COLLIN COLLEGE

SUMMER II COURSE SYLLABUS

ENGLISH 1301: COMPOSITION/RHETORIC I

8:00am-10:00am, Room G219 -- Subject to change. Please check schedule for room number.

Professor: Joyce M. Miller Office: J243, Spring Creek Campus

Office e-mail address (weekday replies only): jmiller@ccccd.edu

 URL for web site: http://iws.ccccd.edu/jmiller/jmiller.htm

Office hours: Monday through Thursday, 7:00am-8am

Also by appointment. 972.881.5981

CAMPUS POLICY: Campus regulations do not allow food, drinks, or smoking in the classroom.
Please do not ask for exceptions to these regulations. (Water is always permitted.)

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT COMPLIANCE: It is the policy of Collin County Community College to provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations for individuals with documented disabilities. This college will adhere to all applicable federal and state laws, regulations, and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity. It is the student's responsibility to visit the ACCESS office (G200) or telephone 972.881.5898 (TDD.881.5950) in a timely manner if he or she desires to arrange accommodations.

RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS: In accordance with Section 51.911 of the Texas Education Code, CCCC will allow a student who is absent from class for the observance of a religious holy day to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time. Students are required to file a written request with each professor within the first 15 days of the semester to qualify for an excused absence. Please telephone or visit the registrar's office for additional information on procedures and rules.

COLLEGE REPEAT POLICY:   You may repeat this course only once after earning a grade, including W. Should you drop the course before the current semester's census date (insert date here), you will not incur a penalty. Should you withdraw from the course after the census date, however, a grade of W will be posted to your transcript and noted as one attempted enrollment in the course.

 INCOMPLETE GRADES:  "Incompletes" require that you have a minimum grade of "C" and completed a minimum of 80 percent of the course requirements at the time you request an incomplete grade.  Incomplete grades can occur only if the instructor deems a situation serious enough to warrant them.  A change in job schedules does not qualify for incomplete grades.

 CLASSROOM POLICIES:   It is against CCCCD policy to consume food or beverages (water excepted) in the classroom.   Please be courteous and turn off cell phones and beepers before entering the classroom as well.  Review "A Student's Guide to Academic Etiquette."  Please note: I do not accept electronic attachments of essays as substitutes for in-class submission of work due. If you cannot attend class when an essay is due, make arrangements for someone else to deliver it to me.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: A freshman course in writing with an emphasis on developing, through a variety of strategies as well as through the rewriting of successive drafts, the basic rhetorical, logical, and grammatical skills that enable the student to communicate effectively.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Essayist Otto Friedrich writes, "Higher education must ultimately serve the higher purpose of perpetuating whatever it is in civilization that is worth perpetuating" (Five Ways to Wisdom). Good writing falls in the "whatever it is" category, and to that end we shall strive to write CLEARLY, CONCISELY, COHESIVELY, CORRECTLY, and, once the other objectives are met, CREATIVELY. Upon the successful completion of this course, the student will demonstrate the ability to write a well-organized, syntactically correct essay for a specified audience. The student will be able to state a thesis, provide sufficient and sensible support for the thesis, and form an effective conclusion in an essay free of errors in sentence structure, usage, and mechanics.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Upon the successful completion of this course, the student will be able to do the following:

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS: Lectures, class discussion, small group discussions, computer-assisted instruction, audio/visual materials, personal conferences.

TEXTS: Strategies for Successful Writing  (with HANDBOOK), 7th ed.;  the write stuff , 3rded. (Joyce M. Miller). (Because editions change, please check with the book store before purchasing texts.) Recommended: A collegiate dictionary and a thesaurus (such as American Heritage and Roget's).

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: Initial writing assessment (first class day). Readings, journals, assorted handouts, homework, and labs designed to develop skills in critical thinking, prewriting, writing, revising, grammar, punctuation, and diction. ENGLISH DEPARTMENTAL FINAL consisting of an in-class essay grade (note times in class schedule). QUIZZES over grammar, usage, and punctuation. ESSAYS: Although one will be written in the Testing Center, it will be revised in class (see choice of topics for this class). All steps of the "Step-by-Step" essay must be typed. LABS: Assignments (16 units, attached) are due no later than dates announced, depending on the assignment. Because labs are designed to enhance your writing skills, you do not earn grades for their completion. PLEASE NOTE, however, that you must complete the assigned lab work to prevent the deduction of one letter grade below that which you would otherwise have earned for the semester had you submitted the work in a timely fashion.

