Community College of Rhode Island
Fall 2017
ENGL1010-184/185, Composition I
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30-9:45 a.m. in Room 1551
Instructor: Beth O’Leary Anish, Ph.D.
e-mail:
Office #1364, Flanagan Campus; Office phone number: (401) 333-7139
Office Hours: Tues and Thurs, 8:00-8:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.-1:00 p.m.;
Friday, 8-8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-noon
Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to enable students to write fluent, accurate and effective essays, including research and documentation assignments. (Prerequisite: English placement exam or at least a “C” in ENGL 1005.)
Methodology:
Students will work on strengthening their essay-writing skills. Two short take-home essays and a take-home mid-term exam will require students to practice narrative and descriptive writing, as well as comparison and contrast.
Students will learn how to conduct college-level research, and incorporate that research into a substantial paper and short presentation. Students will learn how to document sources according to MLA Style.
Students will read essays for homework that promote thinking and discussion, and provide models of excellent writing. These readings will form the basis for class discussion, and therefore must be completed before the class for which they are listed on the syllabus. The readings will also provide interesting prompts for essay-writing, including the midterm and final exams and the research paper.
At the end of the semester, one book-length reading will be required. This semester the book selection is Michael Patrick MacDonald’s memoir, All Souls. Class discussions will center around this book for the last few weeks of the course. The final exam for this course will be an in-class essay written in response to this book.
Instructional Objectives:
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Write effective college-level essays, with clear thesis statements, detailed support organized in a logical order and clear, error-free sentences.
- Read college-level texts closely and critically; discuss them orally and in writing.
- Analyze written arguments and construct logical arguments in writing.
- Conduct college-level research using library and other sources.
- Integrate information from academic sources into a research paper.
Required Texts:
Mercury Reader. ENGL1010 Composition I. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2014. ISBN#9781269242226
MacDonald, Michael Patrick. All Souls. Boston: Beacon Press, 1999. Print. ISBN#: 9780807072134
Expectations for Written Work:
All written assignments completed for homework must be formatted according to MLA style. This means that papers should be typed and double-spaced, in size 12 font, with 1 inch margins. The student’s name, instructor’s name, course title and date should appear in top left corner of the first page. No cover page is necessary. On written assignments where outside sources are used, those sources must be documented according to MLA style. Take-home essays must be submitted in class, as a hard copy.
Course Requirements (see the General Grading Rubric for Composition Papers below for information on how essays will be graded):
1) Short Essays: Two take-home essays, 2-3 pages in length each, illustrating narrative and descriptive writing. These essays will be judged based on how well they advance a clear central idea (thesis) and support that thesis with plenty of interesting details arranged in a logical order and effective sentences. Due 9/28 and 10/12.
2) Mid-term exam: A take-home essay exam based on professional essays from our Mercury Reader text. Students will be given a choice among topics to be answered in a comparison and contrast essay, which should be 2-3 pages long. Due 10/19.
3) Research Paper: One 6-8-paged paper on a topic to be chosen in consultation with instructor. Students will be expected to consult relevant library sources and document them properly, according to MLA guidelines. Students will be allowed to choose their topics within the broad social issues of poverty, racism/discrimination, and immigration. Due 11/21.
4) Research Presentation: Students will share results of their research with the class in a 5-7 minute presentation. Presentation will be judged by how well students can articulate 1) what their central argument was, 2) what evidence they found to support their argument, and 3) how they conducted their research/what they learned about the research process. 11/21 and 11/28.
5) Final Exam: In class essay exam based on our full-length book, All Souls. Date of exam TBA.
6) Class Participation: To earn class participation credit, students must show evidence that they have completed readings by making positive contributions to class discussions. The instructor will grade class participation on a “check”, “check plus” and “check minus” system. A student who makes positive contributions to class discussions will receive a “check plus” for that day of class. A student who shows up for class but does not get involved will receive a “check” for attending. A student who misses ½ a class, due to tardiness or leaving early, or who comes to writing workshop days without a draft prepared, will receive a “check minus” for the day. Sleeping in class will also count as a “check minus.” Two “check minus” grades will count as an absence from the class. At the end of the course, the instructor will tally up the “check plus” grades to determine the students’ class participation grades. If necessary, reading quizzes will also be factored into the Class Participation grade (if students are showing signs of having not completed the readings in class discussions).
Grading Criteria:
Two Short Essays: 15% each, for total of 30%
Mid-term Examination: 15%
Research Paper: 20%
Research Presentation: 5%
Final Exam: 15%
Class Participation: 15%
Late paper policy:
All written assignments should be handed in on the day they are due according to the syllabus. If some emergency comes up and a paper must be handed in late, it will only be accepted the next class meeting. It will not be accepted by e-mail. Papers handed in one class meeting late will lose one full letter grade off the earned grade (an “A” paper would be a “B,” for example). If the earned grade is in the “D” range, the late paper will be graded “F” and will not receive credit. There will be no extensions given for any reason for the FINAL EXAM.
Attendance policy:
Students should make every attempt to attend and participate in every class. In the case of a brief illness or other unforeseen circumstances, however, the instructor understands if a student has to miss a class. Too many absences will detract from the student’s ability to participate in class and should be avoided. Absences should be used only for serious illnesses or other emergencies.
