Faculty

ENGL-1301 English Composition I

Jason Katz

Credit Spring 2024

Section(s)

ENGL-1301-078 (75090)
LEC TuTh 9:00am - 10:20am HYS HYS1 01202.00

ENGL-1301-128 (75126)
LEC TuTh 1:30pm - 2:50pm HYS HYS1 01202.00

Course Requirements

Instructional methodology:

This class is based on lecture, practice of writing, and discussion and analysis of written material. I will do my part to make the class interesting. Please plan on attending class meetings and participating. Do your best, I’ll do mine. I lecture on composition and will give you plenty of notes. If you do not understand something, please ask about it because I guarantee you someone else has the same question.

There will be quizzes to be sure you are getting the class information to help your writing. You might be asked to work in groups.

I expect participation; it makes the time go by more quickly, and the class is more interesting for me and for others around you.

Readings (with assignments)

Reading assignments will correspond, of course, with what we discuss in class. They will have assignments due in correspondence with them. I will give you a due date and tell you they are either due online – emailed to me – or as hard copies handed to me in class (more rare).

Anything late will incur a 5 point deduction per day on that assignment. After 10 days, the assignment is just marked a zero and I will no longer accept it.

Also, know what you read. Pose questions and have something to say about how you felt: whether you liked it or not and most importantly, why. Don’t just tell me you didn’t like it and leave it at that. Be specific please.

Policy on Plagiarism, Collusion, and AI generated work

Plagiarism is unethical and just plain wrong. I will drop you from the course if I catch you.

Don’t have someone write your paper for you. And don’t turn in a paper from another class you have taken. That doesn’t help you any.

This also extends, now, to work turned in that is AI generated. I will use the tools at my disposal to check work I think is not written by a student. If you DO use AI in any form, you must cite it.

Best Ways to Contact Me:

Email me. I check my school email often. Slower replies are to be expected on Fridays and weekends when I do not have class but I try my best to respond within 24 hours.

Class Policies:

If there are circumstances that prevent you from meeting a deadline, get in touch with me beforehand; you have many ways to get in touch with me.

Your ACC student Email is the main way to communicate with me per school policy. I can tell who you are and I can send mass E-mails to the class through Blackboard. I will not respond to personal Email accounts.

Attendance policy:

Starting with week 3, if you miss three days you MAY be dropped from my course with your fourth absence. Let me know ahead of time if you cannot attend class for some good reason.

Please get another student’s contact information so that in case there is a circumstance that prevents you from attending, you will not miss the work.

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Emailing me: !!!This is really important!!!

In the “subject line,” whenever you email me, for any reason, along with a description of what you’re sending (or telling me), please indicate which class you attend. For your specific class, you will include one of the following –

HYS 9

TTh 9:00 am

75090

(the class synonym)

This tells me from whom I am receiving an email in relation to the class you attend.

If you do not provide this information I will ignore your email instead of going through all of my roll sheets to find out who you are and which class you belong to.

Thank you.

Please follow this.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Papers guidelines:

Turning in Essays:

PLEASE TRY NOT TO SEND PDFs!!

I will accept essays turned in to me AS ATTACHMENTS through email ONLY and sent from your ACC Email to my ACC email: jkatz@austincc.edu

Attach them as a Word document. Word is free to college students. It’s effortless. Get it.

When I receive your essay, I read it carefully and I “return it” with editing marks that will be in-text; you resubmit a clean, edited copy, free of my markings.

Please don’t attach assignments as a reply to my emails. Send them as new emails. Replies that are piggybacked on one another, and from several students, tend to get erased to declutter my email.

An effective essay is clearly stated (coherent), well-developed (through concrete detail) and interesting. To achieve clarity, attention must be given to diction (word choice), syntax (sentence structure), grammar and usage. An acceptable paper contains no comma splices, run on sentences, fragments, or distracting mechanical errors and is written at the college reading level using complex sentences and sentence variety (avoid too many short, choppy sentences).

In a unified essay, each sentence is connected to the preceding one, or each sentence is connected to its topic sentence and each topic sentence is connected to the thesis.

A well-developed paper will have introductory and concluding paragraphs and as many well-supported paragraphs as is necessary to comprehensively develop the topic. I will often require an outline done for your paper in detail.

If you do not show improvements in your papers, be aware of it, and we will discuss whether you need to be dropped from the course. I am not going to keep editing for you. The work is yours to do. Learn where your weaknesses are and make the effort to be better.

Mechanics of your essays:

must be double-spaced. I will not accept a paper that is not double spaced.
1” margins but do not justify the righthand margins, leave those “ragged”
New Times Roman, Calibri, or Courier New in 12 sized font but most readable fonts are fine.

