COURSE POLICIES AND
GUIDELINES
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DROPPING (See
"Adding and Dropping") DUE DATES AND LATENESS
OF WORK ENTRANCE SKILLS FOR THIS
COURSE ESSAYS,
PREPARING AND SUBMITTING: LATE ARRIVAL
(See "Absence and Tardiness") LATE PAPERS
(See "Due Dates and Late Work") |
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The
following percentages comprise your final grade: |
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1 |
Participation* |
10% |
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2 |
The Prospectus |
10% |
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3 |
Historical Background Essay |
15% |
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4 |
Causal Analysis Essay |
15% |
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5 |
Counterargument and Refutation Essay |
15% |
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6 |
Oral Report |
5% |
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7 |
Final Proposal |
20% |
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8 |
Final Exam |
10% |
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*Participation is defined as
attendance that is distinguished by discussion contributions, peer editing
efforts, conference preparation, classroom activities and quizzes; please be
mindful that students who have more than two non-emergency absences will be
dropped from the course. |
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In addition to writing a prospectus and three formal research
essays, all of which will contribute to a full-length final proposal, you
will be required to participate in peer editing of working drafts, complete
assigned readings and written summaries, attend and contribute actively to
class discussions and debates. RESEARCH The research required for this course
will ask that time be spent in examination of print sources in libraries and
in review of electronic data base sources. (Other methods of scholarship will be discussed.) Please bear in mind the need to
budget your time to accommodate these requirements. Plan ahead!
Library hours and days of availability, particularly on weekends,
should be factored into your research schedule. While the Grossmont College Library is a useful and
comprehensive source for your research needs, it should not be your only source. Excepting neighborhood public
libraries (whose resources are usually quite limited) I strongly advise the
use of other libraries capable of accommodating scholarship, such as Downtown
San Diego Public Library, San Diego State University Library, University of
California San Diego Library, and the University of San Diego Library. The Grossmont College Library
provides access to the catalogs of other libraries and offers a interlibrary
loan service with a usefully fast delivery window of borrowed materials. Here's a quick link to the Grossmont
College LRC website, for hours of operation, catalogs, etc. Click HERE. 1 The ability to write clear,
college-level prose, free of major errors in spelling, grammar and
punctuation and exhibiting a varied sentence style. 2 The ability to write expository and
persuasive essays which are organized to present, develop, and support a
thesis statement and whose parts cohere through logical organization and the
use of transitions. 3 The ability to analyze written
discourse for the elements stated in #2 and to evaluate their rhetorical
effectiveness. 4 The ability to write an essay which
uses principles of classical argument. 5 The ability to write a fully documented,
college-level research paper. This course may dropped, without
incurring a "W" on your record, up until the end of the second week.
Likewise, and contingent upon vacancies, the course may be added up until the
end of the second week. You must be enrolled officially in order to remain in
the class after this point. If you are on a "Wait" list, and you
are present on the first day of class, you will be given preference over
those who "crash" the course. If you are absent on the second day
of class, regardless if you are enrolled in the course or on a Priority Wait
List, you will be dropped and your place will be given to an awaiting
student. Please consult the
academic calendar to monitor official drop dates and other significant
deadlines for changing your status in the class. (See Useful Links or return
to the English 124 Homepage). After the last official drop date,
students will be assigned a grade commensurate to their overall performance
in the course. In order to remain in the class, students must pay their
course fees and process their add codes within the first two weeks of the
course. All assignments must be completed by the due
date and submitted by the beginning of the class period unless otherwise
indicated. Except with proof of medical emergencies and serious crises, late
assignments will not be excused from penalty. For each day an assignment is late (excluding weekends),
its final grade will incur a reduction by one-third of a letter grade. (For example, if you submitted
writing that deserved a B+, but you submitted it four days after the due
date, it would receive a C.) Makeup quizzes, makeup examinations, and extra
credit projects will not be offered, so please avoid late and missed
work. You are expected to attend all scheduled sessions of this
course, and to be on-time. Tardy arrival and premature departure are noted,
and two incidences of these are equivalent to one absence. Excessive
unexcused absences (two) are sufficient grounds to be dropped from the
course, after which time re-admittance will not be considered. If you expect
to be absent or tardy for legitimate reasons, please contact me using the
voice-mail number or the e-mail address listed at the top of this syllabus.
Again, please not that, if you are enrolled and are absent on the second day
of class, you will be dropped. Although whenever possible I try to alert students in advance
by e-mail to my imminent absence, should I not arrive to class within fifteen
minutes after its start time I would be obliged if someone volunteered to
pass around a sign-up sheet and then submit it to my mailbox at the
Switchboard, in the 100 Building Complex (across from Admissions and
Records). Thank you. PREPARING
AND SUBMITTING ESSAYS Working Drafts Defined This course, like most writing courses, places an emphasis on
the work in progress (i.e., the working draft). Working drafts are
distinguished from rough drafts and pre-writing in that they are reasonably
complete; they attempt to develop the thesis to its argumentative or
analytical conclusion. Consequently, they must represent second or even third
substantive revisions. Do not submit a working draft in a two pocket folder.
