Basic Grammar & Sentence Patterns/Grammar & Communication
Syllabus for ENGL 091A, Item #1035 & ENGL 105A, Item #1149
Autumn 2014
Instructor: Scott Bessho
E-mail:
Phone: 425-564-2425
Office location:R230-Y
Office Hours:8:00-9:20 and 10:30-3:30 M-F. These are times when you can drop by to ask a question about class or an assignment or anything else. I welcome individual students or groups to bring questions and difficulties to me. I enjoy explaining grammar!
Course Information
Books and Materials
Required
Conrad and Biber: Real Grammar, ISBN 978-0-13-515587-5
Any book of your choosing that relates to the general topic of sustainability (fiction or non-fiction) as a source for Real English assignments
Optional: you might find these useful
Any good learner's dictionary (e.g. Longman)
Any handbook of grammar and usage
Assignments and other materials are distributed on the Canvas site for the class.
Course Outcomes
Learning Outcomes: (At the end of this courses, students will be able to…)
1. Write narrative, descriptive, summary, and self-reflective journal entries with improved fluency, as demonstrated by comparison of initial journal writings with end-of-quarter writings
2. Identify the basic parts of speech (nouns, determiners, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, conjunctions, and prepositional phrases) in their own writing and the writing of others
3. Identify basic sentence core patterns in their own writing and the writing of others with improved accuracy
4. Identify basic verb tenses (simple past and present, progressive, passive, perfect, conditional) in their own writing and the writing of others
5. Describe and use an editing process that suits their individual needs
6. Collaborate effectively with classmates to edit each other’s writing for mistakes in basic grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation
7. Edit their own writing to correct mistakes in basic grammar and sentence structure (singular and plural word endings, subject-verb and noun-pronoun agreement, verb tense and form)
8. Look up information about grammar and punctuation in a standard college-level writing handbook and apply it to their own editing
9. Articulate in writing what they have learned and how they have learned it.
Meeting Outcomes
The main focus of the class is grammar analysis and use in real writing. It is not a review of simple grammar or common errors. It is intensive and will require significant work outside of class. Class activities are based on the use and identification of a variety of sentence elements and types, focusing on their purpose and form in real-life writing. To exercise critical thinking skills and to address a serious subject, the topic of the sentences we analyze will be related to sustainability in some way.Weekly exercises will contribute material to a final exam and paper demonstrating mastery of the sentence grammar.
Grading
The grading for class work in this course is based primarily on completion; that is, you have to do the work, and completed work with acceptable accuracy will earn a higher grade than incomplete work with superior accuracy. Generally, this class is intended for your improvement, so scores reflect improvement and practical use of the material, not simply learning and repeating grammatical forms and rules on quizzes. It is possible to be in class most of the time and to do most of the assignments and still not get credit if the instructor sees no improvement in a student’s writing.
Some of your work will be done in groups, so your participation is essential to others in the class, whose participation grade depends on your preparation. You can ensure a good participation grade if you ask questions and try answering questions in class. Unsatisfactory participation will affect your grade (ENGL 091 is graded Credit/ No Credit). Attendance counts! Your grade will not be affected by a couple of absences, but more than two will affect your overall evaluation. A grade of NC or F will result if you miss more than nine classes. Lateness will count as an absence if I take roll before you arrive.
Classroom Learning Atmosphere
Instructor’s Expectation
Since there is no letter grade to provide motivation for 091, students need to have a goal of improving their written work over the course of the quarter. Just doing enough to pass the class is not satisfactory when applied to this goal. Students are expected to work at least ten hours a week on classwork outside of class and to contribute to the learning atmosphere in class by asking questions and trying to answer questions.
Affirmation of Inclusion
Bellevue College is committed to maintaining an environment in which every member of the campus community feels welcome to participate in the life of the college, free from harassment and discrimination.
We value our different backgrounds at Bellevue College, and students, faculty, staff members, and administrators are to treat one another with dignity and respect.
Division Statements
Please refer to the document on Arts and Humanities Policies all of which apply in my classes. Pay special attention to the section on academic dishonesty. Plagiarism, which we will discuss in class, will not be tolerated. Plagiarism in this class includes getting sentences from grammar sites on the internet.Don’t do it. The skill we are working on is finding them on your own in real writing.
Student Code
“Cheating, stealing and plagiarizing (using the ideas or words of another as one’s own without crediting the source) and inappropriate/disruptive classroom behavior are violations of the Student Code of Conduct at Bellevue College. Examples of unacceptable behavior include, but are not limited to: talking out of turn, arriving late or leaving early without a valid reason, allowing cell phones/pagers to ring, and inappropriate behavior toward the instructor or classmates. The instructor can refer any violation of the Student Code of Conduct to the Vice President of Student Services for possible probation or suspension from Bellevue College. Specific student rights, responsibilities and appeal procedures are listed in the Student Code of Conduct, available in the office of the Vice President of Student Services.” The Student Code, Policy 2050, in its entirety is located at:
Important Links
Bellevue College E-mail and access to MyBC
All students registered for classes at Bellevue College are entitled to a network and e-mail account. Your student network account can be used to access your student e-mail, log in to computers in labs and classrooms, connect to the BC wireless network and log in to MyBC. To create your account, go to: .
