Spring 2026
Composition I
ENGL 1301 Online INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION Instructor: Dr. Vicki Marshall Email: vmarshall@lit.edu Office Phone: 409-257-0053 Office Location: Technology Center, Room 110 Office Hours: Online by appointment CREDIT 3 Semester Credit Hours (3 hours lecture, 0 hours lab) MODE OF INSTRUCTION Online PREREQUISITE/CO-REQUISITE: TSI Complete in Reading and Writing. COURSE DESCRIPTION Intensive study of and practice in writing processes, from invention and researching to drafting, revising, and editing, both individually and collaboratively. Emphasis on effective rhetorical choices, including audience, purpose, arrangement, and style. Focus on writing the academic essay as a vehicle for learning, communicating, and critical analysis. COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to: 1. Demonstrate knowledge of individual and collaborative writing processes. 2. Develop ideas with appropriate support and attribution. 3. Write in a style appropriate to audience and purpose. 4. Read, reflect, and respond critically to a variety of texts. 5. Use Edited American English in academic essays. Core Objectives 1. Critical Thinking Skills: To include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information. 2. Communication Skills: To include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication. 3. Personal Responsibility: To include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making. REQUIRED TEXTBOOK AND MATERIALS An electronic device with access to the Internet. ATTENDANCE POLICY This is a virtual class. Students are required to attend and engage remotely. There are no in-person class meeting times for this class. Additionally, students are expected to check Blackboard and their LIT e-mail daily. 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. DROP POLICY If you wish to drop a course, you are responsible for initiating 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. COURSE CALENDAR Due Date Topics Assignments General Student Resources Feb. 16 Welcome! First Day of Class – review the general information for student services. Welcome to Lamar Institute of Technology Feb. 19 Is Distance Learning Right for Me? LIT 101: Student Resources Read Course Syllabus Assessment on Distance Learning LIT 101 Quiz Module 1: Introduction to ENGL 1301 Feb. 23 Orientation -Netiquette -MLA formatting Plagiarism and Syllabus overview Orientation Reflection 1 Plagiarism Quiz Feb. 26 Grammar: Parts of Speech Grammar Quiz 1 Module 2: Informative Essay (Essay 1) Mar. 2 Informative Essay Preview and Instructions Discussion: Informative/Descriptive Essay Writing Mar. 5 The Writing Process Prewriting - Discussion – Brainstorm Topics Outline of Information Essay Mar. 9 The Writing Process - Drafting Submit Draft of Essay 1 Mar. 12 The Writing Process - Revising Submit Peer Review Mar. 16 The Writing Process - Editing Submit Reflections of instructor’s comments and peer review Mar. 23 The Writing Process - Publishing Submit revised Final Essay 1 Mar. 23 GRAMMAR: Comma Splices, Run-On Sentences, and Fragments Grammar Quiz 2 Mar. 23 GRAMMAR: Commonly Confused Words Grammar Quiz 3 Module 3: Professional Research and Writing Essay (Essay 2) Mar. 26 Professional Research and Writing Essay Instructions Read instructions and overview of MLA formatting of research Mar. 26 The Writing Process – Prewriting Discussion: Professional Research Essay Discussion: Thesis Statement Assignment: Outline Essay 2 Mar. 30 The Writing Process - Drafting Submit Essay 2 Rough Draft Apr. 2 The Writing Process - Revising Submit Peer Review Apr. 6 The Writing Process - Editing Review peer review and instructor’s comments; make revisions to essay as needed. Apr. 9 The Writing Process – Publishing Submit Final Essay 2 Apr. 9 Grammar: Active and Passive Voice Grammar Quiz 4 Apr. 9 Grammar: Comma Rules Grammar Quiz 5 Module 4: Persuasive Essay (Essay 3) Apr. 13 Persuasive Essay Resources and Instructions Review material on persuasive essay Apr. 13 The Writing Process – Prewriting -Search and Find Research info -MLA Help Folder Create Library LEA Account Practice Citing Sources Persuasive Research Prompt Assignment Discussion: Persuasive Research Persuasive Essay Outline Apr. 16 The Writing Process – Drafting Submit Essay 3 Rough draft Apr. 20 The Writing Process – Revising Peer Review Apr. 23 The Writing Process – Editing Reflect on peer review and instructor’s notes to Essay 3. Revise Essay 3 as needed. Apr. 30 The Writing Process - Publishing Submit Final Draft of Essay 3 May 4 Grammar: Quotation Marks and Italics Grammar Quiz 6 Read information on Diction and Sentences and Clauses Conclusion of ENGL 1301 May 4 Course Evaluations Course Evaluations May 6 Final Exam (Last Class Day) Final Exam May 7 NO LATE WORK ACCEPTED AFTER MAY 7, 2026 COURSE EVALUATION Final grades will be calculated according to the following criteria: ● Participation 10% ● Short Writing Assignments 15% ● Daily Assignments 15% ● Essay One 10% ● Essay Two 15% ● Essay Three –Common Core Research Assessment 20% ● Final Exam 15% Total 100% GRADING SCALE • 90-100 A • 80-89 B • 70-79 C • 60-69 D • 0 – 59 F 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 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 are subject to change. Communication: I will respond to e-mails within 24 hours during the week and within 48 hours over the weekend. Special Populations: If a student requires accommodations while on LIT campus, they must contact Jarmarcus Corks in the Special Populations office in Student Services. If a dual credit student has accommodations through their school’s special populations office, they must still contact LIT’s Special Populations office at specialpopulations@lit.edu. Plagiarism/Cheating: Academic Dishonesty is a crime that Lamar Institute of Technology and I take seriously. Most colleges expel cheating students. Examples of academic dishonesty include but are not limited to: Directly copying a source into an essay without citing the original source. Paraphrasing a source without citing the original source. Paying someone to complete an assignment, having a friend or family member complete an assignment, or using Artificial Intelligence to write a paper. If a paper has a student’s name on it, I expect to see that student’s work. Making minor changes to an original source while still retaining up to 75% of the structure of the sentence. Taking a quiz or test with another student, giving the answers to a quiz or test to another student, or Googling the answers to the quiz or test. How to Know If Something Is Not Plagiarism: Generally, plagiarism only covers things that are not general knowledge. If a student makes the claim that the sky is blue, then they do not have to cite where they got that information, because it is something that 90% of the world already knows. However, if a student describes why the sky is blue, they have to cite their source, since that is not common knowledge. How to Avoid Plagiarism: First, students should practice good paraphrasing and rewrite sentences in their own words. Part of the course will be discussions, assignments, and videos over good paraphrasing. Also, when students turn in their assignments, they should get a visible score from SafeAssign. SafeAssign is not perfect, and I have found plagiarism in papers with as low as a 10% score. If a paper flags anything in SafeAssign, a student must rewrite and resubmit the paper until the content of the essay is at a percentage less than 10%. Using AI to complete any part of your content is considered Academic Dishonesty and has the same consequences as plagiarism/academic dishonesty/cheating. Your assignment will receive a zero if any part of your assignment, unless explicitly asked for, uses an AI generator to complete it. All work must be completely original. Late Work: The Blackboard system will automatically issue a grade of zero for assignments not submitted by the due date. If a student must request an extension for an assignment that is due, the request should be made before the assignment due date. However, grade of zero will remain until the assignment is completed. Communication is key to your success. It is important that students not get behind in a class. Life does happen; however, successful students and future employees must be responsible for meeting deadlines.