Class Sessions: 8 am to 9:30 Mon. and Wed., LA-15
Office Hours: Mon. and Wed. 11-12:30; Tues. and Fri. 1:30-2:30 (Office LA-7D)
Office Number: 909-941-2412
Class Web Page: http://locutus.ucr.edu/~cathy/f98-350.html
email:cathy@cassandra.ucr.edu
Course Description: This class will give students practice in English grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and sentence variety. The course is designed to prepare students for English 450. This course is offered only on a credit or no credit basis.
Course Objectives:
1. To be able to demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental elements of the English
language and its characteristics.
2. To be able to demonstrate an understanding of the logical relationship between the parts of
a
sentence.
3. To be able to recognize and compose complete, correct, and logical sentences.
4. To be able to identify parts of speech, phrases, and clauses.
5. To be able to recognize and compose sentences in a variety of sentence patterns.
6. To be able to apply the rules of punctuation and capitalization correctly and effectively.
Required Materials:
1. A college-level dictionary (Bring to every class)
2. Yarber, Mary Laine, and Robert E. Yarber. Reviewing Basic Grammar. 4th ed. New
York:
Longman, 1997. (Bring to every class)
3. A notebook, a looseleaf pad, and a folder to store your handouts, homework, etc.
4. Number 2 pencils to take scantron tests and exams.
Attendance Policy
Note that your class participation grade is partially based upon class attendance; thus, any
absence lowers this segment of the grade. Any student missing four weeks of class (eight
classes) will not receive a passing (credit) grade. If you develop a serious illness or serious problem
that
could result in missing a week or more of class, you should consult me and a college counselor
as soon as possible about the best way to handle your emergency. It may be possible for you to
make special arrangements to stay in the course rather than fail due to absence. Keep a record of
your absences, so you will not be surprised by a failing grade.
Late Work Policy
Any student may request an extension for an assignment; extensions will be granted depending
upon the circumstances. Extensions must be asked for before the due date. Any work not turned in
on the due date is docked 10% of the grade. No late work is accepted after one week past the due
date. In emergencies, an extension may be granted on the day work is due or even in the week after
the due date; an explanation of the emergency should be presented to the teacher with the request
for exemption from the late penalty. Decisions on emergency extensions are made depending on
the individual cases.
Plagiarism Policy
Any idea of another person must be cited as that person's idea (ideas from lectures, interviews,
the internet, videos, books, journals, etc.) Failure to indicate the idea is another person's is
plagiarism. Any exact wording of another author (including as few as two words) used by
students must be indicated by quotation marks or the MLA, indented, long quotation format, or it
is plagiarism. Any use of the sentence structure of another is plagiarism. Plagiarism receives a
grade of ZERO. If the plagiarism is malicious, extensive, or repeated, the student discipline
policy will be applied (see page 19 of the 1998-9 Catalogue or page 14 of the Fall 1998-9
Schedule of Classes).
Homework Format: All sentence exercises must be typed, or they will lose 15 points out of 100. All review exercises must be done on the torn out pages of the textbook or on photocopies of the pages.
Grade Policy
| Homework and Classwork | 55% (a simple average of all assignments not mentioned in other parts of the grade formula; be aware missed assignments are scored as 0, which has a dramatic effect upon an average.) |
| Test 1 | 5% (Chapter 1 to 3) |
| Test 2 | 10% (Chapter 4 to 7) |
| Test 3 | 10% (Chapter 8 to 10) |
| Final Exam | 10% (Chapter 11-13) |
| Class Participation | 10% (5% of class participation will be the percent of classes attended; see also attendance policy above) |
Grading Scale (to receive course credit final grade earned must be a C- or above)
| A+ 98 | B+ 88 | C+ 78 | *D+ 68 | *F 50 |
| A 95 | B 85 | C 75 | *D 65 | *Not a Passing Grade |
| A- 93 | B- 83 | C- 73 | *D- 63 |
Grading Schedule: You can expect assignments that are turned in on time back in one to two weeks. We will discuss the class performance on an assignment on the class session after the one on which it is due; however, often you will not receive your graded assignment back that early. Assignments turned in late can be expected back within three or four weeks. Students who have not turned in assignments on time may be asked to wait outside the classroom during the discussion of the assignment.
Week One
8/17 Introduction
Discussion of Class Policies, College Skills, Parts of Speech and Weekly Schedule Assignment
Homework for 8/19: Buy textbook and get other required material; review material from Monday class, do reading for Wednesday class; do weekly schedule assignment below.
