Syllabus

ENGLISH 1101 COURSE SYLLABUS

Humanities Division Georgia Perimeter College

Michelle Kassorla, Ph.D.	Michelle.kassorla@gpc.edu
404-955-3618 (Text) 770-274-5355 (Office)	Office:  NA, Third Floor — Dial 5355
Twitter:              @drkassorla Skype:               dryaelkassorla	Google:             mkassorla LinkedIn:           mkassorla

 

General Course Information

Course:  Engl 1101

Credit Hours:  3 hours

Title:  English Composition I

Dr K’s Schedule

If you can’t make it to class, please try to come to another section so you don’t get behind!

Prerequisites:

Exit or exemption from Developmental Studies English, Reading, and ESL requirements

 

Course Description:

This course focuses on skills required for effective writing in a variety of contexts, with emphasis on exposition, analysis, and argumentation, and also includes introductory use of a variety of research skills. Some sections of this course are taught with computer assistance in classrooms equipped with personal computers. Keyboarding experience will be useful but is not required.

 

At the End of the Course, Students should be able to:

 

1. Demonstrate the critical thinking skills involved in exploring, limiting, and focusing the subject in order to produce a thesis statement appropriate for the audience and the assignment.

2. Organize essays, using outlining and prewriting techniques, so that the plan indicates the major divisions of the thesis and provides specific support for assertions.

3. Compose introductory paragraphs containing the thesis statement of the essay, body paragraphs containing adequately supported topic sentences, and conclusions indicating completion of the discussion.

4. Revise essays for logical coherence and completeness as well as appropriate rhetorical strategies, style, and diction.

5. Edit essays for correct punctuation, grammar, and usage.

6. Locate sources on computer databases and cite those sources correctly in documented essays.

7. Write well-organized, well-developed, and mechanically correct essays of various types.

 

Course Policies

PROVISION FOR LATE WORK AND MAKE-UP EXAMS: Work is expected to be submitted on time. Each instructor will provide students with a policy regarding late work. When absolutely necessary, arrangements for late work and make-up exams should be made on an individual basis with the instructor.

 

ATTENDANCE AND WITHDRAWAL POLICY: It is the student’s responsibility to attend all classes, laboratories, and examinations as scheduled. Any student who is absent more than fifteen percent of the total scheduled time for the course will be withdrawn from that class with a grade of W if the violation occurs before mid-term. If the violation occurs after that date, the student will receive a failing grade for the course.

 

WRITING LAB: Instructional Support Services provides academic help for day and evening students and serves as a convenient means of getting additional writing instruction. Instructors may assign lab work for those students who need or desire extra help.

 

AID FOR THE DISABLED: If you are a student who is disabled as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act and require assistance or support services, please seek assistance through the Center of Disabilities Services. A CDS counselor will coordinate those services.

 

CHEATING/ PLAGIARISM POLICY: Cheating includes any attempt to defraud, deceive, or mislead a professor in arriving at an honest grade assessment. Plagiarism is a form of cheating that occurs when students present as their own the ideas, language, or work of others. Giving unauthorized help to other students also constitutes cheating.

Unless specifically authorized by the professor, the following are examples of cheating or plagiarism, although this list is certainly not exhaustive:

 

1.    Cheating on a test or quiz includes

• Looking at or copying from other students’ work.

• Allowing other students to look at or copy your work.

• Exchanging information with other students (including texting or messaging).

• Speaking or whispering (students may speak to professors at any time).

• Opening a textbook, notebook, mobile phone, or computer.

• Looking at notes.

2.    Cheating on writing assignments, homework or other out-of-class assignments includes

• Copying work or answers from other students.

• Copying ideas or text from printed sources and from computer or other electronic sources

• without proper documentation.

• Having someone else do the assignments.

• Allowing other students to “borrow” work and present it as their own.

3.    Cheating on late work or tests includes

• Providing false information or documents in order to be allowed to make up a missed test, quiz, or homework.

 

When source materials are used in the writing of papers, students must document the use of these sources by following the documentation style stipulated by their professor. Students who require clarification of any of the above concepts must consult with their professor.

 

Cheating of any kind may result in penalties ranging from a grade of F or 0 on the assignment to a course grade of F.

 

Professors also may refer cases to the College Court for assignment of additional penalties that may include suspension or expulsion from Georgia Perimeter College. Such cases may be brought before the College Court regardless of whether or not the accused admits guilt when initially charged. The accused should know that, at the sentencing phase, the Court may consider any previous record of cheating in determining the severity of the penalty.

 

The Georgia Perimeter College Student Handbook section on “Academic Dishonesty” outlines the steps of due process in such cases.

 

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY POLICY: No person shall, on the grounds of race, color, sex, religion, creed, national origin, age or disability, be excluded from employment or participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity conducted by Georgia Perimeter College.

 

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY: Georgia Perimeter College adheres to affirmative action policies designed to promote diversity and equal opportunity for all faculty and students.