Please staple it, instead. Submitting Essays All final drafts must be submitted unstapled, in the right
side of a plain two-pocket folder, complete with the following in the left
side of the folder: all previous drafts, comments, peer editing sheets,
outlines, pre-writing, and (if used) note cards and library call numbers. If
you are using a computer, please be sure to produce at least two hard copies
of previous drafts along with the final draft. In addition to demonstrating
to me your process of revision and redrafting, such a habit will safeguard
you against the loss of your work should a computer failure occur. "Readability" and Standards Because this course focuses, not only on developing content
worthy of college-level writing, but document style and citation methods
required in college essays, I do not accept handwritten work. All writing
(except for in-class writing) must, therefore, BE TYPED OR COMPUTER PRINTED
on plain white 81/2 x 11" typing paper, and conform to M.L.A. style
rules for essays and research papers (spacing, margins, pagination, title
pages, etc., as delineated in Diana Hacker's A Writer's Reference). Choose a
clear, readable and appropriately sized font in black ink. Furthermore, a computer may be very helpful because you will
be expected to do revisions of your essays. If you do not have access to word
processing, investigate those that the college may make available to you. In
any event, the same standards of style apply for any draft produced by word
processor. Please, no poorly aligned tractor-fed text, no carelessly ripped
edges, no barely-readable print (letter quality would be best), no runaway
margins, and so on. Remember, word processing is designed to help you
construct a letter-perfect text before you print it! Submit each document,
draft or otherwise, as though you were proud of its polished form. I will review working drafts and comment on them. Drafts will
NOT be graded, but completion of all drafts is a course requirement. If you
have not produced the required number of drafts, have been remiss with
respect to peer editing, or have failed to submit any of the drafts and
comments with your final draft, your grade on the final draft will suffer.
While the drafts are not graded formally, my advice and the advice of your
classmates will give you a fair amount of guidance which you will apply
toward revision. If you are confused or uncertain about any remarks or
advice, whether they be from me or your classmates, don't hesitate to speak
with me after class or during my office hour. Use the peer editing sessions in this course, not as the final
word on how your essay can be fixed, but as a means of offering direction and
suggestions on improving your understanding of your own topic. Peer editing
should improve one's thinking as well as one's writing; this requires praise
where praise is due, and criticism where criticism is earned. There is no
need to be hurtful in any of your comments to other writers, but, by the same
token, there is no need to be hurt by a comment which strives to be objective
and helpful in its criticism. In short, do not take the gesture of peer
editing or discussing the work with the writer as something personal. In addition to the formal term project, you will demonstrate
what you have learned this semester in a final examination for the course.
The formal term project will be the last essay you will submit for the
semester. The final examination will be an in-class essay related to the
final term project, and will be administered on the last day of the course. I take plagiarism under any circumstances very seriously. Nowhere, however, is the concept more important to respect
than in a class where the fruits of your labors might be used by others under the assumption that you have
composed your work with integrity and credited your primary and secondary
sources properly; to have done otherwise is an insult to anyone who has ever
struggled to produce an original idea.
My response to plagiarism, therefore, will be understandably severe.
In short, if you are caught in the willful act of plagiarism, this means
course failure, disgrace, imminent expulsion. (Will we discuss scholarly
dishonesty in greater detail during the course.) Furthermore, submitting
essays which have been written for previous courses will be reviewed as
unoriginal work and returned with a failing grade. Review your college's official statement on Academic
Dishonesty on page 19 of the Course Catalog, "Academic Integrity,"
and under "Student Code of Conduct" on page 29. The Course Catalog is available for download (in .pdf
format) from the college website.
