ESSAYS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Students will submit at least five essays over the course of the semester, including an essay known as the Departmental Exam, for a total minimum of 4000 words.

Students will learn to develop a writing project through multiple drafts.

• Essay assignments will develop arguments using rhetorical purposes (expressive, referential, persuasive, and/or literary) and rhetorical strategies (narration, description, cause/effect, comparison/contrast, definition, illustration, process analysis, and evaluation).

• The research process will be a significant focus of the class, with assignments sequenced to build facility with integration of outside source material using MLA format. Early assignments will involve work with one or two sources, building to a more substantial research project (parameters to be determined by individual faculty).

• At least one essay will be a textual analysis in which students demonstrate the ability to identify an essay’s purpose, audience, thesis, and rhetorical strategies and evaluate the essay’s effectiveness.
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• Students will complete the Academic Honesty/Plagiarism Research Tutorial, and additional tutorials, such as ENGL 1301 English Composition I Research Paper (both located at http://library.austincc.edu/help/Tutorials.php), as assigned by the instructor.

Instructors may also assign readings, quizzes, in-class writing activities, Learning Lab work, presentations, group projects, and other activities that will affect final grades.

These conditions will also apply:

• Assignments are graded in sequential order, so they should be submitted in sequential order.

GRADING SYSTEM

As a means of assessing student learning, all course assignments (essays, in-class writings, quizzes, journals, homework, group work, presentations, etc.) should align with course goals and learning outcomes. A range of methodologies may be used to determine and assign grades on these assignments and for the course. Individual faculty syllabi will explain grading systems in detail. Faculty will design evaluation instruments to measure student learning, providing grading/assessment criteria for assignments as needed.

The English Department supports two systems of grading, and I use System 1 outlined below.

System 1: Accept/Edit/Revise/Rewrite

All students in all sections must receive “Accepted” on the writing assignments to be eligible to receive a Test Permit for taking the Departmental Exam. Additional assignments are required for the grades of “B” and “A.”

In System 1, the student’s final grade will be determined by the number of essays marked “accepted” by the instructor. Each paper will be marked “ACCEPTED,” “EDIT,” “REVISE,” or “REWRITE.”  Students are required to edit, revise, or rewrite their essays until they are accepted.  (Students may submit only one essay at a time; when one is ACCEPTED, the student may submit the next one.)  In addition, compliance with the instructor’s system of deadlines and activities may determine eligibility for a grade of “B” or “A.”

• ACCEPTED: the paper fulfills the objectives of the assignment and is relatively free of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors.
• EDIT:  the paper fulfills the objectives of the assignment but contains errors.  Similar errors must be avoided in subsequent papers in order to progress in the course.
• REVISE: the paper needs improvement in style, organization, or development.
• REWRITE:  the paper does not fulfill the objectives of the assignment.
• “B” Requirement:  Complete a writing assignment according to guidelines provided by your instructor. Minimum length: 1000 words.

“A” PAPER: Complete a writing assignment according to guidelines provided by your instructor.  Use a minimum of two approved sources.  Minimum length: 1000 words.  MLA Documentation required.

Learning Lab Policy for “B” and “A” Papers

​Departmental policy allows students to receive only very general assistance writing “B” and “A” papers in Composition I and II.  Examples of such assistance include pre-writing activities and review of writing principles and of grammar and documentation conventions in response to student questions.  In addition, individual faculty are free to prohibit students from seeking specific kinds of or any assistance on the “B” and “A” papers and may do so by sending a memo to the learning labs and by stipulating the restriction in class syllabi.

When a paper is graded, I will mark it OK, Revise, or Rewrite.

If your paper is not OK, look for editing marks at the end of each word, sentence, or paragraph. Grading marks will usually be enclosed in brackets. Problem areas of your essay may be underlined or marked in dark print.

If I notice that you have too many errors in the first two paragraphs, I will return your essay ungraded and tell you to fix the problems before resubmitting the work. In this course, grammar and content have equal weight. To progress in the course, you must be able to eliminate noted grammar errors from your writing. If the same errors recur in your writing, you are not progressing, and you will need to revise your work again and again. However, you do not have the opportunity to revise the exams, so if the recurrent errors appear on your C exam or other exams, they may be rejected because of the grammar problems.

I have added an Online Grammar Handbook to the course documents. It includes a review of basic grammar concepts such as parts of speech, sentence structure, and paragraph structure. This handbook also explains the major grammatical errors I mark on student papers. I recommend you review the handbook, especially if I point out grammar errors in your writing. The handbook is available at the following link: Skrabanek's Online Grammar Handbook - Site maintained by D. W. Skrabanek English/Austin Community College

READINGS

REQUIRED TEXTS/MATERIALS

All course documents are in final form and ready for your use. No textbook is required for this online course. All documents and course materials are available online. Be assured, though, if you do not read the course documents carefully, you will not do well in this course. The lack of a textbook does not mean the lack of reading. In this course, you will do your reading online or on a printout. If you notice any errors or quirks in the documents, please let me know.

