Bulletin Description
Workshop in expository writing: 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. Emphasis on writing as a process: invention, revision, editing. Satisfies Pathways Required Core English composition requirement. (Not open to students who have completed English 1.7.)
Discussion
English 1010 is an introduction to college writing. It is intended to help prepare you to successfully complete the kind of writing assignments you will encounter throughout your college career. In this course, you’ll learn the elements of effective academic essays, with emphasis on using evidence and reasoning to support and develop your ideas. Writing is a multi-step process. In this class, you’ll learn to plan, draft, revise, and edit all of your papers. You’ll also learn how to incorporate evidence into your writing using MLA documentation. And because learning to write is first and foremost about learning to think, we’ll spend a good deal of our in-class time developing your critical thinking skills by reading actively, engaging with others’ ideas, and challenging your own and others’ assumptions.
In addition to a number of short in-class writing assignments, I’ll assign four longer essays and a final exam. The exam will be worth 20% of your grade. We’ll discuss all of this at length in class, but detailed information on the exam is available here: http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/composition/exitexam.html
Course Objectives
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
Course Requirements & Policies
NOTE: The contents of this syllabus are subject to revision
Materials:
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Grammar resources found online
Attendance & Punctuality:
If you miss more than four classes, you will receive no credit for participation. If you are late twice this will count as one absence. A pattern of lateness will affect your grade.
Participation & Reading:
You should attend to each reading carefully, and be prepared to contribute to a conversation about the readings in class. Participation also includes bringing required materials to class, and engaging in peer review and group activities.
NOTE: All electronic devices must be turned off and put away at the beginning of each class.
Assignments:
Essays & Other Writing: You will write the following: a personal narrative (750-1000 words), two summaries (250-500 words each), an argumentative essay (1000-1250 words), and a compare and contrast essay (1000-1250 words). You 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, you will have an in-class essay exam, and will be asked to complete other in-class writing assignments and reading responses.
NOTE: Essays are due at the beginning of class. I 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 this class. I will discuss the test format at length 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-. If you have completed all the course work but are not yet writing at the college level, you will receive a grade of NC; if you have not completed the course work, you will receive a grade of F.
If you do not pass English 1010, you must repeat it the following semester. The course may not be taken more than three times. If you receive three grades of F, NC and/or WU, you 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. I will not accept late work after one week has passed from the original due date. If you miss a class during which an essay is to be submitted, you are still responsible for submitting (e-mailing) the essay on the same day AND bringing a hard copy of it the next time you attend class
Grading Breakdown:
Essays: 60%
Personal Narrative 10%
Summaries: 10%
Argumentative Essay: 15%
Compare and Contrast: 15%
In Class Compare and Contrast: 10%
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. 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 |
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/offregistrar/2017-2018_Undergraduate_Bulletin.pdf
Student Bereavement Policy:
Brooklyn College’s statement on non-attendance because of bereavement 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, and the undergraduate final exam “grid” are available on the Office of the Registrar’s website.
Withdrawl Policy:
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.
Office Hours & Writing Help:
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please visit me during my office hours. My office is located in Boylan 2311. You can email me anytime at erecordon@gmail.com
If you have questions about MLA formatting, including how to properly cite sources, the Brooklyn College Library website is an invaluable resource: https://libguides.brooklyn.cuny.edu/cite We will also go over source citation in class.
I also strongly encourage you to visit The Learning Center (http://lc.brooklyn.cuny.edu, 1300 Boylan Hall). It is easy to schedule a session with a writing tutor; writing tutors will help you with the mechanics of essay-writing.
Here is what The Learning Center website has to say about weekly writing tutoring: “The Learning Center offers the option of scheduling a standing weekly appointment with a writing tutor. Weekly appointments are scheduled at the same time every week. In order to become a weekly student, you must first obtain a referral form and have it filled out and signed by a professor. You must then bring it to the Learning Center and see a Master Tutor who will make an appointment for you and answer any questions you may have.”
