Freshman Composition I Syllabus for 2011-2012
Return to Syllabus List

Instructor Information

Office Hours

I am on ET, one hour later than you are. Please contact me via my AC email (jaherr@actx.edu) and be aware that I check my email at least twice daily Monday-Friday, approximately 8:00 AM CT and 8:00 PM  CT.  Please know that I do not respond to emails or Remind messages after 8:00 PM CT Monday-Friday, and  after 8:00 AM on Saturdays. There will be occasions when I am working online that I will check and respond during the daytime hours, but please know that if you don not hear from me within 24 hours, I may not have received your email, so please resend. I do not respond to emails or Remind messages on Sunday, so please plan accordingly. Since all weekly assignments are due on Sunday, please be mindful that I am not available to answer questions on Sundays, so please don't wait until the last minute to complete your assignments.

Course Information

Recording Policy

Disability Statement

Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact disAbility Services (Student Service Center room 119, phone 371-5436) as soon as possible.

Statement for Mental Health and Advocacy & Resource Center:

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. Amarillo College offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, you can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus by calling the AC Counseling Center at 806-371-5900. The AC Counseling Center website is https://www.actx.edu/counseling/ . Also, if you are in need of social services (affordable housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, childcare, medical/dental/vision, legal), please call the AC Advocacy & Resource Center at 806-371-5439. The AC Advocacy & Resource Center website is https://www.actx.edu/arc

Amarillo College Tutoring for Success Policy:

Administrative Drop Policy

N/A

Student Withdrawal Procedures

N/A

Privacy Statement

The Amarillo College Privacy Policy is found at https://www.actx.edu/-amarillo-college-privacy-notice , and applies to all Amarillo College students.  If you have questions about this privacy statement or you believe that your personal information has been released without your consent, send email to humanresources@actx.edu .

Course

ENGL-1301-031 Freshman Composition I

Prerequisites

RDNG 0331 and ENGL 0302-minimum grade of C or scores on a state-approved test indicating college-level reading and writing skills

Course Description

Principles of effective writing, emphasizing organization of materials to produce a unified essay which supports convincingly a thesis statement. Review of conventional elements of writing and introduction to rhetorical analysis.

Student Resources Student Resources Website

Department Expectations

\N

Occupational License Disclaimer

Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec, 1 lab)

Class Type

Dual Credit Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

\ Carter, Judith, et al., ed. A Rhetoric Handbook for English 1301 and 1302. Mason: Cengage, 2010. Print.*

\

\ Faigley, Lester, and Jack Selzer. Good Reasons: Researching and Writing Effective Arguments. Custom ed. for Amarillo Coll. New York: Pearson, 2010. Print.*
\
\ Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. The Concise Wadsworth Handbook. 3rd ed. Boston: Cengage, 2011. Print. Enhanced InSite package. **
\
\ *These books are available for purchase only at the AC Bookstore.

\

\ ** Students need to purchase their textbooks new in the AC Bookstore to receive the Enhanced InSite Brochure. This brochure contains a PIN that is essential for the course. (If you have questions regarding your textbooks call the AC Bookstore at [806] 371-5307.)

Supplies

\ A computer with reliable access to the internet and a word processing program, such as Word or Works. Open Office, Notepad, and Wordpad are not acceptable word processing programs for this course because their formatting features do not work with o

Student Performance

\ 1. Understand basic rhetorical concepts: subject, audience, purpose, and appeals.
\
\ 2. Apply rhetorical concepts in analyzing and evaluating text.
\
\ 3. Use standard American English to write essays that are rhetorically effective: clear, organized, detailed, grammatically correct, and audience specific.
\
\ 4. Use the library's online databases and other computer resources for research and word processing.
\
\ 5. Write a third person, argumentative research paper following the MLA format for citing sources.

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

\ English Department Plagiarism Policy (Revised January, 2009):

\

\
\ Plagiarism:
\ According to the Amarillo College Student Code of Conduct, plagiarism is the "appropriating, buying, receiving as a gift, or obtaining by any means another's words and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of it in one's own written work."
\
\ Misdocumented Plagiarism:
\ 1. The use of someone else's exact words that are quoted but not cited or cited but not quoted.
\
\ 2. Using a citation at the end of a block of prose without clarifying which material is borrowed.
\
\ 3. Missing or incomplete works-cited entries.
\
\ Misdocumented plagiarism will receive a maximum 50 percent deduction for the first offense, and the student will be required to meet with the instructor.
\
\ Undocumented Plagiarism:
\ 1. The use of someone else's exact words that are neither quoted nor cited.
\
\ 2. Paraphrasing someone else's words without citing them.
\
\ 3. The use of someone else's research without citing it.
\
\ Undocumented plagiarism will receive a minimum penalty of 50 percent for the first time and 100 percent off for all subsequent infractions. The student will be required to meet with the instructor and the English Department Chair.

Grading Criteria

Quizzes: 10%

Drafts of the Works Cited: 5%

Discussion: 4%

Peer Review: 6%

Final Exam: 10%

Minor Assignments: 5%

Essays: 60%


90-100% = A

80-89% = B

70-79%=C

60-69%=D

59% and lower=F
 

The policies for submitting late work are posted on the "Course Policies" page of the AC Online course. For further information, please contact the instructor.

Attendance

\ Online students attend this class by logging in to AC Online and participating in the learning activities. They are not expected to come to campus. Be aware, however, that each assignment has a due date, and successful students keep current with their classwork.

