FACULTY INFORMATION	OFFICE HOURS	COURSE INFORMATION
John Sullivan, MA	3:00 pm to 3:50 pm	English 015-36
Email: jsullivan@valleycollege.edu	NH 250	MW 4:00 pm to 5:50 pm
	or by appointment	B 213

WELCOME TO ENGLISH 015

Ambition vs Perserverance This class is a review of pre-collegiate and college-level work. The expectation for students coming into this class is that you have written at least a 2-3 page, multi-paragraph essay. By the time you finish this class, you will be ready to construct a minimum 5 page essay with sources when you enter English 101.

A college level essay means that you can critically read a text, form an opinion about something that is said in the reading,support that opinion, and construct an essay that has an introduction, body, and conclusion with support from readings in the form of quotes, paraphrases, and examples all in MLA format.

Your success in this class is important to me, but I cannot and will not do it for you. To succeed in this class, begin by reading all of the instructions. That means reading through the pages of this website, noting questions or clarifications that you need to understand the materials. Then, read through the entire syllabus, again annotating as you read with questions or clarifications that you need to understand the requirements and expectations. Those students who do not read and familiarize themselves with these resources are seriously jeopardizing their ability to succeed in the class.

37805652-Group-of-diversity-college-students-learning-on-campus-Indian-black-and-Indonesian-people-Stock-Photo-1.jpg This website will give students 24/7 access to the resources required for this class. Successful students will look through the syllabus and class schedule for handouts that need to be printed for class, for due dates, and for reading assignments. In addition, successful students will look through the online calendar and ensure they have studied for and completed all online quizzes and work. Please make sure that you ask questions ahead of time. If you find yourself under the pressure of classes, homework, outside responsibilities like work and family, visit my page on Student Success Tips for some helpful videos.

Click on the each item below to read additional information about that topic:

Final course grades are based on the following scale:

100-90% =A; 89-80% = B; 79-70 = C; 69-60% = D; 59% or lower = F.

See pages 7-9 of the syllabus for details on expectations. During the first week of class, we will decide as a class what each component of the final grade will weigh. This will be done by class consensus after discussion. Your participation is essential, and I will provide guidance. The only part of the grade out of our control is the Final in-class essay, which is a Common Exam given to all 015 classes and graded by the English Department Faculty (not me). You must pass that exam to pass the class, and we will be doing a lot of work to help you do that.

Each component of the class is weighted as follows:

GE #1. . . . . . . . . 30% of the final grade
GE #2. . . . . . . . . 30% of the final grade
Essay Parts. . . . 20% of the final grade
IEs. . . . . . . . . . . .10% of the final grade
Misc. . . . . . . . . . .10% of the final grade

FINAL GRADES

As noted in the syllabus, you can take your essays to the SBVC Writing Center for extra credit. Follow the link to go to the Writing Center web pages where you can get information and make appointments. Please read and follow all instructions there.

The following is from the Writing Center Coordinator:

The Writing Center is pleased to announce that it will be open for tutoring beginning Tuesday, January 22. The Writing Center, located in the Liberal Arts building, room 201, is a free service provided to SBVC students that teaches them to become better writers in various disciplines that involve English composition. Although the Writing Center is not a proofreading service, we have writing consultants that meet with students one-on-one to help them with their writing needs.

The Writing Center will host a series of grammar, writingprocess, and pronunciation workshops that will be offered in the upcoming weeks. You will receive emails informing you of the days and times when these workshops are available. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the center or if you would like to schedule a WritingCenter orientation session for your class. The telephone number for the Writing Center is (909) 384-4464.

Requirements and Recommendations:

Students will need to have their student ID card available in order to receive tutoring support. Students can obtain their Student ID card at the Office of Student Life in the Campus Center building Room 128.

Students are strongly encouraged to make an appointment before seeing a tutor.

Appointments can be made by following the instructions on the following link:

http://www.valleycollege.edu/student-services/tutoring-academic-support/writing-center/appointment-instructions

The tutoring times for the Writing Center are as follows.

Monday 9:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M.

Tuesday 9:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M.

Wednesday 9:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M.

Thursday 9:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M.

Friday 9:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.

Saturday 10:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.

(Note: The Writing Center schedule is subject to change without notice. Please refer to the Writing Center webpage for the most current tutoring schedule.)

You may also access the following link to provide you with more information about the Writing Center and its services.

http://www.valleycollege.edu/student-services/tutoring-academic-support/writing-center

We look forward to working with your students.

Sincerely,

Dirkson Lee, Writing Center Director & Associate Professor, English

WORKSHOPS--TBA

For the current workshop schedules click here and use the menu on the right side of the page to select your topic and to see the workshops that will be available. Flyers for the workshops will be available soon in the Writing Center. For more information on the workshops offered this semester, click on the topics below:

Grammar Workshop

Composition Workshop

English 015 Workshop

Workshop on Study and Life Skills

...

WRITING CENTER

COURSE OBJECTIVES FOR STUDENTS: Every course has what is called the "Course Outline of Record" (COR) that tells anyone who reads it what the particular course is supposed to cover. While faculty have the academic freedom to cover material in the order they individually choose, including in most cases, the texts and materials a course will use, every section of that course will have the same Student Learning Objectives and Outcomes. For your information, I have provided both the English 015 COR as well as the English 101 COR since 101 is where you are headed. Upon successful completion of the course the student should be able to: Hale--Writing meme.jpg

Identify the major parts of a sentence
Compose simple, compound, and complex sentences that use a variety of subordinate elements
Compose sentences using parallelism
Employ pre-writing/invention strategies to generate ideas for writing
Construct an effective thesis statement for a short essay
Create a short expository essay that supports the thesis with sufficient specific support
Compose a short expository essay that is unified and coherent
Construct complete sentences relatively free of major grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors
Select words that are reasonably precise and appropriate for the writing task
Recognize main ideas and supporting evidence in written texts and infer meaning from a text...