It is a good idea to make a weekly appointment with a writing tutor. I will be happy to sign your referral form.
English 1010
Mon/Wed 12:50-2:05pm, Whitehead 502
Professor Erika Recordon
Office hours: Monday, 2:15pm-3:15pm, Boylan 2311
Course Schedule
(All readings must be completed before class)
This schedule is subject to revision.
Week 1:
8/28, Monday:
Course Introduction/Syllabus Overview
Becoming by Michelle Obama
In Class: Diagnostic Essay
Week 2:
9/2, Monday: No Class
9/4 Wednesday:
Becoming by Michelle Obama pg. 1-16
Leonard Michaels, "Writing About Myself" (hand out)
They Say, I Say: Chapter One (hand out)
9/5 Thursday: Conversation Day, Classes Follow a Monday Schedule
Rebecca Solnit, "Men Explain Things To Me"
Claire Vaye Watkins, "On Pandering" (hand out)
Continued discussion of They Say, I Say: Chapter One
Grammar Overview
Week 3:
9/9, Monday: First Draft of Personal Narrative Essay Due
Amy Tan, "Mother Tongue"
They Say, I Say: Chapter Two
9/11, Wednesday:
Bill McKibben, “Curbing Nature’s Paparazzi”
In Class Summary Essay
Week 4:
9/16 Monday: Take Home Summary Essay Due
Frederick Douglas, “Learning to Read & Write”
9/18, Wednesday:
Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"
Week 5:
9/23, Monday:
Continued discussion of "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"
9/25, Wednesday: Final Draft of Personal Narrative Due
Robert Lake (Medicine Grizzlybear), "The Indian Child"
They Say, I Say Chapters Three & Four
Week 6:
9/30, Monday: No Class
10/2, Wednesday: 2nd Take Home Summary Due
Mathew B. Crawford, "The Case for Working with Your Hands"
Week 7:
10/7, Monday: Due Thesis Statement & First Paragraph of Argumentative Essay
Class Thesis Workshop
They Say, I Say Chapter Five
10/9, Wednesday: No Class
Week 8:
10/14, Monday, No Class
10/16, Wednesday, Conversion Day—Classes follow a Monday schedule.
First Draft of Argumentative Essay Due
Michele Alexander, “The New Jim Crow"
They Say, I Say Chapter Six
Week 9:
10/21, Monday:
Gloria Andaluda, "How to Tame a Wild Tongue"
Manuel Munoz, "Leave Your Name at The Border"
In Class Compare & Contrast Essay
10/23, Wednesday:
George Saunders, "The Braindead Megaphone"
Week 10
10/28, Monday:
George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language"
10/30, Wednesday:
Nicolas Carr, "Is Google Making us Stupid?"
Week 11:
11/4, Monday: Final Draft of Argumentative Essay
Sherry Turkle, "Stop Googling. Let's Talk"
11/6: Wednesday: Opening 2 Paragraphs of Compare & Contrast Essay
Peer Review Workshop
Grammar Review
They Say, I Say Chapter 7 & 8
Week 12:
11/11, Monday:
James Baldwin, "Notes on a Native Son"
They Say, I Say Chapter 9
Grammar Quiz
11/13, Wednesday: First Draft of Compare & Contrast Essay Due
Teju Cole, "Black Bodies: Rereading James Baldwin's Stranger in a Village"
Week 13:
11/18, Monday:
David Foster Wallace, "Consider The Lobster"
11/20, Wednesday:
Debate Packet Readings
Debate Prep
Week 14:
11/25, Monday
Debate Day
11/27, Wednesday:
Class Review
Sample Essays for Final Exam
Week 15:
12/2, Monday: Final Draft of Compare and Contrast Essay
Common Exam Mistakes
Sample Essays for Final Exam
12/4, Wednesday:
Sample Exam Review
Week 16:
12/9, Monday:
Sample 1010 Student Paper Workshop
12/11, Wednesday:
Final Exam Reading
Course Reflections
Final Exam: Friday, December 13th 10:30am-12:30pm
