
class for students who miss part or all of a weekend session. Therefore,
students should make attendance a top priority. Should difficulties arise and
absence be necessary, students should attend as much a
part of the affected weekend as possible; where absence occurs, students should
arrange with classmates to take notes or tape the class and pick up extra
handouts. It is the student’s responsibility to seek out others for the
information and materials missed. Because of the importance of attendance,
absence will affect grade in ways described below in the Grading section.
Because of the importance of attendance, absence will affect grade (see Grading
section below) significantly.
Students may expect that missing one weekend could reduce class grade
by one full letter. Missing a second weekend or its equivalent could reduce
course grade to “C” or lower. Missing more than two weekends for any reason
will constitute grounds for “F” grade or instructor-initiated withdrawal from
class.
2)
Completion of
all assigned work on the assigned dates and times. All essays are due by
3) Class participation that includes timeliness,
preparedness, and willing and constructive engagement in class activities,
discussions, and group work.
GRADING:
1. In composition classes,
the mastery of the essay makes up the substance of the course. Therefore, the
bulk of a student’s grade is based on an arithmetic average of grades on
essays. Consistent and marked
improvement throughout the quarter may earn a student a letter grade higher
than the arithmetic average (at instructor discretion) if the last two main
essays earn the higher grade upon first submission.
Students are evaluated on
the following basis:
·
Essay
structure, including the standard introduction concluding with thesis; body
paragraphs with transitions, topic sentences, appropriate development with
detail, explanation, and citation; and conclusion that goes beyond summary to
make assertion and provide insight and significance.
·
Essay
content that demonstrates pertinence tot he assignment, clear line of thought,
logical development of ideas, and significance of idea. This includes growth in
critical thinking and responding skills.
·
Mastery
of the conventions of English language usage and continued refinement of
skills.
103 students are expected
to be able to meet the above criteria upon entry to the class. However, each
student will work on refining their areas of weakness and will be evaluated on
their progress to becoming strong college writers.
2. Attendance will affect
grade.
While it is possible to
maintain an “A” and miss a whole weekend, such an absence must be “approved” by
instructors. Understandable reasons include family emergency such as severe
illness or passing
of close family member (babysitting does not constitute an emergency for this
purpose), unavoidable work emergency, and/or serious personal illness (highly
contagious flu is included in this category) requiring physician contact.
Students may expect that
missing one weekend could reduce class grade by one full letter. Missing a
second weekend or its equivalent could reduce course grade to “C” or lower.
Missing more than two weekends for any reason will constitute grounds for “F”
grade or instructor-initiated withdrawal from class.
Class begins promptly at
3. Class participation
demonstrating attentiveness, pertinent questions, pertinent and thoughtful
discussion, courtesy to peers and instructors, openness to understand alternate
views—all these can affect total grade, especially if the final grade borders
between two grades. This is
appropriate since composition classes are also classes in
communication in which students learn from texts, professors, and peers and
respond in turn.
REVISION
POLICY:
Any essay submitted on the required due date may be revised one time per
essay. Revisions are due at the next
class meeting following return of graded papers. Grade improvement of a full letter often
results from careful revision. The
instructions below and detailed in class must be followed EXACTLY for the work
to be considered.
1) On the original graded paper, write the rule governing each error each time
the error appears on the paper. This may
be done in pen right near my corrections. The original must be re-submitted along with the correction sheet and re-write described below.
2) Correct organization and rhetorical
errors by rewriting the necessary sections of the paper, or the whole paper if
weaknesses warrant that. HIGHLIGHT CORRECTIONS.
OR
1) Using the Track Changes feature
under TOOLS on the MSWord Menu Bar, check “Highlight” changes” and then check
all the boxes. As you make corrections,
Word will line through the original and make changes in contrasting color. If your printer lacks color feature, when you
print highlight the changes so I can find them easily.