Spring 2026
Base Integrated Reading & Writing
INRW 0373_DM7 INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION Instructor: Whitney Brandon Email: wbrandon@lit.edu Office Phone: N/A Office Location: Online Office Hours: Please email me for an appointment. CREDIT 3 Semester Credit Hours (3 hours lecture, 0 hours lab) MODE OF INSTRUCTION Online. 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 0173 COURSE DESCRIPTION Integration of critical reading and academic writing skills. Successful completion of this intervention if taught at the upper (exit) level fulfills TSI requirements for reading and writing. 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. INRW 0373 Master Course Syllabus Approved May 2021 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 All required reading materials are provided by instructor in Blackboard. ATTENDANCE POLICY This is an online course. Students are expected to login each week to work on the course. 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-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 TOPIC READINGS (Due on this Date) ASSIGNMENTS (Due on this Date) 2/16-2/23 Welcome/Start Unit 1 - Introduction Welcome! Master Syllabus Assignment Schedule Course Textbook Avoiding Plagiarism All of the following are due 2/23: Discussion Board: Introductions Plagiarism Quiz What is Plagiarism MLA Format Sample MLA Template Assignment Login to Khan Academy Unit 1 Test 2/24-3/2 Unit 2 – College Level Reading Comprehension Comprehending Literary Texts: Overview 1. Explicit Information 2. Making Inferences 3. Author’s Craft 4. Vocabulary All of the following are due 3/2: Explicit Information – Ideas Reading Assignment Literary Inferences Reading Assignment Author’s Craft – Literary Word Choice Author’s Craft—Plot Structure Author’s Craft—Purpose Author’s Craft—Literary Audience Author’s Craft—Literary POV Author’s Craft—Perspective Vocabulary Reading Assignment 3/3-3/9 Unit 2 - College Level Reading Comprehension Comprehending Informational Texts: Overview 1. Main Ideas and Support Details 2. Inferences 3. Author’s Craft All of the following are due 3/9: Main Ideas and Supporting Ideas Reading Assignment Informational Inferences Reading Assignment Author’s Craft—Informational Word Choice Reading Author’s Craft—Text Structure Author’s Craft—Purpose of Informational Texts Author’s Craft—Informational Text Audience Author’s Craft—Informational POV 3/10-3/15 Spring Break 3/16-3/23 Unit 2 - College Level Reading Comprehension Comprehending Informational Texts: Overview 4. Vocabulary 5. Synthesis Unit 2 Test Review All of the following are due 3/23: Informational Texts Vocabulary Reading Assignment Synthesis—Connections Reading Assignment Synthesis – Rhetorical Relationships Reading Assignment Synthesis – Claims and Counter Claims Unit 2 Test 3/24-3/30 Unit 3 – College Level Writing Objectives Audience, Purpose, and Tone All of the following are due 3/30: Audience in Academic Writing Assignment Purpose in Academic Writing Assignment Tone in Academic Writing Assignment 3/31-4/6 Unit 3 -- College Level Writing How to Write Basic Topic Sentences & Paragraphs Introductory Paragraph Body Paragraph Conclusion Paragraph Writing Academic Paragraphs All of the following are due 4/6: Introduction Paragraphs Writing Assignment Body Paragraphs Writing Assignment Concluding Paragraphs Writing Assignment Paragraph Prewriting Writing Assignment Paragraph First Draft Writing Assignment 4/7-4/13 Unit 3 -- College Level Writing Writing Academic Paragraphs All of the following are due 4/13: Paragraph MLA Writing Paragraph Proofreading Writing Assignment Paragraph Final Draft Writing Assignment Unit 3 Test 4/14-4/20 Unit 4 – Five – Paragraph Essay with Research Objectives Definition and Example of a Persuasive Essay Prewriting Chart Definition and Example of Persuasive Essay Organization All of the following are due 4/20: Essay Prewriting Writing Assignment Essay Organization Writing Assignment 4/21-4/27 Unit 4 Five – Paragraph Essay with Research Example of a Persuasive Essay Frist Draft Definition and Example of a Persuasive Essay’s Quotation and Works Cited Page All of the following are due 4/27: Essay Frist Draft Writing Assignment Essay Writing Assignment with Research 4/28-5/4 Unit 4 Five – Paragraph Essay with Research Definition and Example of Essay MLA Formatting Essay Proofreading Checklists Essay Final Draft with Works Cited Page Examples All of the following are due 5/4: Essay MLA Writing Assignment Essay Proofreading Writing Assignment Essay Final Draft Writing Assignment Unit 4 Test 5/5-5/10 Unit 5 Final Exam Essay COURSE EVALUATION Final grades will be calculated according to the following criteria: • Attendance--20% • Reading