Course Overview
English 1010 is a workshop in expository writing with a focus on strategies of, and practice in, analytical reading and writing about texts; fundamentals of grammar and syntax; frequent assignments in writing summaries, analyses, comparisons of texts, and such other expository forms as narration, description, and argumentation. Our emphasis is on writing as a process: invention, drafting, revision, and at last, editing.
This class will serve as an introduction to college-level composition. 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.
Objectives
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to read and think critically; understand how language operates; express ideas—both orally and in writing—with elegance, evidence, and persuasion; analyze texts as well as relationships they form with other texts; and craft persuasive, responsible arguments.
Course Requirements and Polices
a. Materials:
b. Attendance & Punctuality: If you miss more than four classes, you will receive no credit for participation. Two late marks count as one absence. Arriving more than 10 minutes late counts as an absence. A pattern of lateness will affect your grade.
c. 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.
d. 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 with annotations, and be prepared with quotations you find significant.
Assignments
a. Essays & Other Writing: Students will write the following: a personal narrative (750-1000 words), two blogposts (250-500 words each), an argumentative essay (1000-1250 words), an at-home compare and contrast essay (1000-1250 words), and an in-class compare and contrast essay. 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 (printed and via email).
b. Final Exam: All 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.
c. LOOP workshop: 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 Policies
Grades assigned for English 1010 are as follows:
A |
A- |
B+ |
B |
B- |
C+ |
C |
C- |
D+ |
D |
D- |
F |
93-100 |
90-92 |
88-89 |
83-87 |
80-82 |
78-79 |
73-77 |
70-72 |
68-69 |
63-67 |
60-626 |
60 & below |
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. 2
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.
Grading Breakdown
a. Essays: 50%
i. Personal Narrative: 10%
ii. Argumentation & Analysis: 15%
iii. Compare & Contrast: 15%
iv. In-Class Compare and Contrast: 10%
b. Final Exam: 20%
c. Blogposts: 10%
c. Handout Assignments: 10%
d. Attendance & Participation: 10%
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.
Disability Services & Accommodations
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 your professor with the course accommodation form and discuss your specific accommodation with me; I will be happy to provide whatever you may need.
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
Non-attendance Because of Bereavement
Brooklyn College’s statement on non-attendance because of bereavement is here: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/about/initiatives/policies/bereavement.php
Important Dates
a. Monday, August 27 Weekday classes begin
b. Sunday, September 2 Last day to add a course
c. Wednesday, September 5 Conversion Day; classes follow a Monday Schedule; last day to file for elective course Pass/Fail
d. Saturday, September 8 Weekend classes begin
e. Sunday, September 16 Last day to drop a course without a grade
f. Tuesday, November 6 Last day to withdraw from course with a W (non penalty) grade
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
English 1010
Fall 2019 Tues/Thurs, 11 AM to 12:15 AM 4109 Boylan Hall
Professor Kozlowski
Office: Boylan 2311
Office Hours: Thurs 1 PM To 2 PM
Course Schedule
All readings should be started on the dates next to which they are listed and completed by the following class meeting.
Week 1: Introductions, Diagnostic Essays, and Freshmen Common Reading
8/27, Tuesday In class: Instructor and class introductions. Syllabus review
For next class: Read Becoming, Part One
8/29, Thursday In class: Stages of writing, narrative, and audience. Dialect and translation
For next class: Read Becoming, Part Two and Ocean Vuong, “A Letter to my Mother that She Will Never Read”
Week 2-3: Common Reading: Close-Reading, Annotating, Summary
9/3, Tuesday In class: Close-reading and annotation. Plagiarism
For next class: Read Becoming, Part Three and [short essay TBD]
Assignment: Summary #1 due by class on 9/10, Tuesday
9/5, Thursday **NO CLASS**
9/10, Tuesday In class: Summary vs. paraphrase
For next class: Read El-Ghobashy, “Quandaries of Representation”
9/12, Thursday In class: Thesis statements, foregrounding a message
For next class: No new reading
Assignment: First draft of Personal Narrative due by class on 9/17, Tuesday
Weeks 4-5: Analysis and Revision
9/17, Tuesday In class: Peer review with student questions. What is revision?
