ENG101: First Year CompositionMesa Community College, Southern & Dobson Campus, Hybrid SectionsSpring 2011Sections:

Tuesday, 10:30am-11:45am, LA6N: Section 55387 Thursday, 10:30am-11:45am, LA6N: Section 55388

Course Websites: For assignments, instruction and submission of most work: http://campus.mylabsplus.com For gradebook: Google Spreadsheets in your My.Maricopa Google Account For submission of Grammar Work: Twitter (http://twitter.com/)

Course Handbook/SyllabusTable of Contents

Instructor Information................................................................................................................................2Letter to the Student...................................................................................................................................2

Course Information.....................................................................................................................................3Purpose of the Course................................................................................................................................3Course Description.....................................................................................................................................3Course Competencies/Objectives/Outcomes.............................................................................................3Time Commitment.....................................................................................................................................3

Course Materials..........................................................................................................................................4Required Materials.....................................................................................................................................4Required Technologies..............................................................................................................................4

Communication Policies..............................................................................................................................4Communicating with the Instructor...........................................................................................................4Announcements..........................................................................................................................................4

Course Policies.............................................................................................................................................4Have You Paid All Your Fees?..................................................................................................................4Statement of Accommodation....................................................................................................................5Attendance, Participation, and Withdrawal Policies..................................................................................5Completion Policies...................................................................................................................................5Essay Format..............................................................................................................................................5Disposition of Papers.................................................................................................................................5The Public Nature of Writing and Issues of Confidentiality.....................................................................6Safe Classroom Environment Statement...................................................................................................6Learning Centered Environment Statement...............................................................................................6Online Learning Environments..................................................................................................................7A Note on Plagiarism.................................................................................................................................8MCC Early Alert Program (EARS)...........................................................................................................8

Grading Policies...........................................................................................................................................9Assignment Distribution............................................................................................................................9

Calculating your Homework Grade.......................................................................................................9Grading Scale.............................................................................................................................................9Grading Response Time.............................................................................................................................9

Course Schedule/Calendar........................................................................................................................10Handbook/Syllabus Contract Form.........................................................................................................12

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Instructor Information Name: Shelley Rodrigo Phone: 623-455-6296 (you can text & leave voice mail) E-mail address: rrodrigo@mesacc.edu Yahoo, AIM & Skype Instant Message Handle: puptoes74; Google Handle: shelley.rodrigo Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shelley.rodrigo

Office Hours & Location: English Offices at Southern & Dobson, LA16 T/Th: 9:30-10:30am By Appointment

Letter to the Student

Welcome! I’m glad you have decided to join us this term as a hybrid format composition student. Hybrid style learning will require you to be self-motivated, and you may find that it takes more time and effort than a traditional face-to-face classroom. Being a composition student, will also require self-motivation as well as strong organizational skills. I am here to help and guide you as much as possible. I am happy to answer any questions you may have, but you have to ask.

I have tried to do two major things in this course:1. To introduce you to major processes used when writing; and2. To give you the space and support to try a variety of activities to improve your composing skills.Both goals attempt to give you critical reading, writing, and thinking strategies that you will be able to use in other academic classes as well as in your professional, civic, and personal lives.

This is also a highly technologically mediated course. You will be responsible for working with a variety of different technologies to accomplish the course goals. A side benefit to working with these technologies is that you will be more comfortable with our ever changing, increasingly technological world, and learn how to more readily adapt in and to it.

Although I firmly believe that a student is responsible for his or her own learning, I also take my role as course instructor, learning facilitator, seriously. Part of being a good student is knowing when you need help and seeking your instructor out for it. Do not wait until you are too far behind to catch up; if you need help, ask early, ask often!

Good Luck, and may we have a fun journey together!

Shelley

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Course InformationPurpose of the CourseThe purpose of this course is to further improve your literacy skills. Instead of thinking about this as a course that is “teaching you to write,” think about it as an opportunity to continue practicing and improving your composing skills. You will have a more successful semester if you sincerely focus on improving certain aspects of your composing.

Course DescriptionThis composition course may be unlike any you have enrolled in before because our focus won’t center on your finished “products.” Instead, the goal of the course is to help you to develop strategies for using writing to construct meaning—which in turn assists you in generating thought-provoking discourse for your intended reader. Current research indicates that writers must become well-versed in a variety of approaches to types of composing required in their college courses (now) and in the workplace (later). When students are equipped with appropriate strategies for generating texts, they typically approach their writing with confidence and commitment. Additionally, students report that they find the composing process and the writing they construct both rewarding and pleasurable. Upon completing this course, you will have learned that all compositions involve a recursive (and often messy) process of thinking and composing strategies often referred to as invention, prewriting, drafting, peer review, revising, and editing. Working through these various steps allows for more in-depth and critical composing process that ultimately produces a stronger and more complete product.

Course Competencies/Objectives/Outcomes Emphasis on rhetoric and composition with a focus on expository writing and understanding writing as a process. Establishing effective college-level writing strategies through four or more writing projects comprising at least 3,000 words in total.Prerequisites: Appropriate writing placement test score, or a grade of C or better in ENG091 or ESL097.

1. Analyze specific rhetorical contexts, including circumstance, purpose, topic, audience, and writer, as well as the writing's ethical, political, and cultural implications.

2. Organize writing to support a central idea through unity, coherence, and logical development appropriate to a specific writing context.

3. Use appropriate conventions in writing, including consistent voice, tone, diction, grammar, and mechanics.

4. Summarize, paraphrase and quote from sources to maintain academic integrity and to develop and support one's own ideas.

5. Use feedback obtained from peer review, instructor comments and/or other resources to revise writing.

6. Assess one's own writing strengths and identify strategies for improvement through instructor conference, portfolio review, written evaluation, and/or other methods.

7. Generate, format, and edit writing using appropriate technologies.

Time CommitmentPlease recognize that most college courses expect two to three hours of work outside the class, for every one hour in class. So, for a three credit hour class (during sixteen weeks) that would equate to three hours in class, and six to nine outside of class. Since this is a sixteen-week hybrid course, a single week equates to 75 minutes in class and eight to eleven hours of homework and/or online work.

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Course MaterialsRequired Materials Writing: A Guide for College and Beyond by Lester Faigley; ISBN: 978-0-205-64870-2 (If you want

a hard copy, purchase one from the bookstore or somewhere else; used copies should be available) Online Access to Pearson’s MyCompLab Plus and a digital copy of the book (I will give you

instructions how to log in during the second week of class.) A college-level dictionary and a thesaurus, for example http://www.m-w.com/

Required Technologies Access to a computer with an internet connection (preferably high-speed). MyMCC Account (http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/mymcc/) to access the library databases My.Maricopa Account (http://my.maricopa.edu) to access your shared gradebook,

(https://google.maricopa.edu/) Online Access to Pearson’s MyCompLabPlus: http://campus.mylabsplus.com Twitter Account: http://twitter.com/ MS Word or other word processor that can export to RTF (rich text file):

Open Office: http://www.filehippo.com/download_openoffice/ Google Docs: http://docs.google.com/ Zoho Writer: http://www.zohowriter.com/jsp/home.jsp

Browser Readers/Players/Plug-Ins, etc. to show different types of material in the course, from the library and on the web: Adobe Acrobat Reader: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html Flash: http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/alternates/#fp Java: http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

Communication PoliciesCommunicating with the InstructorIf you have any questions, concerns, or other general comments about the class, the best way to communicate with the instructor is via email. The instructor reserves the right to take up to 72 hours to respond to your communication. The instructor may have to do some grading, look something up, or may just being taking care of his or her own life requirements. Therefore, do not put off your homework to the last minute, have a question, and then expect the instructor to respond prior to the deadline.

AnnouncementsOfficial course announcements, especially those that mark official changes to the syllabus and/or course schedule and assignments deadlines, are made in the Announcements are of the course website. Individualize announcements and messages will be sent via email from to you’re my.Maricopa Gmail account. Be sure to check your email and the course announcements page regularly.

