Course Syllabus

Course Description

English 101 develops each student's proficiency in reading, and in writing after reading. How? This course applies principles of rhetoric and techniques of critical thinking to reading and to writing. Thus, it is important that each student should understand the elements of grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. A formal research paper of EIGHT typewritten pages is required at the end of the course. English 101 is a required course for English majors.

Instructor Contact Information

• Name: Professor Steven Skelley
• Email me through the Canvas "Inbox" button. Whenever I send you an email, I want you to send an email BACK to me letting me know that you received my message. This is basic email etiquette. 
• Whenever you initiate an email to me, PLEASE put a subject in the "subject line" of the email so that I will know what the topic of the email is about.
• My "consultation" hours or "office hours" will be every Wednesday from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. 
  
• I do NOT give students an office phone number because I do not have an office at the college.

Course Modality and General Expectations 

Although this course is on campus and in the classroom (thank goodness for that), all assignments will be delivered through Canvas, and most activities will consist of online discussion forums, quizzes, and announcements. All student work will be submitted online in Canvas.

This is a three unit course and will require approximately six or seven hours of work per week, sometimes more, in order to read course materials, to watch and participate in any Zoom discussions, and to participate in course assessment activities. 

Grading Policy 

Grades: Quizzes, paragraphs, the midterm essay, the thesis statement assignment, the final exam, and the research paper are graded assignments. I will have a rubric (a standard) posted with each assignment so that students will know and understand what each assignment's grade is based upon. Due dates will be important for group discussions which are the paragraphs that students submit. I will reward submissions that are early and on time, but late submissions will automatically get lower grades for not meeting the due dates. 

Grades for quizzes will be clearly noted before students take a quiz; for example, 10 points, or 15 points, or 20 points.

Grades for group discussions will also be clearly noted, for example, 10 or 15 points for replying to a topic question, and 5 points or replying to each of the discussion items written by fellow students in the class. A clear rubric will be posted for how I will give the grades.

Short essays will have a greater point value which will also be clearly marked ahead of time, for example 30 points or more, along with a rubric for how I will grade an essay.

Three thesis statements (ThSs). Students must submit to me three thesis statements. I will provide the rubric for how this must be done. The basic idea is that I have provided the class with 23 topic questions.  Students choose three of the topic questions. Then students submit three thesis statements, one ThS on each TQ. Students must receive at least ONE green light from me on a thesis statement in order to begin to write their research papers, but two or even three green lights would be great.

Final Exam & Research Paper: The research paper and the final exam each count for about 25% of the course grade. 

Extra credit: Extra Credit will be possible under two circumstances.

The first circumstance is if and when the Library offers extra credit at the end of the semester to students who will enroll in some hours of work doing research that is related to their research projects. The Library will proctor the assignments and send to the instructor the record of the work that has been properly concluded. The instructor then gives the extra credit to the students who deserve it.

The second circumstance is the type of extra credit that I give for an essay written BEYOND the writing that is required for the course. A student who wants this extra credit must discuss it with me so that we can come to an agreement about what the topic and the assignment will be. In both of the cases above, the extra credit will not be more than 5% of the final grade.

Submission of Late Work: As I said above, homework that is late by a day or two will receive a grade that is automatically lower than the grade for homework that is submitted on time or early. So I will reward homework that is submitted on time or early by giving such work higher marks. There will be no possibility of a full mark for late homework. Important assignments such as the final exam and the research paper will not be accepted late under any circumstance.

Attendance and Drop Policy: During the first week of class, I will expect all students to show me that they intend to stay enrolled in the course--that they are serious about the course. Students will do this in two ways: First, students will complete a quiz on the Course Outline on the second day of classes (Thursday), and second by replying to the "ice-breaker" topic question by Saturday of the first week of classes. If a student does not complete BOTH of these tasks, on time, I will take this as a message that the student is not interested in the class and would prefer to drop the class. I will drop the student.

Special Additional Point about Attendance: Attendance is REQUIRED. If a student is absent for a total of four (4) times during the semester, it will be grounds for being DROPPED from the class roster. 

Dropping a course: Students need to understand that they are responsible for dropping any course and that post-census non-attendance does not automatically drop them from a course. Students also need to be sure that they understand the “three strikes” rule which is the following: A student who either withdraws after census, or receives unsatisfactory grades, cannot attempt a course more than three times. Here are some examples: Which of the following four actions count as an attempt? 1) A student enrolls in a course and drops prior to census: No! 2) A student enrolls in a course and drops or withdraws from the course after census and prior to the withdrawal deadline: Yes! 3) A student enrolls in a course and stops attending, but never drops or withdraws from the course: Yes! 4) A student enrolls in a course and a grade of D or F is recorded for the course: Yes!

As the semester continues, if a student shows signs of not participating in the work of the course, I may intervene to find out whether the student intends to remain on the roster. Since Canvas allows me to track the amount of time students spend on their work in the course, I will track this. I expect students to work approximately six to seven hours each week on this course. As you know, it is the job of a student to drop any course OFFICIALLY, but instructors are also empowered to drop students.

Recording Policy

No student may record any classroom activity without express written consent from the instructor, Prof. Skelley. If any student has (or thinks she may have) a disability such that she may need to record classroom activities, the student should contact the office of Special Services to request an appropriate accommodation.

Canvas: Textbooks and class materials: All of the materials for this course, including lecture material, readings, class discussions, quizzes, and assignments of all types I will deliver to you through Canvas which is the "Learning Management System" (LMS) that you are reading right now. Everything will be on Canvas; I will be on Canvas; you will be on Canvas; all of your fellow students will be on Canvas; the whole course will be on Canvas. Here is the link to the Canvas page for this course: https://ilearn.laccd.edu/courses/170230 

Trouble with Canvas? If you are having any trouble logging into this course, or if you do not know how to log in, or if you have any issues with Canvas that require some assistance, here is the link to the resources that can help you: The link is called  LAPC Student Canvas Resources Student Canvas Resources.

This course will begin on August 30, 2021, along with the rest of the courses at Pierce College. This course will finish just before Christmas, on December 19, 2021.

Religious holidays

There may be several religious holidays occurring during the semester. While these are neither Federal- nor State-sanctioned holidays, they are days of religious observance that may impact some students in the class. If you plan to miss a class period, an assignment due date or an exam because you will be practicing your religion on a particular day, you need to notify your instructor of this fact at least two weeks in advance to make arrangements. Official notification will take the form of an email, which specifies the anticipated date(s) of absence. Students who provides this information by the deadline will be able to reschedule missed exams or work, and their absence will not adversely affect their attendance record. Failure to provide proper notification and making arrangements at least two weeks in advance will negate the students' option to reschedule or receive credit for missed activities.