English Composition I is a three-credit college writing course to prepare students for the fundamental knowledge and skills of college-level expository writing and critical thinking. Areas of focus include idea presentation and organization, audience, point of view, voice and tone, paragraph and essay coherence, precision and word choice, and technology-mediated evaluation of grammar, mechanics, and originality. Students are introduced to strategies for rhetorical writing, writing-as-process and product, and thinking-as-writing. An introduction to argument structure and writing from sources culminates in an academic essay as a comprehensive course assignment.
UNE Online’s science prerequisite courses provide students with a convenient and flexible approach to completing prerequisite requirements. Courses are specifically designed to meet prerequisite requirements for many graduate programs and other professional needs.
On the course start date, students will have access to orientation. This must be completed to be able to gain access to the first module in the course. Students must complete the first module to gain access to the next one. We recommend that students spend about 15 hours per week to complete a course in 16 weeks. When trying to complete the course in less than 16 weeks, we typically see students do this successfully within 12-14 weeks. Instructors will be timely in grading and feedback, but it will not be instant.
Four types of assignments within this course include 1) discussions and writing skills assessments, 2) self-reflective journal entries, 3) writing assignments, and 4) major assignments that culminate into the course comprehensive assignment, the Academic Essay. Assignment types are weighted in the Grade Breakdown below. See the Course Schedule for an itemized list of the weekly course assignments and learning materials.
Discussions and Assessments allow you to define and examine the various concepts related to academic and research writing. You will also reflect on peer posts as you view how others respond to the discussion prompts. Writing skills assessments allow you to rate your writing skills foundation and conduct a post-reflection on initial goals established in Week 1 through an analysis of your improved writing skills foundation in Week 16.
Self-Reflective Journal entries allow you to reflect on the specific new learning gained in each week throughout the course. Self-reflection will allow you to anchor and secure the new knowledge and skills attained and also allows for ongoing improvement of your writing skills knowledge base for future academic writing.
Assignments involve various writing activities and reflection to strengthen your scholarly writing foundation, conduct library research, explore and apply the conventions of academic writing, library research, and argument structure.Major Assignments in the course are scaffolded assignments that allow you to construct the comprehensive course assignment, the Academic Essay. In the Major Assignments, you will craft and refine various sections, drafts, and a final Academic Essay.
Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:
Assignment Category | Grade |
---|---|
Discussions & Assessments | 20% |
Self-Reflection Journal | 20% |
Assignments | 30% |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments | 30% |
Total | 100% |
Grade | Points Grade | Point Average (GPA) |
A | 94 – 100% | 4.00 |
A- | 90 – 93% | 3.75 |
B+ | 87 – 89% | 3.50 |
B | 84 – 86% | 3.00 |
B- | 80 – 83% | 2.75 |
C+ | 77 – 79% | 2.50 |
C | 74 – 76% | 2.00 |
C- | 70 – 73% | 1.75 |
D | 64 – 69% | 1.00 |
F | 00 – 63% | 0.00 |
Week |
Topic |
Readings/Resources |
Assignment Type |
1 |
Writing Skills Pre-Assessment |
Composing Ourselves and Our World Lumen Learning UNC Writing Center Purdue OWL Videos |
Discussions and Assessments |
Prewriting Activity: The Writing Community |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
Writing as Process and Product |
Assignments |
||
2 |
Audience Analysis |
Writing Commons
UNC Writing Center
Purdue OWL
Video Website |
Assignments |
APA Essay Template Preparation |
Assignments |
||
Prewriting Practice |
Assignments |
||
Writing Purpose |
Discussions and Assessments |
||
3 |
Twitter and the Rhetorical Context |
Purdue OWL
Lumen Learning Videos |
Assignments |
The Rhetorical Diagram |
Assignments |
||
Audience, Purpose, and Context |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
4 |
Evaluating Paragraph Cohesion |
Composing Ourselves and Our World Writing Commons Videos |
Assignments |
Evaluation of Unity, Coherence, and Flow |
Assignments |
||
MS Word Proofing Settings |
Assignments |
||
Writing Tools for Revision Refinement |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
5 |
The Turnitin Similarity Score |
Writing Commons UNC Writing Center Purdue OWLVideos |
Assignments |
Academic Voice, Tone, and Style |
Assignments |
||
Academic Identity and Authorship |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
6 |
Academic Essay Topic Generation |
Composing Ourselves and Our World Writing Commons Videos |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
Writing for Idea Presentation |
Discussions and Assessments |
||
Academic Essay Final Topic Selection |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
||
Writing as Thinking |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
7 |
UNE Library Academic Databases |
Composing Ourselves and Our World UNE Library Services Videos |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
Academic Essay Source 1 |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
||
Reference Citations in APA Format |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
||
Library Research and APA Format |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
8 |
Academic Essay Sources 2 and 3 |
Composing Ourselves and Our World Purdue OWL UNC Writing Lab Videos |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
Academic Essay Source 1 Evaluation |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
||
Academic Essay References |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
||
Strategies and Tools for Library Research |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
9 |
Thesis Prewriting Activity |
Composing Ourselves and Our Worlds UNC Writing Center Purdue OWL Videos |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
Draft Thesis Statement |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
||
Source Evaluation for Credibility and Reliability |
Assignments |
||
Writing as an Iterative Process |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
10 |
Selected Source Summary |
Composing Ourselves and Our Worlds Writing Commons UNC Writing Lab Videos |
Assignments |
Summary Originality Assessment |
Assignments |
||
Summary Grammar Check in MS Word |
Assignments |
||
