English
100L is made up of fifteen Learning Modules corresponding to the number
of weeks in the semester. All of the course content is located on
the class Blackboard website, so you do NOT need to purchase a lab
book at the bookstore.
To
receive credit in English 100L, you must
- Complete
all 15 Learning Modules, AND
- Earn
a minimum of 350 points out of 500 possible assessment (quiz) points.
Each week, you will complete a Learning Module by reading about new topics in English grammar, punctuation, or style and taking "assessments," or quizzes, on the material. The assessments may come in two or three parts and have varying point values; the ideal is to score at least 70% on each quiz to earn enough points for credit. The reality often is that students will excel on some lessons and may be frustrated by others.
If you are not performing well on the assessments, you should seek help from the instructor or from a tutor at the Writing Center or Watsonville ILC. You may also earn up to 15 points of credit by making weekly discussion postings (see Discussions below). More details follow in the next section under "Course Tools: Assessments" and "Grading."
Nearly every Learning Module includes suggested strategies for proofreading your papers for that week's particular error. Use these strategies on your English 100 and other essays before turning them in, and post your successful corrections on the "Grammar Log" discussion group. Read on for more details in the next section, under "Discussions."
Course Tools
You will communicate with the class entirely through your WebCT account. To the left of our class homepage, you will find an ever-present navigational bar with links to course "assessments" (quizzes), assignments, calendar, discussions, learning modules, mail, and web links helpful to the study of grammar. Below these valuable tools, you can also access your current grades, progress, and take notes. You can learn more about accessing and using each of these tools by clicking on "Help" in the upper right corner of the WebCT screen while using any function.
Here are some more detailed explanations of these tools for completing and navigating the class material and your own progress.
 Calendar: All due dates are here for Learning Modules, as well as holidays and registration deadlines. Your weekly modules are due by noon on Mondays. Calendar reminders may pop up when you log in or they may be announced via class emails. A list of due dates also follows below.You are invited to work ahead in the class, but you are not allowed to fall behind without the possibility of being dropped.
 Learning Modules: This is the "meat" of the course, and where you'll find all the lessons and assessments (quizzes) that go with them. At the end of most lessons, you will also find strategies for proofreading your papers with that week's writing issue in mind. You will notice that many of the modules include a review of material you learned earlier in the semester; this is in order to reinforce and build your understanding of possible sentence structures. There are fifteen Modules, and they are due on Mondays beginning in the second week of classes.
 Assessments: Complete these only after reading the corresponding lesson in each learning module. Most assessments can be attempted twice for a higher score, and your time to complete them is "unlimited." Assessment questions may come in the following forms: fill-in-the-blank, matching, multiple choice, short answer, true/false, and combinations of possible correct answers. With the exception of true/false questions or others where only two choices exist, you may attempt most answers twice. You have an unlimited amount of time to complete each quiz. Quizzes may have a different point values, but in general, you want to score at least 70% to earn credit.
 Discussions: Your participation in class discussions is voluntary, and you may post as often as you like. While you may choose to opt out of discussions, you can earn up to a point/week of extra credit by posting at least once in that week. You can not earn more than 1 point in a week, and you can not "make up" missed postings once the week is over. Credit for a posting is only available from Sunday to Saturday each week, starting the first week of classes and ending on Saturday, May 26th (up to 15 points available). The discussion boards may also be used to ask questions of the instructor and other students.
To earn "extra" credit for a posting, your question or comment must be complete (see topics below for specifics), on-topic, and written in complete sentences. You may also post an answer to another student's question.
Discussion group topics:
-
100L Class is a place to present your questions and comments related to our class content, organization, and anything else related to 100L. Your question/comment should be expressed in a complete sentence and, if possible, include your best guess at the answer.
-
Errors in the World is an archive to document examples of grammar/punctuation errors we encounter outside of school--in restaurant menus, local newspapers, store signs, internet sites, television, etc. Make a note when you observe the error, so that you can later post the error, its source, and your own correction.
-
Grammar Log is an archive of student errors from your Cabrillo papers--whether you find and correct them yourself, or an instructor points it out when grading. You should find the weekly strategies for proofreading helpful in diagnosing your own mistakes. Identify the class you're writing for, post the error, and then rewrite it correctly.
