LaGuardia Community College, The City University of New York

Department of Education and Language Acquisition

ESA 099.8496 – Basic Writing

Fall II, 2017

Instructor: Victoria Somogyi

Office: B-234

Office hours: by appointment

Email:

Class website:esa99.pbworks.com

CLASS MEETING DAYS, TIMES, ROOMS

Day / Time / Room
Lecture / Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday / 5:45 pm-7:55pm / C-721
Lab / Tuesday
Thursday / 8:05 pm-10:15 pm / B-233

GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course aims at developing college-level writing proficiency. By emphasizing the writing process, rhetorical conventions, summary writing, paraphrasing and analytical language skills, the course will prepare students for timed, high-stakes essays, such as the CATW. In addition, students will learn to identify and correct grammatical errors in their own compositions and learn to employ argumentative and other rhetorical modes in a short essay form to clearly express ideas written in academic English.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

This course will:

  1. Enable students to write fluent and well developed essays of at least 4 paragraphs.
  2. Reinforce students’ writing skills through process-based writing, including pre-writing, drafting, revising, and editing.
  3. Provide students with test-taking strategies to prepare for text-based, timed, high-stakes writing.
  4. Enable students to become analytical readers and writers by familiarizing them with critical reading strategies to various text selections.
  5. Familiarize students with techniques for summary writing and critical response writing.
  6. Familiarize students with modes of argumentation including thesis statement and development.
  7. Introduce the rhetorical concepts of voice, audience, and purpose.
  8. Reinforce students’ knowledge of academic English and editing skills.
  9. Reinforce skills necessary to retake the CUNY developmental writing test (CATW).

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

1.A standard English-English dictionary such as The Longman Dictionary of American English.

Possible books:

2.Taking the CUNY Assessment Test in Writing by Laurence D. Berkley, 2011. Bedford/St. Martin’s (ISBN-13: 978-1457602283).

3.The Keys to the CATW by Regina A. Rochford, 2012. Kendall Hunt Publishing (ISBN-13: 978-1465213327).

Note. To help students save money in their textbook purchases, CUNY has created a web page called “How to Save Money on Textbooks." This resource provides links to websites that sell discounted new and used books, eBooks, open source materials, and rental options. The web page can be found at:

ATTENDANCE POLICY

You must continue to attend class in order to take the CATW exams. In order to keep up with the workload, you must be in class. Some readings will be distributed in class and most of the required essays will be written in the lab. Therefore, if you are not there, you will not be able to complete the assignments.

Attendance at class meetings is a requirement that will be considered in the evaluation of student performance. Instructors are required to keep an official record of student attendance. It is important to note that absences are counted from the first class meeting even if these are a result of late registration or change of program. Your lab attendance is also mandatory and will be recorded as a part of class attendance. The Academic ESL Lab maintains a separate attendance roster for all required lab sessions. Any students who wish to check their lab attendance record during the semester should see the assigned tutors in B-233.

If you miss a class, you are still responsible for the work covered in that class. Please find out how to get in touch with two classmates who you can contact to obtain the class notes and any other information that you missed:

Buddy #1Phone/Email:

Buddy #2Phone/Email:

THE CATW EXAM

Passing the CATW exam is required of all CUNY students in order to take college-level composition courses (ENG 101). The ESA 099 course is designed to prepare you for the CATW as well as for academic writing expected of college students in the US. With this in mind, the course demands more from you than simply passing the CATW exam (an immediate goal). This course requires your attendance, diligent work, and timely submission of all assignments.

You will have the opportunity to take the CATW exam twice during the semester – once at midterm and once towards the end of this semester.

COURSE GRADES AND ADVISEMENT

Grades for ESA099 will be based on students’ attendance, homework, and classwork as well as passing the CATW exam. Students who achieve a score of 56 or higher on the test will receive a grade of C- or higher; those who have also passed the CUNY reading test will be placed in ENG 101; students who score 55 and below on the CATW test will receive a grade of “R” and will be required to repeat the level by taking ENG 099. Students may also qualify for an Express Course or ENA 101 – please look for the information from the ELA Department and English Department on these courses that will be made available at the end of the semester.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

The College has established an Academic Integrity Policy that describes procedures and penalties for students who are suspected of academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in the City University of New York and is punishable by penalties ranging from a grade of F on a given test, research paper or assignment, to an F in the course or suspension or expulsion from the College. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism, Internet plagiarism, obtaining unfair advantages, falsification of records and official documents, and misconduct in internship.

OPTIONAL TUTORING SERVICES

In addition to the required weekly lab sessions, students may wish to use the individualized tutoring

services available through the Writing Center. It is located in B 200 and open Monday-Friday, 9am-9pm.

CLASSROOM RULES

(1) Cell phones should be put away unless you are explicitly instructed that you may use it for classwork. If I see you texting in class, you will be marked absent. (2) Students must respect other students’ opinions even if they disagree with them. (3) Students must be ready to work cooperatively in pairs and groups when asked to. (4) No videotaping in the classroom is allowed.

Course Outline*:

Monday
Room: C-721 / Tuesday
Room: C-721
Lab: B-233 / Wednesday
Room: C-721 / Thursday
Room: C-721
Lab: B-233 / Friday / Sat.-Sun.
January 2 / January 3 / January 4 / January 5
Essay #1 / January 6 / January7-8
January 9 / January 10 / January 11
Sign up for Midterm CATW / January 12 / January 13 / January 14-15
?LAB:Rewrite essay #1 / LAB:Essay #2
January 16
Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday / January 17
Midterm CATW / January18 / January 19 / January 20 / January 21-22
LAB:Rewrite essay #2 / LAB:Essay #3
January 23
Rewrite essay #3
(finish for homework) / January 24 / January 25
Rewrite essay #4
(finish for homework) / January 26 / January 27 / January 28-29
LAB:Essay #4 / LAB:Essay #5
January 30
Rewrite essay #5
(finish for homework) / January 31 / February 1
Sign up for Final CATW / February 2
(Monday schedule: no lab)
Rewrite essay #6
(finish for homework) / February 3 / February 4-5
LAB:Essay #6
February 6
Final CATW / February 7 / February 8 / February 9 / February 10 / February 11-12
LAB:Essay #7 / LAB:Rewrite essay #7
February 13 / February 14
Essay #8 due / February 15 / February 16 / February 17 / February 18-19
February 20 / February 21
?Grades and advisement / February 22 / February 23

*This is a tentative outline and may be revised, based on the needs of the class.

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