Participation
Participation is worth 10% of your grade. Since we are meeting only online, we won't be able to discuss our readings face-to-face, but we still should be able to interact as a group and learn from each other. Your points for participation come from your work in the Discussion of every other unit in the course. To get full credit, take some time to read the discussion topics deliberately, and then to put together your thoughts before hitting Respond. You will want to make yourself clearly understood, and this comes with a careful choice of words. You will be required to write 300 words in an opening response to the topics in the unit. Then, after other students have submitted responses, you should read them and post a follow-up response of 200 words. You also should be posting responses on at least three separate days during the two week period of the discussion unit. In addition to participating in Discussion, you will be expected to complete the Crafting Sentences exercises and submit them to me through email. Your scores will not be found in Gradebook until the end of the semester.
Quizzes
Quizzes will be worth 5% of your grade. You will have five quizzes; each quiz has a total of ten points. You will have quizzes for almost every other unit. The quizzes will check for your understanding of the lecture, readings, grammar, and Crafting Sentences exercises. The quizzes will include multiple choice, true/false, and short answer questions. You scores will be found in Gradebook.
Summaries
These writings do not have to be in an essay format, but they do have to be in sentences and paragraphs. For the summaries, access the links under Course Home for Delta Winds. Write summaries about reading passages you have read. Writing summaries is a good way to improve both writing and reading skills. After completing a summary of a Delta Winds essay, you may add a personal response. But this is optional. You can write on as many different essays as you want. Complete the total number of pages required to get the total number of points. By writing ten full pages of single-spaced work, you will have earned 50 points.
The due date for the summaries is listed in the schedule under Course Home. Do not post your individual summaries separately. I suggest that you write your summaries in a word processing program. Keep all of your summaries together in one document. Then, when you have ten full pages of single-spaced work, copy-and-paste the completed pages into the journal area. You can do this by copying all of your pages and then clicking on the tab named Dropbox at the top, right-hand side of any page in the course--in between Doc Sharing and Webliography. Then, click Journal and click Add New Entry. In the Title, type the following heading: Summaries. Paste your pages of writing into the open box or field named Entry. Then, click on the button Share Entry with Instructor. Next, click Add Entry. The summaries will be collected one time during the semester. Your score and comments will be found in the gradebook and journal area.
Essays
Our next area is the Essays, worth 30% of your grade. There will be six essays; each essay is worth a maximum of 50 points. Most of the essays will be just First Drafts. First Drafts will be timed; you will have a limited amount of time--one hour and twenty minutes--to write these essays. Two of the essays will require a rewrite of a first draft. The Rewrites are to be completed after your First Draft has been read and has received comments. You can find these comments by clicking on the blue number in the Gradebook. Read on for details. We will have six essay assignments. For the first and second essay assignment, you will write only a First Draft. For the third and fourth essay assignments, you will write a First Draft and also a Rewrite. For the fifth and sixth essay assignments, you will only write a First Draft.
---Practice First Draft
We will have a Practice First Draft in the third week of the course. This will not be graded; you will get 0 points for this assignment in the Gradebook. But it will give everyone an idea of how to complete the later First Drafts online. It is important to be sure you are ready before you push the button to begin the exam. Practice First Draft and First Drafts will ask you to respond in an essay form to a reading passage. Read the passage beforehand; you might even want to read it two or three times before starting the Practice First Draft. Please see the Sample Essays for a clear idea of what an essay looks like. You will find comments to your Practice First Draft by clicking on the blue number in the Gradebook.
---Essays One and Two
Essays One and Two will consist of only first drafts. You will have to write a complete essay in one hour and twenty minutes. The grade you receive for the first draft will be the final grade for your essay. You will not have the chance to revise the first drafts for a higher grade. The one grade goes into the gradebook. After taking the Practice First Draft and reading over the Sample Essays, you should have some familiarity with how to write an essay in response to a reading passage. This method of writing only a first draft will prepare you for the mastery exam since the mastery exam cannot be revised. See Rubric for specific information on the scores for these essays.
In Unit D, click on the folder named First Draft, and you can read the instructions for the assignment. When you are ready to write, click on to begin the exam. You will be given a choice of two topics to write on. While taking the exam, you will see two buttons: Save Answers and Submit for Grade. Use Save Answers to save your work periodically. When you are finished, be sure to click Save Answers. Then, click Submit for Grade. This is extremely important.
