http://www.dmacc.edu

Des Moines Urban Campus

Syllabus

           

          Academic Standards Commission

 

Instructor Information

Name

Vera Aginsky

E-mail address

vaginsky@dmacc.edu

Phone number

(515) 248-7521

Fax number

(515) 248-7253

Office location

Building 1, Room 233

Office hours

M., W. 9-11 am

T., R. 3-4 pm

And by appointment

             Course Information

Semester

Fall

Year

2010

Course title

Advanced Academic ESL Writing

Course number

ESL 104

Credits

3

Section number

WW1

CRN number

14117

Days & Time

 

Location

 

Course description

http://www.dmacc.edu/courses/crsrod.asp

Course competencies

http://www.dmacc.edu/competencies/ 

Orientation

Online WebCT Orientation for students is provided on your WebCT

Help Desk

helpdesk@dmacc.edu  or 515-965-7300

             Important Dates

September 4th

Holiday, no classes – DMACC closed

Midterm

Wednesday, October 20th

November 5th

Last day to drop regular term classes

November 25-28th

Holiday, DMACC closed

Final

Tuesday, December 14th

Textbooks & Materials

Required textbooks

Writing Academic English, Level 4 by Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue

Required materials

 

Software applications

 

Software notice

“All the software used in this class is copyrighted; therefore, it is not for distribution, copying, or personal use.  This software is the property of Des Moines Area Community College.”

Course Policies

Attendance

If a student does not “login” to the course within the first 2 weeks of class, he/she can be dropped from the course.

Grading criteria

-          Quizzes – 20%

-          Homework – 35%

-          Midterm Exam – 20%

-          Final Exam – 25%

-          Active participation in the online discussions -10% of extra credit

 

92% -  >     = A          88% - 89% = B+      78% - 79% = C+

90% - 91% = A-        82% - 87% = B         72% - 77% = C

             80% - 81% = B-        70% - 71% = C-

68% - 69% = D+      

62% - 67% = D

60% - 61% = D-

0% = F

 

Grade Book

Is located on your Blackboard page.  You will get grades for your tests and assignments after the end of the time of their availability.

Tests

The dates of tests are provided in the syllabus as well as in your calendar on the Blackboard page.

Missed Tests

Cannot be made up unless the instructor allows it on the individual basis.

Late assignments

Will not be accepted by the Blackboard

Extra credit

Will be regularly provided by the instructor

Study expectations

An average of ten hours of weekly studying

Online Etiquette
  • Contribute to the course in a meaningful way.
  • Compose course assignments, e-mail messages, and discussion board postings using appropriate tone, language, grammar, and spelling.
  • Avoid cheating, plagiarism, or giving or receiving unauthorized assistance on tests or assignments.

Student Handbook

http://www.dmacc.edu/handbook/welcome.asp

Weather policy

“Individual circumstances such as health, childcare, rural roads, distance from the College, etc. can vary greatly among students and staff.  It is always DMACC’s goal to provide safe learning conditions, as well as provide the opportunity for students to attend classes when the vast majority is able to safely attend.  The final decision to come to College can only be made by the individual student based on their specific extenuating circumstances that may make it unsafe for them to travel.  During adverse weather, DMACC faculty is considerate of students who are unable to attend classes due to unique extenuating circumstances.  It is the responsibility of each faculty member to notify their students (in addition to their dean or provost) through some predetermined means if they are must postpone or cancel a specific class due to weather or illness.”

 

 

 

Academic dishonesty

Refer to the DMACC Student Handbook:

http://www.dmacc.edu/handbook/welcome.asp

DMACC Information Web Sites

DMACC home page

http://www.dmacc.edu/

Instructor home pages

http://www.dmacc.edu/instructors/welcome.asp

Admissions & registration

http://www.dmacc.edu/potienti.asp

Cellular phone use statement

Cell phones must be off during the class time

WebCT

http://webct.dmacc.edu/webct/public/home.pl

Student handbook

http://www.dmacc.edu/handbook/welcome.asp

Add/drop dates

http://www.dmacc.edu/registration/add_drop.asp

Refund policy

http://www.dmacc.edu/refund.asp

Support Services

Accommodations

“It is the policy of DMACC to accommodate students with disabilities.  Any student with a documented disability who requires reasonable accommodation should contact the special needs coordinator at 515-964-6850 voice or 515-964-6810 TTY.”

Services for students with disabilities

http://www.dmacc.edu/student_services/disabilities.asp

 

Contact the special needs coordinator at 515-964-6850 voice or 515-964-6810 TTY or contact the counselor on the Urban campus at 515-697-7727 for an Application for Accommodation.

