Composition I Syllabus for 2021-2022
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Instructor Information

Course Information

COVID-19 Protocols

Recording Policy

Disability Statement

If you have a disability (learning, mental, physical) that affects your ability to participate effectively and have access to any program or service at Amarillo College please contact Disability Services at (806) 345-5639 . Our offices are located in the Student Service Center office 112. More information may be found at www.actx.edu/disability.
Disability Services facilitates access to all programs and services according to the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as well as other federal and state laws.

Amarillo College Web Accessibility Policy Statement

Amarillo College is committed to providing equal access to all programs and services, including all working, learning, and service environments that affect equal access for persons with disabilities. This commitment to provide equal access and opportunity for persons with disabilities is in compliance with federal and state law. Amarillo College also strives to provide Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) that are accessible to all authorized users.

If you find you are unable to access material in an accessible format please contact the Disability Services Office at (806) 345-5639 . This office will work in conjunction with other campus resources to address and accommodate your issue in a timely manner.

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:

The Tutoring for Success policy applies to any student whose grade or performance in the course falls below a departmentally determined minimum threshold. In either of those cases, the instructor will direct the student to the appropriate tutoring service, which may be faculty-led, discipline-specific, and/or general. Under this policy, the instructor will follow specific departmental guidelines governing the use, duration, and grade component of the tutoring need.

Administrative Drop Policy

Students who do not attend class on or prior to the census date will be administratively dropped. Effective Fall, 2016

Student Withdrawal Procedures

Students who wish to withdraw from a course must complete all steps indicated on the Academic Withdrawal Request form by the course withdrawal deadline.

NOTE: Students who are attending Texas institutions of higher education, for the first time fall 2007 and later, may not withdraw from more than six courses during their academic career. This withdrawal limitation does not include dual credit or developmental classes (Senate Bill 1231 Rule 4.10.) For more information on Drop and Withdrawal Policies, please visit the Registrar's Office Web site.

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-LC16 Composition I

Prerequisites

Corequisite: INRW 0303 Prerequisite: Scores on a state-approved test indicating college-level reading and writing skills

Course Description

Intensive study of and practice in writing processes, from invention and researching to drafting, revising and editing, both individually and collaboratively. Emphasis on effective rhetorical choices, including audience, purpose, arrangement and style. Focus on writing the academic essay as a vehicle for learning, communicating and critical analysis.

Student ResourcesStudent Resources Website

Department Expectations

Occupational License Disclaimer

Notice to Students enrolled in an educational program for preparation of issuance of certain occupational licenses:

Students enrolled in an educational program in preparation for obtaining certain occupational licenses are potentially ineligible for such license if the student has been convicted of an offense. For further information, please contact:

Melodie Graves
Justice Involved Advocate
Student Service Center 117
mgraves24@actx.edu
806-371-5995
Make appointment at https://melodiegraves.youcanbook.me

You can also contact the Legal Clinic, or the faculty member in charge of the educational program that you seek to enroll in. The further information you will receive will include notification to you of your right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the licensing authority in order to clarify your particular situation.

Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec, 1 lab)

Class Type

On Campus Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

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

Bullock, Richard, Michal Brody, and Francine Wineberg. The Little Seagull Handbook with Exercises. 4^th  ed., W. W. Norton, 2021.

*These books are available for purchase only at the AC Bookstore.

If you have questions regarding your textbooks call the AC Bookstore at (806) 371-5307.    

Supplies

For this class, you will need to bring your book and note-taking supplies: spirals, pens/pencils, highlighters, whatever you prefer.

 

 

You will also need access to a reliable computer with Internet Access and Microsoft Word. Word Online, Open Office, Wordpad, Notepad, etc. are not options due to these programs having issues with other programs used within this course. It must be able to save documents as .doc; .docx; or .pdf. We willbe doing many in class writing assignments, so feel free to bring your laptop or get to the class 5-10 minutes early to log into an Amarillo College computer.

 

In between classes, remember that there are computers on campus in the Underground which are equipped with Word and are available during its regular hours of operation.

 

 

Additionally, you need to have a USB drive in class. They are useful for ensuring you have a copy of documents you can move from computer to computer; if something happens to the computer or system, the copy on the drive remains intact. 

Student Performance

After studying the material presented in this course of study, the student will be able to do the following as evaluated by the faculty in the department/program:

 

1.     Demonstrate knowledge of individual and collaborative writing processes.

 

2.     Develop ideas with appropriate support and attribution.

 

3.     Write in a style appropriate to audience and purpose.

 

4.     Read, reflect, and respond critically to a variety of texts.

 

5.     Use Edited American English in academic essays

 

In addition to the learning outcomes listed, students will be expected to use the library’s online databases and other computer resources for research and word processing. Also, all students will write a third person, argumentative research paper that follows the MLA format for citing sources and utilizes peer review.

