Santa Ana College ENGL- ENGL-101-53677 Fall 2018

Instructor: Matthew Pelle                               Class Day/Time/Room: TTh 3:00 – 5:05 D 210

Email: Pelle_Matthew@sac.edu                               

                                   

Santa Ana College Mission Statement

 

The mission of Santa Ana College is to be a leader and partner in meeting the intellectual, cultural, technological and workforce development needs of our diverse community. Santa Ana College provides access and equity in a dynamic learning environment that prepares students for transfer, careers and lifelong intellectual pursuits in a global community.

 

Santa Ana College English Department’s Mission Statement

 

The Santa Ana College English Department provides numerous opportunities for our students to develop and improve the reading, critical thinking, and writing skills required to succeed at their chosen careers, to meet the rigors of the writing demands at four-year transfer institutions, and to foster lifelong learning and an appreciation of literature.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Read, analyze, and evaluate a variety of primarily non-fiction texts for content, context, and rhetorical merit with consideration of tone, audience, and purpose.
2. Apply a variety of rhetorical strategies in writing unified, well-organized essays with arguable theses and persuasive support
3. Develop varied and flexible strategies for generating, drafting, and revising essays
4. Analyze stylistic choices in their own writing and the writing of others
5. Write timed essays in class exhibiting acceptable college-level control of mechanics, organization, development, and coherence
6. Integrate the ideas of others through paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting without plagiarism
7. Find, evaluate, analyze, and interpret primary and secondary sources, incorporating them into written essays using appropriate documentation format
8. Proofread and edit essays for presentation so they exhibit no disruptive errors in English grammar, usage, or punctuation

Course Description

 

According to the 2015-2016 SAC Course Catalog, “Expository and argumentative essays and the research paper. Special interest sections described in schedule of classes.”

 

TEXTBOOK REQUIREMENTS AND ONLINE RESOURCES:

• A Brief Guide to Writing Academic Arguments by Stephen Wilhoit
• So You’ve Been Publically Shamed by Jon Ronson
• The Purdue OWL
• Blackboard

 

COURSE POLICIES

 

Assignments and Point Breakdown

• Three Essays (4-6 pages each)
  • Essay 1 150 points
  • Essay 2 150 points 
  • Essay 3 150 points
• In-class Essay                                                             100 points each
• Research Project             150 points
• Bibliography             50 points
• Presentation             50 points
• Drafting Work             100 points
• Participation, classwork, and homework 100 points

1000 points total

 

Grade Totals

 

The college uses a full letter (as opposed to a +/-) grading policy. Therefore, based on the points you earn, your grade in the course will be one of the following:

           

A: 900 – 1000 B: 800 – 899   C: 700 – 799   D: 600 – 699   F: 599 or less

 

Note: each student must earn at least 700 points (a C) in order to receive a passing grade in the class.  All essays must be submitted and graded to have the opportunity to pass, and you cannot get a higher grade than the highest grade you received on a formal essay.

 

Essays

 

The bulk of your grade this semester will be based on writing.  You will write four out-of-class essays that will grow in length as the semester progresses, supplemented by two in-class essays.  Each out of class essay will have three to four weeks dedicated to it, and will require a draft at the half-way point.  Each draft will be worth 25 points, which you will earn if the draft is long enough and on topic. I never grade drafts, but rather provide feedback and advice on how to revise the draft into a complete essay.  Writing is a process, and these drafts are meant to encourage this process. 

 

The in-class essays are intended for us to learn and practice timed writing, and will be evaluated as writing done quickly.  They will deal with similar material as the longer essays, but with more directed goals.  We will discuss the differences between long term and short term writing as we approach the first in-class essay.

 

The fourth out-of-class essay will be a research project.  You will be required to cite a number of sources that you research yourself, complete an annotated bibliography prior to beginning writing, and present your research to the class on the final day of class.  We will be generating a list of topics for the whole class to pick from early in the semester, so start considering now what you might want to write a 10 page paper on.

 

Classwork and Homework

 

Over the course of the semester, you will have worksheets and other assignments that you will complete both in class and as homework. These will often, though not always, involve either responding to reading or practicing writing skills. Classwork cannot be made up if you miss class, while homework assignments will be available online in addition to in class.

 

Participation

 

To get the most out of this semester, you have to be actively engaged in all aspects of class.  While this does not mean you have to speak up at every opportunity, you must be paying attention and mentally involved in what is going on.  This is definitely the type of class where the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.  By participating in class wide discussion, small group discussion, and lecture, you will gain much more than simply being a passive presence in the classroom.  I encourage as much conversation and as many questions as the class can generate.

 

You are allowed and actively encouraged to disagree with one another, and challenge each other’s ideas, for the betterment of your own and the rest of the class’s.  You ARE NOT allowed to engage in name-calling, verbal attacks, or any other form of abuse.  Any such behavior WILL NOT be tolerated, and offenders will be asked to leave the classroom for the day, and may face further consequences based on the severity of the attack. 

