Diablo Valley College

Fall 2015 English 122, 5460 (online)

Freshman English:
Composition and Reading

COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Information
Instructor
Lisa Orta

Office Location
FO-217

Telephone
925 969-2477 (I prefer you contact me by email)

Email
Use the email function in our D2L class page to contact me; do not sent
messages to my school email address.
I will respond to your message within 24 hours, M F. Messages sent after 3 pm
on Friday will be answered Monday after 9 am.

Office hours
On campus: T/Th: 9-9:30 am, and 1-2 pm
Or by appointment
Online (via D2L email): M: 9-10 am, W: 8-9 am
Or by appointment

Course Description

This course engages students regularly in the writing and reading process,
requiring a substantial amount of reading of significant literature. Students will
apply disciplined thought to language in order to comprehend and analyze
college-level readings and to compose college-level essays that are coherent,
detailed, and free of serious error. In their essays, students will use a variety of
types of support including primary and secondary research. Students will
understand and employ varied rhetorical strategies used by accomplished
writers.

Student Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:
A. In writing and discussion, demonstrate their ability to read carefully a
variety of non-fiction essays, including such skills as identifying and
restating the thesis in their own words; evaluating the nature and quality of
a reading; and assessing whether the author has successfully supported
the thesis.
B. Demonstrate their ability to think critically and demonstrate this through
such skills as uncovering fallacious reasoning; recognizing the difference
between fact and opinion; identifying supported and unsupported
assertion; and synthesizing the ideas from two or more essays.
C. Recognize how style and literary features (symbols, images, metaphors,
etc.) influence meaning; recognize varieties of tone; recognize the
importance of allusions.
D. Write well-structured, college-appropriate essays of a minimum of 750
words, with a minimum of 6,000 final draft words written in the semester.
These essays will be free of serious sentence errors, be focused on a
specific topic, and contain an introduction, conclusion, thesis, a variety of
support, and sense of style and voice. The students will write welldeveloped, coherent paragraphs that use complex transitions to achieve
coherence. Students will be aware of the effects of varying sentence
length and type, and recognize and appreciate the sentence style of
professional writers.
E. Demonstrate ability to use a variety of rhetorical strategies to develop a
topic appropriately. They will include research appropriate to their purpose
and be able to find support for their ideas in the library and other

appropriate sources (personal interviews, personal experience, online

resources, etc.).

Required Course Materials

1. The Best American Essays, Seventh College Edition, Ed. Robert Atwan
2. MindTap English Handbook, Instant Access, 1st Edition, Cengage Learning
(access code)
3. Internet access: Students must have continual access to the Internet,
whether on or off campus have a backup plan should your primary
internet connection fail.
4. Recording capacity: Students will make audio recordings of rough drafts
that can be linked and accessed by other students in the class. This can
be done with the YouTube webcam (I will supply directions for this) or any
other application that will allow you to capture and share a link to your
voice recording of your draft.
5. Computer access: This class must be taken on a laptop or desktop
computer (NOT a tablet or phone). There are plenty of computer labs
available to students on campus go to the DVC homepage,
www.dvc.edu, and type computer labs in the search box for locations and
hours.

Notes regarding materials:

The textbook and MindTap access code can be purchased in the Book
Center as a bundle.
Instructions for purchasing a MindTap access code independent of the
textbook are posted in the MindTap module on our class D2L page.
Be sure you have the seventh edition of the textbook.
A copy of our textbook is on short term (3-hour) reserve in the library.

Online Course Procedure

From the Instructor
Welcome to our online section of English 122. I have taught this class
since my first semester at DVC in 1994 and it remains my favorite class to
teach. Freshman English is required for most general education programs;
your experience in this class should mirror what you would have at any

college or university. The curriculum is rigorous, the pace is intense, and

the learning points will transfer to just about all of your future college work.
I take great pride in being part of your academic development and
preparation.

Coursework
The coursework for this section is equal to that of my face-to-face class
sections. My online classes are much more rigorous because students
must be self-disciplined enough to come into the class site on a regular
schedule 3-4 times per week and follow the directions for completing and
posting work. Work that other students complete in class meetings must
be done independently or in the discussion function of the class site. That
said, over the course of the semester we will become part of a strong
online community and enjoy getting to know each other as scholars and
writers.

Time Commitment
School standards dictate that you spend two hours outside of class for
every hour you spend in class. Because this is a 3-unit course, you are
expected to spend a total of 9 hours per week on this class (3 hours of
class time and 6 hours of study time). Experience tells me that you can get
the work for this class done in approximately 6 hours per week, but if you
cannot get your work done in 9 hours per week, please contact me.

