ENGLISH 102 ONLINE

Greenville Technical College
Arts and Sciences Division
English Department
Course Syllabus Summer 2008

Course Information

Course: ENG 102

Semester credit: 3.0

Course title: English Composition I

Instructor: Various instructors teach the course.

Please note: Once class begins, all correspondence for this course will be through WebCT's Mail tool.

Prerequisite:  Completion of ENG 101 with a grade of C or better.

Course Description:  Development of writing skills through logical organization, effective style, literary analysis and research. The introduction to literary genre is also included. Students must make a C or better in ENG 102 in order to take a literature survey.

Purpose: To enable the student to write effectively more advanced types of composition, to become competent in techniques of research, and to read with logical and intelligent evaluation.

Students for whom the course is intended: Those who plan to transfer to a four-year university or to meet Associate of Arts or Science degree requirements here at Greenville Tech. Students who are interested in knowing more about literature and improving their composition skills, who are willing and able readers, who can think independently. Students who are self-disciplined and who have time to do the necessary work and reading! That means spending three hours "class time" and five to six hours of "homework time" a week. If you don't have this kind of time, this course and this format may not be for you.

Terminal Objectives:  Students who successfully complete the course with 70% accuracy or better will have demonstrated the skills required to accomplish the following minimum objectives:

1. to draft, write, and revise a minimum of four essays (500 word minimum) on literary topics (including literary analysis, one of which a micro-essay or discussion board submissions will be equivalent ) to be assigned by the instructor, adhering to the guidelines of the department's Theme Standard Sheet;
   
   
2. to research, outline, draft and write out of class a research paper of 1000 to 2000 words containing text, Works Cited, and citations, according to the department's Theme Standard Sheet, its statement concerning plagiarism, and the text;
   
   
3. on written tests, to demonstrate the ability to analyze and discuss the fiction, poetry, and drama assigned, using the methods and terminology covered in the text and lecture;
   
   
4. to write a final exam demonstrating mastery of composition and content within an official, timed exam period without assistance from the instructor.

Grading (slight changes may be made before the semester begins):

According to this scale, final grades will be awarded as follows:

Important Events                                       Date
Summer Classes begin                                      May 12
Drop-Add for full and first term                         May 12-14
Memorial Day Holiday                                       May 31
Last day to withdraw from full term classes       June 27
Summer Holiday                                               June 30-July 4
Last day of class                                              July 28
Exams                                                            July 29-31

Note:  This is a 10-week course, and it's going to require a commitment of time.  If you already have vacations planned during the summer term and know you will miss a week or two of class, this is probably not the course for you--wait until you have more time to devote to class.  There will be reading to do--both in your texts and online.  In addition, writing assignments are due more often than once a week--informal as well as formal--so be prepared to write several pages of thoughtful prose per week. Most of your assignments will require MLA documentation.  Your instructor is going to assume that you are devoting about nine hours of time to class each week--three hours "attending class" and six hour doing reading and homework assignments.  Class work will include

• 4 essays, including a research paper

• 3 tests

• 9+ discussion posts

• 8 or so journal entries

• final exam

--all in 10 weeks.

About the Course:

English 102 is a complex and delightful course designed to help you become a better, more sophisticated reader, thinker, and writer. Together, we will explore drama, fiction, and poetry--some authors you are already familiar with; others may be new to you. We will look at what makes them work, at how the authors both engage us and instruct us about human nature and ourselves. As we explore, we will write. Our compositions will require the ability to read and analyze literature. Consequently, the class will read and analyze together, looking at genres, figures of speech, structure, style, and the like. We will practice writing about literature in our Discussion posts, then end each unit with an essay on the particular genre we've been studying. You will apply your new-found knowledge to the essays you write. This is a composition course that will prepare you for the rigors of thinking and writing about literature, including the methods of documentation associated with such writing. Better yet, we will delve into the literature itself, to see what it has to offer us.

As you will come to the course with a willing and open mind, your instructor will bring to it energy, experience, and desire to help you succeed in becoming a better reader and writer.

English Department Online Attendance Policy:

Initial Contact in Online Courses:

At the beginning of the term, online students are expected to contact their online instructors by logging into their courses on WebCT and following the instructions they find there. These instructions may include

• submitting an assignment,
• e-mailing the instructor, and/or
• posting to the Discussion Board.

Students who have not contacted their instructor via telephone or e-mail within 24 hours after Drop-Add will be denied access to the course and be marked “NIC” (never in class) on the roster. This designation can affect a student’s financial aid status.

If a student has added the class during Drop-Add but cannot yet log into WebCT, then he or she must contact the instructor via telephone or Campus Cruiser e-mail no later than 24 hours after Drop-Add in order to avoid being denied access and designated NIC (never in class) on the roster.
Attendance during the term:

Success in an online course requires active participation from students and faculty alike. Attendance in online classes is kept as students meet the course deadlines and make contact with the instructor. To that end, a student’s attendance is defined as active participation in class. In order to be counted present, a student must do one or another of these things at least once each week throughout the term (Individual courses and instructors will define specific requirements or assignments):

• submit assignments,
• send an e-mail to the instructor, and/or
• post to the Discussion Board.

Students who are passively visiting the course, who simply log into a course during the week without making their presence known, who

• don’t submit assignments
• don’t send an email to the instructor, and/or
• don’t post to the Discussion Board,
• are not attending and will be counted absent.

A student with an excessive number of absences in an online class will lose access to the course. “Excessive number” is defined as two weeks.

Note: being denied access is not the same as being withdrawn. Students who are denied access and wish to remain in class must contact the instructor outside WebCT to request to receive access; however, there is no guarantee that access will be granted. Students who are denied access and who are not reinstated are responsible for withdrawing themselves from the course.

Students wishing to withdraw from a course must follow the college's current policy on withdrawals and refunds. A student who stops attending class cannot assume that the instructor will process withdrawal paperwork on his or her behalf.

Instructor Welcome:   ENG 102 is a wonderful course, with some great opportunities for reading and talking about some fine literature, from ancient Greek plays to funky American poetry. You have chosen to begin a journey that will take all term. We will explore literature and visit places and times where we couldn't go without the help of our authors; we will have discussions in class that will inspire and challenge us. It is your instructor's fond hope that you will discover writers whose works will entice you even after college is a distant memory.

Your instructor will be your guide on this journey; if you will bring along an open mind and a hand ready to turn to the various tasks before you, you will find that your instructor is to here help you when you need it, and to encourage you to challenge yourself, to explore your ideas, and to turn to the assigned works for evidence to support them. And the places you will go! The literature book will take you all sorts of places--together, you, your classmates, and your instructor may end up on the banks of the Ganges, or in a cold Midwestern farmhouse, or in an ancient Greek city, or on a World War I battlefield. There you and your classmates will encounter violence, murder, love, grief, honesty, pride, deceit--the very same things that make soap operas, reality television, and real life so fascinating.

So, strap on your traveling boots, pack your bag with essentials (certainly your textbook, paper, pen, and computer keyboard), grab a water bottle, and let's begin!