English essays
EH 1401 English Composition I Credit: 4 Semester Hours Dates: Spring 2017, January 9 th until May 28th Course Description: A freshman-level English composition course covering basic skills for academic and business writing. The course teaches composition and rhetoric from a “process” point of view and presents deliberate strategies for prewriting and revision. Emphasis is placed on audience awareness and purpose for writing. (General Education/ Communication). Instructor Leta Stephens [email protected] Local 334.387.7822; Toll Free 800.351.4040 Ext. 7822 Fax 334.387.3878 (include instructor’s name: Leta Stephens) Cell 334-830-1690 Internet based instructions, assignments & tests EH 1401 English Composition I Course Syllabus - Section I Page 2 of 12 Course Objectives and Assessment of Learning Outcomes General Education Competency Students will implement accepted conventions of research and written prose to accomplish a specific purpose through the use of industry standard software. (Written Communication) Course Objective Upon completion of this General Education Course, EH 1401- English Composition I, the student will be able to craft sophisticated and original pieces of expository writing in a variety of composition modes according to accepted conventions of standard written English to accomplish a specific task. (QEP) Upon completion of this course, the students will be able to: SLO 1: Write an organized 5-part essay free of major writing errors • Assessment Method: Problem-Solution Essay, Cause and Effect Essay SLO 2: Analyze, summarize and interpret various types of writing; • Assessment Method- Journal Entries, Discussion Posts, Descriptive Essay, Illustrative Essay, Problem- Solution Essay, and Cause and Effect Essay SLO 3: Think analytically and critically and interweave learning from various disciplines; • Assessment Method- Journal Entries, Discussion Posts, Problem- Solution Essay SLO 4: Show that viewpoints are backed by logical, careful thought. • Assessment Method- Problem- Solution Essay, Illustrative Essay Required Course Textbooks Disclaimer - Textbooks, recommended aids, bibliography entries, and assigned articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the instructor, the faculty, or the administration of Amridge. All human authors are fallible. Materials are selected for their instructional value, including the presentation of diverse viewpoints with which students should be familiar. The instructor will help students learn to evaluate these materials so that they can utilize their positive contributions and avoid their errors. Book Title and Authors ISBN Vendors and Cost How to Write Anything with Readings 3e & LaunchPad for How to Write Anything 3e. Authors: Ruszkiewicz, John J; Dolmage, Jay T. Publishing Date: 5/1/2015 ISBN 9781319024215 eCampus cost, new only: $84.05 Page 3 of 12 Course Assignments & Requirements Exams & Summary Description Getting Started: Amridge University’s primary concern for each student is a successful learning experience each semester. This can be achieved only through good communication. Therefore, the student should expect to receive an initial email from the course instructor at the beginning of the semester. DO NOT RESPOND TO THAT EMAIL. After the initial email is sent, AN ANNOUNCEMENT will be placed at the top of the Announcements page letting each student know the initial email has been sent and asking if you received the initial email. If you do not receive that email, you will need to send an email to the instructor informing him or her of the situation. We will then attempt to identify the problem and offer a solution. Number of Quizzes or Assignments Points per Quiz or Assignment Total Descriptive Essay 3 Drafts 10/25/75 110 Illustrative Essay 2 Drafts 25/75 100 Problem-Solution Essay 2 Drafts 100/150 250 Cause and Effect Essay 2 Drafts 25/75 100 Supplemental Instruction (Explore Lab- Atomic Learning) 2 activities 60 120 Course Reflection Journal 6 entries 20 120 Discussion Board 5 40 200 Library Research Log 1 200 200 TOTAL COURSE EXAMS AND ASSIGNMENT POINTS 1,200 Page 4 of 12 Assignments by Week (An academic week is Monday-Sunday except the last week of the semester which ends at 5:00pm Central Time on Friday.) The Course is divided into Learning Modules for each week that contain all materials related to upcoming Assignments Week # and Topics Tasks and Assignments Week One ( Module 1 – Instructional Materials in Course) January 9 th – January 15 th Review Learning Module One – in course under Instructional Materials Review Chapters 1-4 (Textbook) Writing Process Review 1. How to Write a Formal Academic Essay, 2. How to Format Essay 3. Formal Essay Writing Do’s and Don’t’s 4. The Introductory Paragraph 5. The Successful Body Paragraph 6. The Conclusion At the beginning of each week, please be sure and check the Learning Module for the week ( found under Instructional Materials) Review Learning Module Week 1:
