Syllabus for English 1301

Composition & Rhetoric

Instructor Course

Sean Ferrier-Watson, MA ENGL 1301.043

R 6:00-9:00PM
GC 124

Office Office Hours

201 Thur. 5-6PM
or by appointment

E-mail Website
[email protected] www.SeanENGL1301.wordpress.com

Required Texts

Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and
Guide. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2007

Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. 6th ed. New York: Bedford, 2007.

Course Content
This course is a study of grammar and composition through analysis of sentence structure,
paragraph organization, and theme development. You will be expected to conduct an analysis of
written discourse with emphasis on the writing of class themes, including critical observations
about your own work and material from the textbook and handouts.

Course Prerequisites
English 0302 with a grade of C or above, or placement by department based on admission
information.

Purpose
This Course is a composition and rhetoric course. The class will concentrate for approximately 15
weeks upon improving thinking and writing skills. It will emphasize the aims—the “why”—and
the modes—the “how”—of composition as they apply to the communication process.
Assignments will include pre-writing activities, essay writing, editing, revision, oral discussion,
group work, and reading of novels, as well as lectures. Homework will include readings and
exercises in the textbooks. A major portion of the course will be devoted to writing and will
include documented papers when appropriate. The close of the course will focus upon reading
and discussion of the novels.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
Successful students in English 1301 will:
 Improve attitudes towards written communication
 Refine writing skills for college level discourse by:
 Identifying and utilizing Standard Written English
 Identifying and utilizing basic Academic Discourse
 Increase critical reading skills
 Build analytical thinking skills
 Successfully complete preparation of mode and argumentative essays and a
properly documented research paper.
  Successfully identify and utilize MLA style for citing and documenting sources.

Assignment Policy
With the exception of some daily grades, all assignments should be completed on time and
formatted correctly to be considered for full credit. Major essays must be formatted in accordance
with MLA guidelines and typed in legible twelve point font. The page length and other detailed
specifications are listed further below. These assignments will be submitted to the class email
account as Word.doc attachments. The email address is [email protected]. The final
Research Paper will be an exception to this rule. A hardcopy should be submitted in class the
day of the final exam.

Attendance Policy
Attendance is mandatory. As with any college class, attendance is a vital part of the learning
process. If a student misses more than two class sessions, a deduction will be applied to the
student’s participation grade (attendance is an important part of your grade, so please do not
underestimate the attendance policy). Absences are considered to be unauthorized unless due to
sickness, valid emergencies (i.e. hospitalization of family or friend), or sanctioned school
activities. The student must present proof of the incident before an excuse will be issued. If,
through a misfortune, a student should arrive after the instructor has recorded absences, it is the
student’s responsibility to talk with the instructor immediately after class in order to discuss
changing the unauthorized absence to a tardy. Excessive absences can result in a failing grade for
the class. If the problem is serious enough to miss a significant amount of class, then the student
should consider dropping the course or speaking with the university. There will be no make up
for missed assignments, but the instructor may allow for extra daily assignments for students with
authorized absences.

Late Policy
I will accept late major grades for partial credit. The grade for these assignments will be
determined by its merit and number of days past the due date. Daily grades and attendance are not
redeemable under this policy. If you are absent or fail to complete a daily assignment, I will not
allow a make-up grade.

Special Needs or Learning Disabilities

The Student Development Center is responsible for coordinating services for students with
special needs. Individual students have the right and the responsibility to decide whether and
when to choose among accessible service offerings. Paris Junior College provides equal
opportunities for students with disabilities and ensures access to a wide variety of resources and
programs. The College will make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with a
documented physical, psychological, or learning disability who have been admitted to the College
and have requested accommodations. Any student who has special needs or disabilities is
encouraged to feel free to discuss his or her concerns with me privately. Your concerns will
remain confidential.

Daily Grade/ Homework Policy

Daily coursework and homework will be assigned periodically throughout the semester. These
assignments are graded pass/fail. In other words, if you fail to complete the assignment or
approach it incorrectly, you will not receive credit for the assignment. Note: daily grades and
homework are not replaceable. If you miss a daily assignment, please do not ask to make it up. I
will, however, offer extra credit assignments for daily grades from time to time, but you should
not make a habit of missing these assignments.

