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The English 450 Syllabus
Fall 2001 Main Campus Edition
24 August 2001
EDITOR: DR. CATHY DECKER
Students to Critique, Write, and Teach
ALTA LOMA, Associated Professors
Some thirty students will gather today for the opening of Dr. Cathy Decker’s English 450 class in Classroom 17 of Chaffey's Language Arts Building. The students will be reading and critiquing Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Dreams, Bedford/St. Martin’s Structuring Paragraphs and Essays, as well as three chapters of Chaffey’s college book, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. In addition, the students will be writing paragraphs and essays and even teaching some of the concepts they learn to community groups.
Why are so many students enrolling in English 450? "Students want to feel prepared for the difficult reading and writing assignments that come with transfer-level classes," says Decker. "Taking English 450 first is a good way to improve your ability to understand, analyze, and write about texts."
If the focus is on reading and writing, why are the students going to do some teaching? "Teaching a concept is one of the best ways there is to learn it," replies Decker. "If you can’t explain a concept to someone, you don’t really have a strong gasp of it."
The teaching in Decker’s English 450 is one element of a service-learning project, where students both serve the local community and learn class material. "Students teach each other all the time in and out of classrooms," Decker claims. "This service-learning project asks them to do the same thing on a more serious level–to make one fifteen to thirty minute presentation to a community group."
Why study Kingsolver and Carson? "Chaffey has an exciting college book program where many classes study the same book. There are going to be discussion groups, movies, and talks on campus related to Carson’s Silent Spring that the students can attend," answers Decker. "Animal Dreams covers some of the same environmental issues as Silent Spring, but it is fiction. Both books will help students with comprehension skills and provide topics for compositions."
What prevents students from accomplishing their goal of mastering comprehension and composition skills and getting that prized passing grade? "Poor time management, weak willpower, and/or fear," asserts Decker. "It’s important to create an atmosphere that challenges students to go beyond their comfort zone and learn new things without scaring them."
Decker plans to open the first class with an icebreaker and then go over some basic classroom behavior. "Surprisingly, many students leave common courtesy at home when they come to college," says Decker. She continues, "Some students feel free to take pages and phone calls, throw litter on the floor, and tune out or talk whenever other students present ideas or reports."
Does such behavior affect grades? "Not directly, but it really hinders the ability of the class to focus and learn. Without mutual respect, bad feelings develop that distract from the common goal of learning to study and write effectively."
Grade Formula
Papers/Writing Projects 48%
Quizzes/Assignments 21%
15 Tutor Sheets/Emails 6%
1 Service Learning Project 5%
1 Department Final 20%
Total 100%
Grade Scale
|
F |
D- |
D |
D+ |
C |
C+ |
B- |
B |
B+ |
A- |
A |
A+ |
|
NC |
NC |
NC |
NC |
Credit |
Credit |
Credit |
Credit |
Credit |
Credit |
Credit |
Credit |
|
0-54 |
55-62 |
63-67 |
68-73 |
74-77 |
78-80 |
81-83 |
84-86 |
87-89 |
90-92 |
93-95 |
96-99 |
Key Policies
Required Textbooks
The Editor’s office is LA-7C. Main Campus office hours are Fri. 8:30- 9 a.m. and 3-4:30. Place letters to the editor in "Decker" mailbox in LA-10. Send email to cathy@hal.ucr.edu or visit http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy. Phone calls/messages taken twenty-four hours a day at (909) 941-2412. Fontana Center office hours are Mon. 2-3 and Wed. 1-3.
