ENGL 112 – English Composition – Spring 2006 Instructor: Julie Barak
Office: 456 Lowell Heiny Hall E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 248-1072 Office
Hours:
Home page: http://www.mesastate.edu/~jbarak
Course Goals: To examine, discuss, and practice composing various
styles and modes of writing in order to develop the confidence, independence,
and skills necessary to tackle virtually any writing task assigned in any
college class. This includes learning to read, think and write critically about
literature and other types of texts; discovering the steps in the research
process and applying those steps in our own writing; analyzing, summarizing,
paraphrasing, quoting and citing source material without plagiarizing;
eliminating distracting mechanical errors, developing an awareness of various
citation styles, including but not limited to MLA.
General Education
Requirements: This course has been accepted by the CCHE as
a General Education Transfer course. To meet this requirement, the course must
meet minimum reading and writing requirements, as well as address the following
critical thinking skills: a) Identifying and differentiating questions, problems
and arguments, b) Evaluating the appropriateness of various methods of
reasoning and verification, c) Identifying and assessing stated and unstated
assumptions, d) Critically comparing different points of view, e) Formulating
questions and problems, f) Constructing and developing cogent arguments, g)
Discussing alternative points of view, h) Evaluating the quality of evidence
and reasoning.
General Education
Objectives Addressed in this Course:
The following have been chosen
from the list of General Education Objectives shown in its entirety in the Mesa
State College Catalog:
OBJECTIVE 1—Students will be
able to think critically and recognize issues across a broad spectrum of
subjects.
OBJECTIVE 2—Students will be
able to communicate effectively in the English Language.
Course Methods: Two things are important about the course in terms
of methods. First of all, the course is
designed as a writing workshop. That means that we’ll spend most of our class
time writing, reading, and talking about writing and/or reading. We’ll write about others’ writing, write
about our own writing process, write about various subjects, read our own
writing out loud in large and small groups, read others’ writing, and discuss
everything! Second, I’ve chosen a topic
to help us begin our reading/writing/conversing. That topic is race/race
relationships. In particular, we’ll be looking at race from a postcolonial
context. As we read and discuss the literature and the essays I’ve selected for
the class, research topics and projects should begin to develop for you. We’ll
spend time investigating how to turn these ideas into a researched writing
project.
Required Texts:
Austin,
Jane. Sense and Sensibility. New
Stone,
Linda and Nancy P. McKee. Gender and Culture in
Shakespeare,
William. King Lear. Signet Classic,
1998.
Other Expenses:
Occasional
copies of your own writing for large and small group discussion if you don’t
have access to the K: Drive
Course Requirements:
1) Three Papers: One essay on King Lear (10%), one on Sense
and Sensibility (15%), and one extended research paper that has its source
in a chapter of Gender and Culture in America (30%). More details about and explanation of these
assignments will follow.
2) Writing Process Journal: This journal reflects on your writing
process. Prompts will be provided. Journals will be turned in each day. (15%)
3) Literature Discussion Guide: Several students will lead the discussions of
the readings on assigned days. You should come to class with a piece of writing
that records observations, questions, connections that will promote a
discussion of the text under scrutiny. Sign-up sheets will be circulated and
posted so that everyone knows who is responsible for what when. (5%)
4) Essay Discussion Leadership: A brief (2-3 page) summary/response to one of
the readings from Gender and Culture in
America. You will address what you consider to be the most significant
questions/issues/concerns raised in the essay and then lead the class in a
discussion of the piece of writing.
based around that issue. The last
paragraph in the essay should be devoted to meditating on possible research
topics that derive from the essay. What did it leave you wanting to know
more about? What are some sources it referenced that you’d like to check into?
What connections does it make with other issues you are curious about? Sign-up
sheets will be circulated and posted. (10%)
5) Various Short Daily Assignments: See schedule. Details and explanations forthcoming.
(15%)
6) Attendance, Participation, and Late Work: In a workshop setting, your
contributions to discussion are very important.
If you’re not here, you can’t share what you know and we all miss
out. So, show up and speak up. You get
one free absence. After that first one, you lose one letter grade for every
absence. So if you have an “A” average
for the work you’ve turned in, but you’ve missed two days of class, your final
grade drops to a “B.” If you’ve missed three days, your final grade drops to a
“C,” and so on. Late work will be accepted, but the grade for the paper will be
dropped one letter grade for each day it’s late. So, for example, an “A” paper turned in two
days late, earns a “C.”
Policies and Procedures:
Academic
Misconduct. Please read the section on cheating and
plagiarism in the student handbook. The
consequences for cheating and plagiarism are severe, including failure for the
assignment, possible failure of the course, disciplinary referral to the dean,
and possible expulsion from the college.
If you have questions about these violations of academic honesty, please
come and see me.
Disabilities. If you have any condition, such as a physical
or mental disability, which will make it difficult for you to carry out the
work for the course, please talk to me and we will work with the support
services here at
Schedule:
Jan 23 – Introductions Jan
25 – Lear Act 1 Jan 27 – Lear Act 2
Jan 30 – Lear Act 3 Feb
01 – Lear Act 4 & 5 Feb 03 – Johnson and
Bradley
Feb
06 – Grandville-Barker and Mack Feb 08 –Bamber, Brown and
Barnet Feb 10 – Workshop
Feb 13 – Workshop Feb
15 – Workshop Feb 17 – Essay #1 Due
Feb 20 – No class – Winter
Break Feb 22 – Austin 1-55 Feb
24 –
Feb 27 –
Mar 06 –
Edgeworth
and Woolstonecraft
Mar 13-17 – No class – Spring
Break
Mar 20 – Leighton and Seeber Mar 22 –
Workshop Mar
24 – Workshop
Mar 27 – Workshop Mar
29 – Workshop Mar 31 – Essay #2 Due
Apr 03 – Stone Chapter 1 Apr 05 – Stone Chapter 2 Apr
07 – Stone Chapter 3
Apr 10 – Stone Chapter 4 Apr 12 – Stone Chapter 5 Apr
14 – Stone Chapter 6
Apr 17 – Stone Chapter 7 Apr 19 – Library Apr 21 –
Organizational Structures
Apr 24 – Organizational Structures Apr 26 – Research Reports Apr 28 – Research Reports
May 01 – Workshop May
03 – Workshop May 05 – Workshop
May 08 – Conferences May 10
–
Conferences May
12 – Conferences
May 17th at 8:00 –
Paper #3 due