COLLIN COLLEGE
FALL SEMESTER SYLLABUS
ENGLISH 1301: COMPOSITION/RHETORIC I
Professor: Joyce M. Miller Office: J243, Spring Creek Campus
Tuesday/Thursday
classes meet at the following times in Room G238:
8:30am-9:45am; 10am-11:15pm; 11:30am-12:45pm.
Monday/Wednesday class meets at 4pm in Room J208.
Office Hours: Available at scheduled times and posted on office door.
972.881.5981
Office e-mail address (weekday replies only):
jmiller@ccccd.edu
URL for web site: http://iws.ccccd.edu/jmiller/jmiller.htm
URL for college: http://iws.ccccd.edu/
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT COMPLIANCE: It is the policy of Collin College to provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations for individuals with documented disabilities. This college will adhere to all applicable federal and state laws, regulations, and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student's responsibility to visit the ACCESS office (G200) or telephone 972.881.5898 (TDD.881.5950) in a timely manner if he or she desires to arrange accommodations.
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS: In accordance with Section 51.911 of the Texas Education Code, Collin College will allow a student who is absent from class for the observance of a religious holy day to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time. Students are required to file a written request with each professor within the first 15 days of the semester to qualify for an excused absence. Please telephone or visit the registrar's office for additional information on procedures and rules.
COLLEGE REPEAT
POLICY: You may repeat this course only once after earning a grade,
including W. Should you drop the course before the current semester's
census date (insert date here), you will not incur a penalty. Should you
withdraw from the course after the census date, however, a grade of W
will be posted to your transcript and noted as one attempted enrollment in the
course.
WITHDRAWAL POLICY -- Course Drop Limit Provisions:
Students who enroll as an entering freshman or a first-time college student in
undergraduate courses at any Texas public community college, technical
institute, health sciences institution, or any public university offering
undergraduate courses must comply with the legislation of TEC51.907. TEC51.907
states that students who enroll for the first time during the fall 2007
semester or any subsequent semester are subject to the course drop limit of six
course drops. This includes any course a transfer student has dropped at
another institution. Collin College will not begin to count dropped courses
until the fall 2008 semester.
NOTE: You will not be allowed to withdraw from classes at Collin if your
official transcripts (required for admission) are not on file.
For more information go to http://www.ccccd.edu/aro/withdrawal.htm
.INCOMPLETE GRADES:
"Incompletes" require that you have a minimum grade of "C"
and completed a minimum of 80 percent of the course requirements at the time
you request an incomplete grade. Incomplete grades can occur only if the
instructor deems a situation serious enough to warrant them. A change in
job schedules does not qualify for incomplete grades.
Please do not ask for exceptions to these regulations. (Water is always
permitted.)
COURSE DESCRIPTION: A freshman course in writing with an emphasis on developing, through a variety of strategies as well as through the rewriting of successive drafts, the basic rhetorical, logical, and grammatical skills that enable the student to communicate effectively.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Essayist Otto Friedrich writes, "Higher education must ultimately serve the higher purpose of perpetuating whatever it is in civilization that is worth perpetuating" (Five Ways to Wisdom). Good writing falls in the "whatever it is" category, and to that end we shall strive to write CLEARLY, CONCISELY, COHESIVELY, CORRECTLY, and, once the other objectives are met, CREATIVELY. Upon the successful completion of this course, the student will demonstrate the ability to write a well-organized, syntactically correct essay for a specified audience. The student will be able to state a thesis, provide sufficient and sensible support for the thesis, and form an effective conclusion in an essay free of errors in sentence structure, usage, and mechanics.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: All reading and writing are rhetorical acts and occur in a system of on-going communication, not in a vacuum. Therefore, English 1301 students will be able to do the following upon successful completion of the course:
Students should be able to demonstrate rhetorical knowledge in the following ways:
a. Read and interpret a prompt for a writing assignment.
b. Write essays that take a position and successfully argue or defend that position.
c. Write essays with appropriate evidence, discussion, and organization for a specific audience.
d. Write essays with strong introductions and conclusions that represent sophisticated thought and writing.
e. Write essays that use format, structure, tone, diction, and syntax appropriate to the rhetorical situation.
Students should be able to demonstrate critical thinking, reading, and writing in the following ways:
f. Use reading and writing for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating.
g. Integrate their own ideas with those of others with clear distinction between the two.
Students should be able to demonstrate knowledge of the writing process in the following ways:
h. Create and complete a successful text through multiple drafts.
i. Develop and demonstrate flexible strategies for generating ideas, revising, editing, and proofreading.
j. Understand and utilize the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes by learning to critique their own and others’ work.
