Spring Semester Dr. Andrew L. Smith Office: [no on-campus office this semester] Phone: n/a Email: asmith@hcc.mass.edu Office Hours: by email and scheduled chat room sessions
PREREQUISITES: English 102
REQUIRED TEXTS:
NOTE: Look for new and used copies of these texts online at www.amazon.com -- but order BEFORE the semester begins.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: English 223 focuses on developing the specific, clear, and lucid prose demanded by a variety of professional writing situations. We will attend to various types of professional correspondence, prepare job application materials, and work on a longer project or report studying a particular problem that student groups or individuals have researched within their respective disciplines. Many professional jobs are contingent upon computer literacy. Thus, students will have the opportunity to become acquainted with several software applications, the Internet, and the Web. This course will be especially helpful in preparing students for the demands associated with writing and communicating in professional careers.
SUGGESTED METHODS OF INSTRUCTION: Informal writings: These will be brief practice exercises relating to the day's lesson. They may be graded and count toward a student's class participation. There may be quizzes as well to help students keep up with the reading assignments.
Peer editing: Students may exchange papers with colleagues and evaluate one another's work. Generally, the instructor will give students several questions or points to look for as they read through another student's prose. Editing offers writers the chance to help other writers, to learn from their strengths and weaknesses, to apply what they learn to their own writing, and to be more careful, analytical readers. The peer editing exercise will give students a very real sense that the writing audience is much more than that course's teacher.
Major Assignments: There will be 15 standard assignments identified below. All assignments will be drafted and typed in a word processing program and will be submitted within WebCT to either the bulletin board or the private email system. Over half of the standard class assignments will lead to the design and completion of a major report or project, due at the end of the semester. The course may include short online lectures (in written form), longer discussion sessions, possibly guest speakers from business and industry, computer applications, and reading assignments.
Bulletin Board: I will require students to engage in bulletin board discussions to assist one another.
Electronic Mail We will rely upon the private email through WebCT, not external email systems. Please do not submit any assignments to me by outside email. The course bulletin board is the STANDARD communications center for the entire semester. All work written for this course will be submitted through WebCT's bulletin board and/or WebCT private email.
Attendance Requirements This course is asynchronous, which means that you will not have to login to the course at a specific time during the week. However, your ongoing active participation is crucial to your success and the success of the course. I expect students to log into the course at least 3 times each week. You are required to participate in bulletin board discussions each week. If you fail to log into the course for a period of 5 or more consecutive days, I will withdraw you from the course for inactivity. You will be asked on numerous occasions throughout the semester to post your own questions on the bulletin board for other members of the class to respond to. The software that we use for this course allows me to track your involvement in every area of the course. I will know precisely when you log onto the course Web site, which items your read online, and how long you spent reading each item. This is all to say that ENG223--online is a demanding course, perhaps even more so than a traditional course because you will need to be self-motivated, prompt, and detail-oriented.
Plagiarism Policy Plagiarizing, which is defined as the taking and using as one's own the writings or ideas of another (definition adapted from the American Heritage Dictionary) is unacceptable. The course's teacher administers discipline for the first offense. Please see the HCC plagiarism policy in the college catalog under "Academic Integrity." There is a particular danger to students in having so many new resources available on the Web. It is easier than ever to copy someone else's work. Please be very careful that all ideas and quotations of others are properly documented in your papers. I will know when you have taken information that is not your own. If such an event occurs, I will give a student an "F" for the assignment, and may exercise the option of removing the student from the course with an "AW" or "F." If the offence is particularly egregious, I may seek judicial action through the College's administration.
Guidelines for Submitting Written Work Type all papers, saving them with multiple backups. Make certain that you have a margin of one inch on all sides of the paper. Put your name, the date, and the type of assignment at the top left corner of the first page. Do not use a cover page. Number all pages at the top, either in the center or at the right-hand side. Send all assignments to me through WebCT. I'll ask that you post many of your assignments to the course bulletin board for others in the class to read and consider.
Students with Disabilities Policy Every effort will be made to accommodate those students with special needs. Students who need assistance should contact the Office for Students with Disabilities before beginning their first semester so that services can be provided in a timely manner. Please call the campus switchboard (413-552-2600, then 0) for information, AND contact me immediately.
Grading Policy Assignments are due at the beginning of class on due dates. Remember that English 223 is designed to prepare you for the professional world where deadlines have to be strictly adhered to. Your course grade will be based on the following assignments and their relative values (subject to change):
Description
Value
In-class assignments, Assignments #1, #2, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, and #9
25%
Assignment #3
10%
Assignments #10, #11, #12, and #14
30%
Assignment #13
35%
Assignment #15 is not graded, but is required of all members of group projects
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Grade Breakdown
A+
97-100
A
93-96
A-
90-92
B+
87-89
B
83-86
B-
80-82
C+
77-79
C
73-76
C-
70-72
D+
67-69
D
63-66
D-
60-62
F
0-59
A - The company would be delighted to send this message. It not only meets the problem goals, but it does so in a particularly ingenious or elegant way. It is substantially better than the ordinary acceptable message. B - The company would be willing to send this message. It meets the problem goals and communicates adequately in every respect. C - The company would be unwilling to send this message. Although it is acceptable in many respects, it must be disqualified for one major weakness or several minor ones. It could probably be turned into an acceptable message with some judicious editing; the writer wouldn't have to start over from scratch. D - The company would be unwilling to send this message and would be inclined to question the competence of the writer. Although it shows some evidence of an attempt to apply principles discussed in the course, the attempt was not generally successful. Rather than attempting to revise, the writer should throw out this message and begin again from scratch. F - The company would seriously consider firing this writer. The message shows no evidence of application of the principles discussed in the course and probably would do much more harm than good if it were sent. The writer should study basic principles carefully before beginning this message again from scratch.
A - The company would be delighted to send this message. It not only meets the problem goals, but it does so in a particularly ingenious or elegant way. It is substantially better than the ordinary acceptable message.
B - The company would be willing to send this message. It meets the problem goals and communicates adequately in every respect.
C - The company would be unwilling to send this message. Although it is acceptable in many respects, it must be disqualified for one major weakness or several minor ones. It could probably be turned into an acceptable message with some judicious editing; the writer wouldn't have to start over from scratch.
D - The company would be unwilling to send this message and would be inclined to question the competence of the writer. Although it shows some evidence of an attempt to apply principles discussed in the course, the attempt was not generally successful. Rather than attempting to revise, the writer should throw out this message and begin again from scratch.
F - The company would seriously consider firing this writer. The message shows no evidence of application of the principles discussed in the course and probably would do much more harm than good if it were sent. The writer should study basic principles carefully before beginning this message again from scratch.
Class Schedule I may distribute weekly syllabi throughout the semester (I reserve the right to modify projects and dates at any time during the semester. With any given assignment, I will make every effort to keep you apprised of schedule changes at least a week before its due date). Please note: reading and writing assignments should be completed prior to the day that they are listed on the schedule.
