• Attendance/Engagement Policies
• Class Environs policies
• Explanations of synchronous and asynchronous meetings
• Statements of Support
• Grade Breakdowns
• Journal Entries/Weekly Responses
• Revision Policies
• Assignments Sequences
• Miscellaneous 

1.     Attendance/Engagement Policies: 

Cristy Bruns, ENG 102:

Engagement Policy (formerly Attendance Policy) Since our distance learning class is mostly asynchronous, taking attendance doesn’t apply in the usual way. Instead I will keep track of your engagement with the class. Completing the regular low-stakes assignments, showing up for class discussions, or interacting with me by email or in Zoom discussions all count as your engagement in the course. Lack of engagement will affect your course grade because of missed or late assignments.

Dominique Zino, ENG101:

Will absences affect my grade in this class?

I will take Web Attendance weekly: you will be marked “online” if you attended a Zoom class, an office hour, and/or completed required work for that week. Being marked “online” every week, however, may not be enough to earn a high grade in the course. In an online course, attendance means engagement. Consistent class engagement and submitting work in accordance with weekly deadlines is required if you intend to earn a high passing grade. Every student will have consistent opportunities to participate in a variety of activities each week (e.g. class discussion on Zoom based on the week’s readings, quizzes, essays, and posting writing to your ePortfolio), all of which count as engagement and contribute to your grade in the course.

*For more guidance on your attendance/engagement policy during distance learning, please consult the Spring 2021 Faculty Guidelines.*

2.     Class Environs policies:

Sample from Paul Fess, ENG 101:

Online Environment and Interactions 

I want everyone to have a good experience in this class. Be respectful of each other’s differences, and help me foster a class environment where everyone feels empowered to learn. If something in this class makes you uncomfortable, please let me know. I will do my best to remedy the situation. 

3.     Explaining Synchronous/Asynchronous

Belkis González, ENG101

Format for our class

We will be using Google Classroom for our class. You received instructions on joining our Classroom site via email. On Google Classroom, you will find your readings, assignment guidelines, and links to upload your assignments. Our class will be a mix of synchronous (meeting at the same time) and asynchronous (working online at your own pace). Our class “meets” twice a week: Mondays and Wednesdays.

Monday will be our asynchronous day. Usually, I will post a short video to Classroom that day with an overview of our work for that week. Most of the time, this is also the day that your major assignments will be due (since you have from Wednesday to Monday to complete them).

Wednesday is our synchronous day. We will use the application Zoom to meet online every Wednesday (some of these are individual conferences, not a class meeting). The Wednesday Zooms are also a great time to ask questions about the assignments due the following week (which you can see in our Course Calendar).

4. Statements of Support:

Belkis Gonzalez, ENG 101:

Statement of Support for All Students 

As an educator, I stand together with all members of our LaGuardia community. It is very important to me that every single student feel welcome, and feel that their entire self belongs in our class. We will discuss difficult topics this semester, and this rigorous intellectual inquiry often involves passionately disagreeing with views expressed in our assigned readings and/or by classmates. That disagreement is valued and important, and it must always be respectful. LaGuardia is strongly committed to ensuring that all students feel supported and respected in all our classes. Please click ​here for LaGuardia’s official Declaration of Pluralism.​

I will respect the confidentiality of students wishing to speak with me regarding any uncertainties or concerns they are facing in our class or in the current climate. I also urge students to take advantage of LaGuardia’s many supportive services. Please see Classroom for links to resources on and off campus. 

Bethany Holmstrom, From FAQs ENG 102 Syllabus:

What should I do if my “life stuff” is interfering with my “college stuff”?

Any student who is having trouble affording the basics, lacks a stable place to live, and/or is experiencing other issues that they think may affect their performance in the course, is urged to contact Student Services for support. LaGuardia Cares provides a variety of services such as financial support, tax help, and legal counseling for immigration, among other needs, along with a food pantry. You can contact them here: 

https://www.laguardia.edu/cares/.

