Spring 1211
English 1301- Room 308
TT 2:30 - 4:30
Feb 14 - May 13
Instructor, Jo Harper
Texts:
The Norton Reader, 11th edition
English 1301 Study Guide
For help with grammar and punctuation please look online at this address:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Course Description: “A course devoted to improving the student’s writing and critical
thinking. Writing essays for a variety of purposes from personal to academic, including
the introduction to argumentation, critical analysis, and the use of sources. Core
Curriculum course.” (H.C.C.S. Catalogue)
English 1301 is a very important course. It teaches skills that are essential to your
college career and which will help you throughout your life. Consistency in doing your
homework is essential.
English 1301 is a composition course. It involves both engaging in writing and
examining the writing of professionals. Class time will be spent going over your assigned
exercises, discussing aspects of writing, and discussing essays we read together. We will
also do regular in-class writing, to be assigned at class time. This is to be kept in your
English notebook.
Prerequisites: A satisfactory assessment score, completion of Eng 0310, or (for nonnative speakers) Eng 0349 and any required developmental reading courses.
Course Goals: English 1301 is part of the Core Curriculum and, as such, emphasizes all
of the Core Competencies: reading, writing, speaking, listening, critical thinking, and
computer literacy. A specific listing of course goals and competencies is in the English
1301 Study Guide.
How your grade is calculated:
Daily work (exercises and participation)
Five papers, including the final
Tests, notebook
25%
50%
25%
Essays:
Essays are to be 750 words. The mid-term and final exams will be written in
class. These must demonstrate the same level of competency that the at-home essays have
shown. If they merit a lower grade than the work done at home, the in-class essays will
be averaged and they will constitute the final grade, no matter what grade the other
papers have merited.
Explanation of grades:
A 10 point system is used: 90-100 = A with 90-92 translating as A-; 98-100 translating
as A+.
D = Some strengths, but many errors in grammar or organization
C = Basic mechanics, basic skills, and basic idea of organization, but with flaws. Also
some misunderstanding of the material read or a shallow view.
B = Clean mechanics + good organization + good understanding of the material read or
the subject considered
A = Clean mechanics + good organization + style + excellent understanding of the
material read or the subject considered
Attendance and Class Participation: You are expected to attend class regularly and to
be an active participant in discussions.
1. Attendance and Class Behavior: You are expected to attend class regularly
and to be an active participant in discussions.
2. Be on time and stay until class is dismissed.
3. Keep up with reading assignments and be prepared for class
4. Participate actively
5. If you should be late to class, slip into the room quietly and take a seat near the
door.
6. Courtesy is important. This includes removing your hat in class and
maintaining appropriate posture.
Withdrawal from class: If you stop attending the class, you need to officially withdraw
prior to the deadline. If you do not do so, you may receive an F in the course.
Make-up policy: If you miss class because of an emergency, present documentation of
what occurred. You can then make an appointment to take the test or make arrangements
to make-up the work missed. These arrangements should be made promptly on your
return to class.
EGLS3 -- Evaluation for Greater Learning Student Survey System
At Houston Community College, professors believe that thoughtful student
feedback is necessary to improve teaching and learning. During a designated time,
you will be asked to answer a short online survey of research-based questions
related to instruction. The anonymous results of the survey will be made available
to your professors and division chairs for continual improvement of instruction.
Look for the survey as part of the Houston Community College Student System
online near the end of the term
Writing your papers:
At-home writing assignments must be written on a word processor or a typewriter.
Use 13 point type.
Always put your class, name and phone number and email address on the upper
right-hand corner of your papers.
Be sure that your printer has ink. Papers that are too pale to be easily legible will
not be accepted.
For handwritten assignments, you should use a pen that makes a broad mark (felt
tip or ball point, no fine line pens) and write in a large, clear hand. It is imperative that
your papers be easily legible.
1. Assignments are due on the date above them on the syllabus.
2. Write two questions on each reading assignment. These will be turned in
and are an important part of your daily grade.
3. Written assignments are written in bold type.
4. Keep an organized English notebook with all your assignments and your
new vocabulary words in it.
5. Always keep your returned papers in your notebook.
Feb 21
March 6
March 22
April 10
PAPER 1
PAPER 2
PAPER 3
PAPER 4
DESCRIPTIVE
NARRATIVE ABOUT A TRIP OR EXCURSION
IN-CLASS PAPER; COMPARE AND CONTRAST
DIVISION AND CLASSIFICATION
We will read use the Study Guide to prepare for each writing assignment.
Calendar of Readings and major writing assignments:
WEEK 1
1.
Feb 14
Review syllabus; prepare for Paper 1
2.
Feb16
Read in class: Laurie Lee handout; write description of a person
______________________________________________________________________________
WEEK 2
3.
Feb 21
PAPER 1, DESCRIPTIVE
Read before class:
Tongue Tied, Maxine Hong Kingston
Aria, Richard Rodriguez
4.
