English 1A: Critical Reading & Composition
Section: 05
MW: 12:00-1:15pm
Instructor: Homeira Foth
Office: 451B
Phone: 723-7175
Email: hfoth@chabotcollege.edu
Fall 2012
Office Hours:
M/W 11:00 – 12:00
T/Th 1:00 – 2:30
Course Description:
Welcome to Eng. 1A Eng. 1A will focus on college-level reading, critical thinking, and
writing. The overall theme of this course is going to be obedience to authority and
ethical choices. We will be reading a variety of material dealing with these topics, and
your papers (including the research paper) will be in-depth explorations of some aspect of
the course theme.
Objectives:
 Students shall achieve the ability to write complete essays that demonstrate
college-level proficiency in all of the following. Upon the successful completion
of the course a student will be able to:
write and revise college-level in and out of class essays relying on text-based
argumentative strategies.
comprehend and analyze critical essays of varying lengths.
identify and use key structural elements of an essay, including thesis, topic
sentences, and supporting details.
perform the essential steps of the writing process.
accurately and effectively summarize different lengths of work.
organize and develop ideas in writing.
develop argumentation skills in writing.
demonstrate an ability to recognize grammatical patterns of error and revise
accordingly.
demonstrate the ability to write complete sentences of some syntactic complexity.
integrate sources as evidence and use parenthetical citations.
Required Texts and Materials:
Course Reader for English 1A.
The Reader by Bernard Schlink
A paperback dictionary – any good paperback edition will do (American Heritage,
Merriam-Webster, Oxford)
A folder and a notebook
Optional: A grammar and style handbook
Reading and Writing Assignments:
We will be reading a variety of essays and a non-fiction book in this course. We will be
examining each text closely in order to discover the ways in which each author uses
certain rhetorical devices to argue his or her thesis. These readings will serve as models
for your own writing, and your essays will be based on these works. Since this is a
college-transfer course, some of the reading material is going to be challenging, so I
expect you to commit a considerable amount time to your reading and annotating of the
text. No skimming through the material before class – trust me, it won’t work in this
class.
Remember, in order to become a good writer you must also be a good reader, which
means reading closely and critically. It is essential that you come to class prepared to
discuss the day’s reading assignment. Also, get into the habit of looking up unfamiliar
words in the dictionary.
A major component of this class will be the research paper. We are going to start early
with the research project since there are going to be several steps during the whole
research process, including a thesis, outline, rough draft, and a brief presentation. The
class will have “meeting up” points during the semester in which I will collect some of
the steps in your research project. However, the majority of the work you do on the
research paper will be on your own. We will spend some time, early in the semester,
reviewing the various steps in the writing process: prewriting, organizing, composing,
revising, and editing. The peer review workshops are designed to help with some of the
crucial steps in the writing process: revision and editing. We will also spend some time
summarizing and annotating the readings.
There will be five essays all together: 4 out-of-class essays, including the research paper,
and the final, which is an in-class essay.
These essays (except the final) must be typed, double-spaced, and they must adhere
to the MLA guidelines. Your final draft must also be accompanied by a rough draft
and a peer review worksheet in order for you to get a grade!
Quizzes and In-class assignments:
To ensure that you keep abreast of the readings and are adequately prepared to approach
your writing assignments, I will periodically give quizzes. These may or may not be
announced. There are no make-ups for any in-class work, including quizzes!
Grading:
Essay #1
Essay # 2&3
Research paper (#4)
Final exam (#5)
Book logs
Assignments*
Participation**
10%
20%
20%
15%
15%
10%
10%
*Assignments include responses, quizzes, and other in-class assignments
.** Participation means being involved in class discussions, group work, and workshops.
Method of Grading: letter grades. C- is considered a non-pass.
Attendance:
Attendance is extremely important and regular participation is expected. In order to
meet course objectives, our class exercises and discussions will be moving at a rigorous
pace, so it is your responsibility to be here and to contribute. In-class assignments will be
very difficult to make up. Also, your participation is mandatory on days we have writing
workshop.
Absences:
You are allowed 3 free absences during the semester (for emergencies, sickness). Please
do not make appointments with doctors, dentists, DMV, etc., during class time. After 3
absences, with every subsequent absence, your grade will be dropped a half a grade
(B- to a C+).
