1
English 101 Weekly Assignments
I may change this schedule at my discretion. If you are absent, contact me to ensure that the homework is still the same.
If class is cancelled for any reason, you are responsible for checking Blackboard to get updated instructions from me.
Homework is due by the start of class, unless indicated otherwise.
Week 1 (9/1 & 9/3):
Introductions; syllabus review; Academic essay structure; In-class essay.
HOMEWORK:
Due Thursday, 9/3: Read syllabus & take syllabus quiz (under “Assessments”). The following applies to all of our
quizzes this semester: 1) You cannot leave a quiz and come back to it once you click “begin”; only what you have
completed when you first exit a quiz will be graded. Click on a quiz only when you are prepared to take it. Read
the instructions before clicking “Begin.” 2) You can view my feedback and the correct answers (to questions you
may have answered incorrectly) after the quiz deadline. To do so, click "My Grades" (left side menu)🡪 Quiz
title🡪Quiz grade.
Due Tuesday, 9/8: Read and bring to class "Who Are You and Why Are You Here?" by Mark Edmundson; “My
Fake College Syllabus” by Adam Mansbach; and “Commencement Speech, Kenyon College” by David Foster
Wallace (all under “Education” folder).
We’ll have a quiz at the beginning of class on these readings; we’ll also have a graded discussion. For each
reading, highlight what you consider to be the “golden” line, i.e., the most important one or two sentences of
the entire reading (please choose something from other than the first page of every reading). Also, take notes
on the readings. Every student should be prepared to contribute at least once to our discussion next week.
Week 2 (9/8 & 9/10):
Quiz; Discuss readings; Lecture: Thesis sentence; Essay #1 distributed and discussed.
HOMEWORK (due Tues., 9/15): Revise the rough draft of your essay. Bring it to Tuesday’s class.
Week 3 (9/15 & 9/17):
Lecture & activities: Body paragraph structure (revision workshop); In-class reading; Creating Works Cited entries;
Plagiarism lecture & quiz
HOMEWORK:
due Tues., 9/22: Create a good draft of essay #1, formatted in MLA style (use template under Course
Information). Be prepared to share your screen with all of us so that we can critique your essay.
due Thurs., 9/24, thirty minutes before class: Upload your final draft of essay #1 to Turnitin using the
instructions under Course Information. Save the email Turnitin sends you with the receipt.
On Thursday, we’ll also be reading “Hills Like White Elephants” in class (under Communication folder). Please be
sure you have access to it (e.g., just in case you like a paper copy, make sure you print it and have it ready for
class).
Week 4 (9/22 & 9/24):
Whole-class peer review; In-class freewrite: Communication; In-class reading & discussion: “Hills Like White Elephants”
HOMEWORK (due Tues., 9/29): Read and bring to class “The (Sometimes Unintentional) Subtext of Digital
Conversations” by Deborah Tannen; “I Know What Your Think of Me” by Tim Kreider; and “Mixed Signals: Why
2
People Misunderstand Each Other” by Emily Esfahani Smith. As usual, we’ll have a quiz and discussion of these
readings.
Week 5 (9/29 & 10/1):
Quiz & discussion of readings; Lecture & Activities: Using examples as support
HOMEWORK (due Thurs., 10/8): For essay #2 (instructions to be distributed on 10/6), create a thesis sentence
and the topic sentence for each body paragraph (so four sentences in total). Be prepared to share you outline
with the class.
Week 6 (10/6 & 10/8):
Continued work on examples; In-class writing; Essay #2 distributed & discussed; Peer review of outlines; Writing
workshop for essay #2; Lecture & activity: Formality in academic writing
HOMEWORK:
due Tues., 10/13: Compose a full draft of essay #2, and bring it to class for whole-class peer review;
due Thurs., 10/15, thirty minutes before class starts: Upload the final draft of essay #2 to Turnitin.
Week 7 (10/13 & 10/15):
Whole-class peer review; Proofreading workshop; In-class freewriting: Conformity & Rebellion; In-class reading: “The
Emperor’s New Clothes” (this reading is under the Conformity and Rebellion folder. Please have it available to you for our
Thursday class).
HOMEWORK (due Tues., 10/20): Read and bring to class “Sweet, Sour, and Resentful” and “The Perils of
Obedience” (under Conformity and Rebellion folder). Prepare for a quiz and graded discussion.
Week 8 (10/20 & 10/22):
Quiz & graded discussion of readings; Group work: Finding evidence for assertions
HOMEWORK (due Tues., 10/27): Read and bring to class “The Lottery,” “The Ones Who Walk away from
Omelas,” and “In the Suburbs” (poem) (under Conformity and Rebellion folder). Prepare for a quiz on the two
prose readings and a graded discussion of all three readings.
Week 9 (10/27 & 10/29):
Quiz on Abani & LeGuin readings; Discussion; Lecture & Activity: Writing an Analysis; Essay #3 distributed & discussed;
Writing Conference sign-up sheet distributed
HOMEWORK (due at the start of your scheduled writing conference with me): Create good draft of essay #3 to
bring to writing conference.
Week 10 (11/3 & 11/5):
Writing conferences instead of class
HOMEWORK:
due Tues., 11/10, thirty minutes before class: Complete your final draft of essay #3 and upload it to Turnitin.
due Tues., 11/10: Read and bring to class “Shame,” “This Old House,” “Two Ways of Seeing a River,” and “The
Grasshopper and the Bell-Cricket” (all under the Innocence to Experience folder). Prepare for a quiz and graded
discussion of these readings.
3
Week 11 (11/10 & 11/12):
Quiz & discussion of readings; Lecture & Activity: Properly incorporating quotations
HOMEWORK:
due Tues., 11/17: Read and bring to class “Good Bones” (poem under Innocence to Experience folder)
due Thurs., 11/19: For essay #4, compose a thesis and the topic sentence for each body paragraph. Be prepared
to share this with the class.
Week 12 (11/17 & 11/19):
In-class reading and discussion of “Good Bones”; Essay #4 distributed & discussed; Group work: Brainstorming (sharing
ideas with class); Lecture, part two: Incorporating quotations; Writing workshop.
HOMEWORK (due Tues., 11/24): Compose a full draft of essay #4, and bring it to class for whole-class peer
review.
Week 13 (11/24):
Tues: Whole-class peer review of essay #4 drafts; Thurs.: No class –Happy Thanksgiving!
HOMEWORK:
due Tues., 12/1, thirty minutes before class: Upload your final draft of essay #4 to Turnitin. Also, during
Thursday’s class we’ll read “Misery.” Be sure you have that on hand (under the “Theme?” folder).
due Thurs., 12/3: Read and bring to class “The Shawl” (under “Theme?” folder). Prepare for a quiz and graded
discussion.
Week 14 (12/1 & 12/3):
Whole-class brainstorming of semester themes; In-class reading: “Misery”; Quiz & discussion of “The Shawl”; Group
work
HOMEWORK (due Tues., 12/8): Read and bring to class “Dumpster Diving” and “On Seeing the 100% Perfect
Girl” (under the “Theme?” folder). Prepare for a quiz and graded discussion of these readings.
Week 15 (12/8 & 12/10):
Quiz on assigned readings; Discussion of readings; Group work; Final exam instructions distributed and discussed.
Week 16:
Final exam; Date and time TBA