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

We are all adults and should know how to act. My primary concern is making sure EVERYONE in class has a safe environment conducive to learning and expanding viewpoints. As long as you act in a mature manner that does not hinder other students’ efforts to learn, we have no problems.

 A few ground rules:

 

1. No tobacco products.
2. Please do not talk out of turn when I am lecturing.
3. No cell phones, period. Laptops are only to be used for in-class purposes, not note-taking.
4. Show up to class on time. If you are late (it happens to all of us at one point or another) please enter the room and find a seat quietly. Be sure to consult me or a classmate after class to learn what you’ve missed.
5. There is a checklist for each week available on Blackboard. Use it, especially if you’re going to miss class.
6. Let’s be respectful of everybody in class, faculty, staff, student, or property.
7. If you are sick, please stay home. Your health, both physical and mental, is more important, than attending every single class, and nobody wants to spread illness to other students. (just make sure to email me or another student for what you missed)
8. Two-day classes: My thinking is we’ll take a 15-minute break in-between segments, allowing for bathroom breaks, and to help us shift gears from one topic to another. These will normally be from 6:45 to 7:00. This means that you should be back to the classroom by 7:00 so we can keep the momentum going.
9. Covid Addendum: If you test positive, please let me or another college official know as soon as you can.If you’ve been in close contact with someone who tests positive, let me know. If you’re showing symptoms and even think you might have it, let me know and stay home. Rule 7 above is extremely important right now, so err on the side of caution for yourself and your classmates.

 

Plagiarism/Cheating policy:

Plagiarism: the incorrect or intentional use of another’s intellectual property as one’s own original content.

 

The AC English Department Plagiarism Policy (Spring 2013) describes cheating as including but not limited to “copying or leaving the test with a test or questions from a test, helping or attempting to help other students cheat on a test, or plagiarizing on a paper.

 

It further defines plagiarism as “the use of someone else’s exact words that are neither quoted nor cited; Paraphrasing someone else’s words without citing them or using someone else’s research without citing it.

 

Let me be clear: The AC English department tracks plagiarism and records are kept of who plagiarizes and how. At the beginning of the semester, a list of names of plagiarizing students is sent to AC English dept. faculty.

 

The main reason not to plagiarize that should matter most to you: Plagiarized assignments in my class receive an automatic zero in the gradebook. Subsequent plagiarism will lead to expulsion from the class and a referral of the student to the Vice President of Student Affairs.

Grading Criteria

Minor Assignments 15%

Grammar Quizzes 10%

 Essay 1: This I Believe 15%

 Summary Analysis Essay 15%

Essay 2: Researched Argument 25%

Midterm Exam 10%

Final Exam 10%

 

 

Grading Schema:

A 90-100 Exceptional work

B 80-89 Above Average Work

C 70-79 Average Work (Good)

D 60-69 Below Average Work (Additional Practice)

F 0-59 Unsuccessful.

 

 

 

Late work policy: Due to the time constraints and amount of content involved in this course, Late Work will not be accepted after the due date. I encourage you to try and complete assignments before the due date when possible. If you encounter difficulties technological or otherwise, please contact me as swiftly as possible before time runs out so that I can help you.

Attendance

Perhaps the easiest and also most difficult ways to ensure a good grade in any college course is to show up on time, not skip class, and to complete assignments on time. Students who complete these three objectives consistently are far more likely to pass a class in my personal experience.

 

 

I do keep track of attendance, and while I don’t grade for it, it does show up on Blackboard. Because we have in-class quizzes, assignments, and journals, not to mention the really important lectures, a low attendance score will likely be reflected in your actual grade.

 

 

However, I also understand that life happens. Don’t stress-out too much if illness, car trouble etc. cause you to miss one or two daily-work grades. There will be plenty more. Missing class is also mitigated by keeping up with assignments and getting the notes for lectures from another classmate. Please communicate with me if you know you will miss class(es) and I will do my best to help you.

(rlnicholsonactx.edu or calendly.com/dr_rebeccaweir) 

 

 

Student Withdrawal Procedures: Students who wish to withdraw from a class must do so before Tuesday, October 5th in order to count as a withdrawal and not a drop. It is better to withdraw than drop, but I encourage you to contact me or an advisor before it gets that bad so that I/they can help you.

 

 

Administrative Drop Policy: Students who do not attend class and submit the first assignment on or prior to the census date Monday, August 30^th will be administratively dropped.

Calendar

Additional Information

Contacts:

The other people in this class are students just like you. I encourage you to get the contact information (name, phone number, email address) of 2-3 (one at the least) classmates. Call or Email them if you need help with something to do with this class (copy of notes from a day you missed, advice on a homework assignment, reminder of page numbers, etc.). There is strength in numbers, and a college class is no exceptions.

 

Useful Phone Numbers:

 

AC Advocacy & Resource Center

806-371-5446

 

AC Counseling Center

806-371-5191