LaGuardia is also offering help for students who need a laptop, and there are many internet/cell phone providers who are running deals or offering free access to students during this time. Check out this page for resources, and for borrowing a laptop or iPad for the semester: https://www.laguardia.edu/coronavirus/student-resources/. 

What do you mean when you called this an “inclusive” classroom?

Every student in this classroom, regardless of personal history or identity categories, is a valued member of this group. Your experiences are valuable and important, and you should feel free to share them as they become relevant to our class. No student in this class is ever expected or believed to speak for all members of a group. In this classroom you have the right to determine your own identity. You have the right to be called by whatever name you wish, and for that name to be pronounced correctly. You have the right to be referred to by whatever pronouns you wish. You have the right to adjust those things at any point in your education. If you find that there are aspects of course instruction, subject matter, or classroom environment that result in barriers to your inclusion, please contact me privately without fear of reprisal. 

5.     Grade breakdown:

Tara Coleman, ENA 101:

Formal Writing Assignments:

In Paper #1, you will write a narrative essay of at least 600 words in which you describe your experiences with either spoken language or learning to read and write. You will connect or contrast your experiences with at least one published literacy narrative.

In Paper #2, you will write an opinion article of at least 800 words relating to how LaGuardia can better support your learning. To back up your claims in the article, you will use quotes from a published opinion article we have read in class and other evidence you gather on your own.

In Paper #3, you will write a research-based essay of at least 1000 words about the impact of the Green New Deal on your life. The class will read several articles about this proposal and then you will identify a narrow focus within the broad topic. You will support your essay with at least three secondary sources.

For the final essay, you will write a reflection of at least 600 words in which you will analyze two poems to show how you can apply what you learned in English 101 to your writing in English 102.

Your papers will be graded according to a rubric which will be discussed and distributed along with each assignment. All papers must follow the formatting and length requirements, and they must address the assignment prompt. You are always welcome to discuss any questions about the assignments or grading policies with me. 

Rochell Isaac, ENG 102:

1. REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION OF STUDENTS 

Students receive letter grades, A through F, based on their writing and course work including their research project. A minimum of three formal papers of varying lengths (between 600 and 2000 words) is required. Two or more of the three critical essays will be research papers designed to help you process and analyze the readings and should be four to five pages in length or 1,500 words. The remaining less formal writing assignments are “low-stakes” assignments designed to help prepare you for the larger more formal essays. These assignments are critical since they can help you earn better grades on your formal papers. Please also note that once during the semester, you will help lead a class discussion on one of our course readings. Review Presentation Handout in the course pack. 

Your writings will make use of summary, paraphrase, and quotation as well as analysis and argument. Your papers, both in-class essays and take-home research essays, will be graded according to a rubric, which will be discussed and distributed along with each assignment. All papers must follow the formatting and length requirements, and they must address the associated prompt. Assignments must be submitted typed, double-spaced, and in MLA format. All papers must be submitted via Blackboard; please do not email papers. 

To a very large extent, success in this class depends on completing writing assignments on time. For every day that an assignment is officially late, the grade it receives will be lowered by one third of a grade (a B+ becomes a B, a C becomes a C-, and so forth). Additionally, late papers may not be rewritten for re- evaluation. 

Revised Drafts: All first drafts with a failing grade must be re-written. All essays may be revised and re-submitted for a better grade. However, it must comply with the revision guidelines and show substantial revision (See handout). When submitting a corrected essay, students must also resubmit all previous drafts. Remember essays must be submitted on due dates.

In sum, the final grade will be based on the following: 

Your final grade in the class will be calculated and recorded based on the following Grading Scale: 

You can view your grades using the grade button in the course navigation links. Please check your grades regularly to make certain that I have received all your assignments. If you have a question about a grade, email me directly. Please do not post your personal concerns in a discussion forum. 

6. Journal Entries/Weekly Responses:

Rochell Isaac, ENG 102: 

WEEKLY RESPONSES/LOW STAKES ACTIVITIES: Every week, you are to respond to one of the assigned readings. That response can be a paragraph summing up the most significant themes and ideas in the text and reflecting on the presentations. There will be a prompt for you to respond to. You are also to comment on the presentation handout or PowerPoint and or the post of another student. Be sure to do this as it serves as your attendance. These brief reflections are all due by 10am on Mondays before class. 

