Course Syllabus

ENGLISH 1A (Section: 0769):

COLLEGE COMPOSITION – FALL 2019

Instructor: Purnur Ozbirinci, Ph.D.

Phone: 707 527 4562                        

Email: pozbirinci@santarosa.edu

Class Hours and Locations: 

• Mondays 11:00 - 1:00 - Classroom: Emeritus 1628
• Wednesdays 11:00 - 1:00 - Classroom: Emeritus 1607

OFFICE HOURS (Room 1668 Emeritus Hall): MW 9:00-11:00 & by appointment     

MY WRITING CENTER HOURS (Room 1629 Emeritus Hall): TTh 10:00-10:50      

 

This class will focus on the themes of love, hope, and unity. Collectively we will find solutions to combat those structures that attack our love. In addition to various shorter texts, we will read these two books:

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS

• Victor Villaseñor, Gigantic Global Hope: Our First Lady Pope. Waterside Press, 2018.
• bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions. William Morrow, 2001.
• All the other articles and handouts will be provided for you through Canvas online companion which you can access through your SRJC Portal or through https://canvas.santarosa.edu/login/canvas

• Three-hole binder and notebook (to hold readings & handouts)
• A college dictionary (find one which is comfortable to use and easy to carry)
• A good online dictionary - www.merriam-webster.com.

 

Catalog Description:

This is an introductory course that offers instruction in expository and argumentative writing, appropriate and effective use of language, close reading, cogent thinking, research strategies, information literacy, and documentation. The course emphasizes critical reading and discussion of primarily non-fiction, college-level texts with an emphasis on expository and argumentative prose.

Prerequisites/Corequisites: Completion of English 309, English 100, ESL 100 or appropriate placement based on AB 705 mandates

Student Learning Outcomes: Upon completion, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of discipline-specific skills, strategies, and resources that facilitate the acquisition of college composition conventions and academic discourse. 
2. Demonstrate the capacity to comprehend, summarize, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize college-level texts of various lengths and genres, primarily non-fiction.
3. Write primarily expository and argumentative texts that respond to a variety of rhetorical situations and contexts. 
4. Locate, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize outside source materials and integrate them into writing assignments using MLA style. 
5. Engage in inquiry and analysis of texts to determine how meaning is constructed and how it relates to the reader.

 

GRADING: Essays must be original, analytically astute, thoroughly developed, supported and documented, coherent, and aware of audience. Workshops on writing and grammar as well as peer editing of drafts will help students prepare final copies of essays in proper form and format. To avoid academic sanctions, familiarize yourself with the SRJC procedures on dealing with academic dishonesty: https://rightsresponsibilities.santarosa.edu/academic-integrity

Click the “Grades” link in Canvas to keep track of your grades. I grade [once a week] and post grades and comments in the Canvas grade book.

Grades will be assigned as follows:

A - Excellent 90-100

B - Good 80-89

C - Satisfactory 70-79

D - Less than satisfactory 60-69

F – Failing 0-59

 

CALENDAR OF IMPORTANT DATES

Date Class Begins: 8/19/2019  Date Class Ends: 12/11/2019 Date Final Exam:12/16/2019

Last Day Drop for Refund: 9/1/2019 Last Day Drop w/o W: 9/8/2019 Last Day Drop with W: 11/17/2019

Dropping the Class: If you decide to discontinue this course, it is your responsibility to officially drop it. It is strongly advised that if you need to miss more than one class in a row that you contact the instructor to avoid being dropped from the class. 

Attendance: Students who fail to attend the first class meeting will be dropped by the instructor. Please expect to come to class on time and not to leave before the designated time. You may not miss any more than 4 class sessions or be tardy frequently (3 tardies = 1 absence). If a student is unable to attend class, it is his/her responsibility to obtain notes or assignments. The course moves too quickly to accommodate students who need to make up late assignments or who miss workshops. Please let me know if you have extensive medical or personal problems that necessitate continued and/or frequent absences from class. Absence from class does NOT constitute an excuse for a late paper. Please arrange to have the paper delivered to class unless you have already made other arrangements with me.

Conferences: I invite you to come to my office for conferences during my in-person or online office hours or by appointment as often as you like. There, I can give your papers personal attention and you can ask me questions about any concerns you may have about your essays and the course.

Instructor Announcements and Cyberlounge: The instructor will post announcements on the Announcements page in Canvas throughout the semester. Canvas notifies students according to their preferred Notification Preferences. So, please make sure to check your notification preferences and subscribe to the discussion boards. A “Cyberlounge” is also available as a pinned Discussion to ask for the assistance of your classmates or of the instructor.

Student Conduct: Students who register in SRJC classes are required to abide by the SRJC Student Conduct Standards. Violation of the Standards is a basis for referral to the Vice President of Student Services or dismissal from class or from the College. See the Student Code of Conduct page. https://student-conduct.santarosa.edu/

Students with disabilities: If you need disability-related accommodations for this class, such as a note-taker, test-taking services, special furniture, etc., please provide the Authorization for Academic Accommodations (AAA letter) from the Disability Resources Department (DRD) to the instructor as soon as possible. You may also speak with the instructor privately during office hours about your accommodations. If you have not received authorization from DRD, it is recommended that you contact them directly. DRD is located in Analy Village on the Santa Rosa campus and Jacobs Hall on the Petaluma Campus.

In addition, you will want to talk to me early in the semester if you believe you may benefit from the assistance of a tutor (should one be available). Also, if you have any social, cultural, economic, or other issues that you think I should be aware of, please don’t hesitate to speak with me.

ASSIGNMENTS: All assignments are due on the due date.  Late submissions will receive a 10% penalty for each day it is not submitted. Submissions more than two (2) days late are not accepted without prior arrangement.

Occasionally, for a variety of legitimate reasons, you may need more time to complete an essay. If this happens to you, you must contact me ahead of time and be ready to present all the drafts, outlines, etc., you have so far completed for the assignment.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: All written work is to be original; plagiarism of any kind will result in a failing grade on that assignment. Students who plagiarize or cheat will be referred to the Vice President of Student Services for discipline sanction, in cases of egregious violation. Please read the college policy/procedure on academic integrity at http://www.santarosa.edu/polman/3acadpro/3.11P.pdf

Plagiarism is a form of cheating and it means stealing the writings or ideas of another person.

Therefore, YOU MAY NOT:

• copy another person’s work, whole or in part, published or not;
• cut and paste from an internet source;
• copy and then change some words or the order of words;
• copy an idea and claim it as your own;
• get another person to do the work for you and hand it in as your own;
• fail to give credit to sources of information;
• and the like.

Do not try to submit someone else’s work (or the Internet’s) work as your own. Nor should you consider “loaning” someone else your work. All essays will have a great deal of in-class preparation: brainstorming, freewriting, rough drafts, peer editing, etc. All sources for your papers must be carefully documented, and appropriate references using quotation marks and citations must follow MLA guidelines. If you are having trouble: you can get me to help you. If you are stuck or feel that you don’t understand something, please come talk to me and I’ll be more than happy to help you. Do not resort to plagiarism!
ESSAYS: After finishing your first draft, make sure to edit and proofread your essay. Use the checklists and the rubrics provided on the essay prompts. Make sure your essay is double spaced, 12 font Times New Roman. You must submit your final work to Turnitin link which you will find under the essay prompts. 

ESSAY CHECKLIST: After finishing your first draft, make sure to edit your essay. Use the checklist below. Make sure your essay is double spaced, 12 font Times New Roman. You must submit your final work to Turnitin link which you will find under the essay prompts.

• Do you respond effectively and intelligently to the prompt?
• Do you have an effective title?
• Do you have your name, name of the instructor and the course, along with the date on the top left corner?
• Do you have your last name and page number on the top right corner? (Insert page number and double click on the page number to add in your last name.)
• Do you have an interesting introduction which prepares the reader for what lies ahead in the essay?
• Do you have an argument that is insightful, sophisticated, original, and takes a risk?
• Do you argue your position (main argument in your thesis) through the rest of the essay?
• Is your essay effectively organized, and ideas are focused and fully developed without generalizations or assumptions and is always concrete and explicit?
• Are the body paragraphs developed with reasons, examples, details, evidence, and/or analysis? Does your essay include abundant, well-chosen/introduced evidence and in‐depth analysis that effectively “proves” the thesis?
• Do you provide clear transitions between your ideas and paragraphs?
• Does your paper display a strong comprehension of the sources, clearly summarizing/paraphrasing the main claims and supporting points throughout the essay?
• Have you introduced and explained the quotes you are integrating into your essay?
• Have you checked your in-text quotes for proper MLA formatting? Is your works cited properly formatted and in alphabetical order? Check: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/11/
• Do you have an appropriate concluding paragraph that clarifies the purpose and importance of your essay, explains the significance or consequences of your findings, and establishes the basis for further investigation?
• Do you use a variety of sentence structures avoiding awkward or repetitive language or phrasing? Are you employing appropriate tone and demonstrating a distinctive voice?
• Are grammar usage, punctuation, and spelling sufficiently controlled to allow a reader to understand your ideas clearly? (Check fragments, run-ons, comma splices, tenses, spelling, capitalization, etc.)

LIST OF ASSIGNMENTS: the assignments listed below do not include all course content. To view all course content, please look through the weekly schedule. In addition to shorter Student Success activities, quizzes, collaborative annotations through Hypothes.is, and canvas discussion activities, you’ll need to complete longer assignments. See the list below:

1^st Essay – Expository Essay: Why Education? - DUE Sept 18 (200 pts)

Reflective Essay - In-class – Sept 30 (100 pts)

2^nd Essay – Literary Analysis on Our First Lady Pope 1^st Draft - DUE Oct 9 / Final Draft – DUE Oct 14 (200 pts)

3^rd Essay – Research – Conquer & Divide (400 pts)

• Annotated bibliography – DUE: Oct 25
• Outline – DUE: Oct 28
• 1^st Draft for peer review – Oct 30 / Final draft – Nov 6

Group Presentations - Divide & Conquer – October 28 (100 pts)

4^th Essay –Argumentative Essay on Language and Racism (200 pts) In-class: November 20

Annotating bell hooks – All About Love DUE: Dec 13 (200 pts)

Final Meeting: Group Presentations on All About Love DUE: Dec 16 (100 pts)

Portfolio Project – Reflective Letter and Essay Revision DUE: Dec 4