BC offers a wide variety of computer and learning labs to enhance learning and student success. Find current campus locations for all student labs by visiting the Computing Services website.
Disability Resource Center (DRC)
The Disability Resource Center serves students with a wide array of learning challenges and disabilities. If you are a student who has a disability or learning challenge for which you have documentation or have seen someone for treatment and if you feel you may need accommodations in order to be successful in college, please contact the DRC as soon as possible.
If you are a person who requires assistance in case of an emergency situation, such as a fire, earthquake, etc, please meet with your individual instructors to develop a safety plan within the first week of the quarter.
The DRC office is located in B 132 or you can call the reception desk at 425.564.2498. Deaf students can reach the DRC by video phone at 425-440-2025 or by TTY at 425-564-4110. Please visit the DRC website for application information into the program and other helpful links at
Public Safety
The Bellevue College (BC) Public Safety Department’s well trained and courteous non-commissioned staff provides personal safety, security, crime prevention, preliminary investigations, and other services to the campus community, 24 hours per day,7 days per week.Their phone number is 425.564.2400. The Public Safety website is your one-stop resource for campus emergency preparedness information, campus closure announcements and critical information in the event of an emergency. Public Safety is located in K100 and on the web at:
Final Exam Schedule
The final for this class is on Monday, December 8 at our usual class time and lasting until 11:20. The final is based on the sentence patterns and grammar studied during the quarter and will significantly affect the final grade for 105.
Academic Calendar
The Bellevue College Academic Calendar is separated into two calendars. They provide information about holidays, closures and important enrollment dates such as the finals schedule.
- Enrollment Calendar - . On this calendar you will find admissions and registration dates and important dates for withdrawing and receiving tuition refunds.
- College Calendar - . This calendar gives you the year at a glance and includes college holidays, scheduled closures, quarter end and start dates, and final exam dates.
English 091/105 Class Schedule (subject to change)
We have only twoshort papers in 091 and 105, but many smaller sentence assignments. Assignments in addition to the textbook exercises will be posted on the class Canvas site and we will look at them in class on the screen.
Much of what we write will be corrected in class, but there will be homework assignments as well. The exercises in the textbook will make up the largest part of the classwork. Some of the assignments will be turned in and some won’t, but all of the material will be tested at the end of the quarter, and all of it will go into your paper. The paper will be a demonstration of your sentence mastery.
Description of Assignments
Weekly Homework Assignments: Each week, you will select from your sustainability reading five sentences that contain examples of the sentence element or elements that we are studying for the week. You will copy the sentences accurately, give the source and page number, and underline the part of the sentence that exemplifies the element or elements of the week. Then, for each sentence, you will write an imitation sentence in which the structure is identical to the found sentence but whose content is completely different. This will be demonstrated in class.
The weekly homework is scored one point for each sentence that closely imitates the structure of the original but significantly changes the content. Half points are awarded for sentences whose content is too similar to that of the found sentences, or for sentences that have an insignificant error. Those that do not adequately imitate the sentence structure of the original sentence do not get any points.
Paragraph Construction: Using notes supplied by the instructor on a particular passage in Bill McKibben’s Deep Economy, you will construct a paragraph using sentence structures and verb types studied in class. Answers will vary, but all of the notes need to be incorporated into the paragraph in some way. This can be modified to the same exercise with notes taken by you from the book you are reading.
This assignment is scored for each sentence element correctly used and identified.
Demonstration Paragraph: You will write a paragraph summarizing one of the ideas presented in your book on sustainability, using sentences that exemplify six of the sentence elements that we have studied. The elements should be underlined in the paragraph and listed below the paragraph.
This assignment is scored for each sentence element correctly used and identified.
NOTE: All of the assignments will be clarified and explained in class in greater detail as they are assigned.
WeekWhat we will work on
Week 1Introduction of class, syllabus and schedule; Homework assignments: Units 2, 3, 5 & 6; Real English, reflection journal andsentence exercises (every week). Do all of the exercises in each assigned unit. You can also do the exercises in the units that are not assigned if you want.
Week 2Units 7, 8, 9, Verb Tense, Aspect and Mood
Week 3Units 10, 11 & 12; Sentence combining activities; Paper Assignment.
Week 4Units 13, 15, 16, 17 &18; Article practice.
Week 5Units 21, 22 & 23;First Paper (paragraph); Review and Mid-Term Check-in
Week 6Units 29, 30 & 31; Final Paper Assignment
Week 7Units 32, 33 & 34:Paper conferences
Week 8Units 35, 36 & 38
Week 9Units 41, 42 & 43
Week 10Units 45, 47 & 50; Final Paper
Week 11Review for Final Check-in;
December 8Final Check-in
Further Remarks
Good Luck in 091/105 this quarter! Let’s make it fun and productive.
Always remember that I want you to succeed but that you are responsible for your own success.