Syllabus for English Composition II
Camden County College
Fall, 2008
Professor Ryan Flanagan
Camden County College
Fall, 2008
Professor Ryan Flanagan
Contact Info:
My Cell Phone: 609.605.8656 (please use only for emergencies)
My Email Address: rflanagan@camdencc.edu
Office Hours and Locations: See me or email for appointment
Course Objectives:
1. At the completion of English Comp II, students will be able to write short essays that support and expound a reasonable, self-developed thesis. Students will be able to synthezise ecclectic research and utilize various patterns of rhetoric to engage readers with a cogent, organized essay.
2. Students will be able to write clear, accurate, grammatically correct essays that show sufficient ability to state and support a position, to analyze, to exemplify ideas, and to summarize or paraphrase others’ published works, using appropriate references and avoiding plagiarism.
3. Students will be able to revise for clarity, consistency, coherence, and wordiness, and to proofread and correct errors in agreement, incomplete and run-on sentences, verb tense and form, pronoun reference, modification, spelling, and mechanics (punctuation and capitalization).
Course Description:
This course teaches students how to analyze readings, craft convincing arguments, and compose grammatically correct, organized expositions.
Required Texts and Materials:
1. Barnet, Sylvan and Bedau, Hugo, Current Issues and Enduring Questions. 8th edition. Bedford/St. Martin's: Boston, 2008.
2. An IBM compatible, high density, formatted disk OR a USB flashdrive.
3. A notebook in which to take notes.
4. A folder in which to hold your essays.
Course Requirements and Percentages:
* Each essay: 10%
* Research Paper: 15%
* Departmental Essay Examination: 20 %
* Cumulative quiz score: 25%
Grading System for Essays:
A = Excellent (A+ = 98; A = 95; A- = 92)
This paper must have zero to few mistakes in grammar and/or punctuation, and must be free of awkward or wordy sentence structure. It must have a clearly stated thesis and be very well organized. Language should be creative and detailed (void of unsupported claims).
B = Good (B+ = 88; B = 85; B- = 82)
This paper will have few mistakes in grammar and/or punctuation and have very few spots of awkward or wordy language. It will be well organized and creative, with a clear thesis statement. Language will be mostly detailed.
C = Satisfactory/Fair (C+ = 78; C =75; C- = 72)
This paper will have noticeable mistakes in grammar and/or punctuation and may have several areas of awkward language. It will be organized in a rudimentary fashion and may have an unclear thesis statement. Language will be mostly general and may possess few concrete examples. It will lack essential creativity.
F = Unsatisfactory/Needs improvement (F = 60)
The following criteria (one or several in combination) may make your paper result in an “F”:
· Plagiarized essays (See my policy on plagiarism)
· Essays that do not meet format guidelines.
· Essays that do not meet length guidelines.
· Essays missing a thesis statement.
· Essays with serious organizational problems.
· Essays with serious errors in grammar, punctuation, and/or syntax.
· Essays that are confusing or offensive to a general readership.
Grading System for Final Grades:
0-69 F
70-79 C
80-89 B
90-100 A
Attendance:
Having one absence for a legitimate reason is understandable. However, this section only meets once per week, and missing two classes is equivalent to missing six classes in a section that meets thrice per week. Do not miss more than two classes. More than two absences will seriously jeopardize your grade.
Note: If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to see me about missed handouts and/or assignments.
Lateness:
Being a few minutes late once or twice is understandable; being late more than that is not, which is when each tardiness will equal half an absence. If you continue to arrive late, please withdraw from the course.
Missed Quizzes:
If you miss a quiz, you will have to wait until the “make-up” day at the end of the semester before you can take it.
Late Essays:
Do not wait until the last minute to write or type your assignments because if you do, you may discover that your printer is out of ink, that you have run out of paper, or that your computer has crashed, etc. These are unacceptable excuses for late work. Stock your house with extra paper and ink, save your work to a disk, and learn how to email your work to yourself. Create an emergency plan for what to do if a computer-related emergency occurs. This means using a computer on campus, at Kinko’s, or at a friend or family member’s house.
Essays submitted one class period late will be marked down ½ a letter grade (before any other deductions).
· Essays submitted two class periods late will be marked down an entire letter grade (before any other deductions).
· Essays submitted three or more class periods late cannot earn higher than a C (Other deductions might earn the paper a failing grade).
· If two weeks have passed since the due-date of a rough draft or final draft of an essay, that essay may NOT be submitted, and it will earn a zero.
Cheating:
If you cheat during a quiz or exam, you will get an automatic zero on the exam, which could hold enough weight to make you fail the entire course.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism occurs when a person knowingly or unknowingly uses someone else’s words or ideas without giving credit to that person. Plagiarism is theft. If you use someone else’s words or copy someone else’s paper when you type essays for this class, you will earn a zero on the paper with no opportunity to redo it for credit. It is always immediately obvious when a student uses someone else’s words because English professors are trained to notice.
Use of Technology:
Cell Phones, Blackberry Devices, Etc: You may not use your cell phone or BlackBerry during class, and these devices may not be left on desk surfaces. If any student reads a textmessage, sends a textmessage, answers a phone call, makes a phone call, or flips open the phone to read menus, type, or surf the Internet, all students must take an immediate cell-phone quiz based on whatever topic I am covering. Moreover, all cell phones and BlackBerries must be set to SILENT or shut off completely.
Headphones and Bluetooths: Headphones and Bluetooths may NOT be left in any students’ ears, even if the student is not listening to music or talking on the phone. Headphones and Bluetooths left in ears will result in a loss of 10 class participation points for each occurrence as well as a headphone quiz.
Computers: You may not surf the Internet, type emails, or otherwise use the computer during class unless your teacher gives you permission. Each time a person clicks a mouse or otherwise uses the computer when not permitted, all students will have to take an immediate computer quiz on whatever topic the teacher is covering.
SAVING WRITING ASSIGNMENTS ON THE COMPUTER
If you are using Microsoft Word, you will not have to worry about saving your work in a special way. Simply save it as you normally would. If, however, you are using a Macintosh computer or if you are using Microsoft Works or anything other than Microsoft Word, you MUST save your work with file extensions of .rtf (rich text file). To do this, go to “File” and “Save.” When the save box opens, go to “Save as Type” and scroll down with the arrow until you see “rich text file.” Select this. Otherwise, you will not be able to access your work on computers at school.
Tutoring:
You may go to the Tutoring Centers at these locations:
Blackwood Library, 3rd Floor: (856) 227-7200, ext. 4276
Camden Campus, Room 514C: (856) 968-1359
Cherry Hill Rohrer Center E-Library: (856) 874-6001
These services are free, so please take advantage of them.
Computer Lab:
There are several computer labs on campus, available to all students.
Additional Assistance:
Students who have a physical or learning disability and are entitled to a classroom accommodation must inform me and provide documentation from the Program for Academically Challenged Students (PACS). That office is here to assist and support you.
