English 1114 with Richard Jewell - Inver Hills Community College

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Dates+Wkly. Asgnmnts.

Readings/Resources

Writing of Papers

Grading

Attendance

Bulletin Boards

FAQs & Index

                
         The chart above shows how your three credits for this course are distributed in work time.  In terms of your overall grading, a total of 100%, 100+ points, or 100+ X's are possible in the course.  Counting all of your weekly papers and all writing and reading, your homework is worth 67%, which is the same in this class as 67 points or 67 X's.  Your attendance is worth 33%, points, or X's.  Your active participation/improvement or lack of it can move your final grade up or down mildly to strongly, up to a letter grade higher or lower.   Extra credit - mainly for attendance but also for an extra Draft 4 - also is possible.  See the "Grading" page in this Web site for more details. 

        There are two main types of readings in this course, and several kinds of writings.  First, every week, you will have one or more chapters to read from the two nonfiction books we are examining this term.  I'll also ask you to write some notes about what you have read so that I know you have read the books (and so I don't have to give pop quizzes or other tests).  There also will be, during the first half of the term, readings from our online writing textbook and our online grammar handbook.  You'll also have to do some brief "Study Questions" about these textbook and grammar handbook readings.  

        What about graded papers?  Normally, there would be two major ones, both related in some way to the books we will read and discuss.  However, this particular section of this course is different from most other composition courses in that there are no regular graded papers.  Instead, there is a series of drafts of different papers, and each draft, when satisfactorily completed, receives two or more X's (depending on its difficulty).  You will have as many times as you need to fix these drafts until they are right.  They replace graded papers.  

        Why am I using this system of having a lot of non-graded, X'ed drafts?  It is my experience that people learn writing best from a lot of practice.  I can guarantee you that by the end of this course, if you have worked hard and received a "C" or better for the course, you will be a better writer--and probably a much better, more confident writer.  Students who have used this system in past terms tell me that they feel less pressure and like having as many opportunities as they can to get their papers right.  This system also rewards those who work hard and work consistently.  It simply is a matter of practice.  Consider this course your apprenticeship in writing, as if you were apprenticed to a craftsman (me) who takes you just one step at a time and gives you plenty of chances to get each step right, as long as you are willing to keep working.

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        The due dates and delivery of your homework are as follows: 
     

LATE PAPERS and MAKE UP: "See "Late Papers and Make Up" below.

            
Submitting weekly papers by email?  

SAVING ONLINE MESSAGES: Are you ending homework by email?  Always keep a copy in case your email is lost.  Keep it until the end of the term.  If your email system has a "sent mail" folder, you may want to not delete items from the folder until after you have received your final grade.  Are you using a bulletin board (BB)?  Be careful to wait until you see your message appear on the bulletin board, like other messages, before doing anything else on your computer.  If you still have trouble losing BB messages, write and save them in MS Word first; then copy them to the BB and send them.

ALSO:

            (1) Please make them in-text--in the text of your email itself--not attached. That means you should simply write them as an email message or, if you already have them on a word processing file, you should use your mouse and your "Edit" function to mark, then "Copy," and then "Paste" them into a regular email message. 

            (2) To help me keep your paper separate from my regular email, use this subject title: Course #  & section #, the Week Due, Assignment Type, and Name+Initial: e.g., "1111-99 Wk. 5 Comments Sue J.,"  

            (3) Always keep a copy until after the end of the course when you've received your course grade. 

            (4) If you send me an email message (other than homework), please write "Question" in the subject line so I'll open it right away.  Be sure your full name is somewhere in the email, too.  And in the first several weeks, please remind me which course and section you're in.  I ask this because I receive several dozen homework assignments each week by email, and I only open homework once or twice per week. (5-05) 

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See the "Readings & Resources" page in this web site. 

If you want to know what the reading assignments are for each week, please see Dates/Weekly Assignments in this web site.

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Introduction        Study Questions        Journals        Drafts 1-4 of Papers

How to Present/Type the Weekly Papers (Study Questions & Journals)        Submitting by email?

Introduction

            All assignments are shown in the weekly "Schedule," and almost all are rough draft.  The rough-draft papers may be written quickly, even sloppily, by pen or computer printout (but Drafts 1-4 do have to be typed).  You'll get a check mark for doing them and receive a grade at the end of the term for how many check marks you've received.  The comments about your readings are meant to help you think more about--and better absorb--the readings, and also to learn how to summarize, interpret, and evaluate.  In addition, these comments help me know that you are doing the readings.  They are like lab practice in a biology course or drills in physical education or sports: for your practice and thinking.  I will skim these papers quickly, but I won't usually read every word that you write, as the papers are mainly for your practice (and besides, I receive 100-400 such papers per week from my four or five classes, so I don't have time to read and comment on all).  For this reason, if you have a question or want me to look at a particular place on your comments, write a note to me in dark ink or circled at the top of your paper so I will notice it!  I will be glad to answer any questions you have or look more carefully at a part or a paper special to you and comment on it.  By having these "practice" papers, we can avoid tests, pop quizzes, and other objective testing.   

