ENGL-101/ENGL-C1000 - English Composition/Academic Reading and Writing - Ann O'Bryan
| Course: | English Composition/Academic Reading and Writing |
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| Professor: | Ann O'Bryan |
| Email: | ann.obryan@canyons.edu |
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| Course Length: |
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Introduction
Greetings!
My name is Ann O'Bryan and I look forward to teaching English 101 this semester. I look forward to getting to know each of my students through writing assignments, questions, struggles, and successes.
A little about me:
I have been teaching English at the college level since 2012. My career began at California State University, Northridge as a MA student. While working toward my degree, I taught Composition classes, much like this one, under the direction of a professor with decades of valuable experience. Once I graduated, in 2014, I began teaching at the community college and university level. I have taught a mixture of online, hybrid, remote, and face-to-face classes.
Course Description
According to the COC course catalog, English 101 "Builds critical reading and expository writing skills through the analysis and evaluation of college-level texts and the composition of well-organized, full-length essays containing properly documented evidence."
What to Expect in this Course
In my course, you will write four essays. You will engage with your classmates on discussion boards and in essay reflections. You will work with online or in person tutors to help you revise your essays. The textbook, Understanding Rhetoric, is necessary to complete many of the discussion posts. I include PowerPoints and lecture videos to assist you with the concepts you will be quizzed on.
Your essay assignments will be based on one of the two nonfiction books offered in this course. Your first essay will be a rhetorical analysis. The second essay will be an evaluative analysis. The third essay will be research-based. The final essay will be a portfolio, where you revise a previous essay and include a reflection. Each of the essay assignments include essay revision reflections and tutor meetings.
Types of Assessments
There are 1,000 points available in this course the following are your assignments for the semester:
A = 90-100%
B = 80-89%
C = 70-79%
D = 60-69%
F = 0-59%
10 Discussion Posts 185 points
3 Course Policy Quizzes 15 points
5 Reading Quizzes 50 points
3 Essay Outlines 75 points
Rhetorical Analysis Essay 100 points
Evaluative Essay 100 points
Research Essay 150 points
3 Essay Drafts 75 points
3 Tutoring sessions and reflections 75 points
1 Timed Essay 75 points
1 Final Portfolio 100 points
TOTAL 1,000 points
5 Discussion Posts (18.5% of your final grade): Discussion posts will be submitted through Canvas, and accessible to every member of the class. The instructions will vary from issues presented in the recommended text, textbook, and topics you will use in your research essay. You will be required to post an original post, responding to the prompt (30 points for each post). Then, you will be required to respond to one classmate (10 points for each response) on the discussion board.
5 Reading Quizzes (5% of your final grade): The quizzes will be based on the textbook, Understanding Rhetoric. You will have one hour to complete each quiz. You will have two attempts to take each quiz.
3 Essay Outlines (7/5% of your final grade): You will submit a n outline for each of the three essay assignments.
3 Formal Essays (35% of your final grade): Essays will be 4-7 pages in length and based upon prompts posted on Canvas. Essay 1 will be a 4-5 page Rhetorical Analysis (10%), Essay 2 will be a 4-5 page Evaluative (10%), and Essay 3 will be a 5-7 page Research-based Argument (15%).
3 Essay Drafts (7.5% of your final grade): Drafts will be submitted through Canvas. The instructions will vary from issues presented in the nonfiction texts and topics you will use in your research essay.
3 Tutoring Sessions and Reflections (7.5% of your final grade): You will meet with a tutor through the online tutoring options on Canvas to go over revision strategies, then write a one-page, double-spaced reflection.
Timed Essay (7.5% of your final grade): You will write an essay on Canvas, through a “quiz” assignment. You will have 90 minutes to write the essay. The prompt will be provided when you begin the quiz. You may complete this at any point during the semester.
Final Portfolio (10% of your final grade): You will revise your first or second essay by adding 1-2 pages and one additional source and write a 1-2 page reflection, bringing it to 6-8 pages total.
Textbook Information
Required textbook: Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing, 3rd Edition ISBN: 978-1319244996)
Choose ONE of these nonfiction texts:
- In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
- Grit, by Angela Lee Duckworth
Other Relevant Course Information
Late Work Policy
I accept late work only in accordance with COC's policy.
4233.1 Definitions:
D. Absences
2) Excused absence-an absence caused by documented extenuating circumstances.
