ENGLISH 165 AB: ADVANCED COMPOSITION/CRITICAL THINKING
Fall 2011 Syllabus
Fall 2011 Syllabus
Instructor: Jill Sumstad Class Meets: T/TH 12:45-2pm Class Location: Building 3, Room 104 Prerequisite: English 100 Transfer: CSU, UC (3.0 units) | Office: Building 3, Room 216 Hours: Thursdays, 2-3pm Phone: (510) 415-0875 Email: Sumstadj@smccd.edu *Please identify yourself in the subject line. |
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Welcome to English 165 AB. This is an advanced course in college writing, emphasizing critical thinking, critical reading and persuasive writing skills. In this course you will learn to read more critically and evaluate ideas from a variety of culturally, ethnically and gender diverse sources. Further, you will learn to write a progression of compositions beyond the English 100 level, demonstrating continued development in writing compelling college-level prose.
REQUIRED READING
Ø Cooper. Writing Logically, Thinking Critically. 6th Ed.
Ø Gore. Inconvenient Truth. 2nd Ed.
Ø Hacker. Rules for Writers. 6th Ed.
Ø Nosich. Learning to Think Things Through: A Guide to Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum. 3rd Ed.
Ø Various articles and handouts
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this course, through critical thinking, you should be able to do the following objectives in reading and writing:
READING
Identify and state the main idea, thesis, or unifying theme in expository and argumentative prose; identify and analyze the structure of arguments underlying text; identify instances of inferential reasoning, and of inductive and deductive logic; distinguish facts from judgments; evaluate the validity and soundness of arguments; recognize and clearly state assumptions (including unstated, critical, ethic and/or gender-based assumptions) in an argument; draw and justify inferences about the intentions of the author, based on your observation of the author’s uses of language; and identify common fallacies.
WRITING
Employ, in a number of substantial essays, various writing strategies such as analysis, synthesis, and summary, that emphasize argumentative modes of development, including casual analysis, evaluation, refutation, or interpretation; limit the topic appropriately to a scope that can be dealt with responsibly, given the length of the essay; establish and state clearly a unifying thesis or proposition; select evidence such as details, data, definitions, and principles to support or validate the thesis; organize main parts of the composition, defining a sequence that contributes to clarity and to the purpose of the writing; provide for coherence in and between paragraphs; rephrase written arguments accurately, producing a faithful distillation of the central meaning of a given text; discover, evaluate, and use outside sources, including the use of the conventions of documentation, for use in the development of your own writing.
PARTICIPATION & ATTENDANCE POLICY
Attendance and participation is an important part of success in this course. I expect you to come to class on time, prepared, and ready to be an active participant. For that reason, I will allow three absences with no explanation necessary. After that, I will deduct 20 course points from the final grade for each additional absence, no matter the reason. It is considered an absence if you are more than twenty minutes late to class or leave more than twenty minutes early from class.
COURSE WORK
Course work will consist of reading, discussions, critical thinking, group work, class presentations, brainstorming, pre-writing and outlining, responding to peer’s work, taking quizzes and exams, and of course, writing multiple essays. In order to pass this class you must complete all assigned essays.
GRADING
Essay 1 100
Essay 2 150
Essay 3 150
Essay 4 200
Reading Responses 100
Quizzes 100
Midterm 100
Final 100
TOTAL 1,000
LATE WORK POLICY
All assignments are due at the beginning of class on their designated due dates. Acceptance of late work will be considered on a case by case basis. There is a large amount of reading and writing required for this course; therefore, I strongly urge that you turn in assignments on time so as not to get behind. I usually do not allow missed in-class work to be made up, including quizzes.
ESSAYS, PEER REVIEWS & CONFERENCES (600 points)
ESSAYS
You will be required to turn in four essays. Each essay must be edited and revised for clarity, logic, and grammar. Each essay must be typed, double-spaced, the assigned length, and follow MLA format. Attach all preparatory work to the back of the final. Essays will be graded according to three general criteria: adherence to the assignment, quality of content, and skill of English usage. All essays must be completed and receive a passing grade (a D- or above) in order for you to get credit in the class. You may revise your out-of-class essays for credit—the grade revision will replace the original grade if the paper has improved. An extra revision is sometimes required when the paper does not meet the requirements.
