KINGSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE (CUNY)
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH – FALL 2012
ENGLISH 92: DEVELOPING COMPETENCE IN READING AND WRITING
ENGLISH AND SPEECH LEARNING COMMUNITY
Professor: Dr. Amy Washburn
E-mail: amy.washburn@kbcc.cuny.edu
Site: www.amyleighwashburn.com
Phone: 718-368-5273
Office: F-331
Mailbox: C-309
Office Hours: M 12:30-1:30 p.m., T 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., W 12:30-1:30 p.m., & by appointment
Reading and Writing Center: 718-368-5405, L-219
Course Description: English 92 is a pre-first-year course emphasizing the development
of critical reading, writing, and thinking abilities necessary for success in college level
courses. Its primary purpose is to prepare students for the kinds of learning experiences
they will encounter in college-level courses, both in English and in other disciplines.
This course is linked with Speech, taught by Professor Lili Shi.
Learning Outcomes (adapted from the Department of English):
 Identifying and exploring issues of social and personal significance contained
in class readings.
 Using writing as a means of reading comprehension; understanding the
connections between reading and writing, i.e., the use of reading logs and
journals, as well as a variety of other low stakes responses to reading
selections.
 Paraphrasing and summarizing texts.
 Generating both broad and local questions in relation to a topic and to a text,
fostering critical thinking; utilizing questioning as a valuable mode of prewriting and pre-reading; applying the use of questions to the revision process;
bringing relevant questions to the discussion of themes and issues within the
student’s writing.
 Becoming familiar with the task of analyzing texts; recognizing, representing,
and restating ideas expressed in separate texts; drawing connections and
comparisons within and across texts; representing and responding to the
complexity of an issue as it is presented in a text.
 Creating and employing generalizations judiciously; expressing judgments
succinctly and at appropriate places in an essay, being sure to demonstrate the
process of critical thinking in coming to those judgments.
Required Texts:
•Danticat, Edwidge. Breath, Eyes, Memory. New York: Vintage, 1994.
•Access to a dictionary and thesaurus
•Additional readings on Blackboard
•Additional writing and citation help available at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
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Requirements:
• A reader response journal consisting of daily one to two page(s) responses to at least
one work every class, reflecting on at least one topic and at least one passage
• A critical analysis essay on a theme in Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory of
approximately five to six pages
•A well-developed in-class essay on a theme in Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue”
•A final exam, given by the English Department
• Class attendance, participation, workshops, conferences, and practice exams
Portfolio Requirements:
Students in English 92 must fulfill course attendance requirements and complete all
assigned work. Some of students’ work in the course will be contained in a course
portfolio that students will submit to a committee of English 92 professors at the end of
the term. Only those students who complete all assigned work, including all essays
(with appropriate drafts), will be permitted to submit a course portfolio.
The following items will be included in the course portfolio:
1. A multiple-draft, reading-based, professor-guided essay (Breath, Eyes, Memory).
2. An in-class essay (“Mother Tongue”).
3. A departmental final exam.
4. A score on the CUNY ACT Reading Exam
CUNY/ CATW Writing and ACT Reading Exams
In order to be eligible to take English 12: First-Year English I, students must pass two
CUNY exams, one in writing and one in reading. If students pass both of these exams and
receive a high pass on their portfolio, they will be permitted to register for English 12. If
students fail either of the CUNY/ACT exams, they will not be permitted to register for
English 12 until they pass the CUNY/ACT exams in a future English course. Permission
to take the CUNY exams only is granted to those students who meet the course
requirements as defined by Kingsborough Community College, the Department of
English, and this syllabus.
Writing Procedures:
•Students will engage in a process of composing (i.e., prewriting, drafting, revising,
editing, and proofreading) for all writing assignments.
•Students will receive a wealth of feedback on their essays from their peers and their
professor. Before students submit their final drafts, they will produce several drafts for
each essay, including for peer review and professor review. All students will present their
papers to the class during writing workshops once during the semester for feedback.
•Students will have the opportunity to revise their essays after their initial drafts have
been completed. They will discuss their writing in informal conferences with their
professor. Other drafts also can be revised after the first revision. Essentially, students
have unlimited revision possibilities. Revisions have the possibility of receiving
additional feedback, which will help students with their portfolios.
•Students will be given ample feedback on each essay before the next essay
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is due. This feedback will allow them to learn from the comments and apply the
comments to the next essay.
