English 1A WRC Syllabus
ENGLISH 1A, SECTION 22908
WRC REQUIREMENTS
The WRC (Writing and Reading Center) is here to help students succeed. Students can meet with tutors and instructors to receive assistance on their English assignments. The WRC is open during the following days and hours:Location: HM 232Monday through Thursday: 8am – 9pm
Friday: 8 am – 4pm
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
Website: http://academic.rcc.edu/wrcmoval/index.htm
The WRC is a vital component of this class. Students are required to complete 18 hours of specific instructional activities, which will include, instructor conferences and a variety of directed assignments that will supplement in-class instruction. Students need to complete a minimum of 62 and a maximum 72 minutes or 1.2 hours per week at regularly scheduled times during the WRC hours of operation. In addition, students must complete their lab hours and assignments prior to the day of the final. Students must complete a minimum of 5 hours in the WRC by 3/21 or they will lose 2% of their final grade.
The students will use the lab log-in software to record attendance through the login computers located near the entrance. Computer errors do sometimes occur, so you may also keep a written log to back up the hours recorded by the computer. You may request a paper log at the front desk of the WRC. (Please note that students must use the computer to log in and out each time they attend the WRC. The backup paper log is not required and is only to ensure that a computer error does not deprive you of hours that you have completed.) Each student will submit his or her weekly schedule during the first week of instruction. (Students may change the scheduled time later and/or substitute other hours on an emergency basis or for attendance at scheduled workshops after notifying the instructor.)
The lab contract indicates your understanding of the WRC policies and your agreement to attend the WRC at a regularly scheduled time. Please sign it and return it to me by Tuesday 2/25. I will check WebAdvisor each weekend; students not attending the WRC regularly may be dropped. I will be working in the WRC on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-2. Feel free to come see me during those hours to discuss assignments or readings.
WRC Assignments and Grading
Required Paper Conferences: You will be required to see an instructor in the WRC at least once for each paper you complete in this course: E1, E2, the Group Paper and the Final Paper. Failure to do so will result in a 5% penalty on the paper. In addition, WRC Instructor Conferences completed on the day an assignment is due will not be accepted. Failing to complete revisions suggested by the instructor in the WRC may also result in a grade penalty on your final draft. Paper Conferences are worth 25 points each. If you lose your WRC Confirmation worksheets, please use the links above to download and print a new copy.
Workshops: While not required to do so, you may attend up to 3 workshops offered through the WRC for extra credit. You may choose any workshop that you feel will increase your success in the course. Please complete a Workshop Assignment for the workshop attended and have the instructor giving the workshop sign the form where required. Each workshop lasts one hour.
A final note on the WRC: If you attend workshops for extra credit, you still need to complete the regularly assigned WRC activity for that week! The goal is that you will have something to turn in to me every Tuesday that you completed during the previous week in the WRC.
WRC Assignment Calendar
Week 1 (2/18-2/20): Assignment Due 2/25
English 1A is the first transfer-level English course required of all college students. Since you are enrolled in this course, you are probably either planning on transferring to a four-year university, or taking an AA degree or other certificate and moving directly into your career. In order to prepare for transferring or entering the job market, you must perform your due diligence and research the universities to which you might apply or your job prospects in your chosen field.
If you are planning on transferring: Take some time in the WRC to research three universities to which you may want to transfer. Spend some time investigating the majors and programs in which you are most interested. Also, be sure to look into any campus life issues, such as clubs, dorms, sports and extracurriculars, that may factor into your decision to apply to the university. For your assignment, write a paragraph or two about each school that explains the following:
1. Why does this particular university seem like a good fit for you?
2. What about the program(s) and campus life offered at this university most appeal to you?
3. What do you think the drawbacks or potential struggles are that you may face in being accepted to and attending this particular school?
4. How will you go about pursuing your goal of applying and eventually being accepted to the university?
If you will not be transferring, and are instead going to be taking an AA or certificate upon completion of coursework at MVC, you will instead research the field that you plan on entering. Do some job-hunting in your chosen field and write a minimum of three paragraphs that address the following:
1. What qualifications and skills are the jobs looking for? How difficult/easy is it to find job postings in your chosen field? How many did you find?
2. How is your work at MVC preparing you for entering the job market? And particularly, how are you being prepared in your chosen field? What drew you to this field in the first place?
3. How will you go about positioning yourself to obtain a position after you complete your program? What characteristics do you possess that make you an ideal candidate for a position in your field?
4. What drawbacks or potential struggles might you encounter as you exit college and enter the job market and your chosen field?
Week 2 (2/25-2/27): Assignment Due 3/4
Brainstorming for E1
1. Choose a topic to evaluate.
2. Research a sample review on a similar topic or the same if available.
3. Answer the following questions about the sample review:
1. What is the author's evaluation of the topic?
2. What criteria does he/she use to come to his evaluation? (In other words, why does he feel the way he does about the topic?)
