English 1301 On-line
English 1301 On-line is a course designed for the distance learner who, for whatever reason, cannot or would prefer not to study college writing in a more conventional classroom setting. For the person on-the-go or someone who is located remotely from a college or university, this course provides a full introduction to college-level writing and fulfills the requirements for most first-semester college writing programs.

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The faculty and staff of Mountain View College are seasoned professionals, many with more than twenty-five years of teaching experience at Mountain View. Several have long been at the forefront of innovation in the facilitation of learning and frequently receive both national and international acclaim for their work on behalf of their students and the MVC college community. 

Mountain View faculty have developed distance education materials and courseware for more than fifteen years. This is one of more than a dozen on-line English courses created and facilitated by the college faculty. Dr. Geoffrey Grimes, the creator of English 1301 On-line has taught college writing courses for more than thirty years and was recognized as one of the five most outstanding community college instructors in North America in 1991 by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). He is the former Chair of the Department of English at Mountain View College and an adjunct undergraduate and graduate professor at Amber University and the University of Texas at Arlington.

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Since English 1301 presupposes basic skills in the conventions of writing and grammar, this course may be taken for credit only after you have qualified for enrollment.

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Without appropriate scores from one of these tests, you will not be allowed to register for credit. If you wish to register for non-credit, you may do so through the Mountain View College Office of Continuing Education. Write to:

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If you have never completed a course of study in a distance-learning format, here are some factors that indicate that you are likely to be successful in this course:

• You have completed successfully at least 15 credit hours in other college-level courses.
• You enjoy independent study.
• You are self-confident and a self-starter.
• You have at least eight hours per week free to devote to your assignments in this course.
• You are a competent reader.
• You are comfortable reading text materials at a computer.
• You have the technical skills or access to technical support to help you with malfunctions of your computer.
• You have demonstrated successful college-level writing skills in other classes.
• You have access to a public library or some other institution of learning that will agree to proctor any testing including a Mountain View College English Department Exit Exam (if you live remote from the Dallas area and/or cannot come to the campus).

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• E-mail to gagrimes@dcccd.edu (Attach all assignments as Microsoft Word files  ONLY!)
• Read the following instructions carefully.  Failure to observe these instructions will result in wasted time for both you and me and possibly misplaced or even lost work!

IMPORTANT!!!
For college security reasons, I will delete any e-mail message that does not include 
1) your first and last name in the subject window, 
2) a statement in the message window stating the course/section number, and 
3) the name/number of the exercise attached.

How to Send Me E-Mail Messages and Attached Exercises

When you send me an e-mail message, include the following information exactly:

What to place in the "subject" window:
Place in the subject window the following information:
For a question to me: Question - (your first and last name)
For a comment to me: Comment - (your first and last name)
For an emergency message to me: Urgent! - (your first and last name)
For sending me an exercise: first name initial/last name/-/number of exercise.doc (see example below)

NOTE: I will open and respond to "Question," "Comment," and "Urgent!" messages on the day I receive them.  Do NOT attach assignments to "Question," "Comment," and "Urgent!" messages. I will not open them or even download them!

What to place in the "message" window:
Place in the message window the following information:
1) Using correct grammar and sentence form, state your message as briefly and as clearly as possible.
2) Indicate in the first line of the message what you are requesting of me.
3) Follow your request or main point with whatever supporting information you think I need to know.
4) Sign off each message with your first and last name as you are registered!
5) Below your name, give me your student ID number (your official Dallas County Community College District Student ID number--NOT your social security number).

How to attach an exercise to your e-mail message:
1) Save your exercise as a MS Word file.  Note: Be sure your full name, course/section, and assignment number are posted at the top left corner of each exercise before you save it.

Save your exercises using the following identification:

First name initial/last name/(hyphen)/exercise number .doc

Example:
jsmith-U2.4 (for assignment 4 in Unit 2)

Note: If you do not save and label your assignments using this format, I will return them to you unopened and ask you to re-label, re-save and re-send them!

2) Near each e-mail message window, you will find a button labeled something like "Attachment" or "Attach."  Place your cursor icon over that button and click once with  your left mouse button.  That action will open another window where you enter the name of the drive where your file is located on your hard drive or floppy drive and the name of the file (along with its extension).  You may also see a "Browse" button which you may click and then select the drive and the correct file.  By opening the directory where the file is located and clicking once or twice on the name of the file, the file name and path will be entered in the file name window.

3) Select "Okay" or "Send" or "Close"--whatever button indicates the submission of that file name.  The window will then close and return you to your e-mail message window.  Now, you should see posted in a visible place near your message window some notification that you have attached a document.

4) When you have finished composing your message, then click once on the "Send" button, and your message and attached document will be on its way!

How to Submit of Assignments

You are encouraged to submit your work in any one of the following three procedures ONLY:

Submitting Assignments Electronically
You must send all exercises as e-mail attachments in only Microsoft Word.  Follow the instructions posted above for submitting your exercises.  Do NOT fax any exercises.  I will mark the exercises electronically and return them as email attachments to his replies.

My email address is gagrimes@dcccd.edu.

Submitting Assignments by Regular Mail
If you do not have either software program, you should print out your work and mail it to:

Dr. Geoffrey Grimes
Department of English
Mountain View College
4849 West Illinois Avenue
Dallas, TX 75211

If you mail your assignments, you must included a stamped, self-addressed envelope with correct postage.  Assignments received without the stamped, self-addressed envelope will not be returned.

Submitting Assignments in Person
Students attending Mountain View College are welcomed to drop off assignments at Dr. Grimes' office in W273.  Students should come to the office to pick up the graded works.
 

I will make every effort to grade and return your assignments within the same week I receive them.  I will edit each exercise electronically and post a grade at the end of your assignment.  Then, I will return them to you as an attachment to an e-mail.

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The "First Step"
Before you submit any assignments, you should checkout your electronic links to me. To do that, e-mail me the one-line description copied from the end of the Cognitive Style Map exercise. If you have technological problems with these two tests, then you will need to mail your assignments to me, allowing extra time in the schedule above for sending them to me and receiving my responses.

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This page was last modified on January 11, 2012,
and is maintained by Dr. Geoffrey A. Grimes