            All papers must be on time.  Late papers are not accepted because most of them help you prepare for class discussions and activities.  Most assigned papers for any given week always will be due on Wednesday or Thursday of that week (depending on whether my classes for the term are on M/W or T/Th), whether on campus or online.  (And for a night class, your papers will be due at the time you show up for class.)  However, there are some exceptions: see "Due Dates & Delivery Methods" above for more.

            Please remember to consider the weekly writings as "lab" papers--written in very rough-draft form--without worrying about grammatical usage, spelling, or punctuation:

HOW TO PRESENT THE WEEKLY PAPERS

Directions: (1) Read the assigned chapters.

(2) Write about what you read.  In most weeks, there will be a different type of writing to do about your chapters.  Please see the schedule to determine what kind of paper you should write in any given week. 

(3) When you write your weekly papers about your readings, you will need to write a minimum number of words.  Please check the weekly schedule to see how many words you must write in a particular week for a particular type of paper.  Please also use the following directions in presenting all papers about readings, "Study Questions," and "Journals" - your doing this, as shown below, will help me process your papers more easily, given that I have a few hundred short papers to look at each week:

HOW TO PRESENT THE WEEKLY PAPERS

                          
STUDY QUESTIONS

Directions:

(1) First, read the required composition-book or grammar-handbook chapter(s).  Read it all if it is a general-information or introductory-information chapter.  However, if it is a chapter about one specific type of writing (e.g., a thesis paper), then you only need to read the sections in the top four boxes: "Introduction," "Basics," "Advanced," and "Samples."  Reading other parts, like "Fun" and "Exercises," is optional. 

(2) Next, at the beginning of the chapter, click on the Web link to the "General Study Questions."  This will take you to the study questions.  They are always exactly the same, and on exactly the same Web page: they never change.  It doesn't matter which chapter you are in.  (The link for the "Study Questions" usually is at the top of the chapter's home page.  If you can't find a link, go directly to the "Questions"--by clicking here or writing the Web address http://CollegeWriting.info/studyquestions.htm--or go to another chapter that does have the link to the "Study Questions" and use that link.)  

(3) Once you're in "General Study Questions," look at  the four types of study questions.  Choose which type you want to do.  However, please note: for a general-intro or general-info chapter, you only can do "Study Questions Set A" or "Study Questions Set B."  For the other type of chapter--one on a specific type of writing, and also containing sample papers--you can choose any of the four types of questions you want.

(4) To read how to turn in all "Study Questions," please see above, "How To Present the Weekly Papers."  When you write your answers to the "Study Questions," please note in the upper-right corner of your sheet of paper which set ("A: Responses" "B: Points," "C: Answers about Chapters," or "D: Answers about Samples") you have chosen to do.  This will help me remember which type is which, as some of these are new for me, too.  

            The main purpose of your writing "Study Questions" is to think about the assigned reading on paper: i.e., using a different part of your brain than is used in reading and in marking the text.  A second purpose is to better recall what you read: studies show that the more ways you communicate--to yourself or others--what you have read, the more you tend to remember of it.  And a third purpose is, simply, to prove to me that you did the reading.  Please remember that though this may seem tedious, it replaces pop quizzes and tests, and it also helps almost 100% of learners remember better.

JOURNALS

Directions: There are only a few journals.  For the "Hello Richard" and the "Goodbye Richard" journals, write 300+ words thoughtfully and/or creatively.  In the "Hello Richard" Journal, simply say hi to me, tell me about yourself, and tell me how you feel about writing of different kinds and why or how.  For the "Goodbye Richard" journal, tell me how the course worked for you, what you learned, what you still need to learn, and what you hope to do with your learning about writing in the future.  For the Journal about the Web site, please see the directions in the "Schedule."   For all three journals, simply type/handwrite 300+ words in rough-draft form.

To read how to turn in all "Journals," please see above, "How To Present the Weekly Papers."
     

DRAFT 1, 2, 3, AND 4 PAPERS

         The final type of weekly papers is the drafts of papers to write each week.  You will have a number of drafts to write, and all of them should relate in some way to the books we are reading and studying; however, you will get to pick the particular subjects. for your Draft 1-4 papers.  There is no grading of these papers.  You'll simply receive X's for each correct draft.  And if a draft isn't right, you'll have time in which to fix it--and even fix it again, if necessary. The only limit you will have for fixing these drafts is the length of the class itself:  you must have all the drafts (or as many as you can) done by the end of the semester.  Basically, here is how it works:

To see when the Drafts 1-4 are due, go to the top of this Web page and click on "Schedule."  Or, for a one-page summary of all the assignments, go to the top of this Web page and click on "TABLE OF ASSIGNMENTS" (and then return to this Web by closing the MS Word window).

