Syllabus Checklist Snapshot
ENGL 1302-2A1 Web INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION Instructor: Esther Courville Email: ecourville@lit.edu Office Phone: 409-247-5063 Office Location: TC112 B Office Hours: M: 1:30-3:30; T: 9:00-11:00, 2:30-3:30; R: 9:00-11:00, 2:30-3:30; F: 1:00-3:00. *I am also available by appointment if none of these times work with your schedule. I can also meet online via Teams. I accept walk-in appointments, but if you want to be sure I am available, it’s best to make an appointment via Starfish. 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 research processes. 2. Develop ideas and synthesize primary and secondary sources within focused academic arguments, including one or more research-based essays. 3. Analyze, interpret, and evaluate a variety of texts for the ethical and logical uses of evidence. 4. Write in a style that clearly communicates meaning, builds credibility, and inspires belief or action. 5. Apply the conventions of style manuals for specific academic disciplines, APA, CMS, MLA, or other style manuals. 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 A reliable device with internet access is required The instructor will provide information for supplemental required reading resources. ATTENDANCE POLICY Attendance in my online classes is counted weekly. Attendance is graded and is taken every Monday morning for the week prior. I will count your attendance by whether you completed the assignments for the week prior. Even if you make these assignments up after not having completed them on time, you cannot make up attendance grades. This policy does not apply to those who have requested deadline extensions due to extenuating circumstances. For those in this circumstance, your attendance will be retroactively taken once you have completed the late assignments. 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. 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-Module 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 *Calendar is subject to changes regarding specific due dates and small assignments. DATE TOPIC READINGS ASSIGNMENTS (Due each Sunday at 11:59 pm)
Week 1 Jan 20-25 Classroom Orientation -Syllabus -Week 1 power point: introduction of literary analysis, academic dishonesty, and college-level writing • Power point discussion & self-introduction • Syllabus quiz Week 2 Jan 26- Feb 1 FICTION: MLA refreshers, close reading literature, appropriately discussing literature, literary time periods/contexts -Literary timeline -MLA & how to write about literature power point -Romanticism intro & “The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce (reading and power point) • Power point and reading discussion • MLA practice assignment • Paper 1 (midterm) read prompt & complete informal proposal Week 3 Feb 2-8 FICTION: Introduction to author’s craft: plot, context, genre -Naturalism & “To Build a Fire” by Jack London (power point and reading) -author’s craft power point -thesis statement and introduction power point • Power point and reading discussion • Author’s craft analysis practice assignment • Thesis statement for midterm and basic outline Week 4 Feb 9-15 FICTION: Continuing author’s craft: POV, characters, action, language -Modernism & “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway (power point and reading) -author’s craft power point 2 • Power point and reading discussion • Detailed outline for midterm due Week 5 Feb 16-22 FICTION: Continuing author’s craft: theme, setting, form -Post-modernism & “Lost in the Funhouse” by John Barth (power point and reading) -author’s craft power point 3 • Power point and reading discussion • Midterm Rough Draft Due • Peer review due Week 6 Feb 23- March 1 POETRY: Introduction to poetry (reading it and analyzing it) -Renaissance & selected poems: “Death Be Not Proud” by John Donne, “Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” by William Shakespeare, and “Easter Wings” by George Hebert (poems and power point) -poetry analysis power point 1. Power point and reading discussion • Final midterm paper due
Week 7 March 2-8 POETRY: Analyzing poetry craft: meter, stanza, rhyme scheme -Enlightenment & “A Description of the Morning” by Jonathon Swift, “The Human Seasons” by John Keats, and “The Tyger” by William Blake (power point and readings) -poetry form power point • Power point and reading discussion • Identifying form practice assignment • Introduction to paper 2 and proposal Week 8 March 9-15 *this week falls over spring break (3/9-3/13) Week 9 March 16-22 POETRY: Analyzing poetry craft: context, themes, main message, language -Romanticism & “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson, “The Four Ages of Man” by William Butler Yeats, and “A Dream within a Dream” by Edgar Allen Poe (readings and power point -Poetry craft analysis power point • Power point and reading discussion • Paper 2 thesis and detailed outline due Week 10 March 23-29 POETRY: Analyzing poetry: developing comparative argument & research -Modernism & “In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound, “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening” by Robert, “Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market” by Pablo Neruda (readings and power point) -scholarly research and implementation power point • Power point and reading discussion • Paper 2 rough draft due • Peer review Week 11 March 30- April 5 *Good Friday is APRIL 3RD (no class) POETRY: Analyzing poetry: developing comparative argument & research -Postmodernism & “The Lost Pilot,” by James Tate, “The Hawk in the Rain” by Ted Hughes, and “Small Frogs Killed on the Highway” by James Wright -Revision and editing power point (MLA refreshers) • Power point and reading discussion • Final paper 2 due
