Specific Assignments: Students will write three papers and participate in other course work and must earn at least 200 points to earn a permit to take the Departmental Exam.  The Departmental Exam is pass/fail only, but all students must pass it in order to pass the course; students’ grades are determined by the total number of points they earn on writing assignments and other course work and by passing the Departmental Exam. Students with 200 points and a passing grade on the exam will earn a C in the course and may write papers 4 and 5, time permitting, to earn more points.  Extra credit points are added to the total number of points.  I use System 2: Letter Grades for this course (see Department Syllabus).

    Points

Assignment 1—writing exercise -joining the conversation                         (250-300     words)                   20

Assignment 2—writing exercise-summary                                                   (250-300     words)                   20

Assignment 3—writing exercise-summary & response                             (250-300     words)                   20

Paper #1—referential                                                                                        (600-700     words)                   70

Paper #2—research & Info Game                                                                  (1000-1100 words)                   90

Paper #3—analytical-evaluative                                                                      (600- 750     words)         70                                     

Departmental Exam—analytical-evaluative—referential (taken in an ACC Testing Center) 

                                                                                                                         (600 -650     words)           pass/fail only

Paper #4—argumentative/research                                                                (1000-1100 words)                85

Paper# 5—abstract definition                                                                        (1000-1100 words)                   85   

                                                                                                                                                                460 possible points

­­

Grade scale (after passing the Departmental Exam):

370 & above = A

270—369       =B                                                                          

200—269       =C

199 & below   =F

Online Orientation: Students are required to complete the online orientation found on Blackboard by the first Friday of the first week of classes. Students who do not complete the Orientation by the first week of classes will be withdrawn from the course.

Departmental Exam: The Departmental Exam is a handwritten, interpretive-analytical-evaluation essay that all students will write in any one of ACC's Testing Centers and after they have earned at least 200 points on course work.  The exam is not optional and all students must pass it in order to earn a passing grade in the course. Students have two opportunities to take the exam but if they fail twice and cannot withdraw, they will fail the course regardless of how many points they have earned on course work (see the Student Handbook and my course calendar for the withdrawal deadline).  The Departmental Exam is not graded—it is marked pass/fail only.  Students who pass it and have at least 200 points may pass the course with a C.  Students who want to earn more points after passing the Departmental Exam may move on to papers #4 and# 5, time permitting.  Students may not turn in two papers at once; this includes edited, revised and rewritten papers as well as extra credit assignments.  

Reading Schedule and Essay Due Dates—Spring 2012
Send all your work to me via ACC e-mail and make sure you format it correctly—see syllabus for formatting examples.
This syllabus is subject to change.

Week One:
Go to Blackboard to read course syllabus and then to complete online orientation.
Complete Online orientation by 5:00 P.M. Friday of the first week
Get the text book and the handbook and be ready to begin reading and writing assignments in week two

Familiarize yourself with MLA style documentation for formatting papers.
Read in handbook:
159-162 sample formatting for papers in MLA style
122-130 MLA in-text citation
130-155 MLA Works Cited page
If you do not buy the handbook, go to Blackboard, Course Materials, for all the information you will need to get familiar with and learn for correct usage of MLA style documentation.
ACC also has tutors in their Learning Labs that can help you format your papers using MLA style.

Week Two:
Read in textbook:
Chapter I “They Say” pages 19-29 AND complete exercise #1 on page 28 by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday.
Read “2b or Not 2b?” by David Crystal [p. 335]

Assignment #1 (250-300 words)
Answer Crystal “Joining the Conversation” questions 1-4 [p. 346]
Due by 5:00 p.m. Friday of the second week.

Week Three:
Read in textbook:
Chapter 12—(“What’s Motivating This Writer?” –Reading for the Conversation)
Chapter 2—(Her Point Is?” : The Art of Summarizing)
“Don’t Blame the Eater,” by David Zinczenko [p. 391]

Assignment #2 (250-300 words)
Write a summary of Zinczekko’s essay (review Chapter 2 on summarizing)
Due by 5:00 p.m. Friday of the third week

Read in handbook:
159-162 sample formatting for papers in MLA style
122-130 MLA in-text citation
130-155 MLA Works Cited page

Week Four:
Read in textbook:
Chapter 4 (“Yes / No / Okay, But”: Three Ways to Respond)
“What You Eat Is Your Business” by Radley Balko [p. 395]
“Remarks to the NAACP National Convention,” a speech by Michelle Obama [p. 417]

Assignment #3 (250-300 words)
Write a summary of and response to Radley Balko’s essay or Michele Obama’s speech
Due by 5:00 p.m. Friday of the fourth week

Week Five:
Read in textbook:
Chapter 3 (“As He Himself Puts It”: The Art of Quoting)
“Escape from the Western Diet,” by Michael Pollan [p. 434]
“Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating,” by Mary Maxfield [p. 442]

Read in the handbook (Hacker’s A Pocket Style Manual):
108-115 Citing Quotations and borrowed ideas—HOW TO QUOTE AND USE QUOTATIONS CORRECTLY IN MLA

Complete exercises 1 and 2 from Chapter 3 [p. 50 in the textbook]—you may use any of the reading assignments for your quotes and or quotations. Due by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday of the fifth week

Week Six:
Paper #1-referential (600-700 words)
Choose one of the essays listed below, and write an extended summary of the essay (“they say”) as well as your response to the arguments made (“I say”). You may use additional essays as support for your own ideas, but you should construct your own argument in response to one particular author. Use quotes and make sure you “sandwich” them, as described in Chapter 3 and cite them correctly with MLA style for in-text citation and in the Works Cited page.

