Course Syllabus
Seattle Central College
ENGL 098: Integrated Reading and Writing II (virtual hybrid), Winter 2021
Instructor: Susan Casey
E-mail: susan.casey@seattlecolleges.edu
Online Class Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00-10:50 a.m.
Email Office Hours: 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Wednesdays
New Class Format
Welcome to ENGL 098! This is a “Virtual Hybrid” course. That means that we will have two required online class meetings each week. I will take attendance, just as I would in a regular classroom. You will be able to join to join our class on Zoom. I strongly encourage you to use your camera during class: students who engage in online courses in this way tend to have more success and higher final grades.
Materials
Readings, grammar review exercises, and writing strategies exercises will be provided for you in our Canvas course. Please buy the class novel, Jamie Ford’s Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (available in the SCC bookstore and in other bookstores). A few e-books may also be available through the Seattle Public Library.
Course Goals
In this course, students will develop their academic reading, writing and critical thinking skills.
- You will read essays, a novel, and other texts.
- You will collect your ideas into thoughtfully organized paragraphs.
- You will develop your ideas into short essays.
- You will improve your sentence-level skills and assess your skills with quizzes.
- You will hone your editing skills and revise essays for problems with organization, grammar, punctuation, and coherence.
- You will gain the reading and writing competency necessary for ENGL 101 and for your future college coursework.
Course Outcomes
Students who complete this course will be able to:
- Identify the major parts of speech in sentences.
- Participate in class discussions about college-level readings and the class novel.
- Recognize a variety of writing patterns and write well-organized paragraphs and essays using these patterns.
- Edit their own writing for sentence-level errors as well as organizational problems.
Class participation is essential for successful completion of this online course. Plan to participate regularly during our online class meetings. If you are ill or unable to participate in the class meetings for some reason, please email me. (You also have a chance to connect with your classmates on our Canvas discussion boards.)
Writing Assignments. Throughout this course, we will spend time focusing on sentences, paragraphs, and essays. In addition, we will study the following writing patterns:
- Description (Weeks 1 & 2)
- Narration (Weeks 3 & 4)
- Classification (Weeks 5-7)
- Cause and Effect (Weeks 8-10)
Assignments, quizzes and discussion posts should be completed on time. If you are absent or unable to participate, please email me.
If you cannot avoid turning in a paper late, because of illness or an emergency, you may still turn it in; however, you will lose five points for each day it is late. If you’re looking for a high grade, you’ll want to turn your papers in on time.
If you are not able to complete your discussion-board post by the deadline, you can email your responses to me directly. Please get in touch with me when you are interested in making up a missed discussion-board post this way.
There will be no make-ups for missed quizzes. However, there will be a few extra-credit opportunities later in the quarter.
College etiquette. The college environment, both in the classroom and online, is a place where adults come together to share ideas, consider other perspectives, and learn. None of this can happen if we don’t work within an atmosphere of courtesy and mutual respect. Disruptive or disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated. Any time you engage with a classmate online, please be just as thoughtful as you hope others will be with you.
Plagiarism—turning in someone else’s writing as your own—will not be tolerated. Plagiarism will earn you a zero for that assignment. Continuing offenses will lead to disciplinary action. Every student can contribute to the class in some more meaningful way; don’t resort to this.
Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need course adaptations or accommodation in the classroom because of a disability or if you have any medical information to share with me, please let me know in the first week of the quarter so that we can plan accordingly.
Grades will be determined by adding up the number of points you earn on writing assignments, quizzes, and discussion boards. Grades on individual writing assignments will be determined after a consideration of writing ability and effort. I will give you feedback on how you can strengthen your writing skills. I do not give make-up quizzes, so use your class schedule to plan ahead. (If you want to earn a 2.0 or above, you will need at least 750 points out of the possible 1,000 points.)
Class-meeting participation: 50 points
Four writing assignments: #1 & 2: 100 pts., #3 & 4: 125 points 450 points
Ten quizzes: 20 points each 200 points
Ten discussion boards: 30 points each 300 points
Total: 1,000 points
Your final number of points will correspond with a grade based on the 4.0 scale (see attached chart). Do your best on every assignment.
Students will need to earn a 3.0 or better (at least 850 points) in order to move on to ENGL 101. Students who earn 750-849 points will move on to ENGL 099-101.
I’m looking forward to working with you. Good luck this quarter!
Final Grade Scale
950-1000 points = 4.0 790-799 points = 2.4
940-949 points = 3.9 780-789 points = 2.3
930-939 points = 3.8 770-779 points = 2.2
920-929 points = 3.7 760-769 points = 2.1
910-919 points = 3.6 750-759 points = 2.0
900-909 points = 3.5 740-749 points = 1.9
890-899 points = 3.4 730-739 points = 1.8
880-889 points = 3.3 720-729 points = 1.7
870-879 points = 3.2 710-719 points = 1.6
860-869 points = 3.1 700-709 points = 1.5
850-859 points = 3.0 690-699 points = 1.4
840-849 points = 2.9 680-689 points = 1.3
830-839 points = 2.8 670-679 points = 1.2
820-829 points = 2.7 660-669 points = 1.1
810-819 points = 2.6 650-659 points = 1.0
800-809 points = 2.5 0-649 points = 0.0