English+Composition+I+Spring+'11

The mission of Arlington Baptist College is to prepare men and women for Christian life and ministries, both lay and professional, through studies in Bible, general education, church vocations, and practical service, integrating faith and learning in a context of a Christian world view.
 * ABC** ** Mission Statement **

This course is devoted to writing expository prose through a process approach. Considerable attention is given to techniques of invention, the importance of multiple drafts, and continual revision. Students are given writing assignments to gain practical experience in applying these techniques. Considerable time is also spent on polishing grammar skills.
 * Course Description**

// As the professor of English Composition I, I will: // A. Introduce students to the composition process of planning, drafting, revising, and editing. B. Introduce and provide practice using planning techniques. C. Provide practice writing topic and thesis sentences. D. Provide practice writing paragraphs and essays of different types. E. Suggest accurate revising and editing of compositions. F. Suggest polishing correct usage of grammatical rules. G. Suggest polishing correct usage of mechanical rules.
 * Course Goals**

// As a responsible student of English Composition I, you will: // A. Become familiar with using the composition process of planning, drafting, revising, and editing. B. Become familiar with planning techniques and explore ways to use resulting ideas in written composition. C. Appreciate the importance of writing topic and thesis sentences. D. Become familiar with writing and following a written outline. E. Become familiar with composing essays and paragraphs of various types. F. Identify methods of sentence variety and appreciate their importance in written assignments. G. Understand the importance of revising and editing written compositions. H. Become familiar with methods of correcting grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. I. Appreciate the importance of grammar and mechanical terms and rules. J. Become familiar with official school essay/research paper format on all essays.
 * Instructional Goals**

// As a student of English Composition I, you will more specifically: // A. Compose essays using the writing process of planning, drafting, revising, and editing. B. Use planning techniques and use resulting ideas in written composition. C. Write topic and thesis sentences. D. Write and follow a written outline. E. Revise and edit compositions. F. Incorporate effective methods of polishing drafts using grammatical and mechanical rules.
 * Instructional Objectives**

Page, Jack and Leslie Taggart. //Checkpoints. 5////th// //edition.//
 * Recommended Textbook**

Work is due at the beginning of class. No late work will be accepted.
 * Classwork Policies**

Students are expected to be ready and on-time for every class. Two tardies equal one absence. Students who exceed **three** absences will not receive credit for the class. Each absence after **one** will deduct three percentage points from your final grade.
 * Attendance Policies**

Students are expected to actively participate in class discussions and activities. Students should come to class with all necessary supplies and completed assignments. Students will collaborate outside of class each week via the Internet. Students must keep a three-ring binder organized according to the format described on the following page.
 * Course Requirements**

**Instruments** || **Number of Evaluations** || **Points per Evaluation** || **Total Points Possible** || Final course grades will be calculated according to the chart below. A = 1388-1500 points B = 1268-1387 points C = 1133-1267 points D = 1043-1132 points F = 0-1042 points
 * Evaluation Criteria**
 * **Evaluation**
 * Class Participation || 1 || 40 || 40 ||
 * Quizzes || 14 || 20 || 280 ||
 * Web Postings || 15 || 20 || 300 ||
 * Weekly Skill-builder Assignments || 14 || 20 || 280 ||
 * Weekly Writing Assignments || 14 || 25 || 350 ||
 * Notebook || 1 || 50 || 50 ||
 * Final Essay || 1 || 100 || 100 ||
 * Final Exam || 1 || 100 || 100 ||
 * **//Total//** ||  ||   || **1500** ||
 * Grade Point System**

Students are required each week to visit the online class wiki at the address listed below. Students must make at least one post per week in response to the prompt. To receive credit, the post must be submitted by Saturday of each week and include a minimum of 75 words. In addition, the post must follow all guidelines specified in the weekly prompts and be free of any grammatical errors. The wiki address is: __http://abclibrary.wikispaces.com/Turner%2C+C+Home__
 * Online Collaboration (Web Postings)**

Students will submit a 3-ring notebook on the last day of class. The notebook must be divided into the following sections: syllabus, notes/resources, grammar, compositions, and quizzes. All work from the course should be included in an appropriate section of the notebook in order by date. Points will be deducted from the notebook grade if any items are misplaced.
 * Notebook Requirements**

//"I use the same approach on all works, whether poetry or prose: I tacitly assume that the first fifty ways I try it are going to be wrong." – James Dickey, Poet Laureate//

**Course Schedule** & Organization || Sentence Patterns 1 & 2 || Skill-builder 1 Writing #1 || & Transitioning || Sentence Patterns 3 & 4 || Skill-builder 2 Writing #2 || 7 || The Narrative Paragraph || Sentence Patterns 5 & 6 || Skill-builder 3 Writing #3 || 14 || The Definition Paragraph || Subject-Verb Agreement || Skill-builder 4 Writing #4 || 21 || The Example Paragraph || Pronoun Functions || Skill-builder 5 Writing #5 || 28 || The Process Paragraph || Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement || Skill-builder 6 Writing #6 || 7 || The Cause and Effect Paragraph || Sentence Errors: Run-ons, Fragments, & Comma Splices || Skill-builder 7 Writing #7 || 21 || Writing Process: Over-view / Brainstorming || Clauses || Skill-builder 8 Writing #8 || 28 || Writing Process: Outlining || Simple & Compound Sentences || Skill-builder 9 Writing #9 || 4 || Writing Process: Drafting || Complex Sentences Compound/Complex Sent. || Skill-builder 10 Writing #10 || 11 || Writing Process: Revising || Comma Rules || Skill-builder 11 Writing #11 || 18 || Writing Process: Editing || Comma Rules Review Apostrophe Rules || Skill-builder 12 Writing #12 || 25 || Compare/Contrast Essay || Semicolons, Colons, & Dashes || Skill-builder 13 Writing #13 || 2 || Final Essay Revisions || Course Review || Skill-builder 14 Writing #14 || 9 || Last-Minute Questions || Last-Minute Questions || Notebook Final Essay Final Exam ||
 * **Date** || **Writing Topic** || **Grammar/Mechanics Topic** || **Assignments Due** ||
 * January //17// || Paragraph Unity & Topic Sentences || Basic Sentence Elements & Difficulties Locating S-V || Contact Inform. Sheet ||
 * January //24// || Paragraph Details
 * January //31// || Paragraph Coherence
 * February
 * February
 * February
 * February
 * March
 * March
 * March
 * April
 * April
 * April
 * April
 * May
 * May

Bibliography Booth, Wayne, et al. //The Craft of Research//, 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. Fulwiler, Toby. //The College Writer’s Reference.// 3rd. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2002. Page, Jack, and Leslie Taggart. //Checkpoints//. 5th. New York: Pearson Longman, 2004. Rasmussen, Kirk. //A Writer’s Guide to Research and Documentation.// 5th. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2003. Reid, Stephen. //The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers//. 9th. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011. Rosen, Leonard. //The Academic Writer’s Handbook.// 2nd. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Sims, Marcie. //The Write Stuff//: //Thinking Through Essays//. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009. [|Turabian, Kate L.] //A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations//. 7th. Chicago: [|University of Chicago Press], 2007.