Marc Coronado, PhD
Office: MCC114
Phone: wk 408-864-8409
Email: coronado.marc@gmail.com
Office Hours: T/Th 11:30-12:20
LEAD Latina/o Empowerment at De Anza presents
EWRT1A Online – Critical Reading, Writing, and Thinking
Course Description
EWRT 1A is designed to help you develop university-level critical thinking, reading, and
writing skills.
PLEASE NOTE: This is an online course. All required online work is due before 11:00
p.m. on Fridays. We will not “meet” online, but you are welcome to contact me via
email when you have questions.
There are many myths about online courses: They’re self-paced. You can do all the work
alone in your own time. You won’t receive much feedback on your work, so just do it,
etc. For this class – NONE of these mentioned myths is true about this class.
In fact, you need to know that:
1. This course is NOT self-paced.
You must keep up with weekly discussion forums, and be aware of all due
dates. All late work will earn reduced points.
2. You will NOT be working alone.
You will be expected to interact with your classmates in the online forums
3. You can expect regular feedback from your instructor and your classmates.
Our forums are designed specifically to help you learn how to interact in
an academic environment, using the templates from They Say/I Say.
This particular EWRT 1A supports the LEAD (Latina/o Empowerment at De Anza)
leadership development community. LEAD is currently a student club as well as a series
of classes designed to help develop academic, leadership, and networking skills for
students who are interested in Latina/o authors, Latina/o social justice issues, and
community service. LEAD was started in 2005 by De Anza students. I am currently the
LEAD Community Coordinator. You are welcome to join us for meetings on Tuesdays
and Thursdays at 12:30 in the MCC.
In this class, we will focus on studying the history and social impacts of migration and
immigration in the United States. This is a topic that impacts everyone economically and
sociologically. We will focus on reading books and articles that tell us more about the
history of US immigration, those that discuss the struggles of farm laborers, the
circumstances that led to their treatment by the US government, worker organizations and
the people of the US.
Required Course Materials
Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal – by Aviva Chomsky
They Say/I Say – Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein (you will need this in week 1)
Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies – by Seth Holmes
Course Requirements
You will be expected to complete the following assignments:
Individual Assignments – On Catlayst
Post Individual bio and photo
During week one you will be required to post a photo of yourself and a short bio
on the Catalyst site so we can get to know you. No photo or bio = no points on
forums until you get that done.
Weekly forum Posts
You will be expected to read and respond to at least one question about the
reading every week, starting in week 1. Each response is valued at 4 points.
40 pts
The forum posts are an opportunity for you to practice academic discussion form,
including how to enter an academic discussion, as well as how to paraphrase, analyze,
summarize, and cite the readings and the ideas of your classmates. These forums are
essential to you developing a deep understanding of the material we are covering in
class, so you MUST keep up with the reading to do well in the forum discussions.
The forums will also provide an opportunity for you to see what other people in our
class think about the issues we are studying. You will NOT be evaluated based on
your opinion (so, you don’t need to agree with the instructor or your classmates
to do well).
Forums will be graded based on your use of:
1) the materials we are reading in this course, (you MUST quote them!)
2) MLA format
3) the templates from They Say/I Say to form your responses and support your ideas.
BTW -- It’s easy for me to see who is and who isn’t using They Say/I Say, so
please buy this book right away! You will receive ZERO POINTS if you don’t
use the required templates. This is the text that will be helping you with your
academic writing!
4) questions that promote critical thinking – when you are engaged in the forum,
you’ll be answering a question I ask, and occasionally, you will also be asking
another question that will guide our discussion. Be sure to refer to the handouts at
the top of the catalyst page re: how to write critical thinking questions.
Essays -- You will use MLA style citation, incorporate the templates suggested in
They Say/I Say and document all sources. Double space your essays, and use a standard
academic heading.
Essay #1 Interview and response to ideas from Undocumented.
20 pts
This essay will involve interviewing someone you know about their feelings about
undocumented immigration and comparing their responses to your questions to the
factual material presented in Aviva Chomsky’s book, Undocumented.
Essay #2 Comparison of ideas from Undocumented with experiences of
Farm workers in Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies
In this essay, you’ll use the writing techniques you have learned through
They Say/I Say to reflect on and incorporate information from both of the books
we are reading in class.
20 pts
Essay #3 - Final essay - Argumentative essay incorporating material from
Both of the primary texts used in this class
The final essay in our class will require a bit of outside research on the topic of
Healthcare, specifically as it relates to immigrants and farm workers.
20 pts
Total
90-100 or more = A 89-80= B 79-70= C 69-60= D <59= F
No extra credit is available in this particular class.
100 pts
Course Calendar
All assigned readings should be completed before you begin to work in the forums.
Forum posts are due before 11:00 p.m. on Friday on catalyst. All essays are to be
submitted on catalyst on the date due – no email or hard copies will be accepted.
Week 1
Introductions and Expectations –
Post your bio and photo, respond to the first question
Buy your books
Reading and Forums – respond to a question and ask your own
They Say/I Say – Preface and Introduction
Undocumented – Preface and Introduction
View – assigned videos for historical context
Week 2
Reading and Forums - respond to a question and ask your own
They Say/I Say Chapters One and Two
Undocumented – Chapters 1 and 2
View – assigned videos and websites for historical context
Week 3
Readings and Forums - respond to a question and ask your own
They Say/I Say Chapter Three
Undocumented – Chapters 3 and 4
View – assigned videos and websites for historical context
Prompt for Essay #1 will be posted this week, so you can begin interviewing your
subjects for it.
Week 4
Readings and Forums - respond to a question and ask your own
They Say/I Say Chapters Four and Five
Undocumented – Chapters 5 and 6
Essay #1 due on Catalyt on Friday BEFORE 11:00 p.m.
Week 5
Readings and Forums - respond to a question and ask your own
They Say/I Say Chapters Six and Seven
Undocumented – Chapters 7 and 8
View – assigned videos and websites for historical context
Week 6
Readings and Forums - respond to a question and ask your own
They Say/I Say Chapters Eight and Ninc
Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies – Foreward and Introduction (Chapter 1)
View – assigned videos and websites for historical context
Week 7
Readings and Forums - respond to a question and ask your own
They Say/I Say Chapters Ten and Eleven
Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies – Chapters 2 and 3
View – assigned videos and websites for historical context
Prompt for Essay #2 will be posted this week, so you can begin to think about how their
undocumented status impacts the lives of the migrants you are reading about in Fresh
Fruit, Broken Bodies.
Week 8
Readings and Forums - respond to a question and ask your own
They Say/I Say Chapter Twelve
Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies – Chapter 4
View – assigned videos and websites for historical context
Essay #2 due on Friday before 11:00 p.m. – This essay will require you to quote from
both of the major texts in this class and use the templates we have studied throughout the
quarter.
Week 9
Readings and Forums - respond to a question and ask your own
They Say/I Say Chapter Seventeen
Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies – Chapter 5
View – assigned videos and websites for historical context
Week 10
Readings and Forums - respond to a question and ask your own
Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies – Chapter 6
View – assigned videos and websites for historical context
Prompt for Essay #3 will be posted this week, so you can begin to think about an
argument you would like to pose in response to the reading we have done this quarter,
and begin to accumulate useful research to back up your ideas.
Week 11
Readings and Forums - respond to a question and ask your own
Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies – Chapter 7
View – assigned videos and websites for historical context
Continue Research for Essay #3
Week 12
Essay #3 due December 4 before 11:00 p.m.