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DESCRIPTION:
In this course students focus on the process of writing clear, correct and effective expository essays in response to materials drawn from culturally diverse sources. Emphasis is placed on using various methods of organization appropriate to the writer’s purpose and audience. Students are introduced to argumentation, fundamental research methods and documentation procedures. Students write frequently both in and out of class. Admission to this course is based on college placement test scores.

Prerequisite:
CSE095/099 if required, ENA/ENG/ESA099 if required, exemption or Pass on the ACT Writing and Reading Tests.

OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of English 101, students should be able to:

• Express thoughts logically, clearly and coherently in a variety of rhetorical modes;
• Demonstrate mastery of the stages of the writing process;
• Critically revise and edit their own compositions, as well as respond critically to peer drafts;
• Avoid mechanical, grammatical and spelling errors;
• Critically evaluate and respond to selected essays;
• Compose an argumentative research essay using MLA format.

Bachmann, Susan and Melinda Barth. Between Worlds: A Reader, Rhetoric, and Handbook, 6 ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010 (Available used starting at $40 at Amazon.com***).

Recommended additional texts:**

Bloom, Harold. How to Read and Why. New York: Scribner, 2000. (Available starting at $1.00 at Amazon.com***)

Casagrande, June. Grammar Snobs are Great Big Meanies: A Guide to Language for Fun and Spite. New York: Penguin, 2006. (Available starting at $3.94 at Amazon.com***)

Cathcart, Thomas and Daniel Klein. "Logic." Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes. New York: Abrams Image, 2006. 27-49. (Available used starting at $6.73 at Amazon.com**)

---. Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington: Understanding Political Doublespeak through Through Philosophy and Jokes. New York: Abrams Image, 2007. 27-49 (Available used starting at $10.85 at Amazon.com***).

Crystal, David. Words, Words, Words. New York: Oxford U P, 2006 (Available used starting at $9.28 at Amazon.com***).

Kozol, Jonathan. Letters to a Young Teacher. New York: Crown, 2007 (Available starting at $12.15 at Amazon.com***).

---.  The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America. New York: Crown, 2005 (Available starting at $10.17 at Amazon.com***).

Lazreg, Marnia. Questioning the Veil: Open Letters to Muslim Women. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2009. (Available starting at $9.98 at Amazon.com***)

Lederer, Richard. Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon Our Language. Charleston, SC: Wyrick & Company, 1987 (Available used starting at $0.01 at Amazon.com***).

---.  More Anguished English: An Expose of Embarrassing Excruciating, and Egregious Errors in English. New York: Dell, 1994 (Available used starting at $0.01 at Amazon.com***).

Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. New York: Gotham Books, 2004 (Available used starting at $2.70 at Amazon.com***).

*Note: Many of the essays to be read and discussed are available online; these are indicated on the schedule (below) as hyperlinks. However, students are still strongly cautioned that they will need to purchase the textbook, both for important information and instructions on the various rhetorical modes and also for essays not available online.

** Recommended additional texts are not required purchases, and have not been ordered for the course; however, they provide—depending on the course— alternative readings, historical and cultural backgrounds, criticism, personal literary responses, or entertaining (irreverent, possibly sacrilegious) revisions. Students who find themselves becoming deeply interested in one or more of the required readings may find these interesting and/or useful. When indicated with a dagger (†), texts are only provisionally recommended, as I have not read these works yet, although they have received excellent reviews or recommendations.

CLASS POLICIES:
Attendance:
Departmental policy allows no more than four (4) hours of unexcused absences in ENG 101. Students who do not meet the English Department’s attendance policy will not pass the class.
Students must not only attend every class, but also arrive on time, be prepared, and take an active part in class (see Participation, below). Moreover, once students get to class, they are expected to stay in the classroom until the class is over. Leaving class early or getting up in the middle of class is considered disruptive behavior and should happen only in extreme emergencies. Students may be required to sign in each class session to verify their attendance. Students unable to attend class should contact the instructor regarding their absence in advance or as soon as they return to school.

Plagiarism and Cheating:
Plagiarism includes copying or paraphrasing another’s words, ideas, or facts without crediting the source; submitting a paper written by someone else, either in whole or in part, as one’s own work; or submitting work previously submitted for another course or instructor. Plagiarism, cheating, or other forms of academic dishonesty on any assignment will result in failure (a grade of zero) for that assignment and may result in further disciplinary action, including but not limited to failure for the course and expulsion from the College. See the English Department’s Statement on Plagiarism and the LaGuardia Community College Policy on Academic Integrity (.pdf).

