ENGL 214: Academic & Professional Communication T221

Name T213 17-XXX

CLASSES (UMTWR) OFFICE HOURS
Time Course / Section Time Location
7 am 101-xx Sun. 8-9 am 17-XXX
9 am 101-xx Mon. 10 am-12 pm 17-XXX

11 am 102-xx Tue. 8-9 am ONLINE

Thu. 8-9 am 17-XXX

Telephone: 34xx
Email: flynn.flon@kfupm.edu.sa
Additional office hours by appointment

ENGL 214 Rules & Regulations (T213 Theme: ICT)

A series of tasks made of some or all of the following (maximum
weighting for each element is 4%): finding, narrowing and focusing a
topic; report background/overview; purpose statement; preliminary 2-
PRE-REPORT TASKS 20% level outline; list of minimum 4 sources in APA format; 2 source
evaluations; schedule of tasks to be completed; interviews for reports;
minimum of 3 in-class drafts
Revision and final edited report: professional-looking report;
approximately 1750 words; minimum six sources; APA style guide.
FINAL REPORT 15% The report will be in the student’s major, linked to the common
theme, and be a problem-solution, comparison, or argument.
A complete source evaluation: APA reference; summary paraphrase;
MIDTERM EXAM 15% and evaluation of a source.
Business letter format; emails; finding a job; cover letter or email;
JOB SKILLS 20% résumé; interviewing techniques.
Skills for giving a formal PowerPoint or Prezi presentation; linked to
PRESENTATION SKILLS 15% the major report. Performed in person or online.
A test of the semester’s work (the materials on Blackboard and in the
FINAL EXAM 15% course textbook) and a grammar component multiple-choice test.

Grade Standards
A+: 93-100% B+: 85-89% C+: 75-79% D+: 65-69%
A: 90-92% B: 80-84% C: 70-74% D: 60-64% F: 0-59%
NOTE: Upgrades on the final course grade will be given to eligible students who are close to the next higher grade
boundary. A and B students are eligible for a 2% upgrade, C students are eligible for a 1% upgrade, while D and F students
are not eligible for any upgrade. Upgrades will be applied only if the student meets these requirements: they must have 4 or
fewer unexcused absences, they must have completed all major assignments and submitted work on time, and they must
have passed both the midterm and final exams.

Unexcused Absence Policy

Students are responsible for keeping track of their absences during the semester. This is important as there are penalties for
excessive unexcused absences: 5 unexcused absences = 1% deducted from the final grade; 6 = -2%; 7 = -3%; 8 = -4%; 9
= -5%; 10 = DN.
Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty (plagiarism, cheating or falsification of any work) will not be tolerated and violations will be subject
to the penalties described in the KFUPM Undergraduate Bulletin, including failure of a given assignment, failure of the
course, or academic probation.

All written assignments in ENGL 214 will be run through a similarity checker in order to identify instances of plagiarism.
There is no set threshold for the similarity checker results because a higher score could be due to a variety of ancillary factors,
such lengthy proper nouns, detailed technical phrases, or items in the outline. Therefore, the results of the similarity checker
must be evaluated by the instructor. As a general rule, students should start to be concerned when their work has scored above
5% on the similarity checker. Students are subject to a one-point penalty per instance of plagiarism as determined by the
Turnitin similarity checker and confirmed by the instructor. Furthermore, egregious cases of plagiarism will receive a zero
and be referred to the university with a recommendation that the student receives an overall grade of F for the entire course.
Serious plagiarism usually results in other penalties from the university as well.

Note that the grade for the Final Report will not count unless the student completes their Oral Presentation. This is to meet
university requirements to ensure the work submitted is a student’s own. Students should be prepared to answer questions on
their report at the end of their presentations.