| Assignment Name | Due Date | Percent of Grade | My Score | Points Earned |
| Tutor Sheet #1 | 31-Aug | (times .004) .4% | ||
| Writing Project #1 | 31-Aug | (times .02) 2% | ||
| Tutor Sheet #2 | 7-Sep | (times .004) .4% | ||
| Writing Project #2 | 7-Sep | (times .03) 3% | ||
| Tutor Sheets #3 & 4 | 14-Sep | (times .008) .8% | ||
| Rewrite of WP #1 | 14-Sep | (times .03) 3% | ||
| Outline Assignment | 14-Sep | (times .02) 2% | ||
| Tutor Sheets #5 & 6 | 21-Sep | (times .008) .8% | ||
| Rewrite of WP #2 | 21-Sep | (times .05) 5% | ||
| Writing Project #3 | 21-Sep | (times .03) 3% | ||
| Tutor Sheet #7 | 28-Sep | (times .004) .4% | ||
| #6, page 94 | 28-Sep | (times .01) 1% | ||
| #7, page 94 | 28-Sep | (times .01) 1% | ||
| #1, page 97-8 | 28-Sep | (times .02) 2% | ||
| Writing Quiz #1 | 28-Sep | (times .03) 3% | ||
| Tutor Sheet #8 | 5-Oct | (times .004) .4% | ||
| Rewrite of WP #3 | 5-Oct | (times .05) 5% | ||
| Writing Quiz #2 | 5-Oct | (times .03) 3% | ||
| Tutor Sheet #9 | 12-Oct | (times .004) .4% | ||
| Rewrite of WQ #1 | 12-Oct | (times .05) 5% | ||
| Assignment TBA | 19-Oct | (times .03) 3% | ||
| Tutor Sheet #10 | 26-Oct | (times .004) .4% | ||
| Essay #1 | 26-Oct | (times .03) 3% | ||
| Assignment TBA | 2-Nov | (times .03) 3% | ||
| Tutor Shts. #11 & 12 | 9-Nov | (times .004) .4% | ||
| Rewrite Essay #1 | 9-Nov | (times .08) 8% | ||
| Service Learn. Proj. | 9-Nov | (times .05) 5% | ||
| Tutor Sheet #13 | 16-Nov | (times .004) .4% | ||
| Essay #2 | 16-Nov | (times .03) 3% | ||
| Assignment TBA | 30-Nov | (times .04) 4% | ||
| Tutor Shts.#14 & 15 | 7-Dec | (times .008) .8% | ||
| Rewrite Essay #2 | 7-Dec | (times .08) 8% | ||
| Department Final | 14-Dec | (times .2) 20% | ||
| Add Up Points in Right Column | 100.00% | *********** | MY GRADE: |
Readings for August 31
Structuring Paragraphs and Essays
Introduction: Attitude Is Everything 1-2
Chapter 1. Paragraph and Process: The General-to-Specific Model 5-17
Chapter 14. Comparison and Contrast 149-157
Animal Dreams
Chapter 1. The Night of All Souls 3-4
Chapter 2. Hallie’s Bones 7-16
Chapter 3. The Flood 19-21
Readings for September 7
Structuring Paragraphs and Essays
Chapter 2. How to Determine Your Purpose and Audience 20-27
Chapter 10. Example 112-119
Animal Dreams
Chapter 4. Killing Chickens 25-36
Chapter 5 The Semilla Besada 37-50
Chapter 6. The Miracle 51-53
Readings for September 14
Structuring Paragraphs and Essays
Chapter 19. Writing from Reading 237-251 (also look over pages 252-255)
Animal Dreams
Chapter 7. Poison Ground 54-64
Also read pages 65-67 to the three triangles
Silent Spring Handout
Chapter 1. A Fable for Tomorrow
Chapter 2. The Obligation to Endure
Chapter 3. Elixirs of Death (partial)
List of Principle Sources (partial)
Readings for September 21
Structuring Paragraphs and Essays
Chapter 5. How to Develop Support for Your Topic Sentence 53-60, 62
Chapter 6. How to Organize Support and Write a Draft 65-73
Animal Dreams
Chapter 8. Pictures 65-78
Chapter 9. The Bones in God's Backyard 79-93
Chapter 10 The Mask 97-98
Readings for September 28
Structuring Paragraphs and Essays
Chapter 7. How to Revise for Stronger Writing 75-91
Chapter 8. How to Edit for Clearer Writing 95-97
Animal Dreams
Chapter 11. A River on the Moon 101-118
Chapter 12. Animal Dreams 119-133
**Bring Silent Spring Handout
Readings for October 5
Structuring Paragraphs and Essays
Chapter 20. Writing Timed Paragraphs and Essays 286-99
Animal Dreams
Chapter 13. Crybabies 137-142
Chapter 14. Day of the Dead 145-165
Chapter 15. Mistakes 169-170
Readings for October 12
Structuring Paragraphs and Essays
Chapter 16. Writing an Essay by Expanding a Paragraph 175-192
Animal Dreams
Chapter 16. Bleeding Hearts 173-191
Chapter 17. Peacock Ladies at the Café Gertrude Stein 192-204
Readings for October 26
Structuring Paragraphs and Essays
Chapter 3. How to Find and Explore a Topic 30-43
Chapter 4. How to Write a Topic Sentence 44-50
Chapter 17. Writing an Essay from Scratch 196-213
Animal Dreams
Chapter 18. Ground Orientation 205-225
Chapter 19. The Bread Girl 226-243
Readings for November 9
Structuring Paragraphs and Essays
TBA
Animal Dreams
Chapter 20. The Scream 247-249
Chapter 21. The Tissue of Hearts 253-268
Readings for November 16
Structuring Paragraphs and Essays
TBA
Animal Dreams
Chapter 22. Endangered Places 269-284
Chapter 23. The Souls of Beasts 285-301
**Bring Silent Spring Handout
Readings for November 30
Structuring Paragraphs and Essays
TBA
Animal Dreams
Chapter 24. The Luckiest Person Alive 302-306
Chapter 25. Flight 307-323
Readings for December 7
Structuring Paragraphs and Essays
TBA
Animal Dreams
Chapter 26. The Fifty Mothers 324-328
Chapter 27. Human Remains 331-335
Chapter 28. Day of All Souls 339-342