SYLLABUS: ENG 101/ENA 101
Prof. Rockwood
Contact: mattrockwood@hotmail.com; mrockwood@lagcc.cuny.edu; (212) 749-1253
My Website: www.rockwoodenglish.com (I will post some of the materials for the course on this website as well as links to resources to help with your research paper)
Office Hours: TBA & by appointment.
Texts (both are required):
Across Cultures, A Reader for Writers (8th edition) Sheena Gillespie & Robert Becker
Rules for Writers (10th edition) Dianna Hacker & Nancy Sommers
*Please purchase these texts used or rent them as they are quite expensive new*
*PLEASE BRING BOTH TEXTS TO CLASS AS WE WILL BE USING THEM DAILY*
FORMAT: This is a live, on-campus class. Although I will post the syllabus and some contact information on Blackboard, I will NOT be using Blackboard for most assignment submissions or to communicate with the class. Please do NOT use the messaging application in Blackboard to communicate with me. Use my personal email or the LaGuardia email system.
The ENA section of the class will meet separately after class for additional work. Attendance is required (except for emergencies) and taken separately for this section. I will usually bring materials to go over in class rather than assigning homework. We can also use some of this time to work on the papers assigned in this class – or anything else you would like to work on.
COMMUNICATION: The best way to contact me is through my personal email: mattrockwood@hotmail.com. I can also be reached through LaGuardia’s email: mrockwood@lagcc.cuny.edu. Please do NOT use the Blackboard messaging service as I will not be checking it.
Course description:
ENG/ENA is a writing workshop designed to help students become critical readers and proficient writers. We will study the process of writing – from brainstorming to final draft – with a focus on persuasive essay writing. We will also study essay and paragraph structure and review some common grammatical mistakes.
Critical thinking and analysis are a major focus of the course. Students will identify a text’s major assumptions and assertions and evaluate its supporting evidence. Students will also become familiar with the concepts of audience, voice, context, and purpose.
Much of our class time will be spent critically analyzing a variety of texts. Students will complete many informal “low stakes” writing assignments in response to these texts.
Additionally, students will write several formal essays over the course of the semester including a midterm and a final topic. Please note that formal essays must follow MLA style and integrate primary and/or secondary sources.
Grading Policies:
I will consider the following when determining your final grade:
Essay #1 (Your education story – connected to “From Dropout to Graduate” and/or “One Voice” 20%)
Essay #2 (Staged, research supported persuasive essay 30%)
Journal Writing/Class Participation (10%)
Midterm Topic (in-class essay, open book 20%)
Final Topic (in-class essay, open book 20%)
*PLEASE NOTE: It is the policy of the English Department that to pass this course, students must submit a passing draft of all writing assignments. Students who receive a grade lower than a “B+” on an assigned paper may revise the paper for a better grade.
Students who receive a failing grade on an assigned paper or exam MUST revise their work so that it receives a passing grade, or they may fail the course. I highly recommend students make use of LaGuardia’s Writing Center for help with their assignments.
Rules:
Attendance
The college catalog states that “the maximum number of unexcused absences is limited to 15% of the number of class hours” and “absences are counted from the first day of class even if they are a result of late registration or change of program.” The departmental limit is the equivalent of two weeks, therefore 6 hours for a 3-hour class, 8 hours for a 4-hour class, 10 hours for a 5-hour class, and 14 for a 7-hour class. The same number of hours applies to 6-week sessions, where the limit is one week. No incompletes will be granted absent special and documentable circumstances.
If you are absent more than the college allows, you may have to repeat this course.
NOTE: I AM ALLOWED TO EXCUSE AN ADDITIONAL ABSENCE OR TWO IF THERE IS A LEGITIMATE REASON, BUT THERE IS AN ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT FOR THIS COURSE AND I DO NOT HAVE UNLIMITED DISCRETION TO EXCUSE ABSENCES. Students are responsible for all work missed due to absence.
Papers
Please follow MLA style for all written work. Paper #1 and the research paper (Paper #2) will be submitted in Blackboard (including any rewrites). The midterm and final will be written in class and any rewrites will be submitted to me separately. Your Writer’s Journals will be submitted to me on the day of the final exam for grading.
Please use a word processor for all formal work and take advantage of the grammar and spell-check features available, but keep in mind that they don’t find everything (particularly with grammar). Please do NOT have an A.I. write your papers (see below).
Please double-space papers so I can more easily read and correct them.
I will accept late papers without penalty if you ask for a reasonable extension and don’t take advantage of this policy. I understand that many students here are not full-time and that many of you have busy lives outside of class. I want to see your best work and not the hastily written first draft you handed in to meet an arbitrary deadline. Taking the time to revise your work is also one of the best ways to become a better writer.
Plagiarism/Use of A.I.
A student will fail this course and be reported to the English Department if they engage in plagiarism. A student plagiarizes when they use the words of another without proper citation. Sometimes students inadvertently plagiarize by cutting and pasting sources found on the internet into their papers – so please be careful not to do this.
A student can also commit plagiarism even if they do not use the exact words of another. The original ideas of another author must also be properly cited, even if the student puts these ideas into their own words.
Students are not permitted to use A.I. to write their assignments for them. Students MAY (and probably should) use A.I. as a tool to help them generate ideas and suggest outlines for papers. A.I. can also provide feedback by analyzing drafts of papers for content, grammar, and style.
If you engage in plagiarism, I will almost certainly find out – so please don’t. I have also become very good at recognizing A.I. generated writing, and A.I. is not capable of incorporating secondary sources into its writing (yet), which is a requirement for your research paper.
The only way to become a better writer is to practice. If you put an effort into this class, you will improve as a writer and have the best chance of passing the course with a good grade.
SCHEDULE
The following schedule should serve as a general guide. I reserve the right to change this schedule and to add or delete assignments to cater to the specific needs of the class.
NOTE: CHANGES TO THIS SCHEDULE ARE LIKELY! HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE POSTED ON THE BOARD AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH CLASS.
A SPECIAL LIBRARY CLASS WILL ALSO BE SCHEDULED AND I WILL ANNOUNCE THE DATE AS SOON AT IT IS MADE AVAILABLE.
Week 1
9/9 Introductions/Syllabus; diagnostic essay & possibly some other group work. HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 1: “The Writing Process” pages 1-48 in Rules for Writers (you can just skim this and you don’t have to hand in anything, but please review this important material. Pay special attention to the sample essay at the end of the chapter). ENA: ACTIVE VS PASSIVE READING & PRACTICE
9/11 CHAT GPT/A.I. (DOs & DON'Ts) Basic Essay Writing/Common Grammar Mistakes (ENG 101 IN A NUTSHELL); Group Essay Outline. ENA: WRITING EFFECTIVE PARAGRAPHS; Active vs Passive Reading/paragraph writing practice
Week 2
9/16 Active vs. Passive Reading; READ: “From Dropout to Graduate”; PAPER #1 Assigned; ENA Work on Paper #1; Writing Effective Paragraphs II
9/18 READ: “One Voice”/ Run-on sentences (173-179) ENA: Run-on sentences further practice/active reading & paragraph writing
**ATTENDANCE VARIFICATION DUE BY SATURDAY**
Week 3
9/23 STAGED PERSUASIVE ESSAY ASSIGNED (TOPICS DUE WEEK 5; FIRST DRAFT DUE WEEK 7 & FINAL DRAFT DUE WEEK 9); Research Paper Basics; “From Captors to Custodians: How Zoos Protect Animals, People, and the Planet” (Rules for Writers 98-105); Good vs Questionable Sources & Fake News: READ: Evaluating sources (364-374). ENA: The Thesis Statement/work on persuasive essay topics.
