gWelcome to English 125-Sections 53184 or 53001
Instructor:  Ms. Lori Levine

These classes meets online.  Check the Blackboard site daily.  

PLEASE PRINT OUT THIS SYLLABUS SO YOU CAN REFER TO IT THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER!!!!!

Course Description
Development of the process of writing, revising, and finishing short papers, including the logical development and organization of ideas.  Emphasizes avoiding common writing errors; develops writing skills by reading model essays and analyzing rhetorical strategies; develops critical thinking skills by matching the structures of writing to meaning and audience, and by using writing as thinking, exploring and expressing ideas.

Course Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:  

A.	Pre-write constructively to generate ideas and determine ideas, opinions, positions, and ultimately theses and plans
B.	Respond to a prompt quickly and independently 
C.	Write a developed essay with a clear thesis and support
D.	Write with some sophistication:  introduction should be more than a thesis; a conclusion should be more than a summary; an essay should have ample substance
E.	Plan and revise fairly independently employing all stages of the writing process as necessary and appropriate
F.	Recognize and revise common errors such as problems with comma splices throughout a piece
G.	Construct idiomatically correct sentences although there may be an “accent” resulting from a consistent type of ESL error
H.	Use a variety of rhetorics and structures, including documented sources
I.	Use MLA style with some guidance to set up papers and document sources

Contacting Me
It is vital that you contact me with any problems you are having regarding our class.  
1)	You may call me at my office:  638-3641 ext 3246.  I’m not in my office all of the time, so you will probably not hear back from me for 24 hours. Plus, our phones have been a bit wacky and aren’t always working. If it’s a real emergency, call and then e-mail me with your phone number so that I can call you from home.  Remember to leave your name, the time and day you called. 

2)	Office Hours:  Even though this is an online class, I still have office hours.  I’m in my office on Mondays 11 a.m. to noon; Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m.; Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m.  Other hours can be arranged if these do not work for you.  You can also just stop by my office.  If I am in and have time, we can talk then.  I can also meet you in Fresno/Clovis if you can’t come to my office.  
 
3)	You may e-mail me at lori.levine@reedleycollege.edu.  This is your best option for contacting me most of the time.  I check e-mail several times a day and try to answer student email as quickly as possible.  You can usually expect a 24 hour or less turn around.  If I don’t respond to you within 24 hours, e-mail me again unless it’s the weekend.  

I do make every effort to keep in touch with students. If I e-mail you, please respond back! 

E-mail Tips
1)	Please, please, please, fill in the subject line with your name and course section (either 53818 or 53839).  As I have two online classes, I will be filtering your e-mails into separate folders  

2)	Include your name in your e-mail.  E-mail addresses are not always helpful.  I’ve had students with e-mail addresses like hotgirl@yahoo.com . If she didn’t sign her name I wouldn’t know who she was. 

BEFORE YOU CONTINUE READING, PLEASE set up your email address on Blackboard.  Here’s how:

1.	Click on Tools
2.	Click on Personal Information
3.	Click on Edit Personal Information
4.	Enter your email address in the proper box
5.	Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Submit.”

If you change your e-mail address, change your e-mail in Bb and also e-mail me.  

Class Dates and Times
We will be using Blackboard as our classroom.  Our Blackboard classroom contains documents, announcements, and other information needed for our course; all of your written assignments will be submitted through Blackboard.  You should also check your e-mail daily!!!

A list of computer needs is on the Reedley College Website.  You will need access to the internet.  During the course, you will be required to watch videos and narrated PowerPoint presentations, so you will need speakers or headsets.  If you have an old computer or dial-up, you might have problems viewing some of the applications.  IN FACT, IF YOU HAVE DIAL-UP, I WOULD RECONSIDER TAKING THIS COURSE as dial-up might be too slow to run some of the applications!!!  Don’t rely on your friends for their computers; instead, get your computer fixed!!!  

Announcements and Work Load  I recommend checking the announcements daily!  I know the following might sound harsh, but you really need to know this….

Just because this is an online class does not mean it will be easier.  In some ways it might be harder because I will not be reminding you of due dates as I would in a face-to-face class.  In fact, you will have to be more self-motivated than in a face-to-face class. 

You also need to think of the time commitment an online class takes.  Remember that a face-to-face 125 class meets for almost 4 hours a week.  On top of that, for every unit you take, you are expected to do 2 to 3 hours of outside homework.  So, expect to work on this class for 10-15 hours a week.  This might seem like a lot, but you would do the same amount of work in a face-to-face class.  
  
Other Materials Needed
1.	Patterns for College Writing, 10th edition, By Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell
2.	I will include other websites for you to visits and handouts for you to print out.  You are responsible for reviewing all material provided. 
3.	A Pocket Style Manual (or another style handbook) by Diana Hacker.  
4.	It is a good idea to buy a dictionary and thesaurus 

Attendance Policy
1)	Although an online class does not chart attendance per se, you do need to make your presence known every week.  You are required to participate in peer evaluations.  You are required to participate in and make substantial contributions to the weekly discussion boards, you must respond to e-mails, and you must pay attention to announcements so that you know what we are doing in the class.  Again, I recommend that you login daily.  

2)	Failure to post to the discussion board for 14 days in a row (including weekends) and/or complete assignments, without contacting me, your instructor, will mean that you are no longer participating in the class and you might be dropped.  But, if you no longer wish to participate in the class, please drop yourself.  I am not responsible for you, you are!  (Also, drop me a note so I don’t worry)!

Due Dates 

Assignments will be due on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays.  You will have multiple assignments due at the same time, so keep up.  You can do assignments a head of time.  
Grades   This class is a graded class.  If you want to take it credit/no credit, you must change that setting by Friday, Sept. 19.  I think there is a form you fill out.  You need to find out.   

Below is the percentage breakdown for each type of assignment.  This breakdown might change if necessary.  

A=90-100%, B=80-89%, C=70-79%, D=60-69%, F=0-59%
	
Accessing your grades might seem a little tricky at first, but it’s not.  Your grades will be uploaded to micrograde.  You will be e-mailed a link, username, and password after the first time I upload the grades.  

You will be able to look at your quizzes in the Grade Book that is on Blackboard.  Here, you can view the correct answers and see what mistakes you might have made.  To see these grades, go to “My Grades” which is found in the TOOLS SECTION.  Just remember that even though you can find your quiz grades (and perhaps other grades) here, this isn’t where your final grade will be housed.  

ASSIGNMENT TYPES AND DESCRIPTIONS
Writing Assignments (aka WA, papers, and essays) 75%

1)	You will write 4-5 out-of-class Writing Assignments 
     In order to pass the class, you must:
a)	turn in each writing assignments. If you miss one of the writing assignments (worth 75% of your grade) you WILL NOT pass the class.  
b)	Receive a C average on your combined writing assignments.  If you do not, you will not pass the class regardless of the other work you have completed.  
2)	

Always keep a copy of each of your papers.  This protects you if I should happen to lose one of your papers.  You should be saving your work on your hard drive and backing up your work to  USB disk, or CD.  
3)	All papers will be submitted to Turnitin (a link will be provided for each assignment).  There is a video which shows you how to use Turnitin in the video section.  This program catches plagiarism.  If you plagiarize a paper, you will fail the class.  I have written more about plagiarism below.  There is a whole document on plagiarism in the syllabus folder and the “Other Documents” tab.  
4)	Word Processing Formats:  The most common word processing format is Microsoft Word. If you use another word processing program, you will need to save your work in Rich Text Format (RTF).  Guidelines for how to save in RTF are found under the Course Documents tab of the classroom Blackboard.  Please do not use Microsoft Works, Word Pad, or any other program that does not allow for easy conversion.  I cannot open documents that end in .docx.  Please save those in rich text format.  

5)	Sharing your work  Throughout the semester, we might be reading and commenting on each other’s papers—either the whole paper or part of the paper.  While this might be new to many of you, this exercise will help you be more critical with your own writing.  

