Houston Community College English 1301: Composition I Distance Education

Instructor: Selena Flowers Bldg: Angela Morales Office Phone: 713-718-7116 Email:selena.flowers@hccs.edu English Dept. Ph: 713-718-7109 (for emergencies only) Alternate email: srflowers70@gmail.com Text: Required: Readings for Writers Jo RayMcCuen-Metherell Course Description: English 1301is a course devoted to improving the students writing and critical reading. Student will write essays for a variety of purposes from personal to academic, including an introduction to argumentation, critical analysis, and the use of sources. Prerequisite: A satisfactory assessment score, completion of ENGL 0310, or (for non-native speakers) ENGL 0349. Credit: 3 semester hours (3 lecture hours). Internet Course: This Internet course will cover the same materials as the traditional in-class course. One major difference is that you do not have to attend lectures and we will communicate more often with one another online. The main difference is that this course requires you to be self-motivated. You will have to rely on yourself to complete the readings, study the materials and participate in discussions. This course assumes that you have basic computer skills, or a basic level of computer literacy. By the end of the course, you will be comfortable navigating a virtual classroom, by participating in online discussions, surfing the Web for supplementary information related to various chapter readings, and researching credible sites as well as accessing the library online. Purpose of the Course: English 1301 is designed to help students write multi-paragraph expository, analytical, and argumentative essays that have the following qualities: clarity in purpose and expression, appropriate and sensible organization, completeness in development , sound content, including applications of concepts and references to assigned readings, unity and coherence, appropriate strategies of development,

sensitivity to audience, effective choice of words and sentence patterns, grammatical and mechanical correctness, and appropriate MLA citation format.

Student Learning Outcomes for this Course: Demonstrate knowledge of writing as process Apply basic principles of critical thinking in analyzing reading selections, developing expository essays, and writing argumentative essays. Analyze elements such as purpose, audience, tone, style, strategy in essays and/or literature by professional writers. Write essays in appropriate academic writing style using varied rhetorical strategies. Synthesize concepts from and use references to assigned readings in their own academic writing.

Course Requirements: Students will complete short writing assignments and write two long essays. Students will type drafts using the MLA format. Grading Scale: Short Assignments Short Writing Assignments Longer Essays

25% 35% 40%

Late Policy: Students should turn assigned work on time. Points will be deducted for each calendar day the essay is late. The lowest grade your essays will be reduced to is an F (25 points); however, I will not grade your essay after the fourth calendar day it is late. Unless there are circumstances beyond your control, let me know; otherwise, there are no exceptions. Tentative Course Schedule: The course schedule is tentative, which may change as the course progresses. Changes will be announced in class. Plagiarism: Students are expected to do their own work. If a student represents work that is not his or her own as if it were, that constitutes plagiarism. According to Houston Community College System Student Handbook, Plagiarism means the appropriation of anothers

work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in ones own written work offered for credit. Collusion means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit. Students who plagiarize will receive 0 for the assignment. Withdrawal: The State of Texas has begun to impose penalties on students who drop courses excessively. For example, if you repeat the same course more than twice, you have to pay extra tuition. In 2007, the Texas Legislature passed a law limiting student to no more than six total course withdrawals throughout their academic career in obtaining a baccalaureate degree.

Students must visit with a faculty advisor, a counselor or online student services prior to withdrawal from class. If a withdrawal is to be given, this must be done prior to the drop date for the session you are enrolled in. After that date and time, students will no longer be allowed to drop and will receive the grade that they earned. Faculty will no longer be allowed to give a "W" on the final grade sheet; any faculty member who wishes to withdraw a student will be required to process the drop before the drop deadline. Any remaining assignments not submitted will receive a zero; thus, students will be subject to receiving an F for the class. Distance Education Advising and Counseling Services Advising can be accomplished by telephone at 713-718-5275-option #4, via email at de.counseling@hccs.edu, by visiting the Distance Education Office at the HCC Administration Building, 3100 Main Street, 3rd floor and/or by on-site advising at other HCC locations upon request. Confidential sessions with the distance education counselors will help students understand admissions, registration, entrance testing requirements, degree planning, transfer issues, and career counseling. Houston Community College counselors also maintain a local referral base in order to provide appropriate referrals to students with personal and family issues that may require longterm solutions. Course Repeater Policy: Beginning in the Fall, 2006, students who repeat a course for a third or more times will face significant tuition/fee increases at HCC and other Texas public colleges and universities. Please ask your instructor and/or counselor about opportunities for tutoring/other assistance prior to considering course withdrawal or if you are not receiving passing grades. International Students: Receiving a W in a course may affect the status of your student Visa. Once a W is given for a course, it will not be changed to an F because of the visa consideration. Since January 1, 2003, International Students are restricted in the number of distance

