Georgia Highlands College ENGL
1101 Fall 2008-Kemper (F-136)
Basic Course Information
English 1101 – 80054 and 80055 (Composition I)
9:30-10:45 a.m. and 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. MW (3
credit hours)
Withdrawal
Deadline – October 7
English 1101 is a composition course focusing on
skills required for effective writing in a variety of contexts, with emphasis
on exposition, analysis, and argumentation, and also including introductory use
of a variety of research skills.
Prerequisite: One
of the following - (1) appropriate
placement test scores or (2) satisfactory
completion of required Learning Support English
Textbooks: Hodges
Harbrace College Handbook, 16th ed. and
The Sundance Choice reader
Disability Support: Any student who feels he or she may need an accommodation
based on the impact of a disability should make an appointment with the Access
Center (706-802-5003) to coordinate reasonable
accommodations. The student may also
contact the instructor to discuss specific needs. This should be done as early in
the semester as possible.
Electronic
Devices: All electronic devices (cell phones, etc.)
will be turned off and stored out of sight during
class. It is not appropriate to leave class to take a call.
Course Description
English 1101 is designed to help you develop the
written communication skills you will need to be successful in your other
college courses, competitive in the job market, and confident in your daily
life.
In this course you will practice your writing
skills by composing paragraphs and essays and by revising your papers once the
errors have been marked. Outlining and grammar review are also part of the
course, and you will learn some basic research techniques. You will receive
instruction related to library orientation/research skills and use this
information in a research exercise. This exercise supports the college’s
commitment to Information Competency (see http://www.highlands.edu/ic/index.htm
).
Class writing assignments and research exercises
will be done on a computer. You may also communicate with your instructor by
e-mail, and you will be expected to monitor your e-mail for messages from the
instructor. Georgia Highlands College provides you with an e-mail account, but
you must have your own Internet Service Provider for at-home access.
Out-of-class assignments may be done on a
Non-fiction essays will be read as models of
essay writing and for ideas that may carry over into written assignments. You
will also read some short stories and become acquainted with some of the skills
needed when writing about material you have read, such as the proper use of
quotations. The introduction to literature will serve as a transition to
English 1102, if you decide to take that course.
Throughout the semester there will be a number of
written and discussion assignments for which daily grade points will be given.
***The instructor reserves the right to alter the
dates, material covered, or format of any exam after notifying the students in
advance.
***Any anticipated absence by the instructor (to
attend professional meetings, etc.) will be announced no later than the class
period just prior to the expected absence, and you will be told what will take
place during class time while the instructor is absent. In the event of an
unexpected absence by the instructor (due to illness, etc.) an effort will be
made to notify you or to find someone else to meet the class. (There are no provisions
for substitute teachers at colleges.)
Grading
The major portion of the course grade will be
determined by the grades on the essay assignments.
Essay
assignments
Essays are expected to be logically organized and
written in clear, correct English. In
general, errors resulting in deviations from Harbrace sections 2, 3, 6a,
7a, 33c, 34c, and 34d are considered the most serious. However, errors related to Harbrace
sections 5, 6b, 7b, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 23, and 28 are also considered serious,
and any error that interferes with the clear expression of your ideas may be
regarded as serious. Persistent serious errors will result in lower paper
grades. Generally, assuming all writing
assignments have been turned in, the final basic course grade will not be
determined by a straight average, but will reflect the level of writing you
have reached by the end of the semester. You will be required to submit written
assignments through Turnitin.com and to also provide a printed copy to the
instructor.
Toward the end of the semester, the instructor
may set a cut-off date after which late papers will no longer be accepted. Any
paper that is not turned in before the cut-off date will be recorded as
receiving two F grades. Before you can be eligible to be considered for
a passing grade for the course, your essay folder containing all written assignments
must be turned in. Lost papers may have to be rewritten (with no improvement in
the original paper's grade).
Daily Grade
The daily grade comes from points given for
folder corrections, class discussion assignments, any paper not given a letter
grade, and other daily assignments and will make up to one-half letter grade
difference (plus or minus) in your basic course grade. Since the course grade is supposed to reflect
the quality of your writing, it is unlikely that your course grade will be raised
to a grade higher than that made on at least one essay.
**Please note that according to college policy,
the lowest passing grade in English 1101 is C.
Plagiarism
You are expected to write your own papers without
excessive help from anyone else. Also,
if you use in your papers any statements or ideas (even ideas put in your own
words) from books or magazines or other print, broadcast, or computer accessed
sources, you must identify the source of your information in order to avoid
plagiarism. If you turn in a plagiarized
paper, it will receive a grade of F, and you may also be given a grade
of F for the course. In addition,
you may be subject to disciplinary actions by the college.
