ENGL 096 Sample Syllabus
Sample Syllabus for English 096
Text in blue requires your review or refers to optional instructions that can
be deleted.
<Instructor Name>
Office: <instructorÂs office>
English Department Mail Room: E & T 637
Office Hours: <instructorÂs office hoursÂ80 minutes per week for each
4-unit class>
Campus Phone: <instructorÂs telephone number>
Email: <instructorÂs email addressÂthis is optional>
Course Web Site: <URL for course materialsÂthis is optional>
English 096: Basic Writing II (4)
Catalog Description
Prerequisite: English Placement Test (placement determined by
studentÂs score) or passing grade in ENGL 095. Frequent essays based on
reading and responding to expository prose; instruction in expository
writing conventions and critical reading strategies. Graded CR/NC.
Not open to students with credit for this course, an equivalent, or a higher
level English composition course. Students with two NC grades may not
enroll again. No credit toward baccalaureate.
Learning Objectives
Write with greater focus by generating a thesis that states a controlling
purpose
Develop ideas more fully and fluently
Read and respond critically to outside texts
Analyze personal experiences with specific reference to an outside text
Incorporate quotations and paraphrase into essays with correct attribution
Use the writing process effectively to develop ideas and substantively revise
their essays
Edit final drafts to eliminate systematic errors in English sentence
structure, mechanics, and usage
Attendance
English Department policy states that composition students must attend the
first two classes of the quarter to retain their place in the class. Any student
who is absent either the first or second class meeting will be dropped and the
space given to another student who is trying to add.
Regular attendance is essential. Failure to attend class or arriving to class
late will seriously damage your chances of passing this course. The English
Department has a firm policy that states that no student may miss more than 20
percent of the class meetings. If you are more than 20 minutes late, consider
yourself absent. If you must miss a class for a valid reason, please call the
department number or email me and leave a message that includes how I can reach
you so that we can make sure you don't fall behind the rest of the class.
Required Work
There will be weekly reading and writing assignments in this class. You will
need to plan ahead carefully in order to complete the following tasks on time:
Weekly reading assignments
Five short essays (at least 2-3 pages each)
Two revised essays (chosen from the five short essays)
One final exam essay
A reading journal in which you will summarize and respond to the assigned
reading. (See handout for more on the reading journal.)
Please note that all assignments (the readings, the essays, and the journal
entries) are required. I will not accept a portfolio from anyone who has failed
to complete all of the assignments.
Texts, Supplies and Other Helpful Advice
Textbook: 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology, edited by Samuel Cohen
and published by Bedford/St. MartinÂs Press (2004) (This text should be
available in the campus bookstore.)
The writing handbook recommended by the English Department is Diana HackerÂs
A Pocket Style Manual, 4th ed. (Bedford/St. MartinÂs).
Supplies: Some regular, lined notebook (8.5 x 11) paper, some dark-ink
pens (blue or black), at least two standard-sized (8.5 x 11) bluebooks (exam
books) to use for your reading journals, and a manila folder for your portfolio.
(These supplies should be available in the campus bookstore.)
Helpful Advice:
If you do not already own one, it is a very good idea to purchase a decent
American language dictionary in addition.
Throw nothing away, and bring paper, our text, and your journals to class
every time.
In conjunction with regular attendance, you must keep up with the work.
Late work is not acceptable and a missing assignment is counted as an absence.
Assessment
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. I will take attendance at the
start of every class. If you are not present I will mark you absent. Arriving
late will count as half of an absence. You are allowed one absence without
penalty. If you miss more than four classes you will be disqualified from taking
the final and therefore will fail the class.
Your Portfolio: For this class, ultimately you will be evaluated on
the basis of three writing samplesÂtwo essays written during the quarter,
revised and edited (with rough drafts attached beneath the revision), and your
final exam. Due dates for each revision are noted on the schedule. (Note: You
are responsible for composing essays on all of the assigned topics.)
