ENGLISH 101Q: College Composition

Welcome to ENGL 101: College Composition! The goal of this course is to provide students with the writing and research skills required for success in college and university. Starting with the university-level summary, leading up to an academic analysis essay and research report, students will learn how to develop an effective academic writing style that includes working with textual evidence to support a strong thesis. 

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of ENGL 101, the student should have demonstrated the ability to:

1. Apply note-taking techniques.
2. Organize and summarize notes from lectures and readings.
3. Read closely and evaluate scholarly prose from across the disciplines.
4. Develop a vocabulary of critical terms used across disciplines.
5. Apply analytical skills when reading scholarly prose.
6. Respond to oral and written feedback.
7. Produce concise and accurate summaries
8. Apply academic research skills
9. Write well-structured academic essays expressing your ideas and insights
10. Implement MLA style formatting and citation protocol
11. Apply analytical skills inside and outside of the classroom when addressing a wide range of topics.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Vowel, Chelsea. Indigenous Writes

(Available as an e-book here: https://www.portageandmainpress.com/product/indigenous-writes/)

Blood Quantum. Dir. Jeff Barnaby. 2019. (Available to stream online)

Additional readings will be posted on Moodle.

PREREQUISITES: English 12 with a passing grade on the BC provincial exam, and an overall grade of C+, or English 099 with an S grade, or a minimum score of 6 on the writing component of the CAEL, or a minimum score of 6.5 on IELTS with a minimum score of 86 (min. 20 in each section) on the TOEFL iBT, or acceptable achievement on the Coquitlam College University English Assessment Test.

EVALUATION

Midterm                                                                                                              20%

Final Exam                                                                                                          25%

Research Project (Interview 10%, Peer-Editing Workshop 5%, Essay 15%)    30%

Summary                                                                                                             15%

Participation                                                                                                        10%

Total                                                                                                                    100%

MARK                   PERCENTAGE

A+                               91 –100

A                                 86 – 90

A-                                80 – 85

B+                               77 – 79

B                                 73 – 76

B-                                70 – 72

C+                               65 – 69

C                                 60 – 64

C-                                55 – 59

P                                  50 – 54

F                                 Below 50

SUMMARY

You will write a summary based on a reading provided on the day of the assignment. You will have 90 minutes to complete the summary

RESEARCH PROJECT

Workshop

You will be required to participate in a peer-editing workshop of a rough draft or detailed outline of your research essay.

Essay

You will write a formal academic essay of approximately 1650 words based on your research. Your paper must adhere to MLA referencing, citation, and formatting guidelines throughout. It is of utmost importance that you allocate time throughout the semester to work on the research essay. 

Interview

You will answer questions about your research project during a 10-minute interview with the instructor. This is your opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of your chosen topic and your knowledge of the course content in a format other than writing. Interviews will be scheduled during class time.

MIDTERM EXAM & FINAL EXAM

Both the midterm and final exam will consist of an essay response based on a reading that we have covered in class.

COURSE STRUCTURE

The course will consist of weekly Zoom lectures, as well as forums and activities on Moodle.

Participation and attendance are MANDATORY for Zoom lectures. Please see the attached course schedule for Zoom lecture dates (there is approximately one per week), each Zoom lecture will begin promptly at 5:33 PM.

Each week students will be given an activity, assignment, or set of forum discussion questions to complete on Moodle. All forum posts and/or activities must be submitted through Moodle before the cut-off date and time outlined on the course schedule.

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS

It is expected that students will conduct themselves in the virtual classroom (both on Zoom and Moodle) the same way they would in a professional or business setting. Students will be punctual for all Zoom classes. Students will be courteous and respectful to their fellow classmates and the instructor during video classes and on the Moodle forums.

Regular attendance and participation are expected.

A note on readings: it is expected that you will have read the assigned readings before class. All readings are mandatory and students that have not completed the readings should be aware that their participation grade in the course will be impacted.

OFFICE HOURS

During office hours, I am available for consultation via e-mail or Zoom. To access Zoom for office hours, please use the URL

You do not need an appointment to see me during office hours. Students will be assisted individually. If the instructor is busy with another student, you may be placed in a Zoom waiting room. Please be patient. 

E-MAIL POLICY

Students can expect to receive a response to e-mails within 48 hours, except on weekends and holidays when there are no classes. E-mails pertaining to an assignment that are received within 48 hours of the assignment cannot be guaranteed a response, however I will always do my best to answer questions as thoroughly and clearly as possible over e-mail. If you would like to discuss a lecture or assignment face-to-face, please e-mail me to arrange a Zoom meeting (or see me during office hours).

Please note that appointments outside of office hours must be booked at least one business day in advance.

TEST AND ASSIGNMENT PROTOCOL

Students are responsible for staying abreast of test dates and times, as well as due dates and any special instructions for submitting assignments and projects as supplied to the class by the Professor.

