		Daniel Kies Department of English College of DuPage

Composition 1 English 1101		Contact Form

Syllabus

Course Calendar

Please, understand that this syllabus explains how grades are determined and advises you about course and college policies. You need to follow the course calendar to see your assignments for each week throughout the course.

Office

BIC 2729E

Office phones

630-942-2415
630-942-3935 (fax)

Office hours


Office Hours On Campus		Virtual Office Hours
	in BIC 2729E		in the Chat Room on eForum




	[times by appointment]		[times by appointment]

Email

All email addresses go to the same place. All of these are equally good:

Daniel @ papyr.com (my primary email address and the one you will see in email from our textbook web site), and
KiesDan @ cod.edu (my college email address).

Our Textbook's Web Sites

https://myWritingCourse.com/

an easy to remember web location that will take you to the home page for our free textbook online

https://papyr.com/hypertextbooks/comp1/

the location of my English 1101 HyperTextBook

https://papyr.com/eforum/

eForum: our online message board and chat room for English 1101

Course Description

The college's catalog describes English 1101 as,

The first of two courses in the one-year composition sequence. Introduces students to college-level writing as a process of developing and supporting a thesis in an organized essay. Requires students to read and think critically. Emphasizes using appropriate style and voice as well as the conventions of standard English and citation.

In all likelihood, this may be among your first English classes at the college, and I hope that you will find the experience so valuable that you will choose many more English classes to satisfy both your composition and your humanities requirements as you move toward your completing your degree.

Goals and Topical Outline

In English 1101, students learn to

Apply a process approach to writing
Develop and support a thesis
Apply strategies for organizing texts
Analyze and respond critically and creatively to the ideas and strategies in the writing of others through reading a variety of texts, including academic discourse
Construct effective prose
Develop the writing process to include other writers' discourse
Use methods of research and citation at an introductory level

The Exams

Exams will be done in class through the course web site. Students will do one exam at the end of each of the three sections of the course. (See the Course Calendar.) Exams are not timed and are open book, open notes.

This term we will discuss several concepts necessary to reading and writing academic argumentation, such as

formulating a thesis,
the common modes of discourse,
the three appeals,
external aids to invention,
the structures of an essay,
unity and coherence,
voice,
sentence variety, and
sentential rhythm and euphony.

The examinations may consist of true/false, multiple-choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, essay, and other questions designed to test your mastery of the concepts listed above and your knowledge of the material we will read for this course.

Our exams are based on the reading we do, on the writing labs, exercises, and on other materials in the HyperTextBook. The primary objective of the exams is to ensure that you read the text closely and that you master the concepts we will cover in this class. Since there are no make-up exams and no extra credit options in the course, students should study the HyperTextBook thoroughly and prepare for each exam carefully.

If a student needs special assistance or provisions for testing or in-class writing, please let me know well in advance of our exams or writing assignments posted on the course calendar.

Essay Evaluation

Academic writing is judged by the quality of both its content and its presentation. Below, you see the general rubric detailing the requirements and expectations of any writing assignment in first-year composition.