 

Other Miscellaneous Policies

 

Technology policy

 

You are encouraged to use technology in my classroom, but please be polite:

 

• If you are expecting an important call, please let me know before class starts and leave briefly while you talk (this should happen rarely).

• Please keep all texts brief (for example “I’m in class, text me later.”)

• If you use your phone to take notes, please contribute to the communal class notes.

• Feel free to take pictures of the board, your paper, or notes.  Do not take pictures of people without their expressed permission.  Do not videotape unless it is directly related to a class assignment.

• Keep your browsing related to class materials. Please don’t post anything during class unless you are posting notes or class-related information.

• Please do not use any technology during examinations unless Dr. K expressly allows its use.

 

Class Discussion

 

Please express yourself politely during class discussion, feel free to express your own ideas or take a “devil’s advocate” position.  No one is allowed to ask whether you are taking your own opinion or a “devil’s advocate” position.  No one should discuss, post, or otherwise share the opinions of others outside class discussion with people outside the class unless you are recording and posting for the purpose of taking notes on a class note-taking site.

 

Study Tips/Suggestions

There are resources available to help you succeed in this course.  Use them!

 

Some things you SHOULD do:

• Do visit me during my office hours.

• Do message me with your questions. I am very interested in your progress and will do my very best to help you to achieve your goals.

• Do notify me, as far ahead of time as possible, if you’re going to miss class.    

• Do try to participate in communal notes so that you may record information while you are in class, and receive support from those when you must miss class.  METHODS OF ASSESSMENT

 

Assignments

 

Assignment	Grade Percentage
Collage	5%
Show-Don’t-Tell (Descriptive)	10%
Autobiography (Personal)	10%
Expository (Argument)	10%
In-Class Essay	10%
Quizzes/Projects/Homework	10%
Pecha Kucha (Oral Communication)	10%
iSearch (Research Paper)	20%
Final Exam/Essay	7.5%
Final Exam/Report	7.5%
Total	100%

 

Take-Home Essay

In-Class Essay

Misc. Work

Exam

Grade Distribution

Assessment: You must obtain a grade of C or better to pass this class.  All papers/essays must be completed in order to pass this course.  A grade of “C” at midterm indicates you are passing, but you still have a significant portion of grades to acquire, so do not relax your efforts.   A grade of “D” at midterm indicates that you are failing.  If you find yourself in this position, you should see me for further counseling.

 

Assignment Type	%
5 essays	45%
Quizzes/Projects/Homework.	10%
Pecha Kucha (5% slides/5% oral proficiency)	10%
Research Paper	20%
Final	15%
Total	100%

 

Grade Scale

The following University-wide 10 point scale will be used in evaluating work:

 

A	B	C	D	F
90-100	80-89	70-79	60-69	59-below

 

All work will be submitted via iCollege.  Essays should be written in 12-point type (Times Roman, Palatino, or Georgia please) with 1.5 inch margins. Do NOT put an extra space between paragraphs. Please  indent the first line of every paragraph.  Please use MLA Style. Papers are due on the assigned date. If you are not present on the in-class essay date, please make arrangements to make up the essay with Dr. K.  

 

Drafts

Essay drafts aid the writing process. Each draft for the two out of class writing assignments should be a complete version of a paper. It should have an introduction with a thesis statement, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.You MUST complete drafts in time for online Peer Response Group.

 

Essay Tests

One in-class writing assignment (Essay Tests) will be given. This test is timed. If you arrive after class has started, you may forfeit part or all of the time allotted. Students are not permitted to leave class during the Essay Tests unless there is an emergency. Please talk to Dr. K if you require extra time for disability or ESL reasons.

 

YOU MUST TURN IN ALL YOUR ESSAYS TO PASS THIS CLASS!

 

Homework, Quizzes, and Projects

Each student is expected to complete all assigned homework assignments (reading, grammar, syntax, etc.) on iCollege. Quizzes may be announced or unannounced and may be given in or out of class. If you arrive late to class or if you leave early, you may forfeit part or all of the quiz time allotted. There is no make-up of quizzes. Homework, projects, quizzes, and other assignments will be graded in iCollege. Together, these assignments will count for 10% of the final grade.

 

Oral Proficiency

Five percent of your semester grade will be based on your ability to communicate effectively through speaking. I will assess this based on an oral presentation you will give to the class. There will be an oral presentation by each of you that will be graded on individual performance, and a question and answer session following each presentation.

 

Two-Part Final Exam (Essay and Report)

Each section counts as 7.5 percent of your semester grade (15% total). Students must take both parts of the Final Exam to pass the course.

 

Exams will be given on the scheduled days. Exams will also be timed. If you arrive after class has started, you may forfeit part or all of the time allotted. Students will not be permitted to leave class during an exam unless there is an emergency. No use of books, notes, dictionaries, or other paper or electronic tools will be allowed during the Reading Exam. Final Exams must be completed by students individually, with no collaboration.