DISCUSSION POSTINGS MUST BE RESPECTFUL AND APPROPRIATE; CREDIT WILL NOT BE GIVEN TO POSTINGS THAT ARE INSULTING, AGRESSIVE, OR OTHERWISE INAPPROPRIATE OR OFF-TOPIC.
 Announcements: from time-to-time, one of these will pop up when you open WebCT, to alert you of changes, new materials, deadlines, etc.
 Mail: all students have WebCT email for communicating questions to the instructor and drafts to each other. You should check email a least once/week for reminders about course deadlines and other announcements.
 Syllabus: you're reading it now! Course policies and information.
 Web Links: useful links designed to help you improve your writing and editing skills.
 My Grades: this is where you can check your points on various assignments. A running total of your class points appears at the top of this page next to "Final." Ignore "Midterm" as there is none for this class.
 My Progress: displays your activity in discussion groups and your accessing of the class in general.
 Notes: just a place for you to save your own notes
Calendar
The
class calendar, including all due dates, may be accessed at any
time in Blackboard.
Your
work is due by midnight on Mondays and Fridays in September, and
only on Mondays after that.
Allow
a maximum of two hours and twenty minutes per week to read the lesson(s)
and complete the accompanying exercises. Students
may work ahead, but you may not fall behind; if you are inactive
for more than two weeks, your teacher may assume you wish to be
dropped from the course.
CLASS SCHEDULE & DUE DATES
|
Week
1: due 9/19
|
Orientation/Language & Linguistics/
Subjects & Verbs |
|
Week
2: due 9/22
|
Clauses & Fragments |
|
Week
3: due 9/26
|
Subject/Verb Agreement |
Week 4: due 9/29 |
Concrete & Abstract Language
Active & Passive Voice
|
Week 5: due 10/6 |
Rules for Commas & Periods |
Week 6: due 10/13 |
Comma Splices & Run-together Sentences |
Week 7: due 10/20 |
Semicolons & Colons |
Week 8: due 10/27 |
Sentence Combining |
Week 9: due 11/3 |
Quotation Marks |
Week 10: due 11/10 |
Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement |
Week 11: due 11/17 |
Faulty Pronoun Reference |
Week 12: due 11/24 |
Apostrophes |
Week 13: due 12/1 |
Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers
Parallelism |
Week 14: due 12/8 |
Dashes, Parenthesis, & Hyphens |
Week 15: due 12/15 |
Homonyms & Course Evaluation |
Grading & Cheating
To receive credit in English 100L, you must:
- Complete all 15 Learning Modules, and
- Earn a minimum of 350 out of a possible 500 points by successfully completing assessments.
As a goal, you should try to get at least 70% on each assessment (they vary slightly in points), but you can make up for a poor performance on one quiz by doing well on another because it's your overall total that matters at the end of the term. When you view "My Grades," you will see your running total in italics in the row labeled "Final" at top of the page.
100L is a Credit/No Credit class. If you are not performing well on the quizzes, it is recommended that you
- make weekly posts on one of the three discussion group topics (see "Course Tools: Discussions") to earn up to 15 extra credit points, and
- seek help from the instructor or from a tutor in-person at the Writing Center or Watsonville ILC.
You must complete all your work on your own or under the guidance of the instructor or a writing tutor. Students caught intentionally cheating may be dropped or earn a "No Credit" grade.
Writing Center & Watsonville ILC Contact Information |
Writing Center Phone: 831.479-6319, Fax 831.477.5251 |
Writing Center Director (Diane Putnam): 479-6184, diputnam@cabrillo.edu |
Writing Center Hours (Aptos Campus) Monday through Thursday: 8 AM to 9 PM; Friday 8 AM to 3 PM |
Writing Center Website: http://www.cabrillo.cc.ca.us/divisions/english/writcenter/ |
Watsonville Integrated Learning Center Phone: 831.477-5155 |
Watsonville ILC Coordinator (Tera Martin): 831.477-5152 |
Watsonville ILC Hours: Monday through Thursday 9 AM to 8 PM; Friday 9 AM to 4 PM. |
Watsonville ILC Website: http://www.cabrillo.cc.ca.us/affiliate/watsonville/ |
You are now ready to proceed to Learning Module 1.
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