UNM-VALENCIA CAMPUS

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT

 
 
 

 Information about the Valencia Campus Composition Program

Composition Courses--English 010, English 100, English 101, and English 102.

Developmental Studies--English 010 and English 100 are non-credit developmental courses.  Grading options in these courses are A B CR and NC. A grade of CR or higher is required for most financial aid and for movement into the next course in the composition sequence.

Freshman Composition--English 101 and 102 are college-credit composition courses. Grading options in these courses are A B C D F (fractionated). A grade of C or higher is required for transfer credit and/or movement to the next course in the sequence.

• For more information about UNM's Freshman English Program and the university's writing proficiency requirements, please see UNM's Language and Literature website: http://www.unm.edu/~english/freshman/handbook/

 
• For more information about Valencia's Developmental English program, please see the resources located within our new Developmental Studies website: http://www.unm.edu/~engdept/DSResourcepage.html

 

 

• For specific information about UNM-Valencia's Composition courses, please see http://www.unm.edu/~engdept/engdept00.html

• For information from UNM about placement in English classes and general guidelines for creating a schedule, please see "Important Stuff" in UNM's New Student Web Guide:

• For helpful resources to supplement your composition classes, please see the resources available from the Academic Studies homepage

Before enrolling in English courses at UNM-Valencia, students who do not have ACT scores are required to take the COMPASS test and advised to register on the basis of their scores. The department considers these scores prerequisites for courses and requires instructors to drop students who are improperly placed in their classes. The placement scores for composition classes are as follows:

Prerequisites and Advancement through Writing Courses

According to UNM policy, students may only enroll in one course within the composition sequence per semester. In order to enroll, the student must have satisfactorily completed the previous course (or placement requirements). These requirements are considered to be prerequisites for each course. NOTE: A student who has not met the prerequisite will be promptly dropped from the course by the instructor.

• English 010: a degree-seeking student must have a GED and an appropriate placement score.
• English 100: a student must have earned a grade of CR (Credit) or higher in English 010 or have an appropriate placement score.
• English 101: a student must have earned a grade of CR (Credit) in English 100 or have an appropriate placement score.
• English 102: a student must have earned a grade of C or higher in English 101 (not C-minus) or have the appropriate placement score. NOTE: According to the current UNM catalog, students may no longer enroll in English 102 if they earned a C-minus in 101.

Placement Based on the Introductory Essay and Instructor Recommendation

Students are assigned an in-class introductory essay (often called a Diagnostic Essay) during the first week of classes. After evaluating the introductory essay, the instructor may strongly advise a student to transfer to a higher-level or a lower-level writing class. Even though these recommendations are not mandatory, students are urged to comply in order to have the best opportunity for success in the program.
 
 

Placement of Concurrent Enrollment Students

Concurrent enrollment students (students who are attending high school) may enroll in English 101 if they have an adequate ACT or COMPASS score. Concurrent enrollment students may enroll in English 102 only if they have an adequate ACT score or have passed English 101 with a C or higher.

Concurrent Enrollment Credit

Concurrent enrollment students may receive high school credit for English 101 or English 102 if they receive a D, but they may not continue to the next higher course in the sequence at UNM-Valencia or satisfy the English requirement at UNM for transfer.

English as Second Language (ESL) Courses

Syllabus

Instructors are required to distribute a clearly defined course syllabus during the first week of classes. Each syllabus should clearly state program requirements, such as course goals and objectives, required texts, writing requirements and/or portfolio requirements, exam information, as well as the instructor's office hours, work phone number, email address, grading practices, and attendance policies.

Course Outline

Instructors are also encouraged to provide their students with a course outline-a weekly schedule of assignments and due dates-so that UNM-Valencia's students can arrange their work and family schedules effectively around their course work.

Grading Standards

Grading

The following descriptions provide an overview of the differences in A, B, C, D, and F papers:

"A"
This paper demonstrates a compelling, original, and thoughtful thesis which is supported by accurate details, examples, and explanations. The paper is easy to follow because it is clearly organized and has transitional markers. In addition, precise and lively word choices are combined into balanced, clear sentences. There are very few, if any, deviations from standard usage, grammar, and mechanics.