The first two absences will not affect the student’s grade. For the 3rd, 4th, and 5th absence, the student’s final grade will be dropped ½ letter grade each. After five absences the student should officially withdraw or a final grade of “F” will be given. Two late arrivals or early departures will be considered equivalent to one absence. This policy is in accordance with the CCRI English Department’s attendance policy, and will be strictly enforced.
You are expected to complete homework assignments even if you are absent; all reading assignments are listed here on this syllabus, and writing assignments not obtained in class can be found on our course Blackboard site or by e-mailing the instructor.
Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is passing someone else’s words and ideas off as one’s own. Whether that involves taking a whole paper off the internet, borrowing from a source without acknowledging it, or having a friend or family member give a little too much input into an assignment, plagiarism is not an accepted academic practice. Students only learn if they do their own work. It is within the rights of the instructor to fail a student for an assignment or the course, if he or she has been caught plagiarizing.
Clearly having someone else write a paper or borrowing a paper from the internet is wrong. More subtle cases of plagiarism happen when students are not clear how to cite sources properly in a research paper. Know that any time you borrow words or ideas from an outside source you must give credit to the author of that source. In this class we will follow the guidelines of the MLA (Modern Language Association), when citing sources for the research paper. You are not expected to know MLA citation style coming into this course; it will be part of the material taught in the course. For more information on CCRI’s academic dishonesty policy, see the Student Handbook: http://www.ccri.edu/Advising/Student_Services/handbook.shtml#POLICY_ON_ACADEMIC_DISHONESTY
Classroom Etiquette:
All students have a right to learn in this classroom without being distracted by their peers. Please be considerate of both your instructor and fellow students to maintain a positive learning environment. To this end, students are not permitted to engage in the following activities during class time:
- text messaging, answering phones or otherwise using phones for games, internet, etc.
- listening to head phones
- holding side conversations or chatting about non-course related topics
- using computer for any purpose other than note-taking or in-class writing assignments
- sleeping!
Students engaged in any of the above activities may be asked to leave the classroom.
Class discussions and peer review of essay drafts should be conducted with civility and respect for all voices and opinions. It is by being open to diverse opinions that we best learn. In this classroom you are considered an adult. If you need to excuse yourself to use the bathroom or take an urgent phone call you can do so without my permission, and with as little disruption to the class as possible.
General Grading Rubric for Composition papers
Unity / Essay has clear main point (thesis), often stated at end of introduction. Thesis points paper in one direction, and is easily defensible in a short essay (not too broad or too narrow). All supporting details in the essay fit with thesis. / Essay has clear main point (thesis) in introduction, though perhaps not as interesting, unique or insightful as that of an “A” paper. Supporting details back up thesis. / Essay’s point (thesis) may be vague and difficult to defend in a short paper, but writer does attempt to have a point or direction. The paper may wander off of this point occasionally. / Essay is lacking a clear direction or point (thesis), therefore supporting details are scattered to support various points. / There is no point to the essay.
Support / Essay includes plenty of specific details and examples to back up thesis statement. / Essay includes some specific details and examples to support thesis, but perhaps not as many as an “A” paper. / Support for thesis is vague, not specific. Few details and examples are given as evidence. Writer may bring up a point but not support it. / There is not one clear direction so support is increasingly vague. Essay may include more clichés than specific details. / Support is vague, if there at all. No specific details or examples to illustrate what writer is trying to say.
Coherence / Essay flows smoothly from start to finish. There are transitions between ideas and paragraphs. Ideas are arranged in logical order, and new paragraphs started when topic shifts. Essay includes introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion. / Essay is organized well overall, but may include some places where a new paragraph should have been started and wasn’t, or where writer jumps to next topic without a transition. Essay has introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion. / Essay may jump around, not flow smoothly from start to finish. It may lack some transitions. Paragraphs could perhaps be ordered differently. It does attempt a separate introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion. / Essay tries to cover too many topics so it cannot be neatly organized. It may lack a conclusion and not have enough body paragraphs. It may introduce a point at the end of the essay that should have been developed earlier in the essay. / Essay has no plan of organization, no logical order.
Sentence Skills / Essay includes clear, error-free sentences. Few, if any, fragments, run-ons, point of view shifts, etc. / Essay may include a few grammatical errors, but not enough to get in the way of communicating writer’s ideas. / At this level paper grammatical mistakes become a problem; there are more run-ons, fragments, point of view shifts and misused words than in “A” and “B” papers. / Sentence-level errors are found throughout the essay. It becomes difficult to understand writer’s ideas because they are not expressed clearly. / Sentence-level errors throughout essay. Writer has not communicated ideas clearly.
Source for the “Four Bases for Revising Essays”:
Langan, John. College Writing Skills with Readings, 8th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2011.
Course Topics/Assignment Schedule
Week 1 9/5 Course introduction. In-class writing on one writing experience you’ve had.
9/7 Read and discuss “Writing Drafts,” by Richard Marius in class (handout).
Week 2 Due: Read in Mercury Reader, p. 1-19 and 72-75 (for 9/12).