You can use dictionaries for your writing, but I would not recommend using them until you are finished writing a complete essay. If you have finished the main writing of your essay and you still have some more time, then take out your dictionary and check for words you have in question. In general, spelling points are not as critical as development of ideas and organization. Your score for these first drafts will be found in Gradebook. To read comments on your writing, click on the blue number.
---Essays Three and Four
These essays will consist of two parts--the First Draft and the Rewrite. For these essays, you will receive 0 points in the Gradebook for completing the First Draft. You can only earn points by completing the Rewrite. However, you must first complete the First Draft in order to even start on the Rewrite. Follow the same directions as above to finish your First Draft.
For these essays, it is extremely important for you to save a copy of your first draft on your own computer. Just before you click Submit for Grade, copy your entire first draft. Then, paste it into a document on your computer. After you have completed the first drafts, I will read them and provide some comments for feedback. You can read these comments by clicking on the blue number in Gradebook.
Next, you can revise your first draft. In the copy you have saved, make many changes to improve the writing. I WOULD LIKE YOU TO MAKE YOUR CHANGES USING CAPITAL LETTERS. SO USE CAPITAL LETTERS FOR ANY WORDS AND SENTENCES THAT YOU ADD. DO NOT USE CAPITAL LETTERS FOR WORDS YOU DELETE FROM THE FIRST DRAFT. This way it will be very easy for you and me to notice the changes you make in your revising.
Make changes in the organization, in the development of your ideas, in your transitions, in your sentence variety, and in your word choice. The score for the assignment will come after you revise your essay and hand in the new and improved rewrite.
Hand in the Rewrite in your Journal. When you are ready to submit your work, use copy-and-paste. First, copy your entire Rewrite. Then, open up the Journal tool in our course. Click on Add New Entry. Type in the heading: Rewrite of First Draft 3. Then, paste your Rewrite into the open window. Then, click on the button named Share Entry with Instructor. Then, click Add Entry. This is important. Your work may be lost, otherwise. If you submit an entry and you find that you would like to make changes to it, you can click on Edit at the bottom of the entry and make the changes. I will look for your rewrite in the Journal and give your essay a grade and some last comments. You can find these under Journal.
You will have one week to work on the paper, so you can make it look the way you want. Good writing usually takes much time and effort. Be prepared to spend considerable time revising your essay. If you just copy the draft, you are not revising your work. That would just be copying. Some people think revising just means adding a new paragraph to the end of the essay. This is not what I'm looking for. Revising involves making many changes throughout the essay, not just at the end. Revising your work means to take a step away from your own creation and to look at it critically. Try to be objective. Remember that even though an idea is clear in your own mind, it probably is not clear in the reader's mind. So make every little point clear. And develop every point with more information than you think is necessary. In general, the more details you provide the better. Your scores will be found under Journal.
---Essays Five and Six
Essays Five and Six will consist of only first drafts. You will have to write a complete essay in one hour and twenty minutes. The grade you receive for the first draft will be the final grade for your essay. You will not have the chance to revise the first drafts for a higher grade. The one grade goes into the gradebook. By the time you write these essays, you should be fairly comfortable with the procedure and with your writing ability. As mentioned before, this method of only using the first draft will prepare you for the mastery exam since the mastery exam cannot be revised.
Mastery Exam
The Mastery Exam is the main item of the course, worth 40% of your grade. Every English 79 course at Delta is required to count the mastery exam as 40% of the course grade. By completing a series of timed first drafts, you will have improved your skills in writing with a limited amount of time. The mastery exam allows students to have one hour and twenty minutes to complete an essay in response to a reading passage. For more information on the mastery exam, a couple of weeks before the mastery exam contact the Delta Bookstore for a handbook entitled "English 79 Mastery Essay Information Packet." You do not have to buy a textbook for this class, but all English 79 students have to buy this handbook. This handbook may be available online later in the semester. The handbook includes the reading passage to be used for the mastery exam this semester, sample exams, the grading procedure, and more. The actual topics for the mastery essay will be provided on the day of the test. They will not be provided beforehand. You will have two topics to choose from.