MECHANICS: Please read The Finished Paper carefully.

GRADES: The grading philosophy in this course evolves from the notion that students begin their writing with a clean slate, with a grade of zero, and attempt to earn points, the number of which depends on the mastery of specific writing skills, as noted. Papers will be graded, therefore, according to organization/content/clarity as well as according to sentence structure, usage, and mechanics. No paper containing a comma splice, a run-on, a fragmentary sentence, or a dangling modifier can earn a grade above 79 on a paper valued at 100 points. Any paper containing plagiarized material will earn a grade of zero; the student who submits plagiarized work may also face additional penalties as set forth in the Collin College Student Handbook. (Please read, sign, and attach the English Department's policy statement to your final draft of the "Step-by-Step" essay.)

 
 REMINDER: Students must complete all lab assignments in a timely and satisfactory manner to avoid the deduction of a letter grade as noted above.
 
Letter grades will be based on the following earned points:
A 400-360 B 359-320 C 319-280 D 279-240 F 239 or below

VALUE AND PERCENTAGES OF COURSE GRADES:
Value of one typed and one in-class essay: 200 points
Value of quizzes: 100 points
Value of Departmental Final: 100 points

Based on my experience along with my objective professional judgment, I shall assign grades that mirror your ACTUAL academic achievements, not your potential and effort.

ATTENDANCE AND MISC. POLICIES: Please note carefully the following course policies and information. Arrive on time, for tardiness always disrupts classroom instruction. Three late arrivals equal one absence. You will lose ten points for each absence beyond the second hour of class, and if you miss a total of six hours of class instruction, regardless of the cause(s), I may not accept any work you submit. Please keep a record of your tardiness and absences to compare with my record at any point during the semester. An absence from class on the date an essay or other work is due does not automatically excuse the submission of work due; therefore, if you must miss class, ask an attending student to submit your work for you. I shall NOT give make-up or "extra credit" work. Any step/draft (including the final draft) of the "Step-by-Step" essay will lose one letter grade for each day it is late (weekends included), and I shall not accept an essay after the third late day. Your contribution to class discussion, along with your timeliness and participation in group work, will be noted and thus considered in the event that your earned points border narrowly between an A and B, a B and a C, etc. Finally, you are responsible for notifying the registrar should you withdraw from this course (the last day to withdraw with a W is August 4 , posted in your class schedule). Because the successful completion of this course is important to both you and me, I shall do my best to help you to resolve the difficulties, academic or otherwise, that lead you to consider withdrawing. Please see me first.

 COURSE CONTENT

During class, I shall make amendments to the syllabus as necessary. Because amendments to the syllabus may be announced from time to time, please call a classmate should you miss class. (To give but one example, the due dates of the five steps of the first essay will be announced during class.) Supplemental readings, worksheets, and miscellaneous handouts will be included in the following course content. Unless otherwise specified, all reading assignments are taken from Strategies for Successful Writing and  the write stuff. Please bring these texts to each of our classes.

  

 PLEASE NOTE: WHEN WRITING YOUR ROUGH DRAFTS OR TAKING QUIZZES, YOU MAY SPEND AS MUCH TIME AS YOU NEED IN THE TESTING CENTER.

PLEASE NOTE: "Busy" work is unnecessary.
If you do not have to write complete sentences to give an answer
to any problem in all the exercises below, then please DO NOT.
 

