Required Materials

Common Reading – Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Online Course-Pack –

Online Grammar Handbook –

Notebook to be used as a journal (composition or spiral notebook)

Grading:

Attendance/ Participation: 10%

Essays: 60 %

Break-down:

Personal Narrative (750-1000 words) 20 %

Argumentative Essay (1000- 1250) 20 %

Compare/Contrast Essay (1000- 1250) 20 %

Final Exam 20 %

Journal and Writing Responses 10 %

Expectations for Essays:

The description for my expectations regarding first drafts and final drafts comes to us from the poet and educator Lauren Whitehead:

• Drafts (via LW): Drafts are assigned to help you see your ideas through to their

completion without having to commit to them in the end. The stronger the draft at any stage of composing, the more useful will be the feedback you receive. Drafts that do not meet the assigned word count will result in the docking of your final draft by one letter grade.

• Final Essays (via LW): A final essay is the most public kind of writing you will

produce for this course. Your essay should aim to persuade astute, interested readers who are unfamiliar with the texts or subjects that you engage; you need to convince them of why your argument/story is significant. Final essays should be ambitious works that you are proud of turning in.

All Final Essays should:

• develop an idea or argument in a coherent, compelling way.
• have a thoughtful beginning, middle, and end.
• be grammatically correct.
• have a tone appropriate for the intended audience

*demonstrate regard for the essay’s aesthetics.

• Final Exam: The final exam is determined by the Brooklyn College English Department and is the same in every English 1010 class. You will write an in-class compare/contrast essay based on two texts. One of the texts you will receive the week before, and one you will receive at the time of the exam.

Submission Guidelines For Essays:

Times New Roman Font, Double-spaced, hard copy (must be printed.) Due by 5 pm on the due date. You may turn it into me in class or to my mailbox in the English Department Office.

General Expectations & Participation This course is built on reciprocity. (via LW.) It is my commitment to create a safe and rigorous environment for deep inquisition, discussion, and the development of new skills. Each student’s participation through reading and responding to the assigned material and each other’s work is vital to the success of this course. Please come to class having completed the assigned reading, ready to discuss. Our time together is brief and valuable. Any student texting or playing on their phone may be asked to leave and risk being marked absent for the day.

Grading Policy:

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.

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.

Center for Student Disability Services: 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 him/her.

Non-attendance Because of Religious Beliefs: Please read the information in the Brooklyn College Bulletin here: (http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/off_registrar/2017- 2018_Undergraduate_Bulletin.pdf ) regarding nonattendance because of religious beliefs.

Please inform me in advance if you plan to be absent due to religious observance.

Student Bereavement Policy: Please read the information in the Brooklyn College Bulletin here: (http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/about/initiatives/policies/bereavement.php) regarding student bereavement policy. Please speak to me after class or during office hours if you have any questions or concerns.

Course Schedule

Week 1 Americanah: Introduction

Mon. 9/27      Introduction and In-Class Writing Wed. 9/29                Reading Due: Americanah

Week 2 Americanah: Close Reading & Summaries Mon. 9/3                        No Class

Wed. 9/5        Reading Due: Americanah

Writing response #1 Due

Week 3 Americanah: Close Reading & Analysis Mon. 9/10 No Class

Wed. 9/12      Reading Due: Americanah

Gloria Anzaldua, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”

Writing response #2 Due

Week 4 Americanah: Close Reading & Analysis

Mon. 9/17      First Draft Personal Narrative Due Wed. 9/19                No Class

Week 5 Establishing an Argument

Mon. 9/24      Ta-Nehisi Coates, “The Case For Reparations” Wed. 9/26                Jamaica Kincaid, “The Ugly Tourist”

Week 6 Argument & Analysis

Mon. 10/1      Final Draft Personal Narrative Due

Wed. 10/3      Solnit, “Men Explain Things To Me”

Week 7 In-depth Analysis

Mon. 10/8      No Class

Wed. 10/10    Sontag, “Regarding The Pain of Others”

Week 8 Close Reading and Building an Argument

Mon. 10/15    Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son” Wed. 10/17 Baldwin, “Notes of a Native Son”