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Valencia College
Credit Hours: 3 hours

Dr. Julia Carpenter

Email: jcarpen1@valenciacollege.edu

Phone: 407 342-1039 or text

If you do not reach me in person, please leave me a message with your name, number, and issue. I will return your call within 24 hours.

Technical Help Available 24/7:

Online Technical Support (24/7)

Online Help at 407-582-5600

Email onlinehelp@valenciacollege.edu

Official Course Description: Development of essay form, including documented essay; instruction and practice in expository writing. Emphasis on clarity of central and support ideas, adequate development, logical organization, coherence, appropriate citing of primary and/or secondary sources, and grammatical and mechanical accuracy.  This is a Gordon Rule course in which the student is required to demonstrate college-level writing skills through multiple assignments.

 

Prerequisites: Score of 103 on writing component of PERT or equivalent score on other state-approved entry test or minimum grade of C in ENC 0027 or minimum grade of C in ENC 0025C or EAP 1640C, and a score of 106 on reading component of PERT or equivalent score on other state-approved entry test or minimum grade of C in REA 0017C or EAP 1620C. Development of essay form, including documented essay; instruction and practice in expository writing. Emphasis on clarity of central and support ideas, adequate development, logical organization, coherence, appropriate citing of primary and/or secondary sources, and grammatical and mechanical accuracy. Gordon Rule course in which the student is required to demonstrate college-level writing skills through multiple assignments. Minimum grade of C is required if ENC 1101 is used to satisfy Gordon Rule and General Education Requirements.

Minimum grade of C is required if ENC 1101 is used to satisfy Gordon Rule and General Education Requirements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.    Employ a multi-stage composing and revising process to produce essays. 

2.    Apply conventions aligned to varied writing situations.

3.    Examine the information landscape and how information is produced.

4.    Synthesize information for a specific rhetorical aim.

5.    Document source material in accordance with at least one recognized  documentation style.

6.    Apply active reading strategies.

 

Welcome to Freshman Composition 1. It is my pleasure to be your facilitator in this online course. I am dedicated to your success. It is my goal to give you the knowledge, skills, practice, and constructive feedback which will strengthen your ability to be critical thinkers and effective writers.

·        Prompt responses to your questions and emails.

·        Clear criteria (rubrics) for assessing your essays, discussions, and assignments

·        Daily monitoring of course website

·        Thoughtful discussion facilitation (involvement may be limited to encourage discussion with course peers)

·        Prompt action on technical problems within facilitator’s control, such as broken links, file size, discussion settings, etc.

·        Respect for participants’ area of expertise, as well as ideas and opinions

·        Positive feedback and support

·        Have access to computer equipment necessary to run course delivery platform

·        Check you Atlas email account

·        Access Valencia Writer

·        Active engagement in all course activities, readings and discussions

·        Complete all essays and learning activities on time

·        Provide substantive feedback to peers

·        Develop/refine materials you can use in your courses

·        Practice professional ethics

·        Observe the Rules of Netiquette

·        Provide feedback

·        Complete an online evaluation of this course

 

Select the link https://libguides.valenciacollege.edu/c.php?g=394082&p=2677399

This gives you access to Valencia Writer, our online resource for Readings, Writing Resources, Study Skills and MLA documentation. There are tabs for each.

 

To access readings, select the Readings tab.

 

You will see sections of readings for each type of essay we will study in this semester–including  Personal Narratives, Descriptive essay, Definition essay, Comparison and Contrast essay and Argument essay. 

 We will also use the following tabs to support our study and practice of MLA citation – both in-text citations and Works Cited/References pages. Evaluating Web Sites will assist you in assessing credible and non-credible sources as you research. The MLA tab will give you guidelines for accurate formatting of citations.

 

•  Documentation ties in with the following learning outcomes:
• Document source material in accordance with at least one recognized documentation style.
• ·        Create in-text citations to document source material.
• ·        Create a reference list to provide bibliographic information for sources.

