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English 102 Section 1004

Fall 2017

Tues/Thurs 1:00-2:15 pm. Rm: MCML 219

Erin Jensen

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Office:129 McMullen Hall

Office Hours:Monday and Wednesday8:30-9:45 a.m.

Tuesday and Thursday10:00 a.m.-11:15 am

And by appointment

Email: or

Phone:775-753-2156

Skype:erinjensen2007

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Course Materials

  • Behrens and Rosen, A Sequence for Academic Writing (SAW), 6th ed., Longman, 2015.
  • Regular access to WebCampus via the Internet

Course Description

As stated in the 2017-2018 General Catalog, this course focuses on:

“Continuation of English 101. Emphasizes writing from sources, argument, the investigative paper, and research techniques. Prerequisite: Must have completed ENG 101, ENG 100 or have satisfactory Accuplacer, ACT or SAT placement tests for ENG 102.”

Essentially, this course is focused on two key aspects of writing: 1. Understanding the workings of scholarly discourse and study in written forms and 2. To develop research, inquiry, analysis and synthesis skills that allow a writer to produce meaningful documents that engage current discussions and research on a given topic or issue. Basically, my intention is to give you a clear sense of what scholarship entails, and what it means to be a scholar on a particular subject/topic of your choosing.

Goals and Objectives:

Learner Objective / Measured by
Students will demonstrate understanding of the cultures and writing practices of academic and professional disciplines. / Responses to discussion assignments, Evaluation of course projects, Critique Essay, Argument Synthesis Essay, Research Project, Self-Evaluation
Students will analyze and apply writing and genre conventions appropriate to their professional/academic discipline. / Responses to discussion assignments, Evaluation of course projects, Critique Essay, Argument Synthesis Essay, Research Project, Self-Evaluation
Students will develop and demonstrate effective research skills. / Responses to discussion assignments, Evaluation of course projects, Critique Essay, Argument Synthesis Essay, Research Project, Self-Evaluation
Students will critically analyze and assess source quality and appropriateness in relation to their target audiences/purposes. / Responses to discussion assignments, Evaluation of course projects, Critique Essay, Argument Synthesis Essay, Research Project, Self-Evaluation
Students will demonstrate their ability to appropriately incorporate and engage sourced materials in their own writing through proper attribution and documentation. / Critique Essay, Argument Synthesis Essay, Research Project, Self-Evaluation
Students will demonstrate their ability to position themselves in larger discussions of an issue by synthesizing information and ideas to produce deeper insights and analyses. / Responses to discussion assignments, Evaluation of course projects, Critique Essay, Argument Synthesis Essay, Research Project, Self-Evaluation
Students will demonstrate their ability to apply the writing process to research-based writings in academic/professional contexts. / Response to discussion assignments, Peer review responses

General Education Goals and Learner Outcomes for ENG 102:

Written Communication

Students who complete general education courses will demonstrate the ability to use written communication skills in the following ways:

  • Choose essay/paper format appropriate to audience and purpose.
  • Choose diction and style appropriate to audience and purpose.
  • Integrate evidence, examples, and details to support the central idea or thesis of the text.
  • Develop coherent and effective paragraphs.
  • Use standard edited English and the documentation style appropriate to the discipline.

Accessing Information

Students who complete General Education courses will demonstrate the ability to access information.

  • Collect information from electronic, print and live sources
  • Evaluate the validity of the information
  • Organize information into usable format
  • Document sources of information

Reading Skills

Students who complete General Education courses will:

  • Adjust reading speed according to genre, difficulty of text, and reading purpose.
  • Recognize functions of various selections of text, i.e. offering evidence to support a point
  • Identify the purpose of the author as presented in a text
  • Summarize and /or paraphrase main points
  • Define vocabulary
  • Identify and explain cultural codes in texts
  • Create new text which integrates and synthesizes pre-existing knowledge and knowledge gained from reading in the writing of new texts (papers, essays, and the like)

Measurement of learner outcomes

Students will complete an extended research project that requires critical thinking, critical writing, synthesis and analysis that demonstrates their achievement of the above goal.

Course Assignments

The following list identifies the course assignments and provides a timeline and points for those assignments:

AssignmentTimeline Points

Critique EssayWeeks 1-4100

750-1000 words

Argument Synthesis EssayWeeks 5-7150

1000-1250 words

Research Project:Weeks 8-15

Proposal for Research ProjectWeeks 8-9 25

Research LogWeeks 8-10 25

Annotated BibliographyWeeks 8-10100

Plan for Researched ArgumentWeek 11 25

Oral Presentation Week 11 25

Researched Argument EssayWeeks 12-14300

2000 words; 8 sources

Self-Analysis EssayWeek 15 50

Drafts and draft workshops,Weeks 1-15Various points

informal homework assignments,

in-class individual and group

writing exercises and activities

Discussion Posts

The readings will often be accompanied with a Discussion Post. These are usually worth 5 points each. Informal, exploratory writing is a good way to improve your writing skills. You will need to write a response to the readings assigned for homework. Unless otherwise stated, these homework responses should be at least 2 paragraphs in length. Please DO NOT SUMMARIZE, instead provide your response to the readings. The responses can be a response to what you have read or you can include questions that you still have about the readings. You can include what you liked or what you learned from the readings. You can include how the information applies to what you are doing for this class or how the readings apply to other classes.

You can receive either full credit or no credit on the responses and the due dates are listed on the Weekly Schedule. You will also be required (unless otherwise stated) to respond toat least 1 other post from a fellow student. Those posts must be at least 3 sentences long.

Grading and Grading Scale

All formal writing assignments will be evaluated based on criteria we will establish and discuss in class. You will participate in draft workshops on the major writing assignments, receiving feedback on your writing and providing other students with feedback on their writing. Final grades will be assigned according to the following scale:

Grading Scale:

100-94% A, 93-90% A-, 89-87% B+, 86-83% B, 82-80% B-, 79-77% C+, 76-73% C, 72-70% C-, 69-67% D+, 66-63% D, 62-60% D-, 59-lower% E

Course Policies, Procedures, and Resources

Attendance and Participation: The framework of this course, with its emphasis on discussion and group work, requires that you attend class regularly. You must be in class to succeed in this class. You are expected to arrive on time to class and be prepared to contribute to class discussion and small group work, as well as provide thoughtful feedback to other students on their work in progress and drafts. For that reason, attendance is expected for each class session, and students are expected to participate in class discussion and activities. Each student is allowed four unexcused absences; after that, 25 points will be deducted from the final grade per additional absence. Additionally, chronic tardiness, lack of preparedness and lack of participation will also result in loss of points toward the final.

If you miss class, it is your responsibility to check with other students to find what you missed and to get notes. Please contact me if you have an extended illness or situation that interferes with regular attendance.

WebCampus: Much of the business of the course will be conducted on WebCampus. I will post materials on WebCampus, where you will be able to access them, and I will also send out important announcements through WebCampus, so you should check it regularly.You will also submit all formal assignments on WebCampus.

Respectful Conduct: Students are expected to treat all members of the university community with respect and to avoid any language or behavior that is inflammatory, insulting, or discriminatory. I will treat each student with respect and expect the same behavior from all students (refer to the “Student Code”).

Reading and Informal Writing Assignments: Complete the reading and writing assignments listed for each day before you come to class that day. Submit all online writing assignments before class begins.

Formal Essay Assignments: For formal essay assignments, you will submit anelectronic version of the completed essay on WebCampus (upload as an attachment). If you have a compelling reason to be late with an assignment, notify me before the due date and make arrangements for submitting the assignment. For other late assignments, I will deduct 10 points from your score for each class period they are late (not to exceed 50 percent of the total score).