Sources as Evidence |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
11 |
The Essay Thesis Paragraph |
Writing Commons Purdue OWL Videos |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
Argument Structure as Topic Sentence Outline |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
||
Academic Voice, Tone, and Style |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
12 |
The Working Thesis Statement |
Composing ourselves and our world Writing Commons Video |
Discussions and Assessments |
The Argument Map |
Assignments |
||
Prewriting Strategies for Academic Writing |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
13 |
Accuracy and Precision with APA 7th ed. Format |
Composing ourselves and our world UNC Writing Center Video |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
The Academic Writing Process |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
14 |
Second Supporting Argument |
UNC Writing Center Writing Commons Video |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
The Working Thesis Statement |
Discussions and Assessments |
||
Persuasion and Audience |
Self-Reflection Journal |
||
15 |
Academic Essay Full Draft |
Composing ourselves and our world |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
16 |
The Revised Academic Essay |
Composing ourselves and our world UNC Writing Center Writing Commons Video |
Major (Scaffolded) Assignments |
Academic Writing Skills Post-Assessment |
Assignments |
Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you - they will monitor course progression and provide assistance or guidance when needed. Please don’t hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, course materials, billing, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.
Questions? Submit your student support request.
Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It’s a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. If sharing isn’t your thing, Togetherall has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. You can join Togetherall using your UNE email address.
Check Brightspace for specific instructor and support specialist contact information.
The Student Lounge Discussion Forum is a designated support forum in which students may engage with each other and grapple with course content. Feel free to post questions, seek clarification, and support each other, but be mindful of UNE's Academic Integrity Policy.
Your instructor will monitor this forum. However, if you are seeking specific and timely answers to questions about course content or your personal grades, please contact your instructor via course messages. For questions about course materials, program policy, and how to navigate and proceed through the course, please contact your Student Service Advisor through the Student Portal.
Your course may have proctored exams. Please see your course for full details, access, testing requirements, and guidelines.
Students must follow all proctoring requirements for their exams to be credited. Please contact your instructor for specific feedback.
Students will receive two attempts at all proctored examinations. The higher score of the two attempts will be calculated into the final grade.
All students are encouraged to use a second attempt on their exams in order to improve their overall performance in the course.
Discussion topics cover events or materials related to this course that contribute to a deeper understanding of key concepts and allow you to interact with your classmates and the instructor. Each discussion topic may require you to conduct internet research, read additional materials, visit a specific webpage, AND/OR view a short video before writing a response following the specific guidelines in the discussion topic prompt.
To earn full credit you will need to post a response to the discussion topic, respond to the original posts of other students, and then contribute meaningfully to an ongoing discussion. You may need to post your initial response before you will see any posts from your classmates. For special cases where one or two students are accelerating faster through the course, the instructor will participate in the discussion so that everyone has the opportunity to interact.
Please see Brightspace for a full description, along with specific guidelines, for each discussion topic. Discussion board assignments should be completed, along with all other assignments in the course, in the order that they appear. Due to the course design, you may be unable to take a proctored exam if you do not complete all assignments that appear prior to that exam.
Please also refer to the Grading Policy/Grade Breakdown section of the syllabus to learn the percentage of your grade that each discussion is worth.
Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Programs: Technical Requirements
A schedule of lectures and assignments is included in this syllabus. This is, however a self-paced course and you can complete the course in less time.
Please visit the enrollment page to review the withdrawal and refund policies.
Students are expected to attempt and complete all graded assignments and proctored exams by the end date of the course. View the incomplete grade policy..
Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, only the student may request official transcripts. This may be done online by going to the University of New England Registrar website and following the directions on the page.
The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:
Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.
Generative AI (GenAI) applications (like ChatGPT) have proven to be powerful and effective tools, and students are encouraged to become familiar with and use them. However, as with any tool, students must use GenAI in ways that support learning, not replace it. Learning to use AI responsibly and ethically is an important skill in today’s society.
In their courses, students are not allowed to use advanced automated tools, such as generative AI tools, on assignments unless explicitly directed to do so. Each student is expected to complete each assignment, including labs and quizzes as applicable, without substantive assistance from others, including automated tools.
Using AI-content generators to complete assignments without proper attribution violates academic integrity. By submitting assignments in UNE courses, you pledge to affirm that they are your own work and you attribute use of any and all tools and sources.
Unauthorized use of AI is treated as a violation of academic integrity.
If permitted, students should indicate and cite any use of AI tools.
Instructors should clearly reiterate, using UNE Online’s Policy, how students can use AI tools in their courses, and communicate this policy to students at the beginning of the semester.
Students must follow the academic integrity policy of the University of New England.