Spring 2011 English 1A

Spring 2011 English 1A

Professor Kathlyn Enciso a.k.a. “Prof. E,” M.A., A.B.D.
Contact e-mail: kenciso@collegeofthedesert.edu

Office Phone: 760-776-7362

Office location: LA-4B

Office Hours: Mondays/Wednesdays 12:30-2:00 pm

Course Description:
This course introduces students to the demands of writing in the academic setting through the lens of California
literature and culture. Students learn the basics of critical thinking & writing and research techniques and apply
these to the writing process. Students then learn to apply the writing process in composing essays in response to
their analysis of essays, literature, film, etc.

Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
 Employ writing as a process to generate and develop ideas, to clarify and organize thoughts.
 Construct focused theses and develop a thesis throughout a composition.
 Select, develop and organize ideas in a structured format.
 Compose essays using combined rhetorical modes.
 Demonstrate an awareness of audience by use of appropriate tone and diction in all
compositions.
 Exhibit proficiency in correct usage of grammar, punctuation and mechanics in all compositions.
 Analyze, explain, evaluate, compare and contrast selected prose and poetry, both from text and
from researched sources.
 Demonstrate skill in researching information, including CD-ROM and on-line sources as well as
traditional research resources.
 Employ MLA or APA Style in all compositions by paraphrasing, summarizing and quoting using
MLA documentation for all published sources in all compositions.

Required Texts:
 Maasik, Sonia.  California Dreams & Realities. 3rd Edition. ISBN 9780312412890
 Jackson, Helen Hunt.  Ramona.  Penguin Group, 2002. ISBN 9780451528421
 Wattawa, Gayle.  Inlandia.  Heyday, 2006.  ISBN 9781597140379

Recommended (but not required) Text:

 Hacker, Diana.  Rules for Writing, 6th edition.  Bedford, 2008.  ISBN 9780312611286
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 NOTE: Various on-line resources are also required for this class so please make sure that you have regular
access to the internet as well as an available printer! If you don’t, please come and see me for information
on how to add ASC 100—a free “class” available to all COD students for access to the Academic Skills
Center and its resources, including computers, printers, and tutors!

*IMPORTANT! You will be required to use your California Dreams & Realities textbook as of the first week
of class so please don’t hesitate in acquiring this text! If you are unable to purchase/rent it, then please make
arrangements to access it in some alternate manner. You may come visit me in office hours (see above) in
order to make photocopies of the required pages for one week’s worth of assignments—you may get these
free copies up till the third week of the term, then you will be solely responsible for having access to the text.
NOTE: NOT HAVING THE TEXT IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO NOT DO YOUR WORK!

Course Work:
 Properly MLA or APA formatted essays (submitted via Blackboard’s SafeAssign—see Course Information
below for further explanation of this feature)
 Midterm & Final exams
 Final Research Project with Annotated Research Summary (incl. 10-15 researched sources)
 Weekly readings and Dialogical Journal assignments
 Discussion Board assignments
 Participation/Forums

Assignments:

MLA/APA formatted essays (3) = 300

Midterm & Final exams (2) = 200

Dialogical Journals (10) = 200

Final Research Project w/ Annotated Summary = 200

Discussion Board Topics (10) = 200

Participation/Forums = 160

TOTAL POINTS AVAIALABLE = 1260

*NOTE: Grades are determined according to a standard grading scale and are available throughout the
term on Bb. It is the students’ responsibility to monitor their grades/progress throughout the term. Students
must pass the course with a “C” or better in order to earn course/transfer credit for this course. Final grades
will be posted on Bb two days after the final assignment due date, (Wednesday, 25 May 2011), it is at this time
that students should review their grades for any irregularities, concerns, etc. Your professor will submit
official grades on WebAdvisor one week after the final assignment due date, (Wednesday, 1 June 2011), after
this date, no further changes to grades will be possible.

Important Course Information:

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Please review the information below for important policies on Blackboard/internet use/support & technology,
attendance & academic honesty.

 Blackboard Learning Management System at COD:

All online courses at COD, as well as many on-campus web-enhanced courses, utilize Blackboard Learning
Management System (Bb LMS). In every course, students should read all information presented on the Blackboard
course site—usually in the Assignments/Discussion Board/Homepage sections—and should periodically check for
updates—at least every 48 hours.

How to Learn Online:

All online courses are delivered through the Blackboard Learning Management System. Blackboard helps to better
simulate the traditional classroom experience with features such as Discussion Boards, forums, Journal (see Prof.
E’s 411 button) and other presentation and organizational forums.

