Freshman Composition I Syllabus for 2011-2012
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Course

ENGL-1301-026 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

On Campus Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

\ Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell.  The Concise Wadsworth Handbook with InSite (2 semester PIN) and Aplia.  3rd edition.  Boston:  Cengage, 2011.*

\ A Rhetoric Handbook for English 1301 and 1302. 2010.
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\ * Students need to purchase their textbooks new in the AC Bookstore to receive the InSite Brochure. (If you have questions regarding your textbooks call the AC Bookstore at (806) 371-5307.)
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Supplies

Students will need

• a folder/notebook- something to keep class handouts
• flash drive (usb)
• access to a computer with a printer
• 3 different colored highlighters

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, 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

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 November, 2006):
\ 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."
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\ Misdocumented Plagiarism:
\ 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:
\ 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.

\ *Cell phone use is not permitted during class. If you have a possible emergency need, talk to me before class.
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Grading Criteria

Your grade is calculated on the following breakdown:

Essays, - 65%

Drafts and Critiques  10%

Minor assignments 10%

Aplia Grammar Portfolio 5%

Final Exam  10%

                                                                                                               Aplia Portfolio    5%

Personal Narrative  Essay    15%                                                    Rough Drafts       5%

Visual Analysis Essay    15%                                                            Peer Critiques      5%

Proposal            15%                                                                           MInor Assignments        10% 

Research based Argumentative Essay 20%                                Final Exam       10%

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

Attendance

\ Regular attendance is necessary for satisfactory achievement.  Therefore, it is the responsibility of the student to attend class and to complete all assignments.  More than two absences are considered excessive.  Students with excessive absences will find it difficult to pass the class.

\ Late Work:

\ Submissions to InSite will not be accepted late. If a situation arises that prevents students from complying with this policy, they must contact the instructor via email before the deadline of the assignment lapses.

\ Make-up Work:

\ If students are absent, they must contact the instructor via email before the next class in order to arrange for make-up work.

\ If during the semester you consider dropping, please check with me first for an alternate plan that proctects your investment in the course and gives you an opportunity to complete it. 
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Additional Information

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