Assessment of Family / Community Paper EN 101
Elise Denbo
Assessment and Data
For their second assignment, seventeen students in my learning community with Psychology were
asked to write a three to four paper on a topic discussing some aspect of either family or community
while utilizing other sources plus an interview(s) on their chosen topic (see written assignment).
Although this paper encouraged revision, it also involved preliminary steps to help students develop
their own interpretive voice while considering how to engage and cite other sources for support.
This was a more complex paper than their first formal assignment (a personal narrative): the second
paper encouraged the use of personal experience but as a springboard to discuss a related social
concern, for example the effects of divorce on children, incorporating a student’s own personal
observations while including other informed perspectives and opening analysis to a larger social
framework. This assignment also was seen as preliminary to their final research project.
Results
Seventeen students submitted papers in mid March and ten students revised their papers. The rubric
was handed out with the written assignment: both were explained along with preliminary assignments
that needed to be completed before submitting the final draft of the paper. Almost all students said
they found the rubric helpful, yet as in the past, the rubric became especially meaningful during the
writing and revisionary process when students were more able to reflect upon and understand the
requirements involved. Some students struggled, however, with developing their own interpretation
and point of view while utilizing other sources. With revision students improved their grades
(although a few chose not to revise): three students received As, five students Bs, six Cs, and three
Ds.
Summary and Conclusion
The rubric and the checklist submitted with the final paper were especially helpful. As in the past,
the rubric offered me, as a teacher, an opportunity to consider my own parameters and requirements
for an assignment and to make these more clear to the students. Also, the checklist reinforced the
rubric and helped students check off important steps prior to handing in the assignment. In the
future, I hope to create a rubric for a preliminary assignment that helps students develop and sustain
their own voice while incorporating one or two other points of view. A rubric would help reinforce
this notion and could be used for group work as well as writing exercises involving other forms of
media.
English 101
Prof. Denbo
Project 2: Family and Community
Your second paper will focus on some aspect of family and/or community interaction. This paper
requires the use of three sources as well as your own observation and analysis. You have a pretty wide
scope for this paper, but early in the writing process it’s helpful to decide on a particular aspect you
want to explore. Your first paragraph should include a clear thesis that will focus and guide your
writing. What main idea do you want to discuss? What point of view or perspective do you hope to
develop? Who is your audience? What is your purpose: to inform, to persuade, to explain? How best
might you do this?
This paper differs from your first literacy or autobiographical narrative: you will not be focusing on
your own personal experience, but instead social issues or concerns that your topic raises or analyzes in
some way. You can interweave your own experience, or surely use it to support some of your points,
but overall this essay asks that you discuss a particular aspect of familial and communal interaction that
interests you or that you believe is important. Writers that we’ve read in class (i.e. Christy Brown,
Maxine Hong Kingston, Richard Rodriguez, George Orwell) address concerns of family as well as
community in various ways.
As noted above, you must incorporate three sources for this paper: two written articles, one of which
should be a reading from our class text (the other may be an article from a newspaper, journal, or
internet site), plus one interview, all of which must be cited in the body of your paper (in-text citations)
as well as on a works cited page. Information from interviews (questions and answers) should be
written out in full and attached to the back of your paper (this counts as a source but not as one of the
pages.) The class will meet in groups on March 17: bring in a brief overview for your paper, a working thesis as well as
copies of your sources so that we can go over any questions on MLA documentation in class.
Asking questions about your topic helps develop a working thesis. For example, if you want to write
about family, what is a ‘good’ family and why is a ‘good’ family important to a sense of stability? How
do parental roles (or role models) affect childhood? In what way do familial narratives contribute to
our view of ourselves and how we get along with others? How does divorce, lack of communication,
family neglect or abuse affect children not only in the present but also the future? What types of issues
do children or families confront when they have emigrated from another country? What are the
challenges of single parenthood? What is the value of father/ son relationships? Mother/daughter?
Or, if you want to discuss some aspect of community, how are we affected by the values of the people
or the community around us? In what way are we influenced by communal practices and beliefs? How
do school, work, economic issues affect our lives? How do forms of media or technology change how
we think, behave, or interact with one another? In what way are neighborhood playgrounds or
community centers important to a sense of community? You can’t answer all of these questions – your
paper would go in too many directions – but you can use them to start thinking about what you want
to write about and how to articulate or narrow your thesis.
We will review readings, citation methods, and MLA documentation in class. Quotes from sources
should make up no more than 15% of your paper. Although quoting is important, it is essential that
you address main ideas from your readings as well as from the person(s) you interview.
Title your paper! – an original title, not ‘Paper # 2’ or ‘Family and Community.’
Paper Due:
March 22, Tuesday.
Paper Length: three to four pages, one-inch margins, typed and double-spaced evenly throughout, no
larger than 12 point font, New Times Roman or Garamond.
Guidelines for Documenting Sources
Since you are required to use outside sources for this assignment, you must follow MLA (Modern
Language Association) documentation. You can refer to a reference style handbook such as Diana
Hacker’s A Pocket Style Manual. Also, the OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue is an especially good
website for documentation as well as writing papers in general. The External Links page of your
Blackboard site offers several links to course material for writing documented papers (these are
included in the ‘Research and Documentation” folder).
In-Text Citations:
Short quotes should be referenced within the body of your paper using parenthetical citations (note
the different ways of citing the author’s last name in the following paragraph). For example:
There are different types of restrictions that a child can be ‘born into,’ physical,
environmental, or social. “The Letter ‘A’” describes a young boy with cerebral palsy who is
ultimately released from the confinement of his body when he demonstrates his ability to understand
language. “That one letter, scrawled on the floor, with a broken bit of yellow chalk gripped between
my toes, was my road to a new world, my key to mental freedom” (Brown 92). Unlike Christy
Brown, however, Sherman Alexie was not born with a physical disability that affected his limbs;
instead, he struggled against the discrimination and stereotypical judgment of others that threatened
his potential as an American Indian child. Alexie’s narrative demonstrates how reading enabled him
to empower himself as a person, to believe in his ability and to value who he was: “I refused to
fail…I read books late into the night…I read books at recess, then during lunch…I loved those
books, but I also knew that love had only one purpose. I was trying to save my life (73-4).
Long quotes: If your quote is more than four lines, however, indent at least ten spaces and justify
your left margin. This format separates your quote from the paragraph and makes the use of
quotation marks unnecessary. For example: Brown describes his making of the letter ‘A’ in such
detail that the reader admires and understands his effort to speak.
Then I felt my mother’s hand on my shoulder. I tried once more. Out went
my foot. I shook, I sweated and strained every muscle. My hands were so
tightly clenched that my fingernails bit into the flesh. I set my teeth so hard
that I nearly pierced my lip. Everything in the room swam till the faces around
me were mere patches of white. But – I drew it – the letter “A.” (92).
Works Cited Page
Complete bibliographic information (author, title(s), publication information, should be listed on a
separate “work (or works) cited” sheet. This must be organized in alphabetical order by the author’s
last name. This appears after the conclusion of your essay. For example:
Works Cited
Alexie, Sherman. “The Joy of Reading Superman and Me.” Across Cultures: A Reader for Writers.
7th ed. Eds. Sheena Gillespie and Robert Becker. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2008.
71-75.
Brown, Christy. “The Letter “A.” One World, Many Cultures. Eds. Stuart and Terry Hirschberg. 5th
ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2004. 88-92.
English 101 Rubric for Family / Community Paper
Prof. Elise Denbo
Addresses all parts of the
assignment and presents a
critical lens or thesis that
integrates personal and
cultural views of your topic,
making appropriate and
coherent connections
throughout the essay (40%)
Demonstrates an
understanding of the chosen
topic through summary,
explanation, and analysis of
relevant material (25%)
Maintains own voice,
develops own insights and
thoughts while referencing
the required number of
sources for support,
identifying the sources
using MLA format (20%)
Communicates clearly
and effectively, using
appropriate conventions
of language (e.g.
paragraph and sentence
coherence, grammar,
spelling, punctuation).
(15%)
4 Constructs a clear focus or
thesis; addresses the writing
assignment fully and analytically,
with strong coherence and focus
4 Demonstrates strong
understanding of material
through accurate summary,
with appropriate explanation of
relevant sections
4 Makes insightful
connections and distinctions
between reading and own
ideas; integrates sources and
identifies them consistently
and correctly
4 Communicates clearly
throughout the writing
assignment, effective use
of language and sentence
variety, infrequent lapses in
use of conventions
3 Constructs a sufficient thesis or
focus; addresses all parts of the
writing assignment with adequate
clarity and coherence
3 Demonstrates overall
understanding of material
through appropriate summary
and explanation, with some
analysis
3 Makes and explains
appropriate connections
between readings and own
ideas; identifies references
consistently and correctly
3 Communicates
effectively; sentences may
contain some lapses in use
of conventions, but these
rarely impede
comprehension
2 Focus or thesis is unclear or
incomplete; addresses most parts
of the assignment but often
superficially while connections
between ideas may be missing
2 Demonstrates generally
accurate understanding of
material although summary or
explanation may be incomplete
or not fully relevant
2 Makes some connections
between readings and own
ideas but they may not be all
appropriately or adequately
explained; identifies most
references consistently and
correctly
2 Generally communicates
clearly throughout the
essay although lapses in
use of conventions may at
times affect understanding
or prove distracting
1 Constructs an unclear focus or
thesis; addresses some parts of
the assignment but with little
detail or depth and with few
connections between ideas
1 Demonstrates partial
understanding of material
through summary or
explanation, but understanding
is flawed or explanation is
incomplete
1 Makes few or unwarranted
connections between
readings and own ideas; may
identify references
inconsistently or incorrectly
1 Communicates clearly at
times, showing some
ability to use conventions,
but whole sections are
unclear or errors frequently
affect understanding
0 No focus or thesis; shows little
or no ability to address the writing
assignment, does not link
thoughts between paragraphs
0 Demonstrates little or no
understanding of the material
0 Makes no reference to
background reading or makes
no distinctions between
background readings and
own ideas
0 Communicates little
because paragraphs and
sentences are usually
unclear.
Assessment of Family / Community Paper EN 101
Elise Denbo
For their second assignment, students in my learning community with Psychology were asked to
write a paper on a topic discussing some aspect of either family or community while utilizing other
sources plus an interview(s) on their chosen topic (see assignment). Although this paper encouraged
revision, it also involved preliminary steps to help students develop their own interpretive voice while
considering how to engage and cite other sources for support.
This was a more complex paper than their first formal assignment (a personal narrative): the second
paper encouraged the use of personal experience but as a springboard to discuss a related social
concern, for example the effects of divorce on children, incorporating a student’s own personal
observations while including other informed perspectives and opening analysis to a larger social
framework. This assignment also was seen as preliminary to their final research project.
Seventeen students submitted papers in mid March and ten students revised their papers. The rubric
was handed out with the written assignment: both were explained along with preliminary assignments
that needed to be completed before submitting the final draft of the paper. Almost all students said
they found the rubric helpful, yet as in the past, the rubric became especially meaningful during the
writing and revisionary process when students were more able to reflect upon and understand the
requirements involved. Some students struggled, however, with developing their own interpretation
and point of view while utilizing other sources. With revision students improved their grades
(although a few chose not to revise): three students received As, five students Bs, six Cs, and three
Ds.
In the future, I hope to create a rubric for a preliminary assignment that helps students explore,
develop, and sustain their own voice in relation to a consideration of other points of view. A rubric
would help reinforce this notion and could be used for group work as well as writing exercises
involving other forms of media.
English 101 LC 6 / Learning Community with Psychology
Spring 2011
Room H 436 (Tues.) and H 232 (Thurs.), 10:00 – 11:40 am
Office Hours: Monday 12-2:00 pm /Thursday 12:00-1:00 pm.
edenbo@qcc.cuny.edu
Professor Elise Denbo
Office: Humanities 428
Office Phone: 631-6302
Email:
Learning Community Theme: Thinking Carefully about What Humans Do
Course Overview
English 101 focuses on reading and writing as interactive skills that develop critical thinking and
provide a context for effective forms of written expression. This section of English 101 is part of a
Learning Community and interacts with your Psychology course taught by Professor Jankowski. Rather
than teaching methods or research data from psychology, this class will consider various psychological
themes as well as the ability to formulate a critical thesis that is supported by psychological and cultural
concepts. English 101 is about writing: how we learn to write effectively, how we learn to craft our
writing to fit both audience and purpose, and how we learn to develop our own ideas as well incorporate other voices, authors, and sources for support. A major assignment that both courses will share
will be a digital storytelling project within the Epsilen e-portfolio environment.
