Course Description
This course serves as an introduction to college-level writing. You can expect that writing will occur both in and out of the classroom, with a heavy emphasis on the revision process. Writing is a process that is alive. That is—when we write we are actively learning and engaging with each other, our own ideas, and texts. Revision empowers writers to critically challenge themselves and the arguments of others, paving the way for successful learning and writing to occur. You will learn to write expository essays and engage with texts across genres and cultures, both analytically and critically.
Course Objectives
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
● Read critically and write analytically
● Develop and support theses and arguments
● Summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize information from a variety of sources
● Structure persuasive and cohesive essays
● Identify a thesis, whether explicit or implied
● Incorporate and integrate evidence into their writing using MLA documentation
● Edit and revise their writing using peer and instructor critiques
● Use appropriate conventions of language, including correct grammar, spelling, and
punctuation
Required Texts
A Writer’s Reference by Diana Hacker (Link will be posted on Blackboard)
Becoming by Michelle Obama (Available for free in Boylan 3208)
Other texts available online or distributed in class.
Commitment to Social Justice and Access
I view language and literacy as an essential means to understanding cultural and societal
differences. Thus we will foster and create spaces where every individual shall be free to engage
in civil discourse without the fear of their identity being denounced. Through texts, curricula,
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and accessibility, we shall celebrate local and global communities as well as individual diversity
across sexes, genders, races, economic backgrounds, religions and lack thereof. There is no
space for hatred in my class. It will not be tolerated.
Course Policies
Attendance and Punctuality : You are expected to be in class Than being said I understand that
life happens and thus you can miss two classes without excuse or penalty. Each class missed
after that will result in a loss of half a letter grade. Missing more than five classes will result in
failure of the course. Two late marks count as one absence. Arriving more than 20 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/myself, bringing
required materials to class, and engaging in peer review and group activities.
Reading: Class discussion is essential to this course, and participation is the key to your success.
Students are expected to have closely read and be ready to discuss all readings on the day
they are assigned. There will be free writes associated to the readings and you must turn these in
at random. Not doing the readings is detrimental not only to your grade but to your learning in
general. Bring the assigned reading to every class.
Assignments
Essays: Students will write a personal narrative (3 pages), a rhetorical analysis (3 pages), an at
home compare and contrast essay (3 pages) and two in class as well (750-1000 words). Essays
will be revised through peer editing and commentary from the instructor. 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 except for in class work (Printed copies only). Other assignments include free
writes based on the reading.
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.
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.
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Grading
Grades assigned for English 1010 are as follows:
A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- F
93-1
00
90-9
2
88-8
9
83-8
7
80-8
2
78-7
9
73-
77
70-7
2
68-
69
63-6
7
60-6
26
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 coursework will receive a grade of F.
I will not be taking late assignments without a documented excuse (doctor’s note, funeral, etc).
No other exceptions.
Breakdown of Grading:
Essays: 50% (10% each)
Freewrites: 10% (5% each)
Participation: 10%
Peer Editing: 10%
Final Exam: 20%
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.
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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.
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
Tuesday, August 27 Weekday classes begin
Sunday, September 2 Last day to add a course
Wednesday, September 5 Conversion Day; classes follow a Monday Schedule; last
day to file for elective course Pass/Fail
Saturday, September 8 Weekend classes begin
Sunday, September 16 Last day to drop a course without a grade
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.
English 1010
Spring 2019 M/W 8 AM - 9:15 AM
Room: BH 4315
Professor Lopez
Email: kennialopez05@gmail.com
Office Hours: M 9:15 AM- 11:15 AM | Office: 2311
Course Schedule
W 8/28 : Introduction to Syllabus and in class writing. Dialects and Translation.
M 9/2 : No Class
W 9/4 : Thesis. Writing Process. Narrative. HW : Becoming (Becoming Me)
M 9/9 : Close Reading. Annotation HW: Becoming (Becoming Us)
W 9/11 : Crafting a Personal Narrative. HW: Becoming (Becoming More)
M 9/16 : Audience. Rhetorical Situations. Synthesizing Arguments. HW : Amy Tan: “Mother
Tongue”, Gloria Anzaldua “How To Tame a Wild Tongue”, Ocean Vuong “A Letter to my
Mother that She Will Never Read”
Tuesday 9/17: Due: Draft I of Personal Narrative (email copies for peer group and to
Instructor)
W 9/18: Peer Review of Drafts. Revision vs Editing DUE: LOOP ASSIGNMENT
M 9/23 : Final Revised Personal Narrative Due HW: James Baldwin “Notes of a Native Son”,
Roxanne Gay “Alton Sterling and When Black Lives Stop Mattering”
W 9/25: Effective Comparison and Contrasting HW: Whitehead “City Limits”, Shteyngart,
“Map Quest”
M 9/30: In class compare and contrast Essay I (surprise essay given to you this day for you to
compare with Whitehead’s “City Limits”)
W 10/2: Compare and Contrast Continued HW: Danticat “Another Country”, Muñoz
“Leave Your Name at the Border”
M 10/7: In class compare and contrast Essay II (surprise essay given to you to compare with
“Another Country” by Edwige Danticat
W 10/9: Revisions on C/C Essay I
M 10/14: No Classes
W 10/16: Revisions on C/C Essay II
M 10/21: Introduction to Rhetorical Analysis HW: Balwin “Stranger in the Village”, Teju
Cole “Black Bodies: Regarding Baldwin’s Stranger in the Village”
W 10/23: Fallacies. Argumentation. HW: King, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Lorde “The
Fourth of July”
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Friday 10/25 by Midnight email peer group and Instructor Compare and Contrast Essay First
Draft. (Wallace “Consider the Lobster”, Eighner, “On Dumpster Diving”)
M 10/28: Peer Review Group Work
W 10/30: Rhetorical appeals and literary devices. HW : Didion “In Bed”
M 11/4: FINAL DRAFT of C/C DUE HW: Saunders “The Braindead Megaphone”
W 11/6: Rhetoric of space and line. In class reading and discussion.
Friday 11/8 email peer group and instructor Rhetorical Analysis
M 11/11: Peer Review Group Work
W 11/13: HW: Chaudry “Mirror, Mirror On the Web”--Comparison and Contrasting with
Saunders
M 11/18: Final Rhetorical Analysis Due
W 11/20: Grammatics vs. Mechanics
M 11/25: Intertextuality (Coates and Baldwin)
W 11/27: Incorporating texts and evidence. In class work and assignments.
M 12/2: MLA Format review. Citation Review.
W 12/4: Quiz on intertextuality, MLA, and incorporating sources.
M 12/9: HW: Hurston “How it Feels to be Colored Me”
W 12/11: HW: El-Ghobashy “Quandaries of Representation”
FINALS WEEK: 12/14-12/20 EXAM
*SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT THE INSTRUCTOR'S DISCRETION