Clink the link to access it. Though I encourage a more informal, freely
discursive environment in the classroom during the scheduled class time,
suffice it to say that I frown upon any activity distracting or inconsiderate
to your colleagues and teacher. Your undivided attention and total
involvement in the activities related to the course are a must. I trust you
to exercise good judgment in this matter, but the following are fair examples
of what not to do: 1 Behavior of the
unprepared kind: Coming to class unprepared (e.g., without textbooks or
completed homework) will be consequenced with dismissal from the class for
that day only because this behavior is disruptive to prepared students and
the class agenda, particularly when it forces students to double- or
triple-up to examine passages from the textbook. 2 Behavior of the
uninvolved kind: no class session goes by without the need to take notes,
pose questions, and participate in classroom activities and discussions. If you are perceived to be loitering
in your seat when you should be writing furiously in your notebook or
seriously engaging other students in an activity, you'll be confronted or
asked to leave. 3 Behavior of the
irrelevant variety: this infraction of campus policies includes romantic
interludes in the classroom; eating and drinking; sleeping; reading; doing
homework; or engaging in activities unrelated to the course and its immediate
classroom topics. When the
computer-assisted instruction is utilized, students should not engage in personal
activities, such as internet surfing and e-mail; computers accessed during
class time must at all times be used for academic purposes relevant to the
course agendas. 4 Behavior of the
sophomoric variety: talking, chatting, or exchanging notes (either written or
text messaged) is not only distracting; it's disrespectful. I am more than
delighted to hear anything you have to say which is germane to the class
discussion; all other conversations should be curtailed within the classroom.
5 Behavior of the
inconsiderate variety: Coming in late, leaving early, and other
peregrinations are frowned upon. I prefer no tardiness if possible, but if you
must enter the classroom late, find a seat near the door; if you plan to exit
the classroom during the class time, likewise, seat yourself near the door,
and inform me of this at the start of the class so that I do not think you
are leaving suddenly due to illness or offense. 6 Lurkers and
Lookey-lous: Persons not enrolled in this course may not be allowed to visit
the class unless they are college employees or receive permission from me to
sit in the class. 7 Holding Court: This
describes anyone monopolizing class discussions or assuming a dictatorial
stance. Nothing pleases me more than to hear enthusiastic responses and
impassioned discussion in the classroom; for the sake of courtesy to other
students, however, and to allow everyone an equitable chance to share in that
enthusiasm, try not to interrupt or drown out other students while they are
speaking. Exercise self-restraint and prudence, or simply raise your hand. 8 Insensitivity: Since
effective writing often is accomplished through an understanding of one's
audience, try to acquire some practice at it here. This course contains
reading and raises topics that might be of a sensitive nature to some
students. However, the classroom environment keeps sacred the discourse
community among students-this is paramount to your college experience.
Therefore, try to show some degree of comity and sensitivity to other
students, and keep an open mind to the free exchange of ideas when sensitive
or controversial topics are discussed. 9 Electronic devices: It
doesn't matter if it's a standard chirp, hip-hop anthem or a Mozart concerto;
a ring tone interrupting a class is always like a belch in an elevator. Unless you are a medical
professional, or have established in advance the necessity for an active
cellular device, you must turn off your cell phone or pager before
entering the class. Suffice it
to say that all other electronic devices unrelated to physical or medical necessity
must not be activated during class. Electronic devices used for note-taking
and other activities relevant to the class are most welcome, but, again,
positively NO text messaging is permitted. For more information about behavior in the classroom, review
your college's official Codes of Conduct published in the Course Catalog, available for download (in .pdf
format) from the college website. Students with disabilities of any kind, and
who may need special academic accommodations, should discuss options with me
during the first two weeks of class. Any student requesting academic
accommodations must provide verification from Disabled Students Programs and
Services (DSPS). I'll do anything within my powers to accommodate you, and to
make the course equitably fair and challenging. Many successful students take advantage of the several forms
of writing assistance services offered by the campus. I may require that you
visit one or more of these, but under no circumstances should these services
be used to take the place of my counsel on such matters as assignment
interpretation and content development. Furthermore, do not seek tutorial
assistance simply for the services of proofreading or E.S.L. corrections. Campus
writing counselors will be glad to help you with thesis development,
paragraph development, sentence development and other problems of grammar,
with personal attention and computer assisted instruction. |
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READING AND
WRITING HELP CENTERS Students must receive a referral from their instructors to
access some of these services, which will permit them to "enroll"
in the sessions that they enlist.
These sessions, however, do not entail a "per credit" fee,
nor do they incur a grade or affect transcripts in any way. |
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Unless otherwise indicated, the names of the services below
will hyperlink to their web pages. Rooms 70-119 & 70-122 (Tech Mall/LRC) (619)
644-7516 |
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Room 545 619-644-7464 |
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Room 70-229 (Tech Mall/LRC) (619)
644-7387 Students are strong encouraged to enroll in the
following supervised tutoring courses if the service indicated will assist
them in achieving or reinforcing the learning objectives of this course: ¥ IDS 198, Supervised Tutoring to
receive tutoring in general computer applications in the Tech Mall; ¥ English 198W, Supervised Tutoring
for assistance in the English Writing Center (Room 70-119); and/or ¥ IDS 198T, Supervised Tutoring to
receive one-on-one tutoring in academic subjects in the Tutoring Center (Room
70-229, 644-7387). |
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©
2006 Karl Sherlock |