English A: Basic College Composition
Fall 2007
Instructor:
Jennifer McBride
Office Phone: 384-6376
Office Hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays 12 - 1 pm; or by appointment
Office: IAC 239
Course Description:
Since the purpose of this course is to
further develop the necessary skills to write effectively and to read critically for success in college-level courses of all types, students will use
the writing process to develop both formal and informal writing assignments, read and analyze a number of model
essays, stories, and one novel, and complete a formal documented research paper. Class discussion,
group work, and participation will be integral components of the course and methods of
enhancing students’ growing proficiency in writing and reading.
According to the Merced College Course Outline,
all English A students are required to read a minimum of 400-500 pages and to write a minimum of 6,000
edited
words per semester. To this end, we will be using The Prentice Hall Guide
for College Writers as our main
instructional text as well as reading one novel. You will be expected to respond
to out-of-class readings through informal writing assignments as well as to complete four formal
multi-draft essays
ranging from 500-1000 words (3-4 pages) to a formal research paper of 1500-2000
words (6-8 pages).
Writing Lab:
This
course has a mandatory co-requisite course, English AL, a writing lab. You must
be
enrolled in English AL in order to be enrolled in English A. It is your
responsibility to sign
up for and to complete your lab hours and assignments. No lab work (such as
journals, summaries, and essays) may be completed or read during class time. Note:
Students who have already passed the writing lab in a previous semester do not have to repeat it this semester.
Expected Student Outcomes (ESO):
According to the Merced College Course Outline, by the end of this course,
students should know how to:
A. Make the best use of the facilities and
offerings of Merced College in order to enhance
study techniques and skills necessary for success in college.
B. Make the appropriate connection between
reading, critical thinking, and writing.
C. Write at the English 1A entrance level
which includes:
1. making a claim/thesis,
2. supporting a claim/thesis with relevant examples and details,
3. developing a variety of support with appropriate methods such as:
a. narrative
b. comparison/contrast
c. illustrations/examples
d. cause/effect
e. argument
D. Apply sound grammatical
principles.
E. Utilize writing resource tools, such as
a thesaurus, handbook, and dictionary.
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Required Texts:
My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult
The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers, Stephen Reid, 7th edition
English Simplified (purchased with lab supplies)
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Course Requirements:
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Essay Assignments:
Essay
assignments must be turned in at the beginning of class on the due date.
Turning in a late paper will result in a substantially lowered grade on
that essay assignment. In cases of emergency, please contact me as soon as possible.
All papers must be typed and double-spaced
with one-inch margins on all sides. All
papers must conform to MLA standards as discussed in English Simplified. Please
staple your papers; do not use plastic covers.
Any
plagiarized essay will receive an automatic zero for all students involved.
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Mandatory Rough Draft Conferences:
One
week before final drafts of essays are due, I will reserve time to read rough
drafts. I will pass around a
sign-up sheet. Sign your name next
to the time that you would like to see me, and DON’T FORGET. Once you sign up, I will reserve that time specifically
for you. During these sessions, I
will answer questions, offer suggestions, help with grammar and
documentation, and give
insight into strengthening your writing. I
expect you to take notes; I will not edit your paper for you.
These conferences are mandatory and usually last 20
minutes. Bring with you a typed
rough draft of your essay,
the books being used for the assignment, any research materials, and
English Simplified.
Your final essay grade will be lowered by a full letter grade (10
points) if you do not 1) attend your conference or 2) bring a completed, typed
draft.
The Writing Center:
The Writing Center is housed in
Study Central (located at the back of the cafeteria). The Writing Center is
staffed by English teachers, as well as trained students who work alongside the
teachers. Simply stop by and sign up for a 15 minute appointment, and the
teacher will help you with your writing project, from brainstorming a topic,
outlining, developing your paragraphs, and editing the final draft. The Writing
Center is open daily from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. One extra credit point
will be given to students for each appointment they make in The Writing Center.
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Attendance:
Attendance
is mandatory. If you do not attend
class, you cannot do well. I reserve
the right to drop students due to excessive absences (four or more). Please note, I do not differentiate between excused and
unexcused absences; an absence is an absence.
I strictly uphold this attendance policy.
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Grades:
The
minimum passing grade in English A is a C.
Your
final grade is based on the points you accumulate. These points are converted into a percentage.
The grading scale is as follows:
100-90%
A
Essays=100 points X 5
89-80%
B
Reading Journal=100 points
79-70% C
Reading Quizzes=15 points X 4
69-60% D
59-0%
F
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Reading Journal:
Journal entries are required for each day reading is due. The minimum
length is one page in a composition notebook. Entries will be signed by
the instructor at the beginning of each class. Please note, these journals
are not private, and they will be shared with the class and instructor.
Late journals are not accepted. In addition to serving as a base for class
discussion and preparation for essays, your journal is also an attendance
record.
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Due Dates:
Remembering (Chapter 4)
August 14:
August 16: Chapter 4, pages 106-112
"The Day Language Came Into My Life", Helen Keller, pages 113-117
August 21: "Lives on the Boundary", Mike Rose, pages 118-125
August 23: "Beauty: When the Other Dance is the Self", Alice Walker, pages
126-133
August 28: "The Red Chevy", Juli Bovard, pages 150-153
August 30: Essay #1 Due
Evaluating (Chapter 8)
September 4: Chapter 8, pages 361-370
"Peter Jackson's Sorcery", Richard Alleva, pages 371-374
September 6: "All's Not Well in Land of 'The Lion King'", Margaret Lazarus,
pages 376-377
"Today's Special, David Sedaris, pages 378-380
September 11: "Prime Time Art?", Hughes and Rogers, pages 380-386
September 13: "Watching the Eyewitless News", Elayne Rapping, pages 388-394
September 18:
September 20: Essay #2 Due
Problem Solving (Chapter 9)
September 25: Chapter 9, pages 421-4312
September 27: "Solving for Pattern", Wendell Berry, pages 431-436
October 2: "The Argument Culture", Deborah Tannen, pages
436-443
October 4: Professor out for conference: class cancelled
October 9: "No Parking", Busch, Krause, and Wright, pages 456-461
October 11:
October 16:
October 18: Essay #3 Due
Argument and Responding to Literature (Chapters 10 and 11)
October 23: My Sister's Keeper, pages 1-98
October 25: pages 99-200
October 30: pages 203-298
November 1: pages 299-end
November 6:
November 8: Essay #4 Due
The Research Paper (Chapter 12)
November 13: Chapter 12, pages 611-618
November 15: "The Research Notebook", pages 619-622
November 20: "Foreign Language Study: An American Necessity", Kate McNerny,
pages 674-688
November 22: Thanksgiving
December 4:
December 6:
December 11: Research paper and notebook due from 8:00 to 10:00 am
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Last updated on August 13th, 2007 by Jennifer
McBride
Note: This syllabus is subject to change at the instructor's
discretion.