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| Jim Kosmicki -- Instructor | Office : Room 404 | Office hours: M-W 1-2 |
| Phone #: 382-4166 (home) | toll-free: 1-877-222-0780 ext. 7312 | desk: 1-308-398-7312 |
| Email: jkosmicki@cccneb.edu | assignments: 102@kosmicki.com | fax: 1-815-301-8532 |
Any assignments submitted electronically should be submitted as attachments or using the forms provided on the website. Cutting and pasting the assignment into the body of an email creates formatting problems that can affect your grade negatively.
There are illustrated step-by-step guides on the class website about how to attach a file in Hotmail and WebCentral, the two email programs most commonly used by my students. There are also other step-by-step guides showing students how to format their papers properly using Microsoft Word, the word processing program used by the CCC system.
Welcome to ENGL 102: Writing and Research. This course is unlike any you have taken before. This is not creative writing. This is not expository writing. Research writing is a style and form of writing unto itself, with its own requirements and restrictions. Previous writing classes are NOT an indication of how well you will do in this course.
In general, any student who follows the study guide and asks questions when there are questions to be asked will do well in this course. Students who ask the instructor their questions finish the course; students who just try to plow through the material, even though they don’t quite understand it, do not finish the course or get a much lower grade than they should have.
This course is a time and labor intensive course. In addition, much of that time and labor, especially in the beginning of the course, involves doing the research. While you can, and in fact will be expected to, do much of your research using the computer. NOTHING can replace the actual use of an academic library in academic research. You need to make sure that you schedule the time (and travel if necessary) to do some research time in a college, university, or professional library, not just the Internet or a public library.
This is also a reading intensive course. Be prepared to read up to hundreds of pages a week when the course gets going. This includes not only the assigned readings, but also the sources that you are finding for your own research paper.
Do not be misled by the fact that the Research Paper is the final assignment due. This entire course is concerned with teaching you how to write a solid research paper. You will be doing assignments leading up to the final research paper draft throughout the earlier weeks.
The Research Paper topic is YOUR CHOICE. I am not concerned with the content, other than that it be readable and logical. I am teaching the research skills. In fact, I like a challenge. If my methods can help you write a college-level paper over NASCAR safety issues, serial killers, or how Soap Operas affect women's self-image, then more traditional issues and topics are a cinch. The key is COLLEGE LEVEL. You should expect to have to use a college library, not just the Web or a public or high school library to fulfill the expectations of this course.
A student who successfully completes ENGL 102 will
Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, 9th edition, by Behrens and Rosen
The student will need access to a COLLEGE LEVEL handbook, or specific citation guides for MLA or APA, but there is no specific handbook or citation guide required.
The Brief Penguin Handbook, 2nd edition by Lester Faigley is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED
In addition, students will be expected to have Internet access and a personal email account, either at home, or through their school.
Lately, there has been a rash of plagiarism on campuses across the nation. Be aware that ANY use of another authors IDEAS, not just their exact words, constitutes plagiarism, and will be dealt with harshly in this class. ANYTIME you use another author's ideas or analysis, you are expected to cite that other author, at least by using an "according to" statement." Failure to do so will lead to a ZERO on the assignment, an F for the class, and academic probation for any further CCC classes.
The following information will explain to you how your assignments will be graded. In order to earn credit, a student must successfully complete all assignments in a given unit of study. Students will be evaluated with the following assignments: exercises, short writing assignments, several synthesis essays combining information from a variety of sources, the research process, and a Research Paper.
The following definitions are general, but do give you a sense of how your papers will be evaluated. Be sure to review these definitions before turning in an essay draft for evaluation.
In general, an A essay/research paper is one that really cannot be significantly improved. There are few or only minor grammar/mechanical errors. Sentences use a variety of structural forms, and there are no significant run-ons or comma splices. Outside sources are used appropriately, but are not the emphasis or sole content of the paper. I expect to see original analysis and thought on the subject matter being presented, and not just a simple presentation of other authors' ideas. The organization used should be appropriate to the argument.
A B essay is one that may contain one problem area, but a problem that could be corrected with another revision. For example, there may be minor organization problems, or an emphasis on summarizing other authors instead of original material, but not both. At the same time, there needs to be something in the essay (style, content, etc.) that lifts the essay out of the ordinary
A C essay is an average essay. It does the job expected of it, but that’s it. The basic question/research problem is addressed, but not in any depth or to any original conclusion. There may also be bigger organizational problems or mechanical/grammatical problems.
A D essay is a below average essay. It typically shows an author with no control over his/her subject matter. The organization is confusing, and the material is presented in an unoriginal fashion. Following/repeating sources too closely is a typical problem in a D essay. There are typically numerous mechanical/grammar problems in a D essay.
