English 105: Fundamentals of Writing
Section 71240
Instructor: Dr. Karen Rose Class room:
DD242
Office:
P119A (LAC) Class time: Mondays & Wednesdays
Phone:
562-938-4099 Course
web site: www.skidandkaren.com
E-mail:
Office hours: Mondays 9-12, Tuesdays & Thursdays 5-6,
and by appointment
Course Objective
The primary goals of English
105 are to improve your critical reading an
Textbooks
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Axelrod, Rise B. and Charles R. Cooper. Reading
Critically, Writing Well: A Reader and
Guide. 6th
·
Wilson, Paige and Teresa
Ferster Glazier.
The Least You Should Know about
English. Form A, 8th
Course Requirements
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Two short writing assignments – These short essays (2 typed pages) written at
the beginning of the semester will help you “warm up” for the longer essays.
·
Five essays -
Two essays (500 words) will be written in class, and three essays
(approximately 3-4 typed pages) will be completed out of class. The topics for the out-of-class essays will
be closely related to the reading assignments.
You will be required to hand in an outline and rough draft with your
final out-of-class essays.
·
Homework assignments – Your homework will consist of reading
assignments, short writing assignments, and grammar exercises.
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Quizzes –
The quizzes will focus on grammar skills and the reading assignments.
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Group and class discussions - Your participation in group activities and class
discussions is very important. Not only
will participating help you develop your communication skills, it will help
make our class more interesting. Please
don’t be shy. To help those of you who
have difficulties speaking up in class, each member of the class will be
required to sign up to be the discussion leader for one of the reading
assignments. Guidelines as to what is
expected of discussion leaders will be discussed in class.
Attendance and Class Participation
I will take attendance at the
beginning of class everyday. I expect
you to arrive on time, bring your textbook to class, and be prepared to
participate in class discussions and activities. Your failure to fulfill these expectations
will adversely affect your grade. Please
make note of the following rules:
·
If you miss six class meetings, I will drop you
from the class.
·
Three tardies count as
one absence.
·
In-class work missed during an absence cannot be
made up.
Late work
Fifteen points will be deducted
for each day your essay is late (including weekends). In-class essays cannot be made up. When an assignment is due, it must be handed
in at the beginning of the class.
Grading
Your grade in English 105 will
be determined as follows:
2 short writing assignments 10%
5 essays 60%
Homework 10%
Quizzes 10%
Attendance/Class Participation 10%
Classroom conduct
Treat your classmates as you
woul
Resources
Take advantage of the resources
available to help you develop your writing skills and succeed in this class:
·
Me: I am dedicated to helping each of you achieve
your academic goals. If you feel that
you need extra assistance, please come to my office hours or make an
appointment to see me. I will be happy
to help you!
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Writing and
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Computer Labs: The English Department Computer Lab is
located in P111 (LAC) and is available to all students currently enrolled in an
English course. For more information,
visit the web site: http://engl.lbcc.cc.ca.us/englishdepartmentcompute.html The Open Access Computer Lab is located in
the south wing of the 2nd floor of the Library Building (L208). It is free to use the computers (PC and Mac)
for word processing or to access the Internet.
Printing costs 10¢ per page. For
more information, call 562-938-4852, or visit the web site: http://clas.lbcc.cc.ca.us/openaccess1.html
·
Our class web site: If you visit http://www.skidandkaren.com and click
on “Karen’s English Students,” you will find the course syllabus, writing
assignments, and handouts. I have also
posted links to web sites that will help you with your writing.
Course Schedule and
Assignments
Note: This
schedule is subject to change. If we
need to spend more time
on any
of the topics listed below, we will make adjustments.
LYSK = The Least You Should Know About English
RCWW = Reading Critically, Writing Well
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Monday |
Wednesday |
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Reading Critically (RCWW 2-5) |
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Begin review of words often confused (LYSK 5-9) Discuss Short Writing Assignment #1 |
Sign up to be a discussion leader Finding a Topic (LYSK 224-227) Organizing Ideas (LYSK 227-230) |
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Labor Day |
Short
Writing Assignment #1 due Supporting with Details (LYSK 231-234) Discuss Short Writing Assignment #2 |
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Sentence Structure (LYSK 57-61) Fragments (LYSK 79-81) Run-ons (LYSK 86-88) |
Subject-verb agreement (LYSK 118-120) |
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Writing a Conclusion (LYSK 242-3) |
Short Writing Assignment #2 Due |
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Discuss Essay #1 topic Read the following: Annie Dillard, “A Chase” (RCWW 14-23) |
Read the following: ·
Audre Lord,
“The Summer I Left Childhood Was White” (RCWW
24-30) ·
Rick Bragg, “100 Miles
per Hour, Upside Down and Sideways” (RCWW
31-36) |
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Read the following: ·
Brad Benioff, “Rick” (RCWW
48-52) Consistent verb tense (LYSK 125-6) |
Essay #1 Rough Drafts Due |
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Essay #1 Due Words often confused (LYSK 15-19) |
Misplaced or Dangling
Modifiers (LYSK 134) Sentence Patterns (LYSK 138-141) |
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Avoiding Clichés, Awkward
Phrasing, and Wordiness (LYSK
146-149) Parallel Structure (LYSK 155-156) |
Punctuation (LYSK 175-176) The comma (LYSK 182-3, 189-191) |
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Discuss Essay #2 topic Read the following: ·
Amitai Etzioni,
“Working at McDonald’s” (RCWW
253-257) ·
Scott Hyder, “Poltergeist:
It Knows What Scares You” (RCWW
285-289) |
·
Charles Herold, “Thief II Stresses Stealth over Strength” (RCWW 268-270) ·
Richard Corliss, “Run, Chicken Run! (RCWW 273-276) |
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Conferences |
Conferences |
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Avoiding Shifts in Person (LYSK 170) Tips for writing successful
in-class essays |
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In-Class
Essay |
Read the following: |
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Read the following: |
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Capital Letters (LYSK 203-4) Read the following: |
Dennis Prager,
“The Soul-Corrupting Anti-Tobacco Crusade” (RCWW 480-488) |
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