General rubric for first-year college/university writing (Consult the content rubric on each assignment page for additional grading information.)
Criterion	A	B	C	D	F
Thesis and point of view	Addresses the assignment topic completely; clear and possibly original thesis with supporting statement(s).	Addresses the assignment topic completely; clear thesis with supporting statement(s).	Mostly addresses the assignment topic; clear thesis.	Somewhat addresses the assignment topic; thesis exists but needs clarification or strengthening.	May incompletely address the assignment topic; no obvious thesis, or confused thesis.
Content/evidence	Has clearly read around the topic; uses specific evidence persuasively to support thesis.	Uses specific evidence adequately to support thesis.	Uses some evidence to support thesis.	Uses little evidence to support thesis.	Uses little or no evidence.
Critical thinking	Demonstrates thorough analysis of the topic using appropriate criteria; analyzes underlying assumptions.	Analyzes different aspects of the topic using appropriate criteria; analyzes underlying assumptions.	Some analysis of the topic from more than one perspective.	Little analysis of the topic; may be one-sided; mostly description or report.	Does not attempt to analyze the topic; may simply describe or report.
Reference to sources	Summarizes, paraphrases or quotes effectively; demonstrates good knowledge and use of MLA citation conventions; includes complete reference list.	Summarizes, paraphrases, or quotes well; demonstrates basic knowledge of MLA citation conventions; includes complete reference list.	Attempts summaries, paraphrases or quotes; cites all sources; some knowledge of MLA citation conventions; includes complete reference list.	Attempts to summarize, paraphrase or quote are weak. Cites some, but not all sources; shows little knowledge or understanding of citation conventions; reference list missing or incomplete.	Attempts to summarize, paraphrase or quote are very weak. Cites very few if any sources; shows little or no knowledge or understanding of citation conventions; reference list reference list may be missing or incomplete.
Logical argument	Constructs logical and persuasive argument using inductive or deductive reasoning; avoids logical fallacies.	Constructs logical argument using inductive or deductive reasoning; largely avoids logical fallacies.	Pattern of reasoning is mostly clear; there may be one or two logical fallacies.	Pattern of reasoning is sometimes clear; there may be several logical fallacies.	Pattern of reasoning is mostly unclear; there may be many logical fallacies.
Structure	The assignment is clearly structured at whole-text, paragraph and sentence level; progression from idea to idea is clear and easy to follow.	The assignment shows mostly good whole-text, paragraph and sentence level organization; progression from idea to idea is mostly clear and easy to follow.	The assignment has an adequate overall structure, but there may be occasional breakdowns in progression from idea to idea at paragraph or sentence level.	The assignment is not well-structured overall; progression from idea to idea is often confusing at paragraph or sentence level.	The assignment is not well- structured at one or all of these levels: whole-text, paragraph or sentence level; progression from idea to idea is unclear.
Grammar, vocabulary & usage	Uses a wide variety of appropriate vocabulary and grammatical structures; carefully edited; no serious ESWE* departures.	Generally uses a variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures appropriately and accurately; Carefully edited; ESWE* departures do not usually impede meaning.	Uses mostly appropriate vocabulary and grammatical structures; some ESWE* departures make the text hard to follow. Needs more careful editing.	Often uses inappropriate, inaccurate or limited vocabulary and /or grammatical structures; many ESWE* departures impede meaning. Needs editing.	Inappropriate, inaccurate or extremely limited vocabulary and /or grammatical structures; very many ESWE* departures; no or little editing apparent; meaning is difficult to follow.
ESWE = Edited Standard Written English Additionally, an essay earns 0 (zero) points if …* … you submit the essay after its deadline. … you do not meet the additional requirements of the rubric found on the assignment page. … the essay has excessive grammar and usage errors, i.e., is in obvious need of proofreading.

Course Calendar

Please, remember that you need to follow the course calendar to see your assignments for each week throughout the course.

Final Grades

Your final grade for the course depends on the total number of points that you have earned:

Conversion of points to a final grade
Final Grade in English 1101	Required Number of Points
A	100 - 86
B	85 - 71
C	70 - 56
D	55 - 41
F	40 - 0

You earn points for essays, exams, and writing labs:

Points earned for each assignment grade
Essays		Exams		Labs*
Grade	Points	Percent	Points	Grade	Points
A	14	100-90%	10	Pass	2
B	11	89-80%	9	Fail	0
C	7	79-70%	8
D	4	69-60%	7
F	0	59-50%	6
		49-40%	5
		39-30%	4
		29-20%	3
		19-10%	2
		9-1%	1
		0%	0

*Labs are optional assignments;
they earn extra credit..

The different assignments in the different assignment categories constitute the total points in English 1101:

Subtotals by assignment category
Assignment Category	No. of Assignments		Highest possible points for each assignment		Point subtotal for each category
Writing Assignments	4*	·	14*	=	70*
Exams	3	·	10	=	30
Grand total of points in English 1101				=	100

*Writing assignment 4 counts as two assignments,
worth twice the points.

Please note two points about grading:

writing assignment 4 (a combination of the definition and the argument assignments) is worth 28 points (14 for the definition portion and 14 for the argument portion), and
there are no make-up exams.

Therefore, it is important for you to do your best on each assignment the first time. As you can see from the table above, exams are especially valuable. Attend lecture. Read thoroughly. Study carefully. Ask questions. Take notes.

Course Calendar

Please, remember that you need to follow the course calendar to see your assignments for each week throughout the course.

Due Dates & Deadlines

Due dates (assignment deadlines) are not flexible. Late assignments earn no points toward your final grade.

You must submit each assignment by its due date.
Due dates are listed on the course calendar. Unless noted otherwise on the course calendar, the deadline for each week's assignment is Friday, 5 pm.

Of course, I know that life does not always run smoothly. Trust me: I know this. If you need more time to complete an assignment, if you are having trouble completing an assignment, just ask for an extension: I will help all that I can.

You must request the extension — and receive my approval — before the assignment deadline.
If you can't email, leave a voice mail at my office.
For any last minute emergency, bring evidence of the emergency.