Week 1
Day 1 (July 10)    Intro. to course.  Review of requirements.  In-class assessment.
Day 2    Strategies text: Chapters 1, 2, 14.  Note: Because this course stresses the placement of the topic sentence at the beginning of the paragraph, ignore references that suggest otherwise.  Review Exercise 2 on p. 42; rewrite each ineffective thesis statement INSTEAD of describing what is wrong with the ineffective statement.  Usage list assigned during today’s class.  In-class discussion of usage.
Day 3    Read “Son, Do I Know You?”, pages 11-13, in the write stuff.  In-class discussion of usage continues.
Day 4    USAGE QUIZ, 56 questions.  Bring a narrow-form Scantron and a #2 pencil to class today.  No one arriving more than ten minutes late to class will be permitted to take quiz.
 Week 2
Note:     “Busy” work is unnecessary.  If you do not have to write complete sentences to give an answer to any problem in all the exercises below, then please DO NOT.
Day 1    Read Chapter 16, pp. 228-33.  Submit answers to exercise on p. 233.  Read Handbook, pp. 628-45.  Submit answers to exercises on pp. 639-40 and 642-43, and 645.  Submit answers to both exercises on pp. 644-45.
Day 2    Read Chapter 16, pp. 228-33.  Submit answers to exercise on p. 233.  Read Handbook, pp. 628-45.  Submit answers to exercises on pp. 639-40 and 642-43, and 645.  Submit answers to both exercises on pp. 644-45.  In-class exercises
Day 3    "STEP-BY-STEP" ESSAY DUE (Step 1).  Review passive voice, pp. 238-240. Submit answers to exercise on p. 240.  Read Handbook, pp. 645-50.  Submit answers to exercise on pp. 650-51.  Read Handbook, pp. 653-55 and pp. 658-60.  Submit answers to exercises on pp. 654-55 and on 660.  Read Handbook, pp. 651-53.  Submit answers to exercise on p. 653.
Day 4    STEP 2 DUE.  In-class exercises.  Readings as assigned.
REMINDER: GRAMMAR QUIZ I over agreement in subjects/verbs/pronouns, shifts in tense and voice, sentence structure identification, sentence structure faults, and conjunctions (take in Testing Center) due by NOON Saturday.

 Week 3
Day 1    FIRST 8 UNITS OF LAB WORK DUE.  Review pp. 237-38; submit answers to exercise on p. 238.  Read Handbook, pp. 665-66.  Submit answers to exercise on p. 666.  Review pp. 235-37. Submit answers to exercise on pp. 236-37.  Read Handbook, pp. 663-65.  Submit answers to exercise on p. 665.  Read Handbook, pp. 655-58.  Submit answers to exercise on p. 658.
Day 2    Review pp. 237-38; submit answers to exercise on p. 238.  Read Handbook, pp. 665-66.  Submit answers to exercise on p. 666.  Review pp. 235-37. Submit answers to exercise on pp. 236-37.  Read Handbook, pp. 663-65.  Submit answers to exercise on p. 665.  Read Handbook, pp. 655-58.  Submit answers to exercise on p. 658.
Day 3    STEPS 3 and 4 DUE. 
Day 4    Read Handbook, Commas, pp. 672-77.  Submit answers to both exercises on pp. 676-77.  Read Handbook, Semicolons, pp. 677-78, and Apostrophes, pp. 669-72.  Submit answers to both exercises on pp. 678-79 and on pp. 672.

REMINDER: GRAMMAR QUIZ I over parallel structure, modifiers, comparisons, pronoun case, and voice (take in Testing Center) due by NOON SATURDAY.
 
Week 4
Day 1    "STEP-BY-STEP" ESSAY DUE (attach all drafts).  Remember to attach your signed acknowledgment of the college's policy on plagiarism.  YOU MUST WRITE ESSAY #2 BY 7PM TUESDAY IN THE TESTING CENTER.
Day 2    In-class exercises on punctuation, misc.  Readings as assigned.
Day 3    IN-CLASS REVISION OF ESSAY #2.  Bring textbooks, dictionary, and thesaurus.
Day 4    In-class exercises.  Readings as assigned.

REMINDER: Please see me first if you are considering withdrawing.

REMINDER: YOU HAVE UNTIL 7 PM WEDNESDAY TO TAKE YOUR QUIZ
OVER PUNCTUATION (in Testing Center).

