Syllabus

Course Description

This course teaches basic writing conventions in crafting effective sentences, paragraphs, and short essays. It is recommended for individuals who do not feel prepared for the required English Foundations writing course, FDENG 101. While this course counts as three elective credits, it does NOT fulfill the University Foundations writing requirement.

Course Objectives

In this course you will learn to:

• Think, speak and write critically about meaningful topics that affect your life.
• Discover truth, beauty, and enjoyment through writing;
• Share your thoughts and writings with fellow classmates, thus creating a real sense of audience (and community) while developing interpersonal skills;
• Analyze examples of effective and ineffective writing in order to emulate what works and avoid what doesn't work;
• Understand how audience and purpose guides style, content, and organization in writing;
• Generate a thesis and organize relevant support using rhetorical strategies appropriate for the context;
• Use principles of free-writing, drafting, revision and editing to achieve polished prose;
• Identify and correct common sentence level errors.

Course Architecture

This course will run in fourteen one-week lessons with an Introductory Lesson at the beginning and a Conclusion Lesson at the end. The BYU-Idaho learning model, including Teach One Another activities, are integral to each lesson. There are three main units of study: Writing Effective Sentences and Paragraphs, Writing the Persuasive Essay, and Writing the Personal Essay. There are consistent due dates and accountability reports due each week. Failure to complete assignments and activities by their due date will significantly affect your final grade.

BYU-I online courses are designed with 3-4 hours of activities weekly for each academic credit received. Therefore, you will need to be able to devote at least 9-12 hours each week to this course in order to do well. If you know you will not be able to devote this much time to the class this semester, please consider taking the course at another time when you can make such a commitment.

Teach One Another is a vital part of the BYU-I learning model, and BYU-I online courses are not exempt. Teaching others what you have learned helps you to understand and remember ideas/concepts/insights much better. Additionally, learning to have your views challenged and improved through the perspective of others is an important way to improve. If you will take advantage of the various opportunities within this course to strengthen your ability to write well and increase your understanding of English, you will find the insights and skills you acquire will be useful long after you have finished the course.

Semester overview

Besides the introductory and concluding weeks, the course consists of three units.

Lessons 2-7 (Writing Effective Sentences and Paragraphs) focuses on writing effective sentences and paragraphs to express yourself clearly and concisely. The writing assignments will allow you to practice the writing and grammar skills highlighted in each lesson and demonstrate your understanding of them.

Lessons 8-10 (Writing the Persuasive Essay) focuses on persuasion, but rather than just taking a stand on an issue, you will propose a solution to the problem you are addressing. The culminating assignment for this unit is a 2-3 page persuasive essay paper. An explanatory essay assignment will help you develop this paper.

Lessons 11-13 (Writing the Personal Essay) shifts the focus to writing about personal experiences and beliefs. The culminating assignment for this unit is a 2-3 page personal narrative essay. To practice for this paper, in Unit 1 you will complete two shorter assignments that focus on personal experience.

Assignment Due Dates:

In order to allow students around the world to use the weekend to study while still honoring the Sabbath Day, the end-of-week assignment deadline has been set to Saturday at 11:00 PM Mountain Time (the time zone for BYU-Idaho). Therefore, unless otherwise noted, due dates in this course have been set for Wednesday and Saturday at 11:00 PM Mountain Time, USA. Please refer to the Calendar or Course Schedule to see the exact due dates/times for each assignment. Please be aware that because this course is available to students all over the world, the exact time that assignments are due are dependent upon your timezone.

Each lesson:

• Will open one week early in order to accommodate students who want to get started early.
• Includes the following Due Dates:
  • Wednesday (11:00 PM Mountain Time) - Grammar Lesson Videos, Reading Assignments, Weekly Class Discussion, Paragraph and Essay Development Videos and Writing Assignment (rough draft),
  • Saturday (11:00 PM Mountain Time) - Weekly Class Discussion (subsequent posts), Writing Assignment (final draft), and Weekly Reports
    • Weekly Reports open on Thursday 11:00 PM (Mountain Time) local time of the lesson in which it is due.

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Activities

Grammar Lessons

(Due Wednesday and Saturday at 11:00 PM Mountain Time)

• Grammar Lesson: Each week you will be focusing on a grammar skill used for improving your writing.

• Note: All of the videos in this course are available in transcript form. Links to the transcripts are provided in the assignment and can also be accessed in the Course "Resources" folder.

• Grammar Exercise: These short quizzes will assess your understanding of the grammar lesson each lesson.

