Course Syllabus
SAC COURSE SYLLABUS
ENGLISH 103
Professor Iris Chao
Office Hours: By Appointment Only
COURSE THEME: All around us: The social and cultural impact of heroes
This course will delve into the influence and impact of heroes (and superheroes) on our daily lives. We will analyze and evaluate factors which determine our standards of living and quality of life, locally as well as globally. Research will be conducted focusing on the many perspectives of what defines a hero and the effects heroes have on society. Discussions will debate various viewpoints based on readings throughout the semester.
COURSE OBJECTIVES and OUTCOMES
English 103 is a second-level course in academic essay writing that focuses on the development of critical reasoning and writing, argumentation, evaluation, analysis, and research. Students will learn to identify and evaluate arguments, make logical organizational and felicitous stylistic choices to achieve coherence in their writing, respond appropriately to a variety of rhetorical situations, and collaborate with peers in stages of the writing process by critiquing and editing the work of others. In addition to learning how to use textual evidence and secondary materials to support a claim, students will continue to develop fluency in citing and documenting sources and using online databases for research.
Students will complete a course-appropriate writing assignment that demonstrates mastery of the six elements of effective writing: 1. Unity/focus through a controlling thesis or topic sentence claim; 2. development/support/elaboration; 3. coherence/organization; 4. style; 5. conventions of Standard Written English; 6. conventions of Manuscript Format.
Objectives:
- Reading and critically evaluating college-level material from a variety of sources
- Identifying and analyzing the structures of arguments
- Evaluating the soundness of arguments
- Exploring various patterns of argumentation
- Identifying assumptions that influence arguments
- Distinguishing between reasoning and pseudo-reasoning
- Identifying common formal and informal fallacies
- Distinguishing between induction and deduction
- Identifying, evaluating, and drawing inferences
- Writing essays that exhibit sound reasoning
- Learning some classical divisions of rhetorical appeal, including ethos, logos, and pathos
- Becoming aware of abuses of language so that such abuses can be avoided in writing and criticized in the public world
- Demonstrating continued development in writing correct and sophisticated college-level English prose
Out of Class Academic Expectations
Your study and work habits outside of class are an extension of your time in class. The workload for this course is approximately 12 hours per week (4 hours in class, and up to 8 hours outside of class). This means that in addition to our time spent together during meetings, you should expect to spend at least six additional hours per week on homework, reading, research and writing. Additionally, even if a specific assignment is not due for the week, you are still expected to spend this amount of time on activities that will increase your understanding of the subject, such as re-reading texts, writing notes, reviewing course materials, working on upcoming assignments and pursuing independent reading.
Required Materials
-
Textbook(s): Current Issues and Enduring Questions, 11th edition ISBN:
1319035477 - Online access: You will be asked to check our course site or official college email address for correspondence and/or assignments. Grades will be posted on Canvas as will various handouts and course information as well as final copy paper uploading.
- Reading Selections: Available under Modules on Canvas Course
- STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO PURCHASE THE TEXTBOOKBOOK ASAP IN ORDER TO COMPLETE ASSIGNMENTS!
Grading for Course:
ASSIGNMENTS PERCENTAGE
Paper 1: Inquiry 10%
Paper 2: Definition 10%
Paper 3: Literary Analysis 15%
Paper 4: Persuasive 20%
Paper 5: Final Essay (timed) 10%
Attendance/ Participation 10%
Response Folder 10%
Homework/ Quizzes 15%
Assignments
ALL TYPED PAPERS MUST BE DOUBLE-SPACED WITH 1” MARGINS ON ALL FOUR SIDES (MLA FORMAT)
Course Requirements and Grading Criteria
Homework/ In-class work grading scale:
+ =A
\/+ =B
\/ =C
\/- =D
- =F
You will be graded for all stages of the writing process we cover in class—the homework/ in-class work grading scale will be used.
The grading scale is as follows:
100-98 = A+ 89-87 = B+ 79-77 = C+ 69-67 = D+
97-94 = A 86-84 = B 76-74 = C 66-64 = D
93-90 = A- 83-80= B- 73-70 = C- 63-60 = D-
Below 60 = F
Attendance Policy:
Instructor may drop/ fail students due to excessive absences (more than four).