            The Draft 1's are short--about 500+ words each, and just require a typed rough draft.  The Draft 2's require the addition of more supporting details (stories, quotations, etc.) and greater length.  The Draft 3's require proper typing, proper citation of sources and a proper bibliography, better paragraph organization, and a bit more length.  The Draft 4's require careful editing for grammar, spelling, and punctuation, along with a bit more final length.  Each draft also requires one or two more sources.  The directions for these papers are in your "Course Packet," which you can access by going to the top of this Web page and clicking on "TABLE OF ASSIGNMENTS."

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            How much work is a typical college class?  3 cr. = 9 hrs./wk.; 4 cr. = 12 hrs./wk. That includes both class and homework.  I'd like to ask you for your commitment this semester to the expected amount of time for work. The Inver Hills (and national) standard is three hours of work (two of homework and one of class time) per week for every one college credit, to receive an average grade. This class is a three-credit class, so please plan on spending at least nine hours per week on class and homework: three on class and six on homework.  This represents an average--some weeks may be less, some more.  It also represents the work needed by the average college student to receive an average grade (which, nationally, is probably a "B" or "B-" in the first two years of college).  If you want an "A, " have not had much practice with writing, or tend to be a below-average student, you may need to work more than the amount of time described here.

            Please note that some people tell me they just think I am saying this to scare them a little, but that in reality this will be like most other classes in which you can skip a lot and still do okay.  That is not the case.  I am telling you the truth.  I have surveyed many of my composition classes (both 1108 and 1114), and the average hrs. per week that people work for and attend my class (combined) in 1114 is about 7 hrs./week.  This works out to about 2.5 hrs. of attendance and 4.5 hrs. of homework per week.  And the average grade is a B.  If you want an A - or if you are weak in writing - you may have to work much harder and longer.  And there will be some weeks that are much, much harder, while others may be a bit easier.  Basically, my students tell me that they rarely have to work as hard in other classes as they have in mine.  But those who finish almost always tell me it was well worth it because of how much they have learned.  Ask around.

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            There is no make up or extra credit for missed homework.  If you miss doing them, then you cannot get credit for them.  If you are interested in doing make up/extra credit for attendance, please go to "ATTENDANCE/Makeup and Extra Credit." 

            Why don't I allow make up of missed homework?  There are four reasons.  They all boil down to the fact that we can't accomplish as much, have as much fun, or develop your writing abilities as well if you can be late all the time in getting your homework done.  If you're interested in the four reasons individually, here they are.  

            (1) First and most important, much of the value of doing homework is gone when you do it very late--after we have discussed it in class/on the bulletin board.  If a lot of people didn't read the assignment on time (which is what happens when a teacher doesn't require it), I would have to review and explain the assignment step by step before we, as a whole class, could practice it or talk about it in some way.  And if I did this, even fewer people would want to read the assignment, which would result in my needing to review the assignment in class even longer.  As a result, there would be no point in giving the assignment, and all I would be doing is spending each class reviewing.  Instead, if most of you have read the assignment ahead of time, not only will you know the material much better, but also--and more important--we can do something with the material in class.  We can do group work, class games, discussion and sharing, etc., etc.  

     

            (2) In addition, you won't be able to talk very well on the online discussion boards if you haven't read the assignment.  You might say things that don't even apply, and/or other people in the class might have to take the time to tell you what is in the reading assignment.  

     

            (3)  Another reason why I don't allow make up of missed homework is that I then would have way too many papers to process in the last few weeks of the class.  

    

            (4) And the final reason is that with all the writing and revising of your Drafts 3 and 4 near the end, you wouldn't do as well on these final drafts if you were taking a lot of time out to make up of a bunch of other homework.  

There are, however, exceptions.  They are as follows:

• In the first several weeks, if you have made an honest mistake about when something is due, talk with me, and I can make an exception.  This is good only for a few weeks, until everyone understands the rules.
                             

• Also, weekly homework is not due if you aren't in class.  You will get "0's" for being absent, and then your papers are not due until the next time you come to class.  The next time, simply write on them "wasn't here last week," and I'll accept them automatically for full credit.  (However, there are two final deadlines for weekly homework - Wk. 7 and Wk. 15 - that cannot for any reason be extended.)
                  

