English 180 / 74540
Instructor: Dr. Sarah Miller
Welcome to English 180!
Please read through this Welcome Letter carefully as it provides details about this course and its technological requirements. If you should choose to enroll, you will be sent more instructions before the course starts on August 15, 2021.
Even though we won’t meet in person, we will all get to know each other through our writing and other activities. We know that writing can be a daunting, but this class is designed to break writing tasks into manageable pieces and develop skills that you can apply to a number of writing situations.
Contact information
Email Address: sarah_miller4@cuesta.edu
Office Hours: I will give you a number of options to reach me for office hours during the semester. More information will be provided closer to the start of the semester.
Expectations
Instructor Contact Expectations:
The best and fastest way to contact me is email. I will generally respond to your emails within 24 hours during weekdays only. During busy times of the semester, the response time may increase to 48 hours. On weekends, I do not check email. If I receive an email after 5pm on Friday, I probably will not respond until the following Monday. If you do not hear from me in 48 hours, please email me again to put yourself at the top of my inbox.
Course Environment
While we won’t be meeting in person this semester, we’ll be together online where we’ll exchange ideas, discuss reading, write drafts of essays, and receive feedback. This online course will be using a Web-based Learning Management System Canvas as the method to disseminate information. Canvas provides the framework for the course including PowerPoint presentations, student data files, the tools to receive and send course materials, and a grade book. Using the communication tools, you can communicate using e-mail, and you can share materials and ideas with other course participants via the discussion forums and groups.
Accessing Canvas
You will see your course in Canvas on the first day of class. You can access Canvas by clicking on Canvas from the top bar of the Cuesta homepage (www.cuesta.edu), or by typing the Canvas address (https://cuesta.instructure.com/) into your browser address bar.
If you are not familiar with logging into canvas, please refer to the Canvas Quick Reference Guide. Once logged into Canvas you will be directed on where to get started. Be sure to read all the direction on the course home page.
If you are having difficulty logging into Canvas after August 15, 2022 and need assistance please email me or technical support at this email address support@my.cuesta.edu.
Online Learning
If you have never taken an online class or this is your first experience with Canvas, please be patient with yourself. Online classes are not inherently easier, although they may be much more convenient for many students. You should expect to spend at least as much time, if not more on this course as you would on a course that meets face to face. Since there is no lecture component, much of this time will be self-directed and there will be a substantial amount of reading, viewing, studying, and writing required. This course is completely online using Canvas; all coursework (discussions, assignments, quizzes) is submitted online. There are no face-to-face meetings. Please be prepared to spend at least 8 hours per week on coursework for this class.
IS an ONLINE CLASS FOR YOU?
Though I will do my best to help you use Canvas and engage in the material, online learning can be difficult for some students. To decide if taking this course online is the right choice for you, please go to the Online Readiness Resources and take a "self-assessment”. There are many resources that were designed to help you understand the basis for an online class and the skills necessary for success. (If the tutorials do NOT describe you, then taking this class online is NOT for you and I strongly suggest that you drop the online class and enroll in a traditional classroom section.)
Regular Effective Contact Policy
Regular and Effective Instructor Contact will be met through weekly instructor initiated threaded discussion forums; weekly announcements to students; timely and effective feedback on student assignments; email, phone or messaging to individuals; and virtual office hours.
In order to be successful in this course, you must be committed to working through assignments and turning them in on time. Late work will not be accepted unless we have communicated and made arrangements. Each week you should log-in to Canvas a multiple times each week, and please know, that Canvas allows me to see your log-ins. If I notice you have not logged in to Canvas in more than two weeks, I will drop you from the course unless you communicate with me about missing “class.”
Course Description
This course provides an accelerated alternative to the English 099 and English 156 sequence that focuses on development of reading, writing, and critical thinking skills necessary in college-level composition, with individual attention to paragraph and essay structure, sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation. Prerequisite: Appropriate placement.