"B"
This paper is also strong in the evaluation criteria, but it is weaker than the 'A' paper in the quality of the thesis, the diction, or the sentence variety. It has few, if any, errors in usage, grammar, and mechanics.

"C"

This paper is an adequate, solid essay; it is clearly organized around a thesis but may not as fully developed as an 'A' or 'B' essay. Typically, expression is clear and sentences are correct. There may be errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics, but they are not profuse.

"D"

This is a failing essay. Usually no thesis or organizational pattern is evident, or the thesis or development is too general to be effective. Sentence-level problems, incorrect word choices, or serious punctuation, usage, spelling, or mechanics errors lower the grade.

"F"

This paper is unacceptable. It is off the topic, plagiarized or unintelligible.
 

 Complaints about Grades

Before a student can lodge a complaint about a course grade, he or she must pick up the portfolio in the Academic office and study the evaluation provided by the instructor.  From this point, the steps outlined in the Valencia Campus Catalog under the heading "Grade Petition Procedure" must be followed. Please see http://www. unm.edu/~vclasses/proginfo.htm#Grade Petition Procedure

Instructor Grade Changes

Instructors who have made a mistake in grading or who are assigning a grade after a student has completed an Incomplete need to make the grade change on the bright green "Instructor Grade Change" form available in the Registrar's Office.

Attendance

Regular attendance is obviously important to a student's success in the class. A student who misses a full week of class without an explanation may be dropped by the instructor. All instructors should have a clearly stated attendance policy in their course syllabus.

Withdrawals

If the student drops the course after the 6th week, the instructor assigns a grade of WP or WF. After the 12th week, students need the approval of the Dean of Instruction but may drop a course right up to the last day of instruction before taking the final exam. NOTE: Students are responsible for completing the paperwork for the drop process in order to avoid a grade of NC or F at the end of the course. Students should notify the Registrar's Office if they plan to drop a class. They should either see the Registrar in person right away or call 925-8581 for information. Students should not simply disappear!
 

Incompletes

If a student has attended the course regularly and has satisfactorily completed all prior written work, he or she may be given an Incomplete for the following reasons: inability to finish the last two or three weeks of the semester or inability to take the final exam as scheduled.

Students are responsible for making up the incomplete in a timely fashion in order to avoid receiving a NC or F in the course. Registered students must complete the incomplete by the end of the following semester. Non- registered students have a total of three semesters to complete the work. It is the student's responsibility to meet with the instructor, complete the missing assignments, and turn them in to the instructor. The instructor then completes the "Removal of Incomplete" form (available in the Registrar's Office) and assigns a final grade for the course.

Portfolos and Final Exams

Final exams and writing portfolios are required in all UNM-Valencia composition courses.  After final grades have been posted, students are responsible for picking up their portfolios in the Academic Office.  The portfolios will include final exams, teachers' evaluation sheets, and explanations of grading procedures.  The Academic office stores all portfolios for one semester only.
 
 

CATALOG DESCRIPTION

A precollege grammar, language skills, and writing course. Emphasis is placed on writing and revising paragraphs, as well as on reviewing basic parts of speech, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, usage, sentence structure, and paragraph development. The course is intended for students whose placement test scores indicate a need for intensive study of language fundamentals. Credit does not count towards degree. Corequisite ENGL 010L (lab) and Acad 100.

COURSE OVERVIEW

The course should strive to help students become familiar with writing fluently as well as to help them acquire and apply needed skills. Grammar and skills should be evenly integrated with writing. Revision should play a large role in the writing process.

DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES LAB FOR ENGLISH 010

Each three-credit developmental-level course at Valencia Campus is accompanied by a required one-credit hour lab offered on an ARR basis. To receive credit or a grade in the English 010 lab, students must complete lab assignments given to them by their instructors. These assignments are intended to supplement classroom instruction by incorporating out-of-class tasks, such as computer-assisted revision of essays, library assignments and projects, working with a tutor in the SEC, and attending workshops or study groups at the SEC. The Developmental Studies Lab in the SEC is equipped with software to supplement Valencia Campus's developmental classes and employs a full-time instructional technician to provide academic and technical assistance. In addition, the Developmental Studies Lab Classroom at the SEC is designed to allow developmental classes to meet several times each semester in a lab setting.

