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ENGL 1320, Section 254: College Writing II
REQUIRED TEXTS: Your syllabus (bring your syllabus to class every
day!) PREREQUISITE: ENG 1310 Since English 1310 is a prerequisite for this course, you are expected to be competent in all grammar and writing areas that the introductory course covers. I will work with you on this, but not in detail, and not in class. If you have trouble with basic writing problems, SEE ME ASAP. Recommended Texts: Course Description and Policies You may wonder why a writing course would feature literature-- what is the point of discussing books, poems, short stories and drama anyway, especially if you are not going to be an English major? In fact, this course is structured around the assumption that most of you will not take another English course in college. I do not expect you to be literary critics. What is most important for you to realize is that texts, and contexts, are a part of EVERYONE's lives-- not just the English major. Even if you don't consider yourself a reader, you should know how to look with a careful eye at the world around you. P.T. Barnum once said "there's a sucker born every minute." One of the best ways to ensure that you do not become a sucker is to use your brain-- which is what we will be doing in this course. The idea behind reading and analyzing literary texts is that it will make you able to better read and analyze all kinds of texts. We will write a lot in this course. You will turn in a reading journal every day-- some of them are relatively informal but are REQUIRED. It's easy to make a decent grade in this course if you TRY and do all the work. Skills that we will cover in this course are:
Grades:
POLICIES: TALK TO ME: This is the most important element of this course-- if you have trouble with any of the assignments, or you are falling behind, or you miss class, talk to me before it becomes a serious problem. I cannot help you if you come to me on the day of the final, after you've been having trouble all semester. I also will not come to you, first. You have the responsibility of making sure I know what's going on-- few problems are insurmountable if you try-- but I will not make the first effort. Talk to me, before it's too late to fix it. NOTE: Students with special needs (as documented by the Office of Disability Services) should identify themselves at the beginning of the semester. Leslie Marmon Silko Readings: This semester, we have the unique opportunity to hear a respected author lecture about her work. You will be REQUIRED to attend one of the three readings that will take place this semester; only written and pre-approved (by me) excuses will be accepted. If you do not attend one of the lectures without an excuse, I will lower your homework/journals grade 10 points. Dates for Silko readings: all readings begin at 7:30 pm, in the Alkek Teaching Theatre. Wednesday February 7th Tuesday, March 6th Wednesday, April 4th Reading Assignments: You are responsible for having the assignments READ COMPLETELY the day that your syllabus lists them; this means you must read ahead on the syllabus. We will discuss the reading in class, the day it is listed. If you have not read your assignment you will not be considered prepared for class, and may be asked to leave. Reading Material: Some of the readings and films for this course contain scenes of violence, consensual sex, sexual assault and/or the use of expletives. We are all adults here, so I expect you to react to these scenes in a mature way and to understand that they serve important thematic functions and are not gratuitous. Homework/In Class Work: Homework may include exercises, both written and otherwise, short writing assignments (from essays to other types of writing), journal entries, and possibly other work that will develop writing skills. You should expect to write every day. You are expected to participate in collaborative activities, class discussions, and listen to the occasional lecture. Realize that the work I give you is not to keep you busy-- it really will help you learn to become a better writer. Trust me on this one, please. Journals: Almost every day, I will assign a topic on which you will write your daily journal; which you will turn in at the beginning of class. The journal writing is a semi-formal assignment-- it does not have to be as polished as an essay, but must be well-considered and proofread. Formal elements of style & grammar should also be followed-- all must be typed. Check the daily reading schedule for your assignment-- each day's journal is listed as "Writing" and generally consists of answering specific chapter questions; however, other assignments are possible. Your grade will be a check, a check plus, a check minus or a zero on this grade. You will have a minimum of a check if the assignment is turned in- to get the "higher" grades, you must "wow" me. Essays: You will write five major essays during this class, the Film Review, the Short Fiction Analysis, the Critical Research paper, the Poetry