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WRT 090: Introduction to Academic Writing

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Fall 2015

Course Information: Meeting times: Tuesday and Thursday 8:00-9:55 a.m.; 10-10:25 a.m. 9/1/2015-12/17/2015 4 Credit Hours Adverse Weather Line: (989) 686-9179

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Instructor Information: Name: Melissa Chichester Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Before/after class Office: S053

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Required Texts: This I Believe ISBN: 0805086587 Edited by Jay Allison & Dan Gediman

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Wordsmith: Guide To Paragraphs & Short Essays ISBN: 0321974158 Author: Pamela Arlov

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Other Required Course Materials: Pens Notebook paper Flash/zip drive Computer and printer access

! SLA Facilitator: TBA !

Course Description: Prerequisite: WRITING LEVEL 1: Provides those who are not yet prepared for academic work in the regular composition sequence (ENG 111A, ENG 111, ENG 112 or OAT 150, 151, 152) with opportunity to improve their writing skills in an interactive and collaborative setting. Includes practice of personal and academic writing with special attention given to individual needs, which may include organization, sentence structure and variety, correct usage, and vocabulary development. Practices active reading

strategies to understand, interpret, and apply information from reading. Does not earn credit towards graduation. Must earn a grade of "C" or better in WRT 090 for progression to the next level.

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Structured Learning Assistance: Structured Learning Assistance (SLA) is a program of mandatory directed study and practice workshops currently attached to all sections of WRT 090 Introduction to Academic Writing, to all sections of MTH092 Basic Math, and to paired sections of MTH092 and MTH096 Prealgebra. A Structured Learning Assistance Facilitator is present in the class and conducts out-of-class workshops. All students in SLA classes must attend study sessions. Some instructors may have different grade requirements for mandatory attendance.

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*Workshops are scheduled immediately before or after class. The times are listed in the Section Information when you search for classes online in MyDelta and will appear on your schedule. The workshop for this course is from 10-10:25 am.

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Course Objectives: Use a writing process for pre-college and college essays at the basic level Objectives:

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Plan and brainstorm ideas for an essay before beginning to write. Produce drafts of an essay and show an understanding of revision. Participate effectively in writing groups and conferences. Demonstrate an ability to work with written comments. Produce edited, properly formatted essays.

Write basic college level essays. Objectives:

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Use introductions, conclusions, and paragraphs. Write essays that demonstrate a sense of organization. Use topic sentences. Use transitions between sentences and paragraphs. Write at least two essays with a clear thesis.

Develop abilities with the more complex aspects of an essay. Objectives:

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Demonstrate ability to develop significant ideas and use supportive, specific examples Write essays that lack confusion. • Write essays that demonstrate an awareness of audience. • Reduce number of errors in grammar, usage, and punctuation. • •

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Produce written responses to and understand texts at the basic level. Objectives:

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Demonstrate ability, both orally and in writing, to make personal connections to the ideas in a piece of reading. Demonstrate an ability to negotiate unfamiliar vocabulary, as well as make new • words a part of one's own vocabulary. Demonstrate basic skills for information literacy, including accessing, analyzing, and • using resources such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and the Internet. •

! Disability Information: !

In accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Delta College has pledged to provide equal access and equal opportunity to qualified students.

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The Office of Disability Resources is responsible for responding to accessibility issues and academic accommodation requests on behalf of the College. The Office serves both prospective and current students who have documented disabilities, and who request resources on the basis of a disabling condition or characteristic.

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Contact Information: Email: [email protected] Phone: (989) 686-9794 Location: D-102

! ! Attendance Policy: !

Within the guidelines of federal and/or state law provisions, your English instructor may drop you from a course if you miss the first class session and/or more than 2/15 (two fifteenths) of the class sessions for this course. *Dropping or being dropped from this course may have an impact on your current or future financial aid award; see a financial aid advisor.

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Regular classroom attendance is expected, and is the key to succeeding in not only this class, but other courses as well. Attendance indicates a serious commitment to your education.

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You are responsible for all material covered in this course, regardless of whether you are here or not. Assignments are due whether you are in class or not. If you do not turn in your work when it is due, you will receive a zero for the missing assignment. Missing assignments can lower the final grade considerably. It is a smart idea to keep track of whether or not you are turning in assignments and meeting class expectations.

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If you absolutely need to miss class, please e-mail me before class to let me know. In the case of a planned absence, please discuss it with me beforehand. While it is possible to make up some work, most in-class activities cannot be made up.

! WRIT Center ! Do you need extra help? !

WRIT Center consultants are Delta students and have been trained to help their peers with their writing, reading and information technology needs. Your session with one of our consultants average about 20 - 30 minutes.

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Located in the back of the LLIC Email: [email protected] Phone: 989-686-9086

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Classroom Policies:

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• Attendance is required. There are portions of this course that will only be completed in the classroom, and by missing class you will be lacking important information needed to successfully complete other assignments. If you do miss a class, you still need to be prepared for the next class session.

! • Be on time. Walking in late is disruptive and disturbs the class. !

• Be prepared and participate. This class is interactive and requires participation from everyone. Do not be afraid to speak up; differing opinions are expected and welcome.

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• Do NOT answer cell phones in the classroom. Should something urgent prompt you to have your phone on, please keep it on vibrate and leave the room to answer your call. Please note this is only for serious situations. This kind of behavior is not permitted on a regular basis. Please do not use your phone while the course is going on. This is disruptive and disrespectful to others.