Students with access to computers at home may use them to complete lab assignments; otherwise, they should be directed to use the Developmental Studies lab in the SEC. The SEC provides lab orientations and maintains an attendance log. All developmental studies teachers are compensated for assigning and grading lab assignments as well as for assigning a lab grade at the end of the course.
 

Lab assignments for English 010 might include

• word-processing (student essays, brief paragraphs, answers to questions)
• revision of essays (saved to disk)
• e-mail (responses to readings, brief paragraphs, discussions with each other)
• internet exploration for research and writing tasks; use of specific Websites for on-line writing help or topics of interest
• Skills software (Electronic Handbook, ALLWRITE! or Langan Sentence Skills) for individualized skills drill.
• Other-SEC workshops and study groups could also be assigned as lab assignments, as well as library tours, library projects, and basic library research.

• Sentence boundaries-fragments, run ons
• Comma Usage-series, introductory, coordinating conjunction commas
• Subject-Verb Agreement-especially with indefinite pronouns
• Pronoun Usage-pronoun case, some agreement, some reference
• Spelling-key rules
• Usage-some commonly confused words

Students will create a portfolio with a minimum of five student-selected, fully revised paragraphs/essays (with rough drafts attached). Paragraphs should be at least 150-200 words long (with approximately ten sentences).
 

CORE FINAL EXAM: Two Parts

1. Final Skills Test-core skills test written by English 010 teachers. Test covers skills areas mentioned above.
2. Final Essay Exam-extended paragraph or essay written during exam week. Exams are exchange-graded or panel-graded with other 010 instructors. Final Exams are evaluated in terms of the following criteria:

By the end of the semester, students' writing should reveal that they are able to

• Organize and develop a unified paragraph with a clear topic sentence, body, and conclusion
• Use basic expository patterns of development in their paragraphs, such as narrative, description, contrast, or sequenced steps
• Use transitional markers
• Use details and explanations for sentence and paragraph development
• Use a variety of sentence patterns
• Avoid sentence fragments and run-on sentences
• Use basic punctuation marks, such as commas and end punctuation
• Avoid basic verb tense, agreement, pronoun agreement, and usage errors
• Avoid severe problems with point of view, diction, usage, and tone
• Avoid severe spelling errors and illegible or incoherent presentation

• Inability to express or develop ideas
• Incoherence
• Excessive fragments, run-ons, or mixed constructions
• Non-idiomatic or excessively informal usage
• Severe spelling/usage/grammar errors

NOTE: A student who passes English 010 must re-take the placement test and receive an appropriate score in order to be placed in English 101 rather than English 100. No matter how well they do in English 010, most students are not successful in English 101 if they skip English 100.
 
 

CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Developmental writing course providing concentrated practice writing and revising basic essays, as well as intensive study of grammar, punctuation, and usage. For students who score 128 or below on the SAT or whose placement test scores indicate a need for additional study of writing and language fundamentals. Credit does not count toward a degree. Corequisite ENGL 100L and Acad 101.
 
 

COURSE OVERVIEW

English 100 is designed to help students prepare for college-level writing. It combines basic skills such as grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure with strategies for creating basic essays. Using a process approach to writing instruction, the course helps students develop fluency and makes use of computer-assisted revision to help students learn and incorporate needed skills.
 

DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES LAB
Each three-credit developmental-level course at Valencia Campus is accompanied by a required one-credit hour lab offered on an ARR basis. To receive credit or a grade in the English 100 lab, students must complete lab assignments given to them by their instructors. These assignments are intended to supplement classroom instruction by incorporating out-of-class tasks, such as computer-assisted revision of essays, library assignments and projects, working with a tutor in the SEC, and attending workshops or study groups at the SEC. The Developmental Studies Lab in the SEC is equipped with software to supplement Valencia Campus's developmental classes and employs a full-time instructional technician to provide academic and technical assistance. In addition, the Developmental Studies Lab Classroom at the SEC is designed to allow developmental classes to meet several times each semester in a lab setting.

Students earn credit for the lab primarily by completing lab assignments as directed by their instructors. Students with access to computers at home may use them; otherwise, they should be directed to use the Developmental Studies lab in the SEC. The SEC provides lab orientations and maintains an attendance log. All developmental studies teachers are compensated for assigning and grading lab assignments as well as for assigning a lab grade at the end of the course.

Some specific lab assignments for English 100 might include

• word-processing (student essays, brief paragraphs, answers to questions)
• revision of essays (saved to disk)
• e-mail (responses to readings, brief paragraphs, discussions with other students)
• Internet exploration for various research and writing tasks; use of specific Websites for on-line writing help or topics of interest
• Skills software (Electronic Handbook, ALLWRITE! or Langan Sentence Skills) for individualized skills review.
• Other--SEC workshops and study groups

REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS

• Portfolios--Each English 100 student will prepare a portfolio consisting of a minimum of four fully revised, word-processed essays (done in the SEC lab or on a home computer) in final-draft form. The essays may be revised several times, and all of the rough drafts and revisions of each essay should be attached to each final draft. The essays should reflect a variety of organizational structures--description, process, definition, example, illustration, cause and effect, comparison/contrast, classification/division, argument, etc.
• See English 100 Assessment Information for Students
• Panel Grading--Students whose final essay exams (see below) are satisfactory will have their portfolios graded by their instructor, but if the student's final essay exam is borderline or failing, the portfolios will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis by the English 100 grading panel. Students must ultimately receive a grade of "pass" from the panel in order to pass the course.
• See English 100 Portfolio Review Sheet
• Final Exam-- In addition to submitting portfolios, English 100 students are required to pass a two-part final exam consisting of a short essay exam and a core skills exam:

• are coherently organized by means of a recognizable structure, held together by a focus, a thesis, or an overall expository pattern of development
• use separate paragraphs logically for separate ideas
• develop paragraphs sufficiently with details, personal experience, or explanations
• reveal sound sentences--avoiding fragments, run on sentences, comma splices, and mixed constructions
• use parallel structure, adequate diction, and appropriate tone
• use basic marks of punctuation adequately: coordinating conjunction commas, commas after introductory elements, apostrophes, periods, and end marks.
• include basically correct word usage and grammar skills

MAINREASONS FOR FAILING THE FINAL EXAM OR COURSE

• lack of coherence
• poorly expressed or confused ideas
• poor organization and development of ideas
• one-paragraph essays or one-sentence paragraphs
• overly-informal, inappropriate, or confusing word usage, tone, or style
• weak sentence structure: fragments, run on sentences, comma splices, excessive choppiness
• severe problems with point of view
• severe spelling/usage/punctuation/grammar errors

 

ENGLISH 101--EXPOSITORY WRITING

COURSE OVERVIEW
This course focuses upon exposition and serves as an introduction to academic writing with an emphasis upon various writing purposes--summarizing, observing, remembering, explaining, classifying, investigating, evaluating, problem solving, and arguing. Students are encouraged to read for basic content and structure, and their essays should relate to their reading. In addition to expository writing itself, emphasis is upon basic elements of academic writing-grasp of subject matter, coherence of essay structure, transitions to connect ideas, textual support (including quoting and citing), maturity of reasoning, college-level sentence structure, diction, usage, and punctuation. More emphasis is placed upon strategies for writing, revision of writing, and preparing for writing than reading and discussing a multitude of reading selections.
 

REQUIRED TEXTS

• organize a discussion into an appropriate structure for an academic writing purpose
• construct a thesis statement to focus the discussion
• create developed, coherent paragraphs that relate to the thesis and to each other
• use appropriate transitions to connect ideas and to introduce paragraphs
• use appropriate tone and diction for the subject matter, as well mature reasoning for the discussion
• use effectively varied sentence structures
• use appropriate punctuation--commas for dependent clauses and for parenthetical expressions; semicolons with transitions; end punctuation, apostrophes, colons.
• avoid confusing problems with point of view and with basic grammatical constructions
• present an academic paper adequately: legible handwriting, correct use of margins, front side of page, skipped lines, general proofreading
• do basic research in order to provide several sources for a paper; these sources should be selected appropriately, cited responsibly, and documented accurately
• revise beyond the surface level of editing

