DSPW-0800 Developmental Writing Syllabus

Course Name: Developmental Writing Course Number/Section: DSPW-0800 ____
 
Instructor: ______________________ Office Location: _______________________
 
Office Phone: ______________ Email: _____________@______________________
 
Web Site(s): _________________________________________________________
 
Class Meeting Room(s): ________________________________________________
 
Instructor’s Posted Office Hours:

Course Description
 
DSPW-0800 Developmental Writing provides a review of basic paragraph and essay writing with attention to planning, development, and revision.
 
Prerequisites
 
DSPW-0700 or appropriate score on the COMPASS test. Students who do not meet these prerequisites will be dropped from the course.
 
Course Goals
 
After completing this course, students will be able to

  1. Compose a multi-paragraph essay, using introductory, body, and summary paragraphs that demonstrate unity, coherence, and adequate support.

  2. Identify and correct sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and comma splices using appropriate coordination and subordination.

  3. Identify and correct errors in verb usage and pronoun usage.

  4. Use spelling rules to correct those words most commonly identified as misspelled.

  5. Use punctuation rules, especially those controlling the use of commas and apostrophes.

  6. Control and avoid faulty logic in order to write clearly, present ideas logically, and support those ideas effectively.

Students will also be encouraged to use a personal computer, learning software, and a web browser to improve language skills, communicate ideas to others, collaborate in learning with others, and do web-based research.
 
 
Students with Disabilities
 
Southwest Tennessee Community College is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all qualified students with disabilities. It is the responsibility of the student to contact the Counseling Office to arrange for appropriate accommodation. When the disability has been documented and verified, a counselor will notify the instructor regarding any special accommodation to be provided.
 

Course Texts:
 
Check with your instructor before purchasing. Some instructors may use a single text or a combination of texts.
 
The Little Brown Handbook and Multimedia CD-ROM. H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane Aaron. 8th edition. ISBN 0-
     321-07507-2

Strategies for College Writing: Sentences, Paragraphs, Essays.  Jeanette Harris and Ann Moseley. Allyn and
     Bacon. ISBN 0-205-29515-0
 
Writing First: Practice in Context with Readings. (ESL Sections Only)  Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R.
     Mandell. Bedford/St. Martins. ISBN 0-312-19380-7

Other Required Materials:

  • a good collegiate dictionary

  • one 8 ½” x 11” third-cut manila file folder

  • white, loose-leaf paper for in-class writing assignments

  • dark-blue or black ink pens for in-class writing assignments

  • one red ink pen for corrections

College Computers Policy
 
Computers located in classrooms and laboratories are for educational purposes only.
 
Instructional/Learning Methods
 
Writing instruction may take the form of lectures, discussions, small-group work, individual tutoring, and asynchronous online instruction.
 
Methods of Evaluation
 
Students are most frequently evaluated through their written assignments (paragraphs and essays), but evaluations may take the form of shorter quizzes and longer examinations covering specific writing and language skills, of journal entries, of homework assignments, of class participation, and more. Individual instructors will provide their students with a detailed, weighted breakdown of expected assignments and evaluations.
 
For most classes, the final grade for DSPW-0800 will be based upon the following general percentages:
 
Writing Assignments: 50-60%
Examinations/Quizzes/Journals/Participation/Homework: 15-25%
Final Examination: 20-25%
 
Grading Scale
 
Final grades in DSPW-0800 are A, B, C, or F. D’s are not given in developmental courses. Grades for assignments and the final grade will be based on the following percentage breakdown:
 
90 – 100 = A
80 – 89 = B
70 – 79  = C
0 - 69 = F
 
Course Policies
 
1. Attendance
 
The Tennessee Board of Regents, Southwest’s governing body, mandates regular attendance in all developmental courses.
 
Any student who misses more than two weeks of class meetings (six class meetings if a three-times-a-week section, four class meetings if a twice-a-week section, two class meetings if a once-a-week section) may be assigned an automatic failing grade despite any passing grades earned or any other class meetings attended.
 
Exceptions to this policy will be made only in extenuating circumstances. Documentation of the extenuating circumstances of the absence will be required. (See ‘Make-ups’ below.) Your instructor may provide you with an alternate policy.
 
Students are expected to attend the entire class meeting. In accordance with college policy, students who leave class before the class ends will be counted absent for the entire class meeting.
 
 
2. Punctuality
 
Students are expected to be in class and seated by the posted starting time of the class. Late arrivals distract instructors and students who take the starting times of their classes seriously, often interrupt instruction, and should be kept to a minimum.
 
To discourage tardiness, every three late arrivals will be counted as one absence.
 
Students who are more than a few minutes late to a class meeting may be counted absent for the entire class meeting.
 
3. Make-ups
 
Missed work or late work may be made up or accepted at the discretion of the instructor and may be penalized one or more letter grades. Individual instructors may have additional policies governing late or missed work. If you know that you will miss a class meeting, you should arrange for make-ups before the absence. It is your responsibility entirely to contact your instructor as soon as possible about making up work after an unavoidable absence, usually within one week of returning to class.
 
4. Withdrawals
 
Only the Director of Developmental Studies has the authority to withdraw a student from a developmental course.
 
Plagiarism/Academic Dishonesty Plagiarism (the unattributed use of another's work as your own, either in part of in whole), cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited. A student who is guilty of academic misconduct, either directly or indirectly through participation or assistance, is immediately responsible to the instructor of the class. In addition to other possible disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed through regular College procedures as a result of academic misconduct, the instructor has the authority to assign an ‘F’ grade or a zero for the exercise or examination or assign an ‘F’ grade for the course. Any serious act of academic dishonesty will be reported to Students Affairs for disciplinary action that may include suspension or dismissal from the College.

Classroom Behavior

The instructor has primary responsibility for control over classroom behavior. Any student engaged in disruptive conduct or conduct violating the general rules or regulations of the College may be ordered to leave the classroom for the remainder of the class meeting.
Inappropriate behavior includes talking without instructor recognition, taking cell phone calls in class, eating or drinking, and in other ways interrupting instruction or showing disrespect for the instructor or other students through words or actions. Beepers should be silenced during class meetings. Cell phones should be turned off.

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