In order to be successful, you should be organized and well motivated. You should make sure you log in to our
course on Blackboard several times each week. You will automatically be directed to the
Announcements/Homepage where you can check all “announcements” that have been posted for that week. Start
early in the week to complete the weekly assignment—most assignments are given on a Monday-Monday schedule
meaning that you will have the assignment on Monday and be expected to complete and post it by the following
Monday. You should also review the Course Schedule (see below) and make sure you are clear about the
topics/assignments—should you have any questions, you may either come see me in office hours, contact me via
email or Facebook me well in advance of the due date. Go to the Discussion Board early in the week and try not to
wait until the last minute to review the topic and question/s for DB Topics exercises as well as check in for the
weekly Forum. Make your “initial” posting and participate in the discussion regularly to assure you achieve the
maximum points you can. Begin reviewing for the exams early in the term—remember that you are responsible for
keeping up with the readings and understanding them. If there is anything you need help with, either write on the
“Journal” page (under Prof. E’s 411 button) or discuss it with me in office hours. Do not procrastinate and “cram”
for these exams. You should review the material frequently, so you will be prepared to take the exams and to write
meaningful, insightful and thorough essays.

 Useful Websites for this Course:

OWL at Purdue University Online Writing Lab:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Purdue’s OWL is probably the best resource for writing & MLA/APA help on the web! Be sure to check out the
sample student essays for formatting help & to review the guidelines for AVOIDING PLAGIARISM!! You MUST
use proper MLA/APA formatting in all your documents—including DB Topics and Forums. For essays, cited,
unoriginal material in excess of 25% as reported on SafeAssign will result in an “F” or “0” grade.

 Students must properly cite any quoted material using either MLA or APA formatting guidelines. Please refer
to your Rules for Writers handbook pages 411-528 or if you chose not to purchase/keep the handbook, check
out the OWL Writing Lab guidelines (see link below). No essay, written assignment, business plan, term
project, case analysis, or project may have no more than 25% of its content quoted from an outside source
(quotes from our text, the Norton Anthology, may include up to 30% cited material). Students who need
assistance in learning to properly cite sources should ask the professor for guidance and consult the links at the
OWL at Purdue (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/). There may also be help available the
COD Academic Skills Center labs/workshops—check “Announcements Homepage” on Bb for notice of these
workshops.
 COD/Blackboard uses plagiarism-detection software--SafeAssign, through which all written student
assignments are processed for comparison with material published in traditional sources (books, journals,
magazines), on the internet (to include essays for sale), and papers turned in by students in the same and other
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classes in this and all previous terms. The penalty for plagiarism may range from zero credit on the assignment,
to zero in the course, to expulsion from the university with appropriate notation in the student’s permanent file.

 Student/Faculty Interaction:

On-campus Office Hours and E-O.H.s:

Starting Monday, 31 January 2011, you will be able to get in touch with me via either on-campus (PDC) office
hours (see above) or e-office hours! For e-office hours, I will be available via Facebook. If you have a question, you
can send me a message, or, if I’m online, chat with me. To chat, you can click on the "Prof. E’s 411" button and
click the link to Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/kenciso (if the link doesn't work here or directly from Bb,
then cut-and-paste it into the address bar of your browser). Once you are logged onto Facebook, click on the lower
right-hand corner where it says "Chat" and send me a message (my name will automatically appear if/when I am
logged on--if you don't see me, then I'm not logged on but you can still send me a message!). If you would prefer
not to use Facebook or open an account via Facebook, you can still come to the office hours I will be having on the
PDC in my office in LA 4B every Monday & Wednesday from 12:30-2:00 PM.

Communication Expectations:

 Interaction will take place via COD email, Blackboard, Facebook and forums.
 Student participation/forums in this course is part of the overall expectations and worth 160 points of your
total grade (see above).
 The student is expected to remain in regular contact with the professor and classmates and actively
participate through Bb in the discussion forums, submitting assignments and taking exams, and submitting
essays, all in a timely fashion. NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT AT LEAST 24
HRS. PRIOR APPROVAL BY ME, YOUR PROFESSOR!
 I, as your professor, will respond to student emails within 24-48 hours, (Monday-Thursday), and 72 hours,
(Friday-Sunday), as well as be available to you for questions/discussion during on-campus office hours and
the e-office hours via Facebook (chat or message).
 Further, as your professor & facilitator, I will communicate primarily via the Blackboard
Announcements/Homepage page and/or via COD email. PLEASE CHECK YOUR COD EMAIL AND
THE ANNOUNCEMENTS/HOMEPAGE SECTION OF BLACKBOARD DAILY OR AT LEAST
EVERY 48 HOURS.

Student Email:

Effective immediately, all COD students have access to COD email—ALL COD-related communications, including
on-line courses emails etc., are set-up via COD email only! You should already have a valid COD email, if you
don’t and to obtain a COD student email address, go to the COD homepage,
http://www.collegeofthedesert.edu/Pages/default.aspx

Click on the “Student E-mail” tab in the top-right-hand box (in the “My COD” box on the homepage, under
“Blackboard”) and create a COD email account!

