Composition Introduction
| Site: | Cowichan Valley School District - Moodle |
| Course: | ELA10 - Composition (2 credit), CSS, Seipp |
| Book: | Composition Introduction |
| Printed by: | Guest user |
| Date: | Wednesday, 6 November 2024, 9:18 AM |
Summary
Composition 10 is designed for students who have an interest in developing their skills in written communication in a variety of contexts.
The course provides students with opportunities to think critically as they explore, extend, and refine their writing. Within a supportive community of writers, students will work individually and collaboratively to explore and create coherent, purposeful compositions. They will develop their craft through processes of drafting, reflecting, and revising to build a body of work that demonstrates breadth, depth, and evidence of writing for a range of situations. The course provides opportunities for diverse learners to be supported in developing and refining their writing abilities.
Possible Areas of Focus
The following are possible areas of focus within Composition 10:
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- narrative, expository, descriptive, persuasive, and opinion pieces
- planning, drafting, and editing processes
- writing for specific audiences and specific disciplines
- how to cite sources, consider the credibility of evidence, and evaluate the quality and reliability of the source
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BIG IDEAS
What students are expected to understand...
- The exploration of text and story deepens our understanding of diverse, complex ideas about identity, others, and the world.
- People understand text differently depending on their worldviews and perspectives.
- Texts are socially, culturally, geographically, and historically constructed.
- Language shapes ideas and influences others.
- Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens.
Assessment
This 2-credit course will be broken down as follows:
Each unit of work is 22% of the overall grade:
The final unit of work is the novel study which is worth 10% of the overall grade.
The final exam is worth 2% of the overall grade.
Submitting Assignments
- Click the assignment link.
- Click Add submission.
- If you are adding ONLINE TEXT, type or copy/paste your assignment in the editing box.
- If you are UPLOADING a FILE(S), drag the file from your computer into the box under File Submissions OR
- Click Add
- Browse (to find the file on your computer) and
- Upload this file.
- Make sure you click Save changes at the end.
*Please save your files using your last name and the title of the assignment.
eg. Brown Family Journal
Plagiarism
1. Definition of Plagiarism
When you make research your own, your writing will sound like you. That is exactly what you want. But what you don’t want is to mislead people into thinking that all these ideas are your own. If you do, you may be guilty of plagiarism - the act of presenting someone else’s ideas as your own.
- In word-for-word plagiarism, a researcher repeats the exact words of a source without giving the necessary credit.
- Paraphrase plagiarism occurs when a researcher says basically the same thing as an original source with just a few words changed.
- In spot plagiarism, a researcher uses only a source’s key words or phrases as his or her own without giving credit.
You owe it to your sources, your readers, and yourself to give credit for the ideas you use, unless the ideas are widely accepted as “common knowledge.” Information is considered common knowledge if most people already know it, or if it can be found in nearly any basic reference book on the subject. (The fact that there are 365 days in the year is common knowledge; the fact that it rained 210 days in Seattle during 1990 is not.) (Sebranek, Meyer and Kemper 179)
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What is citation?
“Citation” refers to the process of precisely documenting evidence gathered from various sources. These sources are usually print-based, but they may also take other forms, such as an oral interview, a video, or a painting.
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When to Cite?
Students MUST document where they found their evidence. This does not mean that you have to document every sentence in your essay or assignment, but you must document the following:
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direct quotations
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paraphrased information
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information that is not “common knowledge” or that could not be found in a standard reference book.
For example, the fact that the North-West rebellion took place in 1885 is a standard piece of information and need not be cited. But information that does not seem to be standard-- i.e., that the rebellion was a conspiracy engineered by the Tories—does need to be documented if found in a reference because it is not common knowledge and is not your own idea.
Advice for Success: Top 10 List
After years of teaching online English courses, I have compiled a top ten list for success in the course... here goes...
#1: Communication. Read the messages your teacher sends. Email or message back right away when you have questions. Don't get stuck.
#2: Read the assignment details AND the criteria in the rubric before submitting your work.
#3: Use the provided graphic organizers to brainstorm and organize your work. No one writes a perfect first draft.
#4: Proofread and then edit AGAIN before you submit your work.
#5: Start your novel study (the final section) right away. Do NOT leave this till the last minute.
#6: Collaborate with friends either online or face-to-face. Ask for advice.
#7: Use the material in the course to help you. Click on the hyperlinks. They are there for you.
#8: Develop a plan for completion. Everybody needs deadlines.
#9: Did I say start your novel study right away? I can't really emphasize that more.
#10: Communicate!! Seriously, ask lots of questions. If you want to do a different type of assignment or question, you only need ask. Choice is an important part of English Language Arts 10.