 

• lack of focus or thesis
• inability to organize the discussion adequately in response to the question or purpose
• unsophisticated, imprecise, underdeveloped expression
• inability to construct developed paragraphs
• inadequate grasp of basic ideas in reading selections
• incoherence
• inadequate writing skills--diction, grammar, usage, spelling, sentence structure, punctuation

• two fully-revised essays with all rough drafts attached;
• one unrevised in-class essay (separate from the final exam);
• one revised multi-source investigation paper with a "works cited" page;
• one panel-graded essay exam (see below).

FINAL EXAM
On exam day, students will write an organized expository essay in response to topics that have been written by 101 instructors. Students are required to use Blue Books. The exam is panel-graded by 101 instructors and counts 20% of the student's grade, as indicated in the teacher's syllabus. (See English 101 grading matrix.)

GRADING
Students may earn a course grade of A B C D F (fractionated). Students may pass the course with a C (not a C-minus) and enroll in 102.

 
 

ENGLISH 102--ANALYTIC AND ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING

COURSE OVERVIEW
Critical reading is an essential component of this text-based course, leading to writing that is analytical, interpretive, evaluative, persuasive, and/or reflective. The course has two main goals: 1) to build upon and extend the reading, writing, and thinking skills students learned in English 101 and 2) to develop independent critical thinking in response to the text, expressed with appropriate style and voice in coherent, organized, adequately supported, persuasive writing. Research is incorporated in order to extend the scope of the writer's content, to call upon varied sources of support for an argument, and to synthesize ideas from a number of sources.

REQUIRED TEXTS

• Discern, select, explain, and respond to the main ideas in a reading selection
• Navigate between an author's ideas and the writer's own opinion
• Exhibit independent critical thinking in their writing
• Create essays that are well organized, fully developed, coherent, and persuasive
• Restate and incorporate textual material coherently and accurately without plagiarizing
• Produce essays that exhibit not only logic and competent writing skills but a degree of voice and style
• Respond to literature with perception and an awareness of its conventions

REASONS FOR FAILING THE PORTFOLIO OR THE COURSE

• Misreading or inadequate grasp of the main ideas in a reading selection
• Lack of critical thinking-apparent in overgeneralized, unexamined, illogical, or unsupported ideas
• Inadequate, confusing, or excessively simplified ideas, content, and/or expression
• Writing that is structurally confusing, incoherent, or lacking a clear thesis, focus, or organization
• Lack of reasonable, logical, and convincing support and/or development of ideas
• Plagiarism
• Poorly chosen, poorly presented, or poorly interpreted examples from the text or outside sources
• Overuse of quotation leading to an inadequate presentation of the writer's own argument
• Inadequate writing skills-diction, expression, grammar, spelling, sentence structure, punctuation-causing distraction, confusion, or dismissal of the writer
• Excessively poor overall presentation
• See English 102 Assessment Information for Students

WRITING REQUIREMENTS
Students are required to write a minimum of five graded essays. Three papers are to be included in an assessment portfolio (see below).

Assessment portfolio:

EVALUATION OF PORTFOLIOS AND ESSAY EXAMS

The Assessment Portfolio is panel-graded, pass/fail. Portfolios are evaluated by the following criteria:

• Thesis or focus
• Organization and Coherence
• Development
• Textual Support
• Critical Thinking
• Content
• Expression
• Originality
• Grammar and Punctuation
• Editing
• See Portfolio Assessment Matrix for English 102

Students will write a first-draft essay under time constraint (2 and 1/2 hours), using a Blue Book (available at the campus bookstore). Once the exam is written, the student will place the essay exam in his or her portfolio and submit the complete portfolio to the panel for evaluation.
 
 

GRADES
Students may earn a course grade of A B C D F (fractionated). Although some students may technically complete the course with a C-, it will not be accepted by UNM. Most students will need a minimum of C in English 102 in order to complete an Associate's Degree and/or to transfer to a four-year college.
 
 
 
 

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