Discussion Procedures:
• You will be well-prepared for all class discussions by doing all the assigned reading and
writing prior to class.
• You will demonstrate your understanding and analysis of the readings by being fully
engaged in class discussions.
• You will be respectful of your peers’ ideas and my ideas. (Being respectful also
includes turning off cell phones and refraining from other disrespectful behaviors, such as
sleeping, doing homework, and leaving class for food, coffee, or phone calls.) You will
be expected to place your cell phones in a box during class. Failure to do so will result in
no credit for participation.
•Those of you who are not prepared, not engaged, and/or not respectful will be asked to
leave class.
Civility: Kingsborough Community College is committed to the highest standards of
academic and ethical integrity, acknowledging that respect for self and others is the
foundation of educational excellence. Civility in the classroom and respect for the
opinions of others is very important in an academic environment. It is likely you may not
agree with everything which is said or discussed in the classroom, yet courteous behavior
and responses are expected. Acts of harassment and/or discrimination based on matters of
race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and/or ability, etc., are not acceptable.
As a Safe Zone ally, I promote strict enforcement of these rules. All students, faculty, or
staff have a right to be in a safe environment, free of disturbance, and civil in all aspects
of human relations.
Attendance:
Attending class and lab are imperative, for that is when all of the discussion and much of
the discussing, writing, and critiquing will take place. I expect you to attend class and lab
regularly and punctually. Students are allowed 16 hours of absence from English 92
before they may be given an Unofficial Withdrawal (WU) in the course. An “absence” is
any time that you are not in class or lab. There is no distinction between an “excused”
and “unexcused” absence in college. Frequent lateness also count towards absences.
Students will not be allowed in class more than ten minutes late.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged (intentionally or unintentionally) use of summary,
paraphrase, direct quotation, language, statistics, or ideas from articles or other
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information sources, including the Internet. All students must cite according to Modern
Language Association format, outlined in the required text. If students plagiarize all or
part of a writing assignment, they will automatically be removed from the course and/or
reported to Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.
At Kingsborough Community College, plagiarism falls under the larger heading of
Academic Dishonesty and is adjudicated by the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.
To read a detailed description of each form of Academic Dishonesty, as well as
descriptions of sanctions that may be enforced, please see the CUNY Policy on Academic
Integrity at
http://www.kingsborough.edu/subadministration/sco/Documents/CUNYAcademicIntegrit
yPolicy.pdf.
Access-Ability: Kingsborough Community College provides accommodations to
students with disabilities. Any student with a documented disability who may need
supplemental accommodations in connection with this class is encouraged to contact
Access-Ability services directly; they are located in D-205, and their phone is: 718-3685175. Please contact them as early in the semester as possible.
Schedule of Assignments:
Please note: The following schedule is tentative and may change based on the needs of
the class. All assignments must be done before the date on which they are scheduled in
order to maximize engagement.
Week One (9/10-9/12): Course Introductions and Critical Analysis
M: Syllabus Distribution and Introductions
T: Introduction to Critical Analysis
W: Introduction to the Novel and Sample Critical Analysis Essays (Blackboard)
Week Two (9/17-9/19): Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory
M: No Class
T: No Class
W: Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory, chs. 1-6 – Reader Response Due
Week Three (9/24-9/26): Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory
M: Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory, chs. 7-13 – Reader Response Due
T: No Class
W: No Class
Week Four (10/1-10/3): Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory
M: Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory, chs. 14-22– Reader Response Due
T: Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory, chs. 23-30 – Reader Response Due
W: M: Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory, chs. 31-Afterword
– Reader Response Due
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Week Five (10/8-10/10): Race as Social Construction
M: No Class
