ENG101.0748: Composition I
Fall 2014 Semester
CUNY LaGuardia Community
College
Instructor: Dr. Lilla Tőke
Class Meeting: Mondays and Wednesdays at 8:00 –
10:15AM
Classroom: E-303
Office: C-372
Office Hours: Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:30-11:30AM
or by appointment
E-Mail: ltoke@lagcc.cuny.edu
Course Description:
This
course examines the various forms of expository writing with an emphasis on the
analytical and argumentative paper. The course is intended to teach students to
produce original and distinctive writing, which reflects individual critical
thinking and the creative writing experience about a wide range of ideas. Composition I aims to teach students
about the various, interrelated strategies of the writing process: prewriting,
drafting, editing, grammar, tone, argument based writing, and the use of
outside sources. Admission is based on college placement test scores. The
course meets in four scheduled classroom hours per week.
Course Goals
By the end of the semester you should be able to
do the following:
1) Compose grammatical sentences.
2) Use various sentence forms to
effectively modulate style and tone.
3) Compose a sequence of paragraphs
that develop a point.
4) Summarize, quote, and respond to
reliable texts to support and develop your claims; apply relevant standards for
citation.
5) Write an effective argumentative
essay.
6) Respond to writing assignments
using appropriate style, structure, and voice.
7) Apply editing, proofreading, and
revising strategies.
Required Texts
Graff, Gerald. They
Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. Third Edition. (New
York: W.W. Norton, 2014). ISBN 0393935841
Readings online at http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/
You are responsible for printing the assigned reading and
bringing it to each class. Failure to do this will result in a one-hour absence
for that class.
A
collegiate dictionary (your choice but not an electronic one).
Supplies you will need
· A two-pocket folder with your name on it. You will hand in all your major essays in
this folder (including all rough drafts, outside sources and the final draft).
· A back-up
device: BACK UP all of your work to
protect against hard drive or network failure and computer viruses. Use
Dropbox or a thumb drive for this. You’ve been warned, so “my computer crashed”
is not an excuse for late or missing work.
·
E-mail account and Internet
access:
Make sure that your university email account is up and running. You must either
check your CUNY email regularly (at least once every 48 hours) or set up the
CUNY account to forward to your regular email address. Make sure that you can
access the Internet. All your reading assignments are found on the following course
blog: http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/ But REMEMBER: you are responsible for printing the readings and bringing them to
class on the day they are due. Failing to do so may result in an absence.
· You will need to know how to
UPLOAD certain assignments onto the same blog in form of comments (as
indicated on the weekly schedule). Make sure that you upload at least one comment
before the due date. Your online activity will be checked before each class
and, if it is missing or too brief, you will get no credit for that assignment.
· Access to
printing. You will be asked to print your
reading and some writing assignments and bring them to class. Therefore, make
sure that you complete assignments and allow enough time for printing before
class (at home or in the computer lab). “I don’t have/I did not find a printer”
is not an excuse for late or missing work.
Grading Criteria
Your overall
grade will break down the following way:
Essay
nr. 1 – 15%
Essay
nr. 2 (in –class) – 15%
Essay
nr. 3 – 15%
Essay
nr. 4 – 20%
Essay
nr. 5 (in-class) – 15%
Homework
– 10%
Reading
blog – 10%
TOTAL: 100%
Course expectations and policies
Absences:
Per
department policy, students have four hours of absences counting from the first
day of classes, regardless of when the student registered. Use these hours only
for serious reasons. In our class one absence equals two hours. Any class in
which you come in tardy, leave early, or leave the classroom for more than a
couple of minutes counts as a 1/3 of an absence. I take attendance as soon as
class begins. After the first 30 minutes have passed I no longer count
tardiness and you are absent for the day—there will be no bargaining over
minutes etc.
If you want to avoid being counted absent, attend class from the start like any
responsible student must do. Refusal to participate in any class activity
(including exercises and journals) will result in an absence for the day. While
I am able to excuse some absences for extraordinary reasons such as
hospitalization etc., you should not expect that such excuses will be granted
just for asking. Even with excused absences, a student cannot miss more than
10% of the class and receive a grade of A or B. You cannot take a quiz that you
missed because you were late to class.
Laptop Policy
You may use a laptop in class. However, for some class
discussions, I will ask that you keep the computer top closed because it is
difficult to converse with people who are, for the most part, looking at a
screen. During class, I will ask you to write and reflect on the content
of our discussions. At this time, you are welcome to write in whatever medium
(pencil, pen, word processor) suits you. I maintain the right to check what you
are doing on your laptop during class time and to take away this privilege if
deemed necessary.
Guidelines for Essays
· All out of class drafts and assignments must
be typed (including early drafts).
· Use standard Word margins on each side of the
paper. Use one side of the paper only. Use 12-point Times New Roman font.
Do not use a title page. Papers should have the following information on their
first page (upper left-hand corner):
Your name
Dr. Toke
ENGL 101—XXXX(replace XXXX with section
number)
Date
Assignment
·
Then,
the next line will be your title, centered and in bold font. The title
should be more original than “x assignment” or “my paper.” Do not skip lines
anywhere else in the essay (indicate the beginning of a new paragraph by a
five-space indentation). Do
Essays and Rewrites
Essays are due on the designated date. All late essays
automatically drop one letter grade (10%) for each business day they are late,
beginning with the due date. You have the option to revise, once, any paper
that received an F. If you do not have any failing papers, you can still
revise at least one paper for a different grade (do not assume paper grades go
up simply by resubmitting them if you have not done serious revision work).
Papers may never be submitted via email or email attachment or by leaving them
under my door. You must submit all papers to me in the classroom.
Late Papers
You
must submit papers, in class, at the very beginning of the class meeting when
they are due. They are late once class starts. Late papers are penalized by a
letter grade for each business day they are late. A paper not submitted after a
week receives a zero. A zero cannot be revised, unlike an F grade.
Academic Honesty:
This class will be conducted in compliance with LaGuardia
Community College’s academic integrity policy. All students of LaGuardia
Community College are responsible for preparing and presenting original work.
In accordance with the college’s policy on student responsibilities, the
penalty for papers, which are plagiarized and for any cheating during exams is immediate
course failure. Please refer to your college catalog for a more complete
discussion of Academic Honesty.
Classroom Behavior:
If
you do not pay attention and continuously talk to people around you, text on
your cell phone, fall asleep in class etc., I will penalize you with an absence
for that hour. I will not announce this in class so as not to put you on the
spotlight, but you can be sure I have noted and marked such behavior that shows
lack of actual engagement with the class. All of your classmates have the same
rights you do to an environment conducive to learning, so nobody will be
allowed to act in ways that disturb the learning process; students who
demonstrate behavior that obstructs others’ learning and/or instruction will be
asked to leave (or will be removed by campus security) and will be counted
absent.
Tentative
Course Schedule:
Note: Subject to
change. You are responsible for changes announced in class via Email through Blackboard.
There will also be a library orientation session (date to be announced). All
readings should be complete before class on the dates indicated (they are due
for discussion that day). You should always bring all your current drafts—paper
we are working on at that time—to class for every meeting.
Monday, Sept 8 – Introduction to the Course, Syllabus,
Writing as a Process and a Skill
Wednesday, Sept 10 – Pre-Writing Strategies, Entering the Academic
Conversation, Essay
nr. 1 Assignment (SUMMARY/RESPONSE paper), Grammar Work
DUE: READ: from They Say/I Say “Introduction: Entering the Conversation” (pp.1-19)
and “Chapter Fourteen: What’s Motivating This Writer?” (pp.173-183)
Monday, Sept 15 – Essay Structure: Introduction and Background
DUE: READ: from They Say/I Say “Chapter One: They Say” (pp.19-30) and “David,
Zinczenko, “Don’t Blame the Eater” (pp. 241-243)
WRITE: one page on your personal view about the fast food
industry and fast food in the United States and/or around the world (type,
print and bring it to class)
Wednesday, Sept 17 – Summary, Quotation, Paraphrase,
Grammar Work
DUE: READ: from They Say/I Say “Chapter Two: Her Point Is” (pp. 30-41)
WRITE: from They Say/I Say
Exercise nr. 2 on page 29 AND Exercise nr. 2 from page 41 (type, print and
bring them both to class)
Monday, Sept 22 – Summary, Quotation, Paraphrase II,
Peer Review of Essay nr. 1
DUE: READ: from They Say/I Say “Chapter Three: As He Himself Puts It” (pp. 42-52)
WRITE: Essay nr.
1 - Rough Draft! (type,
print and bring 3 copies to class)
Monday Sept 29 – Your Voice – Creating a Basic Argument
– Strong Thesis, Argument Based Writing, Grammar Work
DUE: READ: from They Say/I Say “Chapter Four: Yes/No/Okay, But” (pp. 55-67), “But
I’ve Been Told Not to Use ‘I’” (pp.72-73) and Gerald Graff, “Hidden
Intellectualism” (pp. 244-251)
WRITE: A one page
long summary of “Hidden Intellectualism” (type, print and bring it to class)
Wednesday, Oct 1 – Your Voice II – How to Support Your
View: Types of Evidence and Persuasive Writing (Ethos, Pathos, and Logos),
Grammar Work
DUE: READ: Semeen Issa and
Laila Al-Marayati, “An Identity Reduced to a Burka” (http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/)
WRITE: Essay nr.
1 - Final Draft!
Monday, Oct 6 – Unity and Organization of Your Essay,
The Paragraph (Topic Sentence and Paragraph
Development), Essay
nr. 2 Assignment
DUE: READ: from They Say/I Say “Chapter Three: As He Himself Puts It” (pp. 42-52)
and RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA, “College
Group Run for Profit Looks to Close or Sell Schools,” The New York Times Online (http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/)
WRITE: one paragraph where you criticize for-profit colleges and
another one where you defend them based on your own logic. DO NOT use any other
source except for the article above. (Print and bring it to class)
Wednesday, Oct 8 – Audience, Purpose and Tone, Grammar
Work
DUE: READ: “Lessons from a For-Profit College
Collapse,” The New York Times Online (http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/)
Wednesday, Oct 15 – Revising and Editing/Proofreading,
Anticipating Objections and Responding to Them
DUE: READ: from They Say/I Say “Chapter Six: Skeptics Might Object” (pp. 78-91) and
Henri Bienen, “In Defense of For-Profit Colleges,” The Wall Street Journal Online
(http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/)
WRITE: Work on rough draft of Essay nr. 2
Monday, Oct 20 – Essay nr. 3 (in-class)
(SUMMARY/RESPONSE)
DUE: READ: Tressie MacMillan Cottom, “Let’s Stop
Condescending to For-Profit College Students”, slate.com (http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/)
Wednesday, Oct 22 – Connecting the Parts: Transitions, Peer
Review of Essay nr. 2, Grammar Work
DUE: READ: from They
Say/I Say “Chapter Eight: As a Result” (pp. 105-120) and “Where More
Default than Graduate: Career Education Program Parasites,” The Institute for College Access and Success
(http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/)
WRITE: Essay nr. 2 - Rough Draft!
DUE: WRITE: Revise Essay nr. 2
Wednesday, Oct 29 –Who Cares? So What? - Endings and
Conclusions
DUE: READ: from They Say/I Say “Chapter Seven: So What? Who Cares?” (pp. 92-101)
and Jennifer Gonzales, “Advocate of For-Profit Colleges Mounts a Strong Defense
Before Senate Hearing,” The Chronicle of
Higher Education (http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/)
WRITE: Write a concluding paragraph to your essay keeping in mind
the questions “Who Cares? So What?” (Type, print and bring 3 copies to class)
Monday, Nov 3 – Academic Research: Finding and
Evaluating Reliable Sources
DUE: WRITE: Essay nr. 2 – Final Draft!
Wednesday, Nov 5 – Academic Research and Citations, Essay nr. 4
Assignment (Research Essay Portfolio Assignment), Grammar Work
DUE: READ: Research the “Dream Act” online AND read “Real
Food” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/)
WRITE: Upload your reading
journal in form of a comment to the blog
Monday, Nov 10 – Citations (Summarizing, Quoting and
Paraphrasing), Proposal vs. Abstract
DUE: READ: Vaughan, Aguilar and Olson’s essay under “How
To Stop the Surge of Migrant Children,” ROOM FOR DEBATE, The New York Times Online (http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/)
Wednesday, Nov 12 – The Works Cited Page, Grammar Work
DUE: READ: Epstein, Silva Avalos, and Podkul’s essay
under “How To Stop the Surge of migrant Children,” ROOM FOR DEBATE, The New York Times Online AND “Eleven” by Sandra
Cisneros (http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/)
WRITE: Essay nr. 4
Proposal AND Upload
your reading journal in form of a
comment to the blog
Monday, Nov 17 – The Works Cited Page II.
DUE: READ: Find, read and bring to class at least one
more article about your research topic that you will use in your paper AND “Adams”
by George Saunders (http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/)
WRITE Upload
your reading journal in form of a
comment to the blog
Wednesday, Nov 19 – The Annotated Bibliography
WRITE: Essay nr. 4 Outline
and Upload your reading journal in
form of a comment to the blog
Monday, Nov 24 – Essay Outline Workshop
DUE: READ: Find and read at least one more article about
your research topic that you will use in your paper (now you will have a total
of eight articles - or more - in your Annotated Bibliography) AND “The Looking Glass” by Anton Chekhov (http://fall2014readingblog.blogspot.com/ )
WRITE: Upload
your reading journal in form of a
comment to the blog
Wed, Nov 26 – Revision Strategies, Grammar Work
DUE: READ: “Chapter Eleven:
He Says Contends” from They Say/I
Say pp. 139-144
WRITE: Essay nr. 4 - Rough
Draft! (type, print and bring 3 copies to class) and The Annotated
Bibliography for Essay nr. 4
Monday, Dec 1 – Discussion of Martin Luther King Jr.,
“Letter from the Birmingham Jail” (handout)
DUE: READ: Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from the
Birmingham Jail” (handout)
Wednesday, Dec 3 – Conclusion to the class and Preparation
for Essay nr. 5
Research portfolio for Essay
nr. 4!
FINAL EXAM - Wednesday,
Dec 10 – In-class
Essay nr. 5
STUDENT MEETINGS – Monday, Dec 15
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