Freshman Composition I Syllabus for 2011-2012
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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

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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-1301-032 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

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Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec, 1 lab)

Class Type

Dual Credit Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

\ Faigley, Lester, and Jack Selzer. Good Reasons. Custom ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2011.

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\ Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. The Concise Wadsworth Handbook packaged with Insite Card (2 semester card) includes the 2009 MLA Update. 2nd ed. Boston: Cengage, 2008.
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\ Carter, Judith L., et al. A Rhetoric Handbook for English 1301 and 1302. 4th ed. Mason: Cengage, 2010.

Supplies

\ While I encourage you to keep a notebook, the only real requirements for each class meeting are:

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\ paper

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\ pen

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\ previously taken notes

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\ textbook(s) when requested

Student Performance

\  1.  Understand basic rhetorical concepts:  subject, audience, purpose, and appeals.

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\ 2.  Apply rhetorical concepts in analyzing and evaluating text.

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\ 3.  Use standard American English to write essays that are rhetorically effective:  clear, organized, detailed,

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\      grammatically correct, and audience specific.

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\ 4.  Use the library's online databases and other computer resources for research and word processing.

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\ 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

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\ ENGLISH DEPARTMENT PLAGIARISM POLICY (Revised January, 2009):
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\ Plagiarism:
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\ 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 work and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of it in one's own written work."
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\ Misdocumented Plagiarism:
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\ 1.  Using someone else's exact words that are quoted but not cited or cited but not quoted.
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\ 2.  Using a citation at the end of a block of prose without clarifying which material is borrowed.
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\ 3.   Missing or incomplete works cited entries.
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\ Misdocumented plagiarism will receive a maximum 50 percent deduction for the first offense, and the student will be required to meet with the instructor.
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\ Undocumented Plagiarism:
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\ 1.  Using someone else's exact words that are neither quoted nor cited.
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\ 2.  Paraphrasing someone else's words without citing them.
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\ 3.  Using someone else's research without citing it.
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\ 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

\ 10% Homework

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\ 15% Quizzes

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\ 5% Classroom Activities

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\ 35% Essays

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\ 25% Research Paper

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\ 10% Final Exam

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\ 90-100=A, 80-89=B, 70-79=C, 60-69=D, Below 59=F

\ Work must be made up within one day of absence. Students should make up work missed due to a school trip before the trip occurs. If this is not possible, they should make up the assignment the day they return. Pre-announced assignments (outside of class essays, etc.) are due on the day announced. Major essays/projects accepted 1 day late with a 30 point

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\ deduction on all assigned grades.

Attendance

\ Regular attendance is necessary for satisfactory achievement. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the student to attend class and to complete all assignments.  Students have read and signed a dual-credit policy on attendance and late grades. 

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\ If during the semester you consider dropping, please check with me first for an alternate plan, one that protects your investment in the course and gives you an opportunity to complete it. Remember that the deadline for drops this semester is November 16, 2010.

Calendar

\ All scheduled essays/exams are required.  No "extra credit" or "dropped grades" are available.  In the rare instance that I offer an extra exam, that offer is granted to all students, regardless of their current average.

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\ In-Class Essay

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\ Unit #1:   8/22-8/26,2011_A Rhetoric Handbook for 1301_.  ENGL. signed Course Contract;  review English Dept.Plagiarism  policy and

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\ diction for college writing, pges 7-12; checklist for final copies pages 21-24.  Discuss and annotate "What is Rhetorical

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\ Analysis?" on pages 40-44 as a class group, as well as the basic structure of rhetoric: pathos, logos, ethos.  From the

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\ text _Good Reasons_, 8/29-9/15, 2011 students will discuss the following essays, selecting one to analyze in a process essay.

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\ Michael Levin, "The Case for Torture" (329-331); Neil Postman "Order in the Classroom"; Jonathan Kozol "The Human

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\ cost of an Illiterate Society" (450-451); Donald M. Murray "The Maker's Eye: Revisiting Your Own Manuscripts"(462-465);

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\ Richard Rodriquez "The Fear of Losing a Culture" (466-468); Ralph Waldo Emerson "On Education."

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\ 9/19-9/23, 2011Students will review the five phrases from a college text and will be able to identify underlined phrases, as well as to

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\ incorporate and label a required number of phrases in the process essay to improve their style.

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\ Unit #2:  9/26-9/30, 2011  "Narrative Arguments" (pges 177-191)  Class and small group discussion of the chapter, as well as an

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\ individual analysis of George Orwell's "Why I Write."  Students will produce a process essay, including a revised rough

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\ draft on their individual intelligences.

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\ Unit #3 - Argumentative Essay  10/3-10/28,2011

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\ --In _Good Reasons_ Chapter 2 pages 22-29.  Individual analysis and discussion.  Then in small groups, students will work in the _Rhetoric Handbook_ on the MLA Workshop, preparing for the documented argumentative essay.  As a

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\ class, students will read and discuss pages 54-65 as they prepare to begin research for the Argumentative essay, using

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\ the website on "Opposing Viewpoints" as their basic research materials.  After selecting a topic and writing a thesis statement and an outline of the interior paragraphs, students will complete the draft in 3 sections for peer review and for teacher review.  During this process, the class will become acquainted with Chapters 4 and 5 in _Good Reasons_. 

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\ Students will submit an Argumentative essay, with an interior rebuttal paragraph with a cover sheet and a works cited 11/4/2011

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\ page employing the current MLA format.  Length should be around 5 typed pages for the text. 

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\ Unit #4Analysis of an Advertisement in print.11/14-18.  In the _Rhetoric Handbook_, students will review pages 92-103 for the

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\ 15 basic appeals and format.  In _Good Reasons,  the class will review the same chapter.  Finally, students will produce

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\ a draft for peer review and a final typed copy, using proper MLA format, analyzing a print advertisement.  Students must

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\ furnish the teacher a copy of the chosen advertisement.  For advanced rhetorical practice, the class will use _Strunk and

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\ White_ and Canavan's _Paragraphs and Themes_ to study the following techniques:  Introductory/concluding paragraphs; completeness in the body of the paper; choosing the most persuasive order for a paragraph, as well as

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\ techniques of coherence and parallelism  12/1-12/7, 2011.

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Additional Information

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Syllabus Created on:

11/30/-1 12:00 AM

Last Edited on:

11/30/-1 12:00 AM