English 101 (3 cr.) –   Section 3         MWF 9:00-9:50          M-107

                                    Section 2         MWF 11:00-11:50      L-102

Dr. Stolpa                    L-117              735-4332                     jstolpa@uwc.edu       

Office Hours: MTWTHF 10:00 – 10:50, and by appointment

 

Required Texts:

Harbrace College Handbook (Revised Brief Thirteenth Edition/Brief Thirteenth Edition) [HCH]

The Mercury Reader (2001 Edition – Custom Text) [MR]

Other readings will be available on the Internet and on reserve in the library.

Students must have access to a good college-level dictionary and thesaurus.

 

Course description and purposes:

English 101 focuses on the process of writing, from brainstorming through revision, editing, and proofreading.  Working on this process will help you to write well-organized, mechanically- correct, and effective essays.  The course will also review grammatical concepts, and focus on improving reading, listening, and discussion skills.  (Paraphrase of UWC English Department standards) 

 

The essays we will read will be used for various purposes:

            to provide topics and ideas for class discussions;

            to stimulate responses in written journal entries;

            to furnish models for analysis in more formal written responses;

to supply examples of various rhetorical structures and strategies;

in conjunction with HCH, to give opportunities to examine particular writing techniques;

            and to teach critical reading strategies.

           

Grading:

Individual assignments are assigned point values.  Each writing assignment’s point value will be broken down into specific categories so that you know how much a particular aspect of writing is emphasized; these breakdowns will accompany paper descriptions distributed later.

 

Journals (25 total entries)                   125 pts.                       A         94-100%

Attendance and Participation (42)       126 pts.                       A-        92-93%

Summary/Response                               60 pts.                       B+       90-91%

Analysis Paragraph                               60 pts.                       B         86-89%

Analysis Essay                                    120 pts.                       B-        84-85%

Compare/Contrast Essay                     180 pts.                       C+       82-83%

Educational Autobiography                 180 pts.                       C         78-81%

Revised Journal Entries                      120 pts.                       C-        76-77%

Drafts and Peer Responses                  120 pts.                       D+       74-75%

            (no credit if late)                                                         D         70-73%

Final Exam                                            60 pts.                       D-        68-69%

                        Total                         1151 pts.                       F          67% and below

 

 

                                                                                               

Attendance and Participation:

Attendance is required and is necessary for your successful completion of this course.  Notify me as soon as possible if an emergency arises that prevents your attendance.  Each day you will receive three points for attendance and participation.  In order to receive all three points you must be on time, present for the entire class period, and participate.  Discussion and peer revision are essential components of your successful progress through the course.  To that end, I encourage all of you to work to participate in class.  Participation includes sharing ideas in large group discussions, actively listening and responding to other students’ comments, working with others in peer editing and revision, and sharing ideas from your written work.  Our goal as a class should always be to create an environment where every student is given an equal opportunity to participate.  Participation can even take the form of e-mailed comments, individual meetings with me, or discussions before and after class on course topics.

 

Format of Writing Assignments:

All papers (except journal entries) must be typed, double-spaced, and stapled.  Avoid large fonts and extended margins.  Your name, course name, due date, and the generic title of the assignment should appear as a header in the upper right corner of page one.  Your title, centered, must be below this header.  Your last name and the page number should appear on all following pages in the upper right corner.  Specific guidelines for each paper will be provided. 

 

Resubmissions:

Writing is a process and this course is designed with that in mind.  Assignments and deadlines incorporate different stages of the writing process, including revision, editing, and proofreading, into the course calendar.  A writing assignment will not be graded until the final draft.  When you turn in the final draft, you must include other drafts that you have worked on in peer editing or that I have reviewed, so do not throw drafts away simply because you have typed in the revisions.  Reading all of the drafts allows me to see your progress with the paper.