 

Revisions

 

Revision is a huge part of the writing process, and so this class is designed to encourage it.  You will have the chance to resubmit a revision a lower scoring essay towards the end of the semester to improve its grade.  To be eligible to resubmit you must either visit the Learning Center or contact me for feedback on the revision process.  The revision grade will replace the original if it is higher.  I will also use this revision as an opportunity to evaluate how much you have improved over the course of the semester.  I will raise the final grade of writers who have shown marked improvement over the semester and whose revised essay showcases this.  You will never receive a lower grade than the original, so you have nothing to lose.

 

Late Work

 

All assignments must be turned in on time, at the beginning of the class period they are due.  Late journals will be accepted and marked as late for the purposes of meeting the course requirements, but will receive only partial credit.  Essay will have points deducted for each day they are late.  I do understand that sometimes life all piles up at once, and sometimes things conspire against you.  For this reason, I will allow you to turn in ONE essay late, at the beginning of the next class period, no questions asked.  I recommend that you only use this allowance if you absolutely must. 

 

NOTE- I will never FAIL a paper simply for being late.  If you turn in a passing paper, it will pass, but will have its possible grade capped at a C.  You should turn in EVERYTHING, no matter how late.  The easiest way to fail this class is to simply not turn things in.

 

Attendance and Absence Policy

 

Attendance in classes and labs is mandatory and expected. You are allowed 2 class sessions of absence, irregular attendance, or a pattern of absences as sufficient cause for dropping a student from class, unless prior arrangements have been made with me. You shall be considered absent if you miss more than half the class.  There is no differentiation between excused and unexcused absences. Students who are absent from class after the final drop date will miss necessary instruction and may have their final course grade lowered. Please notify me as soon as possible via e-mail if you have to miss class for several days in a row, as I’ll know not to drop you and we can work together to make sure you don’t fall behind. Any assignments or announcements you miss are your own responsibility.

 

Classroom Etiquette

 

Please turn all cell phones to silent or vibrate, and refrain from using them during class time.  I have no interest in policing cell phone use in this class, but if it is noticeable enough to distract me, I will assume it is noticeable enough to distract your classmates.  Laptops may be used for note taking and any other task that will enhance your classroom experience.  If you are caught using it for anything else, you will lose this privilege for the remainder of the semester. 

 

You do NOT need my permission to leave this classroom.  If you need to step out for any reason, you may do so; I simply ask that you do so quietly.  If you vanish for the day, I will mark you absent.  You may eat and drink in class as long as it is quite and not distracting.  If the room starts to become too messy, this privilege will go away.  If the class is in a computer room, however, you are limited to water in bottles you can fully seal. 

 

Academic Honesty Policy (http://www.sac.edu/StudentServices/AdmissionsRecords/Pages/Academic-Honesty-Policy-.aspx).

 

Students of the Rancho Santiago Community College District are expected to be honest and forthright in their academic endeavors; to falsify the results of one’s research, to steal works or ideas of another person, or to cheat on an examination, corrupts the essential process by which knowledge is advanced. Academic dishonesty is seen as an intentional act of fraud, in which a student seeks to claim credit for the work or efforts of another without authorization, or uses unauthorized material or fabricated information in any academic exercise. The Rancho Santiago Community College District, as an institution, also considers academic dishonesty to include forgery of academic documents, intentionally impeding or damaging the academic work of others, assisting other students in acts of dishonesty or coercing students into acts of dishonesty. Plagiarism is defined as the use of intellectual material produced by another person without acknowledging its source. Plagiarism is a violation of the Santa Ana College Student Code of Conduct and students who knowingly steal the words or ideas of another will be be subject to a failing grade and possibly more severe action. For more information, please visit: http://www.sac.edu/StudentServices/Library/Pages/Plagiarism.aspx

 

DSP&S Statement

 

Your success in this course is important to me. Santa Ana College and I are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all individuals with disabilities. If you have a disability that may have some impact on your ability to do well in this course, I encourage you to speak with me as soon as possible. Also, please contact Disabled Student Programs & Services so that we can all collaborate on your classroom accommodations in a timely manner. DSP&S is located in VL-203, and their phone number is 714-564-6264. TTY: 714-564-6384. Video Phones: 714-660-3075 or 657-235-2999. The DSP&S office requires documentation of your disability in order to receive reasonable accommodations. If you do not have documentation, they will work with you to acquire it. I look forward to supporting you to meet your learning goals.

 

Final Word

 

Please feel free to email me as frequently as you need.  If you need any extra assistance outside of class-time, please feel free to approach me and arrange a meeting.  I do not have office hours, but we can arrange something outside class time.