Assignments: Paragraph 1 | Paragraph Set 1

W r i t i n g 0 9 5 – 0 3 P a r a g r a p h t o E s s a y

Spring 2008 157133 TTh 10-11:20 A.M. R222 3 Cr.

Ryan Davis, Clackamas Community College English Department

Office: Rook 233 Office Hours: MF 12:30-1:30 / W 12:30-1:45 / Th 12-12:50 / or by appt.

Writing Center: TTh 11:30-12

Phone: 503-657-6958 x 5137 Email: ryand@clackamas.edu

Class Webpage: http://www.portlandwt.com/schoolhome.htm

COURSE DESCRIPTION Writing 095 prepares students for both transfer and occupational writing courses, emphasizes paragraph and paragraph set structure, and introduces the shorter academic essay. The course is graded Pass/No Pass and carries no transfer credit. Students learn a variety of techniques for all stages of the writing process and are encouraged to develop a personal process that makes sense for them as individuals and helps them communicate effectively in writing. Above all, Writing 095 helps students discover the pleasure of writing and gives them the confidence in their writing they need to succeed at the transfer level. Assignments include reading; grammar/mechanics exercises; writing paragraphs, paragraph sets, and essays; peer review workshops; and conferences.

ENTRANCE EXPECTATIONS The prerequisites for WR 095 are passing WR 090, placement in RD 115, or placement in WR 095. Based on this placement, students should be able to:

· Recognize and correct common editing problems, such as errors in subject/verb agreement, pronoun/antecedent agreement, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling

· Write coherent sentences and recognize sentence components such as subject and predicate

· Identify sentence patterns, word choice, and basic stylistic devices, and use these in their own writing to achieve clarity of expression

· Demonstrate simple paragraph organization by writing sentences in a logical, coherent context

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES To pass WR 095, students must demonstrate ability to:

· Read essays critically, recognizing thesis statements and patterns of development and analyzing purpose, content, and structure.

· Write paragraphs and essays in response to reading a text, answering an assigned question, using examples from the text to support a main idea (thesis).

· Work through a personal writing process that includes using various strategies to narrow a topic, organized ideas, draft, revise, and proofread/edit their own papers.

· Write focused paragraphs of various lengths that include a specific topic sentence, appropriate supporting details, appropriate transitions, and a clear conclusion.

· Identify and use various methods of development, such as definition, description, comparison/contrast, and others.

· Write organized essays that develop specific theses with appropriate supporting details in varied, coherent sentences, using relevant transitions.

· Continue to recognize and correct common editing problems, such as errors in subject/verb agreement, pronoun/antecedent agreement, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS

Aaron, Jane E. LB Brief: The Little Brown Handbook, Brief Version. 2^nd ed. New York: Longman, 2005. ISBN: 0-321-20781-5
Funk, Robert W., et al. The Simon and Schuster Short Prose Reader. 4^th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. ISBN: 0-13-192589-X
Access to a working computer, printer, and the Internet and an active email account with an appropriate user ID (for announcements and supplemental information). Please check your email regularly.

CLASS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Attendance

Any student with seven or more absences will automatically fail the course.
If absent, please obtain missed information from another student or the course website. Do not ask me what you missed.

Effective Learning

· Practice tolerance by respecting your classmates. If you do not, you will be told to leave class.

· Please be on time so that you do not disrupt class.

· All cell phones must be turned off.

· No visitors in class.

· While I encourage discussion, the class is ultimately not a democracy. I have structured the course this way based on years of experience. If you disagree with any aspect of the course, consult with me before or after class or during my office hours. I will not use class time for disagreements.

Work Submitted

All work written in class must be legible.
All work written outside of class must be word processed, following all MLA guidelines.
Please save your work in Microsoft Word in Rich Text Format (.rtf), so it can be recognized by most computers.
Please keep all work on your hard drive, a portable storage device, a CD-ROM, and in your email account. Printer issues and lost work are no longer excuses.

Coursework and Assignments

· Reading Assignments: You will read a selection of chapters from the textbook, including sample paragraphs and essays. Read carefully, take notes as necessary, and be prepared to discuss the reading in class.

· Grammar/Mechanics Review: Periodically, we will review a grammar/mechanics topic in class. We will complete and grade exercises in class.

· Paragraphs: You will write three paragraphs (8-12 sentences in length).

· Paragraph Sets: You will write three sets of connected paragraphs.

· Essays: You will write two essays (2-3 pages). These essays will consist of expanded paragraphs or paragraph sets previously submitted.

· Peer Review: Paragraphs, paragraph sets, and essays will be workshopped in groups, using worksheets, before being turned in for grading.

· Conferences: Two required conferences with me will be scheduled during the course, one before mid term and one after. We will meet during my office hours to review your written work, your class participation, peer responses you have received, and what your revision plans are. Sign-up sheets will be provided.

Grading

· Grading System: Because WR 095 is graded Pass/No Pass, I will not use letter grades for your work. The following descriptions explain my grading system:

o A plus sign (+) indicates “Superior” work (Pass)

o A check mark (ü)indicates “Satisfactory” work (Pass)

o A minus sign (-) indicates “Unsatisfactory” work (No Pass)

Guidelines explaining what is necessary to attain each mark will be provided prior to turning in the first paragraph.