Grading System:

The grading in this class will go as follows:

Essay ONE may be submitted up to three times. (Due Tuesday, February 13th.)

With an essay’s First submission I will comment on your essay and you will receive editing marks and suggestions for improvement. If the essay is well-written and up to college writing standards, of course there will be a grade put on it.
Upon Second submission (if that’s necessary) the essay will receive a grade. You may either keep this grade or rewrite one more time. If you keep the grade, you must communicate this to me and I will record it.
The Third time will be the final grade on your essay (presuming you didn’t accept the first grade.)

Once an essay has been accepted and graded, I will then move forward and grade the next essay due.

This means you may submit essays early but the previous one must be finished.

Essays TWO and THREE will receive a grade the first time and then MAY be rewritten ONCE for the chance at a better grade. You must communicate with me that you want the first grade if you want that grade. If you rewrite, you do not need to tell me when you send it to me, it will be recorded.

PLEASE NOTE: The bump in grade after you revise it may or may not be significant depending on:

- - - How much work you put into it (don’t JUST fix my marks – reread it; reconsider it; revise it)
    - What the starting grade was (a 95 will not jump too high whereas a 60 may make significant strides with due diligence).

You may submit essays early, but the previous one must be completed and recorded.

I WILL NOT look at an essay after the due date of the next one.

To be clear (and not to put too fine a point on it):

Essay One may NOT be turned in (revised / edited) after Thursday, March 21st

(you will just receive the latest grade and if nothing has

been turned in you will have earned a zero)

and

Essay Two may NOT be turned in (revised / edited) after Thursday, April 25th

(you will just receive the latest grade and if nothing has

been turned in you will have earned a zero)

This gives you five weeks between papers to revise, edit, and turn in your essays. But remember: you also have to allot time to work on the next paper as well. So time management is of the utmost importance.

Final Essay

Your final essay, will be graded one time only. So look it over carefully and do your absolute best. You will receive the prompt only after your third essay is complete and graded.

***Papers are due on the day noted on your class calendar.

Furthermore, each student will start with 100 points for each essay as a “turn-in grade” or a “daily grade” to have an assigned essay submitted on time. Please Note: THIS IS NOT THE FINAL GRADE FOR YOUR ACTUAL ESSAY. It’s a daily grade. For each day, not each class day, but for each day after the due date that an essay is not turned in (for the first time), 5 points will be deducted from that 100. So, you will receive a grade for merely turning in the essay. That grade will be averaged into your daily grades. This system gives you six days to play with before that grade drops to a D. This serves as incentive for you to turn papers in on time.

Class Grading:

Essays –constitute 60% of your final grade and include:

- - Essay 1 – Reflective / Expressive (750 - 1000 words)
  - Essay 2 – Analysis (750 - 1000 words)
  - Essay 3 – Research Essay (1000 – 1250 words)

Assignments – constitute 20% of your final grade and include:

- - Quizzes
  - Attendance
  - In-class assignments
  - Class participation
  - Turning in your essay on the due date (or points deducted if late)

Final Essay – constitutes 20% of your final grade – A reflective essay (650 – 1000 words)

NOTE: Look at your paper critically for errors. That is part of the writing process. If you revise an essay and turn it back in within an hour or two, you did not revise your essay and it does not deserve a higher grade. This is, after all, a composition course and you should be working on becoming a better writer. Put some effort and time into it.

Use the resources you are offered like the ACC Learning Lab, other class members, the Internet or handbooks.

You will receive an F with a consistent poor showing on papers and quizzes, excessive absences, and / or failure to have all of your papers in by the final paper due date.

Finally, all your quiz grades will be weighed evenly unless I say otherwise. Often I will tell you that a quiz will be counted twice or more depending on what material it is we have covered and how important I think it is. Class grades are included in this as well.

I rarely, if ever, give a grade of Incomplete.

Late and / or Missing Work

Turn your assignments in on time. My guideline for major work like essays is documented above. For quizzes and class work, I do not accept late or missing assignments. If you miss one or two, it is not detrimental to your grade. If it’s a recurring thing, then your grade will surely suffer.

*****Student Freedom of Expression******

Each student is strongly encouraged to participate in class. In any classroom situation that includes discussion and critical thinking, there are bound to be many differing viewpoints. These differences enhance the learning experience and create an atmosphere where students and instructors alike will be encouraged to think and learn. On sensitive and volatile topics, students may sometimes disagree not only with each other but also with me. It is expected that you and I will respect the views of others when expressed in classroom discussions.