Students should be able to demonstrate knowledge of conventions in the following ways:
k. Apply knowledge of genre conventions ranging from structure and paragraphing to tone and mechanics.
l. Control such surface features as grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS: Lectures, class discussion, small group discussions, computer-assisted instruction, audio/visual materials, personal conferences.
TEXTS: Strategies for Successful Writing with HANDBOOK, 8th ed. (Reinking/Hart); the write stuff , 4th ed. (Miller). Recommended: A collegiate dictionary and a thesaurus (such as American Heritage and Roget's).
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: Initial writing assessment (to be announced). Readings, journals, assorted handouts, homework, and labs designed to develop skills in critical thinking, prewriting, writing, revising, grammar, punctuation, and diction. ENGLISH DEPARTMENTAL FINAL consisting of an in-class essay valued at 20 per cent of the course grade (note times in class schedule). QUIZZES over grammar, usage, and punctuation. ESSAYS: Although most will be written in the Testing Center, they will be revised in class (the choice of topics for this class is attached). All steps of the "Step-by-Step" essay must be typed.
LABS: Assignments (16 units, attached) are due no later than ___ and ___, depending on the assignment. Because labs are designed to enhance your writing skills, you do not earn grades for their completion. PLEASE NOTE, however, that you must complete the assigned lab work to prevent the deduction of one letter grade below that which you would otherwise have earned for the semester had you submitted the work in a timely fashion.
MECHANICS: Please read the attached instructions carefully.
GRADES: The grading philosophy in this course evolves from the notion that students begin their writing with a clean slate, with a grade of zero, and attempt to earn points, the number of which depends on the mastery of specific writing skills, as noted. Papers will be graded, therefore, according to organization/content/clarity as well as according to sentence structure, usage, and mechanics. No paper containing a comma splice, a run-on, a fragmentary sentence, or a dangling modifier can earn a grade above 79 on a paper valued at 100 points. Any paper containing plagiarized material will earn a grade of zero; the student who submits plagiarized work may also face additional penalties as set forth in the Collin College Student Handbook. (Please read, sign, and attach the English Department's policy statement to your final draft of the "Step-by-Step" essay.)
(PLEASE SEE REVISED INFORMATION ON IN-CLASS SYLLABUS)
(Based on my experience along with
my objective professional judgment,
I shall assign grades that mirror your ACTUAL academic achievements, not your
potential and effort.)
REMINDER: Students must complete all lab
assignments
in a timely and satisfactory manner to avoid the deduction of a letter grade as
noted above.
ATTENDANCE AND MISC. POLICIES: Please note carefully the following course policies and information, for this syllabus serves as an agreement between student and professor to abide by the written policies herein.
Professional level communications by email are welcome. The subject
line of all messages students send me must include student's name, course
number, section number, and telephone number. I shall delete without opening any e-mail failing
to include the above specifications.
To grasp the rigorous material in every course I
teach, students must plan on spending a minimum of nine hours of
preparatory time per week, especially if the student aims to pass the course
with a grade of "C" or higher.
Arrive on time, for tardiness always disrupts classroom instruction. Three late arrivals equal one absence. You will lose ten points for each absence beyond the second one, and if you miss five classes, regardless of the cause(s), I may not accept any work you submit. Please keep a record of your tardiness and absences to compare with my record at any point during the semester. An absence from class on the date an essay or other work is due does not automatically excuse the submission of work due; therefore, if you must miss class, ask an attending student to submit your work for you. I shall NOT give make-up or "extra credit" work. Any step/draft (including the final draft) of the "Step-by-Step" essay will lose one letter grade for each day it is late (weekends included), and I shall not accept an essay after the third late day. Your contribution to class discussion, along with your timeliness and participation in group work, will be noted and thus considered in the event that your earned points border narrowly between an A and B, a B and a C, etc. Finally, you are responsible for notifying the registrar should you withdraw from this course (the last day to withdraw with a W is Nov. __). Because the successful completion of this course is important to both you and me, I will do my best to help you to resolve the difficulties, academic or otherwise, that lead you to consider withdrawing. Please see me first.
COURSE CONTENT
During class, I shall make amendments to the syllabus as necessary. Because amendments to the syllabus may be announced from time to time, please call a classmate should you miss class. Supplemental readings, worksheets, and miscellaneous handouts will be included in the following course content. Unless otherwise specified, all reading assignments are taken from Strategies for Successful Writing and the write stuff. Please bring these texts to each of our classes.
PLEASE NOTE: WHEN WRITING YOUR ROUGH DRAFTS
OR TAKING QUIZZES, YOU MAY SPEND AS MUCH TIME AS YOU NEED IN THE TESTING
CENTER.
