Linguistics 100: English Composition for International Students
Spring 2015
MWF 11:00-11:50am
AH- 3130
Instructor: Kelsey Parker
Office: SHW-228
Office Hours: MWF 12:00-1:00pm
Email: Kelsey.parker0@gmail.com
Prerequisites:
● Satisfaction of the EPT or
● Satisfaction of the Writing Competency requirements as listed in the Graduation Requirements in the
SDSU general catalogue or
● Cr in RWS 94 or RWS 92
Required Texts:
● Writing in the Disciplines by Mary Lynch Kennedy and William J. Kennedy, (Seventh Edition)
● Keys for Writers by Ann Raimes (Seventh Edition)
Recommended Text:
A good English dictionary (e.g. The American Heritage English as a Second Language Dictionary)
Communication and Critical Thinking:
This course is one of three courses that you will take in the General Education area of Communication and
Critical Thinking. Upon completing this area of our General Education program, you will be able to: 1) craft
well-reasoned arguments for specific audiences; 2) analyze a variety of texts commonly encountered in the
academic setting; 3) situate discourse within social, generic, cultural, and historic contexts; and 4) assess
the relative strengths of arguments and supporting evidence.
Course Description and Learning Outcomes:
Linguistics 100 is an English composition course designed for students who have a first language other than
English. . Successful students in Linguistics 100 will develop the ability to:
1. Read, analyze and respond appropriately to college-level reading selections.
2. Demonstrate awareness of audience, purpose and genre in reading and writing.
3. Understand and communicate the connections between and among reading selections.
4. Competently integrate multiple text sources with one another for the purpose of developing a written
argument, analysis, or interpretation.
5. Incorporate summary, paraphrase and quotations appropriately.
6. Use language of an appropriate academic tone or register for the college level.
7. Illustrate an ability to move beyond simplistic or overly general statements, showing an ability develop
and explore an idea logically and coherently.
8. Move beyond formulaic types of writing (especially the five paragraph essay).
9. Use appropriate citation conventions.
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Course Requirements:
In this class you will be required to submit at least four major writing assignments, each to include first drafts
and revisions. Additional pieces of writing including summaries and précis will be assigned. Assigned
readings must be completed prior to class. Homework and in-class work will also be assigned throughout the
semester and vocabulary quizzes will be given. Therefore, attendance and participation is crucial and will be
included in your grade. There will also be an in-class midterm and final exam. These will both be based on the
WPA (Written Proficiency Assessment), which you will need to take upon completion of 60 units at SDSU. In
helping you prepare for the WPA, these timed writings will give you additional experience in the analysis of
written texts.
Grade Breakdown:
Major Writing Assignments:
550 pts
First Drafts:
(50 pts x 3) 150 pts
Final Drafts:
(100 pts x 4) 400 pts
Assignments:
(homework, in-class assignments, vocabulary quizzes, & peer editing):
100 pts
Midterm:
100 pts
Final:
150 pts
Attendance and participation:
100 pts
Total:
1,000 pts
Grading:
94-100%
A
(940-1000 pts)
90– 93%
A(900-930 pts)
87– 89%
B+
(870-890 pts)
84 – 86%
B
(840-860 pts)
80– 83%
B(800-830 pts)
77– 79%
(770-790 pts)
74– 76%
(740-760 pts)
70– 73%
(700-730 pts)
C+
C
C-
67– 69%
D+
(670-690 pts)
64– 66%
D
(640-660 pts)
60– 63%
D(600-630 pts)
59% & below
F
Class Policies:
● Specific readings and written assignments and due dates will be assigned in class and posted on
Blackboard. If you miss class you should check blackboard for any homework assignments and ask your
classmates to update you on any in class activities you missed.
●
Attendance is expected. After three absences, you will lose ten points for each additional absence.
●
This is not a lecture-style class. You are expected to participate actively in all class activities and
discussions. This is especially true for certain writing assignments that require extensive group work.
●
Lateness will be considered in calculating your absences. If you are more than ten minutes late for class, it
will count as an absence.
●
Late work is not accepted unless by special arrangement with me. All work must be turned in during the
first 10 minutes of class or it will be considered late.
