Start writing no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.

-Louis Lamour

Spring 2017 COM 090Paragraph and Theme Writing

Faculty Information Course Objectives
Name: Michelle Flory After completion of the course, you will be able to
Office hours: MW 11:55-12:55PM demonstrate writing skills through the following:
TR 2-3PM (B204) or by appt. A. recognize and write a clearly and concisely
Mailbox: B260 developed topic sentence;
Office phone: (708) 974-5447 B. order the presentation of ideas in a paragraph;
Email: florym@morainevalley.edu C. achieve coherence among sentences;
D. choose and narrow a topic for a paragraph;
Course Identification E. write a clear and concise thesis statement;
Credit hours: 3 F. write an introductory paragraph for an essay;
Contact hours: 3 G. write a concluding paragraph for an essay;
Section: 006 / 9-9:50AM / MWF / A233 H. write short essays.
Pre-requisite: Appropriate assessment score or
grade of C or better in COM 085 Attendance
Co-requisite: None Attendance is the single best predictor of
Course description: This course will focus on grades at the college level; therefore, you will be
understanding and writing basic paragraphs and expected to be in class. You are allowed five
short themes. Developing topic sentences, absences throughout the semester. There are no
organizing ideas, achieving coherence in para- excused or unexcused absences, so use them
graphs, and incorporating paragraphs into essays wisely. If you are unprepared for class, you will be
will be explored. asked to leave and recorded as absent. It is your
responsibility to make up missed work in the
Textbooks and Supplies event of an absence. Additionally, arriving late or
leaving early counts as one-third of an absence
Required: (3 occurrences = 1 absence). Excessive absences
The Writers World and tardies hurt your academic progress and
ISBN 978-1-323-15371-0 disrupt our class. Contact me about any situation
Notebook that threatens your performance in this class as
Flash drive or Google account soon as possible.
Stapler
Please exchange phone numbers and email
addresses with a classmate in case of an
unexpected illness or unavoidable absence:

Name:
Textbooks must be purchased by Wednesday, January 25. Phone:
Email:
 Page 2 M. Flory / COM 090

College Policies/Procedures
A. Please refer to the General Information Sheet
and Final Exam Schedule attached for important
contact information and dates.
B. To receive a full refund for this course, you
must officially drop on or before 1/26/17.
C. To receive a W on your transcript (instead of
a failing grade) you must officially withdraw from
this course on or before 4/18/17.
D. As a student, you are responsible for
adhering to the Code of Student Conduct as
stated in the college catalog.
E. If class is cancelled, you will be notified via
email and Canvas. There will also be an
MVCC cancellation sign posted outside the door.
F. Cheating and/or plagiarism is not tolerated in
Cell Phones this class or at the college. See next section.
Cell phones may be used for class surveys or
in-class Canvas activities; otherwise, no cell Cheating and Plagiarism
phones/texting/selfies, no laptops, no earbuds, The Developmental Education Department is committed
and no headphones are allowed in class as these to helping students understand the responsibilities of
items can be very distracting. Please be individual learners; therefore, our department requires
respectful to me and to your fellow classmates. students to adhere to the highest standards of academic
This policy also applies to computer labs, offices honesty. Developing the skills taught in this course is
such as the Library and the Testing Center, and essential to your overall success as a student.
other areas designated by MVCC. Failure to
follow this policy will result in a meeting with me
Definition of cheating:
and/or the dean. Using cheat sheets, copies of tests, textbooks, keys
Submitting papers that you have not written; giving
Email your written work to another student for submission
You must use your Moraine Valley email account Using unapproved devices in class or during an exam
as the official means of communication for this
course. Any email that does not come directly Definition of plagiarism:
from your MVCC email may be moved/deleted Copying and pasting from a website or copying
by my spam and junk mail filter. When emailing, published or unpublished material without citation
do not write as if you are texting; slang and Copying homework from another student and sub-
abbreviations are unprofessional and hinder mitting it as your own
your readers understanding. Be sure to include Purchasing a paper from a person or website
the following in your email: Using the same papers from a previous class
1. Subject
2. Course/section # (COM 090-009) If you cheat or plagiarize, the first instance will result in
3. First and last name a grade of zero on the assignment with no possibility of
4. Specific questions and details retake or revision. The second instance will result in a
For more information regarding email guidelines grade of F for the course. It is your own responsibility
and procedures for students, please visit: to avoid multiple violations during your academic career
morainevalley.edu/studentemail/guidelines.htm. as they can result in suspension/dismissal from MVCC.
 Page 3
Assignments and Grades
A. Writing assignments are due at the beginning
of class on the assigned day. Late papers are
not accepted, so please talk to me if you have
difficulty completing an assignment on time.
B. Quizzes cannot be made up.
C. All papers must be typed and follow MLA
formatting guidelines (8th edition).
D. Papers will be returned within one week.
E. All paragraphs and essays will be graded for
ideas, organization, topic sentences, develop-
ment, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
F. If you are not able to hand in a paper during
class, drop it off in B260 to have an office
assistant place it in my mailbox.
G. You must complete a final exam essay and
receive a grade of A, B, or C in COM 090 to
be eligible for COM 101.
Evaluation Criteria
Grades will be determined on the following:
Journal/Notes/Participation 50 points
Quizzes (9) 100 points
WP#1 Sentence Types 100 points
WP#2 Narration Paragraph 100 points
WP#3 Illustration Paragraph 100 points
WP#4 Comparison/Contrast Para. 100 points
WP#5 Comparison/Contrast Essay 100 points
WP#6 Classification Essay 100 points
WP#7 Argumentative Essay 100 points
Revision Portfolio 300 points
Final Exam Essay 200 points
Final Grade Scale:
A = 100% to 90%
B = 89% to 80%
C = 79% to 70%
NOTE: If your grade slips below a C at any time
during the course, you must meet with me one-on-one
before the next class period. In addition, you will be re-
ferred to the Counseling and Career Development Center
to ensure your success in this course. Students who re-
ceive a D or an F in this course must retake COM 090
before progressing to COM 101.
M. Flory / COM 090
Sustainability at MVCC
Moraine Valley Community College is committed
to sustainability. Sustainability can be defined as
working to meet the social, economic, and
ecological needs of today without compromising
those of future generations. Students, staff, and
faculty members can support this initiative by
recycling non-landfill items in blue bins on
campus. Visit morainevalley.edu/sustainability
to learn more.
Notice of Copyright
Materials in this courseunless otherwise
indicatedare protected by United States copy
right law [Title 17, U.S. Code]. Materials are
presented in an educational context for personal
use and study and should not be shared, distrib-
uted, or sold in printor digitallyoutside the
course without permission
As a student, your ability to post or link to copy-
Righted material is also governed by United
States copyright law. The law allows for
students to post or link to copyrighted materials
within the course environment when the
materials are pertinent to course work.
Instructoror other staff of the institution
reserve the right to delete or disable your post
or link if in their judgment it would involve viola-
Tentative Course Calendar
Items on the syllabus may be added, deleted, or modified throughout the semester to accommodate the needs of
our class. You will be notified of any changes.

DUE MONDAY DUE WEDNESDAY DUE FRIDAY

J18 J20
WEEK 1 Writing sample Introduction to course
Syllabus Quiz (Canvas) due
1/22 by 11:59PM
J23 J25 J27
WEEK 2 Chap. 16 Simple Sentences Chap. 17 Compound Sentences Chap. 18 Complex Sentences

J30 F1 F3
WEEK 3 Quiz on sentence variety Chap. 20 Sentence Fragments Quiz on prepositions
Sentence Practice Chap. 21 Run-ons Chap. 26 S-V Agreement
Chap. 29 Pronouns

F6 F8 F10
WEEK 4 WP#1 due at the end of class Chap. 1 Exploring Quiz on narration
Chap. 2 Developing Chap. 5 Narration

F13 F15 F17

WEEK 5 Outline workshop Paragraph workshop WP#2 due
Computer lab Chap. 3 Revising & Editing

F20 F22 F24

WEEK 6 Presidents Day Holiday Quiz on illustration Outline workshop
NO CLASS Chap. 4 Illustration Computer lab

F27 M1 M3
WEEK 7 Paragraph workshop WP#3 due Quiz on comparison/contrast
Chap. 34 Commas Chap. 10 comparison/contrast

M6 M8 M10
WEEK 8 Outline workshop Paragraph workshop WP#4 due
Computer lab Chap. 22 Faulty Parallelism

M13 M15 M17

SPRING BREAK WEEK

Tentative Course Calendar (contd)
Items on the syllabus may be added, deleted, or modified throughout the semester to accommodate the needs of
our class. You will be notified of any changes.

DUE MONDAY DUE WEDNESDAY DUE FRIDAY

M20 M22 M24
WEEK 9 Quiz on essay components Chap. 13 Writing the Essay Chap. 14 Comparison/Contrast
Chap. 13 Writing the Essay (contd) Pattern

M27 M29 M31

WEEK 10 Chap. 13 Writing the Essay Essay outline workshop Essay workshop
(contd) Computer lab

A3 A5 A7
WEEK 11 WP#5 due Quiz on classification Chap. 14 Classification Pattern
Chap. 19 Sentence Variety Chap. 9 Classification

A10 A12 A14

WEEK 12 Essay workshop Computer lab Easter Holiday
Computer lab WP#6 due NO CLASS

A17 A19 A21

WEEK 13 Quiz on argumentation Chap. 14 Argumentation Pattern Essay outline workshop
Chap. 12 Argumentation Computer lab

A24 A26 A28

WEEK 14 Essay workshop Essay workshop WP#7 due
Chap. 13 Exact Language

M1 M3 M5
WEEK 15 Review Chap. 3 Revising/Editing Computer lab Paragraph revision workshop
Computer lab

M8 M10 M12
WEEK 16 Computer lab Essay revision workshop Revision Portfolio due
Computer lab Practice final exam

M15 M17 M19

WEEK 17
FINAL EXAM WEEK
My final exam is:

COM 090-006 Monday, May 15 8-9:50AM

 Page 6
Educator ESP
Juggling a college course load with family and job
responsibilities can be extremely challenging!
If at any time you feel overwhelmed, please
come see me during office hours. I will connect
you with stellar resources on campus to help
you stay on track and be successful in COM 090.
Some of these student resources include:
Counseling and Career Development Center
S202
Food bank; emergency textbook fund;
workshops to improve time management, test
anxiety, and study skills; career exploration;
assistance with personal issues
#fillintheblank
M. Flory / COM 090
Library
Building L, 2nd Floor
Textbooks on reserve; check out laptops or
MacBooks; color scanners and printers; group
study rooms; quiet study areas
Speaking and Writing Center
A258
Trained faculty and student tutors who will help
generate ideas, create a first draft, develop
effective editing skills, and avoid plagiarism
Center for Disability Services
S114
Services for students who have documented
disabilities; must be registered with CDS office
@morainevalley
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