English Composition 1

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Orientation: Assignments

The Course Outline and Policies page provides an overview of the assignments in the course.

Units

All assignments in the course are organized into units. Typically, a unit covers about a three week period. In general, the first four units, excluding the Orientation and Introductions assignments, will include the following:

a reading assignment
a short multiple-choice quiz
an exercise (usually covering grammar, punctuation, or stylistic matters)
a discussion assignment in WebBoard (usually requiring the posting of at least a few messages over a period of a week or so)
a rough draft of an essay for peer critique
two written critiques of other students' essay drafts
a revised draft of an essay (of at least 700 words)

One unit, late in the semester, will focus on the revision of two of the earlier assigned essays, which will be submitted as the two required final revision, and the final unit will cover the final exam.

Assignment units are linked on the Assignments page. The next unit will be linked as we get near the end of the current unit.

It's important that you check the Assignments pages frequently, at least every few days, to keep up on assignments.

Course Work

Essays
The main assignments in the course are the essays. There are a total of seven essays to write, including final revisions of two essays submitted earlier in the semester. You will write and submit four essays throughout the semester and will then revise and resubmit two of those essays near the end of the semester. As we will discuss, the final revisions generally require significant work. There is also a diagnostic essay near the beginning of the course that is evaluated but not graded. The diagnostic essay is a way for you to receive feedback on your writing at the beginning of the semester without having to worry about the grade. The minimum length for each essay is 700 words (about two and a half double-spaced pages). Each essay is analytical and persuasive. The essay assignments include an analysis of a short story and a persuasive essay with documented sources on a controversial issue.

Each of the first two essays counts as 10% of the final grade, and Essays 3 and 4 count as 15% each. Each of the two final revisions count as 10% of the final course grade. This means that 70% of the final course grades depends on the essays. Each essay is submitted as a rough draft that is critiqued by other students in the class and is then resubmitted for a grade as a revised draft.
Miscellaneous Assignments
Miscellaneous assignments make up 20% of the final course grade and include short quizzes over reading assignments, short exercises on various aspects of writing, discussion assignments in WebBoard, and peer critiques of essays.
Final Exam
The course includes a final exam that counts as 10% of the final course grade. The final exam covers the same kind of material presented on short exercises that are given throughout the semester. Before the final exam, we will have a final exam pre-test that allows you to get a good idea of what to expect on the final exam.

Interaction and Discussion

The discussion assignments and other interactive assignments in WebBoard help make this course more than an independent study course or a correspondence course. Students are often pleased with the level of interaction in this course and report that they get to know other students in this online course better than they usually get to know other students in on-campus courses.

It's important that you take advantage of the interactive nature of this course by completing all discussion assignments and by posting plenty of messages in WebBoard. Doing so should help you succeed in the course and can also make taking the course a more pleasant and fulfilling experience.

Due Dates