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College Writing Improvement Syllabus

ENG 100-D

College Writing Improvement – Fall 2026

Department of English and Foreign Languages

3 Credit Hours / Prerequisite: Placement

Catalog Description

This course focuses on fundamentals of grammatical form and compositional structure in order to improve writing skills required for college-level papers. This course is graded S/U; a grade of U requires that the course be repeated until the student achieves an S. It does not satisfy the Core composition requirement and is not open to students with credit in ENG 101 or 102.

Student Learning Outcomes

English 100 might be subtitled “The skillful writer.” This course is for students who need additional practice to succeed in Composition I and II in writing fluently and effectively. Upon completion of the course, students will:

Course Content

To accomplish this, students will work on a variety of specific skills:

Academic Integrity Policy

Students are expected to abide by the academic integrity standards outlined in the official Academic Integrity policy. This policy document can be found in the student handbook and on the Office of Records and Registration website: https://catalog.ashland.edu/pol/undergraduate/ugacadaff#class-coursework-and-academic-integrity-policy.

Other Forms of Academic Misconduct: Examples include using computing resources in a manner that violates university academic integrity policies. Submission of AI-generated content as one’s original work is a violation of the Ashland University Academic Integrity Policy. Do not use artificial intelligence programs to write your papers.

University regulations require the instructor to report all cases of fabrication and plagiarism to the Registrar. You should note that two violations of the Academic Integrity Policy, even if they are in courses in different departments, might well result in your suspension from the University.

Student Accessibility Services Statement

Our Accent on the Individual core value speaks to our commitment to offering equitable access to learning, and Ashland University is required, by law, to provide reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities. For students connected with the Student Accessibility Center (SAC), a Letter of Accommodation may be created and sent to professors, which informs faculty of potential course access and accommodations that might be necessary and reasonable. Students who are registered with the SAC and receive accommodations should notify me as soon as possible to avoid any delays in implementing those accommodations. Accommodations are not provided retroactively. Determining reasonable access and accommodations requires consideration of the course design, course learning objectives and the individual academic and course barriers experienced by the student. Students who are not already registered but may be eligible due to a documented disability should visit the SAC (930 Claremont Avenue) to discuss accommodations. The SAC determines accommodations on an individualized basis through an interactive process, including a meeting with the student and a review of their disability documentation. More information can be found on the SAC web page, by emailing au-sac@ashland.edu, or by contacting the Director at 419-289-5904.

Required Course Materials

This course does not have a textbook; all reading material is available on Blackboard.

A laptop, while generally useful, is not something you will need to bring to class, but you should make plans to get access to a computer. Public computers are available in several locations around campus as well as in the Writing Lab.

Every time you come to class, you should bring:

Student Assessment Criteria

Major papers for this course will be graded holistically. Holistic grading is an attempt to move beyond a “counting errors” approach to writing; it is an attempt to deal with a piece of writing the way real-world readers would respond. Essentially, the question is “Did this piece of writing work?”

Here is what this means for our course:

  1. Holistic grading means that a paper with great spelling and grammar, but poor content is not really a good paper. Neither is a paper with great content but poor spelling and grammar. Holistic grading also means that fixing a comma or two is not likely to change the grade very much.
  2. Failing grades: The “F” is usually reserved for papers which, for one reason or another, just do not succeed. Perhaps the paper is nowhere near the assignment or perhaps it simply cannot communicate its point at all due to confusing grammar or logic. A paper which fails due to plagiarism receives a zero with no option to revise.
  3. Effort is impossible to grade. Some people do an excellent job of writing with little effort, while others struggle for every word. Effort cannot be graded; only results can be graded.

For a paper to receive a passing grade in English 100, it must be satisfactory in organization and development, sentence structure and word use, and mechanics and grammar. A paper that is not satisfactory in all four areas of concern will not receive a passing grade.

Passing English 100

Evaluation: For a paper to receive a passing grade in English 100, it must be satisfactory in organization and development, sentence structure and word use, and mechanics and grammar. A paper that is not satisfactory in all four areas of concern will not receive a passing grade.

Final Grading: Grading for the semester is S/U (Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory). To receive an “S,” students must have the equivalent of a C– or better average for the semester on written work.

Individual paper grades will be calculated using the tables below (which are university standards). The S or U grade will be the result of these percentages. On the plus side, if you are carrying a B average, there is no point in panicking. That’s a solid “Satisfactory.”

Grading Policies

Course Assignments
Essay #1 ("Hello") 25 Points
Essay #2 (My Writing Journey) 75 Points
Essay #3 (Cause of Plagiarism) 75 Points
Essay #4 (Benefits of Going Analog) 100 Points
Essay #5 (Looking Back on Your Semester) 100 Points
Midterm In-Class Essay 50 Points
Qualifying Essay 50 Points
Attendance 25 Points
Quizzes, short assignments 25 Points
Total 525 Points

 

Assignment Grading Scale (%)
A = 100 B = 84 C = 74 D = 64
A– = 91 B– = 81 C– = 71 D– = 61
B+ = 88 C+ = 78 D+ = 68 F = 50*

*Papers which receive a failing grade because of plagiarism receive a zero with no opportunity for revision.

