Com+155+-+Course+Syllabus (1).Doc Essays

Com+155+-+Course+Syllabus (1).Doc Essays Com+155+-+Course+Syllabus (1).Doc Essay Com+155+-+Course+Syllabus (1).Doc Essay [pic] |Course Syllabus Axia College/College of Humanities COM/155 Version 3 University Composition and Communication I | |Copyright  © 2011, 2010, 2009 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course addresses the key elements necessary for effective academic writing in college. The course begins with focus on prewriting strategies and builds to drafting and revising essays. In addition, the course includes skill development at the sentence and paragraph level. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials McLean, S. (2011). Writing for success (1st ed. ). Irvington, NY: Flat World Knowledge, Inc. Axia College’s Short Form Writing Style Handbook, available online via the student website. Axia College’s Writing Style Handbook, available online at https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/CWE/pdfs/Axiawriting_style_handbook. pdf All electronic materials are available on the student website. Week One: Proper Sentence Structure | | |Details |Due |Points | |Objectives |Identify the components of a basic sentence. | | | | |Identify the four most serious writing errors. | | | |Course Preparation |Read the course description and objectives. | | | |Read the instructor’s biography and post your own. | | | |Reading |Read Section 1. 1: Components of a Sentence in Ch. 2 of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Read Section 1. 2: Sentence Structure, Including Fragmen ts and Run-ons in Ch. 2 of Writing for| | | | |Success. | | | |Reading |Read Section 2. : Agreement in Ch. 2 of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Read Section 2. 2: Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement in Ch. 2 of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Read Section 3. 1: Regular Verbs in Ch. 2 of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Read Section 3. 2: Irregular Verbs in Ch. 2 of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Read Section 3. 3: Maintaining Consistent Verb Tense in Ch. of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. | | | |Participation |Participate in class discussion. | |2 | |Discussion Questions |Respond to weekly discussion questions. | |1 | |Assignment |Resource: Axia College Material: Appendix A | |5 | |Sentence Structure Review |Read Appendix A. | | | |Review the eight sentences. | | | | |Identify which of the four errors, if any, is present in each sentence. | | | | |Rewrite the sentence so that it is a grammatically correct s entence. | | | | |Post your assignment as a Microsoft ® Word attachment. | | | Week Two: Verb Problems | | |Details |Due |Points | |Objectives | | | | | |Define subject–verb agreement. | | | | |Identify how to avoid mistakes in verb tense. | | | |Explain when to use each tense. | | | |Reading |Review Section 2. 1: Agreement in Ch. 2 of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. | | | |Participation |Participate in class discussion. | |2 | |Discussion Questions |Respond to weekly discussion questions. |1 | |Nongraded Activities and |Access the Toolwire ® Learnscape: Overview of the CWE through the link located on the student | | | |Preparation |website. | | | |Learnscape Activities | | | | | |Complete the Learnscape Activities. | | | | | | | | |Subject–Verb Agreement | | | | | | | | | |Resource: Axia College Material: Appendix B | | | | |Follow the directions in Appendix B to complete the following exercises on MyWri tingLab: | | | | | | | | | |Sentence to Paragraph: Complete Sentences and Subjects and Verbs | | | | | | | | | |Access the Grammar Mechanics section of the Grammar and Writing Guides. | | | | | | | | |Click Library. | | | | |Go to the Center for Writing Excellence. | | | | |Click Tutorials Guides. | | | | |Click the Grammar and Writing Guides under Grammar Tutorials. | | | | |Click on Grammar Mechanics. | | | | |Finally, click Subject–Verb Agreement. | | | | |Review the information provided. | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Post your assignment for faculty review. | | | | | | | | | |Feedback Question (optional): How are your reading strategies working for you? Is reading the| | | | |content of this course the same as or different from reading content in other courses? Is it | | | | |easier? Is it harder? Do you have any suggestions for how to make reading this sort of | | | | |content more effective for yourself? | | | |Assignment |Resource: Weekly Readings | |5 | |Verb Practice | | | | | |Write five sentences about the role of ducation in successful financial planning, in which | | | | |you correctly use a different verb tense in each sentence. | | | | | | | | | |Mark each verb used in bold and, in parentheses, identify the specific tense used. | | | | | | | | | |Post your submission as an attachment. | | | Week Three: Punctuation and Capitalization | | |Details |Due |Points | |Objectives | | | | | |Recognize the appropriate use of punctuation. | | | | |Demonstrate proper use of capital letters. | | | | |Differentiate between plurals and possessives. | | | |Reading |Read Section 4: Capitalization in Ch. 2 of Writing for Success. | | |Reading |Read Ch. 3 of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Read Section 2. 