Standard Freshman Composition (ENG 101, CRN 20413) Spring Semester, 2012 (January 23 May 15) Wednesdays, Fridays:

: 9:30 a.m. 10:45 a.m. Islip Arts Building, Room 208

Instructor: Sarah Kain Gutowski Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday: 9:30-10:45 a.m. and 2:00-3:15 p.m. Wednesday, Friday: 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Office Location: Islip 2K Office Phone: 631-451-4723 Email: gutowss@sunysuffolk.edu

Required Texts and Materials

75 Readings: An Anthology, 11th edition, edited by Santi V. Buscemi and Charlotte Smith A college-level dictionary and thesaurus A black and white composition notebook

Recommended Texts
Pocket Keys for Writers, 3rd edition (2009 MLA Upd) by Anne Raimes

Course Description and Objectives

In this course you will read and write essays. Along the way, you will learn organization and development skills necessary for strong, purposeful academic writing. During the semester you will approach the essays in your textbooks from the standpoint of a critical thinker and writer; you will look to them for ideas and inspiration, as well as guidance in matters of style and structure. By the end of the semester you will have gone through all elements of the writing process, from brainstorming to editing, learning along the way how to think critically about the world around you and your place in it. Hopefully you will be able to apply these new critical thinking and writing skills to your courses in other subjects as well.

Attendance and Timeliness

Attendance is mandatory. You are permitted four absences during the semester. There are no excused absences. After accruing more than four absences, you fail the course. Timeliness is equally important. Please be on time. Tardiness is discourteous and disruptive and will not be tolerated. If you are late to class more than four times during the semester, your participation and quiz grade will be lowered a letter grade for each additional tardy. In addition, please be advised that quizzes and/or free writing prompts will be given during the first 10 minutes of class. If you come in late, you have the remainder of the allotted time to take the quiz or finish the free write no additional time will be given and I will collect your quiz along with those from the rest of the class (or, in the case of free writing, you will have to take the assignment home and finish it as homework). Makeup quizzes, for those who are absent on the day a quiz is given, will be permitted at my discretion.

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Experience and necessity dictates that I include a classroom behavior clause in my syllabus. You will not use cell phones, PDAs, laptops, tablets, or other electronic devices during class time, unless I give you permission. If you are texting your friends outside of the classroom, or surfing the Internet, youre not paying attention to whats going on inside the classroom. Additionally, youre distracting. You distract me, and you distract your fellow students. This first time I see you violating this policy Ill ask you to put the device away. The second time, youll receive an absence for the day. See above for a reminder about the penalty for accrued absences.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is presenting another persons words or ideas as if they were your own. Plagiarizing, like stealing, is a form of academic dishonesty or cheating. Its a serious offense that can be grounds for a failing grade or expulsion from a college. Beyond that, youre hurting yourself. If youre plagiarizing, youre not learning. Lynn Quitman Troyka, Quick Access Be warned that I do not tolerate plagiarism. You will fail the assignment, and I will consider failing you for the course, if I catch you plagiarizing. The size or scope of the assignment does not affect the penalty if you plagiarize, you steal someone elses work. I will not condone theft in this form or any other.

Requirements and Grading

Journal/Free writing Prompts: 5% Service Learning Project: 5% Peer Workshops: 5% MLA Activities & End of Semester Reflective Essay: 15% Short Essays: 20% Quizzes/Reading Assignments/Written Responses/Timed Essays: 25% Long Essays: 25%

Journal/Free writing Prompts At the beginning of every class meeting well do five minutes of free writing based on a prompt. The prompts will be related to the reading were doing, but will not be about the reading itself thats what the class discussion is for. These free writing exercises are designed to help you begin brainstorming for the essays well write, and to get you used to writing frequently. Youll complete the free writing in a black and white composition notebook, which I will collect and grade at different points during the semester.

Service Learning Project This project combines writing with activism; during the semester, the service you provide to your community will also provide your writing with purpose and direction. In addition, it will require you to exercise your critical thinking skills. This part of the course requires that you become a volunteer for a local or national service organization, OR attend and participate in two or more service-oriented events, OR complete an approved project on behalf of a service organization. You should donate ten (10) hours of time to a charity or service organization over the course of the semester and these ten hours must be completed in addition to any time that is necessary for training. You will keep a record of these hours, have them signed by your supervisor at the service organization, and then turn the records into me at the end of the semester. Additionally, you will be writing about your service learning experience in your papers throughout the course, and finally in a short reflective essay at the semesters end. Please remember that I have accounted for the 10 hours of time when creating my assignments, and I have accounted for the number of students who may not be able to volunteer during normal business hours. (These students in particular should choose the approved project option, which allows you to donate time by completing a writing project for a service organization according to a schedule established between you, the student, and me, the instructor, and when necessary the service organization.) Quizzes/Reading Assignments/Written Responses/Timed Essays The essays Ive assigned in the textbook were chosen because they deal with relevant social issues and also because they exemplify the kinds of rhetorical strategies you can (and will) use as a writer in college. For every group of essays we read, youll complete a homework assignment that requires you to think critically about the subjects of the essays, the ideas driving the essays, and the ways the authors communicate those ideas. Discussion in class will begin on the day the homework is due, and my hope is that the conversation will spring from your answers in the homework assignments, and that it will be sustained by your responses to one anothers comments. For the written responses, you are required to read every assigned essay carefully and rely on the text (i.e. QUOTE, PARAPHRASE, OR SUMMARIZE THE TEXT) to support your answers to the questions. When you quote, paraphrase, or summarize the texts, you are required to place the page number in parentheses after the work youre quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing. Occasionally you may be required to take a quiz on elements of MLA citation, grammar, or the assigned reading. These quizzes will almost always be short answer. In addition to writing papers outside of class, well be writing timed in-class essays as well, as preparation for the essay exams youll be taking in other college courses. Well walk through this process together at first, and then in subsequent timed essays, youll be demonstrating your mastery of the writing process by working on your own. Short Essays You will write three short papers during the semester; each will ask you to respond to a prompt, and the prompt will usually correspond with or arise from the discussion we have over the reading assignments. The papers must be a minimum of five paragraphs long, but do not need to be more than two or three pages in length. Two copies should be brought into class on the day the paper is due: one for me, and one for the corresponding Peer Workshop (see below for more details about the workshops).

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Longer Essays Three long papers written during the semester will actually be revisions of your short papers. Youll expand upon the ideas you developed in the short papers, add new ones, and youll use secondary sources to support all your assertions. These papers will have increasing page length requirements as the semester progresses (3-6, 4-8, 5-10). Two copies should be brought into class on the day the paper is due: one for me, and one for the corresponding Peer Workshop (see below for more details about the workshops). Peer Workshops For every paper that you write short and long youll participate in peer review. Youll exchange papers with another student, and comment on his or her essays just as we discuss the professional essays we read in class with a critical eye attuned to both the subject matter and the craft of the writing. Similar to the reading discussion, you will receive specific questions to answer about the other students essay. Hopefully this will ensure that everyones essays are given adequate critical feedback. You will use this feedback to revise your papers, and also when drafting future essays. MLA Activities & End-of-Semester Reflective Essay At several points during the semester, you will complete assignments designed to help you learn the Modern Language Associations Documentation Style a method by which writers incorporate and attribute work to outside sources within their writing. First youll be directed to websites that will teach you the basic rules of MLA Documentation Style, and then youll complete a series of assignments that will help you practice what youve learned. You will use this documentation style also in papers where you are required to use outside sources (information or ideas that come from places other than your own original thoughts and experiences).

Additional, but Still Important

Late Work Policy Any reading response assignments or essays turned in late will be marked down a letter grade for every class meeting past the due date. Assignments more than two weeks past due will not be accepted. Graded & Returned Assignments I endeavor to grade your assignments and return them to you within two weeks (sometimes less) of the assignment due date. Because I wish to give you useful feedback, this may take longer with larger assignments. D2L (Desire 2 Learn) Desire 2 Learn is the platform the college has chosen for its online classes. I use it also to web-enhance my traditional classroom. As part of this class, you are required to access D2L and the designated course space for this class. Throughout the semester, I will use D2L to post class announcements (including class cancellations), homework assignments, and course handouts. Email If you choose to email me, please do so through your school email account. Many other types of email accounts are not recognized by MS Outlook, and messages from these accounts are sent to my spam folder.

Schedule
Disclaimer: Assigned reading, quiz and exam dates may be altered at my discretion. This schedule is intended to give you an idea of what we will do throughout the semester, and I will make changes as I see fit, depending on our progress as a class. Wednesday, January 25: Introduction to Freshman Composition Read for next class: Pride by Dagoberto Gilb, p. 110 and Growing Up Asian in America by Kesaya E. Noda, p. 121. Complete written response. 1st Response Due Discussion: Writing about Identity Read for next class: Two Ways to Belong to America by Bharati Mukherjee, p. 175 and Only Daughter by Sandra Cisneros, p. 414 Discussion: Writing about Identity Complete written response. 2nd Response Due Discussion and Practice: The Writing Process Outline Due MLA Activity One: Introduction to Citation Begin to write 5-paragraph essay in response to prompt Discussion: Service Learning Project Finish writing first short paper First Short Paper Due Peer Workshop Discussion: Paper Presentation & Grammar Practice Write Service Learning Project Description Service Learning Project Description Due First in-class timed writing Meet in Library Discussion and Activity: MLA Activity Two: Conducting Research and Service Learning Project For next class: Write First Long Paper Class Cancelled Class Cancelled First Long Paper Due Discussion of In-Class Timed Writing Peer Workshop Read for next class: What is Poverty? by Jo Goodwin Parker, p. 95 and
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Friday, January 27:

Wednesday, February 1: Friday, February 3: Wednesday, February 8:

Friday, February 10: Wednesday, February 15: Friday, February 17: Wednesday, February 22: Friday, February 24:

Wednesday, February 29: Friday, March 2: Wednesday, March 7:

On Dumpster Diving by Lars Eighner, p. 391 Complete written response. Friday, March 9: 3rd Response Due Discussion: Writing about Social Issues Read for next class: A Step Back to the Workhouse? by Barbara Ehrenreich, p. 302 and Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor by Garrett Hardin, p. 310 Complete written response. Begin to write 5-paragraph essay in response to prompt. 4th Response Due Discussion: Considering Audience/Presenting Opinions Finish second short paper Second Short Paper Due Peer Workshop Discussion: Paper Presentation & Grammar Practice Second in-class timed writing Begin to write 5-8 page essay in response to prompt Discussion and Revision: In-Class Timed Writing Read for next class: The Details of Life, pp.31-325 and I Have a Dream, pp. 355-359 Complete written response. Continue to write 5-8 page essay in response to prompt 5th Response Due Discussion: Persuasive Writing Finish 5-8 page essay in response to prompt Spring Recess; No Classes Held Spring Recess; No Classes Held Second Long Paper Due Peer Workshop Read for next class: Susan Sontag's Women's Beauty: Put Down or Power Source?, pp. 92-95 and The Green-Eyed Monster: Envy Is Nothing to Be Jealous of, pp. 105-109 Complete written response. 6th Response Due Discussion: Persuasive Writing Write 5-paragraph essay in response to prompt Meet in Library MLA Activity Three: Generating Ideas and Annotated Bibliography Finish writing third short paper
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Wednesday, March 14:

Friday, March 16: Wednesday, March 21: Friday, March 23: Wednesday, March 28:

Friday, March 30:

Wednesday, April 5: Friday, April 6: Wednesday, April 11:

Wednesday, April 18:

Friday, April 20:

Wednesday, April 25: Friday, April 27:

Third Short Paper Due Peer Workshop Meet in Library Discussion: MLA Activity Four: The Complete Annotated Bibliography and Service Learning Project Begin to write 7-10 page essay in response to prompt Service Learning Recorded Hours Due Discussion: Paper Presentation and Grammar Practice Continue writing 7-10 page essay in response to prompt Third in-class timed writing Finish writing 7-10 page essay in response to prompt In-class End-of-Semester Reflective Essay Third Long Paper Due (1 copy only) Last Day of Class

Wednesday, May 2:

Friday, May 4: Wednesday, May 9: Wednesday, May 11:

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