English 81: Part of ReWrit 81

Instructor:          Lisa Bernhagen

Office:                Building 21 room 213

Office Phone:     206 878 3710 ext. 3213

Office Hours:     M-Th 12-1 and by appointment

Email:                lbernhag@highline.edu

MATERIALS: 

Course Textbook:   Grassroots, 9^th ed. Susan Fawcett     

Other necessary items:  folder, notebook for in-class writing, disk or flashdrive and an e-mail account to store your assignments on.                                   

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Developmental Writing is designed for students who need work on language and rhetorical skills in order prepare for English 91. The course focuses on writing multi-paragraph responses and on constructing a variety of sentences with complex clauses and phrases and effective coordination and subordination.  The course also focuses on students fine-tuning their use of English sentence patterns and editing for non-native errors, specifically in terms of articles and plural ‘s’, prepositions, word choice problems, verb tense errors and coordination and subordination.

Computer Integrated Aspect of the Course: 

This course is computer integrated, so you should have paid a computer use fee as part of your tuition.  You should have received a letter explaining your username and password that will you open access to the computer lab.  We’ll meet once a week in the computer lab in Building 30, and you’ll use Word for Windows to word-process the writing assignments.  You will need to set aside time outside of class to work on your writing assignments.

COURSE OUTCOMES

By the end of the quarter, students earning a 2.0 or above will be able to:

·         Effectively analyze and follow an instructor’s assignment/homework directions.

·         Produce multi-paragraph responses to assignments on specific topics.

·         Develop paragraphs with clear focus, support and organization.

• Edit minor errors effectively for clearer syntax appropriate for academic English.
• Construct effective sentences with phrases and independent and dependent clauses
• Edit effectively for errors with coordination and subordination.
• Edit effectively for verb tense errors and refine use of verb tense, specifically related to more complex verb phrases and irregular verbs
• Edit for minor word choice problems, specifically those related to vocabulary and parts of speech confusion
• Edit for errors in noun usage: articles and plural “s”

·         Edit for preposition errors (missing or incorrect choice)

COURSEWORK:

Writing Assignments: We will complete 4 multi-paragraph assignments.  You will complete a “rough” draft and then revise and edit this for a final draft that I will then grade. 

Homework and Quizzes: We’ll be doing exercises from our book for homework and in-class writing practice.  In order to assess that students understand the grammar lessons, I will give approximately five or six 10-point quizzes throughout the quarter.  

In-class writing exams:  To help prepare for the final and to help you get ready for 101 and 91, we will do several timed writing exams, in which you’ll need to use your skills to write a paragraph in 50 minutes.

One visit to the Campus Writing Center and one conference with me:  You will need to visit the writing center one time to work with a writing consultant on one of your assignments and you need to have one conference with me.  If you visit the writing center additional times, I will give you extra credit.

POLICIES:

Writing Assignments and the portfolio:  If you miss class the day we do an in-class writing exam, you may not make it up.  For the portfolio and out-of-class writing assignments, I will only accept assignments up to three days late.  After three days, the grade becomes a zero. 

Quizzes and Homework:  I do not give credit to late homework or quizzes.  If you miss the day it is due, you miss the credit (unless you make prior arrangements with me.)

Cell Phones and Pagers and Text-messaging: Out of respect for your classmates, your instructor and your own learning, turn all phones and pagers off before class begins.  If there is some emergency reason that you will need to be taking a call or page during class, please speak to me about it before class begins.  I do not allow text-messaging in my class.  If I notice you text-messaging in class, I will ask you to leave for the day.  This is distracting to me and other students. 

Keeping Copies of Your Work: Please keep all your work, in a folder in a safe place, until the end of the quarter. When you turn in a paper, be sure you keep either a paper copy or a copy on disk. It’s a good idea to have a backup copy as well.

Statement on Diversity: I recognize and respect diversity of ethnicity and race, gender, sexual identity, class, age, and disability. Differences provide us with opportunities to learn new things, compare experiences, test our assertions, understand ourselves better, and find common ground. Differences also sometimes engender conflict. In the midst of that conflict, I ask everyone to maintain a language and an attitude of respect.

Student Responsibilities for Classroom Behavior:  Student rights and responsibilities are outlined in the “Student Rights and Responsibilities Cod WAC 1321-120,” a booklet available in Student Services and elsewhere on campus.  The document prohibits disorderly or bothersome conduct which interferes with the rights of others or which obstructs or disrupts teaching.  Further, the instructor is responsible for classroom conduct and is authorized to take such steps as are necessary when a student’s behavior interrupts normal classroom procedures.

Ethics: The worst academic offenses in the U.S. are cheating and plagiarism. For this class, that means 1) Don’t turn in an assignment someone else wrote; 2) Don’t let someone else (your best friend, your mom, etc.) do a lot of rewriting or proofreading for you, although it’s certainly acceptable to get general feedback; and 3) Don’t copy phrases or sentences from books, articles or the Internet into your papers. If I discover you have copied phrases or sentences from another source, the paper could earn a 0, with no possibilities for revision. We’ll talk about how to use sources ethically; if you find yourself wanting to use a source before we cover it in class, come talk to me.

Withdrawals. Students who have not officially withdrawn from the class by the final withdrawal deadline will receive a grade based on the work they have completed to that date, even if they have stopped attending class. If you stop coming to class and do not withdraw, you are likely to earn a 0.0 in the class. It is very hard for your grade point average to recover from such a grade. I cannot withdraw you after that date.

Incompletes. An “incomplete” is a grade on your transcript that is converted to a decimal grade when you finish all of your work for the course. It is intended for students who are successfully passing the course until the very end, when they encounter a major emergency, such as a car accident or hospital stay. It is not intended for students who have failed to turn in most of the work over the course of the quarter. Students requesting an incomplete must have finished at least 80 percent of the course work and have an approved and documented reason for not completing the course. Incompletes must be completed in a certain time frame; if the work is not completed within that time, the incomplete converts to the grade the student earns without having done that work.

EVALUATION

Grade breakdown:

Writing assignment 1                             12

Writing assignment 2                              12

Writing assignment 3                              12

Writing assignment 4                              14

Midterm Assessment                               1

In-class Timed Writing (3)                       2

1 Peer Response                                       .5               

Homework                                  15

Quizzes                                        6

One conference at writing center    .5                 

Final Exam (3 parts:                   25

grammar exam, in-class paragraph,

out-of-class writing assignment 5)

                                                       100 points total

RESOURCES:

Extra Help: If you find yourself struggling with grammar or anything else in this course, PLEASE contact me through email or make an appointment to see me.

Writing Center:

I highly recommend visiting the Writing Center for an appointment with a consultant.  The center is a valuable campus resource where students can get assistance and additional feedback on their written work.  The center is located in Building 26, 319.   A writing consultant can show you editing techniques; serve as an audience for your paper and let you know where you need more details; help you identify a focus/thesis; assist you as you develop ideas. Stop by at Building 26 or visit the Writing Center Homepage at http://flightline.highline.edu/wcenter/ for more information.

Students with Disabilities: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability; if you have emergency medical information to share with me; or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please provide me with the Letter of Accommodations you have received from the Office of Access Services. Access Services is located in Building 99.