 

Class Preparation and Participation

Reading the assigned chapters and completion of homework assignments is important. You must purchase the required textbooks and allow ample time to read the assignments twice. You should be more judicious.  For example, some readings may be especially difficult and require two readings. As you read, take notes, underline main ideas and use a dictionary to define unfamiliar terms and concepts. Bring your textbooks and other required assignments to class.

 

Collaborative and group assignments require that you read the material prior to class and be prepared to participate in discussions or in-class writing assignments. Your participation grade will be influenced by a number of factors. A major component of the grade comes from being in class, on time, with the required assignments completed. A regular part of daily class activities will include discussing homework and class work. Students will be expected to share their ideas. Additionally, ungraded in-class writings and activities are part of participation. My own observations of your involvement in group and class discussions as well as peer review workshops also count. This grade counts as five percent of your semester grade.

 

Class Day by Day Calendar

 

Syllabus Day by Day
Day	Date	In Class	Homework for Next Class
Tuesday	1/12	Course introduction and overview Discussion of prewriting.		Familiarize yourself with iCollege. (We will be using it A LOT!)
Thursday	1/14	Introduction to Collage project. Begin working on Project.		Collage.  Due Tuesday!!
Tuesday	1/19	Introduce how to write an essay. Dr. K’s Great Punctuation Lecture.		Go take a walk!  Life is short!
Thursday	1/21	Show Don’t Tell!   Visualization for Essay. Begin Writing Essay.		Do rough draft of your essay for Tuesday.  Bring a copy of your essay with you on Tuesday!!!
Tuesday	1/26	Peer Response Group Introduce Peer response.  Do peer response of Show-Don’t-Tell Essay.		Revise Essay for Final Draft!
Thursday	1/28	How to establish a GPC Site!  How to use Grammarly.  How to Use Google Docs.		Get your blog set up!!  Play with some technology!
Tuesday	2/2	Introduce Autobiographical Essay. Discuss deciding on a thesis, focusing.		Begin writing your autobiographical essay.  Make sure the first paragraph of your essay is loaded into Google Docs.
Thursday	2/4	Share your essay and work in pairs.		Complete Rough Draft of your Autobiographical Essay to share with Peer Responders.
Tuesday	2/9	Peer Response Group		Revise your essay to turn in.
Thursday	2/11	Introduction to argument.  What does it mean to argue and how do you do it? Create Group Argument to Share.		Watch Video on argument. Take Quiz.
Tuesday	2/16	Introduce Argument essay.  Write thesis in class.		Write the first paragraph of your argumentative essay.  Upload to Google Docs.
Thursday	2/18	Share Thesis and first paragraph with group via Google Docs. Comment on paragraphs.		Write Rough Draft of your argument essay to bring to class on Tuesday for Peer Response.
Tuesday	2/23	Peer Response Group		Revise your argument essay and turn in to iCollege.
Thursday	2/25	Learn how to use Zotero!!		Complete Basic Works Cited page to turn in for a homework grade.
Tuesday	3/1	Introduction to the iSearch.		Turn in at least two possible iSearch topics for a homework grade.
Thursday	3/3	Basic research techniques.  How to use library resources, Google, and Grok.		Write rough draft of the first section of your iSearch:  “What I know and What I need to Know.”  Make it interesting!!
Tuesday	3/8	Peer Response Group		Revise your first section and submit to iCollege.
Thursday	3/10	Introduce Section II.  Begin Building a library in Zotero for sources you might use in your iSearch.  Create 5 item annotated bibliography.		Complete 5 item annotated bibliography for homework grade. Begin Writing the second section of your iSearch.
Tuesday	3/15
Thursday	3/17
Tuesday	3/22	How to cite your work.  Formatting the essay and your Works Cited Page.		Work on rough draft of Section 2.
Thursday	3/24	Zotero Lab: Citations and Works Cited.		Complete Section 2 Rough Draft.
Tuesday	3/29	Peer Response Group		Get Section 2 + Works Cited Completed and turned in.
Thursday	3/31	Introduce Section 3.  Discuss how to put the paper together. Open Lab:  Work on completing your iSearch!		Write Section 3. Begin combining paper. Rough draft of entire iSearch due to peer response Tuesday!
Tuesday	4/5	Peer Response Group		Complete final draft of iSearch to turn in by 4/14 at 11:30 p.m.!!
Thursday	4/7	Introduce Pecha Kucha.  Begin working on it.		Work on your Pecha Kucha!
Tuesday	4/12	Introduce Essay Tests.  Discuss how to take one.		Catch up!
Thursday	4/14	Complete in-class essay test IN CLASS!!		Turn in your in-class essay!
Tuesday	4/19	Open Classroom for help from Dr. K!		Get ready to present!!
Thursday	4/21	Open Lab day!   Work on Pecha Kucha! (Essay test makeup day)		Make sure everything is done for the year.  Look over checklist in iCollege.
Tuesday	4/26	Pecha Kucha Presentations.		If you haven’t done your Pecha Kucha, get ready!!
Thursday	4/28	Pecha Kucha Presentations.		Get ready for the final!!
		Final
Have a Happy Summer!!