Course Syllabus (as found on Learning Web)

Houston Community College Central


ENGL 1302 – Freshman Composition II


CRN 21779 – Fall 2012
Central Campus – BCC, Room 201 | 8:00 - 10:00 am | MWF 3 hour lecture course/ Second Eight Weeks

Instructor: Novella Brooks de Vita
Instructor

Contact Information: n.brooksdevita@hccs.edu


English Office: 713-718-6671


Class Blog:  1302Gladiators.blogspot.com


Office location and hours
Office hours will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00pm until 3:00 pm. Please feel free to contact me concerning any problems that you are experiencing in this course. You do not need to wait until you have received a poor grade before asking for my assistance. Your performance in my class is very important to me. I am available to hear your concerns and just to discuss course topics.

Course Description
English 1302 is devoted to the improvement of students’ writing and critical analysis skills. Over the course of the semester, students will write various types of papers, including argument essays, expository essays, and essays of critical analysis. Students will practice research methods as well as oral presentation. Papers will vary from formal essays to ―journal responses. This is a 3 credit Core Curriculum Course.

Prerequisites
Satisfactory assessment score, satisfactory completion of ENGL 1301.

Your student learning objectives, should you choose to accept them, are to
• Apply basic principles of rhetorical analysis.
• Write essays that classify, explain, and evaluate rhetorical and literary strategies employed in argument, persuasion, and various forms of literature.
• Identify, differentiate, integrate, and synthesize research materials into argumentative and/or analytical essays.
• Employ appropriate documentation style and format across the spectrum of in-class and out-of-class written discourse.
• Demonstrate library literacy.

By the time you have completed English 1302, you will be able to:
1. generate and apply your own critical perspectives and the perspectives of other writers leading to argumentative writing
2. analyze and criticize elements of writing such as audience, tone, style, rhetorical situation, strategy, and purpose
3. research and write a thorough paper documented in MLA style.

SCANS or Core Curriculum Statement and Other Standards
Credit: 3 (3 lecture) Students master persuasive/argumentative writing, critical analysis of reading selections, and the research process. All elements of English 1302 require students to apply critical thinking and writing skills introduced in English 1301.

Instructional Methods
English 1302 is the prerequisite for a range of sophomore English courses and is a core course.
With the assumption that students have passed the requirements taught in Fundamentals of Grammar and Composition I & II and Freshman Composition I, this course is taught with a focus on students’ communication and analysis skills. One must keep in mind that English is simply another form of communication, not an excessively lofty or impossible subject. The goal of this course is to facilitate the ease with which students may communicate academic and personal ideas to one another and to supervisory figures. As students’ comfort develops, ability to critically and objectively analyze information and convincingly argue theories strengthens.
I, as instructor, must give you the necessary tools and support to nurture these skills. While it is my responsibility to tap these skills within you, the student, it is your responsibility to attend class and take every opportunity you are given to learn and grow academically. We must all come prepared with homework, texts and assignments and—always—our open minds.

Student Assignments
Assignments have been developed that will enhance your learning. Students will be required to successfully complete the following:
 Students must complete a diagnostic essay during the first days of class.
The subject will be covered in the first days of class. Be sure to attend. While this is an out-of-class essay, you must be in class to know what to write.  Please email all major essays to n.brooksdevita@hccs.edu.

3 major essays:
1 Argumentative Essay: 10% 1 Analytical Essay: 10%
1 Expository Essay: 10%
In the breakdown of the grading: Each of the 3 essays is worth 10% of your final grade. 5% will be assigned for the composition and 5% for the presentation of each essay written on the assigned in-class date.
Homework essays are to be written on the assigned class reading and an unanalyzed passage included in your assigned reading’s section of the book, unless prompted otherwise. Quote at least once from the source of your choice and include a bibliography. Work will not be accepted without the required quotes and MLA-style bibliography.

Daily class participation and homework: 40%
Midterm and Final Essays:
Midterm Exam/Essay: 10%
Final Project: 20%


Instructional Materials

TEXT: Read, Reason, Write: An Argument Text and Reader. Seyler, ed. New: York: McGraw Hill. Tenth Edition. 2011.

HCC Policy Statement - ADA
Services to Students with Disabilities Students who require reasonable accommodations for disabilities are encouraged to report to Dr. Becky Hauri at 713-718-7910 to make necessary arrangements. Faculty is only authorized to provide accommodations by the Disability Support Service Office.