 

 

Keeping Track of Performance

 

·        An online course requires the same level of effort as a face-to-face course. In a face-to-face course, 3-4 assignments are completed in-class during course sessions. Peer reviews are also conducted in-class. Because this course is online, you can expect to complete at least 4 assignments per week online, including a variety of activities: Building Block Exercises (grammar, usage), Quizzes and Response Essays (based on course readings) and drafts of essays.  Plan 6-9 hours per week dedicated to this course.

·        Make sure you follow the course calendar, preview all requirements for assignments in advance, and set a realistic schedule to meet all deadlines to perform at your best.

·        Plan time to take advantage of office hours and support resources as needed.

·         Check your grades often through “My Grades” to determine if you are devoting enough time to this course’s assignments and lessons. Use the Total column to see how many points you have earned; review the upcoming assignments to see how many points you can potentially add to that number.

 

 Participation

You are required to demonstrate participation in this course by :

·        Meeting course deadlines

·        Posting your initial response to weekly discussion forum prompts by Wednesday of the week you are in.

·        Posting a response to at least one peer by Saturday (11:59 p.m.) of the current week.

·        Reviewing  rough drafts of essays and completing the peer review worksheet for an assigned peer during the specific time frame posted by your instructor

·        Checking announcement pages and emails posted by your instructor

·         Checking your Atlas email account.

·        If you decide to drop this course, you must initiate the process. Please review the Official Withdrawal Policy. Per Valencia Policy 4-07 (Academic Progress, Course Attendance and Grades, and Withdrawals), a student who withdraws from class before the established deadline for a particular term will receive a grade of “W.” A student is not permitted to withdraw after the withdrawal deadline (see important dates). A faculty member MAY withdraw a student up to the beginning of the final exam period for violation of the class attendance policy. A student who is withdrawn by faculty for violation of the class attendance policy will receive a grade of “W”. Any student who withdraws or is withdrawn from a class during a third or subsequent attempt in the same course will be assigned a grade of “F”.

 

You must complete all assignments due at the end of Week 1 by the end of the No- Show deadline.  This includes the following:

Discussion Forum: Week 1 (25 points)

·         1A: Post an introduction

·         1B: Share your personal learning style

Tasks

·         1.1 Building Block Exercise: Dialogue in Narratives (25 points)

·         1.2 Planning Worksheet: Personal Narrative (50 points)

·         1.3 Rough Draft: Personal Narrative (75 points)

·         1.4 Quiz on Course Syllabus (25 points)

First, you are taking this course online which differs from face-to-face formats. Your communication and interactions with your instructor and your classmates will be conducted through Canvas. Canvas is our virtual classroom where you will complete your online lessons and activities as well as submit your online course assignments. It also houses handouts and instructional tutorials for the course. It can feel overwhelming at first, but if you familiarize yourself with the syllabus, calendar, assignments, and Black-board’s tools, you will begin to feel at ease.

 

READ: You will go to the Valencia Writer or open and read embedded links to read weekly assignments. You’ll see a chart such as this one in the course to let you know what to read each week:

 You will also have the opportunity to listen to and watch resources that align with course content.

 

Interactions with Me

·        WATCH: I’ve prepared course lectures for your weekly sessions. Lectures will allow you to listen to me while watching slides corresponding to the course content. I’ve also provided transcripts of these lectures so you can follow along with recorded lectures, as well as review.

 ·        Instructor Feedback: When I review your assignments and essays, I will provide detailed feedback on what you are doing well and what you need to work on to strengthen your writing skills.  For essays, I will use a rubric to evaluate your work.

·        Email: For the quickest response, you can communicate with me through email  : jcarpen1@valenciacollege.edu with questions and concerns. I only read e-mails sent from ATLAS addresses. Monitor your Atlas account as this is the primary mode of class communication.

 

Interaction with Peers

You will have the opportunity to get to know and work with your peers through participations in discussion forums and peer reviews. You will have the chance to both give and receive feedback on rough drafts of each essay.

