ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

English 101: Introduction to College Writing

English 101 is an introductory composition course that focuses on strategies for critical reading,
generating ideas for writing, planning and organizing material, and for revising and editing. It is intended
to prepare you for the demands of college reading and writing. You will learn to read critically, work
through the stages of the writing process, develop your own voice as a writer, and edit for style and
conventions. You may elect to take English 101 as a concurrent credit course through Boise State
University, receiving both an upper-division English credit at Nampa High and 3 semester credits for
English 101 at Boise State upon successful completion of this course.
By the end of the course, successful students will be able to:

Apply strategies for generating ideas for writing, for planning and organizing material, for
identifying purpose and audience, and for revising intentionally;

Produce writing in non-fiction, inquiry-based genres appropriate to the subject, context, purpose,
and audience;

Integrate evidence gathered from experience, reading, observations, and/or other forms of
research into their own writing in a way that begins to complicate their own understanding;

Use a variety of strategies for reading and engaging with a range of material;

Use an academic documentation style, even though they may not show mastery.

Revise to extend their thinking about a topic, not just to rearrange material or fix mechanical
errors;

Articulate the rhetorical choices they have made, illustrating their awareness of a writers
relationship to the subject, context, purpose, and audience;

Provide appropriate, engaged feedback to peers throughout the writing process;

Produce prose without surface-level convention errors that distract readers from attending to the
meaning and purpose of the writing.

Course Texts
The majority of texts for this course will be provided at no cost to you by means of our class textbooks
(listed below) or photocopies. When possible, I will make texts available to you digitally on our class
website. You will also be required to check out books from the school library; therefore, it is imperative
that you maintain library privileges by returning materials in a timely manner and paying any fines, if they
occur.
Mr. Buckridge Nampa High School 656
jbuckridge@nsd131.org (208) 498-0571 x6834 nhsce.weebly.com

Ballenger, Bruce P. The Curious Writer. 3rd ed. Harlow: Longman, 2011. Print.
Orwell, George. 1984: A Novel. New York: Signet Classic, 1961. Print.
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2011. Print.
Wardle, Elizabeth and Douglas Downs. Writing About Writing: A College Reader. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martins, 2011. Print.

Required Materials
You must have the following materials with you each class:

College ruled composition notebook

2-pocket folder

Black or blue and red pens; highlighters

Copy of current reading and/or writing

USB flash drive and daily planner (recommended)

POLICIES & EXPECTATIONS

Assignments
All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the designated due date unless otherwise stated.
Work must be legibly written on loose leaf notebook paper in pencil or pen (blue or black ink). If I cannot
read your work, I cannot give you a grade. Please tear off spiral edges before turning in assignments.
Formal writing assignments must be typed and properly formatted following current MLA guidelines.
Late work, for any reason other than an excused absence from school WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED;
therefore, it is important that you complete your work and turn it in on time. If you anticipate difficulties
meeting a deadline, you should see me prior to the due date to negotiate an extension.

Attendance
The Nampa School District has an attendance policy that limits the number of days that a student is
allowed to be absent from school. As with anything in life, classroom instruction, questions and answers,
cooperative learning, etc. can never be duplicated; therefore, it is to your advantage to be in class and on
time every day.
If you are absent, it is your responsibility to check the class website for assignments missed. Should you
come see me about make-up work, I ask that you speak to me before or after school as it is not
appropriate to interrupt instruction and learning time.

Coursework & Grades

WRITERS NOTEBOOK (20%)
Your writers notebook will be a place for you to explore ideas, reflect on new concepts, and respond to
course readings, preparing for in-class discussion. It will also be a space for you to sketch out your ideas
for formal writing assignments and to store relevant notes and resources for future reference. Your
writers notebook will be collected regularly during the semester and assessed for thoughtful and
thorough work.
UNIT WRITING PROJECTS (30%)
You will develop several unit writing projects this year a detailed description of each project will be
distributed at the start of each unit. While each unit writing project should go through significant revision
and editing before submission, they are essentially drafts-in-progress of work you might include in your
portfolio. Your unit writing projects will be collected at the end of each unit.
PORTFOLIO & FINAL REFLECTION (50%)
In lieu of semester finals, you will substantially revise two of your unit writing projects and compose a
final reflection about your work and growth in this course. The portfolio and final reflection are worth a
large portion of your grade because you will spend a lot of time rethinking, revising, and editing the
pieces that will be included. More information about the portfolio will be distributed in class.

Plagiarism & Academic Integrity

The goal of the Nampa School District is to establish a challenging learning environment and to produce
life-long learners. Therefore, all work submitted by a student is expected to be the result of that students
ideas and efforts; when the work is not, the student has engaged in academic dishonesty.
Cheating, including plagiarism, on ANY assignment, is automatically assigned a failing grade of 0% for the
offending piece or pieces. In addition, the matter may be brought to the attention of other school
authorities concerning possible further action, such as suspension or denial/forfeiture of credit. A
student who willfully supplies materials to another student for copying is considered subject to the same
penalties.
Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

Taking material directly from an online or print source and claiming it as your own;

Copying information with only minor changes in wording, even with acknowledgement;

Failing to properly credit a source both in-text and in a list of Works Cited;

Incorrect citations that cause an inability to track down a source;

Submitting someone elses work as your own, including work that has been purchased;

Paraphrasing of someone elses work or ideas without acknowledgement.

All students are expected to complete assignments independently, unless otherwise specified by the
teacher. On assignments where students are permitted to work with a partner, it is expected that they

will be working together to meet each objective; splitting/dividing up work and copying each others
halves is considered cheating.
Please note that high school students are held to the same student standards found in the Boise State
University Student Code of Conduct. Definitions of cheating, plagiarism and other forms of academic
dishonesty are available at http://www.boisestate.edu/osrr/.

Classroom Library
My classroom library is a resource to be used voluntarily by students; it is not a mandatory part of my
class and no credit will be assigned for making use of it. However, I strongly encourage all of my students
to browse and explore the reading material available to them.
The rules for the use of my library are as follows:

Only one book may be checked out at any time. You may keep that book for as long as you wish
(up until the end of the school year), but you may not check out another book until the previous
one is returned.

Books that are lost or damaged must be replaced with a replacement copy of the same book.
Alternately, you may choose to pay a $5 fine towards the cost of a replacement.

Books must not be taken out of the room unless checked out through Mr. Buckridge.

Electronic Communication
EMAIL
I strongly encourage you to email me with questions and/or concerns at jbuckridge@nsd131.org. I will
respond to your message within 24 hours. If needed, you may email an assignment to me as an
attached .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .pdf file. Once I receive the file, I will reply to your email and let you know. If
you do not receive an email receipt from me within 24 hours, you must assume I did not receive the
email and send it again.
GRADE BOOK
All grades are posted in PowerSchool, which will show due dates for all assignments and daily
attendance. You can request your PowerSchool username and password from the office.
WEBSITE
Our class website can be accessed at nhsce.weebly.com it includes daily agendas, schedules,
assignments, handouts, study guides, and other helpful resources. If you are absent, it is your
responsibility to check the website for missed information.
Note: As with any teacher-student interaction, if our electronic communication causes me concern for your
safety or wellbeing, I have a professional and personal obligation to intervene on your behalf.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COURSE SYLLABUS

Sign and return this page to Mr. Buckridge by Tuesday, August 25 (A-Day).

Student Acknowledgement
I have read the syllabus for Advanced Placement English Language and Composition. By signing below, I
understand the course policies and agree that I will conform to the student expectations and perform to
the best of my abilities.
Student Name (please print):
Student Signature:

Parent/Guardian Acknowledgement
I have also read the syllabus for Advanced Placement English Language and Composition and understand
the course policies and expectations for students.
Parent/Guardian Name (please print):
Parent/Guardian Signature:
(Initial) I give permission for my student to use Mr. Buckridges classroom library. I understand
that my student will have the freedom to select their own reading material, and that some of this
material may contain adult themes.
Questions? Concerns? Comment? List them below and I will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

Communication Survey
Your response to the following will be used for class planning and communication purposes only.
Student has regular access outside of school to (check all that apply):
Internet
Computer
Printer
Mobile computing device (smart phone, tablet, e-reader, iPod touch, etc.)
Parent/Guardian Email(s):
Student Email: