ENGLISH 1B: INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE
SYLLABUS Fall 2006

Required Items | Description | Objectives | Attendance Policies | 
Grading Policies and Course Assignments | Academic Honesty | Writing Requirements |  MLA Info.

Required Items: 
Texts:

Literature: The Human Experience, Shorter 8th ed., Abcarian and Klotz
The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald
Bright Lights, Big City, McInerney
Course Packet of Handouts (in MC bookstore)

Strongly recommended:
Readily available Internet and word processing access
Formatted 3.5" disk, pen/flash drive, or similar device to save your work
Any college-level dictionary and thesaurus
A binder and binder paper
Highlighter pens
Post-it notes, post-it tabs

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Course Description:
English 1B is a transfer-level literature course designed to familiarize or to re-familiarize students with a 
number of aspects concerning literary study.  These include reading, responding, and writing about the
major literary types or genres.  Writers of various countries and periods are read in order to encourage
an understanding and appreciation of literature's history, range, artistry, and insight into the human experience.
In addition, this class will concentrate on literary terms and critical approaches to enhance students skills in
writing essays of explication, analysis, comparison and contrast, and literary research.

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Course Requirements, Objectives, and Expected Student Learning Outcomes:

According to the Merced College Course Outline, all English 1B students are required to read and 
respond to an extensive variety of selections covering the various genres. Throughout the semester, 
students will write 7,000edited words which will include four or more essays outside of class, 
in-class writing assignments and exams, and journals. To this end, we will be using a thematic approach, 
rather than a historical/chronological approach, to understand selections in our textbook as well 
as the two novels.  Your active participation and collaboration in this course are required for your success.

During the course of the semester, the student should acquire the ability to: 
Expected Student Learning Outcomes

A.  Differentiate literary genres and identify individual works as representative of those genres.
B.  Acquire a critical vocabulary of specific literary terms in order to interpret works 
representative of these genres.
C.  Analyze critically various representative works through application of literary terms.
D.  Identify representative critical theories.
E.  Examine literary works in terms of those critical theories for interpretation.
F.  Appraise the value of literature as a means for understanding the human condition.

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Absences/Tardies/Late Work:

Your enrollment in this course signifies your ability and willingness to complete the course
work.  If you are not able to attend regularly or to complete assignments in a timely fashion,
you are jeopardizing your own academic success and your learning community experience.  A 
reasonable number of absences would be no more than one absence per course unit: that 
means three absences for the semester.  This class begins and ends on time and frequent 
(more than three) tardies and/or early departures will be counted as absences. Roll will be taken 
at each class. Points will be assigned for attendance as well as for participation in work done in class. 
Save your absences for when you are really sick or in a bind and be sure to communicate with your 
instructor. You may leave a note in my mailbox, a phone message, or an e-mail if you will be absent.  
If you are absent, you are responsible for getting the required work to me via another student in this 
class or by arranging to have it brought to my mailbox, office, or in person to me on campus as close to 
our class time as possible.  If you want exceptions, a break, or special consideration, my 
commitment to fairness and consistency may work against you.

It is the student's responsibility to drop the class if he or she no longer wishes to attend; 
however, I reserve the right to drop you if you are not here the first day of class and/or for 
excessive absences during the semester unless notified elsewhere.

Late Work:
I do not accept late work in this class (except for what is described in the next "Safety Nets" 
section).  Assignments are due be class time on the day the assignment is due.  This policy is 
designed to reward responsibility and to discourage procrastination. Plan ahead for potential
technical, transportation, childcare, and other difficulties.   If you miss in-class work including 
group work, quizzes, exams, in-class writing, etc. due to absence or incomplete attendance, 
you lose credit for this work.  Extenuating circumstances may modify this policy; 
however, it is the student's responsibility to bring these circumstances to my attention 
as soon as possible (before class or at least the same day) so that the necessary 
arrangements can be made.

“Safety Nets”:
During the course of the semester, students will be allowed one rewrite and one late essay, 
but only if s/he has turned in on time all other work required for that particular  essay. 
A student may not utilize both “safety net” options on the same assignment. The rewritten 
or late paper must be turned in with all other work for that assignment to my mailbox, office, 
or in person to me on campus, no later than the beginning of the next class session.
It is the student’s responsibility to write a short but specific note explaining why s/he decided 
to rewrite the paper or why the paper is late. THIS OPTION DOES NOT APPLY TO 
IN-CLASS WRITING ASSIGNMENTS OR THE LAST WRITING ASSIGNMENT 
OF THE SEMESTER.

Extra credit assignments are offered periodically for students wishing to improve their grades. 
There is a limit to how many points you can accumulate through extra credit.

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Grading Policies and Course Assignments:

Your performance on written assignments will be the primary source of your grades. In general, your
essays will be graded for focus, organization, development, grammar and mechanics, meeting minimum
length requirements, and your overall ability to engage the assigned readings in a manner appropriate to
college-level work.  The writing assignments serve to illustrate that the student has read and contemplated
each text in more than a cursory fashion.  

Your final grade is based on the number of points you accumulate during the semester on all of your course
assignments.  The points you earn on these assignments will be weighted and converted into a percentage
that will give you a letter grade at the end of the semester. Graded assignments will be returned and grades
will be posted regularly throughout the semester.

Grading Scale:
90%-100% = A     80%-89% = B     70%-79% = C     60-69% = D    0-59% = F

Writing--Essays, Reading Journals, and In-Class Writing = 60%
Assessment--Quizzes and Exams (including Midterm and Final Exam) = 20%
Other--Group Work, Participation/Attendance, and Misc.= 20%

Course Assignments:

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Academic Honesty:
The intentional or unintentional presentation of information from another source as if it were 
your own is plagiarism. In this learning community you will learn to incorporate and document 
outside sources correctly in order to avoid plagiarism. We will also utilize the website turnitin.com  
in order to insure that your ideas are not plagiarized.  All other forms of cheating, copying, or 
academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. A failing grade on a plagiarized assignment and a 
formal complaint in your student personnel file are the least we can do to enforce this academic law. 
Further consequences can include a failing grade for the course, being dropped from the learning 
community, or academic probation.

Collegiate Behavior and Common Courtesy:
Students are expected to be punctual, prepared, and ready to participate. Everyone deserves the
right to study and learn in an atmosphere that is relatively free from distractions; therefore, before 
you enter class, please turn off and put away all beepers/pagers, cell phones/text messaging, headphones, 
and all other personal electronic equipment that can cause disruption.  During discussion students 
should listen respectfully, both to other students and to the instructor. I will not tolerate disruptive 
behavior in class and will ask you to leave if the problem persists. Food and beverages should be 
consumed outside. Due to Merced College liability policies, persons not enrolled in the class 
should not be in the classroom.

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Student Contacts:
It is a good idea to get at least 2 fellow students’ names, phone numbers and/or e-mail 
addresses in case you miss class or you need help on an assignment.
 

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Writing Requirements:
All essays must be typed using standard MLA format (double-spaced, 12 point, Times New 
Roman font, 1 inch margins all around, last name and page number in upper right hand corner, 
and Works Cited page as needed). For further instructions in formatting and organizing essays 
for this course, see "Writing About Literature" pgs. 71-75 in your Abcarian and Klotz text 
and "MLA format" information on this syllabus.

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Basic MLA Citation and Documentation Information:

Use the following examples to document quotations from our texts for this course:

                                                                    Works Cited

          Abcarian, Richard and Marvin Klotz, eds. Literature: The Human Experience. Shorter 8th ed.

                    Boston: Bedford, 2004.

         Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, Scribner, 1925.

         McInerney, Jay. Bright Lights, Big City. New York: Vintage, 1984.

         Tan, Amy. "Two Kinds." Literature: The Human Experience. Shorter 8th ed. Ed. Richard

                     Abcarian and Marvin Klotz. Boston: Bedford, 2004. 366-374.

MLA Format:

Using Microsoft Word, set up your essays in correct MLA format following these guidelines:

• Select Times New Roman, size 12 font.
• Go to the “Format” drop down Menu and choose “Paragraph.” Go to “Line Spacing” 
  and select “Double,” then click “OK.”
• Go to the “File” drop down Menu and choose “Page Setup.” Set the Top, Bottom, Left, and 
  Right margins to 1”, then click “OK.”
• Go to the “View” drop down Menu and choose “Header and Footer.” Click on the right justify 
  icon (a little series of horizontal lines in upper right of toolbar—find the one with long and short lines 
  aligned to the right). Type in your last name and press the space bar a few times to leave room 
  for the page number. Make sure your font is still “Times New Roman,” size 12.
• In the “Header and Footer” menu bar, click on the little blank page icon with a # symbol in it to 
  insert page numbers after your last name. You may need to adjust the spacing a bit.

THIS SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE