English 85A, Section 6
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
Required Textbooks
Langan, John and Bill Broderick. Ten Steps to Building College Reading Skills. 2nd ed. Marlton, NJ: Townsend P, 1993.
Langan, John. Sentence Skills: A Workbook for Writers. 5th ed. Form A. New York: McGraw- Hill, 1993.
Grade Policy
There are three grades given in this class--NC (no progress), SP (satisfactory progress), and CR (ready for Eng. 101). To receive a grade of SP, you must attend 3/4 of the classes and receive a 78 (C+) for a final grade. To receive a grade of CR, you must attend MORE than 3/4 of the classes and have a final grade of 93 (A-). Final Grades are determined by the following formula: Class Participation 5%, Final Exam 5%, Four Papers 40%, Summary 5%, Homework 45%.
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 the CR grade; if you miss 1/3 of the classes (10 classes), you will receive a grade of NC.
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.
Homework Policy
There is homework for every class. The work listed next to the date of class is due at that class period--so look ahead on the schedule and allow time to complete all the listed work. All exercises that are listed as "Due" in the class schedule from Ten Steps and Sentence Skills must be done on the pages of the textbook and torn out of the book or written on photocopies made of the textbook pages. Work listed to "Have read" will not be collected unless I tell you that it will be in a prior class; however, do all exercises on pages listed to "Have read" because we will go over this work in class.
Paper Policy
Papers (including the summary) MUST BE TYPED. The papers must follow the MLA style for college papers in the Humanities. Common sense guidelines on paper format can be found in Sentence Skills p. 141. A sample paper in MLA form is attached to the syllabus. Papers without a title and/or not following MLA form will lose 1/3 of a letter grade.
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.
WEEK ONE
1/5 First Class
1/7 Have purchased the two textbooks and obtain a dictionary
Have read Sentence Skills pp. 3-8 and 140-4 ("Paper Format")
Have read Ten Steps, pp. 1-6 and 190-8 ("How to Make It in College")
1/9 Have read Ten Steps, pp. 9-21
Sentence-Skills Diagnostic Test Part I (Sentence Skills, pp. 467-72) Due
WEEK TWO
1/12 Have read "Subjects and Verbs," Sentence Skills, pp. 9-16
Have read "Read All About It," Ten Steps, pp. 362-5
Mastery Test "Dictionary Use: Test 4" (Ten Steps, pp. 225-6) Due
1/14 Have read "Sentence Fragments," Sentence Skills, pp. 18-31
Sentence Skills, pp. 257-8 Due
1/16 Have read Ten Steps, pp. 29-37
Paper Project 1 Due ("Best or Worst Job")
WEEK THREE
1/19 HOLIDAY
1/21 Have read "Run-Ons," Sentence Skills, pp. 36-48
Sentence Skills, pp. 261-2 Due
Mastery Test "Vocabulary in Context: Test 6" (Ten Steps, pp. 241-2) Due
1/23 Have read Ten Steps, pp. 45-59
Exercises in Ten Steps, pp. 365-9 Due (Includes Discussion Questions)
WEEK FOUR
1/26 Have read "Getting Words on Paper," Ten Steps, pp. 415-9
Mastery Test "Main Ideas: Test 5" (Ten Steps, pp. 251-2) Due
1/28 Have read "Comma," Sentence Skills, pp. 183-193
Sentence Skills, pp. 265-6 Due
1/30 Have read Ten Steps, pp. 68-75
Paper Project 2 Due ("Living Where You Do")
WEEK FIVE
2/2 Exercises in Ten Steps, pp. 419-424 Due (Includes Discussion Questions)
2/4 Have read "Commonly Confused Words," Sentence Skills, pp. 225-41
Mastery Test "Supporting Details: Test 5" (Ten Steps, pp. 263-4) Due
2/6 Have read Ten Steps, pp. 85-93
Sentence Skills, pp. 313-4 Due
WEEK SIX
2/9 Have read "Dealing with Feelings," Ten Steps, pp. 426-30
Mastery Test "Location of Main Ideas: Test 5" (Ten Steps, pp. 275-6) Due
2/11 Sentence Skills, pp. 317-8 Due
Have read "Apostrophe," Sentence Skills, pp. 162-71
2/13 Have read Ten Steps, pp. 103-16
Paper Project 3 Due ("Describing a Process")
WEEK SEVEN
2/16 Mastery Test "Implied Main Ideas: Test 6" (Ten Steps, pp. 289-90) Due
2/18 Sentence Skills, pp. 325-6 Due
Have read "Pronoun Reference," Sentence Skills, pp. 91-99
2/20 Exercises in Ten Steps, pp. 431-34 Due (Includes Discussion Questions)
Have read Ten Steps, pp. 125-37
WEEK EIGHT
2/23 Have read "Winners, Losers, or Just Kids?" Ten Steps, pp. 379-81
Mastery Test "More About Supporting Details: Test 4" (Ten Steps, pp. 297-8) Due
2/25 Sentence Skills, pp. 307-8 Due
2/27 Have read Ten Steps, pp. 147-59
Summary of "Keys to College Success" Due (c pp. 454-8)
WEEK NINE
3/2 Mastery Test "Transitions: Test 5" (Ten Steps, pp. 311-2) Due
3/4 Sentence Skills, pp. 283-4 Due
3/6 Exercises in Ten Steps, pp. 381-5 Due (Includes Discussion Questions)
Have read Ten Steps, pp. 168-86
WEEK TEN
3/9 Paper Project 4 Due (Examining Causes)
3/11 Mastery Test "Patterns of Organization: Test 5" (Ten Steps, pp. 323-4) Due
Have read Ten Steps, pp. 199-207
3/13 Mastery Test "Inferences: Test 5" (Ten Steps, pp. 335-6) Due
WEEK ELEVEN
3/16 Exam Review
3/18 FINAL EXAM 12 PM to 2 PM