Feb 23
Read before class: Once More to the Lake, E. B. White
______________________________________________________________________________
WEEK 3
5.
Feb 28
Read before class: The Brown Wasps, Loren Eisley
6.
March 1
Read before class: The Way to Rainy Mountain, N. Scott Momaday
______________________________________________________________________________
WEEK 4
7.
8.
March 6
March 8
PAPER 2
NARRATIVE ABOUT A TRIP OR EXCURSION
Discuss papers
SPRING BREAK
WEEK 5
11.
12.
March 20
March 22
Prepare for paper 3
PAPER 3
IN-CLASS PAPER; COMPARE AND CONTRAST
WEEK 6
13.
March 27
14.
March 29
Learning to Read, Frederick Douglass
Letter to President Pierce, Chief Seattle, p 642
Declaration of Independence”, Thomas Jefferson and others
The Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln 779
WEEK 7
15.
16.
April 3
April 5
Deportations from Western Europe, Hannah Arendt, p 826
He Said No to Internment, Matt Bai, 831
Saved by Strangers, Sara Corbett, 833 -836
WEEK 8
17.
18.
April 10
April 12
PAPER 4
DIVISION AND CLASSIFICATION
Thank God for the Atom Bomb, 763
The Shatterer of Worlds, Kildare Dobbs
WEEK 9
19.
April 17
20.
April 19
WEEK 10
Chasing Evil, Daniel Berger, 836 - 838
After the Genocide, Phillip Gourvitch, 839 - 845
Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr.
21.
22.
April 24
April 26
This is the End of the World, Barbara Tuckman, p
Waste Land: An Elegy, Mary Oliver
WEEK 11
23.
24.
May 1
May 3
To be announced
The Boston Photographs, Nora Ephron 727
WEEK 12
25.
26.
May 8
May 10
WEEK 13
The Spider and the Wasp, Alexander Petrunkevitch
To be announced
PAPER 5; FINAL IN-CLASS PAPER; CAUSE AND EFFECT
Paragraph Models for In-class Writing
I. Classification Paragraph:
There are three kinds of book owners. The first has all the standard sets and best-sellers –
unread, untouched. This deluded individual owns woodpulp and ink, not books. The second has a
great many books – a few of them read through, most of them dipped into, but all of them as
clean and shiny as the day they were bought.
This person would probably like to make books his own, but is restrained by a false respect for
their physical appearance. The third has a few books or many – every one of them dog-eared and
dilapidated, shaken andloosened by continual use, marked and scribbled in fro front to back. This
man owns books. (Mortimer J. Adler)
[Adler divides book owners into three main categories and then lists and describes each
type].
Write a paragraph on one of the following topics. Use classification to relate ideas.
1. There a various kinds of ... (home owners, automobile mechanics, airline hostesses, etc...)
2. As the controversy raged, letters to the editor fell into two (or three or four) categories.
3. A subject of your own choosing.
_____________________________________________________________________
II. Definition Paragraph:
Aerobic exercise is exercise involving steady movement performed at a rate sufficient to
reach a target heart rate substantially above the normal pulse and to sustain it at that rate for a
prescribed period of time, at least twenty but preferably thirty minutes. For beneficial aerobic
effect, an individual needs to maintain a target heart rate of approximately twice his or her
normal heart rate. Steady rowing, swimming, bicycling, running, or brisk walking are aerobic
activities. Golf, tennis, weightlifting, and other activities in which one rests frequently are not.
Aerobic exercise benefits the cardiovascular system and helps the body to burn calories.
Write a paragraph presenting a definition of materialism, reactionary, pop art or a word of your
choice.
_____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
III. Examples are especially useful for developing a generalization that a reader might question
or might not understand. Take, for instance, the statement “Experts nearly always greet the new
with negative arguments.” A skeptical reader might challenge this statement unless two or three
convincing specific instances are given. To be convincing, the examples given in support of a
generalization must be truly representative.
It is unlikely that any major enterprise was ever undertaken without an expert arguing
conclusively that it would not succeed. At the behest of king Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, a
panel of Spanish sages looked at Columbus’ plan for a voyage to the Indies, and in 1490 came up
with six good reasons why it was impossible. So many centuries after the creation, they
concluded triumphantly, it was unlikely that anyone could find hitherto unknown lands of any
value. This negative reaction was similar to the learned argument that greeted Galileo when he
reported that Jupiter had moons. “Jupiter’s moons are invisible to the naked eye,” said a group of
Aristotelian professors, “and therefore can have no influence on the earth, and therefore would
be useless, and therefore do not exist.” (From “Putting the Prophets in Their Place,” Time,
February 15, 1971).
Write a paragraph using several examples to develop one of the following topics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Almost anything can be a symbol.
Bumper stickers give a clear indication of the American mood.
Even the rich have serious problems.
It is easy to be a coach (or a judge or the president) at a distance.
We are living in a decade of crises.
A subject of your own choosing.
