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ENGLISH 102: COMPOSITION II

Syllabus, Fall Quarter 2014
11:45AM-12:50PM | Room 1605
Cara N. Stoddard
carast@bigbend.edu | Office # 1618
Office Hours: 1:00-3:00 Mon-Thurs, or by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is an advanced composition course designed to improve your critical thinking, reading, and written
communication skills. Via an immersion into poetry, drama, fiction, and creative nonfiction, this course aims
to teach the terminology of literary devices, strategies for close reading, and habits of independent research in
order to prepare you to write formal and informal literary analyses. This course will also review the
conventions of MLA citation and grammar and usage as time allows.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of the course, you should be very good at doing the following:
1. Comprehending college-level literature and defining the themes presented using textual, critical, social
and/or historical analysis
2. Identifying literary devices in both poetry and prose and analyzing their effect on readers
3. Developing a central claim (thesis) in response to a literary text and supporting/illustrating your central
claim (thesis) clearly and logically
4. Assessing and interpreting multiple possible solutions to a problem posed by a literary text
5. Gathering and evaluating information using library resources
6. Situating your ideas as related to, but clearly distinguished from, the ideas of others (including the
ability to paraphrase, summarize, and correctly cite and document borrowed material) and recognizing
your place as a participant in an academic conversation about a particular text.
7. Distinguishing between writing for an academic audience and writing for a personal blog and adjusting
your tone accordingly
8. Accurately proofreading your own work in order to produce writing that maintains the conventions of
published English
9. Giving and receiving constructive feedback during peer review
10. Developing and improving habits of lifetime literacy

Of course, I expect that you are able to carry out some of these tasks already.

REQUIRED BOOKS:
A Streetcar Named Desire, 2004 Where Rivers Change Direction, 2000
By: Tennessee Williams By: Mark Spragg
(intro by Arthur Miller) ISBN # 978-1573228251
ISBN # 978-0811216029
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DEADLINES FOR MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS:
Thursday, September 25 LAST DAY TO ADD A CLASS
Monday, October 6 Essay 1 Due** (@11:45AM)
Tuesday, October 21 Midterm Exam (in class)
Wednesday, October 22 Essay 2 Due** (@11:45AM)
Monday, November 10 Essay 3 Due** (@11:45AM)
Tuesday, November 25 LAST DAY TO DROP A CLASS
Wednesday, December 10 Podcast Due (@ midnight)

**All writing assignments are to be typed and correctly formatted according to MLA standards (see the Purdue OWL website for details).

