English 101, Section 5
Dr. Cathy Decker
Winter 1998
Office: University Hall 301.40 (messages may be left with the Department of English at
880-5824)
Office Hours: 9 am to 10:30 am Monday and Wednesday; Thursday 10:30 am to 11:30 am
email: cathy@cassandra.ucr.edu
web page: http://locutus.ucr.edu/~cathy
Course Objectives
1. To be able to write clear, effective, mature prose using a variety of methods of
development.
2. To be able to read, outline, summarize, critique, and analyze non-fictional prose.
3. To be able to synthesize information from a variety of sources into a coherent, meaningful
paper.
4. To be able to use library reference material effectively.
5. To be able to write and properly document an MLA-style multi-source research paper.
6. To learn the methods that experienced writers use for effective reading, studying, drafting,
researching, writing, revising, and editing and to incorporate such methods into your own life.
Required Textbook
Reinking, James A., Andrew W. Hart, and Robert Von Der Osten. Strategies for Successful Writing: A Rhetoric, Research Guide, Reader, and Handbook. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.
Grade Policy
If the attendance policy is met (see below), final grades are determined by the following formula: Class Participation and Other Work 15%, Final Exam 10%, Paragraph Project 5%, Average of the three Paper Projects 40%, Preliminary Research Project 5%, Outline and Bibliography of Research Paper 5%, Research Paper 20%. If the attendance policy is not met, the final grade (calculated by the above formula) will be adjusted down as the attendance policy stipulates.
Late Work Policy
No work is accepted after the end of the last class period (3/16); any work not turned in at that point receives a zero grade. No work will be accepted three weeks after the original due date; three weeks after the original due date, a zero will be entered in to the grade book. Any work turned in after the original due date WITHOUT my permission to turn the work in late, will have 10% of the grade deducted as a penalty for lateness.
Attendance Policy
If you miss 1/4 of the class (7 classes), you will not be eligible for an A- or A grade; if you miss 1/3 of the classes (10 classes), you will not be eligible for any grade above C.
Discrimination Policy
All comments made in class should respect the others in the classroom. Any comment that denigrates others on the basis of their sexual preference, their biological sex, their race, their medical or mental status, their religious beliefs, or their status as a veteran violates the civil rights of others and the school policy. Plagiarism Policy
Any time you turn in work to me, you must make clear if any number of words--even only two words--are taken from someone else's writing. You must also indicate if you have used another person's ideas. Any use of another's work (whether exact wording, sentence structure, or ideas) that is not clearly labeled by the use of quotation marks or parenthetical citations is plagiarism. Plagiarized assignments receive a grade of F. Extensive, malicious, or repeated plagiarism is turned over to the academic honesty officer. After an interview with myself and the student, the officer determines the punishment. Once a case is turned over to the officer, the student is immediately withdrawn from the course. See Strategies,pp. 364-5, on how to avoid plagiarism.
Paper Policy
Papers MUST BE TYPED. The papers must follow the MLA style for college papers in the Humanities. A sample MLA-style paper is presented on pp. 331-43 of Strategies. Papers without a title and/or not following MLA form will lose 1/3 of a letter grade.
WEEK ONE
1/5 First Class
1/7 Homework due this day will be announced in previous class
1/9 Homework due this day will be announced in previous class
WEEK TWO
1/12 Homework due this day will be announced in previous class
Paragraph Project Due
1/14 Homework due this day will be announced in previous class
1/16 Have read Strategies,pp. 346-65; 637-42 ["Documenting Sources"; "Spelling"]
WEEK THREE
1/19 HOLIDAY
1/21 Have read Strategies,pp. 3-57 ["Writing: A First Look"; "Planning and Drafting Your
Paper"; "Revising and Editing Your Paper"]
1/23 Have read Strategies,pp. 186-207 ["Effective Paragraphs"]
Paper Project 1 Due
WEEK FOUR
1/26 Have read Strategies,pp. 549-79 ["Sentence Elements"]
1/28 Have read Strategies,pp. 105-15; 452-64 ["Classification"; "The Crystal Healer Will
See
You Now"; "The Technology of Medicine"]
1/30 Have read Strategies,pp. 480-84 ["Spudding Out"; "Fear of Dearth"]
WEEK FIVE
2/2 Have read Strategies,pp. 580-607 ["Editing to Correct Sentence Errors"]
2/4 Have read Strategies,pp. 444-46; 450-51; 498-500 ["The Company Man"; "It's Only a
Paper
World"; "The Bureaucrat"]
2/6 Have read Strategies,pp. 296-345 ["The Library Research Paper"]
Paper Project 2 Due
WEEK SIX
2/9 Have read Strategies,pp. 116-27; 406-08; 535-39 ["Comparison"; "When the Full Moon
Shines Its Magic over Monument Valley"; "A Museum Etched in Stone"]
Preliminary Research Project Due
2/11 Have read Strategies,pp. 509-16 ["Death and Justice"; "Execution"]
2/13 Have read Strategies,pp. 516-25 ["Sexual Harassment Is a Serious Problem at
Universities"; "Sexual Harassment is Overestimated"]
WEEK SEVEN
2/16 Have read Strategies,pp. 224-45 ["Diction, Tone, Style"]
Paper Project 3 Due
2/18 Have read Strategies,pp. 179-84 ["Mixing the Writing Strategies," which includes
"Eating
Alone in Restaurants"]
2/20 Have read Strategies,pp. 608-36 ["Editing to Correct Faulty Punctuation and
Mechanics"]
Outline and Bibliography of Research Paper Due
WEEK EIGHT
2/23 Have read Strategies,pp. 154-78 ["Argument"]
2/25 Have read Strategies,pp. 128-40 ["Cause and Effect"]
2/27 Have read Strategies,pp. 141-53 ["Definition"]
WEEK NINE
3/2 Have read Strategies,pp. 643-67 ["Glossary of Word Usage"]
Research Paper Due
3/4 Have read Strategies,pp. 246-52 ["The Essay Examination"]
3/6 Have read Strategies,pp. 438-40; 484-87 ["Rambos of the Road"; "Black Men and Public
Space"]
WEEK TEN
3/9 Have read Strategies,pp. 440-44 ["Idiosyncrasies, Anyone?"]
3/11 Have read Strategies,pp. 468-70 ["That Lean and Hungry Look"]
3/13 Have read Strategies,pp. 539-42 ["She's Your Basic L.O.L. in N.A.D."]
WEEK ELEVEN
3/16 Exam Review
3/18 FINAL EXAM 10 AM to 11:50 AM