Class Structure
Pick up homework assignments in advance of each week from D2L use
the D2L link at the top of the DVC homepage (www.dvc.edu) or the D2L
URL (d2l.4cd.edu). Be sure to follow the instructions for submission of
your work, including what to put in the subject line some work will be
submitted to the Discussion Forum, other work will be submitted to
Dropbox. There is also a weekly MindTap assignment that is done on the
MindTap platform. Your grades will be posted on the D2L gradebook within
two weeks of the due date. If you want to check to see what grade you are
earning for the course, check the D2L gradebook at any point starting
Week 3 of the semester.

DVC Policy: Acceptable technology use

http://www.dvc.edu/communication/policies/acceptable-technology-use.html

DVC Policy: Academic Integrity

http://www.dvc.edu/communication/policies/studentrights/academic-integrity.html

Ground Rules
Communication

All posts, mail messages, essays, and the final exam must be written in
Standard English save abbreviations and other text speak conventions
for the appropriate audience.
All virtual communication for the class is on D2L please send me mail
messages via the email function on our D2L class page, not to my DVC
email address.
I answer messages within 24 hours M F; messages sent after 3 pm on
Friday will be answered after 9 am on Monday. I dont work on D2L over
the weekend, and I strive to have a screen-free Sunday.

College Culture

Please use my office hours, the tutoring center, student services, and the
online tutor provided by MindTap for help you might need with the course.
I insist on a safe and comfortable learning environment for all students.
Smile, nod, laugh, cry, to indicate you are an active listener (yes, you can
do this virtually, without emoticons). Refrain from all verbal and nonverbal
judgments and put-downs.
I urge you to dedicate regularly scheduled time slots and consistent study
locations for your work for this class this will help you eliminate
distractions and stay on schedule so that your time can be focused and
productive.

Class Participation
The bulk of the class is taught on the Discussion Forum; students are
required to respond to a minimum of two student posts per week. It is this
interaction that makes online learning engaging and fun. Due to the
participatory nature of the class, if you miss two weeks worth of posts (the
equivalent of two weeks worth of absence) it is likely you will not pass the
course -- you must be present to participate, and you must participate to
learn.

Admissions and Records

Should your absences exceed 2 weeks worth of work, or should you have
any other reason to believe you will not pass the course, it is your
responsibility to file the necessary paperwork to drop the course with
Admissions and Records by the due date published on the DVC
homepage.

Grading
Gradebook
The gradebook on D2L calculates your grade; you can check the
gradebook to see how you are doing in the course anytime. I enter grades
up to two weeks after your work is submitted. I use a weighted grading
system, meaning each assignment earns a percentage of your grade.

Points Possible
Assignment
Discussion
Posts
Essay #1
Essay #2
Essay #3
Essay #4
Final Exam
MindTap
Bonus = Grit
Award

Weighted Value
35% (34 posts @ 10 points possible each)
10% (100 points possible)
10% (100 points possible)
10% (100 points possible)
10% (100 points possible)
10% (100 points possible)
15% (each chapter has a Problem Set of varying length)
A bonus of 20 points is granted to students who submit all of
their discussion and grammar posts in on time this is the only
extra credit available for the course.

Grading Scale
Grade
A
B

Percentage
Calculated on D2L Gradebook
90 - 100%
80 - 89%

C
D
F

70 - 79%
60 - 69%
59 - 0%

Late work
In most instances, you may post or submit your work ahead of the due
date. Work submitted after the published due date and time does not
receive credit.

Academic Dishonesty
Your work should express your own thoughts. Copying another students
or a published authors work (from a book, magazine, newspaper,
encyclopedia, website, etc.) and turning it in as your own is plagiarism
(defined as stealing and using the ideas or writings of another as ones
own). D2L runs your submitted work through an Internet search in
advance of my receiving it. Any indication that work you turn in is not your
own will be grounds for a failing grade for the assignment on the first
offense, and grounds for a failing grade for the course on the second
offense.

Student Life & Resources

Student Life
I encourage students to get involved in student life activities, performing
arts and athletics. If your work is late due to an authorized school activity, I
will accept the late work if you give me written notice a minimum of one
week before the scheduled absence and make up the work according to
our mutual agreement.

Tutoring
Tutoring is available in the DVC English Tutoring Lab in LC 105, Occupy
Study Space in LC 107, and at the Writing Lab in LC 202. Your MindTap
access code comes with online tutoring that I recommend you use when
preparing your essays. If you are having difficulty with the material in this
course or if you simply want to do better, I recommend that you seek help.

Disability Support Services (DSS)

Any student with a documented disability is welcome to contact DSS as
early in the semester as possible to arrange for reasonable
accommodations. As part of this process, get in touch with the DSS office
in the Student Services Center (SSC), Room 240, or call 925-969-2176.

Alternative Media (DSS)

Students requiring alternative formats for course materials or adaptive
equipment because of a specific disability can request them through DSS,
located in the Student Services Center (SSC), Room 248. The High Tech
Center in SSC 250 is an adaptive technology computer lab available for
students with disabilities and is open Monday-Thursday from 9am-5pm.
Contact Carrie Million in SSC 250C or at 925-969-2186 for more
information.