I would like you to come away from this class with your own individual writing process, one which can be adapted for the various writing situations and audiences you will face in the future. My aim as the instructor is to challenge you to improve your writing, provide constructive criticism and praise, act as a sounding board, and create an environment that enables you to think critically about complex issues. This class will give you an opportunity to consistently practice writing and explore different types of writing. I will respect you as writers and trust that you will work diligently to make progress through the course.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Develop college-level essays as a process that involves pre-writing, drafting, and revising.
- Write essays that have a clear thesis, supporting claims, and explanations of evidence that demonstrate critical thinking.
- Critically engage a variety of texts through evaluation, analysis, and synthesis of information.
- Demonstrate sentence-level fluency.
Text Book and Materials
This course is designated as a low-cost course. Most readings will be embedded in our Canvas shell. You will need access to one book, listed below. It is available from the public library as well as the Cuesta library.
- The Outliers: A Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
- You will need a weekly, reliable internet connection where you can access Canvas. All supplemental readings and materials, available online for free, will be available in Canvas.
- This is a writing intensive course, and therefore, it cannot be completed successfully from a smart phone. Please make sure you have access to a device with a keyboard.
- Final drafts must be submitted in Microsoft Word: Microsoft Office for Free (including Word and PowerPoint
- Supplemental Materials:
Technical Support
Cuesta students are encouraged to direct all technical support inquiries to support@my.cuesta.edu. If you are having issues with Canvas, you should contact the Canvas Support Hotline at (877) 921-7680, or click on the help button on the Canvas Navigation to report a problem.
If you are having difficulty viewing the course or logging in, it may be because you are not using the correct url: https://cuesta.instructure.com/ or you are using your phone or using an unsupported browser.
Your learning environment is best accessed from a desktop or laptop computer, using Firefox or Chrome. This may solve your problem! Please review the browser requirements and minimum computer specifications.
Accommodations
This course is designed using an accessible Learning Management System, and course materials have been created with ADA compliance in mind. If you have a disability and might need accommodations in this class such as extended time on exams or other resources. Please contact the instructor as soon as possible so that you can receive appropriate accommodations in a timely manner. You should also contact DSPS (Disabled Student Programs & Services) at 805-546-3148.
College & Course Policies
Academic Honesty Policy: In addition to my course policy, which will be detailed on the course syllabus once the course begins, please note all students attending San Luis Obispo County Community College District at any district site and when representing Cuesta College in any off-campus activity, assume an obligation to conduct themselves in an acceptable manner compatible with the Student Code of conduct. Please review the Cuesta College Student Code of conduct.
Add / Drop Policy: Students who do not log in to Canvas for more than 2 weeks will be dropped from the course unless the instructor is contacted by the student before or during this period. It is the student’s responsibility to communicate with the instructor regarding consistent course engagement. It is also the student’s responsibility to drop the course before the drop deadline. In addition to my policy, please review the Cuesta policy for drops
Waitlist Policy: Please review Cuesta’s waitlist procedure and instructions.
Sample Syllabus for English 180
Please note: This syllabus is provided as a sample that you might have an idea of the course design. The actual syllabus for this specific section will be distributed to you at the start of the semester.
Catalog Description
Provides an accelerated alternative to the English 099 and English 156 sequence that focuses on development of reading, writing, and critical thinking skills necessary in college-level composition, with individual attention to paragraph and essay structure, sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation.
Prerequisite: Appropriate placement
Student Learning Outcomes
- Develop college-level essays as a process that involves pre-writing, drafting, and revising.
- Write essays that have a clear thesis, supporting claims, and explanations of evidence that demonstrate critical thinking.
- Critically engage a variety of texts through evaluation, analysis, and synthesis of information.
- Demonstrate sentence-level fluency.
Course Objectives
I would like you to come away from this class with your own individual writing process, one which can be adapted for the various writing situations and audiences you will face in the future. My aim as the instructor is to challenge you to improve your writing, provide constructive criticism and praise, act as a sounding board, and create an environment that enables you to think critically about complex issues. This class will give you an opportunity to consistently practice writing and explore different types of writing. I will respect you as writers and trust that you will come to class prepared to engage in the material to the best of your ability every day.