●
Homework and in-class writing assignments cannot be made up without a valid doctors note.
●
Respect each other and the instructor. Talk, text, and email outside of class.
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Academic Honesty: The University adheres to a strict policy regarding cheating and plagiarism. These
activities will not be tolerated in this class. Become familiar with the policy
(http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/conduct1.html). Any cheating or plagiarism will result in loss of credit for the
assignment and a disciplinary review by Student Affairs.
Examples of Plagiarism include but are not limited to:
 Using sources verbatim or paraphrasing without giving proper attribution (this can include phrases,
sentences, paragraphs and/or pages of work)
 Copying and pasting work from an online or offline source directly and calling it your own
 Using information you find from an online or offline source without giving the author credit
 Replacing words or phrases from another source and inserting your own words or phrases
 Submitting a piece of work you did for one class to another class
 Having someone “ghostwrite” you paper.
 Having someone edit your paper for style.
 Having someone proofread your paper for grammar and punctuation.
If you have questions on what is plagiarism, please consult the policy
(http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/conduct1.html) and this helpful guide from the Library:
(http://infodome.sdsu.edu/infolit/exploratorium/Standard_5/plagiarism.pdf)
Turnitin.com: Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission for
textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included
as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of
such papers. You may submit your papers in such a way that no identifying information about you is included.
Another option is that you may request, in writing, that your papers not be submitted to Turnitin.com. However,
if you choose this option you will be required to provide documentation to substantiate that the papers are your
original work and do not include any plagiarized material.
Student Disability Services
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your
responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of
your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that
accommodations are not retroactive, and that accommodations based upon disability cannot be provided until
you have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your
cooperation is appreciated.
Student athletes and members of other SDSU groups
If you are a student athlete with away games scheduled during the semester, please let me know by the end of
the first week of class and present me with a copy of your team travel scheduled. I am aware of your multiple
obligations as student athletes, and we will make appropriate scheduling arrangements – this may include
turning assignments in early. I am also aware that there are other groups identified by the University Senate as
having these scheduling requirements and will make similar arrangements if you identify yourselves and your
needs early in the semester.
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Tentative Reading and Writing Schedule:
Below is a tentative schedule of the readings and essays that will be due in this class. This schedule may
change and readings may be added or taken away throughout the semester. This schedule does not include
homework or in-class assignments or additional shorter essays that may be assigned.
Topics
Weeks 13
Human/Robot
Interaction
Readings
●
●
●
Weeks 48
Weeks 911
Weeks
12-15
Monday,
May 11
10:30a12:30p
Privacy and
Technology:
Balancing
Public Safety
and Privacy
Social Class
& Inequality
Human/Robot
Interaction
Final Exam:
In-class
writing
Chapter 1: Active Critical Reading- prereading and
postreading
Chapter 2: Active Critical Reading- postreading
“The Ethical Frontiers of Robotics” by Noel
Sharkey (p.357)
●
Major Writing
Assignments
Paper #1
Written response to a
single article
Chapter 4: Literary Analysis and Comparative
Analysis
● Chapter 11:
- "Trading Liberty for Illusions" by Wendy
Kaminer
(pp. 397-399)
- "If Looks Could Kill" by The Economist (pp. 401402)
● Chapter 6: Synthesis
● Chapter 13:
- "Born Poor and Smart" by Angela Locke
(pp. 450-451)
- "A Great Time to Be Alive?" by Matt Yglesias
(pp. 464-466)
- "Middle of the Class” from The Economist
(pp. 482-485)
In Class Writing:
Practice WPA
Midterm
●
●
Paper #4
Chapter 7: Argument
Chapter 10:
- “The Ethical Frontiers of Robotics” by Noel
Sharkey
(p.357)
- “Alone Together: The Robotic Moment” by Sherry
Turkle (pp. 322-330)
- Reading 3 TBD:
- Reading 4 TBD:
●
Paper #2
Comparative Analysis
Paper #3
Synthesis developed
from multiple text
sources
Argument Synthesis
developed from
multiple text sources
Final Exam: Text analysis of reading from Chapter
14 using WPA prompt
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