Grading Policy: Course grades are determined by an evaluation of your
portfolio by two current English 096 instructors. The following grades are used:
CRÂCredit: You pass the course and are eligible to enroll in English 101
NCÂNo Credit: You must retake English 096
Policies
Cell Phones and Pagers: Please turn off all cell phones, pagers,
portable radios, televisions, computers, MP3/CD/Disc/Mini-disc players, and any
other electronic communication and/or entertainment devices before coming to
class.
Preparing for Class: Please read the assigned texts before class.
Often I will offer some guidelines about future reading assignments in class.
For example, I might tell you to focus on a particular character or scene for
the next class meeting. If you are absent, you are responsible for getting the
assignment from a classmate.
Academic Dishonesty/Cheating: Collaborating with others is encouraged
when you are planning your papers, reviewing each otherÂs work, preparing for
presentations or for exams. Study or reading groups can be effective ways to
study and learn. However, when you write your papers, the text needs to be your
own.
You must carefully observe the standard rules for acknowledging the
sources of words and ideas. If you make use of a phrase or a quote or if you
paraphrase another writerÂs words or ideas, you must acknowledge the
source of these words or ideas telling us the source of these materials. APA
and MLA style differ on the exact format of this attribution, but the simple
version is the name of the author and the page number (if appropriate) in
parentheses at the end of the sentence containing the use of the source
material. (We will work on properly acknowledging sources this quarter.)
If you plagiarize or otherwise misrepresent the source of your work, you
will receive a zero on the assignment and be reported to the Student
Disciplinary Officer.
If you panic and are tempted to plagiarize or cheat, DO NOT. Contact me
and we can negotiate a solution. Once you cheat, it is too late for you to
negotiate anything.
Schedule
|
Date |
Class Activity |
Reading Due |
Writing Due |
Wk 1-1 |
|
Introduction to course |
|
|
Wk 1-2 |
|
|
|
In-class Essay #1 |
Wk 2-1 |
|
Developing An Essay |
Angelou, "Graduation" (9-22) |
|
Wk 2-2 |
|
Discuss Angelou
Peer Review Training #1 |
|
Reading Journal #1 (on "Graduation") due |
Wk 3-1 |
|
Conference Essay #1 |
|
In-class Essay #2 |
Wk 3-2 |
|
Discuss Rodriguez
Using Text |
Rodriguez, "Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood" (292-315) |
Reading Journal #2 (on "Aria") due |
Wk 4-1 |
|
Conference essay #2 |
|
In-class Essay #3 |
Wk 4-2 |
|
Discuss Plato
|
Plato, "The Allegory of the Cave" (284-291) |
Reading Journal #3 (on "The Allegory of the Cave") due
Assign Essay #4 |
Wk 5-1 |
|
Short conference on Essay #3
(Further discussion of Plato, if necessary)
Thinking and Writing in Modules
Revision Assignment |
|
Bring Essay #1 and Essay #2 to Class |
Wk 5-2 |
|
Some Very Common Problems
Peer Review Essay #4 |
|
Essay #4 Due
Bring Revision #1 to class |
Wk 6-1 |
|
Discuss Winn |
Winn, "Television: The Plug-In Drug" |
Revision #1 due |
Wk 6-2 |
|
Short Conference on Essay #4 |
|
In-class Essay #5
Reading Journal #4 (on "Television: The Plug-In Drug") due |
Wk 7-1 |
|
Hand back Revision #1 and Essay #5 |
|
|
Wk 7-2 |
|
Putting Together Your Portfolio |
|
|
Wk 8-1 |
|
Style and Revision Workshops |
|
Bring draft of one of your portfolio essays |
Wk 8-2 |
|
Discuss Ericsson |
Ericsson, "The Ways We Lie" (120-129) |
Bring draft of one of your portfolio essays |
Wk 9-1 |
|
Individual conferences (in my office) |
|
First Revised Portfolio Essay due |
Wk 9-2 |
|
Individual conferences (in my office) |
|
Second Revised Portfolio Essay due |
Wk 10-1 |
|
Last minute questions
Discuss final exam reading (Ericsson)
Student Evaluations |
|
|
Wk 10-2 |
|
|
|
Turn in Portfolios Thursday March 10
Final in-class essay |
|