Fall 2011

Course:  ENG 0213 Fundamentals of English                                                                                                         3-0-0

Instructor:  KELLI MCBRIDE                                      E-mail:  k.mcbride@sscok.edu

Office Phone:  405-382-9274                   Office Location:  Tanner Hall LA&HUM Division, #612

Office Hours and Class Schedule: 

Additional office time is available by arrangement.

Other classes:

Catalog Description: Fundamentals of English is a study of paragraph development, writing styles, processes and grammar, with an introduction to essay writing basics.  This course addresses student deficiencies in language arts and writing identified by the ACT English Subset score or English placement exam.  Prerequisite: appropriate score on placement test or completion of ENG 0113 with a grade of “C.”

Semesters Offered: Fall and Spring

Rationale:  Fundamentals of English is a developmental course and will not satisfy a requirement of General Education.  The purpose of this course is to prepare students for Principles of Composition (Eng 1113).  OSRHE requires all two year colleges to offer developmental courses.

Mission Statement: Seminole State College empowers people for academic success, personal development, and lifelong learning.

General Education Outcomes:  SSC students are expected to achieve the following outcomes.  This course addresses the outcome bolded below:

Degree Program Outcomes: This course does not count toward a degree program.

Course Outcomes:          Students in this course are expected to achieve the following outcomes:

Learning Objectives:      Students will accomplish Course Outcomes as follows:

Course-embedded Assessment: The General Education Outcomes, Degree Program Outcomes, Course Outcomes, and Learning Objectives have been provided to inform students of the expectations for this course. To determine if those expectations have been met, the College assesses each these outcomes. Courses are evaluated through the course-embedded assessment process by using one or more of the following options*: A: Pre- and Post-Tests; B: Pre- and Post-Writing; C: Performance; D: Observations; E: Rubrics; F: Projects and Portfolios; G: Classroom Response System; H: Creative Assessment; I: Any combination of A-H. (*Updated May 2007)

This class uses option B.

Instructional Outline: The following is a TENTATIVE weekly outline of this course. CCD=Campus Cruiser Day (instead of coming to class, you will find activities to do in the class’s CampusCruiser site)

Campus Cruiser Days (CCDs): Throughout the semester, we may have several CCDs, which will require you login to the class site and complete some assignments online either in addition to regular course work or instead of attending regular class for that day. If the school or I cancel class, for reasons such as weather or a personal emergency, I will usually create an assignment on Campus Cruiser, and I will definitely leave instructions on what you should do. For days when I must cancel class for personal reasons, you will usually see a sign posted on the class door instructing you to go to Cruiser during the regular class period for assignments. If you do not see this sign, you should check the class site and your Cruiser email for instructions, especially for early morning classes when it may be impossible for me to find someone to post a note on our door.  I will also regularly post class activity summaries in the announcements area of our Cruiser page. These will list what was due that day, what we did in class, and what we will be doing and what is due the next class meeting. If you miss class, you should check here within 24 hours of class for this information so you can come to the next meeting prepared.

You should get in the habit of checking your Cruiser Student email regularly. Even if we do not meet as a regular class, you must complete your Cruiser assignments by the deadline for that activity as specified in the instructions for that assignment. If you do not complete the Cruiser assignments by the set deadline, you will earn an absence for that day, losing participation/attendance and assignment points.  Cruiser days are not “free” days; they are an integral part of the semester’s coursework.

Teaching Methodology: The instructor uses lecture, discussion, group work, and one-on-one conferencing in class.

Grading Scale:  This class uses the standard 10-point scale.

A=90+     B=80+     C=70+     D=60+     F=1+     N/A: 0 (plagiarism or does not follow the assignment)

Attendance: Students earn attendance and some participation points via a 5-point grade for each day we meet. Students who are absent or tardy lose all points. Students who come to class unprepared can lose some or all points. Students who disrupt class or do not consistently participate in class activities can lose some or all points. Class participation and attendance count as 10% of the overall grade. Those who only have an occasional absence or tardy, or lose points for a few days because of preparation or participation issues, will not see a significant impact on their grade, and I will offer some opportunities to make up absence/tardy points. These include scheduling conferences (up to 5) with me in my office, or attending a non-mandatory class workshop day. See strategies in the next section for handling absences and keeping up with class.

Late Work Policy: All work will have a set due date, and if completed on CampusCruiser a specific due time. Students are responsible for completing work by these deadlines. Do not show up to class without your work and expect me to accept it. However, I understand that emergencies happen and am willing to work with students. I offer the following strategies for handling absences and turning in work:

1. Students who miss class may email their work to me. If the time stamp on the email is on or before the class start time, or whenever the assignment is due, then I will accept the work. Students will still earn an absence but not a zero for the assignment. Students, though, who make a habit of turning in work this way will lose this option.
2. Students can drop work off in the box attached to my office door. If it is there before class starts, then it will not be late.
3. Students who miss any important group discussion over readings can schedule time in my office to discuss readings with me and earn some or all of the participation points back.
4. Contact me before the absence so we can work out an alternative method to submitting work, especially if this will involve multiple absences for illness or emergency.
5. If contacting me before an absence is not possible, contact me as soon as possible. Go to the Cruiser page to find information on what work you may have missed that day. If you do not see an announcement within 24 hours of our class time, please contact me to find out what work you missed.
6. Students missing for planned school activities, such as field trips and athletics, should always use options 1, 2 or 3: send work to me before the absence, drop it off in my office box before class, or schedule a conference immediately before or after the absence to handle class discussions.

