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English 1A
university-parallel
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Instructor: |
Jodi Naas
(two As, please; rhymes with "cross," not "grass") |
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Mailbox (For Campus Mail Only--not open to students): |
Batmale 126 |
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"Office": |
Batmale 564
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Email:
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jnaas@ccsf.edu |
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Office Hours: |
MWF 2:10-3:30, or by
appointment |
If you have not received the email about the orientation exercises, which are due at noon on Sunday, August 19, email me immediately. If you don't complete the mandatory assignments by that time, you will be dropped from the course. These assignments will be available after noon on Thursday, August 16.
This course has two mandatory in-person meetings:
Midterm: Thursday, October 11, 2012, 6-8 PM. Location: TBA, but it will be on the Ocean Campus.
Final Exam: Thursday, December 13, 2012, 6-8 PM. Location: TBA, but it will be on the Ocean Campus.
If you cannot attend both of these in-person meetings, do not enroll in English 1A online.
If you're able to attend the mandatory in-person meetings, please read the information below very carefully--you may as well get used to getting all the information you need via web sites now; it's a major requirement of the class.
As you already know, there is only one section of 1A online, and it and its waitlist fill quickly. If you have any chance of getting a realtime class, do this. It's not a good bet to "wait" to try to enroll online. Moreover, English 1A online's attrition rate (dropout rate) is roughly equivalent with that of online classes nationwide--50% or more. It takes an enormous amout of time, self discipline, skill, and persistence to succeed in an online class. If you're taking an English class online to "save time," don't. That's the best advice I can give you. Otherwise good students crash and burn more often when they lose the advantage of "realtime" class structure--you may not even realize how much it helps you, but use this as an example--how many of you have exercise videos in your possession that you've never used? Think about how much more likely you are to go to a scheduled yoga class than you are to do yoga on your own with a videotape. If you can do this, online learning might work for you! Otherwise, be advised.
Common and reasonable requests/questions I get each semester (and their absolute answers):
1. "How do I Get On the Waiting List?" or "Can You put me on the Waiting List?" The waiting lists are computer-generated, so I can't honor any requests to "put you on the waitlist" or enroll you in the class myself because I do not have control over the waitlist, the class enrollment, or who is on the waitlist. It's up to Admissions and Registration.
If you have a good Registration Date, use it...don't hope to add in person after registration is over. This is hugely risky and it's becoming increasingly ineffective in English, even though we struggle to offer as many courses as we have faculty to teach and serve every student.
2. "I'm not on the Waiting List. May I still add?" If you are not officially registered for the course or OFFICIALLY on the wait list, there is only a tiny, remote chance that you will be able to add this course, though you may wait until Sunday, August 19 at noon give it a try. I try to add as many people as I can. The cap for the class is 31.
If any students from the registered class list don't complete the orientation assignments, I will drop them and add students from the wait list. If I still have room to add after this, I ONLY add students who emailed me in advance of Thursday, August 16 at noon when I opened the class.
3. "What do I need to add?"
If you should be offered a spot and you weren't on the waiting list, you MUST show me one of the following before I will add you:
1. WRITTEN/PRINTED proof that you received a grade of "C" or better in ENG 96 at City College of San Francisco. Bring a printed grade report showing your grade in 96. It doesn't have to be official; you can print it/save itoff your WebSTARS account.
OR
2. Official placement in ENG 1A via the English Placement Test
OR
3. A signed waiver from a CCSF counselor or the English Department Eligibility Coordinator, Prof. John Paolo Sapienza (office: Batmale 514). If you have SAT scores or transcripts, you must show them to Prof. Sapienza. I can't look at them for you.
I will not be able to consider ANYONE, for ANY reason, who does not attend one of the mandatory orientations or who cannot prove eligibility in the second week of classes. I will fill the course and close adds by Sunday, August 19 at noon.
4. "I can't attend the midterm/final. What do I do?"
If you can't attend the in-person meetings , I cannot help you. I will have plenty of folks to choose from and the meetings are mandatory--"required." I do what I can, but I have my limits, and we start work right away, so I will add those who are prepared and committed.
Information about course requirements and required/optional texts are listed on both this course syllabus and on the FAQ:
http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jnaas/eng1a/faqnew.htm
Best of luck to you all. If you get the opportunity to add a "realtime" 1A class, I recommend that you take it.
Have a GREAT semester and best of luck in all that you do!
J. Naas
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COURSE |
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Required Texts, Fall 2012:
(Use the ISBN to order to ENSURE you get the right edition or buy the book at the bookstore so you know it's the correct edition.)
Required Text #1: Everyone must have ONE of the texts listed below:
Harris, Muriel. Prentice-Hall Reference Guide to
Grammar and Usage, 6th/7th editions.
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Course Requirements,
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Section Two: Grading Policies and Standards How Final Grades are calculated:
If you are on a borderline between grades, an overall upward trend in your essay grades will help you. Poor/no participation in the Discussion Forums WILL bring down your grade considerably. Essay Grades: Essays are graded on a point system; divide the number of points you received on the assignment by the total number of points possible for the assignment. You'll end up with a number that corresponds with a percentage and your letter grade: A: 90-100% Unsubmitted or late homework or Discussion Forum postings will earn a NC (No Credit) grade (0.0 grade points). Plagiarized work also receives a grade of "F," or 0.0 grade points. 1. Essays (these represent 55% of your grade) All of your essays must be word processed, saved as either a .DOC or an .RTF file, and submitted by the published deadline to avoid late penalties. Use Times New Roman or another standard typeface, 12-point font, and 1-inch margins on all sides when you do your essays. Number your pages using a header at the top right, which should also contain your last name, as per MLA style. Please DO NOT submit course essays as .WPS, .DOCX (Microsoft Word/Office 2007), .FILES, or any format other than .DOC or .RTF. Late Essays: Late essays will be docked 10% for each day that they are late. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure a file has been uploaded correctly. The statement, “I thought I uploaded my file,” or “my file did not upload correctly” is not an excuse. If your essay is submitted in a format other than .DOC or .RTF and I cannot read it, I will count it as late. Rules About Essay Revision
(Paper rewriting)
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a form of cheating or fraud; it occurs when a student misrepresents the work of another as his or her own. Plagiarism may consist of using the ideas, sentences, paragraphs, or the whole text of another without appropriate acknowledgement or citation, but it also includes employing or allowing another person to write or substantially alter work that a student then submits as his or her own. Any assignment found to be plagiarized will be given an "F" grade (0.0 grade points), and you will not be allowed to rewrite or resubmit the assignment. ALL INSTANCES of plagiarism in the Department of English will be reported to the Chair of the Department and may be reported to the college administration for further action. 2. Posting to online Discussion Forums (25% of grade) Posting to online discussion forums is not optional; it is a mandatory part of the course meant to enhance your learning. Since you spend three hours a week in the classroom in a regular course, I would expect you to spend an equivalent amount of time reading and posting to the Discussion Forums. Important note: If you do not post anything for two weeks or more to the Discussion Forums (even if you do log in and read things), I will drop you from the course. You must post to survive. Posting is the equivalent of showing up to class. 3. Other class work (12% of grade) In short, you are expected to participate in all aspects of the writing process (including rough drafts and peer review), participate in any online group projects, submit all required homework, and complete any grammar or sentence-level homework I assign. The English department and other departments on campus state that students should expect 3 hours of homework per week for every hour spent in class. That means that you should expect to spendthe regular "class time" of three hours per week doing discussions, just as you would in a regular class. In addition to this, reading and writing assignments will take an additional 9 hours per week, on the average. If you do not have this kind of time to devote to English 1A, I strongly suggest that you consider postponing your enrollment until you do have time. This is a demanding, university-parallel course and requires a substantial time commitment. It is designed to prepare you for 1B, 1C, and university-level upper-division work. You must demonstrate that you are capable of this sort of work in terms of skill and work habits. What counts as “Other Class Work” a. Rough Drafts and Peer Review: On peer review days, you and one or two of your peers will post your essays to your assigned folder in the discussion forums, read each other’s essays, and comment on them. Your draft must be a “good faith draft” that is at least 70% finished and shows careful thought and planning even though it may lack some development, proper proofreading, or other essential elements. Missing these exercises deprives both you and your partner(s) of this valuable feedback. Your grade is adversely affected if you do not submit a draft; it is even more damaging to fail to read your partners' drafts. b. Group or individual homework projects: You are expected to complete any online homework, participate in any group projects or prearranged chat sessions I assign. You will also be expected to post writing samples, grammar assignments, or homework assignments as stated in the Unit Cover Page for each unit. Again, budget at least as much time into your schedule as you would need for a realtime course. The time requirements will be the same or greater, given that you must deal with technical issues like learning how to post properly, learning how to format documents properly, and learning how to use Insight. It is your responsibility to become proficient in the use of Insight and all software related to the class (Microsoft Word). I will help you and provide web links and tip sheets, but you must use them and reflect your new learning in your work. c. Anything else I require you to do for class, including prewrites, freewrites, journals, reading, online presentations/reading jigsaws, sentence work, written reflections, writing plans/outlines, grammar exercises, reading quizzes, etc.: Convince me that you have taken time on the assignments, have thought about these ideas, and are ready to participate.
3. Midterm and Final Exam/In-class writing (8% of your grade) Both the midterm and the final will be written essays. Both will require attendance on campus. See below for dates.
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