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Easiest Extra Credit is for perfect attendance. That includes no tardies and no leaving early as well as no absences. Anyone who has perfect attendance for the entire semester will earn 20 extra credit points.

Writing Center Workshops: Students may attend up to two different Writing Center workshops for extra credit of 10 points each. The extra credit requires 1) a draft of a current essay showing the application of the workshop topic, and 2) a confirmation slip from the Writing Center showing attendance for the full session of the workshop.

All other Extra Credit opportunities require attendance at the event and then a 500 word summary (1/3) and response (2/3) in MLA format. The summary is a main point summary, and the response is your reflection on what the presentation taught you and how it applies to your world and the larger world around us. Summary Responses are due one week after the event.

The following are current Extra Credit assignments. I would encourage students to attend more of them, but only two or three will be worth Extra Credit.

All movie screenings take place in the SBVC Library Auditorium, 149 at 11 am & 6 pm unless otherwise noted. Admission is free.

EXTRA CREDIT

If you are having trouble paying for textbooks, supplies, or just affording the costs of college, I highly recommend applying for Scholarships. SBVC's Financial Aid Scholarships page has all the information you need. Please read through all of the pages that are linked as there are both internal and external scholarships available.

Keep in mind that millions of dollars go unused every year simply because no one applies for the scholarships. Scholarships are also not limited to US citizens. If you need help with letters, please see me during office hours. Finally, check out this page on Scholarship Scams for important information; remember, most of your scholarship opportunities will be through the college, FAFSA, or an employer of yours or your parents. Due dates will vary, so note them on the pages...

SCHOLARSHIPS

Student Health and Mental Health Services Link Image Your student fees that were paid at the beginning of the semester include On-campus Student Health Services. If you need to see a doctor, nurse, or counselor or are experiencing physical or mental health problems, you can use the services of the Health Center.

More information is available on the Student Health Services web page.

Appointments and Questions call (909) 384-4495
Drop in any time we are open during the semester for service available without an appointment
Services are free to currently enrolled students

Spring/Fall Hours: Monday thru Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

In addition to your on-campus resources, there are a number of helpful resources on the National Alliance for Mental Health website at https://www.nami.org/collegeguide. You can also contact them through the following:

CALL THE NAMI HELPLINE

800-950-NAMI

info@nami.org

M-F, 10 AM - 6 PM ET

FIND HELP IN A CRISIS OR TEXT "NAMI" TO 741741

NAMI also has a guide, Starting the Conversation: College and Mental Health, that you can access for free. The following video also provides useful information:

Navigating College

...

HEALTH & PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES

California provides a number of resources for undocumented students, including access to community colleges, state financial aid, and driver's licenses. Despite the hostility of the 2016 election, and the anti-immigrant arguments coming from Washington DC, undocumented people have rights, and if you are undocumented, you need to know those rights for your benefit and the benefit of your friends and family who may also be undocumented.

I have provided resources to two sites, one is the University of California page for undocumented students and the other is from the Education Trust, which provides legal information. Ultimately, the goal is that you not live in fear, and the California Community Colleges have been declared Safe Spaces for all students.

4 UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS

If you are not yet registered to vote in our local, state, and national elections, and you will be at least 18 years old by June 2018 and a citizen, you are eligible to vote but you must register. This can be done easily online. Just Click Here..

REGISTER-to-VOTE

STUDENT SUCCESS

Helping our students succeed is one of your professor's top goals. Success in college comes in a number of ways, and it isn't just focused on grades. The following chapters from the text Successful Writing offers a number of strategies for adjusting to and succeeding in college:

1.1 Reading and Writing in College

1.2 Developing Study Skills

1.3 Becoming a Successful College Writer

TEXTBOOKS

This bears repeating: you must have your textbooks by the end of the first week. Female African American College Student with books

If you do not, please use the copies of earlier editions that are available in the library at the Circulation Desk. These can be checked out overnight, but they must be returned.

You will need your textbooks in class, so you will need your own copies. Ask questions in class if you need clarification of this. Click on each of the links below to view the text.

AMERICA NOW
EASYWRITER
ACROSS THE WIRE
DYING TO CROSS

Atwan, Robert. America Now: Short Readings from Recent Periodicals. 12th ed., Bedford, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-319-05511-0. I recommend renting this text to keep costs down.

America Now 12th ed.jpg

Lunsford, Andrea. EasyWriter. 6th ed., Bedford, 2016. ISBN: 978-131-905076-4. This text should be purchased as you will need it in all of your other classes as well as at university and in your careers; yes, it is that versatile and that useful.

The Easy Writer 6th edition

Urrea, Luis Alberto. Across the Wire. Knopf, 1990. ISBN: 978-0-385-42530-8. You could rent this text; there are also a limited number of copies in the library for check-out.

across the wire.jpg

Ramos, Jorge. Dying to Cross: The Worse Immigrant Tragedy in American History. HarperCollins, 2006. ISBN: 978-0060789459. You could rent this text; there are also a limited number of copies in the library for check-out.

Dying to Cross cover.jpg