The “Course Grading Scale” below reflects a range for the course as a whole. Thus, if your overall average is between 83% and 85.9%, you can expect to receive a “B” for the course.

Course Grading Scale (%)
A = 93-100 B = 83-85.9 C = 73-75.9 D = 63-65.9
A– = 90-92.9 B– = 80-82.9 C– = 70-72.9 D– = 60-62.9
B+ = 86-89.9 C+ = 76-79.9 D+ = 66-69.9 F = below 60

Submitting Papers

To facilitate English Department evaluations, we are asking you to upload your essays as electronic copies to the Blackboard drop box. If the only copy available for grading is blank or otherwise unreadable, you will get a zero for the assignment. If you submit a copy that cannot be read, you will be notified and given a chance to load a readable copy, but there is no way a grade can be assigned to a blank page or a page of gibberish.

Blackboard does best with Microsoft Word DOCX files. All the major word processors can make these, though it usually requires one extra easy step. Please submit all your essays in this format.

Revisions

You may rewrite two of your first three major essays and submit them for an improved grade. Here are the rules:

  1. Papers that received a C (74%) or better will not be regraded.
  2. You will submit the original paper with its grade sheet along with the revised paper and a memo discussing the changes you made and the reasons for the changes.

Note that simply typing in corrections suggested by the instructor (punctuation, spelling, etc.) will not generally result in an improved grade.

Late Work Policy

Each assignment has a due date on the assignment’s web page.

Incompletes

The Incomplete is a temporary grade given to a student who has completed most of the course and has a passing grade but is unable to complete the course for major reasons beyond his/her control (such as a serious medical problem). The Incomplete is not intended for students who simply did not get around to doing all the work during the semester. The University academic calendar lists the final deadline for making up Incompletes each semester.

Grade Appeals

Composition students with any questions or concerns about their class should first contact their instructor directly. Any questions that are not addressed can be sent to the Director of Composition, Dr. Maura Grady mgrady3@ashland.edu.

Attendance Policy

Your primary job is “student,” and you are expected to take that job seriously. You are expected to show up at the beginning of class, participate, and stay until the end of class. You get three (3) “personal day” absences during the semester which do not count against you.

You will lose attendance credit for:

Excused absences: You must ask me personally (not by e-mail) for an excused absence. The distinction between excused and unexcused absences is at the discretion of the instructor, but you would be wise to document requests for excused absences (note from your doctor, for example).

Athletes and others who are absent on University business: When your participation in scheduled University events conflicts with class, you receive an excused absence. Here are the rules:

Additional Information

Academic Support Services

The Undergraduate Center for Academic Support is designed to be a central location for students with resources like professional academic advising and peer tutoring. The staff emphasizes social, personal, and academic success, and advisors assist students with degree planning, course registration, campus resources, academic success strategies, and understanding of University policies and procedures. The Center for Academic Support is on the seventh floor of the library. For more information, visit their website at https://www.ashland.edu/academic-support.

AU Tutoring and Learning Services at NO Cost for All Students

The Tutoring Programs Department provides peer tutoring in any of the undergraduate courses and the Academic Skills (time management, study skills, note taking and test- taking strategies).

We offer one-on-one, drop-in, group study and Peer Led Team Learning in-person or virtually. You may contact Denisia Stoops at dstoops@ashland.edu or 419.207.6779. For more information, please check out the AU Tutoring website.

The Writing and Communication Center (WCC)

Location: Library 1st Floor — Website: https://www.ashland.edu/writing-and-communication-center — Phone: 419-289-5145

The Writing and Communication Center (WCC) is a free service available to all Ashland University students in any major.

PLEASE NOTE: Four Writing Center visits are required in this course.

The AU Healthy Minds App

Students are encouraged to get the Ashland Healthy Mind app, available on Android and Apple devices. This app provides tips and tools for stress prevention and management, health services, meditation, calming media, and anxiety reduction, and highlights the Ashland University and Community mental health-related services.

Academic Participation Reporting

Students must participate in a course-related activity within the first three days of the course's start date. Students may be administratively dropped/withdrawn from the course and/or may lose financial aid benefits if a qualifying activity has not occurred between the student and the coursework or faculty within the first few days of the course. Simply logging into a course online via the Learning Management System (LMS) is not considered a qualifying activity. Faculty will be given the opportunity to report, in a SOAR survey (Academic Engagement Survey), to any students who have failed to participate academically.

Veterans Leave Policy

According to policies and procedures set forth by Ashland University’s Department for Veterans’ Services: AU will grant any service member requiring more than a 30-day leave a release from coursework. Please contact the Office of Veterans’ Services for more information regarding this process.

 

English 100 Reading and Writing Assignments

In the following calendar:

The dates below are due dates. You will be responsible for the reading and/or writing assignment on the date listed.

Format Quality Statement:

To support student learning in the event of extended disruptions of face-to-face instructional activities, the format for this course may be modified.

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Exam Week