English 21

Required Texts and materials:        

Rules for Writers w/ Exercises to Accompany Rules for Writers, Diana Hacker, 6th

Chanel, Axel Madsen

A dictionary

In this class students will discover the world of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.  Along the way, they will be introduced to swatches of history, literature, art and music represented by Moliere, Jean Cocteau, Winston Churchill, Picasso, Richard Wagner, and many others.  Grammar and rhetorical modes will be studied within the context of assigned readings.

This is a hybrid class.  Students must complete an hour of work in the electronic class room per week.  Students are encouraged to seek help in the Learning Skills Center located in C-102.  All assignments are to be submitted in person, except for the final versions of Formal Papers.  Final versions of Formal Papers will be submitted to the electronic classroom.

Course Goals.  This course reviews the essentials of good sentence writing: grammar, usage, and mechanics.  The main emphasis is on practice of paragraph and essay construction. 

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to construct a four paragraph essay featuring the basic components of academic discourse, including an introduction, a conclusion and a body of two paragraphs containing reasons and/or demonstrative examples. Students will be able to understand the importance of revision and demonstrate the ability to write and revise short 2-3 page essays. Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of various rhetorical strategies appropriate to an academic essay. Students will be able to demonstrate a rudimentary knowledge of MLA documentation form and limited ability to incorporate outside readings into an essay. Students will be able to recognize and correct serious intrusive grammatical errors that interfere with comprehension, such as run-on sentences, comma splices, fragments, problems with verb forms and forming plurals, punctuation and spelling errors, and homonym confusion. Students will be able to engage in class discussions of readings that demonstrate the student's ability to analyze, outline and interpret nonfiction and/or fiction, identifying main ideas and supporting ideas.  Students will be able to use a thesaurus as a writing tool.  Since this is a hybrid class, students will become more comfortable navigating the Internet and the electronic classroom, resulting in improved computer skills.

Quizzes and Exercises.   There will be in-class quizzes and writing exercises daily; therefore, attendance is important.  These quizzes and exercises cannot be made up at another time.  Some of these quizzes and exercise will be for a letter grade; some will be for credit/no credit. If over 10% of quizzes and exercises are missing, your final grade will be lowered one full grade, e.g. A becomes B.   Grammar homework may be assigned on an as-needed basis.  This homework is not always collected, but always corrected. 

In-Class Essays.   “In-class” essay means just that – it is to be written IN THE CLASSROOM during class time, not at home. You must take all in-class essays.  You will be allowed to make-up only one in-class essay.  You must make it up within one week during my office hours, not during class time.  In-class essays will serve as rough drafts for formal papers.

Formal Papers.  You will write a total of 3 formal papers.  These papers are to be typed, double – spaced, printed in 12 point Courier (or the equivalent), and have one-inch margins all the way around.  The MLA format must be followed.    All of your prewriting, (notes, outlines, drafts) and photocopies of sources (if applicable) must be turned in with final versions of papers.  Please turn in your assignments stapled, without any report cover, sheet protector, or folder. Papers must be submitted in the assigned order, i.e. paper #2 cannot be turned in before paper #1.  You must turn in all papers, or you will receive an F.  All formal papers are to be submitted by 11:30 p.m. on the date due.

Exit Exam.  All students must take the Departmental Exit Exam. If you do no take the Exit Exam, you will not pass the class.  If you do not pass this final, there is a possibility that you will not pass the class.  The topic is chosen by English faculty.  There may be ungraded practice Exit Exams throughout the semester

Readings.  Assigned readings are to be read before the class meeting as indicated on the Assignment Schedule.  Readings not contained in the texts will be provided.  On occasion, there may not be enough time to discuss an assigned reading in class; however, you are still responsible for knowing the content.

Summary and Response papers, aka, Journals.  You must turn in a loose-leaf academic journal for every assigned reading.  Journals are due at the beginning of class. You may not turn in your journals late.  Journals must follow the Summary and Response format.  These papers do not need to be typed.  You will receive credit/no credit for this work, not a letter grade. 

Attendance.   Whenever absences in ‘hours’ exceed the number of hours the class meets per week, the instructor may exclude the student from class.   Students who are absent the second class meeting will be dropped. If you are absent on any day, for any reason, it is your responsibility to get a class update (i.e., material covered, homework, etc.) by asking another student. Please remember that students, and not the instructor, are responsible for keeping up with college assignments and the pace of the course.

A Note on Plagiarism.  Plagiarism is intentionally or unintentionally presenting information from another source as if it were your own.  Any assignment that has been plagiarized will receive an F.

Portfolio.  You may be required to turn in a complete portfolio containing all class work: Quizzes, Exercises, In-class Essays, and drafts and final revisions of Papers.  Keep everything.

Grades.  Your writing skills are supposed to get better during the semester; therefore, you will be graded on improvement.  Grades will be determined as follows:

Online assignments     20%

            In-class essays              30%

            Exit Exam                   20%

            Writing Assignments  30%

            Portfolio                      100%

Americans with Disabilities Act

Students with disabilities who need any assistance or accommodation should contact the instructor.

All Three Formal Papers for English 21

Formal Paper #1

In-Class paragraph #1 Revision

Your assignment is to correct, improve, and develop your in-class paragraph #1.  The first thing you should do is look up the revision symbols located on the front inside cover of Rules for Writers.   Make all corrections indicated, including spelling and formatting.  Improve your paper by improving: sentence type, word choice, examples, etc.   Also, add at least one supporting quote. Keep in mind that you may go to the Writing Center in room C-100 for assistance.

Guidelines

Minimum length: at least 3 paragraphs.  This assignment must be typed, double – spaced between lines, printed in 12 point Courier (or the equivalent), and have one-inch margins all the way around.  Must follow MLA Format.

Formal Paper #2

Personal Essay

By now you have read and commented on several “This I Believe” assignments in the electronic classroom.  Now it is time for you to write your own.  For this essay, you will write a 500 word personal essay describing an idea or a principle you believe in.  Keep in mind that you may go to the Writing Center in room C-100 for assistance.  Follow the MLA format.  Include a Works Cited page.  See class notes and handouts for further information.

Guidelines

Minimum length: 5 paragraphs.  This assignment must be typed, double – spaced between lines, printed in 12 point Courier New (or the equivalent), and have one-inch margins all the way around. 

Formal Paper #3

Persuasive

Choose one of the following:

• Research a college or university that offers Bachelor’s degrees or higher.  Write a paper in which you try to persuade other students to attend the college of your choosing.  Make sure the paper contains properly cited information from the school’s web site.

• Research a career.  Write a paper in which you try to persuade other students to investigate this career choice.  Make sure the paper contains properly cited information from a professional organization associated with this career.

Guidelines

Minimum length: 700 words.  This assignment must be typed, double – spaced between lines, printed in 12 point Courier New (or the equivalent), and have one-inch margins all the way around.  Paper must contain at least one quote, one parenthetical citation, and one in-text citation in MLA Format.  Do not forget the works cited page!

If you fail to submit any of the Formal Papers, you will not pass the class.
 

**Academic journals based on the above assigned readings are due every day at the beginning of class. 

This Syllabus and the Assignment Schedule to this syllabus are subject to change.