Syllabus for
Writing Skills III
Camden County College
Fall, 2008
Professor Flanagan
Writing Skills III
Camden County College
Fall, 2008
Professor Flanagan
Contact Information:
Cell Phone: 609.605.8656 (please use only for emergencies)
Email Address: rflanagan@camdencc.edu
Office Hours: See me or email for appointment
Course Description:
This course provides students with the ability to write essays, to summarize readings and to respond to reading-based topics. At the completion of Writing Skills III, the student will write a well-developed essay that demonstrates adequate, thoughtful support of a controlling idea so that the student, on the first day of English Composition I, will read and write at the level of students placed directly into English Composition I.
Course Objectives:
1. At the completion of Writing Skills III, students will be able to write short essays comparable to those written on the first day by students placed directly into English Composition I. Because of the nature of writing and of our placement program, some of the course material covered in Writing Skills I and II will also be covered in Writing Skills III. These same subjects are frequently covered in English Composition I. Greater mastery, however, is required as students progress from one level to the next.
2. Students will be able to write clear, accurate, grammatically correct essays that show sufficient ability to state and support a position, to analyze, to exemplify ideas, and to summarize or paraphrase others’ published works, using appropriate references and avoiding plagiarism.
3. Students will be able to revise for clarity, consistency, coherence, and wordiness, and to proofread and correct errors in agreement, incomplete and run-on sentences, verb tense and form, pronoun reference, modification, spelling, and mechanics (punctuation and capitalization).
4. Students will be able to use acceptable manuscript form (for example, for margins, titles, spacing, deleting words and punctuation, and inserting words above carets).
Required Texts and Materials:
1. Armstrong, Donna, et al. Portfolios. 5th edition. McGraw-Hill: New York, 2004.
2. An IBM compatible, high density, formatted disk OR a USB flashdrive.
3. A notebook in which to take notes.
4. A folder in which to hold your essays.
Course Requirements and Percentages:
To pass Writing Skills III and move into English 101, you must pass the class with a C, pass the final portfolio, and pass the editing test at the end of the semester.
95% of your grade = essays, summaries, and grammar quizzes (not necessarily in chronological order)
1. Examples Essay
Essay using exemplification (p. 8, option 2: teacher-edited, reading-based)
2. Narrative/Descriptive Essay
Essay using narration (p. 9, option 2: teacher-edited, reading-based)
3. Division/Classification Essay
Essay on advertising (p. 14, option 2: teacher-edited, reading-based)
4. Definitive Essay
Timed essay (topic will be announced)
5. Cause and Effect Essay
Essay using cause and effect (p. 12, option 2: student-edited, general topic)
6. Comparative/Argumentative Essay
Essay using compare and contrast (p. 13, option 2: student-edited, reading-based)
7. Process Essay
Timed essay (topic will be announced)
8. Summaries (Together, they count as one grade)
9. Quizzes and Tests (Together, they count as one essay grade)
5% of your final grade = class participation (which includes worksheets)
Midterm Portfolio:
The midterm portfolio consists of one essay that, by mid-semester, you think best represents your writing ability. The portfolio will receive a grade of “Pass” or “Fail.” This grade will serve as your midterm exam and progress report.
Contents of the Midterm Portfolio:
1. A manila folder, labeled with your name, your instructor’s name, and your course’s name. (I will provide the folder, and the labels are in the back of your textbook.)
2. A cover letter, labeled.
3. One essay of your choice that you have written in this class, labeled.
4. The rough draft of the essay that you are submitting.
*All essays assigned up to this point must be turned in, graded, and handed back. You may not turn in a midterm portfolio if you have not completed all other work in this class
Final Portfolio
The final portfolio will be comprised of several pieces of writing that represent your accomplishments in Writing Skills III over the course of the semester. The portfolio will receive a grade of “Pass” or “Fail.” I will assign this grade in addition to your final letter grade in the course. Note: You cannot submit a final portfolio if you do not have a passing average.
Contents of the Final Portfolio:
1. A manila folder, labeled as before.
2. A cover letter, labeled.
3. One reading-based essay, labeled.
4. One peer-edited essay, labeled (the reading-based essay and peer-edited essay may be the same essay, in which case, you must include an additional essay to have a total of two revised essays).
5. One timed essay, labeled (revisions are not allowed on timed essays).
6. One optional essay, labeled.
Grading System for Essays:
A = Excellent (A+ = 98; A = 95; A- = 92)
This paper must have zero to few mistakes in grammar and/or punctuation, and must be free of awkward or wordy sentence structure. It must have a clearly stated thesis and be very well organized. Language should be creative and detailed (void of unsupported claims).
B = Good (B+ = 88; B = 85; B- = 82)
This paper will have few mistakes in grammar and/or punctuation and have very few spots of awkward or wordy language. It will be well organized and creative, with a clear thesis statement. Language will be mostly detailed.
C = Satisfactory/Fair (C+ = 78; C =75; C- = 72)
This paper will have noticeable mistakes in grammar and/or punctuation and may have several areas of awkward language. It will be organized in a rudimentary fashion and may have an unclear thesis statement. Language will be mostly general and may possess few concrete examples. It will lack essential creativity.
F = Unsatisfactory/Needs improvement (F = 60)
The following criteria (one or several in combination) may make your paper result in an “F”:
· Plagiarized essays (See my policy on plagiarism)
· Essays that do not meet format guidelines.
· Essays that do not meet length guidelines.