During this semester, we will concentrate on individual and communal identity in response to a variety
of psychological, familial, linguistic, and especially cultural influences. By considering the relationship
between various perspectives: self and other, past and present, reader and writer, we will also explore
the interactive nature of difference, how it affects human growth and shapes identity. How do
conditions of family, race, or community influence who we are and how we see the world? What
traditions, values, or insights can we learn from various cultures and/or ways of life? We’ll consider the
processes of identity through various kinds of genre: memoirs, essays, fiction, poetry, annotations,
interviews, letters, internet sites, and film.
We will also explore various aspects of the writing process that go into the formation of a completed
text: generating a subject, formulating a thesis statement, defining a purpose, organizing ideas, writing
for an audience as well as other influences of tone, style and personal voice. By the end of the semester,
you should be able to write the kind of documented papers that you will use throughout the rest of
your time at QCC and elsewhere in your professional and personal life. By studying the entire writing
process from free-writing to revision you will learn to improve all aspects of your writing.
Texts and Materials
Cohen, Samuel, ed. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford St.
Martin’s,
2011.
An active Tigermail, Blackboard and Epsilen account -- also, selected handouts, including
critical readings and stories. Supplements: A college dictionary and MLA
documentation style guide.
Course Policy and Procedures
Students will be responsible for the following: classroom attendance and participation, reading and
writing assignments (formal and informal), in-class exercises for classroom and peer group
discussion, a class presentation, and final exam. The course meets two days a week: Tuesday (H436)
and Thursday (H232), 10:00-11:40 a.m. Classes start promptly at the assigned hour: two ‘latenesses’
count as one absence. If you are more than one-half hour late you will be considered absent for the
day but you are still encouraged to come to class. More than five absences result in a ‘WU.’ or failing
grade for the course. Students who miss class are still responsible for all assignments, including
exercises for the day. (Students must have passed the ACT in order to take English 101, achieved a
score of 480 on the SAT or 75% on the New York State Regents.)
Course Assignments and Requirements
We will explore different types of written texts in this course. Whenever possible, students are
encouraged to incorporate their reading into their writing assignments. For example, if a reading for
the week is a narrative about a rite of passage, you too will write a narrative about this particular theme.
Assigned readings thus serve as a context for writing, not only demonstrating various themes and
topics, but also writing techniques and rhetorical strategies that help shape meaning and engage your
audience. In addition to homework and in-class writing, students are required to participate in weekly
discussions on the group Epsilen site.
Overall the course is structured around three formal papers plus an in-class essay, and as noted, a
final exam. In addition to class discussions and presentations, there will be in-class writings (or
homework) based on material you have prepared for class. The digital narrative assignment will
begin and end the semester but in between there will be a lot of reading and writing. The final
research paper will engage various methods of critical inquiry including library research, individual
and class meetings as well as specific writing tasks (MLA documentation methods, annotations of
source material, workshops and project overviews). Formal papers will generally be due at the end of
each unit and completed on time for full credit.
Unlike homework or in-class writings, formal papers have to be revised until they receive a letter
grade (any paper without a letter grade will revert to a ‘D’ or ‘F’). Revisions should be handed in no
later than two weeks after you receive your first draft back from me. All essays must be typed, but
normal homework assignments may be handwritten. Below is a tentative list of topics. Note: Any
revision must be accompanied by its earlier drafts (with my comments) and show substantial
development in order for your grade to be raised. I cannot change your grade unless I have your
previous draft with
During the semester, the class will form pairs or small groups in order to explore how writing fosters
creative exchange between readers and writers. Be prepared to share ideas. For example, if you are
writing about family or a work-related issue, incorporate what you know about it from your own
experience and your own observations, but also what you learn from the experience of your
classmates. Group work will include in-class exercises and a group project around a particular theme.
Office Hours and Extra Help
My office hours are (tentatively) Monday, 12:00-2:00 pm and Wednesday 12:00-1:00 pm in the English
office, Room H428. Other times can be scheduled if necessary. Students who know they have trouble
with any reading or writing assignment should come in as soon as possible. I hope to meet with each of
you at least once during the semester for midterm review: final projects require individual meetings to
discuss your work in progress. I also recommend the free tutoring offered at Instructional Support
Services (631-6663). In addition, the Center for English Language Learners provides tutoring support
for ESOL students: the Center is located in H237 and open Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Students can either walk in or email cell@qcc.cuny.edu to make an appointment.
Any student who feels that he/she may need an accommodation based upon the impact of a disability
should contact me privately to discuss his/her specific needs. Please contact the office of Services for
Students with Disabilities in the Science Building, Room 132 (718-631-6257) to coordinate reasonable
accommodations for any students with documented disabilities.
Final Grade
Everything counts, including classroom participation and attendance. Whatever the assignment is for
the day, you should be prepared to discuss, explore, or write about it: the classroom is a community
and it is important to interact within its space so that it can achieve its active and full potential. Keep
up with your writing and reading: this is essential for meaningful discussion and represents an
important part of your grade. Formal essays count 55% of your grade; class and group work (including
in-class writing) count 25%, and your final exam 20%.
We will review grade standards in class, but for me an ‘A’ really suggests excellent regarding all work in
general, writing and reading assignments, in-class participation (which is very much more than just
showing up), respect and responsibility in class, plus commitment and effort to your own learning.
Although just doing all the work may result in adequate work (i.e. ‘C’), ‘A’ students usually push
themselves, take responsibility for their learning and are generally not content to do the minimum.
Academic Honesty
I take academic integrity very seriously. That means that any work that you submit to me at any stage
of the writing process must be your own; in addition, any work, ideas, or data that you borrow from
other people and include in your work must be properly documented. Failure to do these things is
plagiarism. Queensborough Community College protects the rights of all students by insisting the
individual student acts with integrity. Accordingly, the College penalizes plagiarism and other forms of
academic dishonesty. We will discuss how to document researched material in class and I will hold you
responsible for proper documentation. If there is any plagiarized material in anything you submit, the
paper will receive a failing grade and will not be able to be revised.
Final Comments
Welcome to this class. I hope you are challenged and interested by the course. Try to stay up with your
work. If you get behind or don't understand what is expected of you, let me know. English 101
corresponds with courses in four-year colleges and I teach it accordingly. This course will require
commitment on your part, but your work and effort will reward you.
Class Schedule for Unit I: Rites of Passage
Below is a tentative schedule. Readings listed for each day are to be read before that class period. In general, be
prepared for in-class writings, a brief description or analysis of a work or passage as it pertains to your reading. I also
encourage a portfolio of writing responses that discuss or analyze some aspect of the readings.
2/1
Introduction to EN 101. Review syllabus and requirements. Langston Hughes, “Theme for
English B”
2/3
Julia Alvarez, “Snow,” (handout). Langston Hughes, “Salvation,” 179-181.
2/8
Maya Angelou, “Graduation,” 20-32.
2/10
Sherman Alexie, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” 15-19.
2/15
2/17
Christie Brown, “The Letter ‘A’” (handout). In what ways do you find Brown’s writing
effective? Select one passage and analyze the writing in detail. In-class: narrative pacing and
sense memory.
TBA. (Meeta Kaur, “Journey by Inner Light,” handout.)
2/22
First draft paper due. Digital Narrative (with Psychology)
Unit II: Family and Community: Shaping Identity
As you read narratives from this unit, consider how they relate to themes you are discussing in your psychology class. In
our class discussions, relate themes from psychology to readings from Units II and III. How and in what way are readings
and themes similar or different?
2/24
Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue,” 396-402. How does Tan relate her relationship to both her
mother and her Chinese heritage to her own writing and her belief in the ‘power of
language’?