Course PoliciesHave You Paid All Your Fees?Every term, students suddenly discover that they have been dropped from all their classes because they have failed to pay a lab fee or some other petty fee that is required for an online class. Please log on to your student account at My.Maricopa and verify that you have paid all your fees.If you are dropped for nonpayment, paying your fees will NOT automatically reinstate you in your classes. Reinstatement is a laborious, demeaning, time-consuming process that requires permission from your instructor and the department chair and may take AS MUCH AS A WEEK OR MORE! And there is no guarantee of reinstatement after your fees are paid, so don't let this happen to you!

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Statement of AccommodationI would like everyone to know that I am willing to make any reasonable accommodation for limitations due to any disability, including learning disabilities. If you have or think you have a disability, including a learning disability, please make an appointment with an advisor at disability resources as soon as possible. They can assist you with appropriate accommodations for you in your classes. Please see MCC’s Disability Resources & Services center, and then me, to discuss any special needs you might have. Information about MCC’s Disability Resources & Services center:

Web address: http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/students/disability/ Email address: 480-461-7447 Phone number: drs@mcmail.maricopa.edu

Attendance, Participation, and Withdrawal PoliciesBecause so much of our learning will take place in class, you must participate in class on a regular basis to receive credit for this course. If you miss more than one class period, I reserve the right to withdraw you from the course. Please take attendance and participation seriously; since this class is a community of thinkers who will discuss and collaborate on ideas, your absence or lack of preparation hurts others as well as yourself. So please participate in class on time and have your homework completed. If you are absent, for whatever reason, you are still responsible for course work. You will be docked half of the attendance points for the day if you enter the class after roll has been taken. If you are late, it is your responsibility to make sure the instructor has marked you as here, and late, in the roll book. I do not withdraw anyone during the last two weeks of the course. If you want to be withdrawn from the course before the last two weeks, please be sure to ask me to do so. For online days, your attendance is based on submitting work. I do not withdraw anyone during the last two weeks of the course.

Completion PoliciesDue dates for assignments are listed in the course schedule. All homework due in face-to-face meetings is due at the beginning of class. All online assignments are due by 11:59pm on their due date. You may not make up class participation and online homework. Because you will be responding to other students' work in this class, your timely completion of assignments affects others in the course. You may also resubmit final writing project assignments after they have been graded by me. The final resubmission deadline is May 7, 2011.

Although it is possible that the technology can fail, it is ultimately your responsibility to submit the work, in the method requested, by the due date. (If there is an institutional, server side, technology error, I will learn about it. If no one is able to submit there work, a new deadline will be assigned. However, if only a few people were unable to submit the work, it is not an error on the instructor’s, institution’s, or district’s side.) If you are having difficulty submitting an assignment, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor before the assignment is due. Otherwise, you risk receiving no credit for the assignment.

Essay FormatPlease follow the essay/project submission guidelines as outlined in each major writing project assignment prompt. If you do not follow the submission guidelines, I will be unable to grade your work.

Disposition of Papers Students should keep their own papers for at least one semester. Among other things, any student who appeals a course grade will need to submit copies of all graded course papers with the appeal.

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The Public Nature of Writing and Issues of ConfidentialityPart of becoming a good writer is learning to appreciate the ideas and criticisms of others, and in this course our purpose is to come together as a community of writers. Remember that you will often be expected to share your writing with others. Avoid writing about things that you may not be prepared to subject to public scrutiny or that you feel so strongly about that you are unwilling to listen to perspectives other than your own. This does not mean that you are not entitled to an opinion but that you adopt positions responsibly, contemplating the possible effects on others. In particular, please do not write about any criminal activity you may have knowledge of—as a witness, as a victim, or as a perpetrator. This may seem like an odd thing to caution you about, but if you were to write about such activity, I may be legally required to report it to the authorities.