As required for all English 79 courses, the mastery exam will be read and graded by two English teachers. These English teachers will not provide any written comments on your mastery exams, so you will not be given specific reasons for the score your mastery exam receives. The readers give scores from 1 to 5, depending on the quality of the student's work. Five is the highest score. The two scores are averaged to determine a final score. A 4 and a 5 averages out to 4.5. Three and above is passing. If the two scores average out to 2.5, then a third reader is brought in. The 2.5 area is critical since a 2 would not be a passing score, but a 3 would be a passing score. In a case like this, a third reader casts the vote that determines the outcome. Basically, a 5 is A Level, a 4 is B Level, a 3 is C Level. See Rubric for details. Your scores will be found in Gradebook.
Final Exam
The Final Exam is worth 10% of your grade. For the final exam, you will have to write an essay within a two-hour time limit. The topic of the essay will not be known until you begin the exam. Again, the topic will be based on a reading passage. However, the reading passage will be very brief. And the topic will ask you to form an opinion on the topic and to support that opinion. You will only have one topic to choose from for the final exam. Your scores will be found in Gradebook.
Extra Credit
There will be extra credit assignments throughout the course; you will find explanations about the extra credit work in the units ahead. The extra credit assignments can be worth a maximum total of 50 points. The first extra credit assignment is the Orientation Checklist in Unit A; this activity is worth 10 points and will be available only the first three weeks of the semester. The Orientation Checklist should be completed in person. If you cannot complete the orientation checklist in person, you can call me during my office hour and go through the checklist on the phone. My office hour is Tuesday and Thursday 2:30--3:30, and my phone number is (209) 954-5395. You will have many opportunities to get points through all of the extra credit assignments. Your scores will be found in Gradebook.
Course Educational Objectives:
All of the students who successfully complete the course work for English 79 will be able to express themselves in the basic essay format and will show an understanding of the rules of Standard Written English. The students will be able to develop paragraphs to support a thesis in an organized essay. Students will have sufficient writing skills to complete college writing tasks successfully.
Required Text:
All materials will be provided online. No textbook is necessary. We will use readings from Delta Winds. All other materials have been designed by your instructor, except for information found through links to other web sites. While you do not have to buy a textbook, all students in any English 79 course are required to go to the campus bookstore and buy "English 79: Preparatory English, Mastery Essay Information Packet." Or students may be able to access this packet online later in the semester. You will be notified when the packet is available online or in the bookstore.
Explanation of Grading Criteria:
NOTE: This is extremely important. The above method of evaluation will be used only for students who pass the mastery exam. The above method of evaluation will not used for students who do not pass the mastery exam. Students who do not pass the mastery exam probably will not pass the course. Even if you have 700 points in the course, you may not pass the course if you do not pass the mastery exam. However, students who do not pass the mastery may have a second chance to pass the course through the portfolio process. If a student has been maintaining an A/B average on all previous course work and if the student has completed all of the assignments prior to the mastery exam, the student may be able to pass the course by submitting a portfolio of assignments from this class; this portfolio must then be approved by a board of English teachers 79. We will not know the results of the Portfolio Reading until finals week. You will be notified of the results of the portfolio through email.
Scoring of Assignments
There are 1050 points possible in the course. This chart shows the number of points received for an assignment
For Participation--100 points possible:
A=100 points
A-=93 points
B+=87 points
B=85 points
B-=83 points
C+=77 points
C=75 points
C-=73 points
D+=67 points
D=65 points
D-=63 points
F=50 points
For Quizzes--50 points possible:
5 quizzes @ 10 points/quiz
A=50 points
A-=47 points
B+=44 points
B=43 points
B-=42 points
C+=39 points
C=38 points
C-=37 points
D+=34 points
D=33 points
D-=32 points
For Summaries--50 points possible:
10 full pages single-spaced, 12 point type=50 points
8 full pages single-spaced, 12 point type=43 points
6 full pages single-spaced, 12 point type=33 points
4 full pages single-spaced, 12 point type=25 points
For essays--300 points possible:
6 essays @ 50 points/essay
For Mastery Exam--400 points possible:
For Final Exam--100 points possible:
A=100 points
A-=93 points
B+=87 points
B=85 points
B-=83 points
C+=77 points
C=75 points
C-=73 points
D+=67 points
D=65 points
D-=63 points
F=50 points
Participation Standard:
A total of 100 points is possible for participation in the class. See the Rubric in the Course Home for more specific information on grading. To score points in participation, follow the guidelines stated in Rubric. Your participation score will be determined at the end of the semester. You will not be able to view your participation points in Gradebook. For passing points in participation, write 300 words in response to the discussion topics in every other unit and then write a 200 word follow-up response. You should post your comments in Discussion at least three times per discussion unit.
