This course will be structured as a workshop in expository writing. We will focus on fundamentals of grammar and syntax, and strategies of and practice in analytical reading and writing. We will have frequent assignments in writing summaries, analyses, comparisons of texts, and such other expository forms as narration, description, and argumentation. We will emphasize writing as a process: invention, revision, editing. This course satisfies the Pathways Required Core English composition requirement.
Discussion: This class will serve as an introduction to college-level composition. During this course students will practice and perfect strategies for writing expository essays and for engaging with different kinds of texts. Students will read actively and think critically about course reading and assigned writing. Students will write both in and out of class, with an emphasis on drafting and revision. Class will be split between writing, working in groups, and discussing readings and student work. Students will focus on the following: reading critically and writing analytically; developing and supporting theses and arguments; summarizing, paraphrasing, and synthesizing information from a variety of sources; structuring persuasive and cohesive essays; incorporating and integrating evidence into their writing using MLA documentation; editing and revising; using appropriate conventions of language, including correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Course Objectives
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
Materials
Freshman Common Reading: Michelle Obama Becoming (required)
Course Packet (required): Online at https://libguides.brooklyn.cuny.edu/eng1010/readings
Grammar Resources (required): Online at https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html , https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aKw1QFTTQy2-zzsTlFzasm9rnDWcCwCV
Attendance & Punctuality: If you miss more than four classes, you will receive no credit for participation. Two latenesses count as one absence. Arriving more than 10 minutes late counts as an absence. A pattern of lateness will affect your grade.
Participation: Participation includes completing and commenting on the assigned reading, contributing to class discussion through listening and responding to classmates or the instructor, bringing required materials to class, and engaging in peer review and group activities.
NOTE: Cellphones must be silenced and put away during class. The use of cellphones and other electronics is not permitted in the classroom, except under exceptional circumstances. Students should inform the instructor about these circumstances.
Reading: Class discussion is a critical element of this course, and participation is essential. Students are expected to have closely read and be ready to discuss all readings on the day they are assigned. There will be unannounced reading quizzes. Bring the assigned reading to every class.
Assignments:
Essays & Other Writing: Students will write the following: a personal narrative (750-1000 words), two summaries (250-500 words each), an argumentative essay (1000-1250 words), a compare and contrast 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.
NOTE: Essays are due at the beginning of class. The instructor will not accept essays submitted via email.
Final Exam: 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.
LOOP workshop: 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: 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 course work 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.
NOTE: Essays turned in late will be penalized half a letter grade for each class meeting they are late. Late work will not be accepted after one week has passed from the original due date. If students miss a class during which an essay is to be submitted, students are still responsible for submitting (e-mailing) the essay on the same day AND bringing a hard copy of it the next time they attend class.
Possible grades are as follows:
|
|
A |
A- |
|
|
93-100 |
90-92 |
|
B+ |
B |
B- |
|
88-89 |
83-87 |
80-82 |
|
C+ |
C |
C- |
|
78-79 |
73-77 |
70-72 |
|
D+ |
D |
D- |
|
68-69 |
63-67 |
60-62 |
|
F |
|
|
Below 60 |
|
|
Grading Breakdown:
Essays: 60%
Personal Narrative: 10 %
Summaries: 10%
Argumentative Essay: 20%
Compare and Contrast: 20%
Final Exam: 20%
Other Assignments: 10%
This includes take-home assignments, in-class writing, and quizzes.
Attendance & Participation: 10%
This includes attendance, promptness, participation in class discussions and group work, etc.
Plagiarism: Brooklyn College's statement on plagiarism is as follows:
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.
Non-attendance Because of Religious Beliefs: Brooklyn College’s statement on non-attendance because of religious belief is located on page 66 of the Brooklyn College Undergraduate Bulletin: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/off_registrar/2017-2018_Undergraduate_Bulletin.pdf
Student Bereavement Policy: Brooklyn College’s statement on non-attendance because of religious belief is located here: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/about/initiatives/policies/bereavement.php
Important Dates
The full academic calendar, including many other important dates, is available on the Office of the Registrar’s website.
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.
The full academic calendar, including many other important dates, and the undergraduate final exam “grid” are available on the Office of the Registrar’s website.
Brooklyn College
The City University of New York
Professor Katherine Duckworth
2311 Boylan: Office Hours: Monday 11:45-12:45
katherine.duckworth@brooklyn.cuny.edu
English 1010
Fall 2019
3 hours and conference; 3 credits
Course Schedule *Changes can be made at Professor’s discretion
Each Wednesday will be dedicated to a Grammar Workshop. Some topics are predetermined according to the goals of the course, others will be based on the needs of the collective.
Wed Aug 28 Course Introduction and in-class essay
Assignment: Michelle Obama’s Becoming pages tbd
NO CLASS MONDAY SEPT 2
Wed Sept 4 Class Discussion: Becoming / Grammar workshop
Assignment: Becoming cont. & one page summary
Thurs Sept 5 Class Discussion: Becoming & Personal Narrative
Assignment: Personal Narrative (1st draft) BRING 2 PRINTED COPIES MONDAY
Mon Sept 9 Personal Narrative 1st Draft Due, Peer Edits
Assignment: Read Roxane Gay’s Peculiar Benefits
Wed Sept 11 Personal Narrative and Argument. Class Discussion: Roxane Gay’s Peculiar Benefits
Grammar workshop: summary, paraphrase, analysis
Assignment: Read Manuel Munoz Leave Your Name at the Border
Mon Sept 16 Class Discussion: Leave Your Name at the Border / in class summary
Assignment: Personal Narrative Draft 2
Wed Sept 18 Personal Narrative Draft 2 Due / read in class Errol Morris Liar Liar Pants on Fire and discuss / Grammar Workshop: common grammar mistakes
Assignment: Read parts 1 and 2 in Regarding the Pain of Others Susan Sontag (password eng1010)
Mon Sept 23 Class discussion: Sontag cont. / Argumentative essay / Reverse Outlining
Assignment: Read parts 3 and 4 in Regarding the Pain of Others
Wed Sept 25 Sontag cont. / Grammar workshop: citations and quotations
Assignment: Finish Regarding the Pain of Others and write a summary of Sontag’s argument
MON SEPT 30 NO CLASS
Wed Oct 2 Finish Sontag discussion / Grammar workshop: Thesis Statements
In class activity
Assignment: Read Bill McKibbin’s Curbing Nature’s Paparazzi
Monday Oct 7 Discuss Curbing Nature’s Paparazzi / Argumentative Essays
Assignment: Draft 1 analytical essay, Bring 2 copies Oct 16
OCT 9 NO CLASS
OCT 14 NO CLASS
Wed Oct 16 Analytical essay draft 1 due (two copies) - Peer Review
Assignment: Read Todd Furgurson’s The End of History * no writing assignment, prepare for quiz Mon Oct 21
Mon Oct 21 Quiz on Furgurson’s The End of History / class discussion
Assignment: Read Brent Staples Confederate Monuments as Instruments of Racial Terror and write a summary
Wed Oct 23 Class discussion Confederate Monuments as Instruments of Racial Terror / Grammar Workshop: Comparative Essay structures
Monday Oct 28 Discuss and compare Furgurson and Staples
Assignment: Final Draft Analytical Essay
Wed Oct 30 Final Draft Analytical Essay / Grammar Workshop: In class writing strategies
Assignment: Read Edwige Danticat’s Another Country
Mon Nov 4 Class discussion Another Country
Assignment: Read Jamaica Kincaid The Ugly Tourist
Wed Nov 6 Class discussion The Ugly Tourist / Grammar Workshop: TBD
Assignment: Comparative Essay Outline
Mon Nov 11 In class comparative essay
Wed Nov 13 Peer review comparative essay
Assignment: Final draft comparative essay
Mon Nov 18 Final draft comparative essay due / Read Baldwin’s Stranger in the Village in class / conferences
Wed Nov 20 Discuss Baldwin’s Stranger in the Village / Read Teju Cole’s Re-Reading Baldwin’s Stranger in the Village in class / conferences
Mon Nov 25 Class Discussion Baldwin, Cole
Assignment: Prep for in class essay
Wed Nov 27 In class comparative essay (mock exam)
Mon Dec 2 Intro to Research
Wed Dec 4 MLA Workshop
Mon Dec 9 Exam Prep (student essays, rubric)
Wed Dec 11 Exam Prep (strategies, student led discussion)
Mon Dec 16 – EXAM DATE/TIME TBD
