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A Writer’s Repertoire, Gwendolyn Gong & Sam Dragga
The Ready Reference Handbook, Jack Dodds
Course Overview and Objectives
In the broadest sense, Composition I involves you in the complex process of making meaning out of language. Developing your skills and confidence as a writer involves lots of practice with both reading and writing. You will discover the strategies available to you to help you express your ideas powerfully and effectively. You will learn to consider issues of audience, evidence, organization, and language choice as you gain practice with expressive, referential, and persuasive modes of writing. You will also learn methods of research and documentation.
The Kind of Work You Will Be Doing
PCM Composition I involves many of the activities of a traditional classroom-based course: lessons on writing, textbook readings, class discussions, and feedback on essays from peers and instructor. In this PCM class though, writing lessons and class discussions will take place online as a part of my Composition I web site, while peer feedback on essays will take place over email.
Each week, you will read from your textbook, read the assigned writing lessons on the web site, work on writing assignments, and complete any other assigned activities, such as quizzes, peer feedback, and participating in discussion forums. To receive a grade of "C" in the class, you must complete the following:
- 4 out of 5 quizzes on writing lessons
- 4 out of five discussion forums on class readings
- 5 essays covering expressive, referential, and persuasive modes
- 2 peer response forums
- the "C" test in any campus testing center
To receive a "B" in the class, you must complete all of the above plus the "B" paper. For an "A" in the class, you must complete all of the above (including the "B" paper) plus the "A" paper.
The first five formal writing assignments will allow you to gain practice in expressive, referential, and persuasive modes of writing. Essay number 4 will involve outside research. You will receive a grade of "ACCEPTED," "EDIT," "REVISE" or "REWRITE" on each of these essays. If you are told to "Edit," "Revise," or "Rewrite," the revised essay can be turned in any time up to and including the day that the next essay is due. You must receive a grade of "Accepted" on these 5 essays before you can move on in the course. In addition to these five assignments, you must take a "C" test in the any campus testing center to receive a "C" in the course and to move on to the final assignments. To receive a "B" grade for the course, you must complete an acceptable "B" paper. Once the "B" paper has been accepted, you can move on to write the "A" paper to earn an A in the course. See the "Composition I Course Syllabus" sheet provided by the college for further discussion of these writing assignments and the grading system. Use "Back" button to return to this page.
Quizzes, Discussion Forums, and Peer Response Forums constitute 12 elements beyond the reading and writing assignments. These elements are designed to increase retention of course materials, to encourage application of course concepts to reading and writing tasks, and to promote critical thinking that will enhance the writing you produce. To reward you for working diligently at these 12 elements, I have devised the following system:
Words may be deducted from either the "B" or the "A" paper or divided between the two.
WARNING! Your greatest enemy in this course is TIME. You must be prepared to work EVERY DAY on this course, even though there are no classroom meetings, or you will not succeed.
Orientation: Students must attend one of the scheduled orientation meetings. Students who do not attend an orientation or contact me during the first week of class will be withdrawn.
Policies of Various Sorts
Grading. I will follow the system established by the college and described above and on the "Composition I Course Syllabus" sheet. For essays one through five and the C Test, an acceptable essay is one that would receive a grade of "C" or above if I were giving a letter grade. For the "B" and "A" papers, an acceptable essay is one that would receive a "B" or above in a college course that gave letter grades.
Turning Work In. You have several options for submitting essays:
Be sure to keep one copy of the essay for yourself. Once I receive your essay, I will contact you via telephone or email to tell you if the essay has been ACCEPTED, or if it needs to be EDITED, REVISED, or RE-WRITTEN.
Scholastic Dishonesty. All work submitted in this course should be your own. In an academic community, it is important to respect intellectual property rights. Plagiarism involves obtaining another’s work by any means and submitting it as your own or incorporating it into your own work without due acknowledgment and documentation. Violation of the ACC rule against plagiarism could lead to a failing grade for the course.
Withdrawal Policy. If I ask you to withdraw or if you decide on your own to drop this class, you are responsible for initiating the withdrawal process. If you do not initiate a withdrawal from the course, I will have no choice but to assign you a final grade of "F." DATE is the last day to withdraw for this semester.
Incomplete Grade Policy. ACC policy is that incomplete (I) grades are rarely given and must involve a verifiable case of emergency occurring after the last day to withdraw. All work to complete the course must be completed before the end of the following semester for the granting of an appropriate grade. Failure to complete the work will result in a failing grade for the course.
The Learning Lab is a great place to get help with any writing assignment for any course on ACC. Tutors can help with any phase of the writing process, from generating ideas, to focusing a topic, to organizing thoughts, to proofreading (although they will not proofread for you). Located on every ACC campus, the Learning Lab is open to students on a walk-in basis; hours are posted outside the room. I strongly encourage you to meet with Learning Lab staff to discuss your assignments for this course, and I may occasionally require you to do so.
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