Requirements to Pass WR 095: In order to pass the course, you must:

o Turn in three paragraphs, two to the point of “passing”

o Turn in three paragraph sets, two to the point of “passing”

o turn in two essays, both to the point of “passing”

o complete 70% of in-class exercises and peer review worksheets with a passing mark

o attend both required conferences

o demonstrate the student learning outcomes

Revision

Paragraphs 1-3, paragraph sets 1-3, and essay 1 may be revised and resubmitted to earn a higher grade within one week of their return if the original grade is a minus (-). Submitted revisions must also include the original draft.

Assignment Timeliness, Length, and Delivery

Late work will automatically earn a minus (-) and cannot be revised (late = anytime after class on the due date). There are no excuses for late work.
Any work shorter than the required length will automatically earn a minus (-) and cannot be revised.
No emailed work will be accepted.

SCHEDULE (subject to change with sufficient notice)
WEEK 1
4/1 Course Introduction / Diagnostic writing sample

4/3 Ch. 1

(Last day to add classes without instructor signature, Saturday, 4/5)

WEEK 2
4/8 Ch. 1 & 2

4/10 Ch. 2

(Last day to drop full-term classes and receive full refund, Friday, 4/11)

WEEK 3
4/15 Sick Day

4/17 Paragraph Structure

WEEK 4
4/22 Ch. 3 Narration & Description (Royko p. 45 & Cofer 60)

4/24 Workshop paragraph 1

WEEK 5

4/29 Paragraph 1 due / Ch. 4 Example & Illustration (Berg p. 78, Staples 85, Meier 93)

5/1 Workshop paragraph 2

WEEK 6

5/6 Paragraph 2 due / Ch. 5 Definition and Explanation (Asimov p. 127 & Choy 134)

5/8 Workshop paragraph 3

(Last day to drop classes without responsibility for grade, Saturday, 5/10)

WEEK 7

5/13 Paragraph 3 due / Ch. 6 Classification and Division (readings to be assigned)

5/15 Workshop paragraph set 1

WEEK 8

5/20 Paragraph Set 1 due / Ch. 9 Cause and Effect (readings to be assigned)

5/22 Workshop paragraph set 2

(Last day to make changes to the schedule, Saturday, 5/24)

WEEK 9

5/27 Paragraph set 2 due / Essay 1 discussion

5/29 Workshop essay 1

WEEK 10

6/3 Essay 1 due / Essay 2 discussion

6/5 Workshop essay 2

WEEK 11

Essay 2 and a SASE due @ Noon, Tuesday, June 10, 2008

PLAGIARISM According to the CCC Instructional Standards and Procedures, “A student who submits the work of another as her/his own or deliberately fails to properly credit words or ideas borrowed from another source is guilty of plagiarism.” You must adhere to the following guidelines, borrowed from Clark College, regarding plagiarism:

What you need not acknowledge:

1. Common knowledge. If most readers like yourself would likely know something, you need not cite it.

2. Facts available from a wide variety of sources. If a number of textbooks, encyclopedias, or almanacs include the information, you need not cite it.

3. Your own ideas and discoveries.

What you must acknowledge:

1. Any direct quotation. You must place the exact words quoted in quotation marks.

2. Paraphrases and summaries that provide background information, present facts not commonly known, and explain various positions on your topic.

3. Arguable assertions. If an author presents an assertion that may or may not be true, you must cite the source.

4. Statistics, charts, tables, and graphs from any source. You must credit all graphic material, even if you yourself create the graph.

Purchasing research papers and submitting them is plagiarism. Asking another party to write a paper for you is cheating, and, in this case, will be considered plagiarism. Resubmitting or rewriting a paper from another course for a new grade without alerting me is plagiarism. If you are guilty of plagiarism, you will automatically fail the course.

Remember—if you have any questions regarding plagiarism—ask me.

SUPPORT SERVICES

Writing Center: Barlow 240, writing@clackamas.edu, (503) 657-6958 x 5310, http://depts.clackamas.edu/english/writingcenter/
Advising and Counseling Department: Bill Brod Community Center,(503) 657-60958 x2213, http://depts.clackamas.edu/advising/
Marshall N. Dana Library: M-Th 7:30 A.M.-9 P.M. / F 7:30 A.M.-5 P.M., (503) 657-60958 x 2288, http://www2.clackamas.edu/library/index.htm
- Your last name and either your CCC ID or library barcode number will act as your password for the following databases:
  - EBSCOHOST (Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, CINAHL, MEDLINE and many more indexes)
  - NewsBank (The Oregonian and The New York Times [2000-present])
  - ProQuest (The New York Times [Historical 1851-2002])
  - First Search (Article First and Worldcat databases)
  - CQ Researcher
  - Access Science
  - NetLibrary (Approximately 5,000 current, academic titles in electronic format that appear in the CCC catalog along with the physical books. To access these titles from off-campus, you must first create your own NetLibrary login and password on a CCC computer. [Look for the "Create a Free Account" link, upper right.] NetLibrary also provides free public access to about 3,000 out-of-copyright works; if you create your account off-campus, it will show you only these titles.)
  - Gale Virtual Reference Library (Dozens of full-text specialized, academic encyclopedias. These titles appear in the CCC catalog along with the physical books.)

Updated 13 May 2008