To earn any grade in this section of English 1101, you must do all the assignments — to the standard of college-level work — even if it is late work and you will receive no points toward your final grade.

I maintain this policy for one reason: I believe it is unfair for some students to do all the work for the whole semester while other students do just enough to get by — and still hope to pass the course. Therefore, in my sections of the course, to earn any passing grade for this course, students must do all the assignments.

I reserve the right to fail any student who does not complete all of the assignments required by this syllabus and the course calendar.
Under no circumstances will I accept late work during the last week of the semester or during exam week.

Attendance

Attendance is required. For my classroom sections of this course, we will keep a sign-in log. For my online sections, log in to the web site. Once logged in, your name and email will be stored as a cookie on your computer, and the web server will record your attendance automatically. Check the FAQs if you are having trouble logging in. Recent changes to state and federal financial aid laws require that I keep attendance records. For example, consider this quote from the College's "Standards of Academic Progress" page:

Students who fail to demonstrate satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of their education (i.e., not attending classes, deferring grades, withdrawing from classes or failing classes) will become ineligible to receive financial aid. [emphasis added]

Statement of Conduct and Diversity	Students are expected to participate in dialogue with the instructor and fellow students in a prideful and respectful manner. This includes polite conversation and consideration of viewpoints and perspectives that are perhaps different from our own. Deviations from these, including, taunting, derogatory slurs, personal attacks, physical outbursts or aggression, and other forms of blatant disrespect towards a person’s race, cultural/ethnic group, gender, physical/learning disabilities, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression will NOT be tolerated and may result in dismissal from the class.
Plagiarism	All work submitted for credit must be completed by the student who is registered for the course. Plagiarism (or any other form of cheating) is sufficient grounds for failing this course. Students found guilty of plagiarism (or cheating) will fail the course and, by College policy, might be excluded from other credit courses.
Incompletes	Incompletes will be allowed for special cases such as health or family emergencies, call to active duty, or sudden, verified illness. Students are required to provide appropriate documentation for all requests for a grade of Incomplete. Students must also have successfully completed 67% of the required course work prior to the request for a grade of Incomplete. Grades of Incomplete must be completed within the next academic term. Please let me know prior to the final exam week of the term if you think you might require an incomplete.
Satisfactory/Fail (S/F) Grading Option	If students elect the "Satisfactory/Fail" grading option for this course, they must complete all the course work, earning a grade of "C" or higher to meet the requirements for a "Satisfactory" grade.
The College's Withdrawal Policy	Effective Fall 2012, the final day for a student to withdraw from any course will be equal to 75% of the academic session. See the academic calendar published on the College's web site at https://www.cod.edu/academics/calendar.aspx for full details. Under the new policy, students may drop any course for any reason up to the last day to withdraw and will receive a grade of W on their transcripts. After April 12, 2013, no withdrawals will be allowed except for special cases, such as health or family emergencies, call to active duty, or sudden, verified illness. Those students are required to provide the Registration Office appropriate documentation for all requests for late withdrawals. Students who drop after April 12, 2013 without an approved Petition for Late Withdrawal from the Registration Office will receive a grade of F. Students will not be eligible to petition for late withdrawal after the designated final examination time for 16- and 12-week classes.

Sending Assignments

Most assignments are sent through the course web site itself. Send essays via your college-assigned email or via the Contact Form on the web site. You will find a link to the Contact Form everywhere in our online textbook, and I will teach you how to send your work to me through the Contact Form.

Remember that if you write to me regarding course work from a personal address, I will reply only to your college-assigned email.
Remember too that you should only use your college-assigned email address to prevent spam filters from deleting your message.

File Naming Conventions

Since you will be sending your assignments to me through the web site or through email, we need to establish a useful way of naming our documents to ensure that we can keep accurate records. When saving your work for me, please include your last name, the course, and the assignment as part of the file name. For example, compare:

smith-kevin-comp1-essay1.doc = a good file name
my paper.doc = a bad file name

Some Final Notes

Read and keep a copy of this Syllabus, and the Course Calendar, and your essay assignments. Those pages will help you organize your work so that you can complete this course successfully. Furthermore, those pages may prove valuable to you should you transfer course credit from this institution to another.
Our class has a motto: littera scripta manet. For bonus points on the first exam, I will ask you what the motto is. For bonus points on the second exam, I will ask you what it means in English.
I reserve the right to revise this syllabus during the term.

Course Calendar

Please, understand that this syllabus explains how grades are determined and advises you about course policies. You need to follow the course calendar to see your assignments for each week throughout the course.

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The HyperTextBooks \| The English Main Page \| College of DuPage

Syllabus

General rubric for first-year college/university writing