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.)
Overview: 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:
• Read and think critically
• Understand how language operates
• Express ideas—both orally and in writing—correctly, cogently, persuasively, and in conformity with the conventions of the discipline.
• Conduct research
Course Requirements & Policies
Required Materials
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 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. You may refer to our texts, and only to our texts, on a tablet or computer but printing is preferred.
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), and 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 in and out of class, such as additional summaries, comparative essays, journal entries, 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: 15%
Compare and Contrast: 15%
In-class Compare and Contrast: 10%
Final Exam: 20%
Other Assignments: 10%
This includes in-class writing and possible 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 bereavement is located here: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/about/initiatives/policies/bereavement.php
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.
Syllabus is subject to change. Instructor may not discuss final exam with students.
English 1010
Laura Amelio
T3AF (19414)
Office: Boylan 4117
Class meets: Tu., Th. 3:40-4:55
Office hours: Thursday, 5-6 and by appt.
Classroom: Boylan 4117
Email: laura.amelio@nyu.edu
Fall 2018
Tentative Course Schedule
8/28 Introduction to course, syllabus
8/30 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah Parts I & II (Chapters 1-22), in-class diagnostic essay
*Sunday, 9/2: Last day to add a course
9/4 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah Parts III & IV (Chs. 23-41)
9/6 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah Part V (Chs. 42-55), Zora Neale Hurston, “How it Feels to Be Colored Me”
9/11 No class
9/13 Personal narrative draft due (2 copies)
*Sunday, 9/16: Last day to drop a course without a grade
9/18 No class
9/20 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “Real Food”
9/25 James Baldwin, “Stranger in the Village”
9/27 Teju Cole, “Black Body: Rereading Jame Baldwin’s ‘Stranger in the Village”
Revision of personal narrative due
10/2 Richard Rodriguez, “The Achievement of Desire”
10/4 Paule Marshall, “From the Poets in the Kitchen”
First summary draft due (3 copies)
10/9 Kwame Anthony Appiah, “The Case for Contamination”
10/11 Kwame Anthony Appiah, continued
First summary revision due
10/16 LOOP (Library Online Orientation Program) workshop, etc.
10/18 George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”
Second summary draft due (3 copies)
10/23 George Orwell, continued
10/25 Second summary revision due
10/30 George Saunders, “The Braindead Megaphone”
11/1 Argumentative draft due (2 copies)
11/6 Matthew Crawford, “The Case for Working with Your Hands”
*Tuesday, 11/6: Last day to withdraw from course with a W (non-penalty grade)
11/8 David Foster Wallace, “Consider the Lobster”
Revision of argumentative draft due
11/13 David Foster Wallace, continued
11/15 In-class compare and contrast essay
11/20 Jamaica Kincaid, “The Ugly Tourist” and Edwidge Danticat, “Another Country”
11/22 No class
11/27 Walter Benn Michaels, “The Trouble with Diversity”
11/29 Compare and contrast essay draft due (2 copies)
12/4 Recap TBA
12/6 Final exam prep, Reading TBA
Revision of compare and contrast essay due
12/11 Final class. Student discussion of final exam reading.