1: Common Spelling Rules in Ch. 4 of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Read Section 5. 1: Simple Verb Tenses in Ch. 5 of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. | | | |Participation |Participate in class discussion. | |2 | |Discussion Questions |Respond to weekly discussion questions. |1 | |Nongraded Activities and |Resource: Axia College Material: Appendix B | | | |Preparation |Follow the directions in Appendix B to complete the following exercise on MyWritingLab: | | | |Capitalization | | | | | |Mechanics: Commas and Mechanics: Apostrophes | | | | | | | | | |Access the Grammar Mechanics section of the Grammar and Writing Guides. | | | | | | | | | |Click Library. | | | | |Go to the Center for Writing Excellence. | | | | |Click Tutorials Guides. | | | |Click the Grammar and Writing Guides under Grammar Tutorials. | | | | |Click on Grammar Mechanics. | | | | |Finally, click Subject–Verb Agreement. | | | | |Review the information provided. | | | | | | | | | | Post your assignment for faculty review. | | | |Feedback Question (optional): Is writing in college what you expected it to be? What | | | | |challenges have you found to being an effective college writer? | | | |Assignment |Resource: Axia College Material: Appendix C | |5 | |Identifying Errors in Writing |Review the passage in Appendix C. | | | | | | | | | |The passage has 20 errors related to the concepts covered this week. | | | |Mark each of the errors in bold and make the correction in parentheses after the error. | | | | |Example: My cars interior is black. | | | | |This must be marked as follows: My cars (car’s) interior is black. | | | | | | | | | |Post your assignment as a Microsoft ® Word attachment. | | | Week Four: Proper Word Use | | |Details |Due |Points | |Objectives | | | | | |Demonstrate proper word choice for a complete sentence. | | | | |Identify commonly confused word mistakes. | | | |Reading |Read Ch. 4 of Writing for Success. | | |Reading |Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. | | | |Participation |Participate in class discussion. | |2 | |Discussion Questions |Respond to weekly discussion questions. | |1 | |Nongraded Activities and |Review the Word Choice video located on the student website. | | | |Preparation |Feedback Question (optional): Make a plan to organize your first academic paper. Include | | | |Word Choice |references to the Axia College’s Short Form Writing Style Handbook. This plan must include | | | | |your time management preparation and elements of how to maintain a healthy stress level, | | | | |because this is your first academic paper. | | | |Assignment |Resources: Weekly Readings; Axia College Material: Appendix D | |10 | |Sentence Correction and | | | | |Changes in Writing |This assignment has three distinct parts. | | | | | | | | |First, determine whether the sample sentences in Appendix D are correct. If it is not | | | | |correct, make the correction needed. | | | | |Second, write five sentences in which you address changes in your writing. | | | | |Third, write a brief 100-word explanation in which you explain how the material studied this | | | | |week has changed the way you write. | | | | | | | | |Provide at least two specific examples of changes you have implemented based on what you | | | | |learned this week. | | | | |Post your submission as a Microsoft ® Word attachment. | | | |Week Five: Use of Substitution for Nouns | | |Details |Due |Points | |Objectives | | | | | |Define the function of a pronoun. | | | |Explain how to use a pronoun correctly. | | | | |Summarize appropriate use of pronouns for academic writing. | | | |Reading |Review Section 5: Pronouns in Ch. 2 of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. | | | |Participation |Participate in class discussion. | |2 | |Discussion Questions |Respond to weekly discussion questions. |1 | |Nongraded Activities and |Access the Toolwire ® Learnscape: Working with the CWE through the link located on the student| | | |Preparation |website. | | | |Pronouns |Complete the Learnscape Activities. | | | | | | | | | |Pronouns | | | | | | | | | |Access the Grammar Mechanics section of the Grammar and Writing Guides. | | | | | | | | |Click Library. | | | | |Go to the Center for Writing Excellence. | | | | |Click Tutorials Guides. | | | | |Click the Grammar and Writing Guides under Grammar Tutorials. | | | | |Click on Gr ammar Mechanics. | | | | |Finally, click Pronouns. | | | |Review the information provided. | | | | | | | | | |Post the screenshot of the completed activities. | | | | | | | | | |Feedback Question (optional): How are your organization skills working for you? What is | | | | |working? What challenges remain? | | |Assignment |Resource: Weekly Readings | |5 | |Pronoun Practice | | | | | |Write several sentences describing