Week 12 April 6-12 NON-FICTION: Analyzing non-fiction: the rhetorical situation and rhetorical strategies (persuasive journalism) -Journalism &“Consider The Lobster” by David Foster Wallace (power point and reading) -the rhetorical situation power point -annotated bibliography & research power point • Power point and reading discussion • Paper 3 proposal & preliminary research submission • Annotated Bib prewriting Week 13 April 13-19 NON-FICTION: Analyzing non-fiction: the rhetorical situation and rhetorical strategies (scholarly research) -choose your own research paper -how to read a research paper & how to implement research into writing power point • Power point and reading discussion • Annotated Bibliography rough draft • Detailed outline of paper 3 & very rough draft Week 14 April 20-26 ADAPTATION: Analyzing film adaptations -watch The Count of Monte Cristo & read power point on film analysis -revision and editing techniques power point • Power point and film discussion • Final Annotated Bibliography Week 15 & 16 April 27- May 7 Final Exam Project -complete peer-review -review HOCs and LOCs • Final draft of paper 3 • Final exam introduction • Turn in final exam by May 7 COURSE EVALUATION Final grades will be calculated according to the following criteria: • Participation 10% • Daily Work Assignments 40% • Mid-Term Exam 15% • Research Paper--Common Assignment 15% • Final Exam 20% • Total 100% GRADING SCALE 90-100 A 80-89 B 70-79 C 60-69 D 0 – 59 F
LIT does not use +/- grading scales ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Students found to be committing academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, or collusion) may receive disciplinary action. Students need to familiarize themselves with the institution’s Academic Dishonesty Policy available in the Student Catalog & Handbook at http://catalog.lit.edu/content.php?catoid=3&navoid=80#academic-dishonesty. 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. 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 MRS. COURVILLE’S RESPONSE TIME 1. I only answer my phone when I am in my office. 2. I only return calls that leave a voicemail. Please leave a detailed message with your name, your number, the class you are in, and your concern. I will call you back as soon as I am back in my office, which may be the following day or the following Monday if you left a voicemail on a Friday afternoon. 3. The best way to reach me is through my LIT email, ecourville@lit.edu 4. I usually respond to emails well within the required 24-hour window. On weekends and holidays, I may respond later than 24 hours. Feel free to send me a follow-up email if I have not responded to your first one. Sometimes emails can slip through the cracks. LIT EMAIL 1. Not communicating with me because your LIT email is not working is not a valid reason for not responding to my emails, or for not emailing me. The IT department can help with any issues like this. 2. You are welcome to email me screenshots of what you need help with. 3. Please email me as soon as you get into the blackboard course so that I can ensure your email is up and running. 4. When you email me, please provide your full name and your course name and section so that I can better assist you. BLACKBOARD MESSAGES 1. Check the Send to Email box above Blackboard Messages textbox if you want a faster response. 2. If you use Blackboard Messages to contact me, and I don’t respond within 24 hours, send the same message to my LIT email. BLACKBOARD ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Announcements in Blackboard are posted to the Announcements webpage that you see when you log into class. Read them. They may pertain to schedule changes, homework changes, etc. 2. Announcements are also emailed to your Blackboard email, which you can check at My LIT. TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS 1. Use Chrome or Firefox as your browser. Edge and Safari do not work well with Blackboard. 2. If you do this class’s assignments on a cell phone, a tablet, or a netbook, make sure you are seeing all assignments as they are presented on a desktop computer. 3. Not having the correct technology or internet is not a valid excuse for not doing assignments or tests. The IT department can assist you with these types of issues.
