English 112 Honors

Fall 2009

Instructor: Bridget Robin Pool / bpool@nvcc.edu / 703.450.2513

www.nvcc.edu/home/bpool

Office--LR 217

Office Hours at Loudoun:  Mondays 12:15-2:15, Tuesdays 2-4,

Office Hour at Reston:  Wednesdays at Reston 3-4. 

Other times available by appt.

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“Luke, you’ll find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly upon our own point of view.”

Obi-Wan Kenobi in Return of the Jedi

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it"

Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird

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LOUDOUN CAMPUS HONORS PROGRAM:

Honors classes typically have small enrollments, motivated students, as well as stimulating and challenging reading and writing assignments.  Each Honors course you complete will be designated with an (H) on your transcript.  Furthermore, if you complete the 18 credits in the Honors core curriculum as explained in the "Honors Program" brochure, your transcript will reflect this accomplishment; you will receive a certificate; and if you graduate from NVCC, your diploma will have a special gold seal.  In addition, many colleges and universities give special consideration to Honors transfer students.

HONORS ENGLISH 112 COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Honors English 112 is designed to continue the development of your critical reading, thinking, and writing skills from English 111.  Our overall theme is point of view and perspective.  We will study how established works and historical events are reinvented, and we will consider objectivity and subjectivity.  The assignments require you to read closely, ask questions, and synthesize information. You will develop your own opinions and learn to express your understanding and appreciation of the texts by writing critical and creative response papers, submitting a formally documented research paper, and by creating and analyzing your own adaptation. 

REQUIRED TEXTS AND SUPPLIES:

• Rules for Writers, Hacker  http://dianahacker.com/rules/
• In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
• This I Believe:  The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, Allison and Gediman
• A good college dictionary
• A three-ring binder to hold notes, handouts, response papers, quizzes, etc.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:

10%        Class Participation

·         The grade in this category depends on being present, being prepared, and participating.  Contributing body heat is not adequate to earn a good class participation grade; I expect you to share your ideas.  This class will be much more interesting and educational for everyone—including me—if we regularly hear the voices and views of every individual in the classroom.  In a student-centered environment like this one, it is up to you to make our time together worthwhile.  I’ll do my best to facilitate discussion, but you must do your part as well.  You should always come to class prepared to discuss the reading assigned for that date. 

·         Peer reviews will also be included in this grade.

·         You must attend every class to receive the full credit in this category.  Tardiness does count against you. 

·         Visits to the Writing Center, as well as attendance at enrichment activities, will be included in this grade.

25%        Response Papers

• Response papers are due at the beginning of class.  These assignments are detailed on the calendar.  They should be approximately 500 words (2 pages—though this may vary some according to the assignment) and are due at the beginning of class.  I will not accept these late.  These short essays and creative writings are designed to help you understand and analyze the reading, prepare for class discussion, and develop ideas and skills for your longer pieces.  The response papers should demonstrate effort worthy of a second semester college English class.  Please note that each of these individual writing assignments is not heavily weighted, but this aspect of the course will ultimately have a large effect on your grade. 

25%        Documented Research Paper

10%        Research Paper Pre-Writing (including book report)

15%        Retelling/Adaptation with Analysis

10%        This I Believe Essay

5%          Six Degrees of Separation Paper

SUBMISSION OF FORMAL ESSAYS AND RESPONSE PAPERS:

·         Keep copies of all assigned drafts.  You may be asked to submit them with your final. 

·         Be ready to hand in your essay at the very beginning of the class when the paper is due.  I will not accept or read e-mailed deadline drafts. 

·         All formal writing for this course should be submitted in MLA format with proper MLA documentation.  Essays not in the proper format will lose points.  All papers must be typed in a reasonable 12 point font, be double-spaced, and use the proper heading and page numbering system.  Paragraphs should be indented, and there should be no extra space between them.  Every essay needs a creative and relevant title.  For a sample of the proper format, please refer to pages 71 and 463 in Hacker.  Essays not in the proper format will need to be revised and resubmitted. 

PEER GROUPS: 

A portion of our work will be dedicated to cooperating as a community of writers.  You will work in writing groups of three or four students who will read one another’s work and provide feedback, encouragement, criticism, and support.  The purpose of this group is to help you be a better writer through the advice of your peers and the analysis of your classmates' writing.  You should have an early draft of each assignment reviewed by your group, so you need to bring enough copies for each group member.  We will discuss the format for conducting these groups early on in the semester.  Please note that if you come to class unprepared to participate fully in the peer groups, I will ask you to leave, and you will not receive credit for that draft.