Students must write all tests at the specified times. If a student misses the midterm exam, a mark of zero will be assigned unless there are extenuating circumstances. NO consideration will be given to any student wishing to write the final exam at any other time than that assigned.

The penalty for late submission of written assignments is a loss of 5% per day for up to five business days (excluding weekends and statutory holidays), after which, a grade of zero is assigned.  Business days include any day that the college is open for business, whether the student has scheduled classes that day or not. 

Medical certificates and doctor’s notes must be provided within 48 hours of the missed exam, assignment, or due date. Acceptance of notes after 48 hours is at the discretion of the instructor. 

Students must complete every assignment as an individual effort unless the instructor specifies otherwise. There will be no resubmission of work unless this has been previously agreed to or suggested by the instructor.

Assignments, forum posts, tests, and activities must be submitted through Moodle. I do not accept submissions via e-mail.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Cheating on a final will cause a student to receive an F in the course. A student caught cheating on a quiz, test or midterm will receive an automatic “0”.  A second cheating offence may result in expulsion from Coquitlam College.

The unacknowledged use of the ideas or published material of others constitutes plagiarism.  While much academic work must involve the consideration of ideas and material originally conceived or made accessible by others, there is a significant difference between an acknowledged restatement of such ideas and materials after intelligent assimilation, and the intentional unacknowledged reproduction of them.

Students caught intentionally plagiarizing will be dealt with by the Principal or Vice-Principal.

You certify that the work and submissions in all assignments were generated independently, developed during the assignment, quiz, or exam and that you did not receive any external help or aid during the creation of your work or answers except those permitted by your instructor. Students with unusual scores may be asked to answer follow-up questions and/or resubmit work at the instructor’s discretion.

SCHEDULE

Some details of this outline may change.

Week 1

January 5^th (Zoom Class)

Topic(s): Introduction to Online Learning, dictionary skills, annotation

January 7^th (Zoom Class) 

Topic(s): Annotation continued, paragraph structure review, writing summaries

Reading(s): Anderson, “What I Really Want is Someone Rolling Around in the Text” (available on Moodle)

Week 2

January 12^th

Readings: Barthes, “Myth Today” (available on Moodle)

Activities: Active reading worksheet and forum discussion due by 6:00 PM

January 14^th (Zoom Class)

Topic(s): “Myth Today” continued; close reading  

Week 3

January 19^th (Zoom Class)

Reading(s):Vowel, “Just Don’t Call Us Late for Supper” and “Settling on a Name” 

January 21^st

Reading(s): Vowel, “The Myth of Progress”

Activities: Forum post & practice summary due by 6:00 PM

Week 4

January 26^th  

SUMMARY

January 28^th (Zoom Class)

Topic(s): Introduction to the Research Paper; MLA Formatting and Citation; Academic Paragraphs

Week 5

February 2^nd

Activities: Practicing Paragraphs forum post & MLA quiz (both due by 6:00 PM)

February 4^th (Zoom Class)

Topic(s): Introduction and Conclusions, Thesis Statements

Week 6

February 9^th

Activities: Practice thesis statements due by 6:00 PM

February 11^th (Zoom Class) 

Topic(s): Midterm Exam Review

Week 7

February 16^th

February 18^th

MIDTERM EXAM

Week 8

February 23^rd (Zoom Class)

Topic(s): The Research Process

February 25^th

Activities: Research question, working thesis, and sources due by 6:00 PM

Week 9

March 2^nd (Zoom Class)

Readings: Vowel, “Caught in the Crossfire of Blood-Quantum Reasoning”

March 4^th

Topic(s): Vowel, “Caught in the Crossfire of Blood-Quantum Reasoning”

Activities: Forum discussion due by 6:00 PM

Week 10

March 9^th (Zoom Class)

Topic(s): Organizing Research; Editing and Revising

March 11^th (Zoom Class)

RESEARCH PAPER OUTLINE PEER-EDITING WORKSHOP

Week 11

March 16^th

Reading(s): Grant, “Screams on Screens”

Activities: Active Reading Worksheet due by 6:00 PM

March 18^th  (Zoom Class) 

Topic(s): Grant, “Screams on Screens”

Week 12

March 23^rd

Topic(s): Blood Quantum (DIR. Jeff Barnaby)

Activities: Forum discussion post due by 6:00 PM

RESEARCH PAPERS DUE BY 11:59 PM (MIDNIGHT)

March 25^th (Zoom Class) 

Topic(s): Blood Quantum

Week 13

March 30^th  

FINAL INTERVIEWS

April 1^st  

FINAL INTERVIEWS

Week 14

April 6^th (Zoom Class)

Topic(s): Final Exam Review

April 8^th – 14^th  

Final Exam (Date and Time: TBA)