Lauren Navarro, ENG 101:

Journal Entries:

Journal entries will be completed online via Blackboard. Journal entries will usually be connected to a lesson video and the readings for the week. You should watch these before doing the journal entries since I often provide instructions at the end. The grading rubric for journal entries is attached at the end of the syllabus. All of the journal entries will be linked from the Blackboard “Content” page. There will be ten journal entries worth ten points each, for a total of 100 points.

Possible 9 points, plus you get one point for submitting the journal=10 points

Grading Criteria	Excellent -3	Acceptable-2	Minimal-1	Unacceptable-0
Content	Response to assigned topic thorough and well written, with varied sentence structure and vocabulary; opinions always supported with facts.	Response thoughtful and fairly well written; most opinions supported with facts	Response adequately addresses some aspects of the assigned topic; opinions sometimes based on incorrect information.	Response consists of unsupported opinions only marginally related to the topic.
Idea Development	Excellent use of examples and details to explore and develop ideas and opinions.	Good reliance upon examples and details to illustrate and develop ideas and opinions.	Incomplete development of ideas; details and examples not always evident.	Ideas not clearly stated or developed.
Mechanics	Flawless spelling and punctuation.	Few or no spelling errors; some minor punctuation mistakes.	Several spelling and punctuation errors.	Many instances of incorrect spelling and punctuation.

7.     Revision Policies:

From Paul Fess, ENG 101: 

Revision Policy: 

Students are allowed to revise their first two at-home papers for an improved grade, if they follow these rules: 1) students must have turned in the first and final drafts on time. 2) students wishing to revise their papers must meet with me and present a revision plan. (This will be a detailed, written course of action to address the comments I gave you on your graded essay.) 3) students must turn in the revised paper within TWO WEEKs of getting the first grade.

Tara Coleman, ENA 101:

8.     Assignment Sequences:

Cristy Bruns, ENG 102: 

A 4-Stage Written Inquiry Assignment:

Song of Solomon will be the focus for a 4-stage assignment this semester. This series of assignments is designed so that you go beyond the quick, superficial reading of the novel to see what studying a literary text can offer. This work, along with the work your classmates do, will serve as evidence about the effort reading literature requires which will use to help you create your own answer to our course question: Is reading literature worth the effort?

1)  Literary Analysis Essay: Identifying and Exploring a Literary Question (600 – 1200 words/ 2 – 4 pages) After working on reading and noticing elements of the novel, you will identify a question about this text that seems both puzzling and important for understanding the text, and you’ll analyze some of the novel’s elements that you consider key to begin answering your question. Then you’ll write an essay in which you attempt to answer your question, drawing evidence for your answer or answers from the novel itself. In this way, your essay should start building an interpretation of the novel based on your analysis, making the text more meaningful. Use no outside sources for this essay, only the novel itself.

2)  Annotated Bibliography: Gathering and Evaluating Experts’ Evidence (2-4 pages)

After finishing your Literary Analysis Essay, you will do some research and reading about Song of Solomon, or about its author Toni Morrison, its historical context, or how it was received. You’re looking for evidence from experts’ contributions to help you better make sense of the novel. You’ll select 3 or 4 published sources that you find helpful to read more thoroughly, and then prepare an annotated bibliography that includes for each source: the citation information for the source in MLA format; and a paragraph on what each source says (a 2-3 sentence summary), what in the source was helpful or persuasive (or not), and how it has influenced your thinking about the novel.

3) Detailed Outline (about 2 pages)

Before the research paper is due, you will turn in an outline consisting of the claim and main sections of your research paper, including the main idea of each section and the quotes or evidence supporting each main idea.

4) Research Paper: Making a Case for Your Conclusions (1200 – 1500 words/4 – 5 pages)

Bringing together some of your close reading of Song of Solomon and the research you’ve done, you will write a research paper in which you develop an interpretation or a way of understanding the novel, supporting your viewpoint with evidence from at least two published secondary sources as well as evidence from the literary text itself. This paper could be a more fully developed version of your Literary Analysis essay, this time using secondary sources as support. Or it could focus on a new question regarding Song of Solomon.