Watch all videos and read all outlines and handouts placed in this Module. Respond to Discussion One via the Discussion Board or the link to the Discussion Board found in Module 1 under Instructional Materials Week Two: (Learning Module Two – Instructional Materials of Course ) January 16 th- January 22nd Topics are as follows: 1. Formal Academic Writing Do’s and Don’t’s continued 2. Editing 3. Strong Verbs 4. Sentence Fluency • Supplemental Instruction- EXPLORE Lab – Essay Structure Tasks and Assignments Check Email for Updates and Announcements in Course each week. Familiarize yourself with course online. Look at the Learning Modules found under Instructional Materials. Watch all writing help videos in Learning Module Review Descriptive Essay Guidelines in Learning Module Register for Launchpad that accompanies book. Use Essay Outline given in Course Resources, and create your own Outline and draft for Essay 1: The Evaluation Essay- The Outline will be your guide for help, and you will upload the outline for a small grade via the Upload Folder for all Assignments in the Instructional Materials found at the top of the page. Page 5 of 12 o Complete EXPLORE Lab Activities on Essay Structure by Sunday, January 22 nd o Outline: Descriptive Essay due by Sunday, January 22 nd Week Three and Four: (Learning Module Three and Four) – January 23 rd- February 5 th • Look over the list of Supplemental Instructional Activities in the EXPLORE Lab Folder found in Instructional Materials Section of Course. 1. Topics are as follows: Chicago and APA Style Documentation 2. How to Incorporate Sources 3. Begin thinking about Illustrative Essay 4. How to Use SmartThinking Tasks and Assignments Watch the videos in the Learning Module Week 3 and 4 : Draft and compose Descriptive Essay Reminder: Post to all Discussions by the assigned dates designated in class.
( Links will be found via the Discussion Board Tool on left hand side of course and within the Learning Module for the Week for your convenience. Do not Forget to Work on Library Research Log during Semester (must log at least eight Entries) Submit Draft Essay One:
(Descriptive) by January 29 th Sunday, January 29 th to Upload Folder in Instructional Materials and upload a copy to Smartthinking if needed for extra help. Week Five and Six: (Learning Module Five and Six -in Course) February 6 th until February 19 th • Review handouts and videos on composing better essays: sentence structure, strong, active voice verbs, improving vocabulary, and formatting properly. • Revise Descriptive Essay • Work on Illustrative Draft- Submit to SmartThinking if extra help is needed. • Work on Library Research Log • Work on Journal Entries 1-3 found via the Journal Tool in the Course. • Launchpad Essay Review - Tasks and Assignments o Watch the following videos in your module for review: Final copy Essay One: (Descriptive) due by Sunday, February 12 th Illustrative Draft due by Sunday, February 19 th Page 6 of 12 Week Seven and Eight: (Learning Module Seven and Eight) February 20 th- March 5 th - • Select sources for the Problem-Solution • Complete Annotated Bibliography for Problem- Solution ( See instructions and examples under Learning Module for this week). • Begin drafting Problem-Solution Paper and Reviewing Requirements • Supplemental EXPLORE Lab Activity on Finding Good Sources- activity found under Instructional Materials- Supplemental Instruction and Activities Folder Tasks and Assignments • Watch the Learning Module Videos Annotated Bibliography Problem- Solution due by Sunday, February 26 th Illustrative Final Copy due by Sunday, March 5 th EXPLORE Lab Activity on research and finding good sources - Sunday, March 5 th Week Nine and Ten (Learning Module Nine and Ten) March 6 th – March 19 th 1. Work on Library Research Log 2. Work on Journal 4-6 3. Continue to work on Problem- Solution Essay Tasks and Assignments • Problem Solution Draft due Sunday, March 12 th Complete Journal 4-6 found via the Journal Link in the course tools as well.