Revisions: You will have the option of revising formal graded essay assignments, but must do so within one week after a graded essay is returned to you. You must make significant revisions to the essay in order to receive a higher grade; making only corrections to mechanical and grammatical errors will not raise your grade. When submitting a revised essay, include your original score and a description of the revisions you made and how they have improved the original essay. The grade for the assignment will be an average of the grades on the original and revised essays.

Phones and Laptops: Your responsibility is to contribute to the learning environment in the

classroom and stay focused on class activities, discussions, and exercises. Turn off or silence your

phones before class begins, and use phones and laptops only for course-related activities, such as accessing course readings or taking notes.

Academic Honesty: As this course is designed to prepare students to write independently in their future courses as well as in their careers, it is of the utmost importance that the work you submit for this course is your own, and that you adhere to the academic policies set out in the GBC Student Conduct Policy found at Cheating, plagiarism and passing off another’s work/writing as your own will be treated as a violation of academic honesty standards, and the consequences may include loss of credit on an assignment, and, in cases of repeated offenses, loss of credit for the course. Cases of academic dishonesty will be handled with respect to the circumstances surrounding them, the degree of infraction, etc. etc. In general, keep in mind that this course is focused on your writing and your development, and I need to see your work to help you improve and learn.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Great Basin College is committed to providing equal educational opportunities to qualified students with disabilities in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A qualified student must furnish current verification of disability. The Disability Services Office, located in Leonard Student Life Center, will assist qualified students with disabilities in securing the appropriate and reasonable accommodations, auxiliary aids, and services. For more information or further assistance, please call 775.753.2271.

Academic Success Center

GBC’s Academic Success Center is a wonderful resource for any and all students in this course. The ASC offers live tutoring, as well as tutoring via E-mail and Skype free of charge for all students attending GBC. They can help you with specific writing concerns, generating ideas, organizing your writing, documentation and developing effective strategies for editing your writing. That said, they will not proofread your essays for you: view your work with a tutor as a chance to get an informed viewpoint on your writing and to develop your own skill as a critical reader of your work. Also, whenever you work with a tutor, make sure you provide them with any needed supporting documents such as the assignment sheet and rubric for the project, as these will help them better understand your writing task. I urge all of you to utilize the ASC, as even the most seasoned writers rely on effective readers to improve their work. Learn more about the ASC at

Extra-Credit

If you use the ASC, I will give you some extra credit. Just email me the day, time, and tutor you met with or that you had an online consultation with.

Campus Security

GBC is committed to the safety of our students and has a duty to promote awareness and prevention programs for violence on campus under the Jeanne Clery Act as well as the Campus SaVE (Sexual Violence Elimination Act) and VAWA (Violence Against Women Act), which are amendments to Clery. Acts of violence include, but are not limited to, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Acts of violence can occur on the physical campus or centers of GBC in addition to field placement sites, clinical practice settings, and other places where college or class activities occur.As well, the online environment at GBC is considered a GBC site.If you experience any incidence where your safety has been threatened or violated, or if you feel threatened or harassed, immediately report this to me, any center director, faculty, or staff member, or directly to the Director of Environmental Health, Safety & Security(775.753.2115) or the Vice President for Student Services(775.753.2282).

Inclusivity Statement

Everyone deserves a learning environment that is welcoming and comfortable, and, for this reason, I strive to create educational communities in which everyone feels that they are a valued and respected contributor. In keeping with this policy, it is my responsibility to ensure that you are receiving the instruction and assistance you need, so, if you find yourself struggling with a particular assignment or the course in general, please let me know. I will do everything in my power to assist you and help you participate fully in the course. In addition, it is the responsibility of students in this course to behave respectfully toward one another in your interactions. Behaviors that disrupt the learning of, offends, or causes discomfort to other students will not be tolerated in this course. Respect is the foundation of any community and there needs to be respect in our course.

Computer Literacy: You are expected to have basic computer literacy. You need to know how to use a computer to log onto WebCampus, where you will access materials and upload assignments. You are also expected to know how to conduct research using online resources, especially through Great Basin Library databases.