Final Essay: Is reading literature worth the effort? ( about 600 words/2 pages)           

Drawing on everything we’ve done this semester, including our class discussions and your classmates’ work posted on our ePortfolio, you will develop your own answer to our course questions, planning and writing an essay that pulls together what you learned this semester. Your essay should include specific evidence or examples from our work on Song of Solomon and other literary texts we read this semester. 

9.     Miscellaneous:

FAQ section from Belkis Gonzalez, ENG 101:

Frequently Asked Questions 

(I will add to this as questions come up.) 

1. When and how does our class meet? 

See “Format for our class” on page 2. 

2. What if I can’t make it to the Zoom meeting(s)? 

I understand that you have many responsibilities and that schedules can be unpredictable. Just email me so we can discuss your situation and come up with a solution. Attendance in the Zoom meetings is not an absolute requirement for succeeding in this course.

3. What do I need to get for this class? 

See “Required materials” on page 3. 

4. How do I know what’s due each week? 

Review the Course Calendar in Classroom. Note that it is subject to change, but the version in Classroom is the most up-to-date. 

5. How do I submit my work? 

All assignments will be submitted through Google Classroom. In addition, you will submit your four formal essays to the plagiarism checker platform TurnItIn.com. You will receive all the information you need to do this. 

6. How will my grade be calculated? 

See “Grading” on page 3 for the breakdown of the final course grade. In addition, in Classroom you can find a grading rubric that shows you how each of the 4 essay assignments are graded. 

7. Do we have exams in this class? 

Nope. Your major assignments are all essays. 

8. How can I do well in this course? 

• Check the Course Calendar frequently to make sure you understand what is due each week. 
• Read assignment guidelines carefully and make sure you fulfill all the requirements. If anything is not clear, email me right away. 
• If you are not able to make a deadline, email me right away. 
• Read all the reading assignments more than once. Once is not enough to understand it fully enough to write a thoughtful essay on it. 
• Review the Sample Student Essays carefully. These are models of successful essays for our class. 
• Use the Writing Center. It is a wonderful FREE resource for you! 
• Use ​The Little Seagull (​ our course book) as a resource. It has tons of information that can help you do well not only in our course, but in other college courses too (including in other disciplines). There is a brief Table of Contents in the front cover and a detailed Table of Contents in the back. 
• Use the grading rubric: when you get your graded essays back, be sure to carefully look over the grading rubric and see in what categories (thesis statements, use of source texts, structure/organization, etc.) you are having problems and review those skills using materials I already assigned or on your own (for example, in T​he Little Seagull​). 

9. How can I contact you? 

The best way to reach me is to email me at prof.gonzalez.laguardia@gmail.com​. I will try my best to respond within 24 hours (if not sooner) Monday-Friday. Over the weekend, it may take longer. Please be polite and respectful in your messages to me (as well as toyourclassmates).Forguidelines,clickh​ ere​foragreat“Netiquette” (internet etiquette) resource from LaGuardia. 

10. Do you have office hours? 

Yes! I will be online every Monday 10-11. The Zoom link is in Classroom. You don’t have to make an appointment; just join the Zoom. You do not have to stay the entire hour — join when you wish, and leave when you wish. Use this time for extra discussion about readings or assignments, or for any concerns you might have about how the semester is going for you in our class or other classes. 

11. Are you available at times other than your office hour? 

Yes! You may email me to request a one-on-one appointment at a time that works for you. The best email for me is prof.gonzalez.laguardia@gmail.com​. 

12. Can I borrow a computer from CUNY? 

Laptops may be available. Click h​ere ​for more information. If you can’t reach anyone, email me. 

13. I have a financial emergency. Can LaGuardia help? 

LaGuardia may be able to help. Click ​here​ and then click on “Financial Support” on the right. 

14. I have a lot on my mind and could use trained support. 

LaGuardia has free, confidential counseling available by phone or video to all students. Click here​ for The Wellness Center.