For next class: Read Kincaid, “The Ugly Tourist”
Assignment: Finish mandatory LOOP Tour by 9/19, Thursday
9/19, Thursday In class: Summary vs. analysis
For next class: Read Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son”
9/24, Tuesday In class: Strategies for crafting an argument
For next class: Read Gay, “Peculiar Benefits.”
9/26, Thursday In class: Argument through the Rhetorical Triangle
For next class: No new reading
Assignment: Second draft of Personal Narrative due by class on 10/3, Thursday
Weeks 6-9: Building Arguments and Critiques
10/1, Tuesday **NO CLASS**
10/3, Thursday In class: Selecting and incorporating evidence
For next class: Read Brady, “I Want a Wife”
Assignment: Summary #2 due by class on 10/10, Thursday
10/8, Tuesday **NO CLASS**
10/10, Thursday In class: In class: Reverse-outlining. Style
For next class: Read Ta-Nehisi Coates, “The Case for Reparations”
10/15, Tuesday In class: Review thesis statements. Quoting effectively
For next class: Complete handout based on Coates
10/17, Thursday In class: Argument vs. persuasion. Rhetorical techniques
For next class: No new reading
Assignment: First draft of Argumentative Essay due by class on 10/222, Tuesday. Bring draft and peer-review questions to class
10/22, Tuesday In class: Peer review. Grammar and word usage
For next class: Read Cullinan, “If Nature Had Rights”
10/24, Thursday In class: Effective critique
For next class: Read Jefferson, “The Declaration of Independence,” and Marche, “We Are Not All Created Equal.”
Weeks 10-13: Compare and Contrast
10/29, Tuesday In class: Comparison and intertextuality
For next class: Read Furgurson, “The End of History?” and Staples, “Confederate Memorials as Instruments of Racial Terror”
10/31, Thursday In class: Analysis within comparison
For next class: No new reading
Assignment: Second draft of Argumentative Essay due by class on 11/5, Tuesday
11/5, Tuesday In class: Strategies for writing a Comparative Essay
For next class: Read Akiba, “Thugs. Students. Rioters. Fans: Media's Subtle Racism in Unrest Coverage”
11/7, Thursday In class: Pronouns, privilege, and politics of grammar
For next class: [Short essay TBD]
Assignment: Bring first draft of Comparative Essay and peer review questions for class on 11/12, Tuesday
11/12, Tuesday In class: Peer review. Signal phrases and transitions
For next class: Read Saunders, “The Braindead Megaphone”
11/14, Thursday In class: Structure, bringing it all together
For next class: Read Chaudry, “Mirror, Mirror on the Web.”
11/19, Tuesday In class: Politics of language in the media: Saunders & Chaudry
For next class: Read Muñoz, “Leave Your Name at the Border”
11/21, Thursday In class: Timed compare/contrast exercise
For next class: Leduc, “Monster or Marvel? A Disabled Life in
a Superhero Universe”
Assignment: Second draft of Comparative Essay due by class on 11/26, Tuesday
Weeks 14-16: Review and Final Exam Prep
11/26, Tuesday In class: Hand in Comparative Essay. Intro to research and MLA citation
For next class: [reading assignment TBD by class deliberation]
11/28, Thursday **THANKSGIVING BREAK**
12/3, Tuesday In class: [lesson or review TBD by class deliberation]
For next class: Read past student essays
12/5, Thursday In class: Analysis of old Final Exam essays. Mock-grading
For next class: [reading assignment TBD by class deliberation]
12/10, Tuesday In class: [lesson or review TBD by class deliberation]
For next class: Review grammar & composition handouts
12/12, Thursday In class: Summaries, reflections, and future horizons for study
For next class: Study
12/14—12/20 **FINALS WEEK**