Homework/Essay Submission:
All writing assignments must be received by the instructor on or before the due date, by the beginning of the class period, as indicated on the schedule, below. Late work will not be accepted. All essays and work completed at home must be typed (in 12-point Times New Roman font), double-spaced, and stapled when submitted; essays will not be accepted via email.

Revisions:
All failing essays, with the exception of the Diagnostic Essay and Final Essay, must be corrected and revised within one week of the day graded essays are returned. Essays receiving a passing grade may also be revised for a better grade, but only after the student has met with the instructor during office hours (by appointment only) to discuss revisions. Revisions must be substantially revised, not merely “corrected” versions of the original essay (revisions should be based upon the Revising and Editing Checklist and relevant information from class and the textbooks), and must be submitted with the original graded essay and the departmental Evaluation of Essays form attached. Evidence of substantial revision may result in a better grade for the assignment. 

If you did not submit a completed essay on time, you will receive a grade of zero and may not submit a “revision.”

Make-up Exams/Late Work:
All assignment deadlines and scheduled exam dates are provided at the beginning of the semester; therefore, late papers will not be accepted, nor will make-up exams be offered, except under extraordinary circumstances with appropriate documentation. Excuses such as “crashed computers,” “lost flash drives,” or “empty printer ink cartridges” will not be accepted. It is suggested that all computer work be saved both on your computer’s hard drive and again on removable storage device.

ASSIGNMENTS:
Attendance and Participation (5 points):
As this class will combine both lecture and discussion, students are expected both to attend every session and to take an active part in class—joining in discussions and raising questions. Discussion is one of the best ways to clarify your understandings and to test your conclusions. Open discussion always involves personal exposure, and thus the taking of risks: your ideas may not be the same as your fellow students’ or even the instructor’s. Yet as long as your points are honest and supportable, they will be respected by all of us in the classroom. Questions, discussion, disagreement, and laughter are all encouraged in this class.

Quizzes and Exercises (5 points total):
With the exception of the first day, class may begin with a short (five- minute) quiz on the readings for the day, at the instructor’s discretion. Quizzes cannot be made up; if you miss a quiz due to absence or lateness, that grade will be regarded as a 0. At the end of the semester, the lowest quiz grade will be dropped. Exercises reviewing essential grammar and/or writing skills may also be assigned, to be completed in class, or to be done online as homework and submitted electronically.

Total number of exercises and quizzes during the semester will determine the point value of each; that is, if eleven quizzes and exercises are given (lowest quiz grade will be dropped), each is worth up to one-half point.

In-Class Writing and Homework (5 points total):
Students may also complete various shorter in-class writing assignments during the semester, including short summaries, mini-essays, and response papers, or similar short assignments to be completed as homework. Total number of assignments during the semester will determine the point value of each; that is, if 10 assignments are required, each is worth up to one full point.

Diagnostic Essay (ungraded):
Students will complete an in-class Diagnostic Essay at the beginning of  the semester on a topic provided; this essay will be evaluated and returned, but will not receive a grade, nor will it affect your final average.

Essays (5 @ 12 points):
Students will complete  five (5) expository essays during the semester, including an in-class Midterm Essay and Final Essay, the remainder to be completed at home. For each, a topic or list of topic choices will be provided. Essays must be on one of the assigned topics or they will receive grades of “F”. Essays must be at least six hundred (600) words, free of errors in mechanics, grammar, usage, and spelling, and follow the appropriate format: at-home work must be typed (in 12-point Times New Roman font), double-spaced, and stapled when submitted, while in-class work must be neatly printed in blue or black ink on composition paper or in bluebooks provided by the instructor and double-spaced. Essays will be evaluated according to the departmental Evaluation of Essays form;  as per the English Department’s policy, all students must receive a passing grade on at least one draft of each essay (not including the Diagnostic) to pass English 101.

Research Paper (25 points total):
The fourth required at-home essay will be an argumentative (persuasive) Research Paper of at least six pages (at least 1500 words), using a minimum of three to five primary or secondary sources, correctly documented utilizing MLA format. Specific points will be accrued as follows:

GRADING:
Final average will be calculated as follows:

Total Points earned (Final Average) will determine the grade received for the course, as follows: