Course Overview
This class is an introduction to expository writing. During this course you will hone your essay writing, critical reading, and critical thinking skills. You will learn to identify arguments in different kinds of texts and to translate your own ideas onto the page, logically, grammatically and concisely. Class time will be spent discussing readings, discussing strategies for writing, practicing your writing, and providing thoughtful feedback to classmates. Our course will emphasize the phases of writing, from the conception of an idea through the process of drafting and revision.
By the end of the course you will be able to:
1) Read and think critically
2) Express ideas–both orally and in writing–correctly, cogently, persuasively, and in conformity with the conventions of the discipline
3) Incorporate sources in order to heighten the persuasiveness of your argument
4) Give revision feedback to your fellow students
Assignments
Reading: There will be reading assigned for every class. Please read closely and come prepared to discuss assigned texts. There will be reading quizzes. Remember that the best writers are the best readers. If you haven’t done the reading you are doing a disservice not only to the class discussion, but also to your ability to improve your writing.
Writing: The final exam is an in-class essay. This essay will be worth 20% of your grade. In order to prepare for the exam we will write essays consistently throughout the semester. Each of these essays will involve at least two drafts. I am happy to accept as many drafts as you are willing to write and further drafts may result in an improved grade. There will also be shorter writing assignments. Their completion will count toward your final grade. Please come to class with paper and pen! Work written outside of class must be typed in 12-point font with 1 inch margins.
Expectations
I expect every student to arrive to class on time with homework completed, ready to engage. Two unexplained absences are allowed, though not encouraged. Further absences will result in a lowered grade and two late arrivals will count as one absence. Late papers will receive a grade half a mark lower; for example a B paper will become a B-. Cellphone must be silenced and put away during class. I may notice a device and choose not to mention it, but I will keep it in mind when it comes time to evaluate participation.
Office Hours
If you find yourself unable to participate in class for some reason, please come talk to me during office hours. In fact, please come talk to me during office hours if you have any questions or concerns about assignments or in-class expectations. If you can’t make office hours, email me to set up a time you can talk (alyssanorthrop@gmail.com). Please note that last minute emails may not receive a response in time.
Learning Center
Please take advantage of the Learning Center (http://lc.brooklyn.cuny.edu, 1300 Boylan Hall). You can schedule an appointment with a writing tutor who will be more than happy to read over your essay or help you think through your ideas in order to get started. If you would like to make a weekly appointment I would be glad to sign your referral. Here’s how to do it: “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.”
Required Texts
1. Freshman Common Reading: Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, Americanah.
2. Course Packet. Available online at https://libguides.brooklyn.cuny.edu/crum1010/northrop_alyssa?preview=964d885f534acf9ba92ed633d606392d
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.
Possible grades 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 |
60-62 |
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.
Students with disabilities
In order to receive disability related academic accommodation students must first register 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 Service, 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.
Plagiarism
Students often plagiarize unknowingly. We will discuss techniques for avoiding unconscious plagiarism. The following is taken from the Brooklyn College website:
"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”
Non-attendance Because of Religious Beliefs
Please review the Undergraduate Bulletin about non-attendance because of religious beliefs: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/off_registrar/2015-2016_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
Monday, 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
Professor Alyssa Northrop
718-687-0713
Fall 2018: MW 11-12:15
Office: 2311 Boylan
Office hours: Mon. 12:30-2:30
Room: TBA
Course Schedule
(please note: readings and dates are subject to change)
8/27, M Introduction to course
8/29, W Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, Americanah Chapter 1
9/3, M No class, school closed
9/5, W Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, Americanah Chapter 2
9/10, M No class
9/12, W Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, Americanah pp 149-195
9/17, M Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, Americanah Part 3, pp. 281 - 351
9/19, W No class, school closed
9/24, M James Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son”
Library loop tour due:
http://dewey.brooklyn.cuny.edu/library/help/loop/loop_instructions.pdf.
9/26, W Colson Whitehead, “City Limits”
10/1, M Essay 1 Due: Personal Narrative.
10/3, W Roxane Gay, “Peculiar Benefits”
10/8, M No class, school closed
10/10, W Revision Due
Summary exercise
10/15, M Jonathan Safran Foer, “How Not To Be Alone”
10/17, W Nicholas Carr, “Is Google Making Us Stupid”?
Summary due
10/22, M Susan Sontag, “On Photography”
10/24, W Susan Sontag “On Photography” (day two)
10/29, M Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue”
10/31, W Argumentative Essay Due
Gloria Anzaldua, “How to Tame A Wild Tongue”
11/5, M Bill Mckibben, “Recalculating the Climate Math”
11/7, W Zadie Smith, “Elegy to our Countries Seasons”
Revision Due
11/12, M Brent Staples “Confederate Memorials as Instruments of Racial Terror”
11/14, W Ernest Furgurson, “the End of History”
11/19, M Compare and Contrast Thesis Workshop
11/21, W Compare and Contrast Essay Due
11/26, M TBA
11/28, W Carl Elliot "The Perfect Voice"
12/3, M In class essay
12/5, W Revision Due
12/10, M Sample Essays
12/12, W Exam prep (student discussion of long essay)
12/14 English 1010 Final Exam