E. Extenuating circumstances- verified cases of accidents, illness, and other circumstances beyond the control of the student. A student must have documentation to prove an extenuating circumstance.
To be as fair as possible while not overextending myself too much, I provide a grace period for all assignments. You can submit the work up to the Sunday after the day that it is due and it will be accepted (aside from the first discussion and the assignments due during the last week of class), with no point penalty. However, after that Sunday, the assignment will lock and you will not be able to submit it. Additionally, I offer extra credit assignments to make up for some of the points.
If you have a verified and documented circumstance, email me the documentation and I will re-open the assignment for you, specifically, as long you email me promptly and the documentation aligns with COC's policy.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy
COC Statement on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
Approved by Academic Senate in May, 2010
Statement on Academic Integrity at College of the Canyons
Students are expected to do their own work as assigned. At College of the Canyons, we believe that academic integrity and honesty are some of the most important qualities college students need to develop and maintain. To facilitate a culture of academic integrity, College of the Canyons has defined plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Due process procedures have been established when plagiarism or academic dishonesty is suspected.
At COC, we define plagiarism as follows: Plagiarism is the submission of someone else’s work or ideas as one’s own, without adequate attribution. When a student submits work for a class assignment that includes the words, ideas or data of others, without acknowledging the source of the information through complete, accurate, and specific references, plagiarism is involved. This may include dual submissions of a similar work for credit for more than one class, without the current instructor’s knowledge and approval.
To be specific, below are some of the situations that will be considered plagiarism at COC:
- Use information from any source, online or in print, in one’s own writing without acknowledging the source in the content and in the reference page of the assignment;
- Simply list the sources in the reference page, without parenthetical citations in the body of the essay;
- Take more than one printed line of words consecutively from the source without putting quotation marks around them, even though the student has put the author’s name in the parentheses or in the reference page;
- Turn in work done for other classes, regardless how big or small the assignment may be, without the current instructor’s approval—this is considered “self-plagiarism,” which is a form of academic dishonesty; or,
- Turn in work by another student, even by accident.
In addition, COC has strict rules against using electronic devices during exams without the instructor’s approval. To be specific, absolutely no cell phones or any electronic devices can be on the desk or in sight during test or exam without the instructor’s approval. The presence of electronic devices in sight during exams may be considered as intention to cheat and will be processed as a form of academic dishonesty.
Cases of alleged academic dishonesty, such as plagiarism or cheating, will be referred to the Dean of Student Services for investigation. See your syllabus for course specific policies, rules, and guidelines on plagiarism and academic dishonesty.
All rough and final drafts will be screened through Turnitin. You will need to submit these assignments twice due to Canvas issues (I cannot use a rubric and Turnitin in the same assignment). If you do not submit your rough and final drafts in both the Turnitin assignment and the graded assignment, you will not receive credit.
Assignment Instructions and Submissions Policy
Assignment Instructions:
It is your responsibility to carefully read all assignment instructions and rubrics attached to the assignments. If you do not follow the instructions on the assignments, you will not receive full credit. This includes word count, formatting, and content. Email me at least two days (M-F) before it is due if you have any questions.
Discussion Assignments:
You will have an original post that corresponds to the due date on Canvas. You will have a classmate response due the following day or the following Monday if the original post is due on a Friday or Saturday. Due dates for original posts and responses are listed in the Canvas headers within each module.
Discussions #2, 3, and 4 require you to join a book group before posting. If you do not join a book group, and post to the main board instead, you will not receive credit.
Essay Assignments:
Each essay includes an outline, rough draft, TLC visit and reflection, a Turnitin submission, and final draft. Carefully read the assignment instructions and rubrics, including formatting and length requirement. "Four full pages" means to the bottom of the fourth page, not including the works cited page. If you do not meet the length requirement on any of the essay drafts (rough and final), they will not be accepted. This means you will receive a zero on the assignment. TLC visits can be completed in person or online. Plan ahead to ensure you meet with a tutor before the assignment is due. Sometimes, you will have to wait in line to meet with a tutor. You must include a screenshot of your virtual visit or notes from your in-person tutoring visit.
Turnitin Submissions:
All rough drafts, final drafts, and extra credit essays need to be submitted to the graded assignment link AND to a separate (ungraded) Turnitin link. If you do not submit your essays to both the Turnitin assignment link AND the graded assignment link, you will not receive credit.