a recent interaction with a friend or family member about | | | | |personal finance or credit cards. This interaction may be imagined or real. | | | | | | | | | |Use at least five different pronouns in your sentences. | | | | | | | | | |Identify all pronouns used by bolding them. | | | | | | | | |Post your assignment as a Microsoft ® Word attachment. | | | |Week Six: Adjectives and Adverbs | | |Details |Due |Points | |Objectives | | | | | |Describe the use of an adjective. | | | |Describe the use of an adverb. | | | | |Differentiate between an adjective and adverb. | | | |Reading |Read Section 6: Adjectives and Adverbs in Ch. 2 of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. | | | |Participation |Participate in class discussion. | |2 | |Discussion Questions |Respond to weekly discussion questions. |1 | |Nongraded Activities and |Resource: Axia College Material: Appendix B | | | |Preparation | | | | |Choosing the Right Words – |Follow the directions in Appendix B to complete the following exercises on MyWritingLab: | | | |Adjectives and Adverbs | | | | | |Choosing the Right Words: Adjectives | | | | |Choosing the Right Words: Adverbs | | | | | | | | | |Post your assignments for faculty review. | | | | | | | | |Feedback Question (optional): Imagine you are expected to write a three-page paper. Design an| | | | |organizational and time management plan to complete this paper. Keep in mind the paper | | | | |requirements are to select a topic, write a thesis, write supporting material, and inclu de a | | | | |minimum of three sources. | | |Assignment |Resource: Weekly Readings | |8 | |Review – Adjectives, Adverbs, |Use at least five adverbs and five adjectives to write a brief review of a movie, sporting | | | |and Comparisons |event, musical performance, or television show. | | | | |Bold each adverb. | | | | |Underline each adjective. | | | | |Compare the event to one or more similar events. When comparing, use at least three | | | | |comparatives and three superlatives. | | | | |Post your assignment for faculty review. | | | |Week Seven: Topic Sentences and Writing Paragraphs | | |Details |Due |Points | |Objectives | | | | | |Explain effective practices for developing a topic sentence. | | | |Explain effective means for writing a paragraph. | | | |Reading |Read Section 2: Effective Means for Writing a Paragraph in Ch. 6 of Writing for Success. | | | |Reading |Read the Axia College Short Form Writing Style Handbook. | | | |Reading |Review this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. | | | |Participation |Participate in class discussion. | |2 | |Discussion Questions |Respond to weekly discussion questions. |1 | |Nongraded Activities and |Resource: Center for Writing Excellence | | | |Preparation | | | | |Topic Sentences |Access the Grammar Mechanics section of the Grammar and Writing Guides. | | | | | | | | | |Click Library. | | | | |Go to the Center for Writing Excell ence. | | | | |Click Tutorials Guides. | | | |Click the Grammar and Writing Guides under Grammar Tutorials. | | | | |Click on Writing Style. | | | | |Finally, click Topic Sentence. | | | | |Review the information provided. | | | | | | | | | |Feedback Question (optional): Have you been using the Center for Writing Excellence? How has in which you do the following: | | | | | | | | | |Identify which paragraph was more effective and analyze why this was so. | | | | |Include a discussion of sentence variety and the rhythm of the author’s writing. | | | | |Focus on the writing rather than the opinions presented. | | | | |Underline your topic sentence. | | | | | | | | | |Submit your paragraph to WritePointSM in the Center for Writing Excellence. | | | | | | | | |Review the feedback provided by the Center for Writing Excellence and make corrections to | | | | |your paragraph. | | | | | | | | | |When doing so, understand that WritePointSM may be helpful but is not always correct. Make , in which you describe the feedback you | | | | |received from WritePointSM, providing specific examples of helpful suggestions, as well as | | | | |ones you felt may have been incorrect and why you think that is the case. | | | | | | | | |Underline your topic sentence. | | | | | | | | | |Write a third and final paragraph in which describe your strategy for using WritePointSM in | | | | |the future. | | | | | | | | |Include a discussion of how to accommodate submission and feedback time. | | | | |Underline your topic sentence. | | | | | | | | | |Post your three paragraphs as a Microsoft ® Word attachment. | | | Optional Discussion Questions Week One Discussion Questions List at least one of the serious writing errors identified in Ch. 2, Section 1 of Writing for Success and identify how such an error could negatively affect your writing. Identify which of the four most serious writing errors listed in Ch. 2, Section 1 of Writing for Success you find challenging to overcome i n your own writing. State a method to avoid this error. What are the key lessons you learned from these activities? How might the exercises help you as you work on improving your writing? Chapter 2, Section 1. 