English 1010: Composition I Online

COURSE OVERVIEW:
There is no scheduled orientation to provide you with a course overview. Instead, I suggest reading the policies carefully to get an understanding  about how the course is designed and how you can best meet course objectives. However, if you need personalized assistance, you can contact me during my office hours or stop by to chat. You can also email me at any time.

WEBCT LOG-IN DIRECTIONS:
Your course syllabi, assignments, and resources are all located within WebCT, a secure site that requires a password. To make registration easy, you will use your Pipeline kbeauchene and password. Being registered for this course does not automatically register you into the WebCT course component. You must do that yourself. If you have not registered for WebCT yet, please follow these directions to do so. Keep in mind that you will be Self-Registering for this course, so be sure to click on that link and then If you have any difficulty you can contact me or the Help Desk (825-1112).

TEXTBOOK:
The Bedford Guide for College Writers, 7th edition by X.J. Kennedy and others. The text can be purchased from the CCRI bookstore or from amazon.com, or even from a site like eBay. Be sure that you purchase the hardcover edition with the Reader, Research Manual, and Handbook combined.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This freshman-level writing course fulfills the writing requirement for most students. The college catalog provides a full description.

COURSE OUTCOMES:
At the end of the course, students are expected to possess specific knowledge about the writing process and exhibit specific writing skills.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: 
1. Read assigned sections of the course text. These assignments are included in the Course Schedule on our WebCT site.

2. Complete and email essays, homework, and quizzes based on the timeline provided in the Course Schedule on our WebCT website. At that site, I provide you with specific details about how to submit assignments, such as emailing essays to me as an attachment to my kbeauchene@ccri.edu address. If at any time, you are unsure about your computer skills, please contact me and I will either direct you to a specific resource at the site or find the information you need. You do not need to be a computer geek to take this course! Remember the computer is just a tool, like pen and paper, so don't let it inhibit your performance in this course.

3. Check the WebCT site on a weekly basis for announcements and updates that will be posted to the Main Discussion Board. Here you can ask questions about course assignments, WebCT functions or problems, or general course information.

4. Contribute to the Graded Discussion Board, which is our virtual classroom, about writing-related topics that I will post. (WebCT automatically keeps track of student visits.) Submitting homework, essays, and quizzes--is not enough. You need to be part of this course. You need to make your voice heard on the Graded Discussion Board. Doing so factors into your participation grade.

5. Demonstrate appropriate online etiquette. From your own online experiences, you may have already discovered that people don't always communicate the same way they do in a face-to-face environment. For example, they may email or post items that are inappropriate (i.e., rude) in content or tone. My basic advice is to think before you write when you email or post to our discussion board. Also, when you send an email or post to the discussion board, you may not receive an immediate response. In my case, I check my email frequently (even on most weekends), but I have other commitments (such as 4 other courses to teach) so I may not be able to give you an immediate reply. If you are concerned about your email getting lost in cyberspace, you can request a "read receipt" from you email program so that you will know that I have at least received it even though I haven't responded to it.

GRADING POLICY:
1.  Your final grade in the course will be based on the results of the following:

• Timely submission of homework assignments. Each will be graded on a 100-point scale.
• Timely submission and quality of essay assignments. Each will receive a letter grade of A to F.
• Take scheduled online quizzes based on sentence skills (grammar and punctuation) presented in your text.
• Quality postings to the Graded Discussion Board. During the semester, I will post and label specific discussion board items to which you may respond. At the end of the semester, you will be asked to select/compile three postings and to state/defend the overall grade you believe you deserve. I will use a rubric to evaluate your selected contributions. Information about postings will be forthcoming as the semester progresses. 

2.  With the MyGrade feature of WebCT, you can see your grades for individual assignments. Please review your grades frequently to ensure that I haven't forgotten to record them. At the end of the semester, I  calculate your grade based on the following percentages:

60%   -   Essays
20%   -   Homework
10%   -   Quizzes
10%   -   Participation (Graded Discussion Board Postings)

3.  An online course like this one requires the highest standard of academic honest and integrity Once you enter this class, you must agree to do all of your own work. If you use outside sources--another's words, ideas, or material--you must show documentation using the guidelines of the Modern Language Association (see our text for specific information). If essays are submitted that have been partially or entirely plagiarized, a grade of Zero will be assigned. A Zero assigned as an essay grade usually results in a failing grade for the course. Please read the College's Policy on Academic Dishonesty for further information. Examples of plagiarism include: 

• Copying someone else's assignment or paper and submitting it as your own.
• Buying and submitting another student's work or a professionally prepared paper as if it is your own.
• Copying or paraphrasing words, phrases, sentences, passages without attributing them to the source where you found them.
• Using someone else's ideas without giving credit.
• Collaborating on assignments with someone else without the permission of the instructor. 

4. Some students have difficulty with the internet format as they are unable to adhere to deadlines. Specific assignments and their accompanying due dates are available at our WebCT site under the Course Schedule. Please review it and print it out, if necessary, to keep yourself on track. If you are having a problem meeting the course requirements or submitting work promptly, contact me immediately. Waiting to contact me will affect your credibility and jeopardize your grade.

• Students who do not begin participating in the course by the 2nd week of classes will be asked to drop and denied access to WebCT.
• Essays and homework need to be submitted in sequence. That is, you need to submit Essay 1 before Essay 2. The essay assignments, in particular, become more complex as the course progresses. In effect, one helps you prepare for the other.
• You cannot submit essays in lump fashion. That is, you cannot send in all essays at the same time! Doing so is not academically sound as you will not be getting the necessary feedback to develop your writing skills. 
• Late assignments will be appropriately downgraded, and after a certain time, will not be accepted at all. If an assignment is going to be more than a week late, you should contact me immediately.

WRITING RESOURCES:
Learning to write effectively is not an easy task, and you may require the help of your instructor, the Writing Center, or other resources, such as those from websites, online writing labs, and various tutorials. Whatever you need, don't hesitate to ask.