Blackboard is also ready for your use. If you have problems logging into Blackboard, send me an Email at the address below. You will need to use your ACC eID to enter Blackboard, so read about the eID at the link below. Look for the golden key.

COURSE SUBJECTS

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

PREREQUISITES
One of the following must apply:

1. TSI exempt
2. TSI Assessment Scores: Reading (351); Writing (Essay 4 or Essay 4/Objective 340)
3. Grade of C or better in Writing Skills 3 (DEVW 0130, 0230, 0330, or 0331) and Reading Skills 3 (DEVR 0320)
4. Grade of C or better in Writing and Grammar 5 (ESOL 0384) and Reading and Vocabulary 5 (ESOL 0364) or Reading, Writing, and Grammar 4 for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (ESOL 0424).

Course Rationale

The goals of English Composition 1301 are to promote the following:

• critical thinking, reading, and writing;
• clear, coherent, confident, and effective communication;
• collaborative writing and learning; and
• exposure (through reading or composing) to a range of genres, including genres incorporating visual design elements

REQUIRED TEXTS/MATERIALS

All course documents are in final form and ready for your use. No textbook is required for this online course. All documents and course materials are available online. Be assured, though, if you do not read the course documents carefully, you will not do well in this course. The lack of a textbook does not mean the lack of reading. In this course, you will do your reading online or on a printout. If you notice any errors or quirks in the documents, please let me know.

Blackboard is also ready for your use. If you have problems logging into Blackboard, send me an Email at the address below. You will need to use your ACC eID to enter Blackboard, so read about the eID at the link below. Look for the golden key.

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

Course Rationale

The goals of English Composition 1301 are to promote the following:

• critical thinking, reading, and writing;
• clear, coherent, confident, and effective communication;
• collaborative writing and learning; and
• exposure (through reading or composing) to a range of genres, including genres incorporating visual design elements

Student Learning Outcomes

The following outcomes are developed in all English Composition I students regardless of student age or course location:

• expanded critical reading ability;
• ability to write to the specifications of a writing assignment in terms of subject, rhetorical purpose, method(s) of organization and length;
• ability to form a research question, develop a thesis, locate and select credible sources applicable to the thesis, and write an essay of the specified length that responds to the thesis;
• ability to analyze a piece of writing to detail the elements identified in the writing assignment;
• ability to evaluate a piece of writing using specified or developed criteria for evaluation;
• expanded ability to develop content for an essay and organize writing to include an introduction, appropriate thesis, coherent paragraphs with transitions, and a conclusion; and
• expanded ability to use correct grammar and mechanics in every writing task.

African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS) Program Student Learning Outcomes

The following outcomes are developed in this literature course section. Upon completion of the course, students will demonstrate competence in:

• Sociopolitical Systems – Analyze sociopolitical systems and their impact on people of African descent.
• Historical Developments – Describe historical development of the African    and African diaspora experience that reflects continuity and change, and the different component parts of the human experience.
• Interdisciplinary Analysis – Analyze the experiences of people of African descent using the perspectives, data, and interpretations from two or more disciplinary fields (e.g., historical studies, cultural studies, social studies).
• Disciplinary Analysis – Identify the interconnection of historical, legal, literary, and artistic analyses in order to pursue advanced studies in African American Studies, and/or in other related disciplines in the humanities and the social and behavioral sciences.
• Social Justice Initiatives – Explain the goals of one or more current social justice initiatives involving people of African descent in the United States and abroad.

General Education Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the general education component of an associate’s degree, students will demonstrate competence in:

• Critical Thinking—Gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and applying information.
• Interpersonal Skills—Interacting collaboratively to achieve common goals.
• Personal Responsibilities—Demonstrating effective learning, creative thinking, and personal responsibility.
• Technology Skills—Using appropriate technology to retrieve, manage, analyze, and present information.
• Written, Oral and Visual Communication—Communicating effectively, adapting to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.

Summary of Student Expectations

To successfully complete English Composition 1301, students should enter with the following basic skills: critical reading; content development; organization of writing to include an introduction, appropriate thesis, coherent paragraphs, transitions, and a conclusion; grammar, mechanics, and sentence construction; and an initial understanding of documentation of sources.

Here is a link to a list of expectations and skills for students who are enrolling in English Composition 1301: http://www.austincc.edu/english/ExpectationsOfSkills.php