1 of Writing for Success provides information about verbs. List the difference between a linking verb and an action verb. Use at least one example of each type of verb in a sentence. Explain the role of verbs and nouns. Describe their usage and the most common ways that they are misused. Week Two Discussion Questions How might a potential employer evaluate your writing if you did not use proper verb tenses? Why? Identify the five trouble spots located in Ch. 2, Section 2. 2: â€Å"Errors in Subject Verb Agreement† of the text to help avoid making mistakes in subject-verb agreement. Which mistake do you think is the worst? Why? This week, we discussed verb usage by focusing on subject–verb agreement and verb tenses. Based on the grammar apply section of MyWri tingLab, what lessons have you learned that will change the way you write in the future? What is the definition of subject–verb agreement? Provide one example of how to avoid making mistakes in verb tense and explain why this information will help your writing skills. What are the definitions of the past progressive and future progressive tenses? Write two sentences about family financial goals using the past progressive and future progressive tenses. Week Three Discussion Questions Often, students rely on improper punctuation and capitalization because of the popularity and convenience of sending text messages. In academic writing, however, you must strive to use appropriate punctuation and capitalization. Why do you need to use appropriate punctuation, including plurals and possessives, in your writing? Chapter 3, Section 1. 1 of the text provides examples of how comma placements may completely change the meaning of a sentence. Knowing this, what can you do as a writer to ensure your comma usage helps you to communicate clearly? Review the lessons on commas and apostrophes in MyWritingLab. Based on what you learned, what can you do to minimize errors when using commas and apostrophes in your writing? Write three sentences using plurals correctly and three sentences using possessives correctly on the topic of how to store personal financial information effectively and efficiently. Chapter 2, Section 4. 2 of the text shows examples of proper nouns that need to be capitalized. List four examples of capitalized proper nouns from this chapter. Explain your strategy for determining when to use capitalized proper nouns in the future. Week Four Discussion Questions Writing errors, such as those identified in the readings for this week, may influence the way a reader interprets your writing. A resume that is marred by grammatical errors, for example, may prevent a job candidate from progressing to the interview s tage. Do you think it is appropriate for people to be judged based on their writing? Explain your answer. List five commonly confused word mistakes. Then, demonstrate their correct usage in well-written sentences. This week, the discussions have focused on the importance of word choice and avoiding commonly confused words. Identify three key strategies to ensure you will choose words correctly in the future to improve your writing. Chapter 4 of the text mentions that a thesaurus is a helpful tool. One challenge of using a thesaurus is that each word has its own connotation, and although the meanings may be similar, there are often subtle differences. Think about the following pairs of words: confident and arrogant, quiet and introverted, pure and naive. The general meaning is the same, but one word in each pair typically has a positive connotation, whereas the other has a negative connotation. Write one sentence using each word to demonstrate that you understand the correct connotation. When using synonyms, what steps might you take to ensure your word choice carries the correct connotation? Spelling errors may be eliminated by using spell check. Spell checks often do not catch errors if the wrong word is chosen, however. This has led to common writing errors such as advice instead of advise, loose instead of lose, and there instead of their. Describe your strategies that ensure you will not make these kinds of mistakes. Week Five Discussion Questions Write six original sentences in which pronouns are used in a consistent manner. What strategies might a writer use to ensure pronouns are used effectively? Rewrite the first sentence of Ch. 2, Section 5 of the text in your own words. Identify commonly used pronouns. Explain why using pronouns may help make your writing more effective. This week, we discussed how to properly use pronouns. You have been asked to complete several exercises to help practice using pronouns effectively. Explain which of these exercises you found most useful and elaborate on how it will help your writing in the future. The words who and whom are often used incorrectly. Review Ch. 2, Section 5. 