Grading Policy: See the grading rubric (separate handout) for a breakdown of the essay grade. Students are still responsible for meeting all course objectives in order to pass the class and earn points toward a final grade as follows:

A.  First Draft Paragraphs (10%): Students will write five formal paragraphs and, if time permits, a short essay. The first draft of these they submit for a grade. Students may revise these assignments for a higher grade. Work not resubmitted for revision will retain the original grade as both the first draft and revised grades. Each paragraph will be worth 100 points.

B.  Revised Paragraphs (60%):  If wishing to improve their first draft grade, students may revise any or all of their first drafts for a revision grade. Plagiarized or unsubmitted first drafts are not eligible for a replacement grade. These zero grades will stand. Revisions are due the week of finals.

C.  Class participation and attendance (10%): Participation is a combination of attendance, attentiveness and contributions to classroom discussion. Students lose points for lateness, absence, lack of participation, and lack of preparation. See the attendance policy above for a detailed description of the point system.

D.  Homework (10%): This includes in-class, take home and CampusCruiser assignments.

E.  Exams (10%): This class has a pre/post test and a Mid-Term exam over the writing process and some grammar/mechanics, as well as a variety of quizzes (if necessary). These will be worth a variety of points and will count as 10% of the total class grade (equal to 1 letter grade).

F.  Proper use of MLA style: Writing must follow MLA style and documentation for any use of outside sources, available in your text. I have also created an MLA template you can download from my website at http://kellimcbride.com/docs/mla09_essay_template.doc. Any work that fails to fully document all outside uses of resources will receive a zero. Technical plagiarism will still be eligible for revision. Intentional plagiarism will not be eligible for revision.

G.  Each paragraph assignment handout will designate a length requirement.  Paragraphs must fit within any minimum and maximum length requirements. Going under or over will influence the overall grade.

Text:

Brandon, Lee, and Kelly Brandon. Sentences, Paragraphs and Beyond with Integrated Readings. 6^th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2011. Print.

ADA Statement:  Under SSC policy and federal and state laws regarding Americans with Disabilities Act, students with documented disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations to ensure the student has an equal opportunity to perform in class.  Students who are in need of assistance in dealing with any special needs that affect their ability to deal with the physical and/or learning environment required in this course, or in the classroom setting, need to advise the instructor immediately after the first class.  It is the student’s responsibility to notify the instructor on the first day of class.

Tobacco and Food Policy:  In order to protect the health of students, faculty, and staff of SSC, and to comply with HB 2529, the use of any tobacco product is prohibited in all campus buildings and on the grounds.  The policy does allow for tobacco use only in parking areas and on campus roads.  Students may have food and drink in the classroom during class time as long as neither are distracting. You must also clean up after yourself.

Academic Honesty:  The instructor and the instructor’s academic superiors have final authority over the grades given to students or the lowering of grades because of cheating or plagiarism.

Plagiarism:  As defined by Seminole State College, plagiarism is the use, without acknowledgement, of a person’s ideas and/or materials, either in whole or in part, to fulfill course assignments. This includes taking work from the Internet or having another student complete the work. Even getting too much assistance with revision can count as plagiarism if the tutor rewrites work for the student rather than offer suggestions that the student incorporates personally. If you simply do your own work, you will not have a problem with this issue. Consequences of plagiarism will comply with those listed in the Seminole State College Handbook.

Special Warning: This class is designed for a college-level, mature audience, which means some reading and discussion materials will be challenging to understand. Be prepared to read with a dictionary handy and a pen or pencil to take notes or jot down questions for class discussions. Please ask questions about materials you do not understand. Learning is a collaborative endeavor, and we need outside input to understand fully what we encounter. Also, be aware that some readings and discussion topics may include material that some people consider offensive, such as racism, sexism, and offensive language. Part of college is learning how to handle challenging topics, and students should see these as learning opportunities. This class does not include materials purely for shock value, and all will have an educative purpose that the class explores in lecture and discussion.

Electronic Devices / Cell Phones: Do not text or accept texts or phone calls during class.  You may be withdrawn from class if your texting or phone usage or other electronic device usage (iPods, laptops, etc.) causes a disturbance to me or to others.  Turn your cell phone off during class.  In case of emergencies, you should notify your friends and families of your class schedule and SSC’s main telephone number: (405) 382-9950. If you must be on call for special circumstances, please inform me beforehand. In these limited cases, if a call comes, simply leave the room and take it.

Changes to the Syllabus: If necessary, I can make changes to this syllabus and will announce those changes to the class and provide a revised syllabus.

Syllabus Contract: To show you have understood the policies and information contained in this syllabus and agree to abide by those policies, you must post an acceptance message in Cruiser’s message board area under ASSIGNMENTS>>SYLLABUS CONTRACT. This post is due no later than 1 week from the first day of class by the beginning of class.