Essay 1 (100 pts.): Write a 4-5 page (1200-1500 words) Analysis
9/1 – Peer Reviews in-class (copies passed out 8/30)
9/8 – Final Essay Due
Essay 2 (150 pts.): Write a 5-6 page (1500-1800 words) Evaluation
9/29 – Peer Reviews in-class (copies passed out 9/27)
10/6 – Final Essay Due
Essay 3 (150 pts.): Write a 5-6 page (1500-1800 words) Refutation
10/27 – Peer Reviews in-class (copies passed out 10/25)
11/3 – Final Essay Due
Essay 4 (200 pts.): Write a 6-8 page (1800-2400 words) Persuasive Argument
11/22 – Peer Reviews in-class (copies passed out 11/17)
12/8 – Final Essay Due
PEER REVIEWS
One of your essays is required to be peer reviewed in-class and you will need to provide five copies of that essay. For the essays that you do not get peer-reviewed, you will be required to review your peer’s essays. You will receive a copy of one of your peer’s essays to take home. You must write a typed 1-2 page review as well as comment directly on your peer’ essay and bring it to the next class meeting. Attach peer reviews to your final draft. Peer reviews are worth 10% of each essay grade.
CONFERENCES
You are required to meet with me twice for an individual conference regarding two of your essays. These conferences will be factored into your essay grades and are worth 10% each. If you fail to meet with me for these conferences, I will deduct 35 points from your final grade.
READING RESPONSES (100 points)
There will be five Reading Responses designed to demonstrate your ability to identify, evaluate and analyze the content in the reading and then write an effective summary, analysis, evaluation, refutation and synthesis. Each Reading Response is worth 20 points and should be typed, double-spaced; 1-2 pages in length, and apply the specific writing technique assigned to it. The Reading Response due dates and corresponding writing techniques are as follows:
RR 1 – (Tuesday, 8/30) Summarize and determine the argument, identifying both the stated and unstated premise
RR 2 – (Tuesday, 9/13) Analyze the effect of diction, tone, language, and style in the argument
RR 3 – (Tuesday, 10/4) Evaluate the evidence for accuracy and validity to the argument
RR 4 – (Tuesday, 10/25) Identify, analyze, and evaluate the fallacies and vagueness of the argument
RR 5 – (Tuesday, 11/15) Distinguish the types of evidence and evaluate the effectiveness of the argument
*Extra Credit – 20 points*
RR 6 – (Tuesday, 11/29) Reflection on your writing and what you learned in this class
IN-CLASS EXAMS
QUIZZES (100 points)
There will be five quizzes based upon the reading and class lectures. Each quiz will be worth 20 points. These quizzes are open-book/open-note and are designed to demonstrate your ability to synthesize the material covered in the reading and class lectures.
MIDTERM (100 points)
Tuesday, 10/11. This exam will be short answers, open-book only (no notes).
FINAL (100 points)
Tuesday, 12/13. This exam will be a long essay answer that you will write based upon a prompt. This exam will ask you to demonstrate your ability to write a persuasive paper in a timed setting. Bring a blue book to class with you. You must write your exam in blue or black ink.
TBA HOURS
English 165 requires an additional hour per week of course-related work. To satisfy this you need to attend weekly writing workshops offered on campus, see a writing tutor once a week, or a combination of both. Your two conferences with me count as two weekly hours. This counts toward your overall grade. Ten points will be deducted from your final grade for each week missed. To avoid this, turn in a signed sheet from the workshop or writing tutor with the date for each week.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Plagiarism is taking the words of another and either copying or paraphrasing those words without giving credit to the source (through footnotes, quotation marks, reference citations). This includes using material from the Internet without giving proper credit. The first instance of plagiarism will result in an F on the assignment. If plagiarism occurs a second time, the student may fail the course. Students who repeatedly plagiarize despite warnings may be referred for further academic disciplinary action that can include dismissal from the university.
ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Laptops, Notebooks, and iPads are allowed if you use them for class-related content and demonstrate an ability to stay focused and engaged. If you cannot comply and misuse devices in the classroom, you will be counted as absent for the day.
DISABILITY ACCOMODATION
If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, or if you would need assistance in the event of an emergency, please contact me as soon as possible.
GRIEVANCE POLICY
If you have a grievance of any kind you must first see me about it. We will try to work it out, but if we cannot, you should then talk to the division chair.
IMPORTANT DATES
August 30 – Last day to add/drop classes
September 6 – Census day
November 11 – Campus CLOSED for Veteran’s Day
November 22 -24 – Campus CLOSED for Thanksgiving
December 11-17 – Final Exams Week
FINAL NOTE
This syllabus and schedule are subject to revision as I deem necessary. I may assign individual homework to improve particular skills.