March 19 th Week Eleven and Twelve Learning Module 11 and 12 March 27 th- April 9 th • Cause and Effect • Revision of Sources Tasks and Assignments Watch the following Videos in the Learning Module: o Draft due for Cause and Effect Essay Sunday, April 2 nd Page 7 of 12 Week Thirteen and Fourteen Learning Module Thirteen and Fourteen (April 10 th- April 23 rd) Complete Library Research Log Complete Final Copies of Cause Effect and Problem- Solution Tasks and Assignments Final for Cause and Effect due by Sunday, April 23 rd Final Copy for Problem- Solution due by Sunday, April 23 rd Work on Research Paper Week Fifteen: April 24 th April 28 th Final Reflective Discussion Post Tasks and Assignments Course Wrap Up Additional Comments or Instructions The student MUST: Complete all assignments by the due date listed in the course pages via method requested and by the assigned due date! My Comments on Cheating: A specific form of cheating that occurs often in English classes is plagiarism. For your information, “Plagiarism occurs when an individual borrows words, ideas, original material, or data from another person, group, or organization without acknowledging the original source of the material” (page numbers change each year). This includes improper or missing documentation. Whether the source is the internet, a magazine, a book, or your friend, it’s wrong and can result in you receiving an F for the assignment. I will not accept the excuse of “I didn’t know better.” Please ask if you have any questions about plagiarism and/or documentation. SafeAssign: Please note that all student essays will be submitted to SafeAssign. A SafeAssign originality report provides detailed information about the matches found between a student's submitted paper and existing sources. Both instructors and students can use the report to review assignment submissions for plagiarism potential and create opportunities to identify how to properly attribute sources rather than paraphrase. In this course, the Originality Report can impact the score a student receives on his or her essay in the event that the SafeAssign Originality Report Indicates an unsatisfactory percentage in relation to plagiarism. More about this will be posted and discussed throughout the course; however, when drafting papers, keep in mind that all your work must be your original creation, and any outside sources must be properly documented as such. How to Interpret SafeAssign Originality Report Scores Sentence matching scores represent the percentage probability that two phrases have the same meaning. This number reflects the reciprocal to the probability that these two phrases are similar by chance. For example, a score of 90 percent means that there is a 90 percent probability that these two phrases are the same. There is a 10 percent probability that they are similar by chance and not because the submitted paper includes content from the existing source—whether appropriately attributed or not. The overall SafeAssign score indicates the probability that the submitted paper contains matches to existing sources. This score is a warning indicator only. Review papers to see if the matches are properly attributed. Page 8 of 12 • Scores below 15 percent: These papers typically include some quotes and few common phrases or blocks of text that match other documents. Typically, these papers do not require further analysis as there is no evidence of plagiarism. Scores between 15 percent and 40 percent: These papers include extensive quoted or paraphrased material, or they include plagiarism. Review these papers to determine if the matching text is properly referenced. • Scores over 40 percent: A very high probability exists that text in these papers was copied from other sources. These papers include quoted or paraphrased text in excess, and need to be reviewed for plagiarism. Helpful Course Tips Try the resource: Grammarly.com The application can be accessed through the following hyperlink: control + click to access the link. https://www.grammarly.com/ While any resource that one might use does not replace sound editing and critical thinking, you all might want to try this free resource available on line. How does Grammarly work? Grammarly is an online grammar and spelling checker that improves communication by helping users find and correct writing mistakes. It’s easy to use: • Copy and paste any English text into Grammarly’s online text editor or install Grammarly’s free browser extension for Chrome and Safari. • Grammarly’s algorithms flag potential issues in the text and suggest context-specific corrections for grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. Grammarly explains the reasoning behind each correction, so you can make an informed decision about whether, and how, to correct an issue. What products does Grammarly offer for free? In addition to the online text editor, Grammarly also offers a free browser extension for Chrome and Safari, which corrects over 150 types of errors. Grammarly for Chrome and Grammarly for Safari bring Grammarly’s powerful algorithms straight to you wherever you are writing online, including Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Tumblr. You can