Assignment Submissions:
The late work policy includes confirming that the assignment you submitted is correct. If you upload a blank page, the wrong file, or anything other than the actual assignment, you will not receive credit. See above for information about the Turnitin submissions. Additionally, if I am unable to open the file you submit, you will not be able to resubmit it after the assignment locks. To avoid this, ensure that the file you submitted is correct and visible by clicking "submission details" as shown at the end of the video linked in the instructions below:
Read and review "How do I upload a file as an assignment submission in Canvas?"
Email & Office Hours Policy
I encourage everyone to join the GroupMe chat designated each section of English 101 that I teach.
- I will provide an invite link in our Canvas course.
- I will usually check it in the mornings, M-F.
- Feel free to respond to your classmate's questions and concerns throughout the day, create your own groups, etc.
All private email communications need to occur through the Canvas inbox.
- DO NOT email me at my ann.obryan@canyons.edu account! My inbox gets bombarded with a multitude of campus-wide emails and it is very easy to overlook student emails.
- Avoid emailing me privately through GroupMe. I have overlooked private messages in past semesters becuase I don't see an obvious email notification when I log in.
Office hours will be held on Zoom and need to be scheduled 48 hours in advance.
- If you are more than five minutes late, it will count as a no-show. If you have two no-shows, I will not schedule another office hour appointment with you.
P.S. I strongly encourage you to subscribe to the Canvas announcements that I will send throughout the week. There is important information in these announcements regarding assignments, deadlines, and submission requirements.
Follow this link for more information.
Additional Resources
Canvas
This course can be accessed on the first day of class via Canvas at https://coc.instructure.com. Log into Canvas using your CanyonsID single sign-on:
- CanyonsID Username is your COC student email address (Ex: username@my.canyons.edu)
- CanyonsID Password is your COC student email password
Please visit the Get to Know Your Online Classroom page for help logging into Canvas and for tips on using Canvas and Zoom. Canvas Chat Support is also available 24/7 for any Canvas related issues.
Online Education
Check out the Online Education website for more information on a variety of topics that can help you be a successful online student such as: exam proctoring, learning styles, computer skills, and tips for student success. If this is your first online course, feel free to take our online learning readiness assessment to assess your skills.
The Learning Center (TLC)
The TLC provides FREE online tutoring resources to COC students!
Academic Accommodation Center (AAC)
College of the Canyons AAC provides educational services and access for eligible students with documented disabilities who intend to pursue coursework at COC. A variety of programs and services are available which afford eligible students with disabilities the opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of the college programs and activities through appropriate and reasonable accommodations. For more information on their services visit the Academic Accomodation Center website.
Online Counseling
The Counseling Department offers appointments online. You can schedule an appointment by visiting the Online Counseling website. Counselors can help you map out a plan to reach your educational goals as well as advise you on course selection and registration.
Management of Stress and Mental Health
Often the pressure on our students is very strong, involving academic commitments, relationships, outside jobs and family pressure to name a few. The staff and faculty of College of the Canyons are here to see you succeed academically and care about your emotional and physical health. You can learn more about the broad range of confidential student services, including counseling and mental health services available on campus by visiting the Student Health & Wellness Center in the Student Services Building (across from the bookstore). The phone number is 661-362-3259 that you can call 24/7. You can also e mail for an appointment at StudentHealthCenter@canyons.edu. At the Canyon Country Campus the Health Center will be in the new Student Services Building.
Also, the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline number is now 988. All students at COC are encouraged to enter that phone number in their cells. You can call it when you, or someone you know, is having thoughts of suicide or is in severe distress.
You can also now use the Crisis Text Line: Just text "Courage" to 741741. Someone will get back to you immediately. Its free, 24/7, and confidential.
Veterans Resource Center
The College of the Canyons Veterans Resource Center is a department within the Student Services Division at the college, created to help veterans and veteran dependents with applying to College of the Canyons, enrolling in classes, and requesting VA Education or Vocational Benefits. For more information please visit the Veterans Resource Center website, email veterans@canyons.edu or phone (661) 362-3469.
Library
The Library provides live online and in-person research help, access to a full range of e-resources and physical materials that support the curriculum, individual and group study areas, and much more!
Last updated: 06/09/2025 Sub#: 961 Sub ID: 106256