For example, you may summarize and respond to Obama’s speech and use Balko and /or another author to support your response to Obama’s speech. You would not respond to Balko and/or another author, you would just take their ideas at face value and integrate them with proper MLA citation into your response.

“2b or Not 2b?” by David Crystal [p. 335]
“Don’t Blame the Eater,” by David Zinzcenko [p. 391]
“What You Eat Is Your Business,” by Radley Balko [p. 395]
“Remarks to the NAACP National Convention,” by Michelle Obama [p. 417]
“Escape from the Western Diet,” by Michael Pollan [p. 434]
“Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating,” by Mary Maxfield [p. 442]

Read in the handbook:
159-162 sample formatting for papers in MLA style
122-130 MLA in-text citation
130-155 MLA Works Cited page

Paper #1, a 600-700 word referential essay using MLA in-text citation and a Works Cited page is due by 5:00 p.m. Friday of the seventh week

Week Seven:
Read in textbook:
Chapter 5 (“And Yet”: Distinguishing What You Say from What They Say)
“How I Learned to Love Football,” by Felisa Rogers [p. 529]
“Move Over Boys, Make Room in the Crease,” by Sara Maratta [p. 537]

Review MLA documentation
Complete Exercises 1 and 2 from Chapter 5 [p. 75]. You may use your own Paper #1 or any other writing you have submitted thus far for question #2.
Due by 5:00 p.m. Friday of the seventh week

Week Eight:
Read in textbook:
Chapter 7 (“So What? Who Cares?”: Saying Why It Matters)
“Are Too Many People Going to College?” by Charles Murray [p. 222]
“The New Liberal Arts,” by Sanford J. Ungar [p. 190]
“We, the Public, Place the Best Athletes on Pedestals” by William Moller [p. 545]
“Cheating and CHEATING” by Joe Posanski [p. 553]

Paper #2 Research and InfoGame (1000-1100 words) Due Wednesday by 5:00 p.m. of week ten.

Describing a Larger Conversation

Option 1: Pick an issue affecting your future career field, your major field, or your community. Write a paper that explains various perspectives on this issue, addressing at least three different secondary sources (published texts, interviews, etc.) and no more than five secondary sources. Rather than presenting the issue as having two sides (those for or against something), explain more than two points of view, showing the complexity of the issue. At some point in the paper, take your own stand, but the majority of the paper should explain the larger conversation surrounding the issue. So, select one issue that is important to you and then do enough research so that you can cite at least three secondary sources (no more than five). You may use two of the essays from the textbook if they help you explain the complexity of the issue, but you must still use three secondary sources that do not come from the textbook. You must use three secondary sources that do not come from the textbook.

Option 2: Pick an issue described in the readings you’ve done from the textbook (government promotion of healthy eating for children, healthy eating in general, the role of female fans in sports, the use of steroids in baseball, the effects of student debt, and the role of community or for-profit colleges). In addition to the essays you’ve read, find at least three secondary sources and no more than five secondary sources to help you explain the different perspectives on this issue. Rather than presenting the issue as having two sides (for or against), explain more than two points of view, showing the complexity of the issue. At some point in the paper, take your own stand but the majority of the paper should explain the larger conversation about the issue. You may use two of the essays from the textbook if they help you explain the complexity of the issue, but you must still use three secondary sources that do not come from the textbook. You must use three secondary sources that do not come from the textbook.

You must complete the Info Game, ACC’s online tutorial for Composition I students—it will help you with your research.
Go to ACC’s homepage. Click on A-Z Index and then go to L for Library Services. In the middle of the page for Library Services, find Need Help With Research? Click on the third bullet point, which is Online Guides and Tutorials. In Online Tutorials, click on The Info Game (for English 1301, Composition I). Then click on the arrow to begin the tutorial. Make sure you send me electronic confirmation when you have completed the tutorial. My e-mail address is pgarcia@austincc.edu.

Due Wednesday by 5:00 p.m. of week ten.

Use MLA style formatting for the paper, including your in-text citations and the Works cited page.

Use this week to read the essays, to narrow your topic and to begin your research.

Spring Break—COLLEGE CLOSED March 12 through March 18

Week Nine:
Other Parts of Paper #2:

Working thesis: Email your instructor a working thesis for Paper #2, including both “they say” and “I say” components, and limiting your statement to no more than a paragraph. Think ahead to the research process: how will you investigate this topic? What sorts of sources will you look for? What questions or concerns do you have about the project?

Source analysis: Discuss and evaluate two of the sources you’ve found for Paper #2. Summarize each briefly, explaining what “they say,” and write a short response to each that includes what you say as well as how you might use these sources in the paper.
Both your working thesis and source analysis are due by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday of the ninth week.

Continue working on Paper #2, and make sure you complete the Info Game. See a tutor, see or contact me for assistance.
Paper #2 is due Wednesday by 5:00 p.m. of week ten.

Week Ten:
Paper #2 is due by 5:00 p.m. Wednesday of week 10.

Go to Blackboard, Week Ten Readings, for other reading assignments required for Paper #3.

Read in the textbook;
“Hidden Intellectualism,” by Gerald Graff [p. 380]
“Kenyon Commencement Speech by David Foster Wallace [p. 198]

Paper #3 Analytical- Evaluative (600- 750 words)
Use your notes, the handouts posted on Blackboard, your textbooks, and the campus tutoring facility to construct an analytical-interpretative-evaluation essay. Your essay will have three parts: a summary, an analysis, and an evaluation. Make sure you use plenty of transitions so that the essay does not become three separate essays—unity and coherence are crucial for success.

You may select any one of the essays assigned for Paper #3 (readings for weeks ten and eleven), but you should choose an essay that will challenge your interpretive analytical skills, as well as your writing abilities, if you want to prepare yourself for the Departmental Exam and do well in the course.

For this paper, you are summarizing the author’s main and supporting ideas, analyzing her or his rhetorical purpose (aim) and methods (pattern), and evaluating the effectiveness of the essay based on the methods used. Remember that interpreting means determining main ideas; analysis means explaining processes for putting those ideas together on paper; evaluating means assigning a value: effective/ineffective.
 

Course Objective: English 1301 is designed to introduce students to college level, academic reading, writing, and rhetorical analysis, and to develop the verbal and analytical skills common in the University (these include supporting generalizations with examples, separating fact from opinion, structuring an argument, documenting sources without plagiarism, and using other conventions of writing). The course is also designed to help students with the process of writing, especially invention techniques, revision skills, and the ability to control the surface features (such as syntax and grammar) of their prose. The aim of this course is to develop students' understanding of writing as a mode of learning and a tool for critical thinking, and to strengthen their writing skills.

Course Methodology: I post all assignments and many helpful handouts on Blackboard: Students are responsible for getting copies of these documents and for completing the assignments by the deadline. All students are required to get copies of the syllabus, assignments and handouts from Blackboard. Although most of our correspondence will be conducted via e-mail, students are welcome to call or come by my office during my office hours. Students will submit papers via e-mail as attachments in Microsoft Word. I often post pop-quizzes too, which give students an opportunity to earn extra-credit points—they are not required.

When sending an e-mail to me, make sure you put your full name, ACC student ID number, and course information in the header section of the e-mail (the Re: line) or my computer will send your e-mail directly to the garbage can. It should look like this:

Re: Sally Student 123456 1301-123 synonym 45678

Use your own name, student ID number and course title and synonym, and attach all papers using only Microsoft Word.

Incorrectly formatted e-mail will cause you frustration and might cause you to lose points for an assignment.
 

Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of English 1301, students should be able to
identify rhetorical purposes and methods of organization appropriate to topic, thesis, and audience;
collect, read, analyze, and use information from a wide range of sources;
write a coherent essay observing appropriate grammatical, mechanical, and stylistic conventions;
write competently in the informative, analytical, and persuasive modes
evaluate, edit, and revise at all stages of the writing process.

Discipline/Program Student Learning Outcomes
The following outcomes are developed in all English Composition I students regardless of student age or course location:
expanded critical reading ability;
ability to write to the specifications of a writing assignment in terms of subject, rhetorical purpose, method(s) of organization and length;
ability to form a research question, develop a thesis, locate and select credible sources applicable to the thesis, and write an essay of the specified length that responds to the thesis;
ability to analyze a piece of writing to detail the elements identified in the writing assignment;
ability to evaluate a piece of writing using specified or developed criteria for evaluation;
expanded ability to develop content for an essay and organize writing to include an introduction, appropriate thesis, coherent paragraphs with transitions, and a conclusion;
expanded ability to use correct grammar and mechanics in every writing task.

General Education Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the general education component of an associate’s degree, students will demonstrate competence in:
Civic Awareness--Analyzing and critiquing competing perspectives in a democratic society.

Critical Thinking--Gathering, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and applying information.

Cultural Awareness--Comparing, contrasting, and interpreting differences and commonalities among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices.

Ethical Reasoning--Identifying and applying ethical principles and practices.

Interpersonal Skills--Interacting collaboratively to achieve common goals.

Life/Personal Skills--Demonstrating effective learning, creative thinking, and personal responsibility.

Quantitative and Empirical Reasoning--Applying mathematical, logical and scientific principles and methods.

Technology Skills--Using appropriate technology to retrieve, manage, analyze, and present information.

Written, Oral and Visual Communication--Communicating effectively, adapting to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.