|
|
English 135COURSE SYLLABUS
(TECHNICAL WRITING) SPRING 2001 SEMESTER |
|||
|
|
|
||||
|
Instructor: Pete
Kearly Section 08: Phone
Code #383033 Meeting Days/Times: T W Th 7:30-9:25AM Classroom: L-219(computer
classroom) Instructor’s Office: L-221 Instructor’s Office Hours TWTh: 12-3PM & By Appt. Instructor’s Phone:
(313) 317-6682 Instructor’s E-mail: pkearly@hfcc.net Philosophy: Each individual brings to writing her /his own
abilities to think and express. ENG
093 should facilitate such already learned abilities, nurture them and make
possible their adaptation to the conventions of academic and professional
language. Think of me as a coach and
of reading and writing as skills that require teamwork and practice,
practice, practice. |
Required Materials: Blue
or Black Pen 1
two-pocket folder to store handouts 1
Blank IBM-Formatted Floppy Disk (Labeled ENG 135 & Your Last Name) Required Texts: Anderson,
Paul V. Technical Communication,
4th ed. Orlando: Harcourt
Brace College Publishers, 1999. Arkin, Marian, & Macheski,
Cecilia. Research Papers: A
Practical Guide. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2001. Course Description: A
developmental course to prepare students for success in English 131. It is required of students who intend to
enroll in English 131 but whose scores on the English Placement Test indicate
weaknesses in English. Individual
conferences are held, and supplemental laboratory work in reading and writing
skills may be required. Students must
earn a grade of “S” (Satisfactory) before enrolling in English 131. Pre-Requirements: Satisfactory completion of English 131 with a
grade of “C“
or better. Course Objectives: 1. Write
words that show awareness of professional-oriented audiences. 2. Practice
and be able to successfully employ strategies for making resumes,
professional letters, memorandums, and reports. 3. Be
able to perform some basic word processing and computer skills. 4. Write
organized, coherent, and useful introductory, body, and conclusive paragraphs
that incorporate interesting narration. 5. Contain
clear topic sentences that are supported logically by details, examples,
reasons, facts and data. 6.
Write
professionally so that documents are free of mechanical errors, including
run-on sentences, fragments, and agreement errors. 7.
Document
sources accurately. 8.
Demonstrate
critical thinking skills such as
the ability to quote, interpret, analyze, criticize, compare, argue, define,
classify, summarize, and synthesize a diversity of sources. 9. Write ideas that show some independent and original thinking. 10. Demonstrate ability to revise and learn from mistakes. |
||||
|
|
|
||||
Student
Responsibilities:
1.
You
are required to attend all class meetings.
If you cannot attend a class due to extenuating circumstances, you must
notify me well in advance by telephone or by email (see Attendance).
2.
Each
student is responsible for reading any assigned text and handouts and not
relying entirely on the instructor presenting every detail. Your primary goal is to become an independent
learner!
3.
Any
dishonesty involved with homework or exams will result in a grade of zero for
the assignment and, depending on the seriousness of the infraction, an “E” for
the course as well as submission of your name to the Division Director and
Vice-President of Academic Education.
One serious act of dishonesty is plagiarism. Plagiarism is the act of submitting
work that is not the result of your own labor and thought, including quotation,
paraphrasing, and summarizing the work of others without citation, submitting
work that has been written by a friend, family member, or anyone other than
you, and allowing a friend, family member, or anyone to rewrite significant
portions of your papers. If you have any
questions or doubts, please see me.
4.
I
will not accept any late assignments. If you do not submit an assignment when it is
due you will receive a zero on that assignment and miss the opportunity to
receive feedback from me.
5.
You
are responsible for keeping your work neat and well organized in a two-pocket
folder.
6.
You
must record your own grades
on assignments on the grade sheet attached to this syllabus. If you need another grade sheet, request one
from me.
7.
You
must be courteous and
respectful to fellow students and to the instructor. Treat the classroom as a professional
environment where the focus should be on learning and NOT on socializing about
personal lives. This includes keeping
cell phones and pagers OFF and only leaving the classroom for bathroom breaks.
8.
Should
a student wish to dispute a grade, he or she must do so in formal writing and
not merely through verbal complaint. The
writing should include detailed proof of a perceived mistake and should not
make illegitimate claims.
Assignments:
· You must complete
a six-page (approximately 1500 words) research paper +
Works Cited page demonstrating you have learned all required technical writing
skills to pass (see Course Objectives above).
(The Research Paper is worth 400/400 points, or nearly half your
grade for the course.)
· You will be required
to complete a total of Ten Journal Assignments. Each Journal
Assignment will incorporate work from the textbooks and will be worth 40/40
points.
· Blackboard Discussion
Board (Worth 100 points): You must submit at least ten one-paragraph
responses to an issue for discussion that I
post onto Blackboard over the course of seven weeks. Each Discussion Board response is worth up to
10 points. The Discussion Board is
intended to help generate thinking about what you will write for formal Journal
Assignments and the Research Paper before submitting them to me. Class members are to assist each other to
understand key concepts and technical skills.
The instructor will monitor the Discussion Board daily to give each
student credit.
· Portfolio:
All work for this course is to be compiled in
a two-pocket folder: the Journal, self-evaluations, and notes on one side
behind the grade sheet, and rough drafts, Research Paper, and Letter of
Recommendation on the other side. Be
sure the grade sheet is complete!
· Each student must meet with me at least two times during the semester to
discuss progress in the course and to work on the Research Paper. If you wish to meet with me
beyond these two conferences (mid-semester conference and final conference),
you must make an appointment with me well in advance. You may come and see me during my office
hours for any concerns provided a conference is not taking place. All conferences will be held in my office in
room L-221. If you miss a conference
without notifying me well in advance, you will lose 20 points from your
attendance grade. Each conference is
worth 20 points against an unexcused absence.
· Class Notes & Rough Drafts: Diligent class notes insure that if you are on the
border between grades, I will give you the higher grade. Whenever I lecture, you should take notes,
outlining any key terms and explanations.
Any work that you do in class but are not required to turn-in for a
grade also counts as class notes.
Outlines and rough drafts of assignments count too. Make
sure you have your name and respective date on the pages of the notes. Please do not submit a spiral notebook. I prefer you use loose-leaf paper or type
your notes and drafts.
· Letter of
Recommendation: Write a formal letter seriously
reflecting on your progress in the course and explaining what grade you
deserve. I award honesty and detailed
evidence! A convincing letter will award
you the higher grade if you are on the border between two grades.
Revisions:
I
allow up to three revisions of each Journal
Assignment and the Research Paper until Tuesday, June19. Use the attached evaluation sheets and
revision guide with each writing assignment and draft of your term paper to
help you with revisions in addition to the comments and suggested corrections I
write on the papers. You should
conference with me in my office during my office hours to make sure you
understand each revision instruction. Remember
that the basic philosophy for this course is learning from mistakes.
Additional Resources:
Free English tutoring is available in the Writing Lab located in the Learning Lab. You can call (313) 845-9643 to inquire when tutors are available. I will give you 20 points per tutor appointment to count against any unexcused absences.
Please exchange phone numbers/email
addresses with two classmates who will be responsible for informing you of
missed assignments in the event that you are absent.
Name Phone
Number e-mail
Attendance
Policy:
Attendance counts for 100/100
points out of your final grade. You
are expected to come to class prepared and on time. If you are more than 10 minutes late for
class you will lose 10 points, depending on how often. If you leave class 10 minutes early without
an excuse I've approved, you will lose 10 points. Basically, it is a good idea to attend the
full class period regularly. You will be allowed two unexcused absences. Any absences exceeding two must have a
documented and excellent excuse. Each unexcused absence takes 20 points
off your attendance grade; over six unexcused absences means an automatic “DR”
for the course, no exceptions!
A student will be asked to
drop the course if s/he receives six or more unexcused absences (each unexcused
absence
subtracts 20 points from the 100 possible for the Attendance grade).
Students
must meet with me for at least two conferences (each conference is worth 20/20
points for Attendance)
Any conference or tutoring
appointment beyond what is required will earn 20 points against unexcused
absences.
Determination
of Final Grade: Divide Your Points By 1000 Possible Points Times 100 = ___ %
Overall
Grade: The grade you
receive on your report card is calculated by your point total divided by the
total possible points for each individual student. Point totals may vary between students,
depending on effort. Nonetheless,
percentages align with the following letter grades: 100-98% (A+), 97.9-92% (A),
90-91.9% (A-), 88-89.9 (B+), 82-87.9 (B), 80-81.9 (B-), 78-79.9 (C+), 72-77.9
(C), 70-71.9 (C-), 68-69.9 (D+), 62-67.9
(D), 60-61.9 (D-), 0-59.9 (E). HFCC does
not factor plus or minus grades into the student’s GPA, but grades of plus or
minus transfer to some universities and colleges. If you are on the border between one grade
and another, then in-class notes, attendance, and any extra credit work you do
will be deciding factors.