 Week 5
Day 1    Readings as assigned.
Day 2    In-class exercises.  Readings as assigned.
Day 3    In-class exercises.  Readings as assigned.
Day 4    ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FINAL (DURING REGULAR CLASS TIME).  Bring dictionary, thesaurus, and blue book.  This exam cannot be "made up."  If you do not take it at the appointed time (verify your exam times in the course schedule), you forfeit 100 points.
    FINAL 8 UNITS OF LAB WORK due today.
________________________________________________________________________________
Partial Reading List: Deadlines for completion will be announced during class.
Chapters 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 16.
 
Why Marriages Fail
Old Father Time Becomes a Terror
The Knife
Going for Broke
The Sweet Smell of Success Isn't All That Sweet
Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts
The Insufficiency of Honesty
The Men We Carry in Our Minds
The Perfect Picture
Close the Borders to All Newcomers

 
SUMMER LAB ASSIGNMENTS--16 UNITS


I.      Do exercise on p. 263.  Value: 2 units.

II.    Do both exercises on p. 681 in Strategies text; do one on p. 684 and one on p. 687.  Total value: 3 units.

III.  Do exercises on pp. 689, 691, 693, 695, and 697 as well as exercises on pp. 243 and 263 (Strategies text).
Total value: 3 units.

  Reminder: I do not accept late lab work
Review policy as outlined in this syllabus.

PART II: VOCABULARY, DUE DURING FINALS -- TOTAL OF 8 UNITS

 TYPE one COMPLEX sentence using each of the following words (yes, you may include more than one word per sentence if logic prevails). Underscore or highlight the word within the sentence (you select the part of speech). DEFINITIONS ARE UNNECESSARY.

 Failure to complete Part II will result in a letter grade reduction as outlined in the syllabus.

abnegation discernible lugubrious servile
absolve dissent malleable specious
affable dolorous menial subjugate
amorphous euphemism mordant supersede
antithesis exhilaration paradox sylvan
arduous exuberant perfidious tenebrous
bellicose fallacy perspicacious tumultuous
candor forfeit phenomenon turpitude
choleric harassment preclude unscrupulous
connoisseur idiomatic prescient vacillate
debacle impious propagate valedictory
deference ingenious pungent venomous
demagogue ingenuous quiescent vigilance
detrimental laborious remuneration visage
diligence laggard sedition voracious
Example: Although scientists argue that smoking is detrimental to our health,
many of us ignore their diligent warnings.

the write stuff

Essay Topics

A Condensed Guide to Writing an Essay

Sample Punctuation Quiz

Comma Usage

Putting Your Mind to English Quiz

Additional Quizzes and Resources

Professor Joyce M. Miller Return to Home Page Return to Instructional Menu

  

Grading Your Papers

GRADING STANDARDS FOR WRITTEN PAPERS

To unify grading and to conform to nationally accepted standards, the Collin College faculty subscribes to the guidelines below for letter grades in composition/rhetoric courses.

English 1301 & 1302 Essay Grading Criteria

Excellent   (A)

Good   (B)

Adequate   (C)

Poor   (D)

Failing   (F)

·      Controlling idea/thesis is significant, important, logical, and solidly supported.

·      Evidence is relevant, concrete, clear, and substantial.

·      Paper shows originality and creativity.

·      Controlling idea/thesis is logical and important.

·      Evidence is relevant, concrete, and substantial. 

·      The ideas expressed and/or the evidence provided is not as significant or as original as the “A” paper.

·      Controlling idea/thesis is, for the most part, logical.

·      Evidence does not clearly define or advance the thesis.  Evidence may be irrelevant, too general, or repetitious. 

·      The ideas expressed are unoriginal, obvious, or general.

·      Controlling idea/thesis is largely illogical, fallacious, and/or superficial.

·      Evidence is insufficient, obvious, contradictory, or aimless.

·      The ideas expressed are unoriginal, obvious, or general.

·   Lack of controlling idea/ thesis. 

·   Evidence and discussion provided may be random and/or without explanation.

·   Relatively few complete ideas expressed in the paper.

·      Essay establishes a logical order and emphasis, creating a sense of “flow.”

·      Paragraphs are focused, idea-centered, and cohesive.

