Department of English
English Composition I 3 Class Hours; 3 Credits
ENG 101-1305 Spring 2015
Common Core: English Composition Professor Baiada
Monday 1:00-2:40; N789 [email protected]; 212-220-8280
Wednesday 1:00-1:50; S714 Office: N751P
Course Description
English Composition is the standard 3-credit /3 hour freshman writing course. The course introduces students to academic writing. By its conclusion, students will be ready for English 201 and for the writing they will be asked to do in advanced courses across the curriculum. Students completing English 101 will have mastered the fundamentals of college-level reading and writing, including developing a thesis-driven response to the writing of others and following the basic conventions of citation and documentation. They will have practiced what Mike Rose calls the “habits of mind” necessary for success in college and in the larger world: summarizing, classifying, comparing, contrasting, and analyzing. Students will be introduced to basic research methods and MLA documentation and complete a research project. Students are required to take a departmental final exam that requires the composition of a 500 word thesis-driven essay comparing and contrasting two essays.
Prerequisites: Passing Grade on CATW and CATR Required Texts:
Texts are available at the BMCC bookstore or online at the Norton & Co. website: http://books.wwnorton.com/books/index.aspx.
1) Bullock, Richard and Francine Weinberg. Little Seagull Handbook with exercises. 2nd Ed. . NY: Norton, 2014. [ISBN: 978-0-393-93581-3]
2) Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say: the moves that matter in academic writing. 3rd Ed.NY: Norton, 2014. [ISBN: 978-0-393-93584-4]
Additional Required Resources:
Readings provided on Blackboard or online. You will be required to print and bring a copy to class for discussion. Digital Access to The New York Times.
How to set up your free account provided by CUNY: Log on to nytimes.com/passes to create a username and
password. :YOU MUST USE YOUR CUNY EMAIL ADDRESS. You can view this instructional video if you need help--https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=NROcngiF_uY&feature=youtu.be.
A college-level paperback dictionary with a minimum of 70,000 entries.
Use of Technology: Students are expected to use their BMCC/CUNY email address (or have this account forwarded to an email you do use, or set up your Blackboard profile to use a different email). During the course of the semester we will also regularly use Blackboard (for sharing information and readings and for your blogs) and turnitin.com; for which you will need to set up an account (I will give directions). You will also be introduced to and expected to use the online resources (catalog and databases) of the BMCC library.
Evaluation:
Students will receive a letter grade based on their work in the course, including in-class assignments, low stakes
homework, essays, a journal, and the final exam. Preparation and participation will also be factored into the grade. The course work counts for roughly 2/3 of the grade, and the final examination constitutes the remainder.
Weekly Blog 10%
Essay 1 10%
Essay 2 10%
Essay 3 15%
Essay 4 15%
Final Exam 30 %
Participation & Informal Writing 10%
Requirements:
Formal Essays: You will write 4 formal thesis-driven essays. Three will go through multiple drafts and range from three to four typewritten pages, and one will be written in class under similar conditions as the final exam and may be revised after. Drafts and revisions will be mandatory, as will peer review sessions. Failure to provide drafts on due dates or to be present and active in peer review will result in lowered grades for essays.
Essays (drafts and revisions) will be submitted electronically through turnitin.com and, optionally for detailed feedback from me, to Blackboard assignments.
***LATE ESSAYS WILL BE PENALIZED by one letter grade for each day (not class) late. Essays handed in after 3 days will not be accepted and will count in your average as a zero.
If you are absent, essays must still be uploaded to turnitin by its due date.
Papers must conform to the manuscript guidelines attached to this syllabus and to MLA documentation style, which we will learn.
**Revision Policy: Graded essays may be revised and resubmitted for a new grade within one week of being returned to you. Both grades will be averaged to be calculated into final grade. A single essay may be resubmitted no more
thantwice after the original grade. Several of you will seek extra credit over the course of the semester; this (and an option related to your blogs, see below) is it. There will be no extra assignments, but you may continue to work on those given and resubmit for a higher grade (if the work is improved).