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 STUDENT BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS 1. Keep in mind that each student comes from a different cultural background and brings with her or him a different set of beliefs and values. 2. As a result, students may disagree on various topics during class discussions. 3. Disagreements lead to critical thinking, scholarly debates, and learning only when each member of the class respects the different opinions of others. 4. Disrespect for others or me will not be tolerated. If I feel you are disrupting the learning/teaching environment, I will tell you that you must leave. Your attendance for that class day will not be counted. If this happens a second time, you will be reported and/or removed from the class. 5. Your emails and all communications with me should be respectful. With that in mind, you need to remember email etiquette by addressing me politely, objectively telling me your concern, and closing out the email. You should also have a subject line in your email and tell me your whole name with your class. DUE DATES 1. All assignments have due dates. In-class work cannot be made up unless you have an excused absence. Late homework will only receive full credit if you have an extenuating circumstance that you have communicated to me. Any other late homework assignments will receive a partial grade of 60% or less. Late work that is turned in incomplete will most likely receive 0 credit depending on the severity of incompletion. 2. Making up missed work is not a guarantee to bring you to a passing grade, even if you have made up all of your assignments. 3. Late work MUST be submitted no later than a week before finals start. 4. Late work that is submitted will not be marked or commented on with feedback, and I will not have late work graded immediately. I will have late grades input by two weeks. GRADING POLICIES 1. Homework assignments are completion grades, but if you put in an obviously low amount of effort into it, do not meet the requirements, or do not complete it, you will receive partial credit. 2. Missing assignments will be given a 0.
3. All grades are recorded in Gradebook on Blackboard. 4. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure their grades on their assignments match their grades in Blackboard Gradebook. 5. Grading rubrics are available on large assignments. 6. I do not mark specific grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage, and style errors on writing assignments, but if there is an abundance of these errors and they lead to a lack of overall language clarity, I will note it on the assignment and doc points from the assignment grade. 7. I provide a list of writing errors that will lower students’ writing assignments’ grades. 8. If you have problems with the types of errors above, we can discuss what those errors are, how to identify them, and the best ways to correct them. 9. This is a student-led discussion of their own writing. 10. I do not recommend that you use programs like Grammarly to fix your errors. 11. All writing assignments must use correct academic style, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage, and MLA formatting. It is the student’s responsibility to know, or find out, what these requirements are. I will provide all the resources you need to find out how to adhere to these writing conventions. 12. All writing assignments’ topics must be approved by me before you start your writing assignments. All of your writing must be completely objective unless otherwise stated by me, so I recommend steering away from highly emotional topics such as abortion, political parties, religious matters, etc. unless you have a logical, unbiased argument. 13. Homework CANNOT be submitted via Blackboard messages or via email unless I have given you permission to do so. If you randomly send me late work via email and do not submit it on Blackboard, you won’t get credit for the assignments. 14. If you submit the wrong assignment, you must contact me asap so that I can delete your attempt and let you resubmit. You must tell me by at least an hour after the original deadline in order to receive full credit for resubmitting. If you do not tell me that you submitted the wrong document, you will receive a 0 for the assignment since it is equivalent to not doing it at all. Once you resubmit the correct document, you either will have late points deducted or receive full credit depending on when you resubmitted. It is very important to double and triple check that you are submitting the right documents for these reasons. 15. Grades on individual assignments and final course grades are NOT negotiable. You may not email me asking me to change a grade or “let you pass.” Your grade and how many points you earn is your responsibility. You can, however, email me if you see a clerical error in the grade, and I will quickly make that change. 16. You may NOT submit links to homework in the place of actual documents. The reason for this is because students can make changes to their document if they have submitted links, and they usually forget to grant access to me. I will not chase anyone down for resubmission of documents that were originally submitted as Word or Google Docs links. You will receive a 0 for the assignment, and you will get credit for it once you have submitted the proper document. 17. There are no regrades or retakes. 18. I do not drop assignments. 19. All homework assignments will be graded no later than a week after they were due unless I have an extenuating circumstance. If homework takes me more than a week to grade, I will
