UNION COUNTY COLLEGE ENG 101-300 Online

UNION COUNTY COLLEGE
ENG 101 English I-001
MWF 8:00am-8:55am, H-110

Spring 2009

Dr. Susannah Chewning

Learning Community with UCC 101-002, with Prof. Cotter

Office: H-125
Office Hours: M&W 9:00am-11:00am;
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. Please note: this book is a custom edition and is only available in the UCC bookstore – do not order this book online.

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 Note about Learning Communities: This class is linked in a learning community with UCC 101-002, taught by Professor Cotter. You are all registered for both classes. What this means is that Professor Cotter and I have developed some shared assignments (assignments due in both classes) and will be keeping in touch with you and with each other about your progress throughout the semester. We are very fortunate in this learning community to have several people assigned to help you throughout the term: Oksana is our Academic Mentor; she will attend your UCC 101 class and communicate with both Professor Cotter and myself about your progress. Her email address is 10612644@ucc.edu. Alison is the ALC tutor assigned to our learning community; Alison’s hours in the ALC are scheduled for Fridays from 8:00am - 9:00pm and Saturdays from 9:00am - 1:00 pm. Debora Rivera is the Counselor assigned to our learning community. You can contact her at derivera@ucc.edu; Oksana, Alison, and Ms. Rivera will all be visiting both classes in person, as well. We also have a special learning community website at http://www.ucc.edu/StudentServices/CSS/LCHQ_UCC101001_ENG101001.htm. Although all of the members of the UCC 101/ENG 101 team will be communicating with you and with each other, don’t think of it as a group of people talking about you – think of it as a group of people designated by the College to help you in any way possible in your first semester at UCC.

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

Office Hours. My office hours are Monday and Wednesday, 9:00am-11:00am and Tuesday and Thursday, 1pm-3pm. I also have special conference hours on Fridays from 11:15-12:10 for this class. 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. If you miss a class you may turn the response in on the date it is due on ANGEL.

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 in class and will be available on ANGEL. All revisions are due before May 4th. 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 on ANGEL 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, May 4th.

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 my policies handout for more specific expectations.

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

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

F	1/23	Introduction to class. Writing Sample.

M	1/26	Zora Neale Hurston, “How it Feels to be Colored Me.” Response due. Log in to your UCC email and ANGEL by this date.

W	1/28	Bruno Bettelheim, “The Holocaust.” Response due. Please log in to your UCC email and ANGEL by this date. Each student will make repeat his or her UCC 101 introduction of a classmate in our class on this date (and on Friday if necessary).

F	1/30	Rachel Carson, “The Obligation to Endure” and Conover and Curry, “Fighting for Foxes” (click here). Response due. Take your rough draft to the ALC.

M	2/2	Rough draft of paper 1 due.

W	2/4	William Bennett, “Should Drugs be Legalized?” Response due.

F	2/6	Paper 1 due.

M	2/9	No class. RoseMarie Gionta Alfieri, “Should the State Know Your HIV Status?” Response due on ANGEL.

W	2/11	Anna Quindlen, “Abortion Is Too Complex. To Feel All One Way About.” Response due. Sample outlines for paper 2 available here.

F	2/13	Peggy Carlson, “Why We Don’t Need Animal Experimentation.” Response due. Optional response due on Sabin's "Animal Research Saves Lives." Visit to the UCC Library.

M	2/16	Presidents’ Day, no classes. Please read Denise Noe: "Parallel Worlds"; optional response due. Take your rough draft to the ALC.

T	2/17	Denise Noe: "Parallel Worlds." Response due. Rough draft of paper 2 due.

W	2/18	Ishmael Reed, “America: The Multinational Society.” Response due.

F	2/20	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	2/23	Paper 2 due. Discussion of paper 3.

W	2/25	Handout: Jonathan Kozol, “Savage Inequalities,” excerpt (click here). Response due.

F	2/27	Steven Ambrose, “Flawed Founders.” Thomas Jefferson, “Declaration of Independence.” Response due (on both).

M	3/2	James Traub, “What No School Can Do.” Response due.

W	3/4	Jackie Robinson, “Letter to the President” and Langston Hughes, “Theme for English B.” Response due. Take your rough draft to the ALC.

F	3/6	Rough draft of paper 3 due. Mid-term conferences.

M	3/9	Martin Luther King, “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Response due. Mid-term conferences this week.

W	3/11	Rachel Jones, “What’s Wrong with Black English?” Response optional. Paper 3 due.

F	3/13	Mid-term examination.

M	3/16	Spring Recess.

W	3/18	Spring Recess.

F	3/20	Spring Recess.

M	3/23	Neil Bissondath, “I’m Not Racist, But…” Response due.

W	3/25	Richard Rodriguez, “The Fear of Losing a Culture.” Response due. Take your rough draft to the ALC.

Th	3/26	Last day to withdraw from Fall classes; please note that I do not give late withdrawals.

F	3/28	Rough draft of paper 4 due.

M	3/30	Katina Stapleton, “From the Margins to Mainstream: The Political Power of Hip Hop.” Response due.

W	4/1	Paper 4 due.

F	4/3	Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake, chapters 1-3. Response due.

M	4/6	Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake, chapters 4-5. Response due.

W	4/8	Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake, chapters 6-8. Response due.

F	4/10	Easter Holiday, no classes.

M	4/13	Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake, chapters 9-12. Response due.

W	4/15	Jhumpa Lahiri, “A Temporary Matter.” Response due.

F	4/17	Tessa Sproule, “Exposing Ourselves in South Park.” Response due. Watch an episode of South Park and include references to it in your response.

M	4/20	Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Declaration of Rights and Sentiments.” Response due. Take your rough draft to the ALC.

W	4/22	Rough draft of paper 5 due.

F	4/24	Mary Wollstonecraft, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.” Response due.

M	4/27	Paper 5 due.

W	4/29	Barbara Ehrenreich, “In Defense of Talk Shows.” Response due.

F	5/1	Alice Walker, “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self.” Response due.

M	5/4	Alice Walker, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens.” Response due. All revisions due by this date. Extra credit will be given to students who took drafts of their revisions to the ALC for assistance.

W	5/6	Rough draft of final paper due.

F	5/8	Kim Stanley Robinson, “Why We Should Go to Mars.” Response due.

M	5/11	Conferences with Dr. Chewning.

M	5/13	Final examination due, 8:00am-10:30am. Final paper due.

ENG 101-300 English 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.

February 6. 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). Topics will be discussed in class and posted on ANGEL.

February 23. 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). Topics will be discussed in class and posted on ANGEL.

March 11. Paper 3, Education and “No Child Left Behind.” We will read two articles in class on current issues facing education and you will write a brief research paper using one of those articles and at least one additional source in which you discuss the problems currently facing the educational system in the United States. Topics will be discussed in class and posted on ANGEL.

April 1. Paper 4, Comparison /Contrast. 900 words. I will give you a list of possible topics (suggestions for you to consider and expand upon) and you will write a comparison/contrast following the format and style I explain and we discuss in class. Topics will be discussed in class and posted on ANGEL.

April 27. Paper 5 due. Choose from the attached list of topics related to Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake. Topics will be discussed in class and posted on ANGEL.

May 13. 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. Please click here for possible topics.