Week 1
Day
1
Intro. to course. Review of requirements.
Day
2
Strategies text: Chapters 1, 2, 14. Note: Because this course
stresses the placement of the topic sentence at the beginning of the paragraph, ignore
references that suggest otherwise. Review Exercise 2 on p. 49; rewrite each
ineffective thesis statement INSTEAD of describing what is wrong with the
ineffective statement. In-class discussion of thesis statements. Usage list
assigned from your textbooks during today’s class.
Week 2
Day 1 Review of usage.
Day
2
Read Son, Do I Know You?, pages 7-8, in the write stuff.
In-class discussion of usage
continues.
Week 3
Day 1 USAGE QUIZ, 56 questions. Bring a narrow-form Scantron and a #2 pencil to class today. No one later than ten minutes to class will be permitted to take quiz. Quiz time limit: 30 minutes.
Note:
“Busy” work is unnecessary. If you do not have to write complete
sentences to
give an answer to any problem in all the exercises below, then please DO
NOT.
Day 2 Read Handbook, pp. 684-701. Submit answers to ALL exercises on pp. 685, 687, 695-96, 698-99, and 700-01.
Week 4
Day 1 Read Chapter 16. Submit answers to exercise on p. 278.
Day
2
Read Chapter 17, focusing on p. 270 and pp. 301-04 in preparation of in-class
exercises.
Week 5
Day 1 In-class exercises.
Day 2 "STEP-BY-STEP" ESSAY DUE (Step 1).
Week 6
Day
1
Review passive voice, pp. 280-82. Submit answers to
exercise on pp. 281-82.
Read Handbook, pp. 701-706. Submit
answers to exercises on pp. 704 and 706.
Day
2
Read Handbook, pp. 722-724.
Submit answers to exercises on pp. 722 and 724. Read Handbook,
pp.721-722. Submit answers to
exercise on p. 722. Read pp. 278.
Submit answers to exercises on pp. 279 and 280.
Week 7
Day 1 Review of grammar.
Day 2 Miscellaneous in-class exercises.
GRAMMAR QUIZ I over agreement in subjects/verbs/pronouns, shifts in tense and voice, sentence structure identification, sentence structure faults, and conjunctions (take in Testing Center), due by 4pm Saturday.
Week 8
Day 1
Step
2 due. Read
pp. 711-714. Submit answers to
exercises on p. 714. Read Handbook, pp.
719-721. Submit answers to exercises on pp. 720 and 721.
Day 2
Step
3 due. Read Handbook, pp. 722-724. Submit
answers to exercises on pp. 722 and 724. Read Handbook, pp.721-722.
Submit answers to exercise on
p. 722. Read pp. 278-279. Submit
answers to exercise on pp. 279 and 280.
Week 9
Day 1 Read Handbook, Commas, pp. 728-33. Submit answers to both exercises on pp. 732-33.
Day 2 LIBRARY ASSIGNMENT, TBA during class..
GRAMMAR QUIZ II
over parallel structure, modifiers,
comparisons,
pronoun case, and voice (take in Testing Center by 4pm Saturday).
Week 10
Day 1 Read Handbook, Semicolons, pp. 733-34, and Apostrophes, pp. 725-28. Submit answers to both exercises on pp. 734-35 and on p. 728.
Day 2 "STEP-BY-STEP" ESSAY DUE (attach all drafts). Remember to attach your essay accompaniment along with your signed acknowledgment of the college's policy on plagiarism.
QUIZ OVER PUNCTUATION (take in Testing Center by 4pm Saturday).
Week 11
Day
1
Read Chapter 11. Read Why Students Drop Out of College, p. 178;
Why Marriages Fail,
p. 584; and Old Father Time Becomes
a Terror, p. 577.
Day 2 NO CLASS; ASSIGNMENTS TO BE ANNOUNCED.
YOU MUST WRITE ESSAY #2 IN THE TESTING CENTER by 4pm Saturday.
Week 12
Day 1
LAB
WORK (FIRST 8 UNITS) DUE TODAY.
Revision of ESSAY
#2. Bring dictionary, thesaurus, all
handouts, and textbooks.
Day
2
Read Chapter 7. Read Fast Track to Perfection, p. 512. Read
Chapter 8. Read Going for Broke,
p. 534; Binge
Drinking, A Campus Killer, p. 528; and Why We Keep Stuff, p. 581.
Friday Last day to withdraw with a W. Please note date in your schedule. Please see me first if you are considering withdrawing.
Week 13
Day 1 Read Chapter 9. Read The Men We Carry in Our Minds, p. 544, and A Tale of Four Learners, p. 548.
Day 2 In-class exercises.
Week 14
Day 1
VOCABULARY
LAB WORK due (final 8 units). Read Chapter 12. Read The
Sweet Smell of
Success Isn't All
That Sweet, pp. 590.
Day 2 No class. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Week 15
Day
1
Read Chapter 10. Read Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts, p. 559.
Read Chapter 17. Read The Perfect Picture, p. 484. Read
Chapter 22; bring questions about MLA documentation to class.
Day 2 Read Chapter 13. Read Close the Borders to All Newcomers, p. 635.
Week 16
English Department Final EXAMS this
week. Bring
dictionary,
thesaurus, and blue book. This exam cannot be "made up."
If you do not take it
at the appointed time (verify your exam times in the course schedule), you
forfeit 100 points.
LAB ASSIGNMENTS—TOTAL OF
16 UNITS
PART 1
I.
Do both exercises on p.
737 in Strategies text. Value: 1 unit.
II. Do both exercises on p. 740 in Strategies
text; do one on p. 743 and one on p. 745.
Value: 3units.
III. Do exercises on pp. 747, 749, 751, and 753
in Strategies text. Also do both
exercises on p. 285 and one on p. 304.
Value: 4 units.
IV.
MANDATORY ATTENDANCE, LIBRARY, ON OCTOBER 30. Room and details TBA. Be
in the LRC room at least five minutes before the start of your regular class
time; prepare to take notes once you sign in. Value: 3 units.
PART 2
VOCABULARY,
DUE DATE LISTED IN SYLLABUS --TOTAL OF 8 UNITS
TYPE one COMPLEX sentence using each of the following words (yes, you may include more than one word per sentence if logic prevails). Underscore or highlight the word within the sentence (you select the part of speech). DEFINITIONS ARE UNNECESSARY.
Failure to complete LAB will result in
a letter grade reduction as outlined in the
syllabus.
abnegation
discernible
lugubrious
servile
absolve
dissent
malleable
specious
affable
dolorous
menial
subjugate
amorphous
euphemism
mordant
supersede
antithesis
exhilaration
paradox
sylvan
arduous
exuberant
perfidious
tenebrous
bellicose
fallacy
perspicacious
tumultuous
candor
forfeit
phenomenon
turpitude
choleric
harassment
preclude
unscrupulous
connoisseur
idiomatic
prescient
vacillate
debacle
impious
propagate
valedictory
deference
ingenious
pungent
venomous
demagogue
ingenuous
quiescent
vigilance
detrimental
laborious
remuneration
visage
diligence
laggard
sedition
voracious
Example: Although scientists argue that smoking is detrimental to our health, many of us ignore their diligent warnings.
Professor
Joyce M. Miller 
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Last update: 3 September 2008
REVISION SYMBOLS, COMPOSITION/RHETORIC COURSES
|
Symbol Problem
(The number corresponds with the existing
writing error) |
|
|
|
1. Weak progression/coherency of subject matter
2. Inadequate specificity/development of paragraph
3. Weak/missing/misplaced thesis statement
4. Wordiness/clutter/clichés/redundancies, etc.
5. Combine sentences for complexity/variety
6. Faulty logic/analogy
7. Weak/missing transition(s). Review Basic Writing Template in the write stuff
8. Weak/missing topic sentence .
9. Stringy clauses/syntax requiring subordination
10. Abstract/vague diction/unclear meaning
11. Faulty/nonstandard level of usage
12. Comma splice, run-on, fragment
13. Faulty modification
14. Faulty parallel structure
15. Faulty comparison
16. Faulty predication
17. Faulty agreement of subject/verb
18. Faulty pronoun/antecedent reference
19. Shift in person/tense
20. Faulty pronoun case
21. Faulty tense/verb form
22. Excessive to be forms/passive voice
23. Unnecessary expletive
24. Weak intensifier (review list in the write stuff)
25. Verbal misused as verb
26. Weak/missing title
27. Misspelling(s)
28. Follow Organization Scheme in the write stuff
29. Faulty punctuation of complex sentence
30. Weak sense of audience/purpose
31. Misuse/omission of articles
32. Faulty introduction of research info.
33. Failure to cite source
34. Essential/non-essential (that/which)
35. Faulty use of number(s)
36. Review precise verbs in the write stuff
37. Capital/lower case
38. Faulty intro. of quotation
39. Missing/misused comma
40. Missing/misused semicolon
41. Missing/misused apostrophe
42. Missing/misused question mark
43. Missing/misused italics/underlining
44. Missing/misused ellipsis
45. Missing/misused hyphen
46. Missing/misused colon
47. Missing/misused quotation mark(s)
48. See Mechanics Page (in syllabus)