Rewrite Policy
 Students will be allowed to rewrite one major essay for full credit. I will not permit students to
rewrite a paper with a grade above an 88%. All rewrites must be submitted two weeks after the
graded assignment has been returned to the student. Since the final essay is due the last day of
class, it will of course be an exception to the rewrite policy. I recommend that students only
rewrite papers with a grade of B- or lower. If you have any concerns about the rewrite policy,
please address these concerns with me as soon as possible. (Note: this policy will not apply to late
submissions.)

Peer Editing
Criticism is an important part of the writing process. It provides insight, awareness and
perspective to any well written work. As students of writing, you will need to practice well
developed and constructive criticism. To help cultivate this process, I will divide you into peer
editing groups. These groups must be composed of three to five students and will be expected to
meet in and out of class. Since many of you are new to college writing, I highly recommend that
you seek as much feedback as possible on an assignment before submitting it for a grade. Peer
editing and other in-class activities are an essential part of class participation. If you are not
participating in peer editing, then it is reasonable to expect a deduction in your final grade.

Grading Policy

Participation 20%
• Attendance 10%
• Homework/Daily Work/Peer Editing 10%
Essay #1: Personal Narrative 20%
• 3-5 pages in length
• Check handout for details
Essay #2: Persuasive/Argumentative Essay 20%
• 3-5 pages in length
• Check handout for details
Essay #3: Informative Essay 20%
• 3-5 pages in length
• Must contain a work cited page
• Check handout for details
Essay #4: Research Paper 20%
• 3-5 pages in length
• Research Proposal (300 words)
• Must contain a work cited page
• Must contain a working bibliography to accompany proposal
• Check handout for details

Class Assignments & Reading Schedule

Spring 2010
January

21—First Day!
• Class Introduction
• Review of Syllabus & Class Schedule
 • First Mini Free Write Assignment
28—Narration & Description
• Sandra Cisneros, “Only Daughter” (97p)
• Martin Gansberg, “Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police” (120p)
• Brainstorming for Essay #1
• Read 766-768
• View the “I Hate Writing” (video on the website)
• “Who Said 'Johnny Can't Write'?” (video on class website)

February

4—Argumentation and Persuasion:

• Read 547-563p from our textbook (glance over)
• Al Gore, “The Time to Act Is Now” (617p)
• Daniel B. Botkin, “Global Warming Delusions” (623p)
• Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (588p)
• 1st Essay Due
11—Argumentation Cont.
• Linda Chavez, “American Dreams, Foreign Flags” (648p)
• Patrick Buchanan, “To Reunite a Nation” (671p)
• Michael Levin, “The Case for Torture” (681
• John McCain, “Torture’s Terrible Toll” (696p)
18—Exemplification & Process
• Jonathan Kozol, “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” (248p)
• Stanley Fish, “Getting Coffee Is Hard to Do” (287p)
• Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” (311)
25—Cause and Effect
• Robin Tolmach Lakoff, “The Power of Words in Wartime” (363p)
• Linda M. Hasselstorm, “A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carriers a Gun” (357p)
• Lillian B. Rubin, “Gun and Grief” (350p)
• 2nd Essay Due

March

4—Compare and Contrast

• Ellen Laird, “I’m Your Teacher, Not Your Internet-Service Provider” (416p)
• Bharati Mukherjee, “Two Ways to Belong in America” (411p)
11—Definition
• Judy Brady, “I Want a Wife” (520p)
• Roberto Santiago, “Black and Latino” (537p)
• Jack Kerouac, “Good Blonde” (handout)
18—Spring Break! No Class.
• Make sure to do a little reading over the break
25— Classification and Division
• William Zinsser, “College Pressures” (462p)
• Stephanie Ericsson, “The Ways We Lie” (485p)
• Jonathan Koppell, “On the Internet, There’s No Place to Hide” (495p)
• 3rd Essay Due

April

1—Classification & Division Cont. and Exploring the Banned-book Controversy

• Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue” (477p)
 • Nancy J. Peters, “Milestones of Literary Censorship” (handout)
8—Controversial Texts and Their Impact on Classification
• “Howl” (handout)
• Charles Bukowski, “Hot Lady” (handout)
• Marguerite Krause, “Harry Potter and the End of Religion” (handout)
15—Combining the Patterns
• Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal” (745p)
• David Kirby, “Inked Well” (738p)
• Last Day to Drop with a grade of “W”
• Proposal due at beginning of class
22—MLA Style & Revision
• Watching out for Plagiarism, 766-768p
• Drafting A Thesis Statement, 769p
• Documenting Your Sources, 772-782p
29—Research Day at Library
• Meet in the Library

May

6—Final Review & Peer Editing

13—tentative date for final Research Paper