education courses that they may take during each semester. ONLY ONE online/distance education class may be counted towards the enrollment requirement for International Students per semester. Please contact the International Student Office at 713-718-8520 if you have any questions about your visa status and other transfer issues. Students with Disabilities: Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the appropriate HCC Disability Support Service (DSS) Counselor at the beginning of each semester. Faculty is authorized to provide accommodations requested by the Disability Support Services Office. Students who are requesting accommodations must first contact the appropriate (most convenient) DSS Counseling office for assistance: Central: 713-718-6164; Northwest: 713-718-5422; Northeast: 713-718-8420; Southeast: 713-718-7218; Southwest: 713718-7909; System: 713-718-5165 After student accommodation letters have been approved by the DSS office and submitted to DE Counseling, students will receive confirmation email along with instructions regarding completion of the requested accommodation(s). Virtual Classroom Conduct: As with on-campus classes, all students in HCC Distance Education courses are required to follow all HCC Policies & Procedures, the Student Code of Conduct, the Student Handbook, and relevant sections of the Texas Education Code when interacting and communicating in a virtual classroom with faculty and fellow students. Students who violate these policies and guidelines will be subject to disciplinary action that could include denial of access to course-related email, discussion groups, and chat rooms or being removed from the class. Communication with the instructor is essential. If students are having problems with the course itself, or keeping up with the assignments, let me know and we will try to find a solution. Professor Contact Information: Communicate any private concerns with your instructor using Eagle Online Email area. Please use srflowers70@gmail, com as an alternate email for communication and posting assignments if there are issues with Eagle Online. I will be checking this frequently and will try to answer Email within 24 hours during weekdays. Online Tutoring: HCC Online Tutoring Ask Online provides students free help with papers not only for English classes, but for any class that requires writing. HCC now offers 24-hour access to English tutors on-line. All HCC students can take advantage of this service by logging

onto askonline.net and using the HCC student ID number or HCC e-mail account address. Papers can be submitted for advice, with a 24-hour turn-around; live tutors will answer questions every day from 5-9pm; focused chats are scheduled; and vocabulary, grammar, and usage questions can be asked and answered quickly. Tutors in math and science are also available through this service.

Storing and Retrieving Essays: Students should store all essays on USB drives until the end of the following semester. In addition, students should keep all graded assignments in their possession until the end of the semester, in case there is a question concerning grades.

Course Calendar Week 1 Get to know your DE site; Discussion: Introductions; Complete Writing Process Survey Due: 12/20 Read What is Rhetoric? p. 16-27; Read: Lecture Writing as a Process; Read Lecture Rhetorical Elements of an Essay; Assignment: Analyzing Website Due: 12/21 Read What is a Writers Voice? p. 59-63; Read Lecture Stylistic Choices; Assignment: Exercise p. 63 #1, 4 and 4 Due: 12/22 Read What is a Thesis? p.97-105; Read Lecture Thesis; Assignment: Thesis p. 105 #1 Due: 12/23 Read Developing Paragraphs p. 168-178; Read What is a Poet? p. 168-178Look over Facts on page 178. Assignment: Description Paragraph Due: 12/26 Assignment: Paragraph Revision Due: 12/27 Read Patterns of Development p. 195-198; Read Handout Is Harry Potter Evil? Assignment: Critical/Opinion Essay Due: 12/30 Read Writing about Visual Images p. 27-37; Assignment: Visual 1 Due: 1/3 Assignment: Final Visual Essay Due: 1/6

Week 2

Week 3