T: The Social Construction of Race,” Ian F. Haney Lopez and “White Privilege,”
Peggy McIntosh (Blackboard) – Reader Response Due
W: “Race and Race Theory,” Howard Winant (Blackboard) – Reader Response Due
Week Six (10/15-10/17): Gender and Sexuality as Social Construction
M: “‘Night to His Day’: The Social Construction of Gender,” Judith Lorber
and “Social Construction Theory: Problems in the History of Sexuality,” Carole S. Vance
(Blackboard) – Reader Response Due
T: “The Egg and the Sperm,” Emily Martin and “We Are All Works in Progress,”
Leslie Feinberg (Blackboard) – Reader Response Due
W: ACT Reading Preparation – Practice Exams Due
Week Seven (10/22-10/24): ACT Reading Preparation
M: ACT Reading Preparation – Practice Exams Due
T: ACT Reading Exam
W: “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan (Blackboard) – Reader Response Due
Week Eight (10/29-10/31): Critical Analysis
M: Critical Analysis Essay Rough Draft Due – Professor/ Peer Review
T: Critical Analysis Essay – Professor/ Peer Review
W: Critical Analysis Essay – Professor/ Peer Review
Week Nine (11/5-11/7): In-Class Essay Preparation and Exam
M: In-Class Essay Preparation
T: In-Class Exam (“Mother Tongue”)
W: No Class
Week Ten (11/12-11/14): Final Exam Preparation and Exam
M: Final Exam Preparation
T: Final Exam Preparation
W: Final Exam (given by the English Department)
Week Eleven (11/19-11/21): Critical Analysis Revision and Portfolio Review
M: Critical Analysis Essay Revision Draft Due – Professor/ Peer Review
T: Critical Analysis Essay Revision – Professor/ Peer Review
W: Portfolio Review
Week Twelve (11/26-11/28): Portfolio Due and ACT Reading Preparation
M: Critical Analysis Final Draft and Portfolio Due
ACT Reading Preparation – Practice Exams Due
T: ACT Reading Preparation – Practice Exams Due
W: ACT Reading Preparation – Practice Exams Due
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Week Thirteen (12/3-12/5): ACT Reading Preparation and Exam
M: ACT Reading Preparation – Practice Exams Due
T: ACT Reading Exam
W: Portfolio Review
Week Fourteen (12/10-12/11): Portfolio Review
M: Portfolio Review
T: Course Summary
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Kingsborough Community College, CUNY
English 92: Developing Competence in Reading and Writing
Dr. Amy Washburn – Fall 2012
Reader Response Journal
Due Every Class with a Scheduled Reading
Overview
You are required to do regular responses of at least one to two pages to the each
scheduled reading throughout the semester. These responses are due after every reading
assignment. They should be informal prose. I will be grading these responses more on
content than on form. You will select one theme from a text, select at least one passage
from a text, and analyze them. You should pick a topic, make an argument, and use at last
one passage from the text to support your claims. You should not write summaries. You
should not discuss personal experiences. You should not discuss current events. Rather,
you should focus on discussing the text itself, and develop your own critical insights. For
instance, you might decide to write about racial privilege in Peggy McIntosh’s “White
Privilege.” You might decide to discuss McIntosh’s experiences with race and gender by
focusing on the theme of housing. Was her neighborhood segregated/ gentrified? How
did she react? Did she feel comfortable in her white communities? Did she feel out of
place in communities populated by people of color? What were her neighbors like? What
were their values and incomes? What does acknowledging her racial privilege do or not
do to challenge discrimination? One of these ideas may be your focus and argument.
Then you should locate at least one passage from the text to support your ideas about this
topic. These responses must demonstrate that you have read the works, and thought
critically about themes within them over the course of your reading. In addition, you
should demonstrate that you can do close readings of the texts by pulling examples from
them and analyzing their significance. The journals function to assess whether or not you
have fulfilled the reading assignments. They replace quizzes. They promote critical
discussion in class.
Grading Checklist
• You should check the passages you highlighted, underlined, and/or annotated while
reading.
• You should refer to specific realizations you have come across while reading.
• You should record the passages that you find intellectually stimulating.
• You should demonstrate why passages are essential to your interpretation by providing
your own critical insights/ reasons.
• You should ask yourself the following questions: “what,” “how,” and “why”—what
something is, how something happens or should happen, and why something exists or
occurs. What is your topic? How can you argue your stances on the topics by giving
examples and using the texts? Why are you arguing for this stance, and are you analyzing
the reasons you provide?
