COLLEGE ENGLISH 1
GEN 11001 and 11002
Evelyn Taylor, Instructor
Three Semester Hours
2012 Fall Semester
Office Hours: M-W 10-l1:50 a.m. and 1-3 p.m.
(or by appointment)
Mon-Wed-Fri: 8 a.m. & 9 a.m.
Office: Presidents Hall
Office Phone: 244.8159
Home Phone: 894.2197 before 10 p.m.
e-mail: evelyn.taylor@ccuniversity.edu
1. COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course assists students in developing their writing skills to be used in a variety of situations and for a
variety of audiences.
2. COURSE RATIONALE
Learning to communicate effectively through writing is an important skill for the college student to
develop. Classroom activities, assignments, and exams often require skill in reflection, critical thinking, and
developing and expressing ideas on paper. Beyond the classroom, those skills are important for interpreting
and evaluating personal and world events, succeeding in one’s career, and spreading the Word of God.
3. COURSE OBJECTIVES
The student who satisfactorily completes this course should be able to:
a. Use critical thinking skills for learning, thinking, and communicating.
b. Improve writing skills, including thesis development, support, organization, flow, and
mechanics.
c. Work in peer evaluation groups, commenting on/improving the work of others as well as
his/her own.
d. Employ different patterns of development to effectively communicate written messages.
4. COURSE TEXTS
Textbooks:
Patterns for College Writing, Twelfth ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell, Boston:
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012.
A Writer’s Reference with Writing about Literature, Seventh ed. Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers,
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011.
Supplies
A two-pocket folder (without the spine) for submitting drafts and essays.
5. COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Attendance and Preparation
a. Students are expected to be present and on time for class. Also, it is distracting to me and
other students when you leave during class, so unless it is an emergency—and those rarely
happen—plan to remain in class for the entire session. (Making or taking a telephone call is
not an emergency.) If you are absent more than six class sessions, you will receive the grade
of FA (failure due to absences). When you miss class for any reason, it is your
responsibility to find out what you missed.
b. I take seriously my responsibility to be prepared for this class. However, you bear the
responsibility for your own education. Therefore, for learning to occur, we both need to come to
class prepared to interact with the material and each other. For you, this involves bringing
appropriate texts, paper, and pen to class, completing assignments on time, and being a
productive and involved member of your group. Your enrollment in this class is a commitment
to do assigned work on time.
c. Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date indicated on the course schedule. I
will lower the grade on late assignments by one letter for each day past the due date. If you must
be absent, please arrange to submit assignments early. You must complete all assignments to
pass the class.
d. As a Christian, you are expected to be honest in all you do. Plagiarism and cheating are not
consistent with Christian character. Dishonesty on an exam or assignment will result in a zero
for that grade. Review the CBC&S policy on academic integrity in the Student Handbook.
e. As a courtesy to me and the other students, please turn off cell phones before coming into class.
While in class, you must keep your phone in your purse or backpack. If it is in your hands or on
your desk, I will place it on my desk until the end of class.
f.
Use of laptops is prohibited.
g. Expect to spend four to six hours a week on this class.
Assignments
a. You need your own copies of the texts. If you have not purchased the texts already, please do so
today or tomorrow. Bring both textbooks to every class session. Although I don’t list daily
assignments in A Writer’s Reference, we often move back and forth between texts.
b. You will read textbook material as indicated on the course schedule and assigned in class. You
may need to read materials more than once to understand. Skimming and/or scanning are NOT
reading. To assist in your understanding, you may need to annotate the text, and that practice
also helps you with quizzes and exams.
c. During the semester, you will complete quizzes, journal writings or group assignments that
will ask you to comment or enlarge upon the material you have read. These cannot be
made up unless you are traveling for the school or are under a doctor’s care.
d. Details for each of the writing assignments will be given in class. The essays will be completed
first in draft and then in final form. Drafts will be shared with members of a peer group who will
comment on strong and weak areas and assist with revision. Before you turn in the final copy of
each paper, you will meet with me for a short conference to ask questions and discuss aspects of
the paper.
e. You will take two exams as indicated. Exams are typically a combination of objective questions
(matching, identification, and completion), short answer (one or two sentences), and short essay
(one or two paragraphs). If you are ill or traveling for the school when an exam is given, you
have one week to make up the exam.
6. EVALUATION
Preparation and Participation
(includes in-class activities, presence of textbooks,
drafts, and outside assignments other than essays)
Essays
Exams
20%
60%
20%
7. COURSE SCHEDULE
Date
Topic
August 20
Introduction
August 22
Critical Reading and Writing
August 24
Audience, Invention, Thesis,
Structure
Coherence and Unity
August 27
August 29
Assignment
Reading assignments in this column are due on this
day.
Copy and read syllabus found on My CCUniversity
and Moodle
Patterns, pp. 1-7, Chapter 1, pp. 13-20
Patterns, Chapter 2
Patterns, Chapter 3
August 31
Drafting, Revision, Introductions,
Conclusions
Editing, proofreading
Autobiography due
Patterns, Chapter 4
Patterns, Chapters 5
September 3
Labor Day
September 5
Research and Academic Writing
September 7
Library Presentation
September 10
Sneak Day
Library assignment due in my office by 12 Noon
September 12
Writing Narrative
Patterns, Chapter 6, pp. 97-109
September 14
Writing Narrative (cont’d)
September 17
“Writing Narrative (cont’d)
Patterns, “Only Daughter” pp. 111-114; “My
Mother Never Worked” pp. 121-124
Patterns, “Shooting an Elephant” p. 133-139
September 19
Peer Evaluation of narrative
Narrative draft due
September 21
Workshop
September 24
Writing Description
Narrative essay due
September 26
Description (cont’d)
Patterns, Chapter 7, pp. 151-169
September 28
Discussion of Essays
October 1
October 3
Peer Evaluation of descriptive
paper
Workshop and Mid-term review
Patterns, “Ground Zero” pp. 182-184, “The Hidden
Life of Garbage” pp. 188-191
Descriptive draft due
October 4-7
Fall Recess
October 8
Using Examples
Patterns, Chapter 8, pp. 211-227
October 10
Using Examples (cont’d)
“The Myth of the Latin Woman: . . .” pp. 232-237;
“Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power
to Alter Public Space” pp. 240-243
A Writer’s Reference, pp. 67-77, 100-108
Descriptive essay due
October 12
Mid-Term Exam
October 15
Peer Evaluation of Exemplification
paper
Directional Process
October 17
Bring exemplification draft to class
Patterns, Chapter 9, pp. 263-274
“How to Decorate Your Room When You’re
Broke” pp. 290-295
Patterns, “Medium Ash Brown” pp. 275-278;
“Getting Coffee is Hard to Do” pp. 286-87
Exemplification paper due at conference
October 22
Directional Process (cont’d)
Explanatory Process
Conferences
October 24
Conferences
October 26
Conferences/Workshop
October 29
Peer Evaluation
Directional and Explanatory drafts due
October 31
Comparison/Contrast Writing
Patterns, Chapter 11, pp. 371-390
November 2
November 5
Comparison/Contrast Writing
(cont’d)
Comparison/Contrast Writing
November 7
Peer evaluation
Patterns, “Why Chinese Mothers are Superior” pp.
410-414
Directional and Explanatory essays due
Patterns, “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts” pp.
405-408
Comparison/Contrast draft due
November 9
Definition Writing
November 12
Definition Writing
November 14
Definition Writing
November 16
Peer Evaluation
November 19-25
Thanksgiving Break
November 26
Revision
Bring essay to revise
November 28
Revision
Definition essay due
November 30
Peer Evaluation of revision
Bring revision to class
December 3
Workshop
December 5
Workshop
December 7
Exam Review
October 19
Comparison/Contrast essay due
Patterns, Chapter 13, pp. 489-500
Patterns, “Fame-iness” pp. 511-513
Patterns, “Tortillas” pp. 507-509; “Love and Other
Catastrophes: A Mix Tape” pp. 520-521
Definition draft due
Revision due
In the event of extenuating circumstances during the course of the semester, this course plan, including the proposed
schedule, may be changed.