Your email address is: Your WebAdvisor username@mycod.us (e.g., astudent@mycod.us)

Your User Name: Your WebAdvisor User Name@mycod.us

Initial Password: Your birthdate in mmddyy format (e.g., if you were born January 2, 1985 = 010285)

All students are responsible for ensuring that their correct & REGULARLY CHECKED email address is
listed in Blackboard by Monday of Week #1. Email is the only way I, your professor can regularly communicate
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with you. It is your responsibility to make sure a valid email address is provided—if you prefer to use a gmail,
yahoo, hotmail, or some other email address, then you will have to log onto your COD email and link your personal
email address to your COD email—if you don’t know how to do this, then simply rely on your COD email for all
school-related communications and keep your personal email for personal communications. Failure on your part to
have a valid email can result in your missing important information that could affect your grade.

“Attendance” Policy:
Starting with Week #1, I expect students to log into the website to review documents, like the syllabus, post
comments, turn in assignments & essays and check for announcements on a regular basis—at least every 48 hours.
Students who are not participating in the online discussion boards and are not communicating with me with
legitimate reasons for their lack of participation are subject to losing some—if not all—of their participation credit
for the course. Although physical class meetings are not part of this course, participation in all interactive, learning
activities is required. Weekly forums will also be required via Bb Discussion Board for “attendance” points.

 Technology Requirements:
Students must have:

 A valid COD e-mail account that you can access on a regular basis.
 E-mail software capable of sending and receiving attached files.
 Access to the Internet.
 Access to a computer capable of running Netscape Navigator 7.0 or above, Internet Explorer 6.0 or above, or
current versions of Firefox or Mozilla—NOTE: Bb 9 is most compatible with Mozilla Firefox browser so
should you have any difficulty in accessing, viewing, or sending information on Bb, you should download this
browser and set it up for use with Bb. Students who use older browser versions will have compatibility
problems with Blackboard. If you don’t have such a computer at home, please contact me about adding ASC
100—free access to the COD ASC computers and tutors!
 Microsoft WORD software or MS Word-compatible software. I cannot grade anything I cannot open—
Blackboard reads doc, docx, rtf (Rich Text format) files only! This means NO MS-Works, NO Wordpad, NO
Wordperfect—sorry! If you cannot open documents via Blackboard, contact me immediately for details on how
to access documents either via my Facebook page or go directly to www.scribd.com and search my account =
babyezra2008 to open and download files as doc, docx, or pdf files.
 Virus protection software, installed and active, to prevent the spread of viruses via the Internet and email. This
should be continually updated!

Technical Support Information:

If you experience technical problems, you should contact the Blackboard Online Support Center by clicking on the
“Bb Help (Web)” button on our page. If you cannot get the answer(s) you need from this resource, then please come
and see me in office hours with your question/problem for assistance. Please note that you are responsible for
solving your own technology questions BEFORE assignments are due and technology issues should not be a reason
for not turning in work on time! If you need help logging on or cannot access the internet to reference the “Help” or
email me, then simply contact the center by calling toll free the number listed below. Assistance is available toll free
24 hours a day – 7 days a week by calling 1-866-321-7159.

 Honesty Policy & Student Conduct:

The awarding of a college degree or college credit attests that an individual has demonstrated mastery of a
significant body of knowledge and skills of substantive value to society. Any type of dishonesty in securing those
credentials therefore invites serious sanctions, up to and including suspension and expulsion and denies you the
experience of a truly valuable education! Examples of dishonesty include actual or attempted cheating, plagiarism,
(read the statement on plagiarism below), or knowingly furnishing false information to any university employee.
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Statement on Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is using another person’s words or ideas in your writing (or formal speeches) without revealing your
source. This may involve copying someone’s work or obtaining and taking credit for another’s writing. Whenever
you summarize someone else’s ideas or paraphrase/rephrase their ideas and/or words into your own or use someone
else’s statements word for word, you must make that person’s contributions clearly known through proper citing of
their work. The personal accounts, expressions, opinions, judgments, arguments, illustrations, interpretations, and
statistics borrowed from others, whether written, posted on the internet, spoken or recorded, must be properly
credited or attributed to the originator of those. If you have any questions or do not understand this statement fully,
please ask your instructor for further clarification as to what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. For on-line reference
and tips to avoid plagiarism, please check out the OWL at Purdue guidelines at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/.

NOTE: IF you do “accidentally” plagiarize once, see information under OWL at Purdue University Online
Writing Lab above for what constitutes plagiarism, you will be allowed to rewrite that assignment. However, if
this happens a second time, you will receive and “F” or “0” for the offending assignment and/or may be subject to
failure/dismissal of the entire course.

Dr. Debra Taylor Bourdeau Winter 2009. Troy University.

Revised by K.A. Enciso Spring 2011. College of the Desert, Palm Desert, CA.