English 101/101w: Composition

CRN 3381, Section 37P, Tues/Thurs 1:00 pm – 2:20 pm 2:30 - 3:50 pm

Classroom: 1-2:20 (W226) 2:30-3:50 (W138)

Instructor Name: Taylor Gunn

Contact Info: TGunn@ncc.commnet.edu
Office Hours: By appointment only (please contact me through email)
Office Location: TBD

ENG 101: Composition Course Description

This course develops students’ abilities to produce effective written texts and to reason critically.
A review of grammar and syntax, as needed, is included. The goals of unity, coherence, and
logical development are pursued through practice in prewriting, writing, and revising techniques.
Students learn various organizational patterns. Students will write and revise several projects and
essays.

Prerequisite
Placement by college entrance exam, referral from ENG 088 with a B or better, or by ESL
faculty referral.

Required Texts and Materials

1. They Say, I Say w/readings and MLA update paired with the Little Seagull handbook
2. Selected articles and handouts posted in Blackboard (you will print these yourself)
3. Flash drive/USB or a way to save your work electronically

ENG 101: Composition Learning Outcomes

I. Critical Literacy
Upon successful completion of ENG101, students should be able to
1. support a thesis using credible and adequate source material;
2. support and develop a thesis-driven paper more than three pages in length;
3. engage in a dialogue with a text, integrating their own ideas with those of others;
4. construct a logical, well-supported argument;
5. know how to identify and evaluate sources;
6. consider multiple viewpoints in their writing, acknowledging different ways of
looking at things.

II. Process
Upon successful completion of ENG101, students should be able to
1. understand that writing is a process;
2. practice reflection upon their writing.

III. Knowledge of Conventions

Upon successful completion of ENG101, students should be able to

ENG101/101W Prof. Gunn Spring 2018

 1. understand academic writing conventions and make appropriate decisions about
grammar, usage, punctuation, word choice, and style;
2. demonstrate an understanding of audience and purpose, including but not limited to
the development of academic tone;
3. quote, paraphrase, and summarize a text;
4. use signal phrases to introduce a summary, paraphrase, or quotation;
5. use parenthetical references to cite sources according to an established documentation
system;
6. understand and avoid plagiarism.

Assignment Descriptions
Emails, texts, tweeting, social networking sites; these are the current modes of communication in
a digital world. Learning to write professionally allows you to manipulate these mediums and
others, controlling how you are viewed by those who have never met you. In this class, you will
learn to write basic and advanced essays, but also to communicate in other various ways using a
variety of print-based, visual, and digital genres. For some, this will be new and challenging, but
we will work together to write the kinds of communication we encounter and use each day as
students, professionals, producers and consumers. Below you will find brief assignment
descriptions for all the major assignments you will complete in ENG101 this semester.

Unit 1: Reading Comprehension and Writing to Analyze

Rhetorical Analysis Essay (1st Major Assignment): This assignment will introduce you to
important course concepts: rhetoric, ethos, logos, pathos, audience, and the rhetorical situation. I
will provide you with a source to rhetorically analyze. You will work individually to analyze the
ways in which your text uses rhetoric and various modes to appeal to an audience. Final product:
3-4 pages long following MLA formatting guidelines.

Unit 2: Research and Writing to Inform Audiences

Research Report (2nd Major Assignment): Reports are an important genre to learn how to
write because they are often required in school and the professional workplace. Reports
communicate important information to their readers; therefore, in ENG101, you will write an
informative Research Report. In this report, you will summarize what “experts” have said about
your course theme/provided topic and also present the data collected from your fieldwork survey.
Final Project: 1,200-1,500 words, designed as a report.

Field Research Activity: For this activity, you will conduct original research on the course
theme/provided topic. Your field research will begin with a research question about your topic.
Then you’ll conduct a survey in which you collect data (25 survey responses) that will help you
answer your research question. You will eventually include your original research in your
Research Report.

ENG101/101W Prof. Gunn Spring 2018

 Unit 3: Supporting Claims and Writing to Persuade Audiences

Casebook Assignment (or Argument Essay) (3rd Major Assignment): This assignment is the
main writing project for this course. For this essay, you are to compose, revise, and present an
persuasive argument that takes a stance on your course topic/theme. In this essay, you will find
and use credible sources to support your argument, faily summarize various perspectives on the
topic, and provide logical supporting points to effectively persuade an academic audience of your
main claim/thesis. Final Project: 5-6 pages long following MLA formatting guidelines.