The instructor also reserves the right to refuse
to grade any paper that shows traces of plagiarism or indicates that the
student received excessive help from another person and to require that a new
paper be written to replace it. If a
student's out-of-class papers are markedly superior in quality to those written
in class, the in-class papers will be weighed more heavily in determining the
course grade.
Turnitin.com,
which will be used in this class, is an Internet service subscribed to by GHC
in order to encourage originality and also careful documentation of all
research used in student papers. Papers submitted to Turnitin.com are compared
to numerous active and archived Internet sites, other publications, and
Turnitin.com’s database of submitted student papers. Since Turnitin.com does
compare submitted student papers, you should be careful to not let another
student use your work since you could be implicated in a plagiarism or
excessive collaboration situation, both of which are prohibited by the
college’s Academic Integrity Code.
The Georgia Highlands College “Academic Integrity Code”
(http://www.highlands.edu/academics/academicaffairs/academicintegritypolicy.htm)contains a detailed definition of plagiarism and
other types of academic dishonesty and outlines the procedures and sanctions
relating to violation of the Code.
Attendance
and Late Work
1.
You are
expected to be in class every day. If you miss class for any reason, you
are still responsible for finding out what went on in the class you missed and
for keeping up with assignments missed. If you come in after attendance is
taken, it is your responsibility to see the instructor after class to be sure
you are recorded as present but late. Requests for makeup work due to an anticipated
extended absence must be approved in advance by the instructor and division
chair.
2.
The normal
penalty for a late paper is one-half letter grade off for each class period the
work is late. It may be possible to avoid the penalty for late work if you
present a statement from your doctor or notify me immediately when you
realize you will not be able to turn an assignment in on time. You may contact
me by phone at my office in F-136 (706-368-7626 or 1-800-332-2406) or at home
or you may email kkemper@highlands.edu.
3.
If you are
going to participate in a college sponsored event (and will receive an official
excuse), notify me before the date of the expected absence if it will
interfere with written assignments.
4.
Students
receiving VA educational benefits should be aware that instructors may be
required to report poor attendance on their part.
Course Outcomes for English 1101
1. Through writing short essays students will
demonstrate their ability to conceive ideas about a topic, synthesize and
arrange them logically, and express them clearly in written standard English.
2. Through written assignments, students will
demonstrate their understanding of development and argumentation.
3. Through writing and revision, students will
demonstrate their mastery of proofreading skills developed through an
understanding of the principles and mechanics of standard English usage.
4. Through research exercises, students will
demonstrate an awareness of basic research techniques.
5. Through discussion and/or writing, students
will demonstrate appreciation and understanding of assigned readings.
6. Through discussion and writing, students will
demonstrate their recognition of differing perspectives and points of view, as
well as their ability to form hypotheses and anticipate consequences.
GHC Student Learning Outcomes for English 1101
Communication: 1) Students will demonstrate their ability to
express ideas logically and clearly in standard written English.
Critical
Thinking: 1) Students will be able to recognize
differing perspectives and points of view. 2) Students will be able to
construct arguments.
Technology:
1) Students will demonstrate ability to
prepare course assignments in a variety of courses using computer technology.
Special Note
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia requires that all students enrolled in transfer degree programs pass the Regents’ Test as a requirement for graduation. GHC also requires that students entering certain career programs, such as nursing and dental hygiene, pass the Regents’ Test. Students who are eligible for English 1101 and who have not already satisfied the Regents’ Test requirement should take the test during their first semester.
The test is given on the Floyd and Cartersville campuses only. Instructions on how to find information on the sign-up deadline, testing times, and testing locations are given in the class schedule bulletin.
Scores on certain national standardized tests may fulfill the Regents’ Tests requirements. You may look at your records in SCORE to see if you have exempted any portion of the test. Students who need to take one or both parts of the test may register through SCORE.
The Regents’ Test consists of a one-hour reading comprehension test and a one-hour essay writing section. The essay is handwritten. There is no charge for taking the test.
Contact the GHC Assessment Center (706-802-5318) for details.
To students receiving financial aid: Federal regulations
state that if a student does not attend classes and receives
failing grades,
then the grades were not earned and financial aid needs to be reduced accordingly. Any
student receiving a 0.00 GPA will be required to prove that the 0.00 GPA was
earned by attending classes or completing requirements for each class.
Students who have passed at least one class for the semester will not
be affected by this regulation. If a
student has properly withdrawn from all classes, the student’s financial aid
should be adjusted from the time he/she signed the withdrawal form.