ENGL 1010: English Composition-Student Version: Crawford, Grant Spring 2020

Required Materials

 

1. Freshman Common Reading: Becoming by Michelle Obama
2. Course Packet (required) - available online at:
3. Grammar Handbook (required) - available online at:
4. Notebook for in-class writing assignments

 

Course Requirements & Policies

 

Attendance and Punctuality

1. Please show up to class.  Participation and understanding of class discussions, assignments and materials will be crucial to your overall success in the course (see grading breakdown below).
2. We’re all human and extenuating circumstances do arise, therefore you are allowed up to three unexcused absences.  The next 2 absences will lower your final grade by a letter.  You will not pass the class with more than 5 unexcused absences.  While you are allowed to miss a number of classes, please do not abuse this policy unless necessary.  On my half, I will do my best to create a classroom environment that will make you want to show up and participate! I am open to hearing any suggestions on how I can compel you to do so. 

 

Effort

1.  If you’ve made it to class, great! Now, you must participate.  Here are some ways you can contribute to making this a productive class:
   1. Read the assigned texts and have thoughts/opinions/questions developed before class
   2. Speak up, be expressive, raise your hand, challenge others’ ideas as well as your own
   3. Make sure you have a pen and journal ready to go for any writing assignments
   4. I will not be using my cellphone in class, and therefore I ask the same of you.  If there are emergency circumstances that require you to keep your phone on, please let me know prior to the start of class.  Otherwise, if I notice you using your cellphone during class time, I will give you one warning.  I will not sacrifice class time attempting to take your attention away from your phone.  Rather, after the first warning, I will silently take note of any continuous cell phone use and it will be reflected in your grade. 

 

Assignments

 

Writing

 

1. Essays: Students will write the following: a personal narrative (750-1000 words), two summaries (250-500 words each), an argumentative essay (1000-1250 words), a comparative essay (1000-1250 words). Students will revise each of these essays. These essays must be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font, and formatted with one-inch margins. In addition, students will have an in-class essay exam. Students will be asked to complete other assignments, such as journal entries, in-class writing, and reading responses.

 

Final Exam

 

1. Overview: English 1010 students must take a final exam. The exam is based on responses to two pieces of writing: one 5-7 page essay, distributed one week before the end of the term, and a second 1-2 page piece, distributed along with the question on the day of the exam. The exam will count for 20% of the final grade for the class. The instructor will discuss the test format in class.

 

Reading

 

1. Overview: There is a lot of reading involved in this course.  The selected readings have been chosen to challenge you, expand your worldview and, hopefully, pique your interests.  It is in your best interest to complete all of the readings, as they will be foundational to every other aspect of your grade (essays are based on the texts, journals are based on the texts, discussions are based on the texts etc.). I am here to teach you how to become an active reader and we will be going over techniques on how to dissect and extract information from these texts in class.  However, if at any point you are struggling, have a question or want to challenge the ideas being brought up in the texts, write down your thoughts and bring them into the classroom.  That is what the discussions are for.  Your participation, ideas and contributions will make this class more valuable to you, me and your classmates.  Supplemental readings will be made available on Blackboard.  You are required to bring all of the readings assigned for each day - see reading list below.

 

LOOP Workshop

 

1. Overview: The Brooklyn College Bulletin states the following: All students in English 1010 will complete the required Brooklyn College library orientation, which will introduce them to the services and resources of the library, including access to and ethical use of its print and electronic resources.

 

Grading

 

Essays - 60%

 

• Personal Narrative - 10%
• Summaries - 10%
• Argumentative Essay - 15%
• In-Class Comparative Essay- 10%
• Comparative Essay - 10%

 

Final Exam - 20%

Other assignments (including in-class / short writing assignments) - 10%

Participation - 10%

 

Grading Policies:

 

The Brooklyn College policy on grading for English 1010 is as follows:

Grades for English 1010 are: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, NC or F. Note that the minimum

passing grade is C-.Students who have completed all the course work but are not yet writing at the college level will receive a grade of NC; students who have not completed the coursework will receive a grade of F. Students who do not pass English 1010 must repeat it the following semester. The course may not be taken more than three times; students who receive three grades of F, NC and/or WU may be dismissed from the college.

 

Late Work

Please submit your work on time.  Failing to hand in your paper by the due date will result in the immediate drop of a letter grade.  It will continue to drop a letter grade for each class meeting that passes without a submission.  If you are going to miss class the day that a paper is due, please email be in advance.  Depending on the circumstances, you will still be responsible to email your paper to me by the due date if you cannot physically make it into class.

 

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is not tolerated at Brooklyn College and especially will not be tolerated in this class. If you are caught handing in work that you have plagiarized from any source, you will fail the assignment in question, possibly the entire class, and may be subject to disciplinary action by the college. Here is the College's statement on plagiarism:

 

"The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both. The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for implementing that policy can be found at this site: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST report the violation”

 

Students With Disabilities:   In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability Services. Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are invited to set up an appointment with the Director of the Center for Student Disability Services, Ms. Valerie Stewart-Lovell at 718-951-5538. If you have already registered with the Center for Student Disability Services, please provide me with the course accommodation form and discuss your specific accommodation with me.

Non-attendance Because of Religious Beliefs

Please read the information in the Brooklyn College Bulletin (http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/off_registrar/141024_2014-15_Undergraduate_Bulletin.pdf) regarding nonattendance because of religious beliefs. Please inform me in advance if you plan to be absent due to religious observance.