COURSE TRAJECTORY:
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Mon Sept 22Intros
Tues Sept 23Matt de la Penas Last Red Light Before Were There
Wed Sept 24Jhumpa Lahiris Mrs. Sens
Thurs Sept 25Amy Hempels In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried
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Mon Sept 29George Saunders Victory Lap
Tues Sept 30Jeff Kuhrs Were All Chicken Here
Wed Oct 1Writing day (meet in 1801)
Thurs Oct 2Peer Review
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Mon Oct 6Essay 1 due, Tennessee Williams Streetcar Named Desire
Tues Oct 7Tennessee Williams Streetcar Named Desire
Wed Oct 8Tennessee Williams Streetcar Named Desire
Thurs Oct 9Tennessee Williams Streetcar Named Desire
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Mon Oct 13Tennessee Williams Streetcar Named Desire
Tues Oct 14Blue Jasmine
Wed Oct 15Blue Jasmine
Thurs Oct 16Blue Jasmine
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Mon Oct 20Peer Review
Tues Oct 21Midterm exam in-class (meet in 1801)
Wed Oct 22Essay 2 due, intro Poetry (meet in 1801)
Thurs Oct 23Robert Wrigley County; Bruce A. Jacobs Jeep Cherokee; Todd Boss Instrument; and T.R. Hummer Where
You Go When She Sleeps
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Mon Oct 27Elizabeth Austen What is Known (x5); Todd Boss Apple Slices; Elizabeth Austen Brother; Elizabeth Austen
Leaving the Island
Tues Oct 28Joe Wilkins Killing the Murnion Dogs (meet in 1801)
Wed Oct 29Mark Doty No; Kathleen Flenniken Coyote, Afternoons Wide Horizon; Sharon Olds The Race; and
Anthony Walton Third Shift
Thurs Oct 30Elizabeth Bradfield Endurance; Alexandra Teague Referral; Lucy Anderton Eve's Sestina for Adam; and
Alexandra Teague Language Lessons
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Mon Nov 3Pablo Neruda Ode to my Socks & Ode to an Artichoke; Elizabeth Bradfield Cul-de-sac Linguistics; Catherine
Pierce This is Not an Elegy; and Gabrielle Calvocoressi Elegy Scale
Tues Nov 4Sonnets
Wed Nov 5Writing Day (meet in 1801)
Thurs Nov 6Peer Review
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Mon Nov 10Essay 3 due, intro to Mark Spragg
Tues Nov 11No Class, Veterans Day
Wed Nov 12Mark Spragg Ch. 1 & 2 In Praise of Horses & My Sisters Boots
Thurs Nov 13Mark Spragg Ch 6 A Boys Work
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Mon Nov 17Mark Spragg Ch. 7 & 9 Greybull & Tommy Two
Tues Nov 18Mark Spragg Ch. 10 Adopting Bear
Wed Nov 19Mark Spragg Ch. 11 Wintering
Thurs Nov 20Mark Spragg Ch. 12 Wind
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Mon Nov 24Mark Spragg Ch. 13 & 14 Recoil & A Ditch Burning
Tues Nov 25Intro Audacity (meet in 1801)
Wed Nov 26No Class, Thanksgiving Break
Thurs Nov 27No Class, Thanksgiving Break
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Mon Dec 1Podcasting (meet in 1801)
Tues Dec 2Podcasting (meet in 1801)
Wed Dec 3Podcasting (meet in 1801)
Thurs Dec 4Peer Review (meet in 1801)

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Wed Dec 10Podcast Final due (by midnight)

ATTENDANCE:
Attendance in English 102 is mandatory. More than eight absences (two weeks) from class is grounds for
failing the course. After 5 absences, your grade will be negatively affected. Anywhere from 6-8 absences
will result in a 10% deduction from your overall score in the class. 9 or more absences equals an F (0.0) in
the course. Thus, plan for unforeseen illnesses or travel plans later in the quarter. Only absences for
bereavement, hospitalization, jury duty, or previously scheduled college Sponsored Events or Activities (see
Student Handbook for definition) are considered excused absences. Whenever possible, please notify me
before the excused absence to be sure to get any handouts you might miss in class. Every other kind of
absence including illnesses and doctors appointments are considered unexcused and count toward your
eight allowed absences.

In the case of a personal or family emergency, please be in contact with me via email about the situation, and
I will do my best to accommodate you. In the case of bereavement leave or a mental/physical health
emergency for you or one of your dependents requiring you miss more than one day in a row, you will be
expected to keep up with your coursework via Canvas. Arrangements will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Being in attendance means being physically present, awake, coherent, and fully prepared for class with the
readings completed. If you do not meet all of these conditions you will be marked absent for the day. Coming
in more than 10 minutes late, leaving early, and inappropriate use of cell phones, laptops, or tablets in class
will result in an unexcused absence. You are responsible for making up all of the work that you missed during
an absence. Please see me during office hours or schedule an appointment before the next scheduled class.

LATE WORK:
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Homework and essays are due at the beginning of class. I do not accept late homework. You will receive a
zero on the assignment if you do not have it with you or submitted on Canvas by the time class starts on the
day it is due. The one exception to this no late work policy is when using your Stuff Happens coupon
distributed on the first day of class. You may only use this coupon once per quarter, and it is only applicable
on homework assignments (not on essay drafts or in-class quizzes). For the three major essays in this course, I
strongly discourage you from submitting them late.



In the case of a late 1
st
Draft:
If you are absent or do not have a complete essay (a completed essay has an intro, body paragraphs,
and a conclusion and meets the minimum word count) with you in class on the day of Peer Review,
you will receive a 0/20 on Peer Review
If you and a classmate are both absent on Peer Review day, I will coordinate with you both to exchange
papers and send each other feedback on your essays over email or Canvas (typically this will fall over a
weekend). If you complete the Peer Review sheet by or before the day the final draft is due you can
receive up to 10/20 points for Peer Review (exceptions for excused absences only made on a case-by-
case basis)

A late final draft will be graded as follows:
Within 24 hours = 10% point reduction
2 days late = 20% reduction
3 or more days late = 30% reduction

Note: Because of the extensive and time-consuming nature of the comments I make on each student essay I read, I usually take 2 weeks (8 class
periods) to grade and return essays. So thank you in advance for your patience. If you have questions on an essay while you wait for formal
feedback, dont hesitate to come by my office during office hours (or email me a time) and we can look through your essay together. Due to grade
deadlines, I cannot accept your Podcast (Essay 4) after Thursday (at midnight) of exam week.

COURSE ETIQUETTE:
Classroom citizenship. The classroom is a learning community. Any behavior that disrupts this community will
not be tolerated. This includes speaking to other students while I am talking, sleeping in class, passing notes,
being rude or belligerent to me or other students, etc. This is a discussion-based course, and I expect you to
treat each other with dignity and respect. We may be discussing sensitive topics and reading each others
personal writing in this course. Please be considerate of others ideas and beliefs and do not discuss the
content of others papers with students outside of this class. In accordance with Big Bends Discrimination
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Policy, disrespect or discrimination towards students based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, citizen
status, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or chosen gender, veteran status, age, or religion will
not be tolerated. If you feel your well-being is being jeopardized or you have observed someone else being
treated disrespectfully, please come speak to me about it privately after class or during my office hours.

Readings. In accordance with Big Bends mission statement to encourage multiculturalism, this class has been
intentionally designed to include contemporary literature that represents a diverse set of cultures and
peoples. In this class we may discuss, read, write about, or view texts that you disagree with or find offensive.
Such texts are not necessarily condoned, but rather used to prompt discussion and explore ideas that may be
outside of our individual preferences and comfort levels. In this college classroom you are required to engage
maturely and academically with all texts, regardless of their content or rating. Please email or see me
privately during office hours if you have any questions about this policy.



Technology. In order to promote habits and skill-sets unique to scholars of the 21
st
century, this course has a
heavy emphasis on the use of technology. You will be expected to check our Canvas page every day for a
detailed description of the homework, and you will be submitting your homework and essays on Canvas and
receiving important margin notes and feedback on your writing from your instructor on Canvas. It is my
expectation that you purchase and use Microsoft Word for all typed assignments in this class. If you cannot
get Word on your personal or home computer, you will need to schedule at least an hour per day and several
hours over the weekends to spend on campus using the computers in the library.

For the final project in response to Mark Spraggs Where Rivers Change Direction, you will each be
interviewing a member of your community and writing and recording a podcast (audio recording) using
Audacity. There will be some direct instruction on using this open-source program during class time, but if you
find you are struggling with the technology component of the coursework, please do not hesitate to seek help.
I am available during office hours or by appointment to help with tech support, or you can be in contact with
the e-learning librarians (zachw@bigbend.edu) or Tim Fuhrman (timf@bigbend.edu) in the library for
additional support.

Having said that, more often than not, during class time, technological devices serve as distractions to you and
the people around you, so please silence and put away your phones at the start of class. There will certainly
be exceptions to this rule, when I will allow you, even encourage you, to use your smart phone or device in
class, but I will notify you when it is appropriate to take out your phone. Texting, taking calls, and checking the
time on your cell phone is not permitted in class. Unless you have been given explicit permission to use your
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laptop in class, all laptops should be shut and stowed away. Any use of technology in class, including receiving
audible texts or calls, will result in an unexcused absence for that day.

Email etiquette. I certainly welcome your emails if you have questions about the course, your work, meeting
times, etc., please dont hesitate to message me on Canvas or at carast@bigbend.edu. However, you should
treat this as professional correspondence: that is, it should have a greeting, complete sentences, and your
name at the bottom.

PLAGIARISM:
I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt and assume that you will do honest work and that you will work
with me on improving writing that is your own. But plagiarism is a serious matter, and incidents of it have
been on the rise both at Big Bend and nationally. So I feel that it is important to explain what the
consequences are.