Priority Assignment Possible Points Sample of Your Points
1 Syllabus/Schedule/Grade sheet Required Required
2 Ten Journal Assignments 400 310 (each is worth up to 40 points)
3 Research
Paper 400 300
(you may redo up to 3 times)
4 Blackboard Discussion
Questions 100 100
(each is worth up to 10 points)
Attendance
+ Conferences (2 required) 100 80 (-20 for each unexcused absence)
Total Possible
Points 1000 790 Total
Points Earned
6 Class
Notes + Letter of Recommendation Round-up
to higher of two grades Extra-credit
Final Grade=790/1000=.79 X 100=79%=”C+” (Class Notes + Letter
= change grade to “B-”)
·
Grading: For
each assignment and essay, points are taken off to tell you to work on one of
the following: punctuation and spelling (-1), comma use (-1), pronoun use (-1),
singular-plural agreement (-1), paper format (-1), quotation marks (-1), sentence construction (-2), transition
(-2), organization of idea (-2), mixed metaphor (-2), missing definition of a
concept (-2), MLA citation guidelines (-2), logic of idea (-3), valid use of source
(-3), valid observation and detailed description (-3), missing supporting
evidence (-4), logic of overall argument (-5), valid conclusion (-5). I calculate these point subtractions based on
the average number of times a student tends to need to learn the given skill
(see Guides for Revision attached to this syllabus).
Class Schedule
Important Dates: Late
Registration/Schedule Adjustments May
7- 14
Last
day for 100% refund by 7PM May
14
Last
day for no-record drop by 7PM May
14
Memorial
Day (No Classes) May
28
Last
day to drop classes in Registrar’s Office May
30
Research
Paper Due! June
19
Portfolio
Folder Due! June
26
Pick
Up Portfolio from room L-221 June 28
Sequence
of Instruction: The following schedule is tentative and may be subject to
change.
Date Day Class
Work
May 8 Tue Discuss
syllabus, and complete Computer Skills Questionnaire. Introduction to Use of the
Computer, Internet, Blackboard, and Word. Homework: Purchase
Class Supplies: Folder, Books, Disk, etc.
May 9 Wed Discuss
Methods of Persuasion (p. 4-24) Journal Assignment One: Cover
Letter (p. 562-566)
May 10 Thu Journal Assignment One Due! Discuss
Resumes and Defining Strategies of Presentation. Journal Assignment Two: Resume (p. 26-52)
May 15 Tue Journal Assignment Two Due! Journal Assignment Three:
Memorandums (p. 567-568) & Reports (p. 443-514): Choose One Report Style to
Complete
May
16 Wed Journal Assignment Three: Memorandums (p. 567-568)
& Reports (p. 443-514): Choose One Report Style to Complete as a one to two
page memorandum.
May 17 Thu Journal Assignment Three Due! Generate and Plan ideas for the Research
Paper (p. 98-126 & Ch. 2 RP*) and discuss Conducting Research
(p. 127-134 & Ch. 3 RP) Homework: Select Research Topic and Source
Material from Library (You may only use one Internet source or one interview
source; at least two other sources must be from newspapers, magazines,
journals, or books)
May 22 Tue Journal Assignment Four:
Conducting Research (p. 135-162 & Ch. 4 RP). You may go to
the library during class time to conduct
research provided you have been approved to do so by the instructor.
May 23 Wed Journal
Assignment Four Due!
Journal
Assignment Five: Drafting (p. 165-193 & Ch. 5 & 7 RP)
May 24 Thu Journal
Assignment Five: Drafting (p. 165-193 & Ch. 5 & 7 RP)
Homework:
Complete second & third page of the Research Paper: Summarize &
Interpret Source Material.
May 29 Tue Journal Assignment Five Due!
Journal
Assignment Six: Organizing (p. 194-219 & Ch. 6 RP)
May 30 Wed Journal
Assignment Six: Organizing (p. 194-219 & Ch. 6 RP)
May 31 Thu Journal
Assignment Six: Organizing (p. 194-219 & Ch. 6 RP)
Homework: Complete
fourth and fifth page of the Research Paper.
June 5 Tue Journal Assignment Six Due!
Journal Assignment Seven: Style (pp. 247-269 &
Ch. 8 & 9 RP)
June
6 Wed Journal Assignment Eight: Visual Aids (pp. 271-298)
June 7 Thu Journal
Assignment Nine: Design & Layout (pp. 331-355). Homework: Complete sixth page of Research Paper.
June 12 Tue Journal
Assignment Ten: Revision (p. 359-390 & Ch. 10 RP)
June
13 Wed Journal Assignment Ten: Revision (p. 359-390 & Ch.
10 RP)
June 14 Thu Complete
Journal Assignment Ten in class (Due at the end of the class period!)
Homework: Complete
Research Paper!
June 19 Tue Research Paper Due!
June
20 Wed Blackboard Discussion Questions Due!
June 21 Thu Organize
Portfolios: Grade sheet must be completed or portfolio will not be accepted!
June 26 Tue Portfolio
Folders Due in my office, L-221, by 3pm! No exceptions!
June
27 Wed Last Day of Class. Teacher Evaluations.
June 28 Thu Pick-up Portfolio from my
office, room L-221, by 3pm to find out your final
grade.