Course Syllabus

Fall 2024 | ENG-1061-VO19S - English Composition

Synchronous Class

Synchronous courses are delivered through a combination of online and regularly-scheduled Zoom sessions. In synchronous classes, students must attend Zoom sessions and actively engage with each other and faculty in course activities and discussions.

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 uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations.

Fall 2024 textbook details will be available on 2024-05-20. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

ENG-1061-VO19S Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Methods

More than anything, I like to think about this class as an ongoing conversation. We begin the class with an idea of where we're going (of course with some set and scheduled assignments and activities), but over time that journey will evolve and become unique to us. While we will cover many standard writing styles, skills, and strategies, I can promise that what happens in our class will not have been replicated before and will not be again!

As our conversation develops, the most common teaching methods that I will use will be:

- whole group discussion

- small group discussion

- direct instruction

- individual conferences (some scheduled, some as-needed)

- written feedback (I give *extensive* feedback on papers and consider it one of the most important interactions we will have in our instructor-student relationship. The end goal is to have examples of high-level written work that you feel proud of!)

Evaluation Criteria

60% - major essays (4 essays at 15% each, including grades for rough and final drafts)

10% - exams (including midterm and final)

20% - peer reviews, Canvas discussions, in-class discussions, journals, and other course assignments/activities

10% - Participation

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

Participating in class discussion and activities is an important aspect of college success. Therefore, I expect you to actively participate in all activities and discussions. This does not mean that you must always have something to say or that you should always strive to be the leader of your group, but I do expect you to always be listening attentively, making appropriate comments or asking questions when you have them, and helping your partner(s) when doing group work.

In a synchronous online class, this also means having your camera on (unless other arrangements are made with me) and remaining focused on the class.

Your participation grade is based on you coming to class on time and fully prepared, having your camera *on*, and fully engaging with the lesson or activity. There are many ways to "engage," but part of that is talking, commenting, answering questions, etc.

Participation points for the day are reduced in the following circumstances:

- arriving late/leaving early without prior approval

- leaving your camera off without prior discussion and approval (this is a synchronous class, and the goal is for us all to have cameras on; please plan for this)

- doing other activities during class (cooking, cleaning, playing video games, sleeping, taking a phone call, etc.)

- engaging in conversations outside of class

- making negative/disrespectful/inappropriate comments

- saying little to nothing during an entire class

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