ENGLISH 101: ENGLISH COMPOSITION I

Syllabus, Fall Quarter 2015, Section Y-2

Cara N. Stoddard | cstoddard@everettcc.edu | 425-259-8795
Office # ___________ | Classroom # GWH 264 | 1:30PM-2:30PM
Office Hours: by appointment only

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is an introduction to college-level reading and writing and is designed to improve your critical thinking,
reading, and written communication skills. In this course you will learn strategies for critical reading and analysis,
drafting and revising essays, integrating paraphrases and quotes from texts youve read, and properly attributing your
sources using MLA citation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will develop and practice skills addressing the overall writing process, the dynamics of sentences and
paragraphs, critical thinking, and coherent composition. Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be
able to:
1. Demonstrate a practical understanding of the college writing process
2. Master pre-writing techniques
3. Demonstrate competency in planning, organizing, writing, revising, editing and proofreading college-level essays
4. Demonstrate competency in writing a variety of sentence and paragraph patterns
5. Work collaboratively in small groups to revise and edit writing
6. Develop ability to read and discuss diverse writers and ideas
7. Demonstrate ability to analyze and integrate material and viewpoints from multiple sources
8. Present own views clearly in writing while addressing and qualifying others perspectives
9. Understand the relation of speaker, argument, and audience and the effect of each on essay form.

TEXTBOOK:
They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Third Edition
by: Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein | ISBN # 9780393935844

ATTENDANCE:
Attendance in English 101 is mandatory and a significant determining factor of your grade. So, for the sake of getting the
most out of this class as possible, I encourage you to come to class every day, even if you can only make it to part of
class. If you miss more than four classes, your grade will be dropped by 10%. Missing eight or more classes is grounds
for failing the class.
Thus, plan for unforeseen illnesses or travel plans later in the summer. Only absences for bereavement, hospitalization,
or previously scheduled college Sponsored Events or Activities (see Student Handbook for definition) are considered
excused absences. Whenever possible, please notify me before the excused absence to be sure to get any handouts

you might miss in class. Every other kind of absence including car trouble, illnesses and doctors appointments, and
being called into cover a co-workers shift at work is considered unexcused and counts toward your four allowed
absences.
In the case of a personal or family emergency, please be in contact with me via email about the situation, and I will do
my best to accommodate you. In the case of bereavement leave or a mental/physical health emergency for you or one
of your dependents requiring you miss more than one day in a row, you will be expected to keep up with your
coursework via Canvas. Arrangements will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Being in attendance means being physically present, awake, coherent, and fully prepared for class with the readings and
homework completed. If you do not meet all of these conditions you will be marked absent for the day. Coming in more
than 15 minutes late or leaving more than 15 minutes early will result in being marked absent. You are responsible for
making up all of the work that you missed during an absence. Please see me during office hours or schedule an
appointment before the next scheduled class.

COURSE ETIQUETTE:
Classroom citizenship. The classroom is a learning community. Any behavior that disrupts this community will not be
tolerated. This includes speaking to other students while I am talking, sleeping in class, passing notes, being rude or
belligerent to me or other students, etc. This is a discussion-based course, and I expect you to treat each other with
dignity and respect. We will be discussing sensitive topics and reading each others personal writing in this course.
Please be considerate of others ideas and beliefs and do not discuss the content of others papers with students outside
of this class. In accordance with Everett Community Colleges Discrimination Policy, disrespect or discrimination towards
students based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, citizen status, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity,
veteran status, age, or religion will not be tolerated. If you feel your well-being is being jeopardized or you have
observed someone else being treated disrespectfully, please come speak to me about it privately after class or during
my office hours.
Readings. In accordance with Everett Community Colleges mission statement to encourage multiculturalism, this class
has been intentionally designed to include readings that represent a diverse set of cultures and peoples and express
points of view on controversial contemporary social and political issues. In this class we may discuss, read, write about,
or view texts that you disagree with or find offensive. Such texts are not necessarily condoned, but rather used to
prompt discussion and explore ideas that may be outside of our individual preferences and comfort levels. In this
college classroom you are required to engage maturely and academically with all texts, regardless of their content or
rating. Please email or see me privately during office hours if you have any questions about this policy.

Technology. In order to promote habits and skill-sets unique to scholars of the 21st century, this course has a heavy
emphasis on the use of technology. You will be expected to check our Canvas page every day for a detailed description

of the homework, and you will be submitting your homework and essays on Canvas and receiving important margin
notes and feedback on your writing from your instructor on Canvas.
It is my expectation that you purchase and use Microsoft Word for all typed assignments in this class. If you cannot get
Word on your personal or home computer, you will need to schedule at least an additional hour per day and several
hours over the weekends to spend on campus using the computers in the library.
Having said that, more often than not, during class time, technological devices serve as distractions to you and the
people around you, so please silence and put away your phones at the start of class. If you have a tablet, I encourage
you to use it in class to pull up readings (and save paper), but please make sure you arent reading your email or
browsing social media sites in class (doing so will result in an absence). Texting, taking calls, and checking the time on
your cell phone is not permitted in class.