 

Below are the basics for this course:

Submitting Assignments in Online Format

        Tasks in this course include building block exercises (specific skills such as identifying sentence fragments and run-ons, punctuation, MLA documentation) response essays, quizzes, discussions, essays (planning, rough draft, final draft), peer reviews, and self-assessments.        You must submit all assignments through the assignment links in Blackboard or in the discussion forum area

 

The theme of this course is Constructing Effective Writing. Why have a theme? A theme is the underlying message or idea of a work such as a story, play, movie, or piece of music. A theme supports and enriches the learning process and helps you make connections between ideas.

In the case of this course, constructing a home has many parallels to constructing an essay. In fact, the definition of construction is "the building of something" as well as "the style or method used in the building of something." The "something" you build can be a home or, in this case, a variety of types of essays using different styles.

In this course, you will construct five essays including:

o   Essay #1: Personal Narrative

o   Essay #2: Descriptive Essay

o   Essay #3 Definition Essay

o   Essay #4: Comparison and Contrast Essay

o   Essay #5: Argument Essay

Let's look more closely at how the process of constructing effective writing mirrors building a dream home. Every stage of the process - from drawing up the blueprint to building the framework of a home - is important. Each stage of the process builds toward a common goal - the completion of a polished, finished product that meets your ideal standards for a "dream" home - beauty, quality, and style. Just as you can use your imagination and creativity in planning a dream home that reflects your personal style, you can use creativity and your personal voice when constructing essays. Here is how each phase of constructing the essays will be structured.

For each essay, you will follow these steps to construct your essay effectively:

The Foundation

You’ll begin building the foundation of each type of essay by review the lesson objectives, along with the characteristics of each type of essay.

 

Tools for Construction

You’ll have the opportunity to use a variety of tools in the construction of each type of essay.

·        Reading: One tool you’ll use to construct each type of essay is to read  exemplary examples of each type of essay in Valencia Writer. You’ll analyze the themes, structure, and characteristics of each type to better understand how to build your own essay.

·        Listening Throughout the course, you’ll have opportunities to listen to audio to strengthen your understanding of key concepts related to the construction of effective essays.

·        Watching Throughout the course, you’ll have opportunities to view videos that  strengthen your understanding of key concepts related to the construction of effective essays.

Blueprint

For each essay, you will review the specific criteria and standards expected for the completion of each essay type. This rubric will act as a blueprint for planning, drafting, revising, and finalizing your essay.

 

The Framework (Brainstorming, Outlining, Rough Draft)

The framework  of each essay will include brainstorming and outlining the essay using pre-writing strategies, the course rubric, and other resources. It will also include drafting a rough draft.

 Feedback and Support (Peer Review)

You cannot build your dream home by yourself. You will need help. In this course, your peers and your instructor will give you feedback on the rough draft of your essay to support the writing process. This feedback will include a peer review worksheet where your assigned peer will give you constructive, detailed feedback on the strengths of your essay as well as ways to improve.

 

Finishing the Job (Editing, Revising, and Finalizing)

In the final steps of building your dream home, you'll finish the final details, including painting and landscaping. In this course, you will incorporate peer review feedback, revision and editing strategies, and reflection  to finalize each essay.

 

Inspection (Self-Assessment, Instructor Assessment)

Like a home inspection checklist, you will use a checklist or rubric to ensure you have constructed an effective essay. Your final self-assessment and inspection will give you the opportunity to reflect on the writing process and the value of peer and instructor feedback. As your instructor, I will use the final rubric (which aligns with the instruction rubric) to assess your final product.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

 1.    Employ a multi-stage composing and revising process to produce essays. 

2.    Apply conventions aligned to varied writing situations.

3.    Examine the information landscape and how information is produced.

4.    Synthesize information for a specific rhetorical aim.

5.    Document source material in accordance with at least one recognized documentation style.

6.    Apply active reading strategies.

 

In this course, you will compose essays in several rhetorical modes including the following:

o   Essay #1: Personal Narrative

o   Essay #2: Descriptive Essay

o   Essay #3 Definition Essay

o   Essay #4: Comparison and Contrast Essay

o   Essay #5: Argument Essay

 You will employ a multi-stage composing and revising process to produce these essays including:

·        Planning and prewriting

·        Rough Draft

·        Peer Review feedback

·        Instructor feedback

·        Final Draft (implementing peer and instructor feedback)