English 180 Course Objectives
- Treat writing as a process that includes prewriting, outlining, drafting, editing, proofreading, and revising.
- Demonstrate knowledge of essay structure, including how paragraphs work together to construct a case.
- Recognize the importance of purpose and audience and their role in writing.
- Read actively and critically.
- Recognize rhetorical methods employed in texts.
- Synthesize ideas and information to develop viewpoints on a topic and provide support.
- Enhance argument with written texts.
- Demonstrate increased ability to identify and correct grammar and punctuation errors.
- Practice word processing skills, including using basic MLA format.
- Apply reading comprehension strategies to deconstruct texts.
Instructor Contact Expectations
The best and fastest way to contact me is email—I very rarely check my office voicemail. I will generally respond to your emails within 24 hours during weekdays. During busy times of the semester, the response time may increase to 48 hours. On weekends, I will do my best to get back to you ASAP but you can expect a response on Monday. If you don’t hear from me in 48 hours, please send me another email—sometimes I miss them and sometimes technology interferes.
Writing Assignments
Style Journals
In order to become comfortable with writing, you need to write frequently. Consistently dedicating quality time to writing will help you feel more confident as a writer. In order to encourage you to write and try out different styles, you will write a series of journals. You’ll be given specific instructions for each journal the week they are assigned. Approximately 2,000 words.
Opening Remarks
During the semester, you will sign-up for when you will begin our discussion of Outliers. You will choose the reading for which you would like to be responsible, and sign up for that week. When it is your turn, you will write a 250-word response to the reading & write three questions or comments you believe will be intriguing or useful for the class. Please give your thoughts and ideas about the reading—we will all have completed it and so we don’t need summary. On the Wednesday of the week you sign up for you, you will (1) post your response to the discussion board (this will count as your post for your Friday post that week), and (2) submit your response via the Opening Remarks Assignment submission.
Essay #1: Narrative
As humans, we love stories, and this essay gives you a chance to tell a story that hopefully has some meaning to you. In an essay of at least 750 words, write a narrative about an experience, a moment, an object, etc. that affected your identity or how you see yourself. This essay will emphasize writing as a process, the use of personal experience as evidence, and the conventions of writing in college.
Essay #2: Analysis
In at least 1,500 words, write a profile of a person and their relationship to a chosen “community.” The writing process for this essay will emphasize conducting field research, including quotations and/or anecdotes, analyzing details, integrating/citing the ideas of others, and dissecting the arguments of visual texts.
Essay #3: Synthesis
This essay takes Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, the major text for this class, as one source and another “text” of your choice—you will choose a subject these texts examine or a subject you think needs to be reexamined based on these texts. In an essay of at least 1,250 words, you will use examples to help us reevaluate the subject. While writing this essay, the focus will be on conducting audience analysis, exploring multiple perspectives, including written texts as support, developing a central argument.
Final Reflection
During our scheduled final exam period (in Week 18), you will write a reflective essay of at least 500 words on your progress over the semester. You may use your style journal and your essays. Please bring a blue book with you. College policy does not allow for you to take the exam at an earlier time.
Revisions
“I have rewritten—often several times—every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers.” Vladimir Nabokov
Your success in this class depends upon your commitment to the writing process, which does not end when you turn in an essay. Every essay can be improved. With this in mind, I will allow you to revise one of your first two essays for a higher grade. Your revision is due on the day of your final. Your grade on the essay will either improve or stay the same with each revision. Your improvement as a writer is my main concern, and revision allows you to show me what you’ve learned and discovered.
Revision is an essential aspect of writing, and I want to reward you for working on your essays over time. The revisions should show your growth as a writer; they are NOT merely edited versions of your initial drafts. You will be provided with a list of detailed instructions about what will be expected of you in the revision process, but keep in mind, you must have participated fully in the drafting process (i.e., you must have all drafts associated with the essay in order to revise it).