The two basic kinds of plagiarism:
1. Malicious or intentional. This is the most serious kind of academic theft. It involves using someone
elses work as your own without citing the source, including direct copying, rephrasing, and
summarizing, submitting someone elses paper as your own, or re-submitting your own work from a
different quarter or different course. Over-reliance upon websites like Spark Notes
2. Plagia-phrasing or mosaic plagiarism. Not indicating directly quoted passages or ideas within your
essay even while citing the work as a general source at the end of the essay in a Works Cited. This
involves taking someone elses idea and putting it in different words without citing in the sentences /
paragraphs themselves where the idea came from. Even if several different sources were copied or
combined, it is still plagiarism.

The consequences of plagiarism:
If an essay involves plagiarism of the first kind (malicious or intentional) you will receive a 0 on the assignment
and will be required to come to my office hours to discuss the matter and practice proper in-text citations. You
will not be able to re-submit essays that involve malicious or intentional plagiarism for partial credit, even on a
first offense.

If an essay involves plagiarism of the second kind (mosaic plagiarism with missing in-text citations) you will be
required to come to my office hours to work on accurately summarizing and using in-text citations. Then you
will have 24 hours from this meeting to rewrite and re-submit the paper using correct forms of
documentation in order to receive credit. (1
st
offense only)

If a problem with plagiarism of either type persists (if I have to talk to you about plagiarism more than once),
you will receive a 0 on the assignment (2
nd
offense), and I will not accept a re-write for partial credit.
Additionally, if a 2
nd
offense occurs involving plagiarism of the first kind (malicious or intentional), I am
empowered by the Student Code of Conduct to assign a grade of F for the course, a penalty that may be
imposed in particularly serious cases and I will also make a complaint to the Vice President of Student Services,
who is responsible for enforcing the regulations in the Student Code of Conduct. So, in addition to the
academic penalty of receiving an F in the course, you may also be subject to other disciplinary penalties, which
can include suspension or expulsion. Although such severe penalties are rarely imposed for first-time
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offenders, the Vice President of Student Services Office maintains disciplinary records as part of a students
overall academic record.

A final word on plagiarism: I understand the occasional temptation to use copy-pastebut I am surprisingly
good at recognizing plagiarism. My basic message is Do Not Do It. When you need to take something from
another persons workan idea, a powerful statement, a set of facts, or an explanationcite your source.

GRADING:
The majority of the points for this course come from daily assignments, in class reading quizzes and
participation, so be sure to keep up with the daily readings and homeworks. Simply turning in final papers will
not result in a passing grade in this class. Your percentage in the class is based out of 730 points (subject to
change). You must turn in all 3 final essays and receive at least 435 points to pass this class. In order to
receive a 2.0 (the grade required for this course to count at most 4-year colleges), you will have to receive a
minimum of 530 points. The points are distributed as follows:

Unit 1Fiction (170)
Reading Quiz 1 (10)
Reading Quiz 2 (10)
Reading Quiz 3 (10)
Discussion Board 1 (10)
Peer Review (20)
Essay 1 (100)
Unit 1 Journals (10)
Unit 2Drama (220)
Reading Quiz 1 (10)
Reading Quiz 2 (10)
Discussion Board 2 (10)
Blue Jasmine Notecatcher (10)
Peer Review (20)
Essay 2 (100)
Midterm Exam (50)
Unit 2 Journals (10)
Unit 3Poetry (170)
Andrea Gibson Annotations (10)
Poetry Vocab Quiz (10)
Discussion Board 3 (10)
Discussion Board 4 (10)
Peer Review (20)
Essay 3 (100)
Unit 3 Journals (10)
Unit 4Nonfiction (170)
Reading Quiz 1 (10)
Reading Quiz 2 (10)
Reading Quiz 3 (10)
Interview Questionnaire (10)
Peer Review (20)
Podcast + Reflection Letter (100)
Unit 4 Journals (10)
Grading Scale:

A
% = GPA
B
% = GPA
C
% = GPA
D
% = GPA

95-100 = 4.0
94 = 3.8
92-93 = 3.7
91 = 3.6

89-90 = 3.5
87-88 = 3.4
86 = 3.3
85 = 3.2
84 = 3.1
83 = 3.0
82 = 2.9
81 = 2.8
80 = 2.7

79 = 2.6
78 = 2.5
77 = 2.4
76 = 2.3
75 = 2.2
74 = 2.1
73 = 2.0
----------transfer cut-off-----------
72 = 1.9
71 = 1.8
70 = 1.7
69 = 1.6
68 = 1.5
67 = 1.4
66 = 1.3
65 = 1.2
64 = 1.1
63 = 1.0
62 = 0.9
61 = 0.8
60 = 0.7
<60 = 0.0 (F)
A
Represents achievement that is outstanding or superior relative to the level necessary to meet the requirements of the
course.
B Represents achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet the requirements of the course.
Grades of A or B are honors grades. You must do something above and beyond the min. requirements in order to earn an A or B.
C
Represents achievement that meets the basic requirements in every respect. It signifies that the work is average, but
nothing more.
D
Represents achievement that meets some but not all of the basic requirements. It signifies that a significant amount of
coursework is either missing or received not-passing grades.
F
If you receive less than 500 points in the course or fail to hand in one of the 4 major writing assignments, you will
automatically earn an F. If your average grade is a D but you did not complete one of the major components of the
course (one of the 3 major papers or the Midterm exam), you will automatically earn an F in the course. Accumulating
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Re-doing Final Drafts. I will allow you to re-submit Essays 1, 2, and 3 again if you received a D or F (except in
the case of a grade reduction for tardiness, plagiarism, or academic dishonesty), and I will average the two
Final Draft grades. All revised Final Drafts must be turned in on or before Tuesday, November 25
th
.

A Note on Transferring. While any grade above a .7 (60%) is considered passing at Big Bend, many programs
and colleges require a 2.0 or higher in order to transfer credits earned in a class. In addition, students who fall
below a 2.0 are particularly likely to struggle in other classes that require academic writing. Speak to your
advisor or transfer colleges for details about this issue.

RESOURCES:
English Skills Lab: If you would like another reader for any of your essays or if you would like help on an essay
in between your first and final drafts, you may schedule an appointment with a tutor at the English Lab. The
English Skills Lab is Located the 1800 Building, Room 1832.
Fall Quarter Hours:
Monday - Wednesday....8:00am - 8:00pm
Thursday........................8:00am - 4:00pm
Friday.............................9:00am - 4:00pm

The English Skills Lab can help with all stages of the writing process and all levels of writers, so it is not always
necessary to have a completed draft prepared for your appointment. You can also receive e-tutoring and
online feedback on your writing. Visit http://academics.bigbend.edu/library/Pages/lab-hours.aspx for more
info.

Student Success Center: If you need to use a computer, to check out a laptop, or if you are struggling in any of
your classes, you can sign up for peer mentoring or supplemental instruction, contact Diana Villafana at
509.793.2369. The Student Success Center is located in the 1400 Building and is open Mon-Thurs 8am-5pm
and Fri 8am-2:30pm.
Accessibility & Disability Services: Big Bend Community College is committed to providing accommodations in
academic programs to ensure maximum participation by all students with disabilities and to minimize the
functional limitations their disabling condition has on their education. Proper procedures are in place to obtain
equal access wherein the student and college staff work together to facilitate reasonable accommodations.
The Disabled Student Services Office is located in the 1400 Building. Loralyn Allen is the disabled students
liaison. Her office, located inside the Counseling Center, is open Monday - Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. To schedule an appointment contact her at 509.793.2027.
For the hearing impaired TDD is available in the Registration/Admissions Office for incoming and outgoing calls
at telephone number 509.762.6335.
more than eight absences also will result in an F. There is no reason for receiving an F in this course unless you simply
fail to submit the required work.
I
Stands for Incomplete. Under very unusual circumstances you could be assigned an Incomplete in the course if
something happened to you within the last two weeks of the quarter that made it impossible to complete the course
(a serious accident or illness that left you hospitalized and very significant personal tragedy, etc.)