Calendar

Lesson Topic Reading Assignment Major Writing Assignment Due Date
Unit 1 Lesson 1 Purpose of Freshman Composition I; Avoiding Plagiarism teacher created materials from handbook and course outline - - - Aug. 31, 2011
Unit 1 Lesson 2 Essay Construction 17-58 in Wadsworth/sample narratives and college application essays Personal narration essay assigned- College application essay Sept. 2 2011
Unit 1 Lesson 3 Audience and Ethos 11-16 in Wadsworth; 177-91 in Good Reasons; 332-33 of Good Reasons; 69-75 in Good Reasons Continue working on personal narration essay- college application essay Sept. 7, 2011
Unit 1 Lesson 4 Page Formatting; Thesis Statements 7-10 and 13 in A Rhetoric Handbook; 297-303 in Good Reasons Continue working on personal narration essay/college application essay Sept. 9, 2011
Unit 1 Lesson 5 Paragraphs 50-51 of A Rhetoric Handbook; 61-78 in Wadsworth Continue working on personal narration essay/college application essay Sept. 12, 2011
Unit 1 Lesson 6 Revising and Editing 458-61 OR 462-65 in Good Reasons; 206-07, 241-42, and 260-72 in Wadsworth; 21-23 in A Rhetoric Handbook Continue working on personal narration essay/college application essay Sept. 14, 2011
Peer Review -- - - - - - Peer review of personal narration essay/college application essay Sept. 16, 2011 to Sept. 19, 2011
Final Draft of the Unit 1 essay - - - - - - Final draft of the personal narration/college application essay is due Oct 4, 2011
Unit 2 Lesson 1/drafting a rhetorical analysis Rhetorical Analysis Review pages 69-75 in Good Reasons; read 75-79 and 90-105 in Good Reasons Rhetorical analysis essay assigned/analysis of print advertisement-content related to 1984- Newspeak and Doublethink Sept. 26, 2011
Unit 2 Lesson 2 Logos, Pathos, Ethos/rhetorical triangle 40-43 in A Rhetoric Handbook; 359-75 in Good Reasons Continue lessons on rhetorical analysis/ add commercials/ sample commercials and discussion Sept. 27, 2011
Unit 2 Lesson 3 Pathos and Narration; Quotation; Documentation 25-31 of A Rhetoric Handbook; 399-405 of Good Reasons Continue lessons on rhetorical analysis/print ad/commericals Sept. 28, 2011
Group Work/small group presentations - - - - - - group work to analyze a print advertisement- using graphic organizer for rhetorical triangle. small group presentations on Oct 3rd Sept. 30 and Oct. 3, 2011
Drafting /revising/peer editing - - - - - - Final draft of the rhetorical analysis of print advertisment is due Oct 11 Oct. 4-7, 2011
Unit 3 Lesson 1 Introduction to Causal argument; Logos- reader and writer 156-61 in Good Reasons Begin Causal argument - topic discussion - cause and effect as a pattern of organization and arument technique Oct. 10, 2011
Unit 3 Lesson 2 Reliable sources/Internet and Libraray research 351-72 in Wadsworth Continue working on causal argument Oct. 11-12, 2011
Unit 3 Lesson 3 Selecting and documenting sources 263-69 and 270-303 in Good Reasons;  Continue working on causal argument Oct. 12, 2011
Draft of the Works Cited for Essay 3 -citing sources, MLA format,  - - - -Bibme, AC handbook . Purdue Writing Center- The draft of the Works Cited is due Oct. 14, 2011
Unit 3 Lesson 4 Comparison-contrast; method of organization and logical progression 137-55 of Good Reasons Continue working on causal argument/drafting Oct. 17-19, 2011
Rough draft of Causal Analysis essay - - - - - - rough draft of causal argument essay Oct.19  2011
Peer review in class and Final draft of the causal argument essay - - - - - - Peer review begins on Oct 20-21 and Final draft of the causal argument is due. Oct.24, 2011
Unit 4 Lesson 1 Controversial topics - - - Argumentation essay discussed-brainstorm topics and those not to addressed Oct. 31, 2011
Unit 4 Lesson 2 Point of View; Working Thesis for argumentation of conversial topic; Works Cited- ethics and logic 250-54 of Wadsworth; teacher materials on controversial topics and sources for research work on evaluating materials, library work with AC databases Nov. 2, 2011
Draft of the Works Cited for Essay 4 - - - - - - The draft of the Works Cited is due Nov. 4, 2011
Unit 4 Lesson 3 Aristotlean argument structure 89-101 in Wadsworth; 192-200 in Good Reasons Continue working on the argumentation Nov. 7, 2011
Unit 4 Lesson 4 Logical fallacies 26-28 in Good Reasons; 86-88 in Wadsworth; teacher prepared materials on logical fallacies- They Say, I Say Continue working on the argumentation- drafting Nov. 9, 2011
Peer Review - - - - - - Peer reviews of the argumentation essay in class Nov. 11 and Nov. 14, 2011
Final draft of the argumentation essay - - - - - - Final draft of the argumentation essay is due. Nov. 21, 2011
Unit 5 Lesson 1 Writing Proposals 86-88 in Good Reasons - - -discussion and samples of styles of proposals- teacher created materials-proposal due on Monday, Nov 28 Nov. 28, 2011
Unit 5 Lesson 2 Writing under Pressure/timed writing/final exams teacher created materials on time management, prewriting, drafting and revising- timed writes are considered drafts in AP exams- 40 minutes per essay- - - -timed writing for college final exams- 2 hour block of time/vs timed writes for in class essays and AP style essay questions Nov. 30-Dec 6, 2011
Final exam - - - timed writing- 2 hour final exam exam given at THS 2 hour block Dec. 7 or Dec. 8, 2011

Additional Information

\N

Syllabus Created on:

11/30/-1 12:00 AM

Last Edited on:

11/30/-1 12:00 AM