Grading
The course grade is composed of the following:
15% Style Journals
7% Opening Remarks
18% Essay #1
20% Essay #2
25% Essay #3
10% Final Exam
5% Participation & Classwork
Grading is based on specific assignment criteria, and will follow English Department standards for content, organization, expression, and mechanics. To compute final course grades, the following values are assigned to the standard letter grades of A through F:
A = 93-99%
A- = 90-92%
B+ = 87-89%
B = 83-86%
B- = 80-82%
C+ = 77-79%
C = 73-76%
D = 60-72%
F = 1-59%
No paper = 0.0
Attendance
In order to be successful in this course, you must be committed to working through assignments and turning them in on time. Please communicate with me if anything arises that makes it difficult to “attend class”—I would like to be as helpful as I can, but if I don’t know about any problems or issues, I can’t help you find a way around them. Each week you should log-in to Canvas a minimum of 3 times. Please reach out if you feel like you’re falling behind—I’d like to work with you to come up strategies for you to be successful in this course.
Late Work Policy
I accept late work. I know that things happen sometimes. I appreciate it when you send me an email if you think you’ll be turning in something late—this lets me plan and offer you assistance. Work submitted more than a week late may receive a slight penalty, but it is definitely worth it to submit.
The Public Nature of Writing and Discussions
Please consider every piece of writing you do for this class to be "public." Remember that you will often be expected to share your writing with others, so avoid writing about things that you may not be prepared to subject to public scrutiny, or things you feel so strongly about that you are unwilling to listen to other perspectives. This does not mean that you are not entitled to an opinion but that you adopt positions responsibly; please be considerate of others’ contributions and viewpoints. This course may contain content (assigned readings, in-class discussions, etc.) that is uncomfortable for some students. If you have concerns about any course content, please bring these concerns to the attention of your instructor.
Civility & Netiquette
Please remember that behind our screens are real people who have unique experiences and feelings. Interactions with classmates, your instructor, and any other members of the Cuesta community must be considerate and respectful. Any incident of bullying or disrespectful behavior will be reported.
Student Service Hours
Student Service Hours, often also called office hours, can be one of the most beneficial parts of your college experience. During these hours, instructors are available to speak to you about your work for a course one-on-one. In a writing intensive course such as this, these meetings can help you make individualized progress. If you would like to speak to me, please send me an email and we can schedule a time to talk. We can Zoom (with or without video) or chat over Google Hangouts.
All Writing for This Class Must be Written for This Class
All writing for this class must be written for this class. Resubmitting a paper from another class or elsewhere constitutes academic dishonesty. If you wish to further pursue a project begun in another class or develop ideas you have written about in another class, please discuss your plans with me first.
Academic Dishonesty
Students are expected to write and submit original work in all classes, and to incorporate others’ words, images, or ideas into their writing using standard citation practices. Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated, and students are expected to be familiar with all relevant policies. Plagiarism will result in failing the class. Please see Cuesta’s website (Links to an external site.) for more information: https://www.cuesta.edu/about/documents/vpss-docs/Academic_Honesty_Agreement.pdf (Links to an external site.)
Statement of Diversity & Equity
Diversity is an important component to critical thinking and writing. This semester we will read texts by writers who represent diverse backgrounds and belief systems. We will learn to think through complex ideas and apply them to multiple situations. We will address different audiences through a variety of writing assignments.
I am committed to contributing to inclusion and equity in the courses I teach, and I expect students to engage in this course and their academic experience with respect towards diversity. Sharing our differences ultimately expands our abilities to create meaningful writing and successfully contribute to our communities. For more information on resources related to diversity and inclusion, please visit https://www.cuesta.edu/about/info/equity/index.htm If there is ever a topic or situation that makes you feel uncomfortable, please contact me so that we can discuss ways to improve your experience.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Cuesta offers services for students who may need help accessing elements of their education. Some students already know they qualify for services but some may not. The goal of Disabled Student Programs and Services is to provide “academic accommodation and other services to assist students with disabilities in achieving their academic goals.” If you have a disability for which you are requesting an accommodation or you’d like to speak to someone about qualifying for an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact Disabled Student Programs & Services (Links to an external site.) as soon as possible: https://www.cuesta.edu/student/studentservices/dsps/index.html (Links to an external site.) Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all services are being offered via phone or Zoom. You do not have to use any or all of the accommodations for which you qualify, but it is beneficial to most students to meet with DSPS as soon as possible to set up services in case they may be needed.