9/25 READ: Reading & Writing Arguments (80 -106); Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle; “Is That Video Game Programming You?” ENA: The Introduction/Writing Paragraphs III/Possibly work on persuasive essay assignment
PAPER 1 DUE.
Week 4
9/30 READ: “Why We Crave Horror Movies”/ Double Negatives (209-210); ENA: Active reading/paragraph writing/continue work on persuasive essay assignment
10/2 NO CLASS
Week 5
10/7 READ: “The Man I Killed”/ Capital letters (315-318); ENA: Active reading/paragraph writing
10/9 READ: “People Like Us”; Quotations (291-297); PAPER #2 TOPICS & SOURCES DUE (2 quality sources minimum from the library) ENA: Incorporating quotations into your papers to help support your thesis
Week 6
10/14 NO CLASS
10/16 READ: “Native Americans & the Federal Government” (Link provided on my website & Blackboard); Grammar Review; ENA Active reading/paragraph writing practice
Week 7
10/21 READ “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” (Link on my website and Blackboard); Grammar TBA/ENA Active Reading & paragraph writing practice
10/23 READ “The Joy of Reading & Writing: Superman & Me”; Sentence Fragments (166-173) ENA: More sentence fragments/paper consultations; FIRST DRAFT OF PAPER#2 DUE
Week 8
10/28 Review for Midterm Topic: Time management & test-taking strategies (Arnie’s Test Day); READ: Rules for Writers (Building Effective Paragraphs 20-34); ENA: Finish Arnie's Test Day essay - incorporate important quotations into supporting paragraphs.
10/30 MIDTERM TOPIC (IN-CLASS ESSAY OPEN BOOK); ENA: TBA
Week 9
11/4 READ "Too Much Technology"; Choose Appropriate Language (147 – 153); ; ENA: Choose Appropriate Language/Active Reading/paragraph writing practice
11/6 READ: “A Letter to a Child Like Me”/ Eliminating distracting shifts (127-132); ENA: More distracting shifts/active reading & paragraph writing practice
PAPER #2 DUE
Week 10
11/11 READ" Why We Work"/Tighten wordy sentences (writing concisely 143-146); ENA: writing concisely & persuasive essay consultation
11/13 READ "Stone Throwing in India an Annual Bash"/ The apostrophe (287-291); ENA:TBA
Week 11
11/18 READ: "The Lottery" (SYMBOLISM EXERCISE); ENA: TBA
11/20 LIBRARY CLASS TIME SLOT (LIBRARY CLASS SCHEDULE TBA)
Week 12
11/25 Grammar Review/ “Roughing It” ENA: More timed essay review
11/27 Documentary film: Thanksgiving Myths & Group Work; ENA: TBA
Week 13
12/2 READ “The Lesson” Grammar Review; ENA TBA
12/4 FINAL TOPIC (IN-CLASS ESSAY OPEN BOOK)/JOURNALS DUE; ENA: TBA
Week 14
FINAL EXAM WEEK: 12/8-12/14 (ALL WORK DUE BY 12/14 @ 5 pm)
GRADES DUE 12/19
Pathways Common Core Student Learning Objectives (SLOs):
Per the recommendations of the Pathways Six Year Review Report, the following SLOs must be included on all syllabi of courses in the respective Pathways Common Core area, regardless of instructor.
REQUIRED CORE:
English Composition
* Read and listen critically and analytically, including identifying an argument's major assumptions and assertions and evaluating its supporting evidence.
* Write clearly and coherently in varied, academic formats (such as formal essays, research papers, and reports) using standard English and appropriate technology to critique and improve one's own and others' texts.
* Demonstrate research skills using appropriate technology, including gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing primary and secondary sources.
* Support a thesis with well-reasoned arguments, and communicate persuasively across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and media.
* Formulate original ideas and relate them to the ideas of others by employing the conventions of ethical attribution and citation.