Instructor
J. McWard
Office: EMC 301E; Office Hours: 9:30-10:30 MTWRF
Telephone: 469-8500 Ext. 2469
E-mail: jmcward@jccc.net
Home Page: http://www.jccc.net/~jmcward

Course Information
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisites: English 121 - Composition I
Textbooks:

Harris, Muriel. Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage – With Exercises. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall,1997.

Kennedy, Kennedy, Smith. Writing in the Disciplines. 3rd Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1996.

Course Requirements

1. Major Papers: one summary, one comparison/contrast essay, one critique, two synthesis essays, one research paper incorporating sources from outside the text, one final examination essay. Students will complete papers using the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising and editing). Revised drafts of four of these papers along with various writing activities will be included in two portfolios that students will prepare.

2. Attendance: Prewriting, workshops, participation, etc. will be an important part of the class. I take roll at the start of each class period. Attendance points are credited according to my evaluation of your in-class work. In addition to in-class work that is worth points, I place a point value on a student's overall attendance and participation at the end of the semester. Students with excessive tardiness and absenteeism can expect to receive few if any of these points. We will abide by the attendance policy of the college, and excessive absences (more than 4 class periods) could result in a failing grade for the course: "It is the policy of JCCC that punctual attendance at all scheduled classes is regarded as integral to all courses and is expected of all students. Each JCCC instructor will include attendance guidelines in his or her course syllabus; you will be responsible for knowing and adhering to those guidelines. Penalties for excessive absences may include reduction of grade. It is your responsibility to obtain class material missed due to absence" (JCCC Catalog of Courses and General Information 34).

3. In-class writing, workshops, and quizzes: Composition II is not a lecture course. Expect to discuss and write each day. Many times there will be group activities as well. Because Composition II stresses careful reading as well as careful writing, I will give short quizzes over the reading material. These will be given during the first ten minutes of class. If a quiz has already begun, a tardy student cannot enter the classroom until the class has completed the quiz. Late students cannot make up the quiz. Missed quizzes cannot be made up, but I will drop the lowest quiz score. Because of the workshop atmosphere of Composition I, class discussion is encouraged. However, members of the class need to respect other students' contributions to class discussion. Talking that disrupts the group discussion or talking that hampers the learning of the class as whole is inappropriate and will not be tolerated. Sleeping in class is also considered disruptive, so bring a cup of coffee or a Coke if you feel drowsy! "No student shall behave in a manner that is unacceptable in a learning environment or that endangers or infringes on the rights and or safety of himself or herself or other students or staff. If misconduct warrants an immediate suspension from the class for the remainder of the class period, the instructor may do so without prior hearing" (JCCC Catalog of Courses and General Information 41).

4. Preparation of essays: All final versions of essays written outside of class must be typed (double spaced and with margins of one inch). Pieces completed in the classroom should be written neatly on every other line on the fronts of pages only.

5. Late work: You should present all work in class, in person, and on time, except in cases of extreme and verified emergency. Work is counted as late if it is not turned in when I collect the assignments. Thus, if I collect papers at the beginning of class, and a student turns in the paper at the end of class, that paper is late. Late rough drafts will not be given points, but they still must be turned in before the portfolio is submitted. For the portfolios, ten percent of the potential grade will be subtracted for each day a portfolio is late, up to four days. Any portfolio turned in more than one week late will be an automatic fail and will be graded out of half the points available.

6. Make-up policies: In addition to in-class exercises and quizzes, you will write at least one essay in class besides the final. You are permitted to make up this in-class essay in the case of a verifiable emergency. In-class exercises and quizzes cannot be made up regardless of the excuse. Every student will be able to drop the lowest quiz score, however. You cannot make up the final if you miss it.

7. Special Services: If you are a student with a disability, and if you will be requesting accommodations, it is your responsibility to contact Special Services. They will recommend appropriate accommodations my Director and me, and you will be notified when the accommodations are arranged.

Evaluation
Papers will be assigned grades according to the scale given below. Final grades will be calculated on the basis of the total points possible, also given below.