Welcome to English 102
Visit Parkland's Online Learning site for helpful tips and links to other resources for online students.
Welcome to English 102, Research Report Writing on the Web. In many respects, this course will be similar to one you would take in a traditional classroom. I'll provide a set of writing assignments, give you tips on how to develop the skills you need to complete them, and evaluate your work. You'll read a textbook, do research, write papers and communicate with me about how you can improve your writing.
The big difference here is the medium used to accomplish all of this. Since all of our interaction -- even the most casual -- will be through electronic communication, we all have to be ready to make adjustments in the ways we've taught and learned in the past. I'm convinced that this course is taught just as effectively, if not more so, in the Web environment as in the traditional classroom.
Be aware, though, that in either setting, I cannot teach you how to write. I can only help you learn, and what you get out of this experience depends almost wholly on what you put into it, which brings us to . . .
By enrolling in this course, you've already demonstrated your willingness to challenge yourself and try something new. For many of you, that may require a drastic change in the way you normally approach your college coursework.
Most important, this course requires you to develop great self-discipline and motivate yourself to do the assigned work. I won't be able to nag you in person about papers and deadlines, so you must make a personal commitment to keep up on your own.
This is not a correspondence course where you just send in papers. It's a semester that will call on you to take the initiative in seeking out learning materials, applying the principles to your writing, and interacting with me and other students. Here are some ideas you should be thinking about if you want to take full advantage of this course and meet all the deadlines:
1. First, online courses aren't for everyone. If you don't think of yourself as a "self-starter", if you know you can't trust yourself to keep up with the readings on your own, if you aren't sure you'll have enough time to participate in the interactive elements of the course ... then you should consider enrolling in an on-campus section. If you have any doubts or questions, visit Parkland's Online Learning page.
2. Don't underestimate the amount of time you'll need to spend in front of a computer. Plan to consult the course web site and log into your Angel account at least twice a week, and be ready to spend a good deal of time studying all the materials available to you there. The course also requires you to interact with other students and evaluate their papers, and these activities will require additional time and effort.
3. You should be willing to work on correcting your writing problems before you turn in a paper, not after. Based on comments from your previous instructors, you may already know what areas of writing cause you the most problems. Don't wait for me to remind you of them when I send comments back with a completed paper. If you know you have difficulty with paragraph topic sentences, or your writing style is too wordy, or you're unclear on the rules for using semi-colons, you should get to work now on fixing the problem. Crack open the textbook and study the rules and tips, do the exercises, consult the Writing Tools files and links on this site, bring samples of your writing to the Parkland Writing Center, ask friends and family members for help.
4. The most critical element in your success in this course is the need to CAREFULLY read ALL the directions for each assignment. There are no shortcuts here. To succeed in this course, you must read the textbook, consult ALL the linked files, and pay special attention to the tips I post in Angel. Print everything out and STUDY the materials before you begin and while you're working on each paper. Did I say that strongly enough? If there's anything on the web site or in the assignment instructions that you don't understand, email me for clarification after you've read and studied all the materials.
If you're ready for a learning experience that can be challenging, stimulating -- and perhaps even fun -- then read on for some encouragement.
First, you do not have to be a writing or computer genius to succeed in this course. Your enthusiasm, persistence and punctuality are more important than your knowledge of computer operations, and you'll pick up technical skills as you go.
So what else does this course offer you? Besides earning college credit, you'll become more familiar with working on the Internet, which is a critical workplace skill. You'll write with the knowledge that your papers will be read by many, which is the best kind of practice. And you can do all this without being obligated to show up at any particular place or time. If you have adequate computer and Internet connections, you can do it all at home, at any hour that suits your personal clock.
You'll enjoy the greatest rewards from this course if you approach it as an opportunity to develop skills you'll be using for the rest of your life. You'll learn something by just reading the textbook and writing the papers, but this course and the Web have much more to offer. Make it your personal project to use this semester as a "crash course" in improving your writing and general communication skills. Invest some time in exploring the sites linked on the Writing Tools page. If you think you have "just enough" sources to research your paper, go back to the Web and look for more. Read the unassigned chapters and try the exercises in the textbook to correct your writing weaknesses. Communicate with me and ask questions.
I would have paid triple tuition for a course like this if it had existed in the long-ago decade when I was in college. Remind yourself of how fortunate you are to have this type of educational experience available, and make a commitment now to take full advantage of all it has to offer.
How to begin
Here's a quick overview of the main resources on this site and how you can use the materials.
Start by consulting the Syllabus, which gives an overview of course requirements, types of assignments, grading and general class policies. Read these carefully, since it is your responsibility to know and comply with the requirements of this course.
Assignments is a calendar with links to details on all the paper assignments, textbook readings and due dates. Consult this page often.
Writing Tools includes links to online dictionaries and "how-to" files that will help you document sources and correct some common writing problems.
Research Tools offers links to online references, article databases, libraries and other web sites that may be good starting points for your research.
Computer Use explains how the course materials are organized and how to format and send messages and files through Angel.
When you're ready to begin your first paper, go to Assignments, where you will find the reading assignment and a link to details on Paper One. Links to future assignments will be posted here on the date the previous paper is due.