English 0750 Section 112

Practical Writing
Spring 2009
School of Adult & General Education
Central New Mexico Community College
Information
Class Schedule: Monday & Wednesday, 100-250 pm Classroom: MS 310
Instructor: Roy Turner Email: rdturner@cnm.edu
Class Website: http://english0750.wordpress.com/ Office: MS 519
Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday, 300-330 pm Phone: 224-3983

Texts & Materials

• Workplace Communications: The Basics, 4th Edition, by George Searles
• Easy Writer: A Pocket Reference, 3rd Edition, by Andrea A. Lunsford
• Removable storage device

Course Description
English 0750 focuses on writing tasks related to daily life, school and the workplace to
achieve a variety of practical and academic goals. The course presents English grammar,
usage and punctuation in the context of the students' own writing.

Course Objectives
By the end of this term, you will be able to:
1. Demonstrate the effective use of a writing process for a variety of writing tasks
2. Produce writing that has a clear purpose and focus, meets audience expectations
for format and tone, develops ideas adequately for the task, organizes ideas
logically and coherently, and has been edited to correct major errors in sentence
structure and language usage.

Assignments
Your will write five major assignments: an Application Packet, a Summary of a reading, a
Review of a reading, a set of Instructions, and a short Essay.

You will also prepare a Portfolio of your best work, which is due in class on Wednesday,
22 April. As you prepare your Portfolio, you will keep a Revision Journal, reflecting on
the process of revising your work. This will be due along with your Portfolio, and is
required for you to pass the class.
Grading
Each of the five major assignments will be graded on a scale of 1-5, indicating how close
that work is to being ready for inclusion in the Portfolio.

English 0750 is graded on a CR/NC basis. To earn the passing grade of CR, you must do
the following:
• Earn a minimum total score of 21 on the five major assignments
• Attend a minimum of 45 hours of class over the course of the term
• Submit a passing Portfolio, including a complete Research Journal

Failure to accomplish any of the above will result in a grade of NC (no credit).

Attendance & Participation

This is a small class that relies heavily on your participation, so attendance is important.
You must earn a minimum of 45 hours of attendance over the course of the semester. I do
not excuse absences, so you need to be responsible with your attendance to make sure
you can achieve the minimum number of hours. Failure to actively participate or to
arrive on time may result in being counted absent for part or all of the class session.

Academic Honesty
Plagiarism—a form of cheating—is a serious violation of CNM’s standards of conduct
for students, and will result in disciplinary action by me and/or the college.

Special Needs Accommodation

If you have any special needs because of learning disabilities or other disabilities, please
discuss your needs with me or contact Special Services (224-3259).

Classroom Behavior
Your participation in class is vital to the learning environment, and you are expected to
contribute to a classroom environment that is respectful and conducive to learning.
Inappropriate behavior in the classroom may result in a request to leave class.