Prepare a weekly study schedule for the week of August 23 to 29th. Use blank typing paper. Turn the paper so the longest side of the paper is the top. Make eight column across the page. In the first column write in the hours of the day you are awake during the week, starting with the earliest morning time you awake. Divide the columns by horizontal lines to indicate the time. Label the other seven columns Sun. to Sat. For each day, plot in what you must do (classes, work, meals, etc.) Then schedule blocks of time to do homework for each class you are taking. {See the Sample Schedule}
8/19 BRING #2 PENCIL for College Skills Survey
Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. xi-xii, 1-7 (Introduction, part of Chapter 1)
Weekly Schedule Assignment Due
Class Discussion of Poetry Assignment; Discussion and Exercises on Using the Dictionary,
Nouns, Pronouns, and Other Parts of Speech.
Homework for 8/24: Review class material from Wednesday, do reading for Monday, do poetry assignment below.
Go to a library and find a book of poems either written in English or translated into English. You can also find poems on the internet. Select a poem that is at least 14 lines long and no longer than thirty lines. Make a photocopy of the poem or retype the poem double-spaced. On the photocopy or typed poem, write your name at the top. Record as well the source of the poem (the book, website, or journal where the poem was published) and its author. Then circle all of the words used as nouns in the poem. Use a pencil so you can correct your mistakes. Look up words in the dictionary if you are unsure of the part of speech. Make sure that the word is being used as a person, place, or thing, not describing something else or as a verb. Remember to examining words that end in -ing carefully. These words are "participles": sometimes these -ing words are nouns, sometimes they are part of a complete verb, and sometimes they are used to describe things and are thus adjectives. Next, go back and underline all the pronouns used in the poem. Use your dictionary to help identify pronouns. Double check to make sure you have CIRCLED nouns and UNDERLINED pronouns.
Week Two
8/24 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 7-16 (end of Chapter 1)
Poetry Assignment Due
Discussion and Exercises on College Skills and Parts of Speech
8/26 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 21-33 (part of Chapter 2)
Review exercise 1-A Due (tear out pages 17-8 from textbook or make a photocopy of them)
Discussion of Poetry Assignment; Discussion and Exercises on Subjects and Main Verbs
Week Three
8/31 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 34-37 (end of Chapter 2)
Chapter 1 Writing Sentences Exercise Due (see textbook, p. 16) (must be typed)
Discussion of Exercise 1A; Discussion and Exercises on Subjects and Main Verbs
9/2 Bring #2 Pencil for Scantron Exercises
Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 43-9 (part of Chapter 3)
Review exercise 1-B Due (pages 19-20)
Review exercise 2-A Due (pages 39-40)
Discussion of Sentence Exercise and Test Preparation; Discussion and Exercises on Subject-
Verb Agreement
Week Four
9/7 Holiday, No Class
9/9 Bring #2 Pencil for Scantron Exercises
Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 49-53 (end of Chapter 3)
Chapter 2 Writing Sentences Exercise Due (see textbook, p. 37) (must be typed)
Discussion of Exercise 2A and Test Preparation; Discussion and Exercises on Subject-Verb
Agreement
Week Five
9/14 Test 1 on Chapters 1-3
9/16 Bring #2 Pencil for Scantron Exercises
Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 59-67 (part of Chapter 4)
Review exercise 2-B Due (pages 40-1)
Review exercise 3-A Due (pages 55-6)
Discussion of Test and Chapter 2 Sentences; Discussion and Exercises on Pronouns
Week Six
9/21 Bring #2 Pencil for Scantron Exercises
Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 67-73 (end of Chapter 4)
Chapter 3 Writing Sentences Exercise Due (see textbook, p. 53) (must be typed)
Discussion of Exercise 3-A; Discussion and Exercises on Pronouns
9/23 Bring #2 Pencil for Scantron Exercises
Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 79-86 (part of Chapter 5)
Review exercise 3-B Due (pages 57-8)
Review exercise 4-A Due (pages 75-6)
Discussion of Chapter 3 Sentences; Discussion and Exercises on Pronoun Agreement
Week Seven
9/28 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 86-88 (end of Chapter 5)
Chapter 4 Writing Sentences Exercise Due (see textbook, p. 73) (must be typed)
Discussion of Exercise 4-A; Discussion and Exercises on Pronoun Reference
9/30 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 93-104 (part of Chapter 6)
Review exercise 4-B Due (pages 77-8)
Review exercise 5-A Due (pages 89-90)
Discussion of Chapter 4 Sentences; Discussion and Exercises on Irregular Verbs
Week Eight
10/5 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 104-109 (end of Chapter 6)
Chapter 5 Writing Sentences Exercise Due (see textbook, p. 88) (must be typed)
Discussion on Test Preparation and Exercise 5-A; Discussion and Exercises on Irregular Verbs