 

In many situations, you may be able to continue working on a paper after you have earned a grade for it.  If you choose to do so, you may resubmit a paper after substantially reworking it.  However, before you continue to work on a given assignment, you must first meet with me to discuss your plans.  You will not be able to gain back points lost in certain categories (proofreading, spelling, etc.), but you must make those changes as well before resubmitting.  If surface level corrections have not been made, I will not reread and regrade a resubmission.  If surface level corrections are all that have been made, I will also not reread and regrade a resubmission.  Resubmission deadlines will always be announced in class and/or listed on assignment descriptions or Blackboard.

 

Late Papers:

Late papers will be reduced according to the following scale:

after class, but the same day it is due              1/3 of a letter grade

next calendar day                                            2/3 of a letter grade

next class day                                                  1 letter grade

This scale will continue in a similar way if the paper is turned in after the next class day.  While late papers may be resubmitted (if they meet the resubmission deadline), points lost due to lateness cannot be regained.

If there are emergency circumstances beyond your control that cause a paper to be late, please discuss the matter with me before the paper is due or at the earliest time possible.  Computer problems are not considered circumstances beyond your control; print out your papers before the day they are due to avoid such problems.  No credit will be given for late drafts, peer responses, or journals except in the case of an emergency.

 

If you are turning in a paper outside of class time and I am not in my office, you may take it to the main building.  Be sure to have one of the individuals working in the front office sign and date it.  That individual will place it in my mailbox.  The signature and date are required or the paper will be considered late according to the scale above.

 

Blackboard

You should check the Blackboard site for this course at least once a week.  Blackboard will be used to list required journal entry topics, assignment descriptions, and author and topic web sites. You will also be able to access your grades on Blackboard. It is your responsibility to periodically check the grades listed there; if there is a discrepancy between the grade you earned and the grade listed online, please bring that to my attention.  Blackboard can be found by logging in at http://sif.imt.uwm.edu/ or by following the links from the UW-Marinette home page at www.marinette.uwc.edu/.

 

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty:

Any student who is guilty of plagiarism or academic dishonesty will be subject to UWC policies and punishments.  See HCH, pages 250-256, for definitions and explanations of plagiarism.

 

Schedule

 

Readings listed for a particular date must be read before class time on that date.  Additional reading assignments may be added and will be announced in class. 

 

September 5    Introduction; English 101 as a Gateway Course

 

September 7    Syllabus Quiz; Discussion of levels of writing

 

September 10  “How to Mark a Book” — Mortimer Adler (MR) p. 1-5

                        Journaling (HCH) 175-178 (top)

                        Grammar Topic: Parts of Speech (HCH) p. 6-13

 

September 12  “Writing” William Stafford (MR) p. 32-34

                        Discussion of how peer review works

                        Grammar Topic: Pronoun-antecedent agreement (HCH) p. 32-34

 

September 14  “The Maker’s Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts” (MR) p. 35-39

                        Discussion of how peer review works                       

Grammar Topic: Apostrophes (HCH) p. 109-111

 

September 17  Summary/Response Draft due (bring enough copies for each group member)

                        Peer review practice/evaluation

Grammar Topic: Clauses: independent and subordinate (HCH) p. 13-15

                       

September 19  “The Declaration of Independence” — Thomas Jefferson (MR) p. 40-43

                        Drafting and revising (HCH) p. 187-188 (top), 192 (bottom)-199

                        Editing/proofreading (HCH) 199-207, 151-152

Grammar Topic: Clauses and punctuation (HCH) p. 98-100, 107-108

 

September 21  “Declaration of Sentiments” — Elizabeth Cady Stanton (MR) p. 44-47

                        Allusions (HCH) p. G-1, G-13, 340

Grammar topic: Sentence fragments (HCH) p. 17-19

                       

Italics and titles (HCH) p. 139-141

                        Capitalization (HCH) p. 135-138

                        Spelling: what your computer cannot catch (HCH) p. 126-130

 

September 24  Summary/Response due

                        Convocation preparation (Listening, responding, taking notes)

                              Grammar Topic: Comma splices (HCH) p. 20-22

 

