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1108
SYLLABUS
(Summary of Course Website) |
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Welcome to Eng 1108! You are in the Eng
1108 website for Richard Jewell's version of this course. This
web page is a traditional syllabus. It is simply a summary of the Eng 1108
web site with nothing new or different. For more
details about each of the topics discussed here and much more, return to the "Home
Page" and click on the links
of your choice. To see more information about the author, including
contact information, go to
www.RichardJewell.org.
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Additional Syllabus Information from the IHCC
Administration
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Welcome to
"English 1108--Writing and Research Skills" as taught by
myself--Richard Jewell, your instructor. This four-credit course has an
assumed workload of about twelve hours per week: approximately eight hours for
homework and four clock hours for class-time activities. The Inver Hills
Community College Catalog describes this course as follows:
Eng 1108 Writing and Research Skills:
Emphasizes critical writing, reading, and thinking with
attention to rhetorical elements such as argumentative structure, audience,
and purpose. Students learn types of college writing and research
techniques; report, synthesize, and draw conclusions from their readings;
document the use of sources; and practice the writing process.
Prerequisites: Recommended by Accuplacer assessment or Grade of C or higher
in Read 93/94 and Eng 99.
(f. '13)
In addition, this section of Eng 1108 is taught in
conjunction with Eng 2235, "Mythic Stories": the two courses together form a
"Learning Community" of the same students taking both courses at the same time.
In a Learning Community, the professors work together to design some parts of
the courses to be done together, and other parts of the courses so each course
helps the other course.
I'd like to make this Eng 1108 course not only interesting and
helpful to you, but also enjoyable -- and to make it possible for you to do well
not just in this course, but also in Eng 2235. I also want you to participate as actively in
both class as
possible. In fact, part of your
grade in this class is based on your active participation, so have fun, talk out and up about
class subjects in class and/or online, ask questions, and offer your input, especially when you are
engaged in interaction with other students in the class, whether online or in a
physical classroom. The more you put into this class,
the more you'll enjoy it and the more rewarding you'll find it.
Some sections of this course also may be hybrid physical-classroom and online-class courses.
If that is true of this section, then one third of your class time will be spent on the Web on discussion boards
(bulletin boards). If you're not sure if you are in a hybrid
one-third-online section, ask your instructor or go to
http://www.inverhills.edu/classschedule/,
look up this section, and see if anything is mentioned in the notes (after the
description of the hours, times, and cost)--if the section is a hybrid, it
should be mentioned in those notes. If it is, then please sign up for this
section only if you are
able to easily handle working online by Internet on the Web. If you have
these basic Internet skills and easy access to the Web, then you should be fine
with a hybrid section of this course.
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Again, welcome to the course.
We will have a relatively small class (max. 28), so we'll be
getting to know each other somewhat well, and I would like you to participate as
actively in the class as I do. In fact, part of your grade is based on your
active participation: so have fun, talk out and up about class subjects, ask
questions, and be active. The more you put into this class, the more you'll
enjoy it and the more rewarding you'll find it.
How about
the grading: will it be tough? If you're
willing to work hard, it
won’t be. My assumption is that most of you will work hard and earn an average
or above-average grade. There also will be a lot of group work. Will you
find it useless and/or boring? I doubt it. Even those who dislike group work
usually find it productive and enjoyable most of the time in my composition
classes. Why use it? It's highly efficient in teaching writing, it is enjoyable
to most people, and it also is good training for your future profession.
This
section of 1108 is also different in that it makes use of the Internet, as
mentioned above.
Internet use can save you $40-$80 because you will not have to purchase your main
textbook and some class materials--they're on the Web. We'll also have one
class per week on the Web--on a Web bulletin board. Finally, I sometimes
may use email to contact you as a group and/or individually.
As
mentioned above, all
of this Internet use is required in this section of 1108, as noted in the school
schedule, so be sure you know how to handle such stuff before you decide to stay
in this section.
What
am I like? For starters, please
feel free to call me "Richard" or "Mr. Jewell"--or anything
else that's nice. :-) I'm looking forward to working with you.
If you'd like to find out more about me, check out "About
Richard." There's a description of me,
a picture, my resume, and a sample short story of mine.