PLEASE DO NOT COME TO CLASS IF YOU ARE OVER 15 MINUTES LATE – IT
IS DISRUPTIVE (and you will receive an absence regardless). Also, you will be
dropped automatically if you miss 4 consecutive days (or two weeks).
Due Dates:
All papers and assignments must be handed in on time. It is your responsibility to
keep track of the due dates listed on the schedule of assignments. Late papers are
generally not accepted unless you have a compelling reason. However, if an unexpected
situation does come up, it would be in your best interest to contact me before the due
date, either by phone, Email, or in person. No papers will be accepted more than two
weeks after the due date.
Late papers will not be handed back in timely fashion and will have no comments on
them – only a letter grade.
There are no make-ups for in-class quizzes or assignments.
*Reminder: all essays including the summary notes and final must be completed in order
to pass the course.
Conferences:
You will have a mandatory 20 minute conference with me to go over your writing. This
will happen toward the second half the semester. You are, however, encouraged to meet
me anytime during the semester.
Final Exam:
A Mandatory Final Exam will be given to all English 1A students. It will constitute
15% of your grade and must be taken in order to pass the course. The final will be given
on
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism occurs when a student misrepresents the work of another as his or her own.
Plagiarism may consist of using ideas, sentences, paragraphs, or the whole text of another
without appropriate acknowledgement, but it also includes employing or allowing
another person to alter substantially work that a student then submits as his or her own.
Any plagiarized work will be given an “F” grade, and will automatically be reported to
the Dean of Language Arts.
Misc:
I expect that you are familiar with and will abide Chabot’s policies in the Student
Handbook regarding classroom behavior. Some of the rules include: bringing all required
materials and texts for that day, doing your homework, turning off your cell phone, music
devices, etc, and refraining from disruptive behavior. Also take care of your personal
needs before or after class; walking in and out of class is disruptive and rude. Do not eat
in class.
Please remember that the classroom should be a safe and friendly environment, where we
share ideas and learn from one another - so be respectful to others.
Resources: If you are having difficulties with your reading or writing assignments,
please come by my office during office hours, or better, make an appointment with me.
There are also many excellent out of class resources available on campus. Please see
handout.
Schedule of Assignments
WRAC= Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum
Aug. 20
Aug. 22
M
W
Introduction and going over syllabus
Response on “Thirty Eight Who Saw Murder…”
Aug. 27
Aug. 29
M
W
CR: Asch, “Opinions and Social Pressure”
continue with Asch’s experiment
Sept. 3
Sept. 5
M
W
Labor Day – no class!
CR: Milgram, “The Perils of Obedience”
Sept. 10
Sept. 12
M
W
Continue with Milgram’s experiment
CR: Baumrind, “Review of Stanley Milgram’s Experiments”
Sept. 17
Sept. 19
M
W
CR: Zimbardo, “The Stanford Prison Experiment”
Continue with Zimbardo
Out of Class Essay #1 assigned
Sept. 24
Sept. 26
M
W
RA reading diagnostic
Peer review– bring two copies of rough draft essay #1
Oct.1
M
Oct.3
W
CR: Fromm, “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral
Problem.”
Essay #1 due! continue with Fromm
Oct. 8
Oct. 10
M
W
Watch “The Wave”
Essay # 2 assigned
CR: Lopach and Luckowski, “Uncivil Disobedience”
Oct.15
Oct.17
M
W
handout: Szegedy-Mazak, “The Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal”
Research paper assigned (essay #4)!
Oct. 22
Oct. 24
M
W
Handout: “From Antigone.”
Assign The Reader Peer review– bring two copies of rough draft
Oct. 29
Oct. 31
M
W
Film: This is England
Film: This is England
Nov. 5
Nov. 7
M
W
CR:Orwell, “Shooting an Elephant” (hand-out)
CR:Camus, “The Guest” (hand-out) Essay # 2 due
Nov. 12
Nov. 14
M
W
No class – Veteran’s Day!
presentations on research paper. Essay # 3 assigned!
Nov. 19
M
NOV. 21 – 23
Library day!
Thanksgiving Break!
Nov. 26
Nov. 28
M
W
Discussion on The Reader – collect logs
Peer review– Bring 2 copies of essay #3
Dec. 3
Dec. 5
M
W
Research workshop
MLA Review
Dec. 10
Dec. 12
M
W
Discussion on The Reader– collect logs
Peer review– For Research paper (essay #4)
Dec. ?
Final Exam
Research papers due!
-- Schedule subject to change.