Queensborough Community College, CUNY Accelerated Learning Program Composition Workshop BE 112-­‐D24A Spring 2014 Professor Leah Anderst Meeting time – Tue/Thu 10:10-­‐12pm in H208 Email: landerst@qcc.cuny.edu Office: H455 / Mailbox: H428 (in the English Department Office) Office Hours: Tue 9-­‐10am, 2-­‐3pm, Thurs 2-­‐3pm (and by appt.) Course Description: This section of BE112 is linked to your EN101, and many of the readings, assignments, and course materials will overlap between these two courses. The two courses will together prepare you to pass the CATW, pass EN101, and move on to EN102 and other credit bearing courses. In BE112, we will work on interactive writing assignments that improve reading comprehension, developing and organizing ideas, and revising essays. We will also work on in-­‐class activities that will support EN101 assignments and readings. Required Texts/Supplies (textbook available in QCC bookstore -­‐ to Purchase new or used or to Rent) Steps for Writers II: Composing Essays (second edition) -­‐ ONE Copy of this book is available to borrow for 2-­‐hour periods from the library’s Reserve desk -­‐ Call number: PE1408 .E3595 2013 (be sure to ask for Volume 2) CATW Preparation Materials Provided on Blackboard Your EN 101 Texts and Additional Readings Provided on Blackboard A notebook of your choosing -­‐ to be used as your semester journal Course Objectives: After successfully completing the course, students will be able to: • Demonstrate facility in writing analytic, expository, and/or persuasive essays of multiple paragraphs (500 words) that introduce, develop, and conclude the discussion of an essay's topic with a unified, logical, and coherent focus. • Demonstrate the logical development of an essay by using transitional words, phrases and sentences variety both within and between paragraphs and between them. • Organize body paragraphs so that each paragraph develops one idea and supports the central focus of the essay. • Analyze and summarize a variety of texts, identifying and engaging in important ideas from the text and relating these ideas to other readings or personal experiences. • Utilize a writing process that includes prewriting techniques, such as brainstorming and free writing. • Follow conventions of Standard Written English (SWE), specifically using coordination and subordination to achieve sentence variety as well as an appropriate and consistent level of diction in their essays. • Write essays, in and out of class, with minimal global errors, showing a command of sentence boundaries and will be able to write an essay that contains very few local errors related to fragments and/or run-­‐ons, subject-­‐
verb agreement, verb tense, pronoun agreement and reference, and basic punctuation and capitalization. • Proofread effectively for surface errors such misspellings, as well as missing or misused apostrophes, articles, possessive nouns, prepositions, and content words. General Education Objectives: After successfully completing the course, students will be able to: 1. Communicate effectively through reading, writing, listening and speaking 2. Use information management and technology skills effectively for academic research and lifelong learning 3. Integrate knowledge and skills in their program of study 4. Differentiate and make informed decisions about issues based on multiple value systems 5. Work collaboratively in diverse groups directed at accomplishing learning objectives Requirements: Work for this course involves: 1) focusing on the writing process in the assignments of EN 101 and 2) preparing for the CATW exam. As you will see, these two aspects of the course are connected to one another. ALP/BE 112 Syllabus page 2 In order to pass BE 112 you must do ALL of the following: • Attend at least 26 out of our 30 class meetings. No exceptions. • Successfully complete at least 75% of course work (writing assignments, in-­‐class activities, and reading homework). Successful completion of each assignment will be signified by a check or check plus. I will post completion of all of your assignments on BB so that you can keep track of this. • Write in your journal at least three times per week. • Actively participate in class discussions, group activities, and in-­‐class writing activities. • Visit the ALLC regularly over the semester -­‐ whether for group or individual tutoring. • Be ready with drafts of your EN 101 work for group critique and in-­‐class revision. • Turn in a portfolio of 5 practice CATW essays before March 24th. • Pass the CATW. CATW: You will have two opportunities to take the CATW over the course of the semester. The first will be on Tuesday March 24, during our BE112 class time, and the second will be at the end of the semester in May. If you pass the CATW, you will receive a passing grade in the class. If you do not pass the CATW, you must repeat BE112 (or enroll in a workshop if your score is close to passing). *Note: You will not be able to receive credit for EN101 if you do not also pass BE112 and the CATW. If you do not pass BE112, you will need to complete this requirement before you receive a letter grade in EN101 (you will receive a temporary grade of INC in EN101 until you have passed BE 112). Assignments and Class Work • No late work will be accepted for full credit. If you would like to complete missing assignments for partial credit, you should visit me during office hours to talk about this possibility. • All homework assignments will be graded using a check ✔ system. If you receive a check ✔, this means that you have successfully completed an assignment. If you receive a check plus ✔+, that means you has done a very good job. If you receive a check minus ✔ -­‐, you will receive partial credit for the assignment unless you resubmit it with changes. If you receive a “PLEASE REDO,” you will receive no credit unless you revise the assignment. • In addition to your assigned homework and practice CATW exams, you will be required to keep a journal. You must write entries in this journal at least three times each week -­‐ more if you like! I will collect it periodically to check that you’re keeping up with it. I will not assign grades to your entries. I will not read each entry. You may choose any kind of journal you like (a spiral notebook, a leather bound journal, an blog that you create), but the journal should be limited to journaling. In other words, it must be a different notebook than the one you use for taking notes in classes. • Tutoring in the Academic Literacy Learning Center: As you work on the assignments for this class, you will be required to visit the Academic Literacy Learning Center, where you can work with a tutor individually or in small groups about your writing. Please keep track of your visits on your Yellow Card. I will check it periodically. Visit room H-­‐237 (right next to the computer lab) for more information! You can also call 718-­‐
281-­‐5709. Course Policies: Please refer to the detailed course policies described in your EN 101 syllabus regarding Class Comportment, Class Participation, Attendance, Lateness, Email Etiquette, and Extra Help. They are the same for this class, except 112 students are encouraged to visit the Academic Literacy Learning Center for additional CATW support. Here, as a reminder, are the policies on Academic Integrity and Special Services: • Academic Integrity: Academic dishonesty is a very serious matter and will not be tolerated. I assume that everything you hand in is your own work – conceived, researched, and written by you. Anything in your process that does not belong to you (work, ideas, data from others, sources) must be properly documented. Failure to do this is plagiarism – which QCC treats very severely. We will discuss research methods and proper citation throughout the course. Any plagiarism in any assignment will result in an automatic 0 for that •
ALP/BE 112 Syllabus page 3 assignment and possibly for the entire course. If you are unsure about documentation or have questions about plagiarism, please ask me. Special Services: Any student who feels that he/she may need an accommodation based upon the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss specific needs. Please also contact the office of Services for Students with Disabilities in the Sciences Building, Room 132 (718 631 6257) to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. EACH MONTH I WILL PROVIDE A DETAILED SCHEDULE THAT INCLUDES • Description of in-­‐class activities and Homework assignments • CATW Practice Dates JANUARY & FEBRUARY SCHEDULE *Note: The work listed on each day should be completed before class on that day. Week 1 Thursday Jan 29 In Class: Overview of class and syllabus; introductions; overview of CATW, Prewriting Activities Reading and Writing (in class): Steps for Writers 2-­‐9 (Prewriting) Week 2 Tuesday Feb 3 In Class: Discussing 112/101 Readings and organizing your Literacy Autobiography (anatomy of an essay; look at one of the in-­‐class readings); time to complete your EN101 homework in class Reading and Writing Due: Steps for Writers pp. 80-­‐87 / answer questions 1-­‐7 on p. 87 / Intermediate exercise on page 88 Thursday Feb 5 In Class: Discussing CATW organization and Thesis Statements (sample CATW essays) Reading and Writing Due: Steps for Writers Ch. 2, pp. 16-­‐22. Complete exercise on pp. 22-­‐4 (beginner and intermediate) Week 3 Tuesday Feb 10 In Class: Developing Local vs. Global Summaries Reading and Writing Due: Two sample CATW essays “Playtime is Over” and scoring guide. Write feedback on summary and critical response to the two writers of the sample essays *Thursday Feb 12th -­‐ QCC CLOSED* Week 4 Tuesday Feb 17 In Class: Practice CATW #1 Reading and Writing Due: Complete “Room for Debate” packet on Technology and Education, turn in journal (1) Thursday Feb 19 In Class: Looking closely at scored practice exams and CATW rubric Reading and Writing Due: Read Steps for Writers Ch. 3, pp. 27-­‐34 and complete the basic and intermediate exercises on p. 37. ALP/BE 112 Syllabus page 4 *Homework: complete a thorough revision of your first CATW essay, focusing on the feedback you received. Revise your summary, pick a new significant idea to discuss, and pick a new example to write about. EMAIL YOUR REVISION (Practice CATW #2) TO ME (landerst@qcc.cuny.edu) by 11:59 pm on Sunday, Feb 22. Week 5 Tuesday Feb 24 In Class: Using sources—summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting (handout); go over the “quote sandwich” Reading and Writing Due: Complete “Room for Debate” packet on Parents and Homework Thursday Feb 26 In Class: Sentence Division Discussions / EN101 Profile Essay Outlines + Questions Reading and Writing Due: -­‐ Steps for Writers pp. 10-­‐14 and complete the Basic exercises on p. 14. -­‐Complete Practice CATW #3 essay using the CATW outline. As you write your body paragraphs, use at least 3 techniques for development described in Ch. 3 of Steps for Writers. Work to be VERY detailed in the descriptions or examples you provide. THIS SHOULD BE TYPED. Week 6 Tuesday March 3 In Class: Return CATW 3 and Discussing Thesis Statements / Arguing + Working on EN101 Drafts together Reading and Writing Due: Steps for Writers pp. 183-­‐191, Complete Basic ex. on p. 192 / read through your Argumentative essay, testing your thesis and reviewing transitions and subordination; read pp. 35-­‐7 on conclusions and write a conclusion for your rough draft, turn in journal (2) Thursday March 5 In Class: Discussing, Practicing CATW Body Paragraphs Reading and Writing Due: Practice CATW #4 + Read Steps for Writers, “Proofreading Practice: Subordination,” pp. 51-­‐52 and complete intermediate and challenge exercises on p. 53-­‐54