  

The final course grade will be based on the following:

Category	Total Points	Percentage
Participation in Group Discussions 14 group discussion forums   (25 points for completing all sections of group discussion forum) See Discussion Rubric for Criteria for assessment of discussions	350	10%
Building Blocks Exercises (7 @ 25 points each)	175	5%
Quizzes	350	10%
Response Essays   (7@ 25 points each)	175	5%
Essay #1: Narrative Essay
Brainstorming and Outline – Narrative Essay	50	350 points (10%)
Rough Draft – Narrative Essay	75
Peer Review of Assigned Essay	50
Final – Narrative Essay	150
Self-Assessment	25
Essay #2: Descriptive Essay
Brainstorming and Outline – Descriptive Essay	50	525 points (15%)
Rough Draft – Descriptive Essay	100
Peer Review of Assigned Essay	50
Final – Descriptive Essay	200
Self-Assessment	25
Presentation – Descriptive Essay	100
Essay #3: Definition Essay  (points)
Brainstorming and Outline – Definition Essay	50	350 points (10%)
Rough Draft – Definition Essay	75
Peer Review of Assigned Essay	50
Final – Definition Essay	150
Self-Assessment	25
Essay #4: Comparison and Contrast Essay
Brainstorming and Outline – Comparison and Contrast Essay	50	525 points (15%)
Rough Draft – Comparison and Contrast	100
Peer Review of Assigned Essay	50
Final – Comparison and Contrast Essay	200
Self-Assessment	25
Presentation – Comparison and Contrast	100
Essay #5: Argument Essay
Brainstorming and Outline – Argument Essay	50
Final – Argument Essay	300
Self-Assessment	25
Final Exam/Assessment
Presentation of Argument Essay	175 points	5%
Total Points	3500 points	100%

Grading Scale:

A 90-100   (3500 points – 3133 points)

B 80-89    (3132 points- 2783 points)

C 70-79   (2782 points – 2433 points)

D 60-69   (2432 points -2083 points)

F 59 and below  (2082 points and below)

  

Writing is a process of drafting, editing, revising, and finalizing. We will mirror that process in this course. After brainstorming and planning each essay, you will draft two versions of each essay for submission:

 

• Planning 
• Rough Draft
• Final Draft 

 

 

1. Make sure to review the rubrics for each essay to see how your essay will be evaluated.

 

  Peer Review Guidelines

Peer review feedback is an essential part of the writing process. The author of each written assignment needs your constructive, detailed feedback of the strengths of the essay as well as specific ways to improve in enough time to incorporate your feedback. In turn, you need to strengthen your skill in giving constructive, detailed feedback to a peer. You will use peer review feedback to edit, revise and finalize your rough draft.

 

Assigned Peer Reviewer Guidelines

·        The week the peer review is due, you will be assigned a peer reviewer. This peer reviewer is in charge of using the peer review worksheet to give you constructive, detailed feedback. In turn, you will give that peer reviewer feedback on his or her rough draft.

·        Once you’ve been assigned a peer reviewer, post your rough draft in the discussion forum under Peer Review for Week #.

·        Your assigned peer reviewer will review your rough draft and be responsible for completing the peer review worksheet by the date due.

·        You will be responsible for completing the peer review worksheet for the person who peer reviews your rough draft by the date due.

·       

·      Late Policy

Any assignment or essay submitted late will be assessed a 10% penalty per day late.  Assignments will not be accepted after the third day late.

Valencia College is dedicated not only to the advancement of knowledge and learning but is concerned with the development of responsible personal and social conduct. By enrolling at Valencia College, a student assumes the responsibility for becoming familiar with and abiding by the general rules of conduct. The primary responsibility for managing the classroom environment rests with the faculty. Students who engage in any prohibited or unlawful acts that result in disruption of a class may be directed by the faculty to leave the class. Violation of any classroom or Valencia’s rules may lead to disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from Valencia. Disciplinary action could include being withdrawn from class, disciplinary warning, probation, suspension, expulsion, or other appropriate and authorized actions. You will find the Student Code of Conduct in the current Valencia Student Handbook.