THE WRITING PROCESS:
In this class I hope to help you improve your writing by emphasizing and practicing the writing process for the major essays that you complete for this class.  We will work through the writing process (pre-writing techniques, thesis and outline, the rough draft, the peer critique/conference, and the final draft) for each essay.  It will be vital that you complete each step of the writing process for each essay.  This class is partially designed as a writing workshop.  You will evaluate and discuss each other’s work thoroughly as each essay is written so that you can improve your essay as the class progresses.  Failure to participate in any part of the writing process of an essay will result in a 10% deduction from your final grade. 

THE WRITING CENTER:

I strongly recommend that you visit the Writing Center for help.  The Writing Center is staffed by students who are trained work with you on your drafts.  They are there to offer you feedback at any stage of the writing process, but they will not edit your essays for you.  It is a good idea to make an appointment in advance because the WC gets quite busy.  Call 703-450-2511, or go there to schedule an appointment. 

PLAGIARISM:

I do not tolerate academic theft in my courses.  In the first assignment where I find plagiarism, I will give you an F in the course for failing to meet the course requirements, and I will notify the school’s administration.  Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s writing in your paper without proper acknowledgment of the source. Plagiarism is an extremely serious offense because you are stealing someone else’s thoughts and writing and representing these as your own work.   You must submit only your own work in this class.  If you use outside sources, be sure to properly document them using MLA format.  Learning to do so is one of the most important aspects of this course.  If you neglect to document properly, you are guilty of plagiarism.  This is an extremely serious offense because you are stealing someone else’s thoughts and words and representing them as your own work.  If you are uncertain of what constitutes plagiarism, please consult with me, the Writing Center, and/or Hacker. 

ATTENDANCE:

• All students have competing responsibilities and complications in their lives, and all students are expected to complete the same work in the same amount of time.  Understand that these rules exist in the interest of fairness to all individuals.  If you have legitimate extenuating circumstances, please discuss them with me.

·         Do not arrive tardy.  It will negatively influence your grade if you do.

·         If you must miss class:

1.       Please send me an e-mail to notify me that you will not be there.

2.       Contact another student to find out what we did in class.  I will not inconvenience the rest of the class by reiterating what you missed while you were absent.  Please exchange phone numbers with two other students early in the semester so that you can pair up and collect handouts, share notes, etc. 

(Name)_____________________________________________

(Phone)  _____________________________________________

(Email)    _____________________________________________

(Name)_____________________________________________

(Phone)  _____________________________________________

(Email)    _____________________________________________

·         Students in this class do much better if they attend regularly.  Your attendance is particularly vital in an Honors seminar.  Plan to be present and prepared for every class.  If you exceed 3 absences, you will earn an automatic F in the course.  If you have multiple absences, I encourage you to communicate with me privately regarding your progress in the course.

LATE WORK:

All assignments are due at the beginning of class unless you have made other arrangements with me in advance.  These policies are divided into two parts—informal assignments and formal assignments.

• Informal Assignments:  I do not accept response papers late and do not offer make-up quizzes.  Peer reviews may not be made up. 
• Formal Assignments:  I will deduct 5% for every calendar day that a major assignment is late.  If you submit a deadline draft of a major paper more than two days late, you will earn a 0 for the assignment and the process work.  Furthermore, you may not revise late papers for a better grade.   If you have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from turning your deadline draft in on time, please contact me immediately.

INCLEMENT WEATHER AND FLU PANDEMIC POLICY: 

·         If class is cancelled, please refer to Blackboard for details.  Unless otherwise indicated, you should prepare your reading and writing assignments according to the syllabus even if we miss a class.

·         The decision to close or delay classes at Northern Virginia Community College due to bad weather or flu pandemic is made independently of the decisions about public schools. Information about inclement weather closings is available online at the college website www.nvcc.edu.  Night classes may be cancelled separately from evening classes.  A longer statement concerning the rules of weather closings at NVCC is available here: http://www.nvcc.edu/depts/homepage/closing.htm#9 

·         You will find instructions on how to subscribe to a text messaging or email alert system here:  https://alert.nvcc.edu/index.php?CCheck=1

COUNSELING SERVICES (LC 253) (703.450.2571):

Professional counselors are on duty from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 to 5 on Wednesday to assist you with personal, academic, and career matters.

SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS:

If you have a disability of which I need to be aware (for classroom and/or testing accommodations), please meet with me early in the semester to discuss it privately.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T:

Please be considerate of your classmates and me.  Don’t arrive late or leave early.  Don’t wander in and out of class while it is in session because it distracts the other students and me.  For the same reason, don’t whisper to your classmates.  Always turn off your beepers and cell phones before entering the classroom.  Finally, and most importantly, please be sensitive to the ideas and opinions of other students.  In particular be aware that it is often scary to share one’s writing with others.  The class will be successful if each of us strives to be open-minded and gentle with each other while offering our honest reactions to what we are reading and discussing.  This includes me.   

FALL 2009 CLASS ACTIVITIES AND ASSIGNMENTS:

subject to change