assignments--20% • Writing Assignments--20% • Unit Tests--20% • Final Exam--20% GRADING SCALE 90 – 100 DA 80 – 89 DB 70 – 79 DC 0-69 DF 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 • Personal Responsibility • It is MY responsibility to deliver the information to you concisely that aligns with our course objectives. It is YOUR responsibility to interact with all the material, ask questions as they arise, and turn in assignments in a timely manner. It is your responsibility to reach out via email or Blackboard message if you find that you are o Struggling with material o Having difficulty with accessing your assignments/Blackboard/etc. o Have questions, issues, etc. • Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism • Academic Dishonesty can be defined as “a student’s use of unauthorized assistance with the intent to deceive an instructor or other such person who may be assigned to evaluate the student’s work in meeting course and degree requirement” (University of Colorado Denver.) • Academic Dishonesty is a crime that LIT and I take seriously. Please see LIT’s student handbook for more information on academic honesty and the penalty for breaking academic honesty. • Plagiarism is included within academic dishonesty. In addition to disingenuously submitting work that did not come from your own brain, plagiarism includes (but is not limited to): o Using your own work from a previous class to submit as “new material” o Patchworking material together from the internet until it resembles a new piece o Submitting someone else’s work, either published, bought, or borrowed, as your own o Using AI (ChatGPT, any AI bot, or artificial learning tool that can mimic student-produced work) to write any part of the content of your essay o Paraphrasing a source without citing the original source o Directly copying a source into an essay without citing the original source o Making minor changes to an original source while still retaining up to 75% of the structure of the sentence o Taking a quiz or test with another student, giving the answers to a quiz or test to another student, Googling the answers to the quiz or test, etc. • Assignments that are pinged for plagiarism will be graded on the following scale: o 1 st offense- 0 on the assignment o 2 nd offense- 0 on the assignment + you will be unable to turn in additional assignments until you meet with me via office hours • Artificial Intelligence (AI) • It is MY responsibility to accurately grade your assignments in a way that reflects your writing process and your thought process. It is YOUR responsibility, if you are pinged for AI use, to prove otherwise. I highly suggest to: o turn on your Version History o save often o create a logical paper trail I do not suggest to o Write in one document, copy-and-paste into a separate document, and submit the second document o Rely on online generators • I will be running all written assignments through several, online, AI generators, including ChatGPT Zero, Scribbr, and QuillBot. Assignments that receive a significant portion of their assignment pinged for AI will receive a 0 unless proven otherwise. Please see the Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism section to determine the effect of continued AI use on your grades • Attendance and Participation • This course requires three (3) hours of active learning per week to be successful • You should be actively engaging with the material, logging into Blackboard, participating in discussion boards/journals/ class discussions for 3 hours per week in addition to completing assignments. Your participation credit will depend on your course engagement, and I will be checking in regularly • Technology • It is YOUR responsibility to ensure that you have access to working technology o Please use Chrome or Firefox as your browser. Edge and Safari do not always work well with Blackboard and may cause some disruption to your work • If you are someone who only checks Blackboard on their phone, please check in on a desktop from time to time. Sometimes assignments/instructions/etc. are difficult to open/find/access/submit on cell phones • Not having the correct technology or internet is not a valid excuse for not doing assignments. Please let me know ASAP if you are someone who has difficulty obtaining these resources so we can figure out an alternative solution before assignments are due • Communication • The best way to reach me is by email (wbrandon@lit.edu) or by Messages on Blackboard; however, sometimes, Blackboard messages slip through the cracks, so please feel free to send me a follow up email if you don’t hear back by the next morning • I, typically, will respond to emails/messages during my office hours, only, and