Tips for Success

I really can't stress this enough! I took three online classes last summer and O.M.G. I found myself logging in to Canvas at least twice a day if not more, just to make sure I was on top of my assignments and due dates. You may be taking some of your classes in person this semester, but most likely you are taking at least one other course online. Keeping track of what you need to do and when can be tough, especially when you have other things going on in your life (and we all do)! Some of your instructors will email you important information, others will give you the information as an announcement in Canvas or maybe even by updating a page in a module. You can be sure to keep on top of everything by logging into each of your classes in Canvas and checking your Los Rios email at least once a day.

For our class, you can expect that I will message you in Cavas each Sunday with an overview of the coming week. If anything comes up during the week or I need to change a due date, I will also send it as message in Canvas.

I will also reach out to you if I notice you haven't logged in for a full week, or if you missed a few assignments in a row. In the Student Info Survey you will fill out during the first week, you can let me know how best to reach you in this case. For more information about missing assignments, see the explanation on the Grading page.

This is also suuuuuper important. I know it can be tempting to skip the pages and go straight to the assignments. During my classes last summer, I did this once and I immediately regretted it. The assignment didn't really make sense because I hadn't read all of the material leading up to it.

For our class, you can expect an overview page at the beginning of each module that includes links to the assignments you will submit later that week (I *think* I'm going to keep doing this, but I honestly don't know if anyone reads it.) You can check all the links out briefly if you want, but be sure to start at the beginning of the module and read through all of the material, listen to any podcasts, and view any videos I may have included. Doing that will prepare you to understand the assignments and excel at them!

Any time you get stuck or aren't sure what an assignment is asking, or if something comes up that will prevent you from being able to focus on our class for several days, get in touch with me! The best way to contact me is through our Canvas inbox. I will reply to you within 24 hours (usually much sooner, but sometimes it might take a little longer if it's a weekend.) If there is an issue you would prefer to talk over with me, you can call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX. This is my school voicemail. Leave a message, and be sure to provide your number and a good time to reach you. I'll return your call within 24 hours (but it might take up to 48 hours on a weekend.)

I will hold virtual office hours (really home hours, since I'll be at home!) on Zoom on Mondays and Tuesdays (still figuring out the specific hours. Once I do, I'll put them in Canvas). You are always welcome to pop in to ask questions or just to chat and catch up. This is an especially good option if you want me to take a look at your writing, since Zoom allows us share screen and look at documents together. Just keep in mind that if another student has stopped by my virtual office, you'll first be put in a "waiting room." I'll see that you're there, though, and I'll get to you ASAP.

Please don't hesitate to "stop by" my virtual office. If my office hours don't work for you, send me a message and we'll figure out a time to meet when we're both free.

Another great place to get help is SCC's Writing Center. You can find the link to their website and lots of other support resources on this support page.

In ENGWR, your course grade is determined by the goals you set for yourself and the amount of work you put into improving your writing. In this course, you won’t be worried about whether your writing meets the standards that I as the instructor have predetermined or how many arbitrary points might be taken off for some reason or another. Instead, you will be focused on a much more worthy pursuit: how a group of readers (which includes your instructor) experiences your words and how you yourself measure your effort and success.

Like most college students, you will inevitably reach a moment this semester when you are struggling with an essay and aren’t sure what to write. When I struggle with how to write something, or what to write, I lean on my friends and co-workers to get ideas and feedback. (How lucky am I that my co-workers are writing teachers?) This class is all about figuring out strategies to help you work through those moments and to provide support to get to the other side of a writing roadblock. It’s tempting, I know, to resort to plagiarism (copying) in those moments, but I want you to resist that temptation. I want you to believe in your own ability to work through the uncertainty or insecurity -- that struggle is what makes you grow. Perhaps more important than that, it is YOUR voice I want to hear when I’m reading your writing. I really don’t care what someone from freecollegeessays.com has to say.

If you do plagiarize, you will receive an incomplete on the assignment with a chance to resubmit it. After that, a second instance of plagiarism will result in an incomplete on the assignment without a chance to resubmit it. According to the Sacramento City College Student Guide, Student Code of Conduct, “Plagiarism is representing the work of someone else as your own and submitting it for any purpose. Plagiarism includes the following: Incorporating the ideas, works, sentences, paragraphs, or parts of another person’s writing, without giving appropriate credit, and representing the product as your own work; Representing another’s scholarly work as your own; Submitting a paper purchased from a research or term paper service.” We’ll spend a lot of time practicing how to effectively incorporate the ideas of others and how to avoid plagiarism, so I am confident you will have the tools to avoid plagiarism.

When you need help with your writing or any other assignment for this class, get help from me or from our tutor in the Writing Center. Please take advantage of my office hours whenever you need to, and if the times aren’t convenient, check with me about alternatives.

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