3. What evidence does the author use to support his evaluation? Is the evidence clear, convincing and detailed? Does he highlight the main evaluations of the topic throughout the review or only in the beginning?
4. Does the author describe his subject in enough detail or does he provide too much detail or technical jargon? Is he lacking details?
5. Is his review convincing? Why or why not? What could he have done differently in his composition of the piece to convince you?
6. Who is the intended audience for the review?
7. Analyze the style and language of the author. Is the language elevated and academic or conversational? Does this language enhance or impede the review? How does the writer attempt to draw in his audience with his writing style and language?
Week 3 (3/4-3/6): Assignment Due 3/11
Support charts for E1
Week 4 (3/11-3/13): Assignment Due 3/18
E1 Instructor Conference Confirmation
Week 5 (3/18-3/20): Assignment Due 3/25
PEE (Point, Evidence, Explain) Assignment for E2
Week 6 (3/25-3/27): Assignment Due 4/1
Quoting and Paraphrasing Assignment
Week 7 (4/1-4/3): Assignment Due 4/8
Please compose a properly formatted Works Cited page for E2 (must be type written). Use your MLA handbooks as a guide. When you have finished your Works Cited page, please print it and bring it to one of the instructors on duty in the WRC to be reviewed. Once they have reviewed it and made suggestions for revisions, have them sign it to confirm that you had a consultation. After your consultation, please correct the errors and print a corrected version of the Works Cited page. (If there were no mistakes to your Works Cited page, you do not need to rewrite it.) Staple these together to turn in on 4/8.
Week 8 (4/8-4/10): Assignment Due 4/22
E2 Instructor Conference Confirmation
Week 9 (4/22-4/24): Assignment Due 4/29
Group Paper Instructor Conference Confirmation
Week 10 (4/29-5/1): Assignment Due 5/6
No New Assignment! Use the time in the lab this week to finish your papers and presentations with your partner.
Week 11 (5/6-5/8): Assignment Due 5/15
Your Final Paper proposal will count as your WRC assignment for the week. You should use your time in lab to complete your research.
Week 12 (5/13-5/15): Assignment Due 5/20
Work on your final papers!
Week 13 (5/20-5/22): Assignment Due 5/22
Revise your final paper outlines.
Week 14 (5/27-5/29): Assignment Due 6/3
Work on your final papers!
Week 15 (6/3-6/5): Assignment Due 6/12
Final Paper Instructor Conference Confirmation
Friday: 8 am – 4pm
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
Website: http://academic.rcc.edu/wrcmoval/index.htm
The WRC is a vital component of this class. Students are required to complete 18 hours of specific instructional activities, which will include, instructor conferences and a variety of directed assignments that will supplement in-class instruction. Students need to complete a minimum of 62 and a maximum 72 minutes or 1.2 hours per week at regularly scheduled times during the WRC hours of operation. In addition, students must complete their lab hours and assignments prior to the day of the final. Students must complete a minimum of 5 hours in the WRC by 3/21 or they will lose 2% of their final grade.
The students will use the lab log-in software to record attendance through the login computers located near the entrance. Computer errors do sometimes occur, so you may also keep a written log to back up the hours recorded by the computer. You may request a paper log at the front desk of the WRC. (Please note that students must use the computer to log in and out each time they attend the WRC. The backup paper log is not required and is only to ensure that a computer error does not deprive you of hours that you have completed.) Each student will submit his or her weekly schedule during the first week of instruction. (Students may change the scheduled time later and/or substitute other hours on an emergency basis or for attendance at scheduled workshops after notifying the instructor.)
The lab contract indicates your understanding of the WRC policies and your agreement to attend the WRC at a regularly scheduled time. Please sign it and return it to me by Tuesday 2/25. I will check WebAdvisor each weekend; students not attending the WRC regularly may be dropped. I will be working in the WRC on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-2. Feel free to come see me during those hours to discuss assignments or readings.
WRC Assignments and Grading
Required Paper Conferences: You will be required to see an instructor in the WRC at least once for each paper you complete in this course: E1, E2, the Group Paper and the Final Paper. Failure to do so will result in a 5% penalty on the paper. In addition, WRC Instructor Conferences completed on the day an assignment is due will not be accepted. Failing to complete revisions suggested by the instructor in the WRC may also result in a grade penalty on your final draft. Paper Conferences are worth 25 points each. If you lose your WRC Confirmation worksheets, please use the links above to download and print a new copy.
Workshops: While not required to do so, you may attend up to 3 workshops offered through the WRC for extra credit. You may choose any workshop that you feel will increase your success in the course. Please complete a Workshop Assignment for the workshop attended and have the instructor giving the workshop sign the form where required. Each workshop lasts one hour.