within 24 hours on a weekday or 48 hours on a weekend. o I do not respond to emails or messages when I am teaching or while I am in meetings. o I do not respond to emails or messages on Saturdays, Sundays, or campus holidays o Please see my office hours at the beginning of the syllabus to determine the best time to reach me • I send out Announcements frequently o sometimes they are just me checking in o sometimes they are about due dates, schedule changes, clarification on instruction, etc. o It is YOUR responsibility to stay current with these updates • You are free, and encouraged, to reach out via email (or come by my office) if you need clarification on an assignment, want to workshop, etc. • Not communicating to me because your LIT email is not working, or you don’t have access to your LIT email or messages, is not a valid reason for not responding to my emails or not reaching out for help. • When you email me, please provide your full name, course number, section number, and a subject line. This will allow me to pinpoint your direct issue quicker and will provide necessary clarification. o Additionally, please remember proper netiquette when sending emails, messages, or responding to others online. All online communication should be respectful, concise, and clear. • Grading • All work will be returned within two (2) weeks of submission with commentary and feedback on your document o Late work will not have commentary • It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that their grades on their assignments match their grades in Blackboard. • If you have a question about your grade, your feedback, necessary revisions, ways to improve, etc., please send me an email so we can work that out in a workshop together. • Most assignments will receive commentary and/or feedback, but all assignments (beyond quizzes or tests) will be graded from a rubric. o I do not mark all errors, content or mechanical, on your document. Correcting one error might not comprehensively correct all your same-type errors. o All your assignments, unless noted otherwise, should be formatted in MLA including, but not limited to, heading, citations, work cited pages, and formatting. Additionally, all your assignments must include the correct academic style, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage. • I will provide the resources and documentation on how to properly adhere to these standards • Assignments that require a works cited page and in-text citations but does not feature either will receive a 0 • Online links in lieu of actual documents are not permitted unless noted otherwise. If I do not have full access to your document, I will consider it not turned in. If I don’t receive access within a week of the due date, then your assignment will receive a 0. Please do not submit PDF links for major assignments • Late Work • All our assignments have specific due dates o Unless noted otherwise, there is a one-week grace period to turn in an assignment after the due date (baring a verifiable, extenuating circumstance) • Assignments turned in before the one-week mark will be docked ten points; assignments turned in after the one-week mark will receive a 0 • Assignments involving other students (like a discussion board) cannot be made up for any reason o Extenuating circumstances should be communicated prior to the original due date. Extensions will not be approved after the due date passes. • Extenuating circumstances do not include going out of town, internet/technological issues that can be quickly solved by IT, time management issues, etc. • Late work goes to the end of my grading stack, and, thus, might be graded later than my grading policy states • Late work will not include feedback • Assignments dependent on other students (like discussion boards or peer reviews) cannot be made up • The last day to turn in any late work will be the Friday before the final exam. • Student Behavior Expectations • Be mindful that each student that enters our classroom space may come from a different background from you and may bring a different set of beliefs, values, or ideas into our conversations. As a result, students may agree or disagree on different topics to varying degrees. Disagreements can lead to critical thinking, scholarly debate, and active learning when all participants are respectful and mindful of the different opinions of others. • Disrespect, a disruptive unwillingness to listen to others, and/or harmful, hateful rhetoric will not be tolerated for any reason • Other • I reserve the right to modify our syllabus at any point in the semester • Due dates for Dual Credit students will adhere to the LIT academic calendar, including dates for breaks, holidays, etc.