· Essays missing a thesis statement.
· Essays with serious organizational problems.
· Essays with serious errors in grammar, punctuation, and/or syntax.
· Essays that are confusing or offensive to a general readership.
Grading System for Final Grades:
0-69 F
70-79 C
80-89 B
90-100 A
Attendance:
Having one or two absences for legitimate reasons is understandable. Being absent four or five times (unless you are deathly ill or experiencing a family tragedy) looks bad and affects your class participation. Missing seven classes means that you have removed yourself from the class and that you have earned an NA (Not Attending) on your report card. Save absences for when you might truly need them; don’t waste them in the beginning of the semester. Please keep in mind that there is no such thing as an excused absence. You are allowed a certain number, period.
If you attend every class on time; stay awake during class; complete review sheets; and act respectfully during class, I will give you 100% for class participation.
First Missed Class: Excused
Second Missed Classes: Excused
Third Missed Class: Deduction of 10 points from class participation
Fourth Missed Class: Deduction of 15 more points from class participation
Fifth Missed Class: Deduction of 20 more points from class participation
Sixth Missed Class: Deduction of 20 more points from class participation
Seventh Missed Class: You earn an NA (Not Attending) as your final grade, and you must repeat the course
Falling asleep in class = one absence. You will lose 5 points from your class participation grade each time this happens.
Missing class on a day when homework is due does not mean that it’s OK to turn in that assignment late without penalty. Homework is due at the beginning of class, not afterward. If you don’t want a late penalty, then either attend class and submit homework on time or get to a computer to email the work before class starts. If the file is corrupt, scrambled, zipped or accidentally unattached, the assignment will be considered late. Every campus has a computer lab, and so do Kinkos stores.
Note: If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to see me about missed handouts and/or assignments.
If you do not show up on the day that the midterm portfolio is due, you will lose class participation points. If you do not show up on the day that the final portfolio is due, you will fail the class unless you can prove that a true emergency took place, preventing you from arriving. There are NO “make-up days” for portfolios.
Lateness:
Being a few minutes late once or twice is understandable; being late more than that is not, which is when each tardiness will equal half an absence. If you continue to arrive late, please withdraw from the course.
Missed Quizzes:
If you miss a quiz, you will have to wait until the “make-up” day at the end of the semester before you can take it.
Late Essays:
Do not wait until the last minute to write or type your assignments because if you do, you may discover that your printer is out of ink, that you have run out of paper, or that your computer has crashed, etc. These are unacceptable excuses for late work. Stock your house with extra paper and ink, save your work to a disk, and learn how to email your work to yourself. Create an emergency plan for what to do if a computer-related emergency occurs. This means using a computer on campus, at Kinko’s, or at a friend or family member’s house.
Essays submitted one class period late will be marked down ½ a letter grade (before any other deductions).
· Essays submitted two class periods late will be marked down an entire letter grade (before any other deductions).
· Essays submitted three or more class periods late cannot earn higher than a C (Other deductions might earn the paper a failing grade).
· If two weeks have passed since the due-date of a rough draft or final draft of an essay, that essay may NOT be submitted, and it will earn a zero.
Cheating:
If you cheat during a quiz or exam, you will get an automatic zero on the exam, which will hold enough weight to make you fail the entire course.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism occurs when a person knowingly or unknowingly uses someone else’s words or ideas without giving credit to that person. Plagiarism is theft. If you use someone else’s words or copy someone else’s paper when you type essays for this class, you will earn a zero on the paper with no opportunity to redo it for credit. It is always immediately obvious when a student uses someone else’s words because English professors are trained to notice.
Use of Technology:
Cell Phones, Blackberry Devices, Etc: You may not use your cell phone or BlackBerry during class, and these devices may not be left on desk surfaces. If any student reads a text message, sends a text message, answers a phone call, makes a phone call, or flips open the phone to read menus, type, or surf the Internet, all students must take an immediate cell-phone quiz based on whatever topic I am covering. Moreover, all cell phones and BlackBerries must be set to SILENT or shut off completely.
Headphones and Bluetooths: Headphones and Bluetooths may NOT be left in any students’ ears, even if the student is not listening to music or talking on the phone. Headphones and Bluetooths left in ears will result in a loss of 10 class participation points for each occurrence as well as a headphone quiz.
Computers: You may not surf the Internet, type emails, or otherwise use the computer during class unless your teacher gives you permission. Each time a person clicks a mouse or otherwise uses the computer when not permitted, all students will have to take an immediate computer quiz on whatever topic the teacher is covering.
SAVING WRITING ASSIGNMENTS ON THE COMPUTER
If you are using Microsoft Word, you will not have to worry about saving your work in a special way. Simply save it as you normally would. If, however, you are using a Macintosh computer or if you are using Microsoft Works or anything other than Microsoft Word, you MUST save your work with file extensions of .rtf (rich text file). To do this, go to “File” and “Save.” When the save box opens, go to “Save as Type” and scroll down with the arrow until you see “rich text file.” Select this. Otherwise, you will not be able to access your work on computers at school.
Tutoring:
You may go to the Tutoring Center on the 3rd floor of Wolverton (the library). These services are free, so please take advantage of them.
Computer Lab:
There are several computer labs on campus, available to all students.
Additional Assistance:
Students who have a physical or learning disability and are entitled to a classroom accommodation must inform me and provide documentation from the Program for Academically Challenged Students (PACS). That office is here to assist and support you.