Student Success Center
The Writing Center is one of the most useful resources for this course. Writing tutors can help students understand assignments, think of and organize ideas, work on drafts and revision, and understand principles and styles of documentation. These services are a great asset; please take advantage of them. Visit the Writing Center (Links to an external site.) website for more information: https://www.cuesta.edu/student/resources/ssc/writingHelp.html (Links to an external site.).
How to Access Virtual Tutoring (Including Writing Center Tutoring)
- Have your student ID number ready to be checked in/out of tutoring.
- Login to Canvas and click on the Student Success Center Course or visit the Student Success Center (Links to an external site.) website: https://www.cuesta.edu/student/resources/ssc/index.html (Links to an external site.).
- Inside the Student Success Center course click on "READY TO GO?"
- A host will greet you, ask for your student Id number and subject you need help in and place you in a virtual room with a tutor.
- Once your session is complete you will return to the lobby to be checked out with your Student Id number.
By following the Student Success Center link above you can find out how to gain access to necessities like Tutor Schedules (for our peer tutors who are available to Zoom with you), Chromebook laptops available for free checkout, available Emergency Student Funding, and to access NetTutor 24/7, which is available when our Cuesta tutors may not be.
Title IX
Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender is a Civil Rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, etc.
Please note that under Title IX, almost all Cuesta faculty and staff are mandatory reporters.
- Faculty and staff are required to report the names of students who identify to them as having experienced sexual violence and/or harassment
- Once reported, the Title IX Coordinator will contact the identified student to share resources that the student may choose (or choose not) to explore or utilize.
- Reporting does not automatically trigger any disciplinary or criminal investigations.
Expectations
- Sensitivity: Please note that some course content may be sensitive or suitable for adult audiences.As we conduct scholarly investigation and engage in critical thinking about class topics, we will often entertain many different opinions about a topic or text or perspective; please be considerate of others’ contributions and viewpoints. Please also keep in mind that we belong to a college community with high standards for our behaviors and interactions. An environment of respect will allow all of us the opportunity to participate and learn. If you ever feel uncomfortable, please let me know as soon as possible so that we can find a solution to that discomfort.
- Attitude: As with most things, you will get out of this class what you put into it; a positive outlook and commitment to excellence will serve you well. How you project yourself and the attitude with which you approach this class will be easily recognized by your classmates and by myself. I expect you to be respectful of yourself and others, committed to improvement, and dedicated to putting forth your best effort.
- Connection: While we won’t be meeting each other in person this semester, I do hope that we can get to know each other through our digital interactions. Please try to engage with the material and your classmates’ ideas as much as you can. It can be easy to forget that the names on your screen correspond to real people—respect each other as if you were sitting next to each other in class.
Tips for Success
I know you can be successful in this course! As with anything, there are ways to make this course more manageable and perhaps more enjoyable. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:
- Scheduling: This is an asynchronous class with consistent deadlines--this means that you can complete the materials on your own and submit any time before the deadlines. I'd recommend setting aside the same time(s) each week for this course so that you know you will have time to get your work done. Reading and writing can be time consuming so try to give yourself enough time each week to think through the ideas presented as well as to write and revise.
- Reading: The assigned reading is important. It will hopefully give you inspiration for your own writing. I find that discussing my reading helps me understand it better. You'll have opportunities to write posts for discussion, but I'm always available to talk about the reading, too.
- Ask for help: College can be challenging, but the best thing about it is that there are resources to help you meet those challenges. I am a resource for you, but there are many others who can help. Reach out--we're here if you need us!
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