Welcome to English 101
With Professor Rebecca lawson
Welcome to English 101 with R.Lawson
Looking to Add the Class?
• IF you are trying to crash the class, please come sign
the “Looking to Add” sheet.
• IF anyone drops the class or if anyone who is currently
enrolled does not show up today—I will add students
RANDOMLY selected from this list.
– After you sign the sheet, you will sadly need to leave the
classroom. There is not enough room for everyone to stay,
so everyone who is not currently enrolled needs to leave.
•
• You will be notified by email (school email) if you are
selected to join the class.
Syllabus Overview
• Carefully follow along as we go over the Syllabus.
• You are responsible for knowing this information and following all
the guidelines set out in the Syllabus.
• Highlight and take notes if you need to.
Important Class Information:
• My Office Hour and Location can be found at the top of the
syllabus .
• My email addresses: lawsonrw@lamission.edu
•
NOTE CHANGE TO SYLLABUS: PLEASE USE ONLY THIS EMAIL.
• Required Textbooks:
– Pop Perspectives: Readings to Critique Contemporary Culture by
Laura Gray-Rosendale
– The Little Seagull Handbook 2nd Edition by Bullock, Brody, and
Weinburg
• Also Required:
– Regular and reliable access to your school email.
– Regular and reliable access to the class blog:
lawson101spring15.weebly.com
– Regular and reliable access to turnitin.com
Course Description from the L.A.
Mission Catalog
• English 101 develops proficiency in college-level reading and writing through
the application of the principles of rhetoric and the techniques of critical
thinking. Students will write expository essays based on college level
readings. Emphasis is placed on the research paper.
NOTE: This is the first freshman composition course that meets requirements for the
BA at four-year colleges and universities, comprising intensive reading, writing of
essays, term papers, the study of style, methods of discourse, logic, and
documentation.
Student Learning Outcomes:
– Produce unified essays of 1,000 words that shows a mastery
of critical thinking, logical organization, and mechanics.
– Identify and analyze the logical fallacies in academic articles,
literature, and other media.
– Produce a 6 to 8 page research paper which utilizes library
research materials and documents evidence.
Class Requirements and Grading
• Successful completion of English 101 requires
• Regular reading and homework completion
• Regular attendance and participation. No
more than 4 absences allowed in total.
• Completion of all Core Assignments—The
Projects (see below)
• Writing Process Reflection Essay
The Core Assignments—3 Projects
• These Projects are a series of interconnected reading
and writing assignments that link together to show
both the recursive and social nature of writing. Each
project includes critical reading, scaffolding
assignments, and essays. You will be given handout
that explains each Project assignment and essay in
detail, but here are the basics:
The Core Assignments
Weeks 1-5
• Project 1: Reading and Responding to Texts—Culture
and Identity
– Critical/Academic Reading
– Rhetorical Analysis Essay (500 words) – 50 POINTS
– Identity Essay (+ rough draft) (1000 words) – 100 POINTS
Weeks 5-9
• Project 2: Seeing and Hearing Texts—Pop Culture Places
and Spaces
– Critical/Academic Reading
– Ethnography Essay (500 words) – 50 POINTS
– Analysis Essay (+ rough draft) (1000 words) – 100 POINTS
The Core Assignments
Weeks 9-15
• Project 3: Arguing Through Research—Pop Culture and
Social Issues
–
–
–
–
Critical/Academic Reading
Argument Proposal Essay (500 words) – 50 POINTS
Annotated Bibliography (5 sources with annotation) – 50 POINTS
Research Paper (+ rough draft) (2000 words) – 200 POINTS
Week 16
– Writing Process Reflection Essay
– Extra Credit Presentation of Research Project
» Extra Credit: At the end of the semester, you will have the
opportunity to give a presentation on your Research Paper
topic. For this presentation you will include multimedia—such
as video, picture/slideshow, power point, or audio. Since our
Research Papers will focus on Pop Culture, this is the perfect
opportunity to share with the class the aspects of Pop Culture
you are writing about. This will be worth 25 extra credit points.
Attendance
• You will not receive credit for any work you miss when you are not in
class.
• You are allowed 4 absences TOTAL. These absences are for
illness/emergency only. Don’t waste them.
• Each additional absence will lower your total grade by one letter
grade. Students who are absent 6 or more times during the
semester may be dropped from the class and risk receiving a W and
no refund.
• As a member of this class, you are part of a community of writers. It
is important that you be here to participate in class activities and
offer your contribution to your classmates’ learning process.
• Please check the class blog for upcoming assignments and
instructions BEFORE emailing. You may also wish to exchange phone
numbers with someone else in the class so that you can catch up on
what you missed.
Arriving Late/Tardiness
• I will be taking roll at the beginning of class
each day.
• If you arrive after I have taken roll, it is your
responsibility to come to me after class and
have your absence changed to a tardy.
• Three tardies will count as one absence.
• Please do not leave class early. I will often
make announcements at the end of class that
you will need to hear.
Student Conduct
• Our classroom will be a place of learning,
attention, and respect.
• Disruptive or disrespectful behavior will not
be tolerated and may affect your grade.
• Also, students who disrupt the class after the
first warning will be asked to leave and will be
marked absent for the day.
Student Conduct and Technology
• Students will keep their cell phones turned off and in their
bags.
• To avoid checking text messages, please keep your cell
phones in your bags, not your pockets or on your desk.
• I love my smart phone as much as the next person, and I
will sometimes use my smart phone for class related
reasons, however I will never use it for personal reasons in
class, and I expect the same from you.
• I will allow the use of laptops, tablets, and other technology
in the classroom for class related reasons ONLY, but if it
