Course description

This course will serve as an introduction to the discipline of writing and academic discourse and will introduce you to college writing, thinking, and reading tasks. In this course you will:

· Distinguish between private and public writing tasks.

· Learn to substantiate, evaluate, and propose.

· Learn that effective writing is based on clear, orderly thinking

· Organize essays, paragraphs, and sentences within a rhetorical context using appropriate style and genre.

· Learn to recognize areas in which you make errors in mechanics and grammar and to develop editorial strategies for dealing with these errors

· Master the basics of computer operation and word processing skills

This course will cover the Colorado Model Content Standards for reading and writing. For a complete description of these standards you can visit the following website: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeassess/documents/standards/read.htm#standards

Materials

Blue or black pens

Spiral notebook

Three-ring binder

Loose leaf paper

Student planner

Responsibilities

Students will come to class prepared to work every day with no exceptions. Cell phones, pagers, CD players, and other similar electronic devices will not be permitted in class. If these devices are visible or audible during class, they will be confiscated and turned over to a Dean. Soda and candy will not be permitted in class; however, bottled water will be allowed. All South High School polices will be followed in class, and each student will be respectful to his or her self and others in the classroom.

Course Requirements

The semester is organized around five workshops. Each workshop will last approximately three weeks and will ask you to write through a series of writing exercises that culminate in a final writing project at the end of the workshop. In general outline, the workshops will ask you to explore your experience and then respond to increasingly complicated writing tasks. The workshops include:

· Observing/Remembering

· Reading/Investigating

· Explaining/Evaluating

· Problem Solving/Arguing

· College Entrance Essay

In general, your essays should be double spaced, typed pages. You should leave this course knowing how to begin using MLA and APA format.

We will also hold “mini-workshops” on the following issues important to college writers:

· Thesis development

· Paragraphs and transitions

· Writing using Word

· Responding to in-class writing assignments

· Commas

· Subject-Verb agreement/Tense

· Sentences and end-stop punctuation

· Quotation and the punctuation of reported speech

Attendance and Tardy policy

Regular classroom attendance is required to be successful in this course. On the third unexcused absence a parent/guardian conference will be required with the Counselor and the Academic Dean. Students may be assigned to the Academic Success Room to complete missing course work and obtain tutoring assistance. Students with habitual attendance issues may be placed on an attendance contract, face legal intervention through State attendance laws or may be referred to an alternative school. Students who fail courses and do not obtain credits will be required to attend after-school credit recovery courses. A habitually truant students over the age of 16 may be withdrawn from school by an administrator. The Assistant Principal of Teaching and Learning will notify the parent/guardian by phone and mail. (An appeals process will be developed during the fall of 2007.)

Also, it is the student’s responsibility to find out what materials have been covered in class when an absence occurs. If a quiz is assigned (I will always give you at least one class period notice before a quiz) on a day you are absent, you are still responsible for being prepared for that quiz upon your return, even if the absence is excused. Only vocabulary quizzes can be made up, and they must be made up on the first day of your return after an excused absence. It would be advisable to get at least one classmate’s phone number in order to find out what material has been covered in class.

All students will be granted three tardies in each class per grading period. On the second tardy, I will inform parents of the current tardy status and the next consequence. On the fourth tardy, a referral will be given to the Dean of Students listing the dates of the tardies and the date of parent contact. The student will then receive an assignment to Saturday School. On the fifth tardy, the student will receive an in-school suspension and a parent conference for re-entry into school.

Homework and Papers

Homework will be assigned throughout the semester and will usually consist of writing and/or reading assignments. All written homework will be completed and turned in the following class period unless otherwise indicated. I will not accept homework later than one day from the due date, and homework turned in one day late will receive half credit. In the case of excused absences, arrangements will be made to allow for make-up work. Longer writing assignments will be given due dates in advance. Each day a paper is late it will be dropped one letter grade. Although rewrites will be accepted for every paper completed in a timely manner to help raise your grade, if a paper is more than one week late the maximum points possible for that paper is 50%.

Grading

Your final grade will be determined by:

Workshops (75%): The five workshops each count for 15%

Portfolio (10%): Due on the last day of class, your portfolio will include:

1. A revised, proofed rewrite of the remembering essay

2. A revised, proofed rewrite of the explanatory essay

3. A revised, proofed rewrite of the argumentative essay

4. The original paper with teacher comments and an explanation for your choices and the changes you made to the essays

Tests/Vocab (10%): Weekly vocabulary quizzes and any major tests.

Daily writing (5%): Each day you will participate in a journal writing activity.

Grades will be measured by the standard letter grade scale. The following is the grading scale adopted by the English department for the 2007-2008 school year:

A – 90-100%

B – 80-89%

C – 70-79%

D – 60-69%

F – 59% and below

A note on submitting assignments in electronic format or via e-mail

Since I am a firm believer in students learning how to function in an increasingly digital environment, I gladly accept assignments saved on USB drives, CDs (no 3½ disks, please) or via e-mail; however, if your document will not open on my computer and is submitted at the last minute, the assignment will be considered late. If your e-mailed assignment does not show up in my inbox, it will be considered late. Check with me for Word format compatibility questions and possible blocking issues of e-mailed assignments.

Also, please remember that I am here to help you. I am available 30 minutes before school, during lunch and during my planning periods. You may also contact me via e-mail with any questions you may have and I will respond as soon possible. I want each and every one of you to be successful in this class!

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Student Signature Parent/Guardian Signature