Fall 2025
BASE NCBO INTEGRATED READING AND WRITING
INTEGRATED READING AND WRITING INRW 0173, section 3B1 COURSE INFORMATION Class Location: Multipurpose Center, Room 251 Days/Times: Tues, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION Instructor: Dr. Scott Sands Email: ssands@lit.edu Office Phone: (409) 245-8749 Office Location: TC 206 Office Hours: Mon, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Wed, Fri, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Tues, Thurs, 9:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. PREREQUISITE/CO-REQUISITE: • AFTER Jan. 11 2021 Scores • College Readiness Classification, CRC, score of 910-944 AND • Diagnostic level of 1 to 3 AND • Does not have an essay score AND • Co-enrollment in INRW 0173 BEFORE Jan. 11 2021 Scores • TSI Reading score of 339 or below OR • TSI Writing score of 339 or below AND • ABE is below 4 AND • Four or lower on the essay AND • Co-enrollment in INRW 0373 CREDIT 1 Semester Credit Hour (1 hour lecture, 0 hours lab) MODE OF INSTRUCTION Online or Face to Face COURSE DESCRIPTION Integration of critical reading and academic writing skills. This Intervention is designed specifically for students assessed at BASE levels 3-4 and must be part of a student’s coenrollment (co-requisite) enrollment: 1. as a mainstreamed intensifier providing contact hours for additional, just-in-time instructional support for the student’s success in the developmental IRW course, or 2. as a contextualized and/or integrated basic skills instructional support for a Career/Technical Education course. COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to: 1. Locate explicit textual information, draw complex inferences, and describe, analyze, and evaluate the information within and across multiple texts of varying lengths 2. Comprehend and use vocabulary effectively in oral communication, reading, and writing. 3. Identify and analyze the audience, purpose, and message across a variety of texts. 4. Describe and apply insights gained from reading and writing a variety of texts. 5. Compose a variety of texts that demonstrate reading comprehension, clear focus, logical development of ideas, and use of appropriate language that advance the writer’s purpose. 6. Determine and use effective approaches and rhetorical strategies for given reading and writing situations. 7. Generate ideas and gather information relevant to the topic and purpose, incorporating the ideas and words of other writers in student writing using established strategies. 8. Evaluate relevance and quality of ideas and information in recognizing, formulating, and developing a claim. 9. Develop and use effective reading and revision strategies to strengthen the writer’s ability to compose college-level writing assignments. 10. Recognize and apply the conventions of Standard English in reading and writing. REQUIRED TEXTBOOK AND MATERIALS An electronic device with access to the Internet. All other materials will be provided by the instructor. ATTENDANCE POLICY This is an in-person class. Attendance and engagement are crucial to success in any course, including this one. Students are required to engage in class and participate in regular discussions and assignments to receive full credit. Students who do not engage with the class daily will fall behind. Additionally, students are expected to check Blackboard and their LIT e-mail regularly (at least twice a week). DROP POLICY If you wish to drop a course, you are responsible for starting and completing the drop process by the specified drop date as listed on the Academic Calendar. If you stop coming to class and fail to drop the course, you will earn an “F” in the course. STUDENT EXPECTED TIME REQUIREMENT For every hour in class (or unit of credit), students should expect to spend at least two to three hours per week studying and completing assignments. For a 3-credit-hour class, students should prepare to allocate approximately six to nine hours per week outside of class in a 16- week session OR approximately twelve to eighteen hours in an 8-week session. Online/Hybrid students should expect to spend at least as much time in this course as in the traditional, face-to-face class. COURSE CALENDAR DATE TOPICS READINGS ASSIGNMENTS Week 1: 8/25 - 8/29 Course Introduction Syllabus Review UNIT 1: Intro to INRW 0173 Your First Writing Memory Arel Moodie, The Secret to Student Success Create your Khan Academy account for Fall 2025. Join the Khan Academy class for this course. Week 2: 9/1 - 9/5 Plagiarism MLA Format What is Plagiarism? Avoiding Plagiarism Formatting Essays using MLA Style MLA Guidelines Khan Academy: The Noun Week 3: 9/8 - 9/12 Check-in Conferences Week 4: 9/15 - 9/19 Email Etiquette Assignment LEA Account / Library Access Workshop: Three Interesting Things Draft Draft: Three Interesting Things Essay Writer’s Memo 1 Week 5: 9/22 - 9/26 UNIT 2: College-Level Reading Explicit / Implicit Info: Main Idea and Theme Rita Carter, “Why Reading Matters” What do you (actually) know? Khan Academy: The Verb. Final: Three Interesting Things Essay Writer’s Memo Response 1 Week 6: 9/29 - 10/3 Author’s Craft: Word Choice, Plot, Point of View / Perspective, Audience, Purpose Vocabulary: Denotation vs. Connotation Favorite Film Essay Author’s Craft: What is That? Rudyard Kipling “The Power of the Dog” Week 7: 10/6 - 10/10 Visual Literacy and Vocabulary Synthesis: Putting all the Pieces Together Workshop: Favorite Film Essay How is Synthesis Different from Summary? Khan Academy: The Pronoun. Draft: Favorite Film Essay Writer’s Memo 2 Week 8: 10/13 - 10/17 Audience, Purpose, and Tone Adam Benn, “Write Well. Start Writing Now.” Final: Favorite Film Essay Writer’s Memo Response 2 Week 9: 10/20 - 10/24 UNIT 3: Academic Writing Writing Topic Sentences and Paragraphs Research-Based 5-Paragraph Essay Research Paper Writing The Thesis