·      Introduction pulls the reader in, the essay continues to be engaging, and the conclusion supports and completes the essay without repeating.

·      Essay establishes a logical order, indicating emphasis.

·      Paragraphs are focused, idea-centered, and cohesive enough to indicate changes in direction. 

·      Introduction engages the reader, and the conclusion supports without mere repetition of ideas.

·      Essay does not follow a consistent, logical order although some order may be apparent through the discussion.

·      Paragraphs are generally focused and idea-centered.  Transitions between paragraphs and ideas are obvious and/or dull. 

·      Introduction and conclusion are formulaic and uninteresting, offering little insight.

·      Essay is inappropriately ordered or random, failing to emphasize and advance any central idea.

·      Paragraphs may be chaotic, undeveloped, shapeless, and elementary;  transitions are inappropriate, misleading, or missing. 

·      Introduction merely states what will follow; conclusion repeats what the essay has already stated.

·   Essay lacks order and/or emphasis.

·   Paragraphs follow a rule-bound structure (i.e., three to five sentences each) rather than development of a single idea. Transitions are inappropriate, misleading, or missing.

·   Neither the introduction nor the conclusion satisfies any clear rhetorical purpose (or may be missing altogether).

·      Sentences are unified, coherent, varied, and emphatic.

·      Word choice is fresh, precise, economical, and distinctive.

·      Tone enhances the subject, conveys the writer’s persona, and suits the audience.

·      Sentences are purposeful, varied, and emphatic.

·      Word choice is precise and distinctive.

·      Tone fits the subject, persona, and audience.

·      Sentences are competent but lacking emphasis and variety.

·      Word choice is generally correct and distinctive.

·      Tone is acceptable for the subject.

·      Sentences lack necessary emphasis, variety, and purpose.

·      Word choice is vague or inappropriate.

·      Tone is inconsistent with the subject.

·   Sentences are incoherent, incomplete, fused, monotonous, elementary, or repetitious, thus obscuring meaning.

·   Tone is unclear or inappropriate to the subject.

·      Student has clearly met and followed requirements and criteria of the writing prompt.

·      Obvious use of preliminary explorative writing/planning, rough drafts, and revisions.

·      Student has met and followed the requirements of the writing prompt.

·      Apparent use of preliminary writing/planning, rough drafts, and revision.

·      Student has met and followed the basic requirements of the assignment. 

·      Paper contains evidence of at least some preliminary writing/planning. 

·      Little to no evidence of preliminary writing/planning presents itself.

·      Student has neither fully met nor followed the basic requirements of the assignment.

·   No evidence of preliminary writing/planning. 

·   Student has neither met nor followed the basic requirements of the assignment. 

·      Proper format is clearly illustrated.

·      Paper is largely formatted correctly although the text may contain a few minor formatting issues.

·      Text may contain minor formatting errors.

·      Formatting is problematic.

·   Formatting does not follow course requirements.

·      Grammar, syntax, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling adhere to the conventions of Standard American English, thereby contributing to the overall clarity and effectiveness.   

·      Paper has been edited carefully.

·      Grammar, syntax, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling deviate from Standard American English only slightly and insufficiently enough to distract from the essay’s overall clarity and effectiveness. 

·      Paper has been edited.

·      Grammar, syntax, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling deviate from Standard American English sufficiently enough to distract from the essay’s overall clarity and effectiveness.   
 

·      Careless proofreading is evident.

·      Grammar, syntax, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling deviate frequently from Standard American English so as to damage the content sufficiently enough to interfere with the essay’s overall clarity and effectiveness. 

·      Little evidence of proofreading.

·   Grammar, syntax, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling deviate frequently and seriously from Standard American English so as to damage the content sufficiently enough to damage the essay significantly overall.

·   No evidence of proofreading.

Collin College does not tolerate plagiarism.  Papers containing plagiarism will earn a zero.  For more information, please read the note on plagiarism in the course syllabus.

 

A Condensed Guide to Writing an Essay the write stuff
 

Professor Joyce M. Miller Return to Home Page Return to Instructional Menu

RETURN TO TOP