Analysis and the Drama Analysis. Essays Two & Three are tied together- essentially, essay two is a polished beginning for your documented essay three. More details on this are forthcoming. Writing is a major component of the course so you should expect to do good, well edited, revised and grammatically correct work on each essay. You will receive a prompt for each essay several weeks before it is due-- I suggest you follow the prompt carefully and you should do fine. The essay component of this class is worth 60% of your final grade. Film Review: The film review is a special assignment. You are required to read and use the handout from A Short Guide to Writing About Film for this assignment; although we will not specifically discuss the handout in class, it is expected that you will have read it for your critique. The critique will need to be much, much more than mere plot synopsis (in fact, plot synopsis will get you the lowest grade). You will choose the film that you will review from a list of approved films. You will receive more details about this assignment in class, but it is not a "blow off" paper-- I expect you to do serious critical thinking. Final Exam: The final exam in any first-year English course is a substantial in-class paper. The paper may be impromptu, or I may announce topics in advance and allow you to bring notes. In any event, the paper itself must be drafted and revised during the regular 2 1/2-hour final exam period. The exam will count for 20% of the course grade. Attendance: Students are expected to attend class and complete all assignments. You are responsible for providing evidence to substantiate "authorized" absences. If you know in advance that you will have to miss a class, you are responsible for informing me. I will take attendance every day! Don't think that because I am not calling out names and asking for a "here" that I do not know when you're absent. I have my ways. Attendance includes late arrival-- after three tardies, you will begin to be counted absent. You are allowed two unexplained absences before you willbegin losing points on the 5 % attendance grade. Deadlines: Late papers and assignments cause conflict in everyone's schedule. Unless you discuss problems that may cause you to turn in late assignments with me, preferably ahead of deadline, your paper grade may be dropped by up to 10 points for every day you are late. Obviously, you want to turn in your assignments when they are due. YOU CANNOT PASS THIS CLASS WITHOUT COMPLETING ALL OF YOUR ASSIGNMENTS IN A TIMELY MANNER. Do not come to me the day before the having been in class for two days in the beginning of the semester and then disappearing and expect me to help you out. It won't happen in this lifetime. Presenting others' work as your own-- Plagiarism policy. Any apparent scholastic dishonesty (e.g., plagiarism) will be promptly reported to the proper authorities and will result in a grade of "F" for the course and a letter of reprimand in your file. Any assignment that does not appear to be deliberate plagiarism but fails to include proper and clear attribution of sources or direct quotation will receive a grade of Zero. The handouts in this course are copyrighted. Before you make "copies" of anything that is handed out in this classroom you must speak to me first. Incomplete policy: You should not assume that you may "take an incomplete" in this course. If you "disappear" from my class at midterm, and then show up the day before grades are due requesting an "I" YOU WILL NOT get one. You will, instead, receive the grade you have earned: an "F." This is non-negotiable. I will sympathize with the problems that made you stop attending class but I will not be able to do any more than recommend you retake the course. If you miss ten or more class days, you will automatically receive an "F" for the course, even if you have turned in all the papers. Classroom Behavior: Disruptive classroom behavior, defined as anything that would interfere with "an instructor's ability to conduct the class" or "the ability of other students to profit from the instructional program" is explicitly prohibited. You will be given a warning, and if behavior continues, you will be asked to leave. Please do not push me on this one-- I will not tolerate class disruption. Paper Formats: All essays should be typed (letter quality printing required), double spaced, on bond paper, according to MLA guidelines for paper formatting. Journals should also be typed, and double spaced, unless this is a very difficult process for you- any difficulty in typing your journals must be addressed in advance to me. Office Hours: My office hours are your scheduled time to speak to me about questions you have concerning class policies, things you didn't understand in class discussion of the readings, your "works-in-progress," personal problems that you need to bring up, etcetera. I'm there for every office hour and encourage your taking advantage of this scheduled time to talk to me. |
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