September 26  9:00 class will meet at usual time – attendance at Fall Convocation also required

                        11:00 class – attend Fall Convocation in place of class

 

September 28  Discussion of Fall Convocation

                        “A Homemade Education” — Malcolm X (MR) p. 6-15

                        Perspective; generating ideas (audience/purpose) (HCH) p. 178-180 (top)              

Grammar Topic: Tricky subject-verb agreement (HCH) p. 44-47

 

October 1        “The Library Card” — Richard Wright (MR) p. 88-96

                        Conciseness (HCH) p. 89-96

 

October 3        “Graduation” — Maya Angelou (MR) p. 97-108

                        Word usage/diction (HCH) p. 78-82

                        Analysis Paragraph Draft due

 

October 5        Readings to be announced (see Blackboard)

Precise word choice (HCH) p. 83-88

                        Analysis Paragraph due

 

October 8        “Know Your HCH” Contest; Review contents and organization of HCH

 

October 10        “The Way to Rainy Mountain” — N. Scott Momaday (MR) p. 26-31

                        Adjectives/description (HCH) p. 8-9, 24-26

 

October 12      “Three Days to See” — Helen Keller (MR) p. 16-25

                        Purpose, audience, occasion (HCH) p. 172-175 (top)

            Types of paragraph development (HCH) p. 163-171

 

October 15      “Women’s Right to Vote” — Susan B. Anthony (MR) p. 48-55

                        Use of questions/sentence variety (HCH) p. 16, 71-75, 118

                        Analysis Essay Draft due

 

October 17      “Letter from Birmingham Jail” — Martin Luther King, Jr. (MR) p. 56-75 

                        Parallel structure and transitions (HCH) p. 64-66, 160-163

 

October 19      Analysis Essay due

                        Compare/Contrast Essay introduced

 

October 22      “Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective” — Leslie Marmon Silko (MR) p. 76-87

Sentence variety/consistency/shifts (HCH) p. 56-63

                        Placement of modifying words (HCH) p. 28-30

                              Quotations (HCH) p. 112-116

                       

October 24      “Thinking Outside Ourselves?” – required reserve reading listed on Blackboard

 

October 26      Compare/Contrast Essay Draft #1 due

 

October 29      Compare/Contrast Essay Draft #2 due

 

October 31      No class — Conferences

 

November 2    Compare/Contrast Essay Draft #3 due (Point breakdown review with peer reviewer)

 

November 5    Compare/Contrast Essay due

                        “Public and Private Language” — Richard Rodriguez (MR) p. 109-120

                        Thesis (HCH) p. 181-184 (middle)

                        Paragraph structure (HCH) p. 154-156, 158 (bottom)-160 (top), 171

 

November 7    “Silence” — Maxine Hong Kingston (MR) p. 121-125

                        Emphasis (HCH) p. 67-70

                        Educational Autobiography introduced

 

November 9    Educational Autobiography pre-writing workshop

 

November 12  “Black Men and Public Space” — Brent Staples (MR) p. 126-129

                        Introductions, conclusions, and titles (HCH) p. 188-192

 

November 14  Educational Autobiography Draft #1 due

 

November 16  TBA

 

November 19  Educational Autobiography Draft #2 due

 

November 21  Educational Autobiography Draft #3 due (Point breakdown review)

 

November 23  No class — Thanksgiving Break

 

November 26  Educational Autobiography due

                        Revised journal entries introduced

 

November 28  Sharing Educational Autobiographies

 

November 30  Peer review groups — Choosing journal entries

 

December 3     Revised Journal Entries Draft #1 due

 

December 5     TBA

 

December 7     Revised Journal Entries Draft #2 due

 

December 10   Revised Journal Entries due

 

December 12   Discussion of how to take essay exams

                        In-class essays/tests (HCH) p. 208-211

 

December 14   Discussion of how to take essay exams

                        Final exam format      

 

Final Exam      TBA: Final Exam schedule will be confirmed by Student Services in late November