3/1
Richard Rodriguez, “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood,” 307-330. In-class reading:
“Under the Influence”; adjective exercise.
3/3
In class: Harold Miner, “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” (handout). How do cultural
practices affect who we are? When should they be challenged?
3/8
Kramer versus Kramer, DVD (about 1 hr. 50 min). How does the film raise questions about
divorce, especially the effects of divorce on children as well as parenting and child custody
concerns?
3/10
Maxine Hong Kingston, “No Name Woman,” 221-233. How do the personal and cultural
memories that Kingston describes relate to memory considerations in your Psychology class?
3/15
James Baldwin, “Notes on a Native Son,” 50-71. How does Baldwin relate the story of his
relationship to his father to the story of the relationship between black and white America?
How might this relate to the American Dream?
3/17
George Orwell, “Shooting an Elephant,” 284-291. How does peer pressure affect choice?
Relate these concerns to readings in Psychology.
3/22
First draft of second paper. In-class: “Focusing on Friends” by Steve Tesich (handout).
Unit III: Cultural Boundaries: Gender, Race, and Class
Our final unit will focus on social issues and related topics that we will explore in our final projects. This unit will involve
a good deal of reading and writing as we work toward developing a documented paper. Presentations of your digital
narrative to the class will also begin. Dates will be assigned so that presentations interact with your Psychology class.
3/24
Brent Staples, “Black Men and Public Space, 383-386. In-class reading: newspaper article
and poem on the Birmingham bombing.
3/29
Judith Ortiz Cofer, “The Myth of the Latin Woman,” 91-97. What does Cofer mean by the
word myth? How does her essay relate to Staples description of ‘stereotyping’? Relate Staples
and Cofer’s essays to readings in Psychology.
3/31
4/5
Russell Sanders, “The Men We Carry in Our Minds,” 346-351. What is Sander’s main idea and
purpose in the essay?
Eugene August, “Real Men Don’t….” (handout). How does August’s use and citation of
sources affect your reading of his essay? In what way does he challenge more traditional
considerations of gender
4/7
Anna Quindlen, “The High Cost of Death,” (handout). How does Quindlen’s article relate
to your Psychology reading on the topic of ‘false confessions’? How does this relate to the
viewing of the Frontline documentary regarding the “Norfolk Four” in your Psychology
class? (Dual Class Meeting with your Psychology class).
4/12
Lila Ayad, “The Capricious Camera,” handout. Explore various readings and social crimes
on your Blackboard site. (Dual Class Meeting with your Psychology.)
4/14
Visit to the Holocaust Resource Center
4/19 – 4/26
No class: Spring Break
4/28
TBA. Bring in photographs or any excerpts from articles / texts that relate to your visit to the
Holocaust Center and/or the topics we’ve been discussing in class. You can select a poem, a
song, a scene from a film or documentary, an excerpt from a narrative, a current event,
newspaper or magazine article, something that has caught your attention in the past or that
you care about now. Each student should prepare something to discuss. You can relate this
to your final paper topic or topics such as the Innocence Project, crimes against humanity,
injustices or inequalities that violate human / individual rights when imposed by social or
political institutions.
5/3
Writing Workshop. This class is important: material presented today will count toward
your final paper grade. Bring in completed form for working thesis, working bibliography
plus copies of critical sources for your paper. (Digital Narrative Presentations with
PowerPoint presentations in Psychology.
5/5
Writing Workshop: Early draft of research project and written annotations of two CUNY
sources due. Bring material to class for writing workshop, peer review, and individual
meetings. (Digital Narrative Presentations with Psychology).
5/10
TBA. Narrative Presentations in conjunction with PowerPoint presentations in Psychology.
(Dual Class Meetings).
5/12
TBA. Final projects for revision are due. Narrative Presentations in conjunction with
PowerPoint presentations in Psychology. (Dual Class Meetings).
5/17
Narrative Presentations and PowerPoint presentations in Psychology: Dual Class Meetings.
5/19
No classes scheduled: Reading Day
5/24
Final Exam.
5/26
Final Class: Wrap- Up Discussion