English 100 Section 52

Spring Semester 2009

Instructor: Mr. Mutasim Al-Deaibes	Office Hours: 12:00-12:50

Telephone: 25307369	Course Times: 11:00-11:50 Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs

Office: W1-262	Course Location: W4-203

E-mail: deaibes.m@gust.edu.kw	Credit Hours: 3

Course Description:

English 100 is designed to provide students with the composition and grammar skills necessary to advance to English 110. This course focuses on transition from simple essay writing to more complex and sophisticated exposition organized according to the rhetorical patterns of cause and effect, comparison, and argumentation requiring direct quotation and in-text citation. Cohesion is emphasized as is fuller development of ideas through various techniques of support.

Prerequisite: Composite score of 450 on paper based TOEFL, 4.5 on the Academic IELTS, or 450 on GUST placement test.

Goals and Objectives:

Students will be able to:

Write essays and a short research paper;

Search for sources;

Use direct quotations and in-text citation;

Write grammatically and mechanically correct sentences;

Use academic vocabulary correctly in written communications.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Compose and edit low-advanced level sentences free of major grammatical and mechanical mistakes, with an accuracy of 60%;

Use pre-writing, drafting, revising, and peer-editing techniques to write a multi-paragraph cause/effect and comparison essay and a short argumentation research paper at a level of proficiency equivalent to Level 4 on the Test of Written English (TWE);

Paraphrase and summarize multi-paragraph articles accurately (identifying the author’s purpose, tone, primary mode of discourse, main idea, and primary supporting points), with an accuracy of 60%;

Conduct a database search;

Attribute, quote, paraphrase, cite, and document information and sources according to MLA conventions, with an accuracy of 60%;

Recognize, spell, and use assigned words correctly from Avril Coxhead’s Academic Word List (AWL), with an accuracy of 60%.

Textbooks:

Smoke T. A Writer’s Workbook. Cambridge University Press (4th ed.). 2005.

Supplies:

Monolingual dictionary of student’s choice

Laptop computer, headphones, and flash memory

2 folders large enough to hold A-4 size papers

2 pencils, 2 blue or black pens, 1 editing pen (green, purple, or pink), eraser

On-Line Resources:

Students can access the ELU home page by going to www.eluprogram.com. The English 100 syllabus – as well as course calendars, important announcements, practice quizzes and exams, and other resources – is available there. Students are responsible for checking the ELU home page every week for important announcements.

Evaluation:

In-Class Exercises. Exercises help students practice what they are studying in the classroom. Exercises which are marked will be unannounced. They are worth 15% of the course grade. Because some exercises will be completed on-line, students must ensure that their laptop batteries are charged and that their laptops are in working order. Students who do not bring their laptops will receive a ‘0” for exercises which must be completed on-line.

Essays and Research Paper. There will be two essays, (15% each) and a short research paper (20%). Compositions are evaluated on content, organization, and mechanics (grammar, spelling, and punctuation). Please note that all rough drafts and final drafts must be written in the classroom. All rough drafts and hard copies of sources must be submitted, or the compositions will not be marked.

Information Literacy. Information literacy is defined as the ability to access, evaluate, organize, and use the best and most current information available from a variety of sources. Assignments related to this component of the course account for 10% of the course grade.

Final Exam. The final exam (25%) will be the official TOEFL ITP.

Summary of English 100 Assessment Weightings:

In-Class Exercises	15%
Essays	30%
Research Paper	20%
Information Literacy	10%
Final Exam	25%
Total	100%

Grade Scale:

A	95-100%
A-	90-94%
B+	87-89%
B	83-86%
B-	80-82%
C+	77-79%
C	73-76%
C-	70-72%
D	60-69%
F	0-59%

A grade of 60% or a score of 500 on the final exam (the official TOEFL ITP) is required to pass English 100.

Attendance:

Attendance will be taken manually in every class. Students must sign an attendance register for each hour of class attended. Students who forget to sign the attendance register will not be allowed to sign it later. Since it is the responsibility of students to sign the register, their teacher will not count them present if the students forget to sign the register. Students who sign for another student are subject to disciplinary action. Students will be counted absent if they are more than 10 minutes late. Students will fail English 100 if they miss 11 or more hours. A course grade of FA will be automatically generated when students have missed 11 hours. Departmental policy prohibits ELU instructors from interceding on a student’s behalf to have a grade of FA removed except in the case of extremely extenuating circumstances, for example, hospitalization.

Make-up Quizzes and Exams:

It is important that students understand the meaning of “excused absence.” An excused absence means that homework or a quiz can be made up. However, a student is still counted as absent regardless of the reason.

If students are sick, have a traffic accident, etc. on the day of a quiz/exam/in-class composition, students – not their parents, friends, etc. – MUST call 25307371 on the same day. Except in cases of extremely extenuating circumstances, students with excused absences will be allowed to make up only one assessment, regardless of the reason for additional absences. The original medical leave statement, traffic accident report, etc. must be submitted the ELU administrative assistant – not their instructor or a counselor – within three days of the student’s return to regular classes. Because assessment dates are contained in the English 100 tentative schedules given to students during the first week of the term, students may not be allowed to make up assessments they miss because of IELTS tests, TOEFL tests, holidays with parents, etc.

Late Work

Work submitted after the due date will not be accepted except in the case of excused absences.

Laptops and Textbooks

Students must bring their laptops and textbooks to class. Students are not allowed to share laptops and textbooks, nor are they allowed to leave class to retrieve them from their cars or lockers. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, students who fail to bring their laptops/textbooks after the first week of class will be asked to leave class and will be counted absent, and their parents will be notified.

Dishonest Practices:

Students who plagiarize (i.e., submit someone else’s work as their own or use someone else’s words or ideas without giving them credit) will receive a “0” for the plagiarized work. Students who cheat or talk without permission during an assessment will receive a “0” for the assessment.

Mobiles:

Students must turn off their mobiles and place them in their handbags or pockets before entering their classroom. It is at a teacher’s discretion to ask students to leave if students are looking at their mobiles or if their mobiles ring during class. These students will be counted absent for that hour. Students whose mobiles are visible or ring during an assessment will receive a “0.”

Disclaimer:

GUST reserves the right to amend any dates, topics, assignments, or other planned features of the course and tentative schedules. Any changes will be announced in class, and absent students are responsible for keeping up to date with any changes and developments that may occur.