I am somewhat new at IHCC. I taught undergraduate writing and literature at the
University of Minnesota for five years, but in early 2001, IHCC offered me a
lifetime position. One of the main reasons I decided to switch from the
University of Minnesota to IHCC is that, I
believe, two years at IHCC provides as good an education as the same two years at
the average private four-year college in Minnesota--and a better education than the first two years at
the University of Minnesota or a state university. I'm very glad you've chosen Inver Hills as your school. It is
an excellent school. And the composition courses here are, in my own
opinion and in accordance with national research, among the best in Minnesota.
Note: Disability Services Accommodations.
The IHCC Disability Services Office says, "It is the policy and practice
of Inver Hills Community College to create inclusive learning environments,
and provide students with disabilities reasonable accommodations so they
have equal access to participate in educational programs, activities, and
services. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course
that result in barriers to your inclusion, please notify your instructor as
soon as possible. For further support, and to arrange specific reasonable
accommodations, students are encouraged to contact
Kayla Swenson,
Disability Services Coordinator/Academic
Advisor, 651-450-3508,
KSwenso@inverhills.mnscu.edu,
Office--College Center 211."
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TEXTBOOKS
REQUIRED
RESOURCES YOU MUST PURCHASE:
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(1) Grammar Handbook:
Rules for Writers
by Hacker (in IHCC Bookstore, listed
for this course and section)
OR
The Online Grammar Handbook (free at
www.OnlineGrammar.org)
OR
if you already have a college-level grammar
handbook, show it to me and you may be able to use it, instead.
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NOTE: You do NOT need both or
all three, just one.
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(2) One of four nonfiction books on the
class subject "Fantasy Fiction":
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NOTE: You do NOT need all four sets above--not at the start--just one of the
above choices. (You will need 1-2 more of these or similar books by Wk. 4.)
OTHER REQUIRED RESOURCES (you do not need to buy these):
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
WORKLOAD
I'd like to ask you for your
commitment this semester to the expected amount of time for work. The Inver
Hills (and national) standard is three hours of work (two of homework and one
class hour) per week for every one college credit, to receive an average grade. This
class is a four-credit class, so please plan on spending
at least twelve hours per week on class and homework: four on class and
eight on homework. This represents an average--some weeks may be less, some
more. It also represents the work needed by the average college student to
receive an average grade (which, nationally, is probably a "B" or
"B-" in the first two years of college). If you want an
"A" or you tend to be a below-average student, you may need to work
more than the amount of time described here.
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For
our section of this course, I have developed a somewhat unusual approach.
There will be no graded papers. Instead, you will have a number of drafts
of papers and revisions of those drafts, and you will receive X's for the drafts
once they are complete. You also will make your own choices of subject
matter for these drafts. If you don't get the drafts right the first time,
you will have as many chances as you need to fix them. The only limit you
will have on these drafts and the X's you get for them is a time limit: you must
be done with them by the end of the semester. There also will be readings
of chapters to do, and rough-draft study questions or journals to write about
them.
In all, I have planned a large
amount of practice for you--i.e., practice of writing--as that is the primary way in
which people become good writers. Some
of these papers are like lab practice in a biology course: they
will show me you've done the readings and help you practice writing and
think about it more. Other papers are continuing revisions so that you can
feel and see your papers growing from a first, rough idea to a very
well-finished product. I am doing these kinds of assignments instead of
having several objective tests or several graded papers because I believe that
in the long run, you'll learn more from writing frequently on a weekly basis.
DETAILS ABOUT WEEKLY
PAPERS, ROUGH DRAFTS, & FINISHED DRAFTS
How many assignments are there? There
are many. Most, however, are short
and relatively easy, and some, while longer, still usually are rough-draft
papers. The key to whether or not you
succeed in this class is consistent hard work: if you keep working hard to get
the rough-draft papers done each week, you will succeed in this class.
Please remember that you may write these as "lab"
papers--in very rough-draft form--without worrying about grammatical usage,
spelling, or punctuation (except for the Draft-4 papers).
STUDY QUESTIONS:
First, you'll read a required chapter in the main textbook. This chapter
will describe how to write a certain type of paper. Then you will type or
handwrite rough-draft answers to the "General Study Questions"
available through the chapter. You'll have a choice of questions to answer
for 150+ words about the chapter.
JOURNALS:
There will be just a few journals: about yourself, about the course Web site,
and about how you liked the course (at the end). Journals must be 300+
words, rough draft.
DRAFT 1, 2, 3, AND 4
PAPERS: The final type of weekly papers is
the drafts of papers to write each week. You will have a number of drafts to
write, and you will be responding to a main reading book mentioned above,
which everyone will be reading, or to a book of your own which you will choose
from a list of possible books on related topics. There will be no graded papers. You'll simply
receive X's for each correct draft. And if a draft isn't right, you'll have
time to fix it--and even fix it again, if necessary. The only
limit you will have for fixing these drafts is the length of the class
itself: You must have all the drafts (or as many as you can) done by the end of the semester.
You will have a total of six Draft 1's, and from these you'll develop two Draft 2's. From these,
to receive more than a "D," you'll develop one Draft 3. And from
this, to receive
more than a "B," you'll develop one Draft 4. You will have thorough
directions at each step of the way.
NOTE: For more instructions on how to write these papers, see "Writing
of Papers."
Be sure to
check the "Dates/Weekly Assignments regularly to see what is due.
If you run into a true emergency, do call me or come see me before
homework is late.
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GRADING FOR THE SEMESTER
I use a point system, as mentioned above. As a
result, attendance is worth roughly 1/3rd of your grade; your writing (weekly,
rough-draft, and finished papers) is worth about 2/3rds of your grade; and your
participation and improvement can bring the total grade up or down up to one
letter grade.
WEEKLY & OTHER PAPERS
This portion of your grade will be determined by how
many of your weekly, rough-draft, and finished writing assignments you turn in.
Each assignment will be worth one or more check marks or "X's" of credit. Your
total number of X's for both writing and attendance will determine your grade,
along with some final changes for improvement and participation.
ATTENDANCE &
IMPROVEMENT/PARTICIPATION
The attendance portion of your grade will be
determined by how many of your classes you attend. Both on-ground
(in-person) classes and online (discussion board) classes count toward
attendance. Make ups are allowed but may involve extra time because you
have missed direct contact with me and the rest of the class. Each class
you attend is worth 1/2 to 1 "X." Your total number of X's for both writing and
attendance will determine your grade, along with some final changes for
improvement and participation.
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Lateness/Leaving Early in regular classroom at IHCC: If you are 15 min. late to arrive or
early to leave
a physical-classroom class, you'll lose half a credit
for that class hr.
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Make up: --see details in "Attendance."
The improvement/participation part of your grade will be determined by how
actively you participate and improve. There are a variety of ways to
do this. Your letter grade for the course as determined by the above
point system (for attendance and writing) can go up or down an entire letter
grade based on excellent or poor improvement/participation.
DISABILITIES
I am committed
to supporting
the learning of
all students in
my class. If you
have already
registered with
Office of
Accessibility
Resources and
have your Letter
of
Accommodation,
please meet with
me early in the
course to
discuss, plan,
and implement
your
accommodations
in the course.
If you have or
think you have a
disability
(learning,
sensory,
physical,
chronic health,
or mental
health), please
contact the
Office of
Accessibility
staff to learn
more about the
services and
supports
available for
students with
disabilities at
Inver Hills. OAR
staff can be
reached at
651-450-3884, by
visiting the
office in the
Learning Center
(L207) or by
visiting the
website at
www.inverhills.edu/LearningSupport/AccessibilityResources/
index.aspx.
RESOURCES FOR FINANCIAL CHALLENGES
Any student who
faces financial challenges securing their food or housing and believes this
may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact the
counseling department for support. The phone number is 651-450-3864 and
email is
counseling@inverhills.edu. Furthermore, please notify me if you are
comfortable in doing so. This will allow me to help connect you personally
with the counseling department.
MOBILE PANTRY
The Mobile Pantry is brought to Inver through a
partnership with The Open Door Pantry. Students can select FREE food for
themselves and their family members. The food includes FRESH fruit and
vegetables, deli items, dairy items, meat, eggs and also some other
nonperishable items. Students can also get things like DIAPERS or formula
for their children or other personal hygiene items! The Mobile Pantry is on
campus Wednesday afternoons 12-2:30. There are no income requirements or
limitations. All students are eligible. If you have questions or would like
to sign up for this resource please call our counseling appointment line at
651-450-3508 or email us at
counseling@inverhills.edu and ask to make an mobile pantry intake
appointment with a counselor.
CONCLUSION
I hope you
enjoy the class! If there's anything I can do to help you enjoy it
more--alternatives, help with understanding something, etc.--come see me, email
me anytime, or call me from 9 am-9 pm. My phone number, email address, and
other info are at the beginning of this syllabus.
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