UNION COUNTY COLLEGE ENG 101 Eng

UNION COUNTY COLLEGE
ENG 101 English I, Online, Fall 2008

Dr. Susannah Chewning

Office: H-125
Office Hours: M&W 12pm-2pm;
T&Th 1pm-3pm and by appointment

(908) 709-7182

chewning@ucc.edu

Course Description: This course is the first half of a two-semester sequence, completed by either ENG 102 or ENG 122 or required by a program of study, which focuses on the development of the student’s skill in writing expository prose. Prerequisite: ENG 099, if needed.

Course Objectives: by the end of the semester each student will

explore methods of rhetoric, exposition, and argumentation.
learn and master the standards of grammar and style.
look at the role of reading in writing.
through a study of the works of writers from many backgrounds, get a sense of our own understanding of the writing process and our place within it.
examine the role of writing and of language in and outside of the classroom.
identify and discuss the ethical dimensions in writing, research, and other forms of communication
produce a well-defined thesis on a topic pertinent to the course and develop it into an effective and well-organized essay.
conduct effective research on her chosen topic, using both Library and Internet resources.
identify and correct errors in mechanics and develop a clear and readable style.


		Choose one of these two handbooks.

Required Texts:

Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.

Neuleib, Janice, et. al, General Editors. The Mercury Reader. Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2007.

Either of the two handbooks by Diana Hacker: A Pocket Style Manual. 4th edition. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2003 or A Writer's Reference, 6th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007.

The American Heritage College Dictionary. 4th edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2002 (any College dictionary).

Special online Instructions:

Any student enrolled in this class must be aware of the basic requirements for completing her work. The equipment requirements are explained at http://www.ucc.edu/DistanceEducation/OSSK/default.htm -- it is very important that you take a minute and make sure that you have the required equipment. A lot of students have trouble posting assignments to WebCT, but it is a requirement for this course. After the first assignment, which is due on Thursday, September 6th, I will not accept any papers sent to me via UCC or WebCT email except for revisions. You must familiarize yourself with the requirements for uploading your papers as Word documents to the WebCT Assignments page as soon as possible in order to get credit for all papers that you complete. Instructions can be found at on the FAQ page at http://www.ucc.edu/DistanceEducation/StudentOrientation/FAQs.htm?WBCMODE=
PresentationUnpublished#assign

Course Requirements: Please see my policy handout for basic class policies.

Attendance. Since this is an on-line course, there is no attendance policy. However, your participation in the course is very important. I will check your status frequently to see that you are logging on to the class website; I will give individual and group assignments that must be posted to the website frequently. You must do your
assignments on time -- over the course of the whole semester, not all at once. Late assignments will not be accepted -- no exceptions.

Office Hours. My office hours are Monday and Wednesday, 12:15pm-1:30pm and Tuesday and Thursday, 1pm-3pm. You can reach me by phone in my office at those times. You are also welcome to come to campus and meet with me in person by appointment.

Reading Assignments. Please make sure you read all the assignments from The Mercury Reader on time. You are responsible for turning in responses to at least two of the assigned readings each week, which will include a personal response and an on-line discussion question.

Responses to the readings. These responses should total at least one hundred words. They must be e-mailed by the date they are due -- late responses will not be accepted. Please note that there are some essays assigned for which no response is due. You can still turn one in for extra-credit.

Note on research: By the conclusion of the semester, all students who pass this course will have demonstrated, in at least one substantial graded essay, that they understand the fundamentals of research. This will include doing basic research, being able to evaluate sources and citing at least three of these sources in the proper MLA style in the graded essay. Some of these sources must be electronic, including but not necessarily
limited to the Internet. Students must pass this essay with a grade of C or higher, and students will not be allowed to pass it unless they can adequately demonstrate their ability in this area to quote and integrate multiple sources.

Papers. Topics will be discussed in greater detail on WebCT. All revisions are due before December 5th. Keep all your papers in a portfolio so we can discuss them together. All papers must conform to the MLA style of documentation and format. Late papers will not be accepted. Any paper turned in after its due date and time must be submitted on the revision link for that paper. Late papers cannot be revised.

Breakdown of Grades: Participation 25%; Responses and research 25%; Formal Papers 50%.

Grading Scale: 100-92 A; 91-87 B+; 86-82 B; 81-77 C+; 76-72 C; 71-67 D+; 66-62 D; below 62 F. Please see grade explanation attached. Please note that Union County College does not permit the assignment of minus final grades (such as A-, B-, or C-), so I will try not to give such grades on your work.

Grading and Revisions: When I return a paper to you, it will either have a grade or I will have written “revise for a grade.” If the grade is a B- or lower, or if it says “revise for a grade,” it may be revised ONCE. When I read and evaluate a paper for the first time I will carefully edit it and make suggestions for improvement in grammar,
organization and content. Any subsequent versions of the paper will include a grade if it is not in further need of revision; if it requires further revision I will again write “revise for a grade,” but I will not have edited to the same degree that I did the first draft. Before you revise a paper, please discuss it with me so you can make a more complete revision. I cannot accept a second revision that we have not discussed first. Please be aware that you cannot revise a paper for which you have received a grade of F if it has been plagiarized. You are also not allowed to revise late papers; when you turn it in late you are using up your chance to revise. The final deadline for all revisions is Monday, December 5th.

Grammar: Much of your study of grammar rules will be independent. I strongly recommend A Pocket Style Manual or A Writer's Reference (both by Diana Hacker) and the use of their on-line resources at http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc. As I evaluate your papers, you should read the sections of this text that apply to the corrections I have suggested. We may have occasional grammar quizzes. A good way to study for them is to keep track of your grammatical weaknesses (as I point them out to you in your writing) and study from the corrections you have made on your papers. We will mainly discuss grammar individually as I respond to your writing.

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity: The first instance of plagiarism or cheating of any kind will result in the failure of the assignment. A second instance of academic dishonesty will result in failure of the class and possible censure (including suspension or dismissal from the College) from the Office of the Dean of Student Services. Plagiarized papers cannot be revised. Please see the attached handout for more specific
expectations.

How to reach me: on voice mail at (908) 709-7182; by e-mail at chewning@ucc.edu; on WebCT at http://webct.ucc.edu; by regular mail at UCC.

Schedule of Assignments & Important Dates: All assignments are in The Mercury Reader unless otherwise indicated.