HCC Policy Statement: Academic Honesty
A student who is academically dishonest is, by definition, not showing that the coursework has been learned, and that student is claiming an advantage not available to other students. The instructor is responsible for measuring each student's individual achievements and also for ensuring that all students compete on a level playing field. Thus, in our system, the instructor has teaching, grading, and enforcement roles. You are expected to be familiar with the University's Policy on Academic Honesty, found in the catalog. What that means is: If you are charged with an offense, pleading ignorance of the rules will not help you. Students are responsible for conducting themselves with honor and integrity in fulfilling course requirements. Penalties and/or disciplinary proceedings may be initiated by College System officials against a student accused of scholastic dishonesty.

Scholastic dishonesty‖: includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion.
Cheating on a test includes:
Copying from another students’ test paper;
Using materials not authorized by the person giving the test;
Collaborating with another student during a test without authorization;
Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in whole or part the contents of a test that has not been administered;
Bribing another person to obtain a test that is to be administered.
Plagiarism means the appropriation of another’s work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one’s own written work offered for credit.
Collusion mean the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit. Possible punishments for academic dishonesty may include a grade of 0 or F in the particular assignment, failure in the course, and/or recommendation for probation or dismissal from the College System. (See the Student Handbook)

HCC Policy Statements

Class Attendance
Students are expected to attend classes regularly. Students are responsible for materials covered during their absences, and it is the student’s responsibility to consult with instructors for make-up assignments [NOTE: not all assignments may be made up after the day they were due; missed in- class assignments may not be made up.] Class attendance is checked daily by instructors. Although it is the responsibility of the student to drop a course for non-attendance, the instructor has the authority to drop a student for excessive absences after the student has accumulated in excess of 12.5% of instruction [six hours of absence.]‖ Student Handbook

HCC Course Withdrawal Policy
If you decide to withdraw from the course, be sure to withdraw formally, before the official date. Students who have not formally withdrawn will receive a failing grade for the course.
Be sure to remain aware of the last day to withdraw with a W. After that, you will be assigned a letter grade (A,B,C,D,F) for the course. Please talk to me and the registrar’s office to withdraw if you find it necessary.
Remember to allow a 24-hour response time when communicating via email and/or telephone with a professor and/or counselor. Do not submit a request to discuss withdrawal options less than a day before the deadline. If you do not withdraw before the deadline, you will receive the grade that you are making in the class as your final grade.

Repeat Course Fee
The State of Texas encourages students to complete college without having to repeat failed classes. To increase student success, students who repeat the same course more than twice, are required to pay extra tuition. The purpose of this extra tuition fee is to encourage students to pass their courses and to graduate. Effective fall 2006, HCC will charge a higher tuition rate to students registering the third or subsequent time for a course. If you are considering course withdrawal because you are not earning passing grades, confer with your instructor/counselor as early as possible about your study habits, reading and writing homework, test taking skills, attendance, course participation, and opportunities for tutoring or other assistance that might be available.

Classroom Behavior
As your instructor and as a student in this class, it is our shared responsibility to develop and maintain a positive learning environment for everyone. Your instructor takes this responsibility very seriously and will inform members of the class if their behavior makes it difficult for him/her to carry out this task. As a fellow learner, you are asked to respect the learning needs of your classmates and assist your instructor achieve this critical goal.

Use of Camera and/or Recording Devices
Please silence all phones and beepers. Calls and messages may be answered ONLY with the instructor’s permission. Electronic devices (YES...THIS INCLUDES LAPTOPS, PHONES AND MUSIC PLAYERS!) are prohibited unless they pertain to reasonable accommodation, described below, or permitted in-class research. Those without a documented disability must have the instructor’s approval before using any recording or electronic device in class.
Students with documented disabilities who need to use a recording device as a reasonable accommodation should contact the Office for Students with Disabilities for information regarding reasonable accommodations.

Instructor Requirements

As your Instructor, it is my responsibility to:
• Provide the grading scale and detailed grading formula explaining how student grades are to be derived
• Facilitate an effective learning environment through class activities, discussions, and lectures
• Inform students of policies such as attendance, withdrawal, tardiness and make-up
• Provide the course outline and class calendar which will include a description of any special projects or assignments
• Arrange to meet with individual students before and after class as required

Student Requirements
To be successful in this class, it is the student’s responsibility to:
• Attend class and participate in class discussions and activities
• Read and comprehend the textbook

• Complete the required assignments and exams

• Ask for help when there is a question or problem
• Keep copies of all paperwork, including this syllabus, handouts and all assignments
• Complete the class with a passing score