Withdrawing from Class

I will not withdraw you from the class, you must do that yourself. Please have the courtesy to let me know. If you just stop coming and there is no indication that you have withdrawn, you will end up with an F. My hands are tied; I have no other options when entering your grades into the system.

The Departmental Syllabus -

- for 1301 is posted on Blackboard and supplements this section-specific syllabus by explaining learning objectives, requirements, and policies that apply to all sections of English 1301 across Austin Community College. The Departmental Syllabus includes the following:

· Prerequisites

· Student Learning Outcomes

· Essay and Assignments Requirements

· Academic Honesty Guidelines

· Health and Safety Protocols

· Student Rights and Responsibilities (including student freedom of expression, student complaints, and anti-discrimination policies)

· Testing Center Procedures

· Student Support Services (including Student Accessibility Services, tutoring, and library services)

· Student Organizations

· Personal Support (including food, financial, and childcare support, along with mental health services)

Students with Disabilities

Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities. Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester.

Finally…

Please try your best. Everything you learn in here should be practical. Don’t just learn it for the day. Try to use it in life and in your other classes. Don’t just get writing instruction out of this class but skills for critical thinking as well.

If you need help, please come to me. I really am here to help you.

Readings

Readings (with assignments)

Anything late will incur a 5 point deduction per day on that assignment. After 10 days, the assignment is just marked a zero and I will no longer accept it.

Course Subjects

Calendar

Week 1 –

January 16 & 18

Syllabus and class expectations / grading / essays to be written

Introduction to writing and the process of.

Week 2 –

January 23 & 25

…..Introduction material continued and concluded.

Expressive Writing and characteristics of

(homework assignment)

Week 3 –

January 30 & February 1

Discussion of Essay 1 –

Including peer work in class: Identity Wheels

First of the three Patterns:

Narration – Process – Cause and Effect

Week 4 – February 6 & 8

Essay one: in-class work – prewriting (generate ideas and outline)

Cover Editing Marks that may appear on your essays.

Week 5 – February 13 & 15

More Week 5 – February 13 & 15

****Due: Essay One – Tuesday, February 13th

MLA style parenthetical citation & Works Cited page format (In-class assignment)

Referential Writing (Purpose 2) discussed

characteristics of:

Appeal 1 – Logic + assignment

(essay and homework due next class day)

Appeal 2 – Emotion + assignment

(essay and homework due next class)

Appeal 3 – Credibility + assignment

(essay and homework due next class)

Week 6 – February 20 & 22

Discuss Essay 2 – in class discussion of elements to write on.

Next 3 Patterns: Description – Analysis – Division

Week 7 – February 27 & 29

In-class work and generating ideas for Essay 2

Week 8 –

March 5 & 7

Next three patterns: 4) Description, 5) Analysis, 6) Division

March 12 & 14 SPRING BREAK / SXSW

Week 9 –

March 19 & 21

****Due: Essay Two – Thursday, March 21st

On Research Papers

Persuasive Writing (Purpose 3) Characteristics and Examples

Week 10 –

March 26 & 28

Persuasive Assignment and in-class work

Next patterns: 7) Classification, 8) Definition, 9) Compare and Contrast

Week 11 –

April 2 & 4

Literary Writing (Purpose 4) Characteristics and Examples

Week 12 –

April 9 & 11

A look at grammar and sentence variety

Final Pattern - Evaluation

Week 13 –

April 16 & 18

Work Days and catch up

Week 14 –

April 23 & 25

Review appeals

***Due Essay 3 – Research Paper Thursday, April 25th

Week 15 –

April 30 & May 2

Work Days

Week 16 –

May 7 & 9

*****Final Essay Due – Friday, May 10th

Last week to turn in any revised work.

Student Learning Outcomes/Learning Objectives

Course Overview

ENGLISH 1301 is a study of the principles of composition with emphasis on language, the mechanics of writing, types of discourse, and research and documentation.

Course Objectives

The goals of Composition I are to promote critical thinking, reading, and writing; achieve clear, coherent, confident, and effective communication; collaborative writing and learning.

Course Outcomes

Upon completion of English 1301, students should be able to:

- identify rhetorical purposes and methods of organization appropriate to topic, thesis, and audience

- collect, read, analyze, and use information from a wide range of sources;

- write a coherent essay observing grammatical, mechanical, and stylistic conventions;

- write competently in the informative, analytical, and persuasive modes

- evaluate, edit, and revise at all stages of the writing process;

Office Hours

T Th 10:30 AM - 1:15 PM HYS Campus

NOTE I will be either in the student commons or the library between my two classes.