Persuasive Letter (4th Assignment, optional—IF TIME IS AVAILABLE): For this

assignment, you are being asked to write a persuasive, researched letter to a specific person (or
organization) who would care about the topic you explored in the Argument Essay. The goal of
this assignment is to help you learn to write concise persuasive arguments while making
conscious decisions about audience, purpose, tone, rhetorical situation, and rhetorical appeals:
ethos, logos, and pathos. Final Project: 1-2 pages long formatting as a letter.

Unit 4: Multimodal Communicating and Writing for Online Audiences

e-Portfolio (5th Major Project): Your final project for ENG101 this semester is to revise and
adapt your major course assignments for an e-portfolio. In other words, you will adapt your
Rhetorical Analysis, Research Report, Argument Essay, and Persuasive Letter for online readers
by transforming print-based essays into multimodal documents. Multimodal composing goes
beyond the alphabetic (words on a page) to include any combination of images, sound, color,
animation, and text. Moreover, these texts are presented to readers online. In fact, most of what
you read online is presented in multimodal forms, so you probably already know more about this
kind of communication than you think you do.

You will present all of your work this semester in an e-Portfolio you design. We will work on the
e-Portfolio throughout the semester, and I will offer plenty of assistance with this project, so
don’t worry if you’ve never made a website before. We will have fun!

Final In-Class Essay: During the last full week of class, you will write and revise an in-class
essay on an article provided by the instructor. You will be given the article one week ahead of
time, and this article will be discussed in class. On the first day of the in-class final, you will be
given a prompt and will draft your essay by hand using plain paper. On the second day, you will
type and revise your essay. Students must do all work IN CLASS. In other words, no outside
writing or help is allowed. This final essay is evaluated with your e-Portfolio (major
assignments) by your instructor and 1-2 members of the English department. For more
information, see below:

Additional Info about the ENG101w Portfolio

In order to complete ENG101w successfully, a student must submit an e-Portfolio of all major
writing assignments at the end of the semester, including the in-class essay. The writings must
have been drafted, completed, and revised during the semester and have been seen at least once
by the instructor. Additionally, the portfolio must include at least 10 full pages of completed,

ENG101/101W Prof. Gunn Spring 2018

revised text and demonstrate achievement of the course learning outcomes. Each essay must
have its own Works Cited page; Works Cited pages are not included in the 10 page count.
Additionally, the in-class final essay does not count towards the 10 page requirement.
Note: Do not, under any circumstances, allow your page count to fall short of the required ten
full pages. Portfolios that fall short of the required ten full pages or that do not demonstrate
passing quality of the learning outcomes will not pass. In order to pass this course and go on to
ENG102, the portfolio must pass.
Your website portfolio, worth 70% of your final grade for the course, will be read and assessed
by up to three people: your instructor and 1-2 other members of the English Department. If it
receives an NP (not passing) from the outside readers, your final grade for the course will be F
(failure).

Grading

ENG 101 Grades

Attendance/Writing Responses/Homework Assignments—30%
 Possible assignments include: Essay outlines, drafts, & peer reviews, Thesis Activities,
Other daily activities & participation points, reading/grammar quizzes

Website Project/Final Portfolio—70%

 Includes (1) Rhetorical Analysis Essay, (2) Research Report, (3) Argument Essay, (4)
Persuasive Letter, (5) In-Class Final Essay –all on the e-Portfolio

Attendance Sign-in Points/Credit

I value attendance and arriving to class on time. Therefore, you are graded on your attendance
and whether or not you arrive to class on time each day. I will supply a sign-in sheet each day,
and you must sign it when you arrive on time. Class starts at 1:00 pm. I will remove the sign-in
sheet 5 minutes after class has begun. Please also see the school’s policy on attendance (missing
too many days will result in automatic failure of the course).

Note: I post all grades in Blackboard throughout the semester. However, if at any time during the
semester you want to check your progress, please see me. At midterm, your work will be
assigned either a P (pass), a D (low pass), or an F (failing), depending on the quality of your
writing, attendance, and participation up to that point.

