Institution:
Discipline: English
Title: College Writing
Instructor:

College Writing

Textbooks

• The Ready Reference Handbook: Writing, Revising, Editing, Jack Dodds, Allyn and Bacon, 2000, ISBN 0 205 31019 2
• Plato Software (College provides)
• Online articles

Course Description

ENC 1101 is a challenging and exciting course. Opting to take this class with the 50/50 designation allows me to offer you the opportunity to meet half of the state mandated contact hours via our on line platform. Instead of spending three hours each week in a designated classroom, you will spend half of that time on line; the other half you will come to class and work with me and a small group of students on reading and writing assignments.

ENC 1101 is the first required general course in college level writing. You will compose essays and other works using various methods of development. This course fulfills 8,000 words of the Gordon Rule requirement and must be completed with a grade of “C” or better.

Prerequisites

Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) score of 440 or more on the verbal subtest; American College Testing (ACT) score of 17 or more on the English subtest; Computerized Placement Test (CPT) score of 83 or more on the English subtest; or ENC 0021 with a grade of “S.”

Course Competencies

Competency #1: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the writing process by:

a. Choosing and limiting a subject that can be sufficiently developed within a given time, for a specific purpose, for a specific purpose and audience.

b. Developing and refining pre writing and planning skills.

c. Formulating the main point to reflect the subject and purpose of the writing.

d. Supporting the main point with specific details and arranging them logically.

e. Writing an effective conclusion.

Competency #2: The student will demonstrate proficiency in writing a unified and coherent essay using methods of development suited to the topic by:

a. Writing an introductory paragraph.

b. Constructing a thesis statement.

c. Developing the thesis by:

1. Providing adequate support that reflects the ability to distinguish between generalized and concrete evidence.

2. Arranging the ideas and supporting details in a logical pattern appropriate to the purpose and focus. These may include descriptive, narrative, evaluative writing, process analysis, comparisons and contrast, cause and effect, and exemplification and others.

3. Writing unified prose in which all supporting material is relevant to the thesis.

4. Writing coherent prose providing effective transitional devices.

d. Writing a concluding paragraph.

Competency #3: The student will demonstrate the ability to proofread, edit, and revise by:

a. Recognizing and correcting errors in clarity.

b. Recognizing and correcting errors in unity and coherence.

c. Using conventional sentence structure and correcting sentence errors such as fragments, run ons, comma splices, misplaced modifiers and faulty parallelism.

d. Recognizing and correcting errors in utilizing the conventions of Standard American English including:

1. Using standard verb forms and consistent tense.

2. Maintaining agreement between subject and verb, pronoun and antecedent.

3. Using proper case forms consistent point of view.

4. Using standard spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

5. Selecting vocabulary appropriate to audience, purpose, and occasion.

Competency #4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of various reading selections by:

a. Identifying main ideas, purpose, overall organizational patterns, supporting details, and elements of coherence in assigned readings.

b. Distinguish fact from opinion.

c. Summarizing and/or paraphrasing passages.

Competency #5: The student will integrate research materials into a piece of writing by:

a. Assembling research sources on a designated subject.

b. Taking effective notes from research sources.

c. Recognizing when and how to document sources.

Assignments and Percentages

Folder #1 (10%)

This is a compilation of work for the first four weeks of the semester. This first folder should include the following:

1. Table of Contents
2. Reflective Essay (1 page)
3. Discussion Postings and Responses
4. Notes
5. Drafts of Essays
6. In Class Writing Samples
7. Report for Plato Activities

Folder #2 (15%)

This is a compilation of work done from week four to week eight. It should demonstrate greater development, control, and depth than the previous folder.

1. Table of Contents
2. Reflective Essay (2 pages)
3. Discussion Postings and Responses
4. Notes
5. Drafts of Essays
6. In Class Writing Samples
7. Power Point Presentation (At least 10 slides)
8. Report for Plato Activities

Folder #3 (15%)

This is a compilation of work done from week nine to week thirteen. It should be a showcase of your writing skills.

1. Table of Contents
2. Reflective Essay (3 pages)
3. Discussion Postings
4. Drafts of Essays
5. In Class Writing Samples
6. Research Essay

Cape Florida Research and Education Project (30%)

Students will participate in investigating the Cape Florida Restoration Project. They will have the opportunity to participate in a 20 hour service learning project. Participants will work with me and a Cape Florida biologist to help restore a portion of park land. The work is physically intensive and very rewarding. Service learning participants will be assigned to a group. Each member will have a particular task to complete which will become part of an oral and written group presentation at the end of the semester. This semesters’ project will also include working with a local elementary school and developing a mentoring program around the theme of South Florida and environmental literacy.

Students who do not choose to do service learning will participate in the Cape Florida Project by providing secondary research. They will write a report of approximately ten pages in length that will involve library and Internet research. This report will be integrated to the group presentation at the end of the term.