Explanation of Procedures:
Let's start at the top of the course page. To send emails, click on the tab on the top of the course page named Email. Click on the name of the person you wish to send an email to. If you wish to send an email to me, my name is listed as the instructor. You might want to click on your own name to make sure the email is sent. If you send me an email, please, please, please sign it. The email system through this tab feature only allows you to send email, not receive it. So you should check your own email program for mail sent to you. Another option is to send emails from your own program. In this case, my email address for this course can be found in the folder named Instructor in Course Home.
When sending me an email, it is very important to write the topic of your email in your email heading. Also, sign the email by writing your name at the bottom of the email message. Otherwise, I may mistake your message for a message from someone else. Take a minute to proofread your emails for clarity before sending them. If you wish to send a message to only one person, then use email. Email is more private than the discussion section of the course. In Email, only the person you send to will be able to read your message. In Discussion, everyone in the class will be able to read what you have posted.
Another important tab at the top of the course page is Journal. When you are ready to submit your Observations or your Rewrites, click on Journal. Then click on Add New Entry. Be sure to title the entry with the name of the assignment. You also need to click on Share Entry with Instructor. When you are ready to submit your work, be sure to click on Add Entry. Your work may be lost if you do not click on this button. If you wish to make changes to your entry after it has been posted, use the button named Edit at the bottom of the entry. I recommend that you write your Observations and Rewrites in a word-processing program and then copy-and-paste the document into Journal. This way you can save your work frequently, you can use spellcheck, and you can easily save a copy of your work for yourself. Material sent through Journal can only be read by the individual student and the instructor.
The next tab at the top of the page is Gradebook. When you wish to view your grade in an assignment, click on Gradebook. You will find most of your assignments in Gradebook listed according to the units. A question mark means that I have not graded the assignment. The number in blue will be the score you receive for your assignment. Click on the number to see comments regarding your assignments. Some of the assignments will have comments while others will not. You will NOT find scores for Participation, Observations, and Rewrites in Gradebook.
The remaining tabs at the top of the page will not be used in this course. We will not use Chat, Search, Document Sharing, and Webliography.
To the left of the course page, you will find some navigation buttons--Course Home, Unit A, Unit B, etc. Click on Course Home to find folders that contain general information about the course: Syllabus, Calendar, Instructor, Authors, Readings, Schedule, Links, and Suggestions. The titles are self-explanatory. Take a look inside the folders to get a better idea as to how the class is organized. Just follow the Schedule in Course Home and the Week-by-Week Schedule in the Syllabus.
When you are finished exploring Course Home, click on Unit A for the Orientation and Discussion. Click on Unit B to find folders labelled: Introduction, Readings, Lecture, and Quiz. Click on these folders to read the material for these units. Most of the units follow the same general format as Unit B. You might want to explore the various buttons, folders, and documents to understand where everything is.
The course is organized into fifteen units, almost one unit per week. Some of the material in the units will only be accessible as we progress through the course; in other words, you can view and submit work in each unit according to the scheduled dates of the unit. You will be able to access past units but not the units scheduled for the weeks ahead. Each of the units focuses on a particular method of developing an essay. In most units, you can read an introduction to the unit, a lecture about the method of development, sample readings that use the method discussed in the unit, and then discussion topics. You can also take quizzes and complete first drafts and other assignments. Read all of the material and participate in the discussion by responding to the questions and topics in each unit.
Almost each week we will cover one unit. For the most part, students in the class will be keeping a steady pace with each other. Every other unit has a discussion section that contains threaded discussions. In Discussion, you will be able to communicate with the rest of the class. Read the discussion topic carefully, and then read comments by other students. To view all of the comments made in a unit, click on Expand All. Respond when you are ready to post a comment or ask a question on the topic. You can respond to the discussion topic or you can reply to a specific posting made by someone else. Check to see that you are clicking on the correct respond button to connect to the proper threaded discussion.
Some of the units contain assignments, such as First Drafts, Observations, Rewrites, and Extra Credit. These assignments will be read by only me, your instructor. Other students in the course will not be able to read your work. You will be expected to complete these assignments within the scheduled dates of the unit. I recommend that you do your best to keep up on the assignments; otherwise, you fall behind as the work piles up very quickly. Try to make a point of labelling your assignments when you submit them. It is important to complete all of the writing assignments before the mastery exam so that the development of your writing skills will transfer over for the exam. Let's now take a look at the general weekly schedule for the course.