An F essay shows an author who has absolutely no control over the material. It is incomprehensible, and too difficult for the audience to read or follow. Grammar and mechanical problems abound, and the sentence structure is irregular and full of run-ons and fragments.
The grade scale used in this class is the standard grade scale of the college. Letter grades should be converted to the appropriate points, and vice/versa. Minus grades are not used in the official college grade scale, but are included to aid in conversion of letter grades.
100-98 = A+ 92-90 = B+ 85-83 = C+ 77-75 = D+ 97-95 = A 89-87 = B 82-80 = C 74-72 = D 94-93 = A- 86 = B- 79-78 = C- 71-70 = D- 69-00 = F
The exercises in this class are primarily focused in the early weeks, when the class is focused on specific techniques like citation, paraphrasing, and quotation. All of these exercises are graded on a percentage grade basis, and MUST be successfully completed in order to get a final grade in the course.
These are short papers asking the student to summarize or critique different reading assignments. The student is expected to get at least a C on one of each type of short writing assignment (i.e. both summary and critique). Failure to do so will cause the final grade for the unit to be withheld. One revision to raise a grade will be accepted, if recommended by the instructor, on each short writing assignment.
The student is expected to read and analyze a series of essays on a given topic. The student then uses the information gathered from those sources, in combination with his/her own information and opinion/s, and writes a paper stating the student's position on/about the topic. There will be two or three of these papers written throughout the semester. These papers are in addition to the research paper, which will also be expected to show synthesis of sources.
The student is expected to show evidence of having finished different stages of the research process such as finding sources, evaluating sources, organizing the information, and completing a rough draft of the paper. All of these stages are evaluated in terms of the final grade received for the Research Paper. This course is about the PROCESS, not the final product. All of these steps MUST be completed before receiving a final grade for the Research Paper. Simply handing in a paper at the end of the class is NOT enough to show that you have learned the skills this course is designed to teach.
The student will be expected to complete a Research Paper investigating a topic of their choice, using proper college-level sources and showing an understanding of the material that goes beyond simple repetition of facts. The paper will be evaluated in terms of the research process, depth of support, use of sources, proper use of citation style, use of quotations and paraphrase, as well as the standard syntax, grammar, mechanics, organization, and audience concerns used to evaluate papers.
The Research Paper rough draft is evaluated, then handed back for revision. The Final Draft of the Research Paper is also then evaluated and graded. The actual final grade for the Research Project as a whole consists of the Research Paper grade and any other grades from the other steps in the Research Process, taken as a whole.
You MUST complete ALL the Research Process steps before the Research Paper final draft will be evaluated.
| Working Bibliography |
Research Proposal |
Organization Plan Outline |
Rough Draft | REVISED Final Draft |
Lecture Course Grade Formula 10% Attendance and Participation 15% Worksheet Assignments and Exercises 15% Summaries and Critiques 30% Synthesis Essays (15% each) 30% Research Paper (whole process) = 100% Final Grade
Independent Study/Learning Center Grade Formula Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Summaries 1 (5%) & 2 (10%) = 15% Synthesis Essay #1 -- 50% Research Paper Final Draft -- 100% Paraphrase/Quote Exercise -- 10% Synthesis Essay #2 -- 50% Citation Exercises 1 (5%), 2 (10%),
3 (10%) and 4 (15%) = 40%Total = 100% Critiques 1 (5%) & 2 (10%) = 15% Syntheis Exercise -- 20% Total = 100%
All students should be aware that their course material may be used by Central Community College to assess whether the learning objectives of the course have been met. This assessment is anonymous, and is not connected to the individual student in any way. This assessment is not connected to any grade that the student will receive on the material or for the overall course. Any material submitted by the student may be used for this anonymous assessment.
The internet support site for this course is located at http://kosmicki.com/102 Simply put this address into the location bar in your internet browser, and you’re there. Located at this site, at a minimum, are all the course handouts and materials available for download. If you do not have Internet access, let me know as soon as possible.
One of the most common difficulties that students have is procrastination. Do NOT wait on these assignments. Turning in a large amount of assignments in the last few weeks is a sure way to get a poor grade. Turn the assignments in regularly so that you can give each assignment the proper amount of attention.
There may be questions that your instructor cannot answer. Since I am the writer of this course, I would be the appropriate person to ask in that situation. I appreciate students asking questions, and will do my best to either answer your questions immediately, or find out the answer as soon as possible.
If you have a question over an assignment or some other element of the class between classes, there are two easy ways to contact me: E-mail your question to : jkosmicki@cccneb.edu
Or leave a voice-mail message at : 398-7312
Should there be any further questions, or should you be unsatisfied with my response, my supervisor's name is Vicki Harvey, and her number is 398-7428.