Course+Requirements+and+Overview

=** COLLEGE COMPOSITION - 2015-2016 **=

Course Overview
=== This course is a composition course devoted to assisting students in developing their writing and critical thinking skills. The course emphasizes the process of writing through class discussions and pre-writing activities that encourage students to engage primarily with non-fictions texts. The written assignments for the class include multiple revisions and often require the use of outside sources. Students in College Composition will complete a minimum of 50 pages of writing over the course of the academic year. They will learn writing, research and revision strategies that will serve them in other writing-intensive courses. The course will also include grammar and usage instruction, and students will be held accountable for their ability to recognize and use the elements of standard English -- both in their own writing and on quizzes. ===

=== Throughout the year, students will be expected to be paying attention to the world around them, including events occurring at the school and community level as well as in the state, national, and international arenas. The more aware students are of current events, the richer their class discussion and writing will be. To be a critical thinker, active citizen, and informed consumer in today's world, it is important for young adults to be informed about what is going on in the world. Students may achieve this by accessing news on the internet, by reading newspapers and/or news magazines, and by watching news on television or listening to the radio. In class, students will be encouraged to summarize and question elements of current events on a regular basis. No particular political point of view or bias will be promoted; rather, many sides of any given issue will be explored, and students will be prompted to discover their own attitudes and points of view. Within that context, students will be asked to maintain a respectful attitude toward others and use appropriate language in their speaking and writing. ===

=== At the completion of College Composition, students should be able to respond critically and thoughtfully to other texts both in the classroom setting and in their writing. We will use a variety of texts and resources to accomplish this goal, including full-length books, articles of varying lengths from contemporary sources, graphic texts, and other visual texts such as film, video, and photographs. Subject matter will cover a wide variety of topics that are intended to be highly engaging for young adults. ===

=== All students who complete the course successfully, earning a C or higher for both semesters, will be eligible for 3 credit hours in English at Harper College. This credit will be applied to the student's Harper transcript in June. ===

Work Load Expectations
=== Students should expect to read and write a little each day, with long-term projects that require out-of-class time approximating 3-5 hours per week. Much class time will be spent discussing topics, reading together, working on essay drafts, peer editing, and having 1:1 time with the instructor. Work not completed in class will be completed on the student's own time. If a student is absent, it is up to the student to learn what he or she has missed and to make up any class work within 48 hours. Extended absences will be considered on a case-by-case basis. ===

Grading
=== As this is a college course, students will not receive grades on everything they write. Students will receive completion check points as they work through each essay; only the final draft will be graded. Other grades may be given for reading checks, grammar, quizzes or impromptu writing assignments in class. All semester work will count for 90%, with a final exam essay worth 10%. ===