• You also can still come to class but "pretend" to be absent: write down "0's" for absence as if you are not present.  Then your weekly papers are not due until the next time you come to class.  (Your papers always must be turned in at the very next class you attend, unless you take more "0's" for attendance.)  When you turn them in the next time, simply write on them "took 0's for attendance," and I'll accept them automatically for full credit.

        Beyond these exceptions, if you miss some of your homework, you cannot make it up.  .  

        However, you are allowed attendance make up/extra credit.  In fact, you can do so much attendance make up/extra credit that it can help balance out a bad homework grade.  You can just keep doing attendance extra credit way past an "A+" for attendance--e.g., you can earn an A++++--and this will average in with your homework grade to help pull it up higher.  For example, if you were to receive a "B" for homework (60% of your overall grade) because of missing assignments, you could do a lot of make up and extra credit work for attendance and receive an "A++++++" for attendance (20% of your overall grade); each "+" equals 1/3 of a letter grade, and the two grades here would average to a full "A."

            Again, if you are interested in doing make up/extra credit for attendance, please go to "ATTENDANCE/Makeup and Extra Credit." 

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Asking a Question by Email?  

Just email me at Richard at Jewell dot net by eleven a.m. M.-F., and I'll usually get back to you within two or three hours, six days per week.  I'm slower on Saturdays, and don't do email at all on Sundays.  Be sure, however, to write in the subject line the word "Question" somewhere, and your first and last name.  Why?  I have an online class that sends me lots of homework by email, and I only open homework once a week.  So, if you want me to answer you within a day, you need to let me know that your email is a question and not just homework.  I'm very happy to answer such questions, usually very quickly (once a day), so just let me know that you have a question.  And why your name?  I get a lot of email with some pretty interesting fictional email names, but these people forget to tell me their actual, real names, so I sometimes have no idea what class they are taking from me.  In the first several weeks, it might help if you tell me not only your name, but also your course and section.  Later on, your name will be enough if you tell me your actual, real name.

Submitting Homework by Email?  

1. I really prefer that you not send me homework by email.  (Why?  Processing it takes me a lot of extra time.)  If you are going to miss a class, your assignment is not due until the next time you come to class, so there usually is no need to send me homework by email.  However, if you really need to submit something "Study Questions" and "Journals" by email, please use these directions.  (To submit Drafts 1-4 by email, see the directions below.)
           

2. Please make your assignments in-text - in the text of your email itself - not attached. That means you should simply write them as an email message or, if you already have them on a word processing file, you should use your mouse and your "Edit" function to mark, then "Copy," and then "Paste" them into a regular email message. 
           

3. To help me keep your paper separate from my regular email, use this subject title: Course #  & section #, the Week Due, Assignment Type, and Name+Initial: e.g., "1111-99 Wk. 5 Comments Sue J.,"  
           

4. Always keep a copy until after the end of the course when you've received your course grade. 
           

5. If you send me an email message (other than homework), please write "Question" in the subject line: see above.  (11-04)

Sending a Draft 1-4 by Email Attachment: 

This is a complex for some people: don't try it unless you know what you're doing with MS Word attachments.  These directions are for MS Word (not "Works") using Windows for PCs.  (If you have a Mac/Apple, I'm not sure whether these directions will work.):

1. State the type of paper (e.g., D1-A, D3-E, etc.).  

2. State what the previous version was (1st-time Draft 2, 2nd-time Draft 3, etc.), and whether it got X's, yet.  

3. If it didn't get X's, copy my comments into your email.  Also tell me what I circled on the cover sheet.  (If you know how to scan and attach the marked cover sheet, that would work, too.)

4. Then send me an email with two things attached: the cover sheet and the paper.  I'd prefer to have them in one attachment together, but if you don't know how to fix the margins, then two separate attachments is okay.  (And if you only know how to attach the paper--not the cover sheet--that's okay, too, as long as you've done "1."-"3." above.).  I'll look the paper over and make comments. 

- End of Writing of the Papers -

You may always return to the home page by clicking on "Home Page" on the left-hand side of the bar at the top.  You also may click on the picture to the right.  You also may Google "richard.jewell" or "richardjewell" to find a link to this site.
Contents and page design: Copyright (©) 2005-2008 by Richard Jewell 

Images courtesy of IHCC, Barry's Clip Art, Clip Art Warehouse, Clip Art Universe, Clipart Collection, MS Clip Art Gallery and Design Gallery Live, School Discovery, and Web Clip Art

First date of publication: January 1, 2005.  Graphics redesigned June 3, 2007 & Aug. 1, 2008.
Home page server URL:  www.umn.edu/home/jewel001/composition/1114/home.htm    
Questions, suggestions, comments, or other contact: See http://www.Richard.Jewell.net

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