3 â€Å"Who vs. Whom† of the text. Imagine that you are teaching an ESL (English as a second language) student about how to use who and whom. Provide an explanation to make it easy for him or her to understand the concept. Provide at least three examples using each pronoun. Academic writing standards generally condemn the use of first- and second-person pronouns such as I, me, my, you, and your. Why do you think this is the case? Week Six Discussion Questions Review Ch. 2, Section 6 of the text. Describe your experience with credit and credit cards in a brief paragraph using at least five adverbs and five adjectives in your description. Bold the adverbs and underline the adjectives. What is the most effective way to determine whether a word is an adjective or an adverb? Students are often confused about the use of the words good and well in their writing. Write a 100-word passage to Scott McLean, the author of the course’s textbook, in which you describe five details from her book that are good and five details about the book that are written well. It is not unusual for writers to confuse adverbs and adjectives. How did the material in MyWritingLab help reduce the possibility of confusion? Describe the strategies you have developed to avoid confusing the use of adverbs and adjectives in the future. Find a movie review in an online publication for a movie currently playing in theaters. Post the link to the review for the class and provide five examples of how the reviewer used adverbs and five examples of the use of adjectives. Has the reviewer used them effectively? Why or why not? Compare and contrast your abilities as an academic writer now as opposed to when you began at Axia College. Using four comparatives and four superlatives within your responses, explain what has led to these changes and what changes you will make in the future. Week Seven Discussion Questions Based on the readings in Ch. , Section 2 of the text, identify key points to keep in mind when writing a topic sentence. How might these key points help you write effectively? This week, you were asked to review the Topic Sentence section in the Center for Writing Excellence. Using the topic of home ownership versus leasing, identify a topic and provide a topic sentence you would use in a paragraph about the topic. After reviewing the information in Ch. 6, Section 2 of the text, identify the three key parts of a paragraph. Page 186 of the text has five paragraphs. Review the five paragraphs and identify which you think is most effective. Explain why you think it is the most effective. When writing a paragraph, it is important that the topic sentence and supporting points within that paragraph be directly related. What would be the reaction of a reader if the topic sentences in an essay did not coincide with the supporting points? Week Eight Discussion Questions Read the summary paragraph on the bottom of p. 177 of the text. Identify the author’s goal in writing the paragraph. How effectively do you think the author met that goal? Read the two-paragraph analysis passage on p. 177 of the text. Identify the purpose of the writing. Pages 1? 3 of the Guidelines for Writi ng Academic Essays in the Center for Writing Excellence show different types of essays. Explain the key differences between the types of essays. Read the second paragraph of the synthesis passage. It may be found on p. 178 of the text. Using your reading for the week and this paragraph in particular, answer the following questions. o What is the key objective when writing a paragraph on synthesis? o Do you feel the author was effective? Review the evaluation paragraph on p. 179 of the text. Identify what the author did well and what the author could have done better. Explain what situations lend themselves to evaluation. Week Nine Discussion Questions It is important to consider sentence variety and rhythm in your writing. Define sentence variety and rhythm in your own words and explain how they interact in effective writing. Define repetition in writing and explain why it is important to avoid repeating words or phrases when you create an academic essay. You will be required to write multiple paragraph essays in future courses. One common mistake to avoid is writing paragraphs that are too short or too long. After reviewing the sentence variety exercises for this week, how can you ensure that your paragraphs are of an appropriate length? Review the example paragraphs on p. 202 of the text. In what ways, if any, are these changes significant? What specific modifications make one paragraph more effective than the other? What are two common mistakes a writer might make that could cause his or her writing to be ineffective for readers? What steps might you take to avoid these mistakes early in the writing stage, thereby communicating more efficiently and effectively? Copyright University of Phoenix ® is a registered trademark of Apollo Group, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft ®, Windows ®, and Windows NT ® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Use of these marks is not intended to imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation. Edited in accordance with University of Phoenix ® editorial standards and practices.