Missed Work
If a student has an official excuse from the Department of Student Affairs, he will either be allowed to make up any graded
class work that contributes to their final grade or be given an average for the missed work. The teacher will decide. The official
excuse must be the original (blue) document and it must be presented within one week of returning to class. According to ELD
policy, if the excuse for missing a class is personal, the teacher is not permitted to excuse the student.
It is a student’s responsibility to find out about any exam or assignment announcements that were made in the missed class and
any homework assignments that should carried out for the next class. Students should visit your teacher’s Blackboard page
every day and pay particular attention to the calendar, announcements, and email notifications.

Late Work
Any assignments submitted after the due date without an official excuse will incur a 5% penalty per day. After 7 days, the
student will receive a zero. Note that even one hour late constitutes a full day late. For example, if the Progress Report is
submitted an hour after the due date, a B grade will become a C+ grade. Furthermore, any assignment received on Turnitin can
be submitted and resubmitted up until the deadline for that assignment. Once the deadline passes, this is the final submission,
with no exceptions. No resubmissions will be accepted after the deadline. Additionally, no feedback will be provided on late
assignments.

Materials
For the major report and presentations, Blackboard will be the main medium for the transmission of course documents. For job
skills, consult the course textbook. Students are expected to attend class on time and be properly prepared. Mobile phones
should be switched off for the duration of the class, unless otherwise instructed by the lecturer.

ENGL214 Course Documents T211 2

ENGL 214: COURSE OVERVIEW T221
Key:
BB-1b = Blackboard Unit 1b
K2: 36-37 = Kolin, Chapter 2, pages 36-37

1 2 3
MAJOR REPORT JOB SKILLS PRESENTATIONS
35% 20% 15%
1. Business letter format 1. ENGL 214 presentation
1. Research report process K4: 98-127 procedure
BB-1a BB4
2. Finding & focusing a topic 2. Job search preparation
K5: 159-173 2. Formal presentations
BB-1a
3. Audience analysis K10: 386-402
3. Résumés
BB-1a; K1: 6-13
K5: 174-183 3. Grammar
4. Researching
BB-1b; K2: 36-37 K: A1-A15
4. Letters of application
5. APA documentation & K5: 197-205
references
BB-1b; K9: 355-365 5. Interviews
6. APA quotation K5: 205-209
BB-1b; K9: 357-358
7. Abstracts & summaries 6. Emails
BB-1c; K9:351-352, 369 K3: 78-85
8. Evaluating sources
BB-1c 7. Grammar
9. Note taking & planning K: A1-A15
BB-1c; K2: 37-41
10. Progress report
BB-1c
11. The ENGL 214 report
BB-1d; K9: 346-355; 367-381
12. Document design
K6: 217-249
13. Drafting, revising,
editing
BB-1d; K2: 41-43, 46-49
14. Submissions & TurnItIn
BB-1d
15. Ethical writing
K: 27-29; 249-256
16. Grammar
K: A1-A15

ENGL214 Course Documents T211 3

ENGL 214: COURSE COMPONENTS T221

Title (2%): Finding, focusing, and polishing a

topic

Progress Report (8%): Report background; thesis

statement; working bibliography; preliminary two-
PRE-REPORT 20%
level outline; source evaluations (2); schedule of
tasks to be completed

First draft (10%): Drafting conducted in class;

completed first draft submitted one week later.

Revision and final edited report: professional-

looking report; approximately 1750 words;
minimum six sources; APA style guide.
The report will be in the student’s major, linked to
FINAL REPORT 15%
the common theme, and be a problem-solution,
comparison, or argument. [NB: the grade for
their Final Report only counts towards the final
course grade if a student gives an oral
presentation.]

Writing of a source evaluation: APA reference;

MIDTERM EXAM 15%
summary paraphrase; and evaluation of a source.

Business letter format; ways to find a job; cover

JOB SKILLS 20%
letter, résumé; interviewing techniques; emails.

PRESENTATION Skills preparation for giving a formal multimedia

15%
SKILLS presentation; linked to the academic report.

Multiple-choice answer examination testing

student understanding of the semester’s work. The
FINAL EXAM 15%
questions are based on the Blackboard materials
and on selected chapters from the Kolin textbook.

ENGL214 Course Documents T211 4