communicate this to the class with reasoning. Using AI on your papers will slow the grading process down since it requires investigations. ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM POLICIES 1. Academic honesty is expected on all assignments. See LIT student handbook for more information about academic honesty and the penalty for breaking academic honesty. 2. I do not tolerate plagiarism or deception of any sort. This includes using AI to write your writing assignments. You are allowed to use AI to brainstorm topics for papers and edit grammar mistakes, but I do not recommend the latter. I use several AI checkers to check for the use of AI. If your work shows heavy ai-use across multiple checkers indicating that you did not complete the majority of the work yourself, you will receive a 0% on the assignment without the chance to make it up. If you do this a second time, you will be reported to the department chair, and you will not be able to submit any further assignments until you have met with her. 3. Plagiarism is submitting someone else’s work, either published or not, as your own, and is not allowed. 4. You also may not use your own work from a previous class in my class, even if it was my class. You may not work together on assignments unless I have granted permission. 5. You may not allow anyone else to do or significantly alter your work. If you need extra help beyond what I have given you, you can take advantage of the writing tutoring provided through our institution. 6. Patchworking together from the internet is also plagiarism. 7. All writing assignments are submitted to a plagiarism checker in Blackboard to be reviewed for plagiarism, but this is not the only method I use to check for plagiarism. 8. Students who plagiarize may receive a 0 on the entire unit and may receive an F for the entire course. 9. If you use AI grammar checkers, it may make your essay indicative of heavy AI-use. Be careful. 10. Most of the essays that have heavy AI-use end up failing anyway for lack of requirements met. 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 COURSE ASSINGMENT BREAKDOWN
1. Minor assignments, such as weekly homework assignments and readings, are subject to change. For the most part, you will have weekly readings that are both primary and secondary. This means that you will read a range of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, etc. along with my power points. You will have to read these weekly postings in order to complete the weekly discussion board. 2. Beyond the weekly discussion boards that cover the readings and power points of each week, you will also be working on essays consistently throughout the semester. You will have several weeks to complete each one, and some of the material posted for that week will be skill-building material for each essay. You will have to complete process work for each essay each week (outlines, rough drafts, peer reviews, etc.) 3. Major assignments include Essay 1 (fiction analysis), Essay 2 (Comparative poetry analysis), Essay 3 (Literary Criticism Analysis), and Final exam project. MAJOR ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS 1. Essay 1 (Fiction Analysis) is a paper where you choose a piece of fiction from the class readings listed on the syllabus reading list and analyze it by breaking it down for the elements of author’s craft. You will go beyond mere observation of theme, plot, language, action, and context by actually making an argument about how each of those elements are important to the overall main message of the story. You will include two secondary scholarly sources in your paper that aid parts of your argument. 2. Essay 2 (Comparative Poetry Analysis) is a paper where you choose two separate poems from the class readings listed on the syllabus reading list and make an argument for how the two poems can be analyzed together. The two poems must be from different literary movements. You must, again, go beyond mere observation of similarities between the poems and make an argument for how and why the poems can be analyzed together, how they may have affected each other, etc. You will include three secondary scholarly sources in your paper that aid parts of your argument. 3. Essay 3 (Literary Criticism Analysis) is a paper where you choose any type of literary text listed on the syllabus reading list and use at least one critical theory to analyze it and make an argument about it. You may argue how the text could be seen in a different light than what has been traditionally argued about the text. You must use specific examples to prove your argument. You will include five secondary scholarly sources. 4. Final Exam Project is a short paper where you will take the core objectives of the class and write an argument with specific examples that prove you met these core objectives. You must use examples from your writing that you produced in the course of the semester. OTHER NOTES 1. Since this is an online course and we will not be meeting synchronously for me to lecture, you are required to read the attached readings and power points each week. These readings and PPTS serve as lecture material. If you do not do this, it will be
evident in your essays. Ultimately, the essays are like tests. They assess how well you have understood the material leading up to it. 2. Please come to my office (or call) if you need extra assistance in real-time with material and assignments. I am here to help you! 3. I will give 5 bonus points on an essay if you come to my office or call before you turn in your final essays.