Academic & educational advising

http://www.dmacc.edu/advising/

Career counseling

http://www.dmacc.edu/counseling/

Library

http://www.dmacc.edu/urban/library.asp

 

Room 122

·         Monday-Thursday: 7:30am to 9:00pm
Friday: 7:30am to 5:00pm
Saturday: 7:30am to 1:00pm

Academic Achievement Center

http://www.dmacc.edu/urban/tutoring.asp

 

Services include academic help, tutoring, GED, testing (Compass), pre-admission courses, high school diploma courses, and several credit classes.

 

515-248-7204 or 1-800-362-2127

 

Room 204/206/208

·         Monday – Thursday 8:30 am to 7:00 pm

·         Friday 8:30 am to 2:30 pm

·         Saturday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm (fall & spring semesters only)

Computer labs

http://www.dmacc.edu/helpdesk/pc_labs.htm 

 

Room 202

·         M-Th 2:30pm-9:30pm

·         Friday 8:30am-2:30pm

·         Sat 8:00am-1pm

Room 218

·         M-Th 8am-9:30pm

·         Friday 8am-4:40pm

·         Sat 8am-Noon

 

ESL lab, Building 1, Room 202

·         M-F 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

Library Research Lab, Urban Library, Building 1**

·         Monday – Thursday 7:30am to 9:30pm

·         Friday 7:30am to 5:00pm

·         Saturday 7:30am to 1:00pm

 

**Please see the Urban Library for special guidelines on the use of this lab

             Disclaimer

“This syllabus is representative of materials that will be covered in this class; it is not a contract between the student and the institution.  It is subject to change without notice.  Any potential exceptions to stated policies and requirements will be addressed on an individual basis, and only for reasons that meet specific requirements.  If you have any problems related to this class, please feel free to discuss them with me.”

             Nondiscrimination Policy

Des Moines Area Community College shall not engage in or allow discrimination covered by law.  This includes harassment based on race, color, national origin, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disability.  Veteran status in educational programs, activities, employment practices, or admission procedures is also included to the extent covered by law.  Individuals who believe they have been discriminated against may file a complaint through the College Discrimination Complaint Procedures.  Complaint forms may be obtained from the DMACC Web site, the Ombudsperson, Judicial Officer, Human Resources Department, the campus Provost's Offices, and Academic Deans’ Offices.

 

Students who wish additional information or assistance may contact the Executive Dean, Student Services, Laurie Wolf, Building 1, 515-964-6437 or the EEO/AA Officer, Dr. Sandy Tryon, Human Resources, Bldg. 1, 515-964-6301 or they may refer to Student Services procedure 4645 located on the DMACC Intranet at http://my.dmacc.edu/procs.aspx.  Go to Policies & Procedures and choose Student Services Procedures. Employees and applicants who wish additional information or assistance may contact the EEO/AA Officer, Dr. Sandy Tryon, Human Resources, Bldg. 1, 515-964-6301 or refer to HR Procedures 3000, 3005, 3010, 3015, and 3020 at http://www.dmacc.edu/hr/hrpp.asp .

 

For requests for accommodations, the Accommodation/Section 504/ADA Coordinator, Sharon Bittner, can be contacted at 515-964-6857.  Students with requests for accommodations should refer to the Student Services procedure 4610 located on the DMACC Intranet at http://my.dmacc.edu/default.aspx .  Go to Policies & Procedures and choose Student Services Procedures.

 

Course Schedule

Week or Date

Assignment

Due Date

Week #1

The Steps of Academic Writing. Paragraph Structure. Appendix A. Chapter 1.

09/13/10

Week #2

Paragraph Structure. Chapter 1.

09/20/10

Week #3

Unity and Coherence. Punctuation Rules. Chapter 2. Appendix B.

09/27/10

Week #4

Unity and Coherence. Chapter 2.

10/04/10

Week #5

Supporting Details: Facts, Quotations, and Statistics. Chapter 3.

10/11/10

Week #6

From Paragraph to Essay. Types of Sentences. Chapters 4 and 10.

10/18/10

Week #7

From Paragraph to an Essay. Chapter 4.

10/25/10

Week #8

Chronological Order: Process Essays. Chapter 5.

11/01/10

Week #9

Cause / Effect essays. Chapter 6.

11/08/10

Week #10

 Comparison/Contrast Essays. Chapter 7.

11/15/10

Week #11

Paraphrase and Summary. Chapter 8.

11/22/10

Week #12

Argumentative Essay. Chapter 9.

11/29/10

Week #13

Argumentative Essay.

12/06/10

Week #14

Using Parallel Structures and Fixing Sentence Problems. Chapter 11.

12/13/10

Week #15

Final Exam

12/14/2010