Reading and Discussion

(Due Wednesday and Saturday at 11:00 PM Mountain Time)

• Reading Assignments: Each week you will be assigned readings that will lead to a Class Discussion where you can talk about your ideas with your classmates.
• Weekly Class Discussion Board: You will use this Discussion Board to discuss the lesson materials, readings and discussion questions. This will help you build community with your online class as well as develop the skill of appreciating and responding to others" point of view. The purpose is to create a deeper understanding of the concepts, so you apply them to your understanding of basic writing.
• Further Reading (Optional): These optional reading(s) are supplemental and complement the course material you are studying. They will be a powerful enhancement to the class lecture and practice activities. They have been provided to help you extend the reach of your understanding in each individual area.

Paragraph and Essay Development Lessons

(Due Wednesday at 11:00 PM Mountain Time)

• View Presentation on Writing Principle: This activity serves to enhance your understanding of writing concepts you will be learning each week.

Writing Assignment

(Due Wednesday and Saturday at 11:00 PM Mountain Time)

• This assignment will allow you to practice and apply the skills you learn, improve your writing, and sharpen your thinking. As with all good writing, expect to compose more than an initial draft in order to complete this assignment well.

Accountability Reports

(Due Saturday at 11:00 PM Mountain Time)

• Weekly Reports: This short report will allow you to give important feedback about how you are doing in the course and allow you to report the completion of certain assignments.
• Because the report is a summary of what you have done throughout the week, they will not be accessible until later in the week that they are due.

Note:

Some lessons have additional assessment activities such as: Mid-term Feedback, Final, or Course Evaluation.

Preparation and Interaction

This course is designed to engage both your mind and your heart. Thus, it is important to prepare both intellectually and spiritually each week. Consistent personal prayer, scripture study, and attention to your covenants will provide a great support to your academic studies. While this is not a religion course, what you study here will help you to grow spiritually. When you are prepared, the Holy Spirit can provide guidance and direction that will make a great difference in your life.

As you interact with others in various assignments, please remember to be kind, considerate, and respectful of differing viewpoints. You can differ in opinions (sometimes the best learning comes when others challenge your thinking) but still be civil and loving. Respect one another"s opinions and avoid using racist, bigoted, homophobic, sexist, or aggressive language in class discussions, writing assignments, or in reporting problems or concerns. Any violation of basic common courtesy --including interaction with peers, the instructor, or others monitoring the course -- will negatively impact your grade.

Course Accountability

Grammar Lessons

Videos

Exercises

Short Assignments

Writing a Love Letter

Overlooked Beauty

"River Tooth"

"This I Believe" Reflection

Opinion and Response

Critical Thinking Essay

Explanatory Outline

First Draft Persuasive Essay: Problem Solution

Personal Essay Outline

First Draft of Personal Essay

Long Assignments

Persuasive Essay: Problem-Solution

Personal Essay

Accountability Reports

Weekly Report

Plagiarism

Plagiarism or other forms of cheating will not be tolerated. From BYU-Idaho"s Academic Honesty policy statement: "Intentional Plagiarism is the deliberate act of representing the words, ideas, or data of another as one"s own without providing proper attribution to the author through quotation, reference, or footnote." To avoid unintentional plagiarism consult with me on the text in question.

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Class Policies

Prerequisites

None

Final Grade Breakdown

A = 94-100%; A- = 90-93; B+ = 87-89; B = 83-86; B- = 80-82; C+ = 77-79; C = 73-76;

C- = 70-72; D+ = 67-69; D = 63-66; D- = 60-62; F = 0-59

Course Questions/Problems/Concerns

This course has a Course Discussion Board in the Course folder on the left hand menu where you are encouraged to post general course questions/problems/concerns, etc. Using this board will inform other class members, the instructor, and others of the issues you find and allow the proper people to correct them for everyone. Please check this board throughout the semester. If you are experiencing the same problem as another student who has already reported it, you can make an additional post so others know the seriousness of the problem. If you know the answer to a question, you are encouraged to post solutions. Helping to solve your classmates' problems is another way to teach one another. Additionally, your instructor is monitoring this board and will inform you of fixes and solutions here.

Note:

You should only email your instructor directly if the problem is of a personal nature. OR sometimes your instructor has a reason he/she would like to be informed of problems another way. If this is the case, your instructor will explain the change. Otherwise, please use the questions /problems /concerns board as the preferred way to report any problems.

Late Work Policy

Assignments are due on the day indicated. No late work will be accepted without permission from the instructor. Work that is late hampers your ability to fully participate in the course and will be accepted only at your instructor's discretion. Inform your instructor before the assignment is due. Any late work that is accepted is subject to a penalty as determined by your instructor.

Disability Law

In compliance with applicable disability law, qualified students with a disability may be entitled to "reasonable accommodation." It is the student"s responsibility to disclose to the teacher any special need she/he may have as soon as possible as accommodations are not retroactive. "

Disclaimers

The instructor reserves the right to change any part of this syllabus at any time during the semester in order to adapt to changing course needs. You will be notified prior to any changes that may take place.