ENG101/101W Prof. Gunn Spring 2018

 Course Policies
Course Communication
Please email me through your NCC student email accounts.
Note: It is college policy that I communicate with students only through their NCC email
accounts. I will NOT return emails sent from a personal account.

NCC Attendance Policy

At NCC, regular attendance is required and essential for success in a writing course such as this.
This is a hands-on, workshop-oriented class, and much of the learning of the course takes place
in class or on the basis of class lectures, discussions, and exercises. Therefore, attendance in this
class is mandatory. Being absent for more than 20 percent of scheduled classes (six classes)
will result in a grade of F for the course. If a student is unable to attend class, it is strongly
recommended that the student withdraw to avoid a failing grade. Please review the following
attendance policy:

 The instructor does not make a distinction between "excused" or "unexcused" absences.
 Your instructor will take attendance for each class period, beginning with the first class
meeting.
 If you are absent—or anticipate being absent—from class at any time, notify your
instructor as soon as possible to discuss what you will need to do. If you cannot contact
your instructor immediately on your own, find someone who can do so for you.
 If you must miss a day of class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed
during class. You can do so by contacting a peer or your instructor. All course updates or
changes will be posted in the Blackboard announcements page. Please note that missed
in-class writing assignments cannot be made-up, such as quizzes or writing responses.

Note: If extenuating circumstances arise at any point during the semester, please contact me as
soon as possible. We will discuss what action to take concerning your work.

Late Work
Assignments are due on the due dates posted in the course schedule (found in Blackboard). Being
absent from class is NOT an excuse for late work. If you must miss a day of class, you need to
contact me ahead of time to make necessary arrangements to submit the work on time. I do not
accept late work.

Please note: I often assign unannounced writing responses or grammar quizzes. You must be
present in class to receive credit for these quizzes. You will not be able to make up a quiz or
writing response that you miss because you are absent from class.

Resources
You have a lot of resources to help you with your college classes. These include the following:
 Writing Center: Located on the West campus. You can work with a tutor on any writing
assignment. Appointments are free and very helpful.
 E-tutoring: You can log onto www.etutoring.org at any time during the semester and
submit a paper for review and critique by an outside reader, usually one who is a
professor in the CT State and Community College system.

ENG101/101W Prof. Gunn Spring 2018

  Tutoring Center (located on the first floor of the West Campus).
 ESL Tutoring (if you are a former ESL student).

Student AccessAbility Services

If you have a “Letter of Academic Adjustment” (a.k.a., accommodation) from Student
AccessAbility Services (SAS), I am available to meet with you to plan for the academic
adjustments. If you are a new student with a documented disability and you expect the need for
an academic adjustment and service, contact the Coordinator of Student AccessAbility Services
by completing an Accessibility Intake Form. On the NCC website menu select ‘Student
Services’ and then 'Disability Services'. On the SAS webpage select ‘Apply for Services.’ An
explanation of the process and a link to the Accessibility Intake Form is on the right of the
webpage. If you need assistance, SAS is located on the East Campus in the UBS Student Success
Center, E107.

Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty is not tolerated in any course at NCC. Academic dishonesty includes but is
not limited to:
1. Cheating on examinations and/or quizzes.
2. Collaborating with others in work to be presented if contrary to the stated rules of the
course.
3. Plagiarizing, including the submission of others’ ideas or papers (whether purchased,
borrowed or otherwise obtained) as one’s own work.
4. Stealing or unauthorized access to examinations or course materials.
5. Falsifying records, laboratory or other data.
6. Submitting, if contrary to the rules of a course, work previously presented in another
course.
7. Knowingly and intentionally assisting another student in any of the above, including
assistance in an arrangement whereby any work, classroom performance, examination, or
other activity is submitted or performed by a person other than the student under whose name
the work is submitted or performed.

It is your responsibility to understand the college’s policy on academic dishonesty in its entirety,
as outlined on pages 26-28 of the Student Handbook. The Student Handbook is available on the
NCC website.

Course Schedule
I will post the course schedule in Blackboard and provide printed copies in class. Typically, I
hand out schedules for 3-4 weeks at a time. You will know well in advance when all major
assignments are due.

ENG101/101W Prof. Gunn Spring 2018