Students with disabilities who qualify for academic accommodations must provide a notification from the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) and discuss specific needs with the instructor, preferably during the first two weeks of class. The Office for Students with Disabilities determines accommodations based on appropriate documentation of disabilities. The East Campus Office is located in Building 5, Room 216.

All forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited at Valencia College. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, acts or attempted acts of plagiarism, cheating, furnishing false information, forgery, alteration or misuse of documents, misconduct during a testing situation, facilitating academic dishonesty, and misuse of identification with intent to defraud or deceive.

All work submitted by students is expected to be the result of the students' individual thoughts, research, and self-expression. Whenever a student uses ideas, wording, or organization from another source, the source shall be appropriately acknowledged.

 Students shall take special notice that the assignment of course grades is the responsibility of the students' individual professor. When the professor has reason to believe that an act of academic dishonesty has occurred, and before sanctions are imposed, the student shall be given informal notice and an opportunity to be heard by the professor.

 Any student determined by the professor to have been guilty of engaging in an act of academic dishonesty shall be liable to a range of academic penalties as determined by the professor which may include, but not be limited to:

 First offense:  loss of credit for an assignment, examination, or project (may be points off for a small infraction (sentence) or a zero for plagiarizing a paragraph or more)

 

Second offense (of any amount): a grade of "F" in the course

 Students guilty of engaging in a gross or flagrant act of academic dishonesty or repeated instances of academic dishonesty shall also be subject to administrative and/or disciplinary penalties which may include warning, probation, suspension and/or expulsion from the College.

 

1. How is an Online Course Different from a Face-to-Face Course?

·        It can feel overwhelming—especially in the first week. You’ve probably forgotten how ill-at-ease you felt when you first went to high school, but taking an online class for the first time is very similar. It takes a while to learn your way around the “virtual campus.” It fits more easily into your schedule. However, since you will do most of your work at home, it requires more self-discipline in setting aside time to study and participate in the course’s learning activities.

·        As in any course in which you want to do well, this course will take more time than you expect. All reminders of when things are due are electronic. If you don’t access the course regularly, you may miss key assignments and due dates. You will collect, reflect on, and respond to information that you have gathered. In an online course, responsibility for learning rests equally on participants and facilitators. It works best when you enjoy using technology and interacting with others online.

 

2. What do Participants Need to Be Successful?

·        Access to a computer with a high-speed connection

·        Basic computer skills, such as the use of word processing software, sending email with attachments, uploading and downloading files from external sources

·        A preference for visual or kinesthetic learning, because online learning is very visual and very “hands on the keyboard” (If you don’t know your preference, take the online version of the Barsch Inventory to find out.)

·        An open-minded attitude, personal honesty, and a willingness to share your knowledge and ideas with others

·        The belief that online learning is more convenient, but not easier than face-to-face learning

·        The belief that quality learning can happen anytime and anywhere

·        An interest in self-reflection

(From The Virtual Student by Palloff and Pratt)

 

3. What Makes a Good Discussion Posting?

·        Substantial- thoughtful, original, relevant and contributes to the overall learning of the group

·        Thought-provoking- stimulates thinking and reasoning

·        Timely- post early to give your peers time to respond, this contributes to a rich discussion

·        Logical, concise and grammatical

·        Conveys “your presence”- reinforce your conclusions with real life and professional experiences

 

4. What are Some Additional Tips for Success in This Course?

·        Install the Firefox browser before the course begins.

·        Print a copy of the course syllabus and calendar. Keep it by your computer.

·        Work offline if you prefer: print your assignments and read them offline; use a word processor to compose your work before posting them to the course.

·        Check the course website and course email regularly.

·        If you have a question, post it on the “Ask Your Facilitator” discussion board. Often a colleague will have a good answer for you.

·        Set aside specific times each week to complete class activities. If not, your other work will expand to fill all the time you have.

·        Expect electronic glitches/power outages and plan ahead. Don’t wait until the last minute to submit your work.

·        Maintain back-up copies of all of your coursework on a flash or jump drive.