Estrella Mountain Community College

English 101, First Year Composition

Fall 2014
Jennifer Aschmann, Instructor




Purpose:

The purpose of this class is to help you become better writers. You may have heard that writing
cannot be taught; that the ability to write interesting, well-organized, clear and coherent
sentences, paragraphs and essays is inherent, like height or eye color. That is nonsense. Anyone
who is willing to put forth the time, the effort, and the energy can construct a well-crafted essay,
report, or research paper.

Requirements:

Attendance: You must be here. Real learning does not take place by proxy. If you foresee that
you must miss class more than once or twice, do not take this class. If you do not foresee it, but it
happens, it is your responsibility to withdraw from the course. Three absences and you will be
dropped.

Involvement: Beyond your physical presence, you are expected to work at being as intellectually
and emotionally present as possible.

Caring: You must careabout yourself, about words, about your classmates and instructor, and
about writing. If you do not care, you must fake it until the real thing comes along.

Course Work: There will be weekly reading assignments and occasional quizzes on the assigned
readings. You will also have numerous written assignments, both in and outside of class.

Grading: An A (100% - 90%), B (89% - 80%), C (79% - 70%) in this class is my testament that
you have successfully fulfilled the college writing requirement. I do not give that lightly. To
earn a passing grade you must show competence in reading, thinking, writing, and a commitment
to learning.

Assignments: I expect all assignments to be turned in on the due date. I do not accept late work,
nor do I accept work turn in through e-mail or other forms of electronic media. Exceptions will
be made for illness, death, or other extenuating circumstances. A letter grade will be deducted
from late assignments.

Course Competencies:

By the end of ENG 101, students should understand the nature of writing as a process and should
be able to:
Plan, draft, revise, and edit documents
Find credible information to develop and support their ideas
Work with others (including the Writing Center as needed) to improve their documents
Use resources (including Information Commons support as needed) as part of their
writing and learning processes
Use appropriate technologies to create and submit documents
By the end of ENG 101, students should be thinking critically about their writing topics and
should be able to:
Develop their ideas through reading and research
Write a variety of types of development, including:

Analogy
Analysis
Argument
Cause and Effect
Classification
Comparison and Contrast
Definition
Description
Evaluation
Illustration
Narration
Synthesis

From a position of social awareness, examine the rhetorical context of a writing situation,
including political, social, global, and historical implications
Determine how an audiences knowledge and experiences will influence their reaction to a
document
Explain how writing functions in the academic world and the professional world
By the end of ENG 101, students should understand basic writing conventions and should be able
to:
Create clear and appropriate thesis statements and topic sentences
Develop and implement organizational strategies that will aid their readers
comprehension
Adhere to MLA citation and formatting conventions
Understand the importance of clarity and proofread their work to produce clear
documents
At the end of ENG 101, students will be required to present a portfolio of
documents that illustrates they have accomplished these outcomes.

The class will be organized into modules, to assist in learning.
narration and the personal experience
cause and effect
literary analysis (evaluation)
compare and contrast
rant
argumentation
problem/solution


Week One: Introductions: Class Introductions,
Assignment: timeline

Week Two: Close Reading (Annotation), Summaries and Paraphrasing, Thesis (Central Idea),
Themes, Prewriting narratives. Note-taking.
Assignment: Begin Personal Narrative

Week Three: Discussion: narration and revision.
Assignment: Personal experience narrative

Week Four: Discussion: Cause and Effect Essay notes.
Assignment: Begin Cause and Effect essay

Week Five: Discussion: revision and adding examples.
Assignment: Cause and Effect essay

Week Six: Analyzing literature.
Assignment: Literary analysis

Week Seven: Analyzing literature cont.
Assignment: Literary analysis

Week Eight: Comparison and Contrast.
Assignment: Comparison and contrast essay

Week Nine: Lecture: Comparison and Contrast continued.
Assignment: Comparison and contrast essay

Week Ten: The rhetorical situation

Week Eleven: Discussion: Rant.
Assignment: Rant essay


Week Twelve: Discussion: Argument.
Assignment: Argument essay

Week Thirteen: Discussion: Argument.
Assignment: modifying existing essays

Week Fourteen: Discussion. Analogy, illustration examples.
Assignment: Argument essay due

Week Fifteen: Discussion: problem/solution.
Assignment: begin writing problem/solution essay

Week Sixteen: problem/solution
Assignment: problem/solution essay due

Week Seventeen: Final Paper (Exam). Discussion and Closures.

*Each essay is worth 100 points, except for the final paper and the common assessment. In
addition to writing essays, it is important, as a writer, to continually try to develop and improve
responses as well as review grammar skills. As such, activities in class will be utilized to
improve your writing. Up to 300 points will be given for completing these assignments. The
final paper will be completed in class, and serve as the course final exam. This essay is worth
200 points.


Things to note:
o Academic Misconduct - includes misconduct associated with the classroom,
laboratory or clinical learning process. Examples of academic misconduct
include, but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, excessive absences, use of
abusive or profane language, and disruptive and/or threatening behavior.
o Cheating - includes, but is not limited to, (a) use of any unauthorized assistance
in taking quizzes, tests, assessment tests or examinations; (b) dependence upon
the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the faculty member in writing
papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; or
(c) the acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic material
belonging to a member of the college faculty or staff.
o Plagiarism - includes, but is not limited to, the use of paraphrase or direct
quotation of the published or unpublished work of another person without full
and clear acknowledgment. It also includes the unacknowledged use of materials
prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or
other academic materials. Information gathered from the internet and not
properly identified is also considered plagiarism.
o Civility/Controversial/Sensitive topics: As mentioned above, it is
essential to treat one another respectfully. Course material (readings,
topics) may include information which may be considered controversial
and sensitive. I want you to share your ideas and opinions on our course
topics. It is important to learn from each other. However, everyone
comes to class with different perspectives, life experiences, and
expectations. This diversity of thought and that we have the freedom to
disagree with one another should be appreciated. Our comments to one
another should always be respectful, thoughtful, and mature. This
classroom is a safe environment. Personal attacks (verbal or physical)
intimidation and insults will not be tolerated and can result in being
dropped from the course. If anything or anyone offends you, please speak
with meASAP.
o Computer/Online Issues: Questions and problems concerning
technology, computers, Canvas, software, etc. must be directed to the
Information Commons in EST Hall (623) 935-8150.
o Technology issues can occur. The internet goes down, USB drives are lost,
computers crash, printers jam, etc. HOWEVER, technology excuses for
late assignments/essays will not be accepted. I am not there with you
when it happens and so cannot determine when it really occurs. It is your
responsibility to plan ahead and have back up plans. For your protection
with technology issues, I strongly suggest saving documents in multiple
locations (hard drive, USB, EMCC account, etc.). Keep these copies in a
safe place until you have received your final grade.
o Cell phones, text messaging, internet, Ipods, etc., during class: Please
turn off/set to vibrate all cell phones prior to class. If you are expecting an
urgent call, please set your device to vibrate and leave the classroom
before answering the call. Text messaging during class is not appropriate.
Sometimes we will be working in the classroom with computers. The
computers should remain off unless you are instructed to turn them on for
the class activity. It is not appropriate to check your email, YouTube,
Facebook/MySpace, Twitter, surf the internet or complete assignments
during class on school or personal devices. It is not appropriate to wear
headphones, unless permission has been given during free-
writing/research time. If the use of these or similar devices becomes a
problem during the semester, you will be asked to leave class and marked
absent for the time missed. Repeated abuse will be considered a disruption
of the classroom environment and academic misconduct.
Credit Hour Evidence
FEDERAL CREDIT HOUR DEFINITION: A credit hour is an amount of work represented in
intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an
institutionally-established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than:
(1) one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of
out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester
or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the
equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or (2) at least an equivalent
amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other activities as
established by an institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio
work, and other academic work leading toward to the award of credit hours.



The instructor reserves the right to alter the syllabus at her discretion.