correct mistakes in your text with a single click. • Grammarly ® Answers, an online community for writers to ask and answer questions on English writing. • Grammarly ® Handbook, an online guide explaining English grammar and style. • Grammarly ® Words, an online dictionary-thesaurus hybrid. • The Grammarly Facebook community and Twitter account, both of which provide fans with fun grammar tips and discussions. • The The Grammarly Blog, offers daily tips, fun commentary, and valuable insights from the wonderful world of writing and grammar. I am currently using it and determining if it is a good resource, but thus far, it seems helpful. Remember, this software might not catch but a few of your errors, but the resource might prove useful. Email me with any feedback if you use the application. You can copy and Page 9 of 12 paste assignments into the document checker before you upload the assignments to your courses. Explanation of Essays/Papers - Assessment Overview All Essays/papers will be written in response to a prompt and should reflect the instructions of each prompt. Essays/papers should begin with an introductory paragraph with a clearly stated thesis sentence, followed by multiple body paragraphs that support and develop the main idea provided by the thesis, and end with a concluding paragraph that re-states the thesis and/or provides some summarizing comments. Essays/papers should be written in Standard American English and use diction and syntax that is clear and precise. Ideas should be logical and paragraphs effectively organized. Any outside research incorporated into an essay or paper must be cited and documented in assigned citation and documentation. Explanation of Specific Essays/ Papers Essay One: Description Essay (Profile Essay) Total – 110 points *Outline – 10 points *Draft – 25 points *Final Copy – 75 points Descriptive Essay or Profile Guidelines After reading the two articles by famous American authors on Description, you are to write a five paragraph draft in the Descriptive Format. Vividly describe in a formal academic essay your chosen topic. Do not write this like a narrative or a story. Take, for example, your favorite type of music: If you decide to describe this, do not make it about you…the essay is about the music….leave out the personal pronouns like I, me, my, you, your, us, our, we. Give the reader formal, academic information (not from sources…but from your general knowledge) about this type of music. Below you will see some different sentences take from various paragraphs of a descriptive essay about rap. Rap music seems cultural phenomenon inspiring clothing trends, expressions, and the very way in which many people choose to act in society as they want to mimic the rap artists they admire in the videos they see. This music, born in the streets, stems from early roots where young people would write lyrics on paper and literally hold “battles” that were wars of words set to a rhythmic beat. This flavorful type of music has roots in the urban streets and gained popularity in the late seventies and early eighties. The media seems fascinated with the influence Rap Music Rap music has in the present culture and society today. Over time rap music has developed a lot of controversy in many ways, especially amongst parental units and their teenagers. One controversy is woman and how they are degraded in the lyrics. Another reason that Rap music causes problems today is by the way that they portray drugs, alcohol and money to be something they are not. In Rap music violence is talked about frequently to be a normal part of life. The media has not dampened its popularity as millions of itunes downloads continue and millions of tours and albums continue to great success. Page 10 of 12 Descriptive Essay or Profile Assignment Describe or Profile in a 2-4 page, (about 500 words) typed essay with 12 font, Times New Roman style, and double spaced, on one of the following topics. Choose one of the following prompts. • Describe a day in the life of a person in society today with all the technology that captures our every facet of attention. • Describe how smart phones, ipads, cameras, computers, online classes?, and every part of life today is affected by technology…take one day and focus on a couple of main areas to describe related to technology. • Pick any type of music and describe or profile the impact of it on society, the dress, the artists, the language…etc. Follow the template format attached in the module. Essay 2: Illustration Essay Guidelines / Assignment Total- 100 points *Draft- 25 points *Final- 75 points Your essay topic is as follows: Compose a 500- word Illustrative Essay in which you will Illustrate the complicated relationship between Parents and Their Offspring. Whether we are examining the parental relationship in so far as values with young child, a teen, or an adult child, we must examine how this relationship influence a person's morals, viewpoints, and values as they become an adult. You must give at least one example from the story about parental/child value influence (either same or different), and you must give at least one example from the news, the media, example shown in modern society. You may use your own experience with a parent or guardian for the other example. Your essay should be about 2-4 pages in length, beginning with an introductory paragraph with a clearly stated thesis sentence, followed by multiple body paragraphs that support and develop the main idea provided by the thesis, and ending with a concluding paragraph that re-states the thesis and/or provides some summarizing comments. Essay Three: Problem-Solution Essay Guidelines/ Assignment 250 points Total *Blog- 10 points *Annotated Bibliography – 15 points *Draft – 75 points *Final Copy- 150 points Not only will you explore some of the issues facing society today, but you will also use this paper as a tool in which you use critical thinking by profiling the issue as well as coming up with some practical solutions. (See Blackboard for topics:3-4 pages) I will provide three issues for you to read about (I will provide articles in an effort to further model credible, non-biased sources) and the topics for the papers that will be included in the module. Page 11 of 12 Essay 4: Cause and Effect Essay Guidelines and Assignment Total- 100 points *Draft – 25 points *Final – 75 points How have you been influenced by some of the lessons learned in life? Write a 500 word essay that lists the causes or effects of these lessons. You must use one general example of cause and effect from your Library Log; and general example from the media//news/ (like teens being unaware of consequences of and subsequent lack of privacy) Your essay should be 2-4 pages in length, beginning with an introductory paragraph with a clearly stated thesis sentence, followed by multiple body paragraphs that support and develop the main idea provided by the thesis, and ending with a concluding paragraph that re-states the thesis and/or provides some summarizing comments. Reflective Journal Assignment Overview For this assignment you will be expected to write at least two pages a week in response to Journal Questions Posted in the Journal Tool of your Course. You may reflect in any way you wish. You may also include a self- reflection on the errors in your writing and the growth that you are seeing in this class. In addition to reflecting upon the prompts, you may also opt to write diary entries that discuss your experiences with writing and with this class, your hopes and fears, glories and frustrations. (I recommend you begin this assignment week 1, but submit all your entries by Week 14 of the course via the Journal Tool. Class Discussion Assignment Overview Class discussions are interactive with peers and cannot be made up once the due date for their completion has passed. Students should provide a “main post” in response to the discussion prompt and reply to a couple of peers. A rubric will be emailed to you distinguishing how the Discussion Posts will be graded. Library Research Log Assignment Overview The library research log is available through the Amridge University homepage. Students should have at least five entries by the end of week 14. The entry should document and summarize in paragraph form a source the student has consulted related to the content of the course. Students should also post once at the Library Research Log discussion board forum in the course pages so that students can share with each other their research, but replies to peers are not required at the Library Research Log Discussion Forum. Requests for extensions on non-discussion assignments must be made in advance of a due date and are at the professor’s discretion to grant. Work submitted late without a granted extension will be docked 10% and may receive no other feedback. Toward the end of the term, the professor may post a final deadline for late work to be submitted, and material submitted beyond that date will remain a zero. Page 12 of 12 The student is responsible for the following: 1. Complete all assigned readings from the text and Instructional Materials. 2. Participate in all Class Discussions as instructed. 3. Turn in all written assignments by the due date. 4. Post at the Library Research log forum and Class Discussion by or before Week 14. Quality Enhancement Program I WILL EXPLORE! Students should begin to use the material contained in the Explore Lab to help with their research and writing skills. You can access the Explore Lab within Blackboard by selecting the Courses tab and navigating to the Explore Lab course that will be available to you during your time as a student. The goal of the QEP is to enhance the written communication and research skills of Amridge University students through the combined and strategic efforts of the EXPLORE Lab services, Writing Intensive courses, and a strong faculty professional development program.
Mission and Purpose of Amridge University Amridge University is an independent, coeducational institution dedicated to the spirit of its Christian ideals and heritage. With a commitment to academic excellence, distance education, and spiritual vitality, Amridge University’s mission is to prepare men and women for a lifetime of learning, leadership, and service to their professions, society, church, and family, through teaching, learning experiences and support services.
