Winter 2013 Syllabus

Foundations C Writing Winter 2013       1:30 PM

Teacher Information	Mrs. Bay Office: 326 Office hours: By appointment Contact information: nicole.bay@gmail.com Homework Blog: bayfcwriting.blogspot.com
Course Information	Class: Room  250 Hours: 1:30 – 2:35 PM Monday through Thursday
Materials	Textbook: From Great Paragraphs to Great Essays (second edition) Binder/folder & notepaper Pens, pencils, eraser etc. USB for saving work 2 Blue books for fluency journal Function-based vocabulary journal (I will give you this) Self-Regulated Learning (available from Room 103 for $2)
Course Description And Goals	This course is designed to introduce you to writing multi-paragraph level texts (paragraphs and essays) while increasing the rhetorical (style/composition) complexity, grammatical accuracy, and fluency of your writing.
Course Objectives	Our long-term objective for this course is to improve your writing. With this aim in mind, we have some short-term objectives to help us reach that goal. These include: 1.    Expressing ideas in writing frequently and fluidly. 2.    Building vocabulary through keeping a function-based vocabulary notebook. 3.    Editing and reviewing your own writing based on teacher and tutor feedback. 4.    Accurately using grammatical structures to accomplish common writing tasks. 5.    Improving your organizational and rhetorical writing skills. 6.    Correctly applying the mechanics of writing.
Teaching Philosophy	Learning a language is like learning to play in an orchestra or playing on a soccer team. We all need language to communicate with each other to be effective in reaching our goals. Writing is an important way to communicate ideas, and it also has rules and structure like music and sports do as well. Just like in an orchestra or on a soccer team, we need to spend time practicing together and trying lots of different strategies and skills. If we want to be really good at playing our particular instrument or being an excellent player on the team, we need to practice by ourselves as well. And just like in an orchestra or on a team, we need to work together well to all progress. As your “conductor” or “coach” I will try my best to instruct and lead you to be the best English language learners you can be, but I cannot do it without your effort and cooperation.
Major Assignments	To reach the course goals, you will: 1.    Write 3 multi-draft essays. 2.    Write 4 30-minute essays. 3.    Write 5 journal entries a week in your fluency journal. 4.    Keep a weekly (function-based) vocabulary notebook.
Grading	Citizenship A citizenship grade at the ELC is representative of a student’s effort.  A citizenship grade less than 3.0 or 84% will disqualify you from attending the ELC next semester.  Your citizenship grade will be determined by the following: ·   50%  Homework ·   50%  Participation and Attitude—participating actively and respectfully in          classroom activities Homework According to ELC guidelines, it is expected that you have 50 minutes of writing homework each day. I will give you a grade for some of those assignments. Your homework grade consists of the following: ·       40%  Essay and paragraph assignments ·       30%  Weekly fluency journals (five entries a week) ·       30%  Vocabulary journal Please do your homework on time. I will not accept late homework unless you have an excused absence. Missing homework results in a loss of Homework preparation points. Participation Daily participation in class and homework activities and assignments is important not only to maintain a good citizenship grade, but also to progress effectively in learning English. You will receive 5 participation points each day for following these guidelines: 1.     Participate actively in class. Do not sleep, and do not disrupt the class. 2.     Come to class on time. If you are late, I will take off participation points. 3.     Speak English only. If you do not know how to say something, look it up in a dictionary or ask me. Please do not ask classmates in your own language without permission. 4.     Please turn off your cell phone during class. If it rings, you will lose participation points. 5.     Please use the restroom before class. If you leave the classroom, you will lose participation points. Proficiency Your proficiency grade reflects how well you have learned and are able to apply the skills taught in this class. Your proficiency will be assessed on essays, quizzes, and various writing or vocabulary assignments. ·       40% multi-draft essays ·       30% 30 minute essays ·       30% Quizzes and other graded work If you miss any quizzes or tests, you may only make them up if you have an excused absence. You are responsible to make that work up. I will not remind you to take tests and quizzes that you miss. LATs Final exams are an important part of the educational process. The LATs are the final exams that are administered at the ELC. As per BYU policy, they are not administered early. That is the reason that in your acceptance letter to attend the ELC, you are explicitly told that final exams are required and will not be administered early. If you fail to take the LATs, your grade is incomplete and the proficiency grade you get for that class is an E, or a failing grade. If you fail to take the LATS on one day, you will receive failing grades for all the LATs that you missed. For example, if you take the LATs on Wednesday, but miss them on Thursday, you will receive failing grades for your reading class and the vocabulary tests. If you are a returning student, you are required to take the LATs on both Wednesday and Thursday or you will be dismissed from the ELC.  Any exception to this policy must be requested in writing (troy_cox@byu.edu). Mr. Cox will take your petition and review it with a committee, which will collectively make a decision. Exceptions are typically not given to accommodate travel arrangements. You will receive an email informing you of the decision that has been made. If you are not returning, and you don't care about your grades, then there is no reason to take the LATs. However, you must make that decision carefully. We've had students who were leaving and have skipped the LATs but then a few years later needed to get a transcript to prove they'd studied English. When they get the transcript showing that they have failing grades, they regret the decision they made to leave early.