 

Office Hours: I encourage you to make use of my office hours so that we can discuss your work and any questions you have. I am also happy to find another time to meet with you if you are unable to come to my office hours.

 

NOTE:

 

English 1010 is an Academic Foundations course. Brooklyn College’s policy on withdrawing from English 1010 is as follows: Students are not permitted at any time to delete, drop, or withdraw from an assigned Academic Foundations course without obtaining permission of the academic department involved and consulting the Center for Academic Advisement and Student Success.

ENG 1010: Composition I

Prof. Grant Crawford

Email:  grantdavidcrawford@gmail.com

Fall 2019

“If you’re writing, you’re a writer” - Alan W. Watts

Reading List and Assignment Schedule:

 

Week One

 

August 28th: Class introduction, syllabus review, creative writing prompt

 

Week Two

 

September 2nd: No Class

 

September 4th: Discussion - Reading Like A Writer (Active vs. Passive Reading)

                          Reading / Assignment - Becoming by Obama (Preface, Chapters 1-3)

 

Week Three

 

September 9th: Discussion - What Is A Personal Narrative? / Pre-Writing Strategies

                          Reading / Assignment - Becoming by Obama (Chapters 4-6)

                          “An Indian Father’s Plea” by Robert Lake

 

September 11th: Discussion - Point Of View / Finding Your Voice

                            Reading / Assignment - Becoming by Obama (Chapters 7-8)

                            “A Letter To My Mother That She Will Never Read” by Ocean Vuong

 

Week Four

 

September 16th: Discussion - Revision / Plagiarism

                            Reading / Assignment - Essay #1 Due

 

September 18th: Discussion - Summary Vs. Analysis

                            Reading / Assignment - “The Coddling of the American Mind” by Greg

    Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt

    LOOP Tour Form of Completion Due

 

Week Five

 

September 23rd: Discussion - Essay #1 Revision and Feedback

                            Reading / Assignment - “The Trouble with Self-Esteem” by Lauren Slater

                            Summary due for reading

 

September 25th: Discussion - Persuasion and Arguments (Essay #2 Assignment Distributed)

                            Reading / Assignment - Essay #1 Revision Due

 

Week Six

 

September 30th: No class

 

October 2nd: Discussion - Quotations, Paraphrasing and Selecting Evidence

                      Reading / Assignment - “Against School: How public education cripples our kids,

and why” by John Taylore Gatto

 

 

Week Seven

 

October 7th: Discussion -  Basic Structure

                      Reading / Assignment - “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire” by Errol Morris

 

October 9th: No class

 

Week Eight

 

October 14th: No class

 

October 16th: Discussion - Thesis Statements / Topic Sentences

                       Reading / Assignment - “Curbing Nature’s Paparazzi” by Bill McKibben

 

Week Nine

 

October 21st: Discussion - Peer Review

                       Reading / Assignment - Essay #2 Due - bring 3 copies for peer review

 

October 23rd: Discussion - Primary vs. Secondary Sources

                       Reading / Assignment - “Another Country” by Edwidge Danticat

 

Week Ten

 

October 28th: Discussion - Revision / Essay 2 Feedback

                       Reading / Assignment - “The Case For Contamination” by Kwame Anthony

Appiah

 

October 30th: Discussion - Structure / Digging Deeper

                       Reading / Assignment - Essay #2 Revision Due

 

Week Eleven

 

November 4th:  Discussion - Comparison

                          Reading / Assignment - “Politics and The English Language” by George Orwell

 

November 6th: Discussion - Comparative Thesis and Structure

                          Reading / Assignment - Orwell Continued.

 

Week Twelve

 

November 11th: Discussion - Incorporating Quotations & Evidence (Essay #3 Distributed)

                          Reading / Assignment - “The Braindead Megaphone” by George Saunders

 

November 13th: Discussion - Texts In Conversation

                          Reading / Assignment - Saunders Continued.

 

Week Thirteen

 

November 18th: Discussion - Introductions and Conclusions

                          Reading / Assignment - “Thugs. Students. Rioters. Fans: Media's Subtle

  Racism in Unrest Coverage” by Akiba Solomon

 

November 20th: Discussion - In-class Comparative Essay

                          Reading / Assignment - “Thick of Tongue

  Future of Language: So what exactly is this “black sound” I am insisting exists?”

  by John McWhorter

 

Week Fourteen

 

November 25th: Discussion - MLA Citations

                          Reading / Assignment - “Social Class and The Hidden Curriculum Of Work” by

Jean Anyon

“We Are Not All Created Equal: The Truth About The American Class System” by

Stephen Marche

 

November 27th: Discussion - Peer Review

                           Reading / Assignment - Essay #3 Due - bring 3 copies for peer review

 

Week Fifteen

 

December 2nd: Discussion - Revision / Essay 3 Feedback

                          Reading / Assignment - TBA

 

December 4th: Discussion - Final Exam Prep

                         Reading / Assignment - Essay #3 Revision Due

 

Week Sixteen

 

December 9th: Discussion - Final Exam Prep

                         Reading / Assignment - TBA

 

December 11th: Discussion - Final Class

                           Reading / Assignment - Final Exam Reading Part 1

 

**If there is anything on this syllabus that you find questionable or unfair, please raise the issue with me in class or via email.  I value all of your opinions, and more than anything, want to conduct a class that is most valuable to you.  Therefore, I am always open to suggestions and having constructive conversations about the course policies and expectations.**