Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | ENG-1061-VO14 - English Composition

Online Class

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

Faculty

Kate Dailey
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.

Methods

As the title of this course suggests, we will be writing, writing, and writing this semester. You will complete readings that will provide models for the kinds of writing you will be doing and will connect with classmates, through discussion posts, to get feedback and offer support as we work through the writing assignments for the semester. More specifically, you will:

• engage in group discussions almost every week
• engage in analysis of the outside reading to guide your own work
• practice grammatical/mechanical skills through exercises that I will provide
• write and revise 4 essays of varying lengths, incorporating feedback as you revise
• complete a research paper in which you demonstrate your ability to develop a thesis statement and well organized development of the thesis, incorporate in text citation, and create an accurate works cited page

Evaluation Criteria

This course uses a total points system to calculate final grades. These assessments will include:

• Weekly discussion posts (5-15 points as specified in each individual discussion assignment)
• Reading worksheets (10-20 points as specified on each worksheet)
• Grammar/mechanical skills exercises (points specified on each assignment)
• Narrative Essay (25 points)
• Illustrative Essay (25 points)
• Literary Analysis (25 points)
• Annotated Bibliography (20 points)
• Research Paper (50 points)

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

I expect students to engage with our course throughout each week. To that end, it will be important to:

• Read/view/listen to all the assignment materials when they are assigned.
• Take your discussion posts seriously thinking carefully through the prompts, responding in well developed paragraphs, and providing meaningful responses to your classmates. Posts should demonstrate college-level writing and thinking, and go beyond quick opinions.
• Seek clarification for anything that is unclear to you so that you can engage with the discussion prompts with confidence.
• Submit rough drafts of papers as specified in the course schedule and read carefully through the feedback that I will provide on those.

Missing & Late Work Policy

• Assignments are due on the dates specified on the course syllabus. Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days following a due date with a reduction of 3 points per day late. If you are uncertain about an assignment, my expectations, or what resources to use, PLEASE contact me early so that we can talk through your questions. Uncertainty about an assignment is not an excuse for late work. You can call or text me anytime at 216-408-2716 o email me at kxd00151@ccv.vsc.edu.
• In addition to emailing, texting, or calling me, Canvas is your greatest resource for this course. All due dates and expectations are provided in your Canvas shell.
• If you know in advance that you will not be able to complete an assignment (health issues, military service, etc.) please contact me prior to the due date to discuss options for completing that work.

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