10/7 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 115-122 (part of Chapter 7)
Review exercise 5-B Due (pages 91-2)
Review exercise 6-A Due (pages 111-112)
Discussion on Chapter 5 Sentences; Discussion and Exercises on Compound and Complex
Sentences
Week Nine
10/12 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 122-128 (end of Chapter 7)
Chapter 6 Writing Sentences Exercise Due (see textbook, p. 109) (must be typed)
Discussion of Test Preparation and Exercise 6-A; Discussion and Exercises on Adverbial,
Adjective, and Noun Clauses
10/14 Test 2 on Chapters 4 to 7
Week Ten
10/19 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 133-8 (part of Chapter 8)
Review exercise 6-B Due (pages 113-114)
Review exercise 7-A Due (pages 129-130)
Discussion of Test; Discussion and Exercises on Sentence Fragments
10/21 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 138-44 (end of Chapter 8)
Chapter 7 Writing Sentences Exercise Due (see textbook, p. 127-8) (must be typed)
Discussion of Exercise 7-A; Discussion and Exercises on Run-Ons and Comma Splices
Week Eleven
10/26 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 149-156 (part of Chapter 9)
Review exercise 7-B Due (pages 131-2)
Review exercise 8-A Due (pages 145-6)
Discussion of Chapter 7 Sentences; Discussion and Exercises on Confused Sentences
10/28 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 156-9 (end of Chapter 9)
Chapter 8 Writing Sentences Exercise Due (see textbook, p. 143-4) (must be typed)
Discussion of Exercise 8-A; Discussion and Exercises on Confused Sentences and Parallel
Structure
Week Twelve
11/2 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 165-175 (part of Chapter 10)
Review exercise 8-B Due (pages 147-8)
Review exercise 9-A Due (pages 161-2)
Discussion of Chapter 8 Sentences; Discussion and Exercises on End Marks and the Comma
11/4 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 175-183 (part of Chapter 10)
Chapter 9 Writing Sentences Exercise Due (see textbook, p. 159) (must be typed)
Discussion of Test Preparation and Exercise 9-A; Discussion and Exercises on Semi-Colons,
Colons, Parentheses, and Titles
Week Thirteen
11/9 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 183-190 (end of Chapter 10)
Review exercise 9-B Due (pages 163-4)
Review exercise 10-A Due (pages 191-3)
Discussion of Test Preparation and Chapter 9 Sentences; Discussion and Exercises on Titles,
Hyphens, and Apostrophes
11/11 Holiday, No Class
Week Fourteen
11/16 Test 3 on Chapters 8 to 10
11/18 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 199-204 (Chapter 11)
Chapter 10 Writing Sentences Exercise Due (see textbook, p. 190) (must be typed)
Discussion of Test and Exercise 10-A; Discussion and Exercises on Capitalization
Week Fifteen
11/23
Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 210-214 (part of Chapter 12)
Review exercise 10-B Due (pages 195-7)
Review exercise 11-A Due (page 205-6)
Discussion of Chapter 10 Sentences; Discussion and Exercises on Spelling
Homework for 11/25: review material from Monday class, do reading for Wednesday class, do Capitalization/Sentence Exercise below (must be typed):
Compose original sentences following the rules for capitalization in Chapter 11 and the rules about titles given in Chapter 10.
1. Write two sentences using direct quotations.
2. Write a sentence containing the title of a movie.
3. Write a sentence containing the title of a song.
4. Write a sentence containing an official title of honor and respect preceding a personal name.
5. Write two sentences using the names of ethnic groups, languages, nationalities, or an adjective derived from any of the above.
6. Write a sentence containing the name of a specific river.
7. Write a sentence containing the name of a particular city.
8. Write a sentence containing the name of a particular war.
11/25
Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 214-220 (end of Chapter 12)
Capitalization/Sentence Exercise Due (must be typed)
Discussion of Exercise 11-A; Discussion and Exercises on Commonly Confused Words
Week Sixteen
11/30 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 225-230 (part of Chapter 13)
Review exercise 11-B Due (page 207)
Review exercise 12-A Due (pages 221-2)
Discussion of Capitalization/Sentence Exercise and Format for Exercise 13-3; Discussion and
Exercises on Paragraph Writing
12/2 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 230-234 (part of Chapter 13)
Exercise 13-3 Due (see textbook, p. 230) (must be typed)
Discussion of Exercise 12-A and Exam Preparation; Discussion and Exercises on Paragraph
Writing
Week Seventeen
12/7 Have read Reviewing Basic Grammar, pp. 234-239 (end of Chapter 13)
Review exercise 12-B Due (pages 223-4)
Exercise 13-4 Parts 1 and 2 Due (see textbook, pp. 232-3) (must be typed)
Discussion of Exercise 13-3 and Exam Preparation; Discussion and Exercises on Paragraph
Writing
12/9 Exercise 13-4 Parts 3 and 4 Due (see textbook, pp. 232-4) (must be typed)
Discussion of Exercise 13-4 and Exam Preparation; Discussion and Exercises on Paragraph
Writing
Finals Week
12/14 Final Exam, 8 to 10:30 am LA-15