Statement Academic Body Paragraphs Khan Academy: The Modifier. Week 10: 10/27 - 10/31 Check-in Conferences Week 11: 11/3 - 11/7 Workshop: Researched Essay The Writing Process Draft: Researched Essay Writer’s Memo 3 Khan Academy: Punctuation 1 Week 12: 11/10 - 11/14 Thesis Workshop Outline: Paragraphs Final: Researched Essay Writer’s Memo Response 3 Khan Academy: Punctuation 2 Week 13: 11/17 - 11/21 UNIT 4: The Home Stretch! Introduction: The Reflective Synthesis Khan Academy: Syntax Draft Reflective Synthesis Writer’s Memo 4 Week 14: 11/24 - 11/28 NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Break) Week 15: FINALS 12/1 - 12/3 Workshop: The Reflective Synthesis Luvvie Ajayi Jones, “Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable” Final Reflective Synthesis Writer’s Memo Response 4 COURSE EVALUATION Final grades will be calculated according to the following criteria: ● Participation 25% ● Grammar, Punctuation, Khan Academy Exercises 25% ● Unit Tests 25% ● Final Exam 25% GRADING SCALE 90-100 A 80-89 B 70-79 C 60-69 D 0 – 59 F LIT does not use +/- grading scales TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS The latest technical requirements, including hardware, compatible browsers, operating systems, etc. can be online at https://lit.edu/online-learning/online-learning-minimum-computer-requirements. A functional broadband internet connection, such as DSL, cable, or WiFi is necessary to maximize the use of online technology and resources. DISABILITIES STATEMENT The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are federal anti-discrimination statutes that provide comprehensive civil rights for persons with disabilities. LIT provides reasonable accommodations as defined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, to students with a diagnosed disability. The Special Populations Office is located in the Eagles’ Nest Room 129 and helps foster a supportive and inclusive educational environment by maintaining partnerships with faculty and staff, as well as promoting awareness among all members of the Lamar Institute of Technology community. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Special Populations Coordinator at (409) 951-5708 or email specialpopulations@lit.edu. You may also visit the online resource at Special Populations - Lamar Institute of Technology (lit.edu). STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT STATEMENT It is the responsibility of all registered Lamar Institute of Technology students to access, read, understand and abide by all published policies, regulations, and procedures listed in the LIT Catalog and Student Handbook. The LIT Catalog and Student Handbook may be accessed at www.lit.edu. Please note that the online version of the LIT Catalog and Student Handbook supersedes all other versions of the same document. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE STATEMENT Lamar Institute of Technology (LIT) recognizes the recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, have changed the landscape of many career disciplines and will impact many students in and out of the classroom. To prepare students for their selected careers, LIT desires to guide students in the ethical use of these technologies and incorporate AI into classroom instruction and assignments appropriately. Appropriate use of these technologies is at the discretion of the instructor. Students are reminded that all submitted work must be their own original work unless otherwise specified. Students should contact their instructor with any questions as to the acceptable use of AI/ChatGPT in their courses. In this class, AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Perplexity, CoPilot, etc.) may be used up to two times in the following ways: 1) When used by a writer to seek feedback on the writer’s own draft, using the Writer’s Memo as the “prompt” (the text provided to the AI tool to generate a response.) The feedback the AI tool provides must be added as an additional section of the Writer’s Memo for that assignment, and the memo must cite AI appropriately in MLA format. 2) To brainstorm how to complete part of the first draft of the Revised Essay and/or Transformation assignments. The AI tool’s response must be added as a section of the Writer’s Memo for that assignment, and the Writer’s Memo must cite the AI tool appropriately in MLA format. No part of the AI tool’s response language may be used in the draft or final versions of any assignments. STARFISH LIT utilizes an early alert system called Starfish. Throughout the semester, you may receive emails from Starfish regarding your course grades, attendance, or academic performance. Faculty members record student attendance, raise flags and kudos to express concern or give praise, and you can make an appointment with faculty and staff all through the Starfish home page. You can also login to Blackboard or MyLIT and click on the Starfish link to view academic alerts and detailed information. It is the responsibility of the student to pay attention to these emails and information in Starfish and consider taking the recommended actions. Starfish is used to help you be a successful student at LIT. ADDITIONAL COURSE POLICIES/INFORMATION Due dates: I make every effort to inform students when assignments are due. However, due dates are subject to change. Communication: I will respond to e-mails within 48 hours. Typically, I will only respond to e-mails during my office hours. Late Work and Make-Up Work: Students are permitted to submit up to 1 assignment late, and re-submit up to 1 assignment for a new grade through Friday, November 21. The one late assignment and one re-submission can be different assignments, or the same assignment. To receive credit for the re-submitted assignment, the student must submit a completely new Writer’s Memo as part of their re-submission.