F	9/5	Zora Neale Hurston, “How it Feels to be Colored Me.” Response due. Log in to your UCC email by this date.
W	9/10	Bruno Bettelheim, “The Holocaust.” Response due.
F	9/12	William Bennett, “Should Drugs be Legalized?” Response due.
M	9/15	Rachel Carson, “The Obligation to Endure” and Conover and Curry, “Fighting for Foxes” (click here). Response due.
T	9/16	Rough draft of paper 1 due.
W	9/17	Margaret Atwood, “Pornography.” Response due.
F	9/19	Paper 1 due.
M	9/22	RoseMarie Gionta Alfieri, “Should the State Know Your HIV Status?” Response due.
W	9/24	Anna Quindlen, “Abortion Is Too Complex. To Feel All One Way About.” Response due. Sample outlines for paper 2 available here.
F	9/26	Peggy Carlson, “Why We Don’t Need Animal Experimentation.” Response due. Optional response due on Sabin's "Animal Research Saves Lives."
M	9/29	Denise Noe: "Parallel Worlds." Response due.
T	9/30	Rough draft of paper 2 due. Sample Works Cited for paper 2.
W	10/1	Ishmael Reed, “America: The Multinational Society.” Response due.
F	10/3	Response due. Gloria Steinem, “Erotica vs. Pornography” (you might want to include a comparison of Steinem to Atwood’s article in your response). Andrea Dworkin, “Pornography: Men Possessing Women” (click here). Response due on one or both.
M	10/6	Paper 2 due.
W	10/8	Handouts: Six Versions of the Assassination of Malcolm X. Response due.
F	10/10	Steven Ambrose, “Flawed Founders.” Thomas Jefferson, “Declaration of Independence.” Response due (on both).
M	10/13	Bruce Catton, “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts.” Response due.
W	10/15	Jackie Robinson, “Letter to the President” and Langston Hughes, “Theme for English B.” Response due.
F	10/17	Rough draft of paper 3 due.
M	10/20	Martin Luther King, “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Response due.
W	10/22	Rachel Jones, “What’s Wrong with Black English?” Response optional. Paper 3 due.
F	10/24	Mid-term examination due.
M	10/27	Neil Bissondath, “I’m Not Racist, But…” Response due.
T	10/28	Last day to withdraw from Fall classes; please note that I do not give late withdrawals.
W	10/29	Richard Rodriguez, “The Fear of Losing a Culture.” Response due.
F	10/31	Rough draft of paper 4 due.
M	11/3	Katina Stapleton, “From the Margins to Mainstream: The Political Power of Hip Hop.” Response due.
W	11/5	Paper 4 due.
F	11/7	Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake, chapters 1-3. Response due.
M	11/10	Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake, chapters 4-5. Response due.
W	11/12	Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake, chapters 6-8. Response due.
F	11/14	Brief Research Project due on music: choose an artist you like and find at least two musical influences on that artist. Find out how the earlier artists influenced the later one and why. Comment in your paper on the lyrics to at least two songs.
M	11/17	Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake, chapters 9-12. Response due.
W	11/19	Tessa Sproule, “Exposing Ourselves in South Park.” Response due. Watch an episode of South Park and include references to it in your response.
F	11/21	Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Declaration of Rights and Sentiments.” Response due.
M	11/24	Mary Wollstonecraft, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.” Response due.
W	11/26	Rough draft of paper 5 due.
F	11/28	No classes, Thanksgiving break.
M	12/1	Paper 5 due.
W	12/3	Barbara Ehrenreich, “In Defense of Talk Shows.” Response due.
F	12/5	Alice Walker, “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self.” Response due.
M	12/8	Alice Walker, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens.” Response due.
W	12/10	Rough draft of final paper due.
F	12/12	Kim Stanley Robinson, “Why We Should Go to Mars.” Response due.
F	12/19	Final examination due. Final paper due.

ENG 101-300 English I Paper Topics

The following paper topics are somewhat flexible, but the due dates are not. Remember that papers must be turned in on time--late papers will not be accepted. Papers must also conform to the MLA Style--no exceptions. Please note that these are final due dates, not dates when you should begin the assignments. When you have two assignments due on one day or on successive days, please realize I am not only giving you one day to complete them – you have all semester to do all the work. Please make good use of your time. Please also note that late papers cannot be revised, so it is crucial that you turn your papers in on time.

September 19. Paper 1, Choose an essay we have read by one of the following—Hurston, Bettelheim, Bennett, Carson, or Conover and Curry—and write at least 450 words in response to the author—see assignments on-line. Please do not summarize the essay you have read—write your opinion of it. Include at least two meaningful
quotations from the essay you choose and use proper documentation (including a Works Cited page).

October 6. Paper 2, I will give you a list of topics and you will write a discussion of the pros and cons of the issue using at least one electronic database (EBSCO, New York Times, CQ Researcher, Opposing Viewpoints, Points of View, or Facts.com) as a resource. Do not choose a side in this discussion. 500 words (two pages).

October 22. Paper 3, Comparison /Contrast. 750 words. See assignment on WebCT.

October 24. Midterm examination, 400 words; see assignment on WebCT.

November 5. Paper 4. Brief research paper on one of the four presidential candidates (Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, John McCain, or Sarah Palin) focusing on the significance of the candidacy, the issues endorsed or not supported by the candidate, and or any personal or family-related issues associated with one of these figures. This paper is due the day after the Presidential election, so some comment on the outcome of the election is expected, as well.

December 1. Paper 5 due. Choose from the attached list of topics related to Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake. Topics will be posted on WebCT.

December 19. Final research paper, see assignment on-line. Paper must be at least 1,250 words long and must include four sources, one of which must come from an electronic database (not a website). You must pass this paper with a C or higher in order to pass the class.