Every 4 tardies = one (1) absence (10 minutes late)
No late assignments accepted. Assignments missed during absences cannot be made up.
Late final draft papers will be accepted, but the grade will go down for each day it is late [does not apply to in-class or final paper][in-class essays can only be made up with appropriate excuse (see above)].
The instructor reserves the right to give a grade of 0 or to require a proctored rewrite if he/she feels that the paper may be the product of too much outside help, if it does not reflect the writer’s abilities or if the voice and style coming through the paper do not match the writer’s voice and style in the discussion boards, drafts, emails and other writing done in class. Furthermore, all major assignments will be submitted to Turnitin.com.
A RESEARCH GUIDE:
You can consult the Online Writing Lab at Purdue: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
READING, WRITING and ARTICULATING
It is essential to your success in this course that you read and complete the assigned works prior to class discussion, and that you engage in class discussion. Keep in mind, too, that if you find that a particular text or film just doesn’t do it for you, this is perfectly understandable and you should bring up your guttural feelings of disgust, malaise frustration or whatever in class. Your sense may actually constitute the beginnings of a valid critical response. Learning how to be patient with a text is part of the process of becoming a good critical reader. The long and the short of it is: if you have not done the reading, you will probably not understand a lick of what I say about the texts, will no doubt be ineffective (or worse, mute) in class discussion, and will not be able to begin work on your writing assignments. You will quickly find that this is an intense course that demands your attention, participation and organization.
WARNING: It is very likely that you may have to seek help with your grammar in order to pass this course. If you are an English Language learner (and many of us are), be prepared for that contingency if you receive a grade lower than C on your first assignment.
POLICIES
- You will lose one full grade per day for late final papers (unless we have previously agreed on another arrangement).
- YOU AND YOU ALONE are responsible for obtaining any handouts and/or information from a missed a class. I suggest an exchange of emails with a fellow student for this purpose.
- Failure to do the assigned reading will transform me into a cruel taskmaster.
- Multiple absences WILL negatively affect your final grade. Please let me know beforehand if you need to leave class early or if you will be late.
- NO LAPTOPS. NO PHONES. (except for class work)
ACADEMIC HONESTY/PLAGIARISM:
The work you turn in for this course must be your own original compositions, and the use of other sources or materials must be properly acknowledged. Plagiarism means misrepresenting someone else’s words or ideas as your own or without appropriate credit, turning in someone else’s work as your own, turning in work in one course that was produced to satisfy the requirements of another course, or unacknowledged collaboration on assignments. In addition to being careful to properly attribute proprietary ideas, be aware of the difference between proofreading and plagiarism: a proofreader points out mistakes and typographical errors which you are capable of detecting but have missed. It becomes plagiarism when your reader rewrites your essay. Plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, or any other form of academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will result in penalties ranging from failure on the offending assignment to failure in the class and being reported to the Dean of Student Services.
Because this course requires extensive use of primary and secondary material, it is especially important that you be aware of your intellectual obligations and take care to document your work diligently. We will discuss the problem of plagiarism and how and why to avoid it in class. Please consult the section on plagiarism and how to avoid it in our writing handbook, or, if you have any doubts or questions, just ask! You can also read the “Academic Honesty and Dishonesty” section of the Schedule of Classes.
Students with Disabilities
If you need course accommodations because of a disability or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please contact Disabled Student Services to register and verify your disability.
COURSE SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BY THE INSTRUCTOR
M 8/27, W 8/29 Intro—syllabus
Writing Sample
Overview Reading Selections
Next: Ch. 1-3 textbook reading including
ch 1 Thinking through an Issue: Gay Marriage Licenses (Barnet 4)
ch 2 On Racist Speech (Barnet 71)
ch 3 Just Take Away Their Guns (Barnet 126)
Start reading I am Malala
M 9/3 HOLIDAY
W 9/5 Discuss readings
Discuss paper #1
Next: Ch. 8 and select readings
Typed draft paper #1 (2 copies)
Read 1/4 of reading selection
M 9/10, W 9/12
Quiz Ch. 8
Draft Evals
Discuss readings
Share reading
Next: Paper #1 Due
Read Ch. 5 and Response Folder Assignments (2)
Read Part 2 I Am Malala
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
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