A final note on the WRC: If you attend workshops for extra credit, you still need to complete the regularly assigned WRC activity for that week! The goal is that you will have something to turn in to me every Tuesday that you completed during the previous week in the WRC.
WRC Assignment Calendar
Week 1 (2/18-2/20): Assignment Due 2/25
English 1A is the first transfer-level English course required of all college students. Since you are enrolled in this course, you are probably either planning on transferring to a four-year university, or taking an AA degree or other certificate and moving directly into your career. In order to prepare for transferring or entering the job market, you must perform your due diligence and research the universities to which you might apply or your job prospects in your chosen field.
If you are planning on transferring: Take some time in the WRC to research three universities to which you may want to transfer. Spend some time investigating the majors and programs in which you are most interested. Also, be sure to look into any campus life issues, such as clubs, dorms, sports and extracurriculars, that may factor into your decision to apply to the university. For your assignment, write a paragraph or two about each school that explains the following:
1. Why does this particular university seem like a good fit for you?
2. What about the program(s) and campus life offered at this university most appeal to you?
3. What do you think the drawbacks or potential struggles are that you may face in being accepted to and attending this particular school?
4. How will you go about pursuing your goal of applying and eventually being accepted to the university?
If you will not be transferring, and are instead going to be taking an AA or certificate upon completion of coursework at MVC, you will instead research the field that you plan on entering. Do some job-hunting in your chosen field and write a minimum of three paragraphs that address the following:
1. What qualifications and skills are the jobs looking for? How difficult/easy is it to find job postings in your chosen field? How many did you find?
2. How is your work at MVC preparing you for entering the job market? And particularly, how are you being prepared in your chosen field? What drew you to this field in the first place?
3. How will you go about positioning yourself to obtain a position after you complete your program? What characteristics do you possess that make you an ideal candidate for a position in your field?
4. What drawbacks or potential struggles might you encounter as you exit college and enter the job market and your chosen field?
Week 2 (2/25-2/27): Assignment Due 3/4
Brainstorming for E1
1. Choose a topic to evaluate.
2. Research a sample review on a similar topic or the same if available.
3. Answer the following questions about the sample review:
1. What is the author's evaluation of the topic?
2. What criteria does he/she use to come to his evaluation? (In other words, why does he feel the way he does about the topic?)
3. What evidence does the author use to support his evaluation? Is the evidence clear, convincing and detailed? Does he highlight the main evaluations of the topic throughout the review or only in the beginning?
4. Does the author describe his subject in enough detail or does he provide too much detail or technical jargon? Is he lacking details?
5. Is his review convincing? Why or why not? What could he have done differently in his composition of the piece to convince you?
6. Who is the intended audience for the review?
7. Analyze the style and language of the author. Is the language elevated and academic or conversational? Does this language enhance or impede the review? How does the writer attempt to draw in his audience with his writing style and language?
Week 3 (3/4-3/6): Assignment Due 3/11
Support charts for E1
Week 4 (3/11-3/13): Assignment Due 3/18
E1 Instructor Conference Confirmation
Week 5 (3/18-3/20): Assignment Due 3/25
PEE (Point, Evidence, Explain) Assignment for E2
Week 6 (3/25-3/27): Assignment Due 4/1
Quoting and Paraphrasing Assignment
Week 7 (4/1-4/3): Assignment Due 4/8
Please compose a properly formatted Works Cited page for E2 (must be type written). Use your MLA handbooks as a guide. When you have finished your Works Cited page, please print it and bring it to one of the instructors on duty in the WRC to be reviewed. Once they have reviewed it and made suggestions for revisions, have them sign it to confirm that you had a consultation. After your consultation, please correct the errors and print a corrected version of the Works Cited page. (If there were no mistakes to your Works Cited page, you do not need to rewrite it.) Staple these together to turn in on 4/8.
Week 8 (4/8-4/10): Assignment Due 4/22
E2 Instructor Conference Confirmation
Week 9 (4/22-4/24): Assignment Due 4/29
Group Paper Instructor Conference Confirmation
Week 10 (4/29-5/1): Assignment Due 5/6
No New Assignment! Use the time in the lab this week to finish your papers and presentations with your partner.
Week 11 (5/6-5/8): Assignment Due 5/15
Your Final Paper proposal will count as your WRC assignment for the week. You should use your time in lab to complete your research.
Week 12 (5/13-5/15): Assignment Due 5/20
Work on your final papers!
Week 13 (5/20-5/22): Assignment Due 5/22
Revise your final paper outlines.
Week 14 (5/27-5/29): Assignment Due 6/3
Work on your final papers!
Week 15 (6/3-6/5): Assignment Due 6/12
Final Paper Instructor Conference Confirmation