Safe Classroom Environment StatementThis classroom will be a safe learning environment for everyone individual insofar as I am able to ensure that outcome. This means I will treat all students with the respect they deserve, and in turn, I expect respect to be given to the instructor and to every individual in class. Disagreement does not constitute disrespect. We all have different points of view, different personal values, different life experiences, and different personal preferences that we bring with us to the classroom. I call these differences diversity, and diversity is welcome in the academic area. This is the stuff of which great discussions are made, and potentially, this diversity adds interesting dimensions to our interpersonal relationships. Consequently, I expect all students to respect the rights and needs of their classmates. Students cannot feel safe to express themselves without the assurance that their ideas, attitudes, and beliefs will be treated with respect.

Therefore, I ask that all student monitor their language and ways of talking about people, views, issues, and situations. For example, sexist, racist, or homophobic language will not be tolerated. Students may encounter ideas of which they have never hear or of which they disapprove or feel uncomfortable. I do not hope to change people’s ideas, but I do hope to introduce students to ideas that will require them to think critically. If you feel you or others are not being treated respectfully, please see me immediately. Consult the Student Handbook for college policies regarding sexual harassment and other abusive behaviors.

Learning Centered Environment StatementEveryone does not learn in the same manner; therefore, it is important that we construct an environment that facilitates learning for the greatest number of individuals. In other words, try not to engage in behaviors that disturb the learning environment. Disturbing behaviors include (but are not limited to):o acting disrespectfully to classmates or the teacher,o talking out of turn (without raising a hand to be acknowledged),o blurting out irrelevant comments,o making comments that are off-topic and demonstrate you are not paying attention,o criticizing, laughing at, or putting down other students,o making comments or acting in way that promotes ignorance or stupidity rather than intelligence and

competence, o poking, prodding, or otherwise disturbing another student,o sleeping or otherwise indicating disengagement from classroom activities,o walking around the room unnecessarily,o leaving classroom without permission from the teacher,o behaving in an unsafe manner in the classroom,o failing to pay attention and follow directions,o letting various electronics ring or make other distracting noises, ando eating and/or drinking (except bottled water) during class time.

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Online Learning Environments We will be using a variety of web-based applications for academic use in ENG101, First Year Composition, sections 55387, and 55388, Spring 2011. Some of these technologies, like Twitter, are open to the public for the purpose of sharing your work with the larger Internet community; Pearson MyLabsPlus, however, is not open to everyone.

To use the web-based application responsibly please observe all laws, MCC, and MCCCD policy that are incorporated into the Codes of Conduct and Academic Integrity. Some specific aspects of law and policy that might be well to remember are prohibitions against copyright infringement, plagiarism, harassment or interferences with the underlying technical code of the software. Some resources to remind yourself about MCC and MCCCD policies as well as laws about copyright and fair use:

MCC College Catalog and Student Handbook MCCCD Copyright Guidelines

As a student using the web-based applications certain rights accrue to you.  Any original work that you make tangible belongs to you as a matter of copyright law. You also have a right to the privacy of your educational records as a matter of federal law and may choose to set your privacy settings to private and only share with the instructor and your classmates.  Your contributions to the various web-based applications constitute educational records.  By contributing to the web-based applications, and not taking other options available to you in this course equivalent to this assignment that would not be posted publicly on the Internet, you consent to the collaborative use of this material as well as to the disclosure of it in this course and potentially for the use of future courses.

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A Note on PlagiarismDefinition: In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source.

Council of Writing Program Administrators

Plagiarism is stealing; it is presenting work as your own that is not exclusively your own. Plagiarism can include turning in part or all of someone else’s writing as your own or using information from another source without giving credit. The consequences of plagiarism are severe, including failure of the assignment, probable failure for the course, disciplinary referral to the Dean, and possible expulsion from the institution. Whenever you borrow a phrase, sentence, paragraph—or even an idea stated in your own words—from any outside source without giving credit, you have plagiarized.

Some common examples of plagiarism in academic assignments are: the use of paraphrase or quotes from another writer without documentation, copying all or parts of another writer’s paper, having another writer do the paper, and purchasing another writer’s paper.