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Kingsborough Community College, CUNY
English 92: Developing Competence in Reading and Writing
Dr. Amy Washburn – Fall 2012
Critical Analysis Essay
Due 10/29 (Rough), 11/19 (Revision), 11/26 (Final in Portfolio)
Overview
The purpose of analytical writing is to argue your interpretation, perspective, point of
view, or slant on particular works. It should lure people to your way of thinking or, at the
very least, to make them aware of your views. You should not include summaries or
personal experiences. Instead, you should show your own critical understanding of
Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory -- what you think of it. You should shape your
subject matter in a sophisticated and persuasive way. You should consider subject,
occasion, and point of view as readers and writers for a general audience. You should
narrow down your topic by a theme. Then you must make a solid argument that contains
several main ideas that support your purpose. For instance, you may write about eating
disorders, family, marriage, adolescence, or immigration, etc. in Edwidge Danticat’s
Breath, Eyes, Memory. You might decide to discuss Sophie’s experiences with her
family. How would you describe her family? Did she get along with her mother, aunt,
and grandmother? Did she feel more comfortable living with her aunt and grandmother in
Haiti or her mother in the United States? How would you define a good family, and does
Sophie have one? In what ways does her family shape her identity? One of these ideas
may be your focus and argument. However, then you must find specific passages from
the text that show this argument. You must use specific textual evidence--to quote and/ or
paraphrase--to support your central arguments. You must explain and analyze why you
are using the passages to build your arguments in all paragraphs. For this reason, you
should not under-quote or over-quote material. All of your citations for passages should
be cited according to MLA format (see the citation guide below for further assistance).
You should organize your essay in a way that shows your introduction, purpose, point of
view, audience, central argument and main ideas, forms of supporting evidence, and
conclusion. You should check for coherence within and between paragraphs, as well as
proofread your work for errors in grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and spelling.
You should think hard, think deep, and write an analytical essay of approximately five to
six pages that shows your thematic interpretation of Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes,
Memory. You may select any theme and passages from the novel that you want. You
should submit all drafts and peer reviews.
Grading Checklist
•You should write an introduction that has a strong hook or captivating opening (i.e.,
quote, anecdote, or question).
• You should synthesize your central arguments and main ideas in your responses.
• You should work on rewriting in a professional tone by removing or revising personal
experiences and/ or reflections. Instead, you should focus on social and cultural
commentary about the texts for your body/ middle paragraphs.
• You should save passages from the text you enjoyed and used in your journals, yet
locate additional passages that further support your critical insights.
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• You should explain and analyze why the passages you chose are important. You should
support your claims by adding additional topic paragraphs.
• You should include a conclusion that neither summarizes your introduction nor includes
topics that you did not discuss in your portfolio. It should focus on wrapping up your
portfolio.
• You should revise your portfolio with a close eye on eliminating any grammatical and
mechanical errors.
Citation Guide
•Remember to include all drafts.
•Remember to include a proper heading.
•Remember to craft a creative title. (i.e., “Critical Analysis Essay,” “Danticat,” or
“Family” are not creative).
•Remember to do parenthetical references in MLA format. For instance, according to
MLA format, all references for Breath, Eyes, Memory should have the author and the
page from which you are citing in parentheses followed by a period. For instance, “. . .”
(Danticat 56). If “Danticat” is in a sentence, just write the page number. For instance,
Danticat writes,
“. . .” (56).
•Remember a passage that is more than four lines long needs to be indented.
•Remember that periods and commas always go in quotes and that only quotes within
quotes have single quotes.
•Remember to do a Works Cited or References page. No secondary sources are required,
but if you wish to use them, you can do so.
For a book, the MLA citation is:
Brady, Evelyn et al. In the Footsteps of Anne: Stories of Republican Women
Ex-Prisoners. Belfast: Shanway Press, 2011.
For an article in a book, the MLA citation is:
James, Joy. “Framing the Panther: Assata Shakur and Black Female Agency.”
Want to Start a Revolution?: Radical Women in the Black Freedom
Struggle. Ed. David F. Gore, Jeanne Theoharris, and Komozi Woodard.
New York: New York University Press, 2009. 138-160.
For a journal article, the MLA citation is:
Butler, Judith. “Critique, Dissent, Disciplinarity.” Critical Inquiry. 35.4. (Summer
2009): 773-795.
For a website, the MLA citation is:
Goodman, Amy. “Deportations Continue Despite Review of Immigrants with
Family Ties.” Democracy Now! 7 June 2012. Headlines.
<www.democracynow.org>.
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In-Class Exam
You will take an in-class exam in which you will write an essay in class on a theme in
Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue.” As the time draws closer, I will let you know what the
topic will be. This exam cannot be revised. It must be included in your portfolio.
Departmental Exams
An in-class exam is given by the Department of English in English 92. At the end of the
semester, you will take this reading-based exam, and it will be included in your final
portfolio. It will be evaluated along with the material you have done in class. The final
exam is short answer and multiple choice.