Class Rules	Although these rules are an overview of what is expected of you in class, see the Student Handbook for a complete list of student rules and policies.  Plagiarism: All assignments must be your own work. Any reference to others ideas or work must be credited in your assignments. Plagiarism is VERY serious in English academic society. If you are caught deliberately plagiarizing at the ELC, you will receive an “F” automatically for that piece of work. If repeated plagiarism is found, the student will be reported to the ELC director, which could result in serious discipline. This concept often has different interpretations in different countries, so please pay attention when we discuss this in class because it will have a significant impact on your academic career. If you have any questions about plagiarism in your work, please see the writing teacher. HONOR CODE: All students who attend the ELC have signed the Honor Code. Please make sure that you are familiar with the Honor Code, as we will strictly enforce it at the ELC. Please be especially aware of the “dress code” section and come to class appropriately dressed. (These standards can be found in the Student Handbook) Preventing Sexual Discrimination and Harassment Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is intended to eliminate sex discrimination and sexual harassment in educational contexts. Any ELC student, teacher, staff member, or administrator who becomes aware of sexual harassment, discrimination, or misconduct of any kind, directed toward them or any other member of the ELC community should immediately contact Dr. James Hartshorn (801-422-4034, james_hartshorn@byu.edu) or Dr. Neil Anderson (801-422-5353, neil_anderson@byu.edu). If they are unavailable, please leave a message and then contact the Equal Employment Office (801-422-5895, 1-888-238-1062, http://www.ethicspoint.com) or the Honor Code Office (801-422-2847) English Policy: I expect excellence in my class. This includes both your effort to learn to write well, as well as your effort to speak English as often as possible. From the time class starts to the time it ends, please speak only English. If you do not know how to say something, ask me for help, or ask for permission to look it up in the dictionary. Points will be taken off your participation grade for regularly speaking in your native language. ELC Attendance Policy Consistently attending class is a central part of learning and improving your English. When you are absent from class, you miss out on important information and practice opportunities that you need to improve your English skills. The US Government allows each English program to establish its own attendance policy. The following requirements reflect our commitment to create the right environment to help you improve your English language skills. ELC students must maintain 80% attendance in each and every class at all times. As soon as your attendance drops below 80% in any one of your four classes, you will receive a warning letter. If you have any unexcused absences before raising your attendance back to 80%, you will be dismissed. If your attendance drops below 80% a second time in any one of your four classes, you will be dismissed from the ELC. Once you receive your attendance dismissal letter, you must go to Anna Bailey’s office (4056 JFSB) within two days. If you want to continue studying in the United States, her office will help you transfer to another program. You will have two weeks to transfer to another program or leave the United States. If you are sick and unable to attend class, please provide a note from your doctor. Within two days of returning to class, the doctor’s note must be received in the ELC office (103 UPC). Be aware that forging a doctor’s note is a violation of the BYU Honor Code and will result in an immediate dismissal from the ELC. If you know that you will be absent from class for any reason other than an illness (i.e., a family wedding or a death in the family), you should notify the ELC administration in writing and deliver your letter to UPC 103. These absences will be considered on an individual basis and may not necessarily be excused.  Being absent also results in missing class participation points that are part of your citizenship grade. Whenever you are absent from class, please contact each of your teachers to receive information on the assignments that you missed. Cellphone use: Please make sure to turn off your cellphone before coming to class. If it goes off or you text, etc. during class you will bring treats for the whole class the next day. Homework: I expect all homework/assignments to be in on time. If you have any problems or questions please email or come talk to me about the homework. If you are absent it is your responsibility to ask your classmates or me what the homework is. If you have a doctor’s note to excuse your absence, you’ll have two days to make up a quiz or test you missed. Always make sure to get handouts that you might have missed in class as well. To check that day’s classwork and homework, you can go to the Homework Blog which I will update each day after class. The address for the blog is: bayfcwriting.blogspot.com .