In cases where the instructor has carefully considered the evidence and concluded that a student has deliberately plagiarized, the instructor may use any, and all, of the district wide sanctions provided in the student handbook: A written warning to the student that s/he has violated the academic code; Lowering the assignment or course grade; Giving discretionary, additional assignments; and Course failure.

Additionally, the instructor may recommend to the department chair and dean any of the following: Academic probation; Suspension from the college; and Expulsion from the college.

If you have any questions about how to acknowledge someone else’s words or ideas, or you have a question about whether a source needs to be acknowledged, come talk to me. Please also remember that any writing that you turn in for credit in this course must be written for this course.

MCC Early Alert Program (EARS) Mesa Community College is committed to the success of all our students. Numerous campus support services are available throughout your academic journey to assist you in achieving your educational goals. MCC has adopted an Early Alert Referral System (EARS) as part of a student success initiative to aid students in their educational pursuits. Faculty and Staff participate by alerting and referring students to campus services for added support. Students may receive a follow up call from various campus services as a result of being referred to EARS. Students are encouraged to participate, but these services are optional. Early Alert Web Page with Campus Resource Information can be located at: http://www.mesacc.edu/students/ears or at the “Early Alert” selection at the mymcc link from MCC’s home page.

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Grading Policies

Assignment DistributionWriting Project #1: Reflection: Literacy Narrative** 125 pointsWriting Project #2: Field Observation** 125 pointsWriting Project #3.1: APA & MLA Citation Construction* 150 pointsWriting Project #3.2: Informative Essay: Report* 100 pointsWriting Project #4: In-Class Final Exam* 75 pointsAttendance, Participation, and Homework (This grade is based on the percentage of your attendance and of the work you complete.)

425 points

TOTAL 1000 points*You must submit “final” versions of all major writing projects to pass the class. **You must earn passing grades for projects #1 and #2 (which you may revise and resubmit) to pass the class.

Calculating your Homework GradeYou can easily figure out your homework grade at any point in the course. Simply divide the number of “raw” homework points you have earned to date by the number of “raw” homework points possible. Then multiple that number by 425. For example, if at some mid-point in the course you have earned 26 raw homework points out of a possible 38, your calculated homework points would equal 291 points.

(Raw HW Points / HW Points Possible) x 425 = Calculated HW points (26/38) x 525 = 291 points

Grading ScaleGrades are determined according to the following scale: A (900-1000) B (800-899) C (700-799) D (600-699) F (599 or below)

Grading Response TimeThe instructor requests that students allow the instructor a 1 week from the date of submission (original suggested deadline, not if the assignment is turned in late), to post a grade, or provide feedback, on any homework assignments, two weeks for major writing projects. (Note: the instructor will make every effort to provide faster turn around time-however, sometimes faster turn around is not possible).

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Course Schedule/CalendarThis schedule is only an outlines and is subject to change. All changes will be announced in the class announcements. Online Deadlines are for 11:59pm (Arizona Time, MST) on the date listed below. You may not make up class participation and online homework.Week 1: 1/18 or 1/20

Due Online (Sat. 1/22):o Start a Twitter Account (http://www.twitter.com), say “hi” to the class.o Take Online Survey (http://bit.ly/eng101survey) o Email Shelley (rrodrigo@mesacc.edu) answer to the following prompt:

Think about a childhood memory of reading or writing that remains especially vivid. The memory may be of a particular book you read, of something you wrote, or a teacher who was important in teaching you to read or write. Or think of a more recent experience of reading and writing. What have you written lately that was especially difficult? Or especially rewarding? List as many possibilities as you can think of (make sure you have a list of at least 4 possibilities). Pick one item from your list and write 2-3 paragraphs about it. Try to remember the details of what happened during the experience and how you reacted to everything.