LATE WORK:
Homework and essays are due at the beginning of class. I do not accept late homework or Canvas quizzes. You will
receive a zero on the assignment if you do not have it with you or submitted on Canvas by the time class starts on the
day it is due.
The one-time-only exception to this no late work policy is when using your Stuff Happens coupon distributed on the
first day of class. This coupon allows you to turn in the assignment one class period late; however, you still must
complete the assignment in order to get the points. You may only use this coupon once per quarter, and it is only
applicable on homework assignments and Canvas quizzes (not on essay drafts).
In the case of a late 1st Draft, your essay will be graded as follows:
Within 24 hours = 5-point reduction (out of 40 points possible)
2 days late = 10-point reduction
3 or more days late = 15-point reduction

Note: Because of the extensive and time-consuming nature of the comments I make on each student essay I read, I
usually take 2 full weeks (8 class periods) to grade and return essays. Thank you in advance for your patience. If you
have questions on a draft while you wait for formal feedback, dont hesitate to come by my office during office hours (or
email me a time) and we can look through your essay together.

PLAGIARISM:
I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt and assume that you will do honest work and that you will work with me
on improving writing that is your own. But plagiarism is a serious matter, and incidents of it have been on the rise both
at Everett Community College and nationally. So I feel that it is important to explain what the consequences are.

The two basic kinds of plagiarism:

1. Malicious or intentional. This is the most serious kind of academic theft. It involves presenting someone elses
work as your own, directly copying from a source without using quotation marks or citations, rephrasing and
summarizing without citations, or re-submitting your own work from a different quarter or different course.
2. Plagia-phrasing or mosaic plagiarism. This is when you use quotation marks around large chunks of text from
a source that you wanted to quote or when you use a paraphrase that has too many of the same words as the
original text. Even if you cite these texts as a general sources at the end of the essay in a Works Cited, this is still
considered plagiarism because, in the act of trying to use a quote sandwich or re-word the passage into your
own words, you ended up relying too heavily on someone elses ideas and wording. This kind of plagiarism also
involves integrating source material (as a quote or paraphrase) without citing your source in the sentences /
paragraphs themselves (in other words you are missing the in-text citation). Even if several different sources
were copied or combined, it is still plagiarism.
The consequences of plagiarism:
If any essay or homework assignment involves plagiarism of the first kind (malicious or intentional) you will receive a 0
on that assignment and will not be allowed to re-do the assignment for a better grade.
If an essay involves plagiarism of the second kind (mosaic plagiarism with missing in-text citations) you will be required
to come to set up an appointment outside of class time to work on accurately summarizing and using in-text citations.
Then you will have 24 hours from this meeting to rewrite and re-submit the paper using correct forms of
documentation in order to receive creditI will regrade the essay with a 10% deduction for it being late.
Additionally, if any of your writing over the course of this quarter involves plagiarism of the first kind (malicious or
intentional), I am empowered by the Student Code of Conduct to assign a grade of F for the course, a penalty that may
be imposed in particularly serious cases and I will also make a complaint to the Vice President of Student Services, who is
responsible for enforcing the regulations in the Student Code of Conduct. So, in addition to the academic penalty of
receiving an F in the course, you may also be subject to other disciplinary penalties, which can include suspension or
expulsion. Although such severe penalties are rarely imposed for first-time offenders, the Vice President of Student
Services Office maintains disciplinary records as part of a students overall academic record.
A final word on plagiarism: I understand the occasional temptation to use copy-pastebut I am surprisingly good at
recognizing plagiarism. My basic message is Do Not Do It. When you need to take something from another persons
workan idea, a powerful statement, a set of facts, or an explanationcite your source.

GRADING:
The majority of the points for this course come from daily assignments and participation, so be sure to keep up with the
daily readings and homeworks. Simply turning in final papers will not result in a passing grade in this class. Your
percentage in the class is based out of 510 points (subject to change). You must turn in all 3 essays and receive at least
304 points to pass this class. In order to receive a 2.0 (the grade required for this course to transfer to most 4-year
colleges), you will have to receive 355 points.
The points are distributed as follows:
Unit 1
145 points (28%)
Unit 2
105 points (21%)
Unit 3
110 points (22%)
Final Portfolio 150 points (29%)

Grading Scale:
92.6-100
A
89.6-92.5
A86.6-89.5
B+
82.6-86.5
B
79.6-82.5
B-

76.6-79.5
72.6-76.5
69.6-72.5
66.6-69.5
59.6-66.5
59.5

C+
C
CD+
D
F

A Note on Transferring. While any grade above a .7 (60%) is considered passing at EvCC, many programs and colleges
require a 2.0 or higher in order to transfer credits earned in a class. In addition, students who fall below a 2.0 are

particularly likely to struggle in other classes that require academic writing. Speak to your advisor or transfer colleges
for details about this issue.

RESOURCES:
Writing Center. I hope that if you have questions about a draft or want some early feedback on your writing before the
due date or during revisions, that you will set up an appointment to meet with me (either during or outside of my office
hours). If you would like additional feedback on your writing, you may schedule a 25- or 50-min appointment with a
tutor in the Writing Center on main campus (Gray Wolf Hall room 320/322) by calling 425-388-9406. Their hours are:
M: 9am-5pm
T: 9am-5pm
W: 9am-2pm, 3-5pm (closed 2-3pm)
Th: 9am-5pm
Friday closed
Accessibility & Disability Services: Everett Community College abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
which stipulates that no student shall be denied the benefits of an education solely by reason of a handicap.
Disabilities covered by law include, but are not limited to, learning disabilities, psychological disabilities, health
impairments, hearing, and sight or mobility impairments. If you have a disability that may have some impact on your
work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please see me or the Center for Disability Services
(located in Parks 267 right across from the bookstore) so that such accommodations may be arranged. Call 425-3889272 or email cds@everettcc.edu for more info.