becomes a problem in any way, the entire class will lose the
opportunity.
Students with Disabilities or Other
Concerns
• If you have any special needs, please see me privately.
Sharing your situation with me will help me to be a more
effective instructor.
• If you are a student with a disability and require
classroom accommodations, please see me to discuss
arrangements. I am happy to accommodate in any way
that I can.
• The sooner I am aware that you are eligible for
accommodations, the quicker I will be able to provide
them.
• If you have not done so already, you may also wish to
contact the DSP&S Office in Instruction Building 1018
(phone #818.364. 7732/TTD 818.364.7861) .
Emergency Procedures
• If a campus emergency that poses risk to students occurs,
please be prepared to immediately follow the instructions
of your Instructor.
• Do not exit the classroom until instructed to do so.
• If building evacuation is required, you will be asked to
leave all of your non-essential personal belongings in the
classroom and quickly, yet orderly and safely, exit the
classroom and the building, preferably through the main
doors on the north end of Building 29.
• Proceed to a safe location near the walkway intersection.
As the last person to exit, I will lock the classroom door
behind me and meet you outside of the building in order
to account for your presence and safety.
Paper Format
• All final drafts must be in 12-point, Times New Roman
font. Margins must be one inch on all sides, and the
paper should be double-spaced.
• All papers must include your name, the date, your class
and section information, the assignment name, and your
word count in the left-hand corner.
• I will upload an example of correct formatting to the
blog. We will also talk about it in class.
– Please refer to it every time you turn in a written assignment.
• If you have any questions about how to format your
paper correctly, please ask me or a tutor at the Writing
Center. All assignments should be carefully proofread for
grammar and spelling errors.
Class Resources: TurnItIn.com
Turnitin.com
• We be uploading all our major assignments to
turnitin.com for grading.
– That’s right: less printing! However it does mean you
will need to be able to access the website and upload
files from your computer. I will show you how to access
and use turnitin.com in class. If you ever have any
questions about this requirement, please come ask me.
– EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE: We will be printing our rough
drafts for use in Peer Review Workshop. Make sure you
look on the schedule to know if you should upload to
TurnItIn.com or if you should also bring a printed copy
for activities in class.
Class Resources: Our Class Blog
lawson101spring15.weebly.com
Late Assignments/Papers:
• All major essays must be uploaded to turnitin.com before class on
the day they are due. Expect to have computer difficulties at least
once during the semester and plan for them as best you can.
• All other homework/assignments must be turned in as soon as you
arrive in class unless we will be using them in class.
• If you arrive late to class, you must turn in your work to me
immediately upon arriving. I will not accept homework turned in at
the end of the period.
• If you know you are going to be absent, please make arrangements
to have your work in my box in the LA Mission faculty mailroom
before class or to have it in class with a classmate on the day it is
due.
Late Assignments/Papers:
• You will be allowed one late assignment and ONLY
one. It must be turn in within 2 week of the original
due date with a late contract stapled to the front. You
should also upload it to turnitin.com but I require a
printed copy for late assignments.
• You must request a late contract and I will sign it.
• I will never accept emailed assignments. Printing
facilities are available to you, but you must buy a print
card if you wish to use the printers in the LRC.
Other Syllabus Highlights
• Take note of my policy on required rough drafts and
participation peer review.
– Worth lots of points! All you have to do is be prepared and participate
and you get ALL THE POINTS. 
– But if you don’t come on the day specified or show up without a
rough draft, you lose all the points. 
• Record Keeping: Please keep a copy of all assignments you
turn in for this class. Do not throw anything away after it
has been passed back to you. Neatly organize your work
and keep it until AFTER the end of the semester.
– Don’t ever give me your ONLY copy of an essay or major assignment.
– ALWAYS save your work on a flash drive or other backup
Plagiarism and Originality
• Plagiarism is presenting another’s work as your own.
• This can include copying word-for-word from the internet or
another source without properly citing and crediting it, presenting
an idea as your own without acknowledging the source, or turning
in a piece of writing that you did not personally create.
• Minor and accidental plagiarism will result in an "incomplete" on
the assignment with the option of revising for a passing grade.
– Major and intentional plagiarism will, at the least, result in an "F" on the
assignment in question and may result in an "F" in the class. Repeat offenders
risk suspension from LA Mission College.
•
In a few weeks, we will have a class devoted to discussing academic
honesty and plagiarism: exactly what it is and how to avoid it.
The Secret to Success!
• It’s simple. Only 3 things.
1. Come to class.
2. Do the work.
Ok, so that’s the secret to BASIC
success.
How can I be REALLY successful?
• Come to Class
– EVERY CLASS!
• Do the Work
– THIS INCLUDES THE READINGS!
• AND ALSO: Strive For Excellence
• In order to help you meet these goals…
– Make a friend in the class who will have your back,
academically speaking.
– Come to see me during my office hours.
– Come to class prepared to participate.
– Indulge in curiosity. Question your assumptions.
Questions and Answers

Any questions?

Please ask any questions you might have
about the syllabus.

No question is a bad question, and all
questions will help your classmates who
might be wondering the same thing!
For Thursday:
• Thursday, February 12
– Topics: Discuss academic reading and pop culture.
• Due:
– Visit the class blog
– Purchase textbooks and bring them to class.