Course Syllabus

Fall 2024 | ENG-1061-VT01 - English Composition

In Person Class

Standard courses meet in person at CCV centers, typically once each week for the duration of the semester.

Faculty

Sierra Dickey
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Collin Lee

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. ***

ENG-1061-VT01 Link to Textbooks/Resources Information 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.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Prohibited: The use of generative AI is not allowed in this course, with the exception of spellcheck, grammar check and similar tools. This course rests in the value of students engaging in the learning process without relying on AI-generated content. Students will develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills independently, owning their learning journey from start to finish. If you use these tools, your actions would be considered academically dishonest and a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

Methods

This class revolves around learning together as a classroom collective. I will frequently direct students to build off what their classmates offer to the discussion, writing, and skills practice spaces. Evaluation will happen weekly on a low-stakes scale, with students submitting short written responses and reflections to the course texts and major themes. These short written assignments will be graded for completion, and their quality and demonstration of growth will inform a portion of the participation & engagement grade.

There are two major written assignments for this course, the critical linguistic autobiography, and the research paper. Both of these assignments will be scaffolded over the course of a few weeks to give students lots of support in building towards the final product. Peer revision and feedback will be a part of both processes. The two large assignments will also include detailed rubrics.

Evaluation Criteria

Major Assignments

Critical Linguistic Autobiography (20%)

The critical linguistic autobiography is a multi-drafted narrative essay inviting you to examine your own linguistic histories, practices, and/or identities as they relate to some aspect of your writing or speech. In doing so, you’ll trace how you make use of language and how it shapes your communicative habits and worldview.

Subject to change assignment details can be found here.

Research Paper (30%)

The research paper is a multi-drafted expository essay revised with input from peers and instructor. In class we will learn about how to perform research, analyze the credibility of sources, write in conversation with sources, source citation according to MLA and develop a thesis.

Group project or group-led discussion (10%)

You will work on at least one group presentation during this course. These will be structured with a rubric and will provide you an opportunity to reflect on yourself and your peers teamwork efforts.

Short reflections (20%)

You will write short (100-200 word) responses and reflections to weekly readings. These will include different prompts weekly, and sometimes students will be invited to make their own prompts.

Participation & Engagement (20%)

I will consider you as a speaker, listener, leader, and supporter in the classroom space. I will take extra care to observe and evaluate how you take steps to build upon the learning happening in the room.

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 participate weekly in class discussions and activities, and to demonstrate considerable growth in their ability to discuss, question, and reflect over the course of the semester. Students who have questions or concerns about their participation should be in frequent touch with me for feedback and support.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Students should request an extension on any work that will be late. There are no limits on extensions. Work that is completely missing by the end of term will be graded at 50%.

Experiential Learning Expectations

Hours: 1-5

During one unit, students will be required to attend remote meetings of a community partner, perform research helpful to the community partner, and practice strong communication skills in a grassroots organizing space. Students will gain considerable hands-on experience researching and writing about social issues that are happening currently in their state. They will gain skills finding, reading, and organizing legislative information.

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