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• Ask for help when you need it. I can’t read minds! :) I won’t know if you have questions unless you ask. If you’re too shy to ask questions in class, ask before or after class, or send an e-mail.

! • Check your Delta email regularly for important updates. !

• This is an active classroom and participation is expected. Be prepared to do a lot of talking in here!

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Late Work:

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Late work is not accepted, and in-class work cannot be made up unless previously arranged. If you are not attending class the day an assignment is due, it needs to be emailed to me by midnight on the same day the assignment is due.

! Assignment Format: ! All of the take-home assignments in this course need to be typed and double-spaced. ! Grades: !

Desire2Learn (D2L), Delta’s online course management system, will be used in this course. Login to MyPortal and go to eLearning. Grades will be posted to the online grade book as they are scored. On occasion messages will be sent to the entire class through eLearning. Be sure to check your Delta College e-mail account at least every other day. It is helpful to bookmark the eLearning login page for daily reference: http:// elearning.delta.edu

! Grading Scale: !

A 94-100 A- 90-93 B+ 87-89 B 83-86 B- 80-82 C+ 77-79 D+ 67-69 D 60-66 F Below 60 (failing grade)

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Extra Credit: There is no extra credit in this course.

! Plagiarism: !

Plagiarism is defined as the unauthorized use or imitation of another person’s writing, work, or idea. This includes borrowing information, buying term papers, and more. In order to avoid plagiarism, it is necessary to document and keep all sources used, paraphrase, and use quotations properly. In order to use the work of others, you must be prepared to give credit where it is due. Using the work of others without acknowledgement is a serious form of academic dishonesty and will not be tolerated. Assignments that are deliberately plagiarized will receive a zero without the opportunity to redo it.This topic will be discussed in class regularly. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions if you are unsure of your own work.

! Disclaimer: !

I reserve the right to make any changes to this syllabus as needed. If changes are made, an updated syllabus will be made available.

! Course Calendar: ! ! Week

Date

Course Work

Readings

Assignment Due

Week 1

T 9/1

Syllabus Review Writing Sample Active Reading

Week 1

TR 9/3

The Writing Process Capital Letters

Week 2

T 9/8

NO CLASS- LABOR DAY BREAK

Week 2

TR 9/10

Prewriting Audience Sentence Fragments

Arlov 14-21

Capital Letters Quiz

Week 3

T 9/15

The Parts of an Essay Run-On Sentences

TIB 19-21, “The Mountain Disappears”

Sentence Fragments Quiz

Week 3

TR 9/17

Introduction Paragraphs

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Arlov 193-194

Arlov 1-5

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TIB 175-177, “The Making of Poems”

Week 4

T 9/22

Body Paragraphs and Topic Sentences Descriptive Writing

Arlov 87-95

Week 4

TR 9/24

Commas

Arlov 421-426

Week 5

T 9/29

Conclusion Paragraphs Transition Words

TIB 103-105, “A Grown-Up Barbie”

Week 5

TR 10/1

Essay #1: This I Believe Essay Narration

TIB 106-108, “Happy Talk” TIB 272-273 Arlov 103-105

Week 6

T 10/6

Commonly Confused Words Constructive Criticism

Arlov 399-403

Week 6

TR 10/8

Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting

Arlov 72-78

Week 7

T 10/13

PEER REVIEW: Please bring four copies of your descriptive essay to class.

Week 7

TR 10/15 Word Choice

Run-On Sentences Quiz

Comma Quiz

Rough draft of TIB essay due for peer review Arlov 408-413

Commonly Confused Words Quiz

Week 8

T 10/20

Midterm Conferences

This I Believe Final Draft Due

Week 8

TR 10/22 Midterm Conferences

This I Believe Final Draft Due

Week 9

T 10/27

Week 9

TR 10/29 Point of View Other Punctuation

Plagiarism Paraphrasing, Summarizing, and Quoting

TIB 162-164, “There Is Such a Thing As Truth” TIB 75-77, “The People Who Love You When No One Else Will”

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Arlov 430-436 Week 10

T 11/3

Movie: McFarland USA Summary Assignment

Week 10

TR 11/5

Finish McFarland USA

Week 11

T 11/10

MLA Style Format

Arlov 226-236

Week 11

TR 11/12 How to Research

Arlov 212-215

Week 12

T 11/17

Week 12

TR 11/19 Research in the library- meet in class first for quiz

Point of View Quiz

Week 13

T 11/24

Rough draft of research essay due for peer review

Week 13

TR 11/26 THANKSGIVING BREAKNO CLASS

Week 14

T 12/1

Compare and Contrast

Arlov 155-162

Week 14

TR 12/3

Public Speaking Skills Speechwriting

TIB 257-259, “When Ordinary People Achieve Extraordinary Things”

Week 15

T 12/8

Writing Outside of the Classroom

Week 15

TR 12/10 PEER REVIEW: Please bring four copies of your speech to class.

Punctuation Quiz Summary Assignment Due

Scholarly Sources Essay #2: Research Essay Assignment

PEER REVIEW: Please bring four copies of your descriptive essay to class.

Final draft of research essay due

Rough draft of compare/contrast speech due.

Week 16

T 12/15

Speeches

Final Exam: Speech Bring a written copy!

Week 16

TR 12/17 Speeches

Final Exam: Speech Bring a written copy!