6)	Conference with me.  Usually during the semester I hold face-to-face or telephone conferences to discuss your essays.  When I do, these will be mandatory.  
7)	Should I discover while reading your essay that you have not run spell check or sufficiently proofread and edited your work, I will discontinue reading and return the essay to you.  You will then have until the following week to revise the paper (the return date will be clearly marked for you).  The highest grade such a "returned" paper can receive is a "C".
8)	For all writing assignments, you must follow MLA format.  Please watch the MLA format video in the “Video” tab.
Briefly:   
a)	All writing assignments must be typed.
b)	Use Times New Roman Font size 12 
c)	Double space all writing assignments 
d)	Put your name, the class, the assignment number and the due date in the upper left hand corner.  
e)	All writing assignments must have a title:  make it interesting.  

Discussion Boards/Homework 15%
1.	Take the time to think about what you are writing so that your comments are well-written and complete.  
2.	When responding to others, don’t merely say “I agree.”  Instead, explain why you agree or disagree.  Try to carry on a discussion.   
3.	Remember that this is an academic environment and not a text message, an instant message, or an e-mail to your friends.  Your comments should be grammatically sound with regards to spelling and punctuation.  Please watch your language.  Cursing and inappropriate language are not acceptable.  If this occurs, action will be taken as necessary per school policy. Make sure that you capitalize “I.”  Do not abbreviate words.  Make sure you use academic English.  “Stupid” is not very academic and doesn’t tell the reader much!
a)	The following is an example of what is not allowed:  
i really thing that this is a stupide essay bec i dont like it i really like the other essay better
b)	This is better:
I thought that the author’s supporting arguments were weak.  For instance, the example he used regarding visiting his grandparents did not go into enough detail to really convince me of his point.  
2)	Remember that a portion of your grade is based upon the quantity, but more importantly, the quality of your discussion board participation.

Quizzes (10%)  

1)	Quizzes will be taken on various writing and grammar concepts.  All of the quizzes are found in the quiz folder.  Give yourself time to complete each quiz.  Occasionally, they will lock up on you.  If this happens e-mail me right away and I will open it as soon as I can.  If you wait until the last minute, I might not be able to reopen it for you.  The quizzes for each unit are due on a specific day.  Make sure you review the material and take notes before you attempt the quizzes.  You can print out all material.  While you are in a quiz, if you try to back out of it or open other windows, IT WILL LOCK UP ON YOU!!!

Late Work  
You will not get points for late homework/Discussion Board Responses.  Quizzes must be taken on time or you won’t be able to take them.  Final Writing Assignments, however, can be turned in up to one week late with permission.  Please e-mail me if you need extra time with the writing assignments.    

Appeal Procedure
Some students (not many, but some) try to manipulate the system by claiming to have turned in work which they did not do.  This means, as much as I might like to, I can’t take everyone’s word at face value.  Yet, we know mistakes happen.  So, here is the procedure for appealing a “missing” assignment. 

I will post an announcement when all the grades are recorded for a particular assignment (except for quizzes since they are mostly automatically scored).  After this announcement, you will have one week to appeal a missing assignment, contact me by email, and resubmit your assignment.  

If I do not hear from you in one week, I will assume the assignment did not come in on time and you will receive a zero grade if it does not come in at all.  It is your responsibility to monitor Blackboard daily for announcements. 

Essential Information
1)	It is your responsibility to stay informed concerning any changes of assignment due dates, readings, etc…  This means you should check the Blackboard announcements daily and your e-mail.  I post updates regularly.

2)	It is your responsibility to keep your e-mail on Bb updated.  

3)	It is your responsibility to officially withdraw from this and/or any course.  Failure to do so may result in an "F" grade being awarded.

4)	Because this is an online class, and we are using Blackboard, a class e-mail list is generated.  This e-mail list is to be used for school related messaging only.  Any other use of the e-mail list can result in your being dropped from the course.  Continued sending of unsolicited e-mail could be viewed as a form of harassment.  Appropriate action will be taken as necessary per school policy.

5)	Should you discover that you are unable to regularly attend class (online) for whatever reason, it is imperative that you discuss this with me as soon as possible.  Telling me of work schedule changes, illness, family emergencies, etc. after missing several days/weeks is unacceptable.