Week 2: 1/25 or 1/27 Due before Class:

o Read: http://sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/notetaking.systems.html (or http://tinyurl.com/ lcln6w )

o Read and take notes on the Syllabus; have at least 3 questions prepared about the syllabuso Read and take notes one page/topic from this site: http://www.studygs.net/index.htm

What surprised you? What did you learn? How might you use this information to be a better student?

o Read and take notes on one page/topic from this site: http://www.how-to-study.com/ What surprised you? What did you learn? How might you use this information to be a better student?

Due Online (Sat. 1/29):

Week 3: no face-to-face meeting Due Online (Wed. 2/2): Due Online (Sat. 2/5):

Week 4: 2/8 or 2/10 Due before Class: Due Online (Sat. 2/12):

Week 5: 2/15 or 2/17 Due before Class: Due Online (Sat. 2/19): Final due, Project #1

Week 6: 2/22 or 2/24 Due before Class: Due Online (Sat. 2/26):

Week 7: 3/1 or 3/3 Due before Class: Due Online (Sat. 3/5):

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Week 8: 3/8 or 3/10 Due before Class: Due Online (Sat. 3/12): Final due, Project #2

Week 9: Spring Break

Week 10: 3/22 or 3/24 Due before Class: Due Online (Sat. 3/26):

Week 10: 3/29 or 3/31 Due before Class: Due Online (Sat. 4/2):

Week 11: no face-to-face meeting Due Online (Wed. 4/6): Due Online (Sat. 4/9):

Week 12: 4/12 or 4/14 Due before Class: Due Online (Sat. 4/16):

Week 13: 4/19 or 4/21 Due before Class: Due Online (Sat. 4/23): Final due, Project #3.1

Week 14: 4/26 or 4/28 Due before Class: Due Online (Sat. 4/30):

Week 15: 5/3 or 5/5 Due before Class: Due Online (Sat. 5/7): Final due, Project #3.2

Week 16: 5/10 or 5/12 (location TBA) In-Class Final Exam: Final due, Project #4

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Handbook/Syllabus Contract Form

Student Responsibilities You are expected to contribute positively to the learning environment of the classroom by: taking responsibility for your own success in class; reading, reviewing, and referring to the course handbook/syllabus for all pertinent information; reading, reviewing, and referring to the MCC College Catalog and MCC Student Handbook for

college policies (http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/students/publications.html); actively asking questions and seeking out help from the instructor; participating regularly in this course in the various virtual environments; keeping a copy of all assignments until the end of the semester; and immediately reporting all e-mail/computer problems to the professor and it is your responsibility to

complete the course assignment and activities even in the face of computer failure.

Instructor Responsibilities: The instructor reserves the right to require proctoring or validation of students' academic work at the

instructor's discretion. The instructor reserves the right to change or modify course policies, materials, or deadlines in

response to student feedback or unforeseen circumstances. Students will be notified by the instructor of any changes in course requirements or policies.

The instructor requests that students allow the instructor 72 hours to respond to student emails or other forms of contact.

The instructor will attempt to be available during weekdays, however, as balance between family and work is important in everyone's lives, the instructor reserves the right to be unavailable on weekends.

The instructor requests that students allow the instructor one week from the date of submission (original deadline, not if the assignment is turned in late), to post a grade, or provide feedback, on any homework assignments, two weeks for major writing projects. (Note: the instructor will make every effort to provide faster turn around time-however, sometimes faster turn around is not possible)

The instructor may be "out-of-the-office" for extended periods of time, and requests that students understand that this situation may occur and allow for such inconveniences (however, the instructor will always attempt to email and/or post an announcement to the class about any such circumstances)

Student AgreementThe signature below, as well as attendance and participation in this class, signifies that the student has agreed to abide by and adhere to the policies and regulations specified above. It is understood that the instructor may adapt or change this Handbook/syllabus and the assignments contained within it according to circumstances that may arise during the course of the class. The instructor may drop a student if the student fails to complete the work; however, it is the student's responsibility to drop the course if they do not wish to continue. If the student does not drop the course by the appropriate date the student will receive an F.

(Be sure to ask the instructor any questions concerning the handbook/syllabus before signing below.)

___________________________ _________________________ ___________Student’s Name, Printed Student ID Number Date