______________________________________________________________________
IV. To contrast is to point out differences between members of the same class – for example,
differences between rival philosophers such as the sophists and Socrates. Below is a paragraph
showing contrast by using a number of specific examples.
To some of his contemporaries Socrates looked like a sophist. But he distrusted and
opposed the sophists wherever possible. They toured the whole Greek world; Socrates stayed in
Athens, talking to his fellow-citizens. They made carefully prepared continuous speeches; he
only asked questions. They took rich fees for their teaching; he refused regular payment, living
and dying poor. They were elegantly dressed, turned out like film stars on a personal-appearance
tour, with secretaries and personal servants and elaborate advertising. Socrates word the
workingman’s clothes, bare feet and a smock; in fact, he had been a stonemason and carver by
trade, and came from a working-class family. They spoke in specially prepared lecture-halls; he
talked to people at street-corners and in the gymnasium (like public baths and bathing beaches
nowadays), where every afternoon the young men exercised, and the old men talked, while they
all sun bathed. He fitted in so well there that he sometimes compared himself to the athletic
coach, who does not run or wrestle, but teaches others how to run and wrestle better; Socrates
said he trained people to think. Lastly, the sophists said they knew everything and were ready to
explain it. Socrates said he knew nothing and was trying to find out . (From The Art of Teaching
by Gilbert Highet, pp 156-57)
Write a paragraph in which you develop by contrast one of the following topics.
1. The service at an informal café and in a hotel dining room
2. The relative effectiveness of radio and television
3. A topic of your own making
______________________________________________________________________
V. Keep to the topic by giving relevant specific details to develop the main idea.
When it was over and I escaped through the ropes, shaking, bleeding a little from the
mouth, with rosin dust on my pants and a vicious throbbing in my head, I knew all there was to
know about being hit in the prize-ring. It seems that I had gone to an expert for tuition. I knew
the sensation of being stalked and pursued by a relentless, truculent professional destroyer whose
trade and business it was to injure men. I saw the quick flash of the brown forearm that precedes
the stunning shock as a bony, leather-bound fist lands on cheek or mouth. I learned more (partly
from photographs of the lesson, viewed afterwards, one of which shows me ducked under a
vicious left hook, an act of which I never had the slightest recollection) about instinctive ducking
and blocking than I could have in ten years of looking at prizefights, and I learned, too, that as
the soldier never hears the bullet that kills him, so does the fighter rarely see the punch that
tumbles blackness over him like a mantle, with a tearing rip as though the roof of his skull were
exploding, and robs him of his senses. (Paul Gallico from Farewell to Sport)
Write a paragraph in which you develop one of the following topics by using carefully selected
specific details.
1.
2.
3.
4.
The photograph of the man suggested his character.
I know now what it means to be an outsider.
No country has a monopoly on violence.
A subject of your own choosing.
VI. Sometimes one fully developed example is the best way to make a point.
The belief in punishment at a distance was strikingly illustrated by a report from South
Africa las April. It seems that the caning of offenders was being carried out in a magistrates’
court located near the center of Cape Town. Sentences of up to ten cuts were inflicted on
malefactors, beginning with eight-year-old boys, in that particular jurisdiction. The matter
became newsworthy when the public began to object to the practice. The objection, however,
was not to the punishment itself but to the uncomfortable circumstance that it was administered
in the business district of the city. One citizen complained, “We can clearly hear the swish and
smack of the cane and the pleadings and screams of the people being beaten.” It appears that this
noise was upsetting office workers. One man said “that his conversations with important clients
had been interrupted by the howling of somebody being thrashed.” The problem was solved by
police assurances that the beatings would thereafter be administered in the basement, where they
would not disturb the public.
(Notice that the example of the citizens’ reactions to nearby punishment makes immediately
clear what the author means by the rather abstract idea “the belief in punishment at a distance.”)
Write a paragraph using one developed example to illustrate the main idea:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Almost anything can be a symbol.
Bumper stickers give a clear indication of the American mood.
Even the rich have serious problems.
It is easy to be a coach (or a judge or the president) at a distance.
We are living in a decade of crises.
A subject of your own choosing.
Interview paper
1. Interview three of your classmates. What you choose to talk about is your personal decision.
(Done in class). Be sure to exchange phone numbers and email addresses as more questions will
probably occur to you.
2. Write a 750 word paper based on the interviews. This is a descriptive paper. You are
describing the persons. Remember that descriptions of people include their personalities and
bearing. Be guided by the descriptions from The Edge of Day by Laurie Lee that we read in
class.
3. Remember to have a clear thesis statement (the main idea of your paper).
4. Attempt to find a unifying idea so that you can incorporate all three persons you interview into
one paper. If you are unable to do this, you may write on the three individuals separately.
5. Never forget that while grammar and punctuation are fundamental, a writer is also obligated to
interest his reader. Find interesting things about your classmates. Your reaction to them is
perfectly appropriate to include.
6. You may need to interview several people in order to find three that suit your needs for the
paper. Tell only the truth about them. DO NOT MAKE ANYTHING UP