Important Dates
Important Dates
August 18 (M) Start of Fall semester
August 18-October 17 (M-F) Short-Term classes, first nine weeks
September 1 (M) Labor Day (no classes held, campus closed)
September 5 (F) Last day to register for a full-term fall class
September 5 (F) Last day to drop a fall full-term class to avoid a “W”
September 19 (F) Last day to change a fall class to/from a Pass/No-Pass grading basis
October 17 (F) Last day to drop a full full-term class (letter grades assigned after this date)
October 20-December 19 (M-F) Short-Term classes, second nine weeks
November 11 (T) Veterans Day (no classes held, campus is open)
November 27-28 (Th-F) Thanksgiving holidays
December 15-19 (M-F) Final exams week

Your final writing assignment will be due Monday, Dec. 15.  

Academic Accommodations

If you have a verified need for an academic accommodation or materials in alternate media (i.e. Braille, large print, electronic text, etc.) per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, please contact your instructor as soon as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions 
That Have Not Already Been Addressed!  

What is the little exclamation in the grade book on the Bb site?

The exclamation point simply says that your quiz went through properly and is waiting to be graded.  Some quizzes are automatically graded as they are multiple choice.  If they are not, I will have to go in and grade them myself.  This might take a week or so.  After I grade them, you will be able to open them through the grade book function, and review the quiz.  The correct answers will usually be available at that time.  

I have a question mark or a lock next in my grade book next to a quiz or exam.  What does this mean?

This means that for some reason the quiz or exam did not go through properly.  This usually results from either you dropping off line, having a power failure, exiting the program before you have finished the quiz or exam or hitting the enter button instead of clicking on the submit button at the bottom of the page. 

If this happens, you must email me immediately to clear the lock.  I check my email several times a day and can usually clear it within 24 hours or less. 

I couldn’t access Blackboard.  What do I do?

Wait and try again.  If you keep having trouble accessing Blackboard try the following before emailing me:

•	Turn off your computer entirely and unplug it.  Let it sit for 5 minutes. Then plug it back in and try accessing the web site again.
•	Check the URL for the site and be sure you are entering it correctly.  The URL you should use is http://blackboard.reedleycollege.edu . 
•	Try accessing another website from your computer that you have not accessed recently.  This will clarify if the problem is with Blackboard or with your own browser or internet service provider. 
•	Hit the refresh button.  Sometimes a “page not found” screen gets stuck in the browser’s cache.  Refreshing the page will sometimes clear it. 
•	Turn off any parental control or other content filters.  Sometimes these filters, as valuable as they are, can filter out good content as well as bad. 
•	Call 1-866-401-7784.  This is the Bb help desk.  

Can’t I just bring in my paper in person or leave it with the receptionist at school?

No.  This is an online class and everything is done electronically.  

Can I email you to find out if you got my papers?

You can, but it’s not necessary.  If you submitted it correctly, then I should get it.  

Can I call you if I need help with my computer?

I am not a computer technician, nor is my job as an instructor to act as computer support.  While I might be able to help with small issues here and there, you really need to know how to use your computer and get computer support elsewhere.  Often, the Bb help desk will be able to help you.  

What if my computer won’t let me access the PowerPoint presentations?

Try to reload Java.  You go to Java.com and download it.  It’s very easy.  The computer I am using now is new and the first time I tried to access the PPT presentations, I had to do the same thing.  

Can I get extra credit in this class?

No.  

How can I read your comments on my paper?

After I have finished reading your paper, I will upload it to your digital dropbox.  You can read my comments then.  I will either type directly into your paper, or use the tracking feature on Microsoft Word.  

What is the policy on plagiarism in this class?

We have a no tolerance policy here.  If you plagiarize a writing assignment or answers on your quizzes, you will receive zero points for the assignment.  If I catch you copying someone else’s work or having someone else do your work, I will send you to the Dean of Students, and you will receive a zero for that assignment and perhaps a failing grade in the class.  For more information on plagiarism, look at the plagiarism document in the course documents folder and refer to your schedule of classes.