Long Beach City College

English 801:  College English Skills

Sections 71286 (801A) and 71310 (801B)

 

           

Instructor:  Dr. Karen Rose                 Class room:  P127

            Office:  P119A                                     Class time:  Tuesdays & Thursdays 12:30 – 2:30

            Phone:  562-938-4099                                    Course web site:  www.skidandkaren.com

            E-mail:  krose@lbcc.edu                                             

Office hours:  Mondays 9-12, Tuesdays & Thursdays 5-6, and by appointment

                                                           

 

Course Description

English 801 is intended to help you develop and strengthen your writing and grammar skills so that you will be successful writing at the college level.   We will focus on writing as a process through reading, thinking, prewriting, drafting, conferencing, and revising.  We will discuss how to generate ideas, get them down on paper, organize, and present them clearly to an audience.  After successfully completing English 801AB, you will be able to compose clearly organized essays that state and support main ideas.  You will earn four units and be ready to enroll in English 105.

 

Textbooks

·         Winkler, Anthony and Jo Ray McCuen.  Writing Talk:  Paragraphs and Short Essays with Readings.  3rd ed. 

·         Watkins-Goffman, Linda and Richard Goffman.  Many Voices. 

·         Anonymous.  Go Ask Alice. 

 

Course Requirements

·         Five essays - Two essays will be written in class, and three essays (approximately 1½ - 3 typed pages) will be completed out of class.  The topics will be closely related to the reading assignments.  You will be required to hand in an outline and rough draft with your final essay.

·         Homework assignments – Your homework will consist of reading assignments, short writing assignments, and grammar exercises. 

·         Quizzes – The quizzes will focus on grammar skills.  If you score less than 70% on a quiz, you will be required to complete extra worksheets on the material you are having trouble with.  Periodically, I will also give unannounced quizzes on the reading assignments.

·         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.

·         Final exam – You will be tested on the material we cover during the semester.  The exam includes an in-class essay.

 

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

You will not receive a letter grade in English 801 because it is a Credit/No Credit course.  To receive Credit, earn four units, and be eligible to enroll in English 105, you must earn a minimum of 700 points.  Points may be earned as follows:

Essays:                                      500 points

Quizzes                                      100 points

Homework:                                 100 points

Final exam:                                 200 points

Attendance/Class Participation:      100 points

                                                1,000 points possible

 

Classroom conduct

Treat your classmates as you would want them to treat you!  When somebody is talking, pay attention and listen to what he or she has to say, even if you disagree with what is being said.  You have the right to speak up and present your viewpoint, but personal insults are not acceptable.  Treating one another (and me) with respect will make our class more fun.  And finally, please make sure that all cell phones, pagers, and other distracting noisemakers are turned off during class. 

 

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! 

 

·         Writing and Reading Center:  The WRC is located at L149 on the LAC campus and GG129 on the PCC campus.  You can receive FREE walk-in writing assistance from an English instructor or tutor.  If you would like more specialized individual instruction, you can enroll in a half-unit course.  For more information, please ask me, call the Writing and Reading Center at 938-4520, or visit the web site:  http://engl.lbcc.cc.ca.us/writingandreadingcenter/wrcwr.html

 

·         Computer Labs:  The English Department Computer Lab is located in P111 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

 

·         Writing Talk’s Online Study Guide:  Our course textbook has a web site of its own where you can work on computer-graded practice exercises and various writing activities:  http://www.prenhall.com/winkler

 

·         Our class web site:  I will create and maintain a web site for my English 801AB classes.  At the web site, you will find the syllabus and other course handouts, as well as links to sites that will help you with your writing.  Please visit http://www.skidandkaren.com.  Click on “Karen’s English Students”

 

 

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.

 

WT = Writing Talk

MV = Many Voices

 

 

 

Tuesday

Thursday


Week 1
August 19 & 21




Course overview
Interviews and introductions


Preparing to write
Standard English (WT 26-8)
Purpose and audience (WT 35-46)


Week 2
August 26 & 28

 


Sign up to be a discussion leader

1 page autobiography due


Prewriting (WT 51-63)


Discuss Essay #1 assignment
Writing good paragraphs
Topic sentences (WT 67-77)
Adding details (WT 81-90)

 


Week 3
September 2 & 4
 


Read the following:

·          Randall Williams, “Daddy Tucked the Blanket” (WT 536-8)

·          Francisco Jiminez, “The Circuit” (WT 540-543)


Read the following:

·          Rudolfo Anaya, “Tortuga” (MV 196-200)

 

Writing good essays

The introduction (WT 260-1)

 


Week 4
September 9 & 11
 


Quiz #1

The body (WT 262-263)

The conclusion (WT 266-267)

Transitions (WT 100-101)


The thesis statement (WT 281-292)


Week 5
September 16 & 18



Essay #1 Rough Drafts Due
Peer Evaluation Workshop


Essay #1 due
Sentence fragments (WT 373-379)
Run-on sentences (WT 383-388)


Week 6
September 23 & 25

 

LBCC Flex Day
No classes


Agreement (WT 389-399)
Introductions (WT 297-301)


Week 7
September 30
& October 2


Quiz #2
Read the following:

·          Pat Mora, “Remembering Lobo” (MV 57-60)

·          Chang-Rae Lee, “Native Speaker” (MV 62-67)

 


 Read the following:

·          Edwidge Danticat, “Breath, Eyes, Memory” (MV 69-75)

·          David Mura, “Turning Japanese” (MV 50-55)


Week 8
October 7 & 9


Prewriting workshop for Essay #2


Essay #2 in class


Week 9
October 14 & 16



The comma (WT 473-480)


Discuss Essay #3 assignment
Read the following:

·          Pan-Mei Natasha Chang, “Bound Feet and Western Dress” (MV 93-98)

 

Passive and active voice (WT 425-429)

 


Week 10
October 21 & 23


 

Read the following:

·          Richard Borshay Lee, “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” (MV 109-118)

·          Louie González, “Doña Toña of Nineteenth Street” (MV 120-125)

 


Quiz #3

Essay #3 Rough Drafts Due
Peer Evaluation Workshop


Week 11
October 28 & 30



Essay #3 due


Consistent verb tense (WT 431)
Point of view (WT 437-441)


Unclear or missing referents (WT 443-446)

Pronoun Agreement (WT 451-457)


Week 12
November 4 & 6


Quiz #4

Read the following:

·          Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, “The Mistress of Spices” (MV 186-189)

 


Read the following:

·          Sandra Cisneros, “Only Daughter” (MV 39-42)

·          Eric Liu, “The Accidental Asian” (MV 190-194)


Week 13
November 11 & 13

 

Essay #4 in class


No class meeting today

Individual conferences


Week 14
November 18 & 20


No class meeting today

Individual conferences


Go Ask
Alice (1-40)

Comparatives and Superlatives (WT 459-465)

 
Week 15
November 25 & 27


The apostrophe (WT 483-7)

Quotation marks (WT 489-492)

Go Ask Alice (41-100)

 


No Classes

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 


Week 16
December 2 & 4

 


 Quiz #5
Go Ask
Alice (101-185)

Capitalization (WT 495-508)


Essay #5 Rough Drafts Due
Peer Evaluation Workshop


Week 17
December 9 & 11
 

 
Essay #5 due
Review for final exam

 

 
No Classes!
Final Exams begin today


Week 18
Finals Week
 


English 801AB Final Exam
Tuesday, December 16
8:00 am – 10:30 am