Blog: Beginning in approximately the third week of class, you will be required to keep a weekly journal, in the form of an online blog on Blackboard. For this blog, you will be tracking and researching a current issue in your community or the world that is important to you. Each entry will begin with an MLA citation for an article, essay, book, or other source followed by your thoughts about it. Weekly entries will be due by midnight each Friday. I will assist you in finding your topic through freewriting and will provide more details on the expectations for blog entries before you must begin. Regular reading of the newspaper (free CUNY access to the NY Times) and library research will be required to be informed of the factual information and differing opinions on the topic. At two points in the semester, you will also be asked to respond to one another’s blogs (additional responses may earn extra credit, as will be explained in the assignment handout). This journal will be the basis of your argumentative essay, Essay #4, to be modelled on Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”
Participation & Informal Writing: This includes doing all assigned work (homework, reading responses, grammar exercises, etc.) in a timely manner, studying course material, and asking questions or seeking help for any material with which you encounter difficulty. This also includes preparation: you must bring the materials needed for class each day -- paper, writing utensils, and the books or readings under discussion any given day (see schedule). You should always bring your handbook and dictionary. Finally, participation also includes an active engagement in class discussions and activities.
Important Note:
Lives are busy and complicated, and if you find that you are unable to keep up with the work because of the demands of life, this is nothing to be ashamed of, but you will want to withdraw in that case and retake the class another semester when you are able to give it more time.
Therefore, mind the following dates:
February 3, Last day to drop with 75% tuition refund
February 4, Drop Withdrawal (WD) period begins. Grade of WD is assigned to students who officially withdraw. February 10, Last day to drop with a 50% tuition refund
February 17, Drop Withdrawal period ends; Last day to drop without the grade W appearing on official transcript; last day for 25% tuition refund
April 16, Last day to withdraw with a grade of W
Course Schedule and Outline of Topics:
The following pages present our schedule of readings and due dates. Assignments will be fleshed out as we engage in our work together. The schedule is also likely to change in response to the needs and interests of the class.
Keep in mind that readings are to be completed by the date they are listed under. You need to bring a copy of the reading to class that day and each following class meeting until a new reading is due, when you will bring that new reading.
Topics Core Readings They/I Assignments Essay Due Dates W 28-Jan Intro to class. Diagnostic.
M 2-Feb What is academic writing?; General Essay Structure
Introduction & Ch.1
They Say p. 15 #2
W 4-Feb Overview of Wrtg Process; Exploring Ideas
Identify 2 articles from the news in the past week you found interesting. Write about 1 page explaining why they are interesting to you.
M 9-Feb Reading for Ideas; Identifying and Joining Conversations
"Shooting an Elephant"
Ch. 12 & 14 Reading Response on Essay (More instructions distributed via Blackboard) W 11-Feb Summary; Narrowing
Focus; Thesis Statements
Ch. 2 Begin blog; first entry by midnight Friday 2/13 W 18-Mar
(Monday)
Introductions and Conclusions; Peer Review & Revision Ex.
Draft Essay 1
M 23-Feb Responding to Ideas of Others; Organizing and Planning
"United States of Lyncherdom"
Ch. 4 Reading Response
on Essay AND using templates for responding,
comment on two of your classmates blogs on BB W 25-Feb Quoting and
Paraphrasing; Paragraph Focus and Support
Ch. 3 Following directions given on BB, use templates to introduce and analyze quotations from Twain essay
Revision Essay 1
M 2-Mar Understanding Ideas in Literature; Compare and Contrast
"The Ones who Walk away from Omelas"
Ch. 15 Reading Response on Story that answers questions on p.192 of They Say
W 4-Mar Formulating Your Argument; Thesis Statements Revisited; Compare and Contrast
Ch. 5 They Say p. 75 #1 AND complete templates on BB based on story and essay
Ex.
W 11-Mar Library Research Orientation
Bring research questions based on blog
M 16-Mar Clarifying Purpose and Audience; Cause & Effect
Ch. 7 They Say p. 101 Complete #2 for Essay 2
Revision Essay 2
W 18-Mar Organization & Coherence; Cause & Effect
Ch. 8 They Say p. 119 #1
M 23-Mar Film: "Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer"
Using templates in Ch 4 of They Say,
comment on two of your classmates blogs
W 25-Mar Discussion of film Response to film
viewing
M 30-Mar In Class Essay 3 Bring allowed notes
on film for essay
In class Essay 3
W 1-Apr Explication and
Elaboration; Argument and Persuasion
"Letter from a Birmingham Jail"
Reading Response on Essay AND annotate text by hi-liting King's "I Says" in one color and "They Says" in another M 13-Apr Style; Metacommentary;
Argument and Persuasion;
MLA Documentation
Ch. 9 & 10 They Say p. 138 #2; Draft of Works Cited Page for sources from blog & research W 15-Apr Peer Review and
Revision Exercise
Draft Essay 4
W 22-Apr Exam Prep "Disobedience
as a Psychological and Moral Problem" Vocabulary AND Reading Response; Final blog entry due this week
M 27-Apr Exam Prep TBA Revision Essay
4
W 29-Apr Exam Prep "A Country
Childhood"
Vocabulary AND Reading Response
M 4-May Exam Prep TBA
W 6-May Exam Prep TBA
M 11-May Final Exam to be Scheduled W 13-May Final Exam to be Scheduled
TBA Follow Up Conferences
College Attendance Policy
At BMCC, the maximum number of absences is limited to one more hour than the number of hours a class meets in one week. For example, you may be enrolled in a three-hour class. In that class, you would be allowed 4 hours of absence (not 4 days). In the case of excessive absences, the instructor has the option to lower the grade or assign an F or WU grade.
To repeat, you are allowed four hours (not classes) of absence without penalty.
If you exceed the allowed absences, your grade will be lowered and, if absences exceed 5, you will fail the course.
N.B. Attendance includes being present for class, arriving to class on time, and remaining for full class sessions. I will take attendance at the beginning of class. If you are late, you are responsible for making sure that I marked you on the attendance sheet before leaving that day.
Three latenesses will equal one absence.
BMCC Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity Statement:
Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s ideas, words or artistic, scientific, or technical work as one’s own creation. Using the idea or work of another is permissible only when the original author is identified. Paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as direct quotations, require citations to the original source. Plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional. Lack of dishonest intent does not necessarily absolve a student of responsibility for plagiarism. Students who are unsure how and when to provide documentation are advised to consult with their instructors. The library has guides designed to help students to appropriately identify a cited work. The full policy can be found on BMCC’s Web site, www.bmcc.cuny.edu. For further information on integrity and behavior, please consult the college bulletin (also
available online).Plagiarism carries a range of penalties commensurate with severity of the infraction. The instructor may require the work to be redone, reduce the course grade, fail the student in the course, or refer the case to the Faculty-Student Disciplinary Committee. Cases referred to that committee could result in suspension or expulsion.
Academic Adjustments for Students with Disabilities:
BMCC is committed to providing equal access to all programs and curricula to all students. Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments for this course must contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities.
Classroom Decorum Policy
Student Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
Departmental Outcomes:
Organize, develop, and revise at least four thesis-driven essays that include substantial support and use a variety of rhetorical strategies [Measurements: three out-of-class essays including drafts and revisions, one in-class essay also revised, departmental final exam]
Summarize, paraphrase, and quote from readings [Measurements: journal; graded essays, homework assignments, departmental final exam]
Critically analyze numerous readings [Measurements: graded essays, in-class group exercises, final exam] Demonstrate a command of edited American English, using vocabulary and syntax appropriate to college-level
work [Measurements: graded essays, departmental final exam]
Demonstrate a knowledge of the MLA conventions of citation and documentation [Measurements: graded essays, departmental final exam]
General Education Outcomes:
Communication Skills: Students will write, read, listen, and speak critically and effectively. [Measurement: class discussion, graded essays, departmental final exam]
Information & Technology Literacy- Students will be able to collect, evaluate and interpret information and effectively use information technologies[Measurement: Journal; Essay #4]
Values: Students will make informed choices based on an understanding of personal values, human diversity, multicultural awareness, and social responsibility. [Measurement: graded essays in response to course themes of moral decisions, obedience v. disobedience, and social responsibility]
Pathways Outcomes:
Read and listen critically and analytically, including identifying an argument's major assumptions and assertions and evaluating its supporting evidence.[Measurements: news/research journal; homework assignments summarizing/analyzing/responding to readings by Orwell, Twain, King and others; graded thesis driven essay; departmental final exam based on readings by Fromm and Mandela]
Write clearly and coherently in varied, academic formats (such as formal essays, research papers, and reports) using standard English and appropriate technology to critique and improve one's own and others' texts. [Measurements: four thesis driven essays- drafts and revisions on assigned readings and film; self and peer review assignments providing written feedback on own and others’ drafts; departmental final exam]
Demonstrate research skills using appropriate technology, including gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing primary and secondary sources.[Measurements: on-going news/research journal exploring problem/injustice identified by individual student in college library, databases, and New York Times or other newspaper; persuasive “letter” making argument in relation to this problem/injustice using sources explored and documented in journal]
Support a thesis with well-reasoned arguments, and communicate persuasively across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and media [Measurements: revised graded essays in different rhetorical modes and situations; departmental final exam]
