Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | ENG-1061-VO13 - English Composition

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Sean Dobbin
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Cindy Swanson

General Education Requirements

VSCS Introductory Written Expression

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

In this course, students develop effective composition skills and research techniques. Students learn strategies for organizing, evaluating, and revising their work through extensive reading of a variety of essay styles and literary texts; apply writing and research techniques to their papers; and demonstrate proficiency in first-year college-level writing and information literacy.

Essential Objectives

1. Consistently apply an appropriate writing process that includes planning, drafting, revising, and editing.
2. Demonstrate in written work an awareness of the relationship among writer, subject, audience, and purpose.
3. Demonstrate writing proficiency with a range of rhetorical approaches to include narration, exposition, argument, and critical analysis and recognize the stylistic and structural strategies in the writing of others.
4. Discuss writing by authors from diverse (such as racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and gender) backgrounds to explore how perspectives and experiences may shape voice in composition.
5. Focus written work around an explicit central thesis, a position statement or proposition advanced by the writer that is arguable and supportable and develop the thesis systematically, using specific details and supporting evidence.
6. Compose written work that demonstrates effective use of sentence structure, paragraphing, grammar, syntax, punctuation, and spelling.
7. Demonstrate proficiency in research writing skills by completing one or more papers that:
a) Develop and support an arguable thesis;
b) Locate, evaluate, and incorporate appropriate scholarly and professional sources, including primary and secondary evidence as needed, to address an academic research question;
c) Appropriately acknowledge and document sources, using standard MLA or APA styles.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

*** This is a no cost textbook or resource class. ***

This course only uses free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials. For details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

Evaluation Criteria

40% - Major Essays (4 essays at 10% each, including grades for rough and final drafts)

20% - Discussion Forums

20% - Journals

20% - Quizzes

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

In group assignments and discussions, your participation has a direct effect on your grade, and it is also how I track attendance in the course throughout the semester. Full participation means completing all expectations for the assignment, giving all required responses, meeting length requirements, submitting your work on time, etc.

If you do not participate in a given week, you will not only earn zeroes on your assignments, but you will also be considered absent. No student with more than three absences will be able to pass the course.

Missing & Late Work Policy

All deadlines for the work in this class are firm, with extremely rare exceptions. Work not submitted by the due date is given a grade of 0.

We are all on a schedule, and also have many assignments and activities that require timely participation by everyone in order for all students to get the full benefit. Please do not email me late work or ask to submit work after the assignment deadline is closed. This will not be allowed unless you have previously been granted an extension for a serious, unusual circumstance.

Again, all work not submitted by the due date (always 11:59pm on the due date unless otherwise noted) is given a grade of 0. For course discussions (including Peer Reviews), where you typically have a deadline for your initial post (usually Fridays at 11:59pm) and another for your reply posts (usually Monday at 11:59pm), late initial posts will be given no credit, and your overall grade for the discussion will be reduced accordingly.

Extensions are very rarely granted -- and only in the most serious circumstances. However, if you feel that you cannot complete an assignment by its due date, it is important that you communicate with me as soon as possible. Do not wait to email me the day the assignment is due. I am much more willing to work with you if you show forethought and a genuine desire to talk to me about your work. As you will likely hear me say many times throughout this course, the most important thing you can do to assure your success in this course (and in college in general) is to communicate with your instructor.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity