Course Description. This advanced composition course is open to all students who have successfully completed English 101 and who expect to transfer to four year colleges and universities.  Students will do extensive reading and writing that require critical thinking skills and research techniques.  Students will demonstrate their ability to apply critical thinking skills and advanced composition skills in researching and writing a series of papers on topics from various academic disciplines.  These expository and argumentative essays will demonstrate the ability to analyze issues, evaluate positions, and argue persuasively in clear prose.

Using Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran as a guide, you will navigate through literary criticism, sociology, history, cultural studies, and psychology, to discuss, defend, and argue the conclusions drawn by scholars on representative texts of the literary canon. Through your research, you will interconnect a variety of academic disciplinary perspectives to arrive at a conclusion of your own.

Course Requirements.  There will be quizzes and writing exercises daily; therefore, it is important to keep up with the reading assignments and note taking.  Whenever absences in ‘hours’ equals the number of hours the class meets per week, the student may be excluded from class by the instructor.   Keep in mind, that ultimately it is the student’s responsibility to drop the class if he or she decides to no longer attend. 

Since this is a hybrid course, entering students are expected to:

         Know the Moodle course system
         Know how to use a computer. Students must know how to navigate the

Internet and use word processing software.  Students must know functions

such as: cut and paste, formatting, saving documents in different types of files, etc.

         Remember their own password
         Have their own email address of which their name, as it appears on the

roster, appears in the ‘From’ line

The classroom portal is located at: http://moodle.lattc.edu

Click on “English 103 #3731”

The key to enter the classroom is <hybrid>

Classroom Activities Overview

The class will meet in-person on Tuesdays for two hours.  In class activities will include lecture, discussion of literature, writing exercises, group activities, and peer editing of drafts of formal papers.

The Moodle classroom contains the required 1 hour 10 minutes that students must do each week.  The Moodle system will log your hours. These assignments are due on the Friday of the week indicated. Most of the assignments will be the same each week: students are to summarize and respond to an interesting and relevant article from a major newspaper (acceptable web sites are listed in assignment). Every now and then, the assignment will vary. You will also be responsible for completing plagiarism and MLA Format exercises.  Articles chosen may be used as research in formal papers.   This work counts as attendance and class participation.  If you fail to do the online work for 3 weeks, it will count as one absence.  After 2 absences, you may be dropped from the course or receive a reduced grade.  It is recommended that students identify an accessible internet café in case of computer problems. No, you may not submit work via email.  All online work must be submitted into the appropriate Moodle classroom portal in order to receive credit.  Work will not be accepted via email.

All Formal Papers are due on Fridays of the week indicated.  The Tuesday before a paper is due, students are to bring 2 copies of their rough draft – one for their peers, and one for the instructor.  Students will review each other’s papers and the instructor will provide feedback on each draft.

In-Class Essays.  There will be a total of three in-class essays, including the English Exit Exam (see below).  In-class essays are to be written in the classroom during the assigned class time.  Once engaged in taking the in-class essay, students may not leave the classroom. If you miss one in-class essay, your final grade will be lowered one letter grade.  If you miss two in-class essays, you will be dropped from the class.  Make-up essays must be taken within one week of the original essay date; they must be taken during my office hours, not during class time.

English Exit Exam.  All students must take the Departmental English Exit Exam. If you do no take the 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. 

Journals.   Students must turn in a loose-leaf (no notebooks) academic journal for each assigned reading; journals will be one page response papers due at the beginning of class.  No late journals will be accepted.  The journal does not need to be typed.

Formal Papers.  You will complete four research papers outside of class.  Research papers will vary in length.  Since the minimum number of pages as stipulated in the official course outline are requested, you must turn in all papers assigned with the minimum amount of pages due, or you will fail the class. Papers may be peer edited, (drafts shared with classmates for comments & proofreading). All papers must follow the MLA format. Late papers will receive a reduced grade for each day late. Papers will not be accepted via email.  Papers must be submitted in consecutive order – you must turn in the first assignment before the second assignment, etc.  When you submit papers at an unconventional/inconvenient time and/or place, you will be doing so at your own risk. Note: Wikipedia is not an acceptable source.  No reference resources is considered research.

Grading Criteria:

An A paper is free from careless grammatical, spelling, and organizational errors. It begins with a clear topic sentence, explains the purpose of the topic, and concludes in the first paragraph with a thesis. It has seamless transitions from paragraph to paragraph, never losing sight of its focal point. It draws a logical conclusion that answers or solves a problem stated in the thesis. It meets the length requirement of the assignment; it has an original point of view that is lively and interesting to read. It has no format errors. It does not contain contractions (‘can’t’ instead of ‘cannot,’ etc.) or the first person narrative (“I,” “you,” etc.) Also, it is turned in on time. It demonstrates inclusion and/or consideration of comments and advice from previous papers.

A B paper has many of qualities found in the A paper, but it might have one too many writing errors that tarnish the shine an A paper has. It might be an A paper in all features, but it contains weak examples. Often it lacks the depth of explanation and originality seen in an A paper. A B paper might have one minor format flaw. It may contain a few contractions and/or the first person narrative. It may not demonstrate inclusion and/or consideration of comments and advice from previous papers.

A C paper is an adequate essay. It may have errors, but not enough to hurt its clarity. It shows some of the A and B qualities, but it does not develop the idea to its fullness. It may contain contractions and/or the first person narrative. It may not demonstrate inclusion and/or consideration of comments and advice from previous papers.

A D paper is an inadequate essay. It contains all or some of the following problems: It falls too short, has too many errors, lacks a clear focus, lacks a logical argument, rambles, loses its focal point, or is too general. It may contain a contractions and/or the first person narrative. It may not demonstrate inclusion and/or consideration of comments and advice from previous papers.

An F paper is off topic, or poorly written. A student who writes two fail papers is not ready for college English 101. He/She should enroll in a developmental course as soon as possible. It may contain contractions and/or the first person narrative.

It is recommended that you keep all work done in relation to this class.

Grading (subject to change pending needs of class)

Grades will be determined as follows:

            Quizzes, Exercises

            Class Participation        10%

            In Class Essays              30%

            Writing Assignments    60%

Plagiarism, or copying and use of another’s work without proper acknowledgment, is not permitted, nor is it permissible for anyone to allow another person to copy his or her work for the purposes of assessment.  Plagiarism is a form of theft; if you are caught plagiarizing, your paper will receive an ‘F’ and you will be asked to leave the class.

Americans with Disabilities Act

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

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

English 103

Research Paper #1

You may use Reading Lolita in Tehran as a source in all papers.

Type: Synthesis

Length: 1250 Words; use Word Count

Subject: Lolita

Research criticism and of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.  Refer to your class notes for further direction.

Outline Suggestion I

Paragraph One:           Introduction

Paragraph Two:           Summary of first writer

Paragraph Three:         Summary of second writer

Paragraph Four:           Summary of third writer

Paragraph Five:           Summary of fourth writer

Paragraph Six:             Conclusion

Outline Suggestion II

Paragraph One:           Introduction

Paragraph Two:           Argument #1 in favor of X, supported by different writers

Paragraph Three:         Argument #2 in favor of X, supported by different writers

Paragraph Four:           Argument #1 against X, supported by different writers

Paragraph Five:           Argument #2 against X, supported by different writers

Paragraph Six:             Conclusion

Guidelines

• Must be typed or word processed
• Must follow MLA format
• Printed in 12 pt Courier New or the equivalent
• Must have Works Cited page containing at least four sources

If you do not follow the above guidelines, your paper will not be accepted.

Research Paper #2

Type: Synthesis

Length: 1250 Words; use Word Count

Subject: The Great Gatsby

Research criticism of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.  Refer to Research Paper # 1 and your class notes for further direction.

Guidelines

• Must be typed or word processed
• Must follow MLA format
• Printed in 12 pt Courier New or the equivalent
• Must have Works Cited page containing at least four sources

If you do not follow the above guidelines, your paper will not be accepted.

Research Paper #3

Type: Argumentative

Length: 2500 Words; use Word Count

Subject:  Lolita or The Great Gatsby

Choose an interesting claim from Research Paper 1 or 2 and argue for or against it.  Use either the Rogerian or Classical structure.  Please try to use some sources from outside the English discipline.

Guidelines

• Must be typed or word processed
• Must follow MLA format
• Printed in 12 pt Courier New or the equivalent
• Must have Works Cited page containing at least 10 sources including the assigned text

If you do not follow the above guidelines, your paper will not be accepted.

Research Paper #4

Type: Argumentative

Length:  1250 Words; use Word Count

Subject:  Pride and Prejudice

Choose an interesting claim from researching criticism on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and argue for or against it.  Use either the Rogerian or Classical structure.  Please try to use some sources from outside the English discipline.

Guidelines

• Must be typed or word processed
• Must follow MLA format
• Printed in 12 pt Courier New or the equivalent
• Must have Works Cited page containing at least 5

If you do not follow the above guidelines, your paper will not be accepted.

Assignment Schedule*

English 103

Lisa Moreno

Spring 2009

Los Angeles Trade-Technical College

Week     Date                  Assignment                                                             What’s Due**

*Subject to Change

** Academic journals are due every day there is a reading assigned

***Bring 2 copies of rough drafts to class.  One copy is for me, and the other is for your peers.