Week-by-Week Schedule:
Unit A: Orientation
In Unit A, we will have an orientation checklist to complete for ten extra credit points. When you are ready to show your proficiency in passing each of the tasks, then visit me in Shima 217 (the Writing Lab) from 9:00--10:00 on Tuesday or Thursday. You can receive points for the checklist extra credit activity during the first three weeks of the semester. I may also be available on Tuesday or Thursday from 2:30--4:30 by appointment. The checklist involves showing me face-to-face your ability to complete certain technical skills for an online class. This unit also contains a discussion section. The discussion in this unit will last for two weeks.
Unit B: Description
In Unit B, we will study description. This unit contains a lecture on description, two readings that use description of a place, and a quiz on the lectures, readings, and Crafting Sentences exercises. We will also try to arrange for an optional class meeting on campus this week. You will be notified by email about the time and place.
Unit C: Narration; Practice First Draft
In Unit C, we focus on narration, the art of storytelling. We have a lecture on narration, two readings, and a discussion section. The discussion in this unit will last for two weeks. We will also have a Practice First Draft.
Unit D: Example; First Draft 1
This unit on example contains two readings, a quiz, and a lecture. We will also have First Draft 1.
Unit E: Classification
In Unit E, we will learn about classification through two readings, a lecture, and the discussion section. The discussion in this unit will last for two weeks.
Unit F: Analysis; First Draft 2
This unit covers analysis through two readings, a lecture, and a quiz. First Draft 2 is to be completed in this unit.
Unit G: Humor; Observations due
This unit will be on humor, a technique used in writing. In Unit G, we have two readings, a lecture, and a discussion. The discussion in this unit will last for two weeks. Also, the complete set of Observations is due in this unit.
Unit H: Persuasion; First Draft 3; Rewrite of First Draft 3
This unit will be on persuasion. We have two readings, a lecture, and a quiz. Also, First Draft 3 and the Rewrite of First Draft 3 are to be completed.
Unit I: Comparison/Contrast; First Draft 4; Rewrite of First Draft 4
NOTE: FIRST DRAFT 4 IS AVAILABLE ONLY FROM MONDAY, TO THURSDAY. The comparison/contrast unit has two readings, a lecture, and a discussion section. The discussion in this unit will last for two weeks. Also, First Draft 4 and Rewrite of First Draft 4 will be due.
Catch up Week
Let's use this week to get caught up with any unfinished assignments. There will not be a unit in the course. That means no lecture, discussion, First Draft, etc. for this week. Use the time you usually spend on the readings and discussion to apply towards your Observations, First Drafts, and Rewrites from previous units. We will also try to arrange another optional class meeting on campus. You will be notified about the time and place through email.
Unit J: Process
This unit focuses on process analysis with two readings, a lecture, and a discussion section. The discussion in this unit will last for two weeks.
Unit K: Definition; First Draft 5
NOTE: FIRST DRAFT 5 IS AVAILABLE ONLY ON MONDAY, AND TUESDAY. Unit K concentrates on definition. In this unit, we have a lecture, a reading, a quiz, and First Draft 5. You will only have two days to complete First Draft 5. In other words, the first draft in this unit will only be accessible on that Monday and Tuesday. We are going to limit our testing days in order to prepare for the mastery exam. The mastery exam is only accessible on a Monday and a Tuesday.
Unit L: Cause and Effect; First Draft 6
NOTE: FIRST DRAFT 6 IS AVAILABLE ONLY ON MONDAY, AND TUESDAY. This unit focuses on the cause and effect relationship. We have a reading, a lecture, a discussion section, and First Draft 6. You will only have two days to complete First Draft 6.
Unit M: Mastery Exam
NOTE: THE MASTERY EXAM IS AVAILABLE ONLY ON MONDAY, AND TUESDAY. This unit does not contain a reading since the reading is in the publication for all English 79 students entitled "English 79 Mastery Essay Information Packet." Discussion of the mastery exam will take place after all of the mastery exams have been submitted.
Unit N: Review and Course Evaluation; Final Exam
In this unit, we will have a general review lecture and a threaded discussion concerning an evaluation of the course. The final exam will be a timed essay worth 100 points. All work should be completed by finals week.
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