English 101: First Year Composition
Fall 2011, sections 085 & 089 (Tuesdays & Thursdays)
Instructor: Traci Cox
Classroom: Robinson Hall A, room 125
Office Hours: Robinson A, room 468; Tuesdays, 10:30am—12:30pm, and by appointment
Laptop day: every Thursday
Email: tcox5@gmu.edu
Required Texts:
A Writer’s Reference, Diana Hacker, 11th ed. (noted as “Hacker”)
The Little, Brown Reader, Marcia Stubbs and Sylvan Barnet, 12th ed. (noted as “LBR”)
Required Materials:
Notebook with lined pages
Blue or black pens
Course Description:
Welcome to first year composition! In this class we will explore various forms of writing (personal,
argumentative, researched) that will be valuable as you go throughout your college career. Writing
is a process, and this course is designed to follow that process through brainstorming, drafting,
organizing, researching and revising. You will acquire critical thinking skills and how to better
formulate your own ideas into a cohesive, clear, and sharp piece of writing.
Grade Breakdown:
Essay 1: 10%, due September 8th (required revision due September 15th)
Essay 2: 15%, due September 29th
Essay 3: 20 %, due October 27th
Essay 4: 35%, due December 8th (grade will be broken down into smaller assignments—
bibliography, drafts 1, 2 and 3, and in-class presentation)
Participation: 10% (regular attendance, peer review, in-class discussion)
Quizzes and other short assignments: 10%
Assignments:
Essay 1: What I Learned, 2-3 pages
Congratulations! You’ve successfully completed thirteen years of schooling. Now, for the next four
years (or, at least, for the next sixteen weeks), you will be a student in the higher education
system—the pinnacle of those thirteen years of arduous mental labor. We’ve discussed various
aspects of our different academic backgrounds and classroom experiences so far—what makes a
good (or bad) instructor, why writing is “important,” and what it means when we say someone is
educated. Choose a topic we’ve covered in class and write a two to three page essay drawing on your
own experiences with that topic. How did one particular memorable teacher influence your
education, either positively or negatively? What worked well in a class you took in high school, and
what didn’t, and why? What would your ideal instructor or favorite course be like? If you were the
instructor, what would you differently, or try out? Should grading be abolished, as Goodman
suggests, and why? Are tests superfluous and biased, or a necessary evil? This isn’t simply a
personal essay; you must engage with outside readings, quote an author, and wrangle with the
questions about American education one or more of them pose. Pull and quote from at least one
of the LBR education readings or articles we’ve read in class to support your opinion. You are
welcome to find an outside source as well (a newspaper article, for example). Frame your response
to this prompt as if it were going to a school board member, a past teacher, or a future professor.
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Essay 2: It happened to me: Personal Essay, 3 pages
Write a personal, narrative essay about an event that has played a significant role in your life. You
can explain how a particular trip has shaped you. Maybe it is a small event, like when you received
a certain gift, or a more life-changing occurrence, such as a death or a divorce. Perhaps it is one of
your earliest childhood memories, or something that happened to you last week. It could be going
to college, or graduating from high school, or learning a skill or talent that now defines your life.
No matter what event, be it humorous or serious, that you choose to write about, you must be
detailed, descriptive, and anecdotal. You will not have a traditional thesis statement; more likely,
whatever recollection you choose to recount and how you interpret it to be significant will be your
“thesis.” You can use a memory, or an experience, or reflect upon a place in space and time more
generally. Recreating a scene is one interesting way you may situate your event’s significance.
Essay 3: You Are What You Eat—Aren’t You? (argumentative essay), 4-5 pages
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” –Michael Pollan
“Where do eggs come from?” “The grocery store. Duh.” –anonymous, age 6
Pigs say, “Kiss me, don’t eat me—I have feelings, too” –recent PETA campaign
Do you find Pollan’s arguments about culture, economy and food credible in Food, Inc.? Is
vegetarianism, as Foer suggests, the way humans should eat, whether for ethical or health-related
reasons? Why are we, like the documentary suggests, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead? Choose a foodrelated topic that bothers or interests you: Pollan’s politics in the film, PETA’s questionable
advertising techniques, the historical transition from farming to fast food in America, obesity and
other food-related illnesses. You can watch another documentary (Supersize Me, for instance) and
use the filmmaker’s experiences as a catalyst to research and write about the evils, or joys, of
McDonald’s. You can investigate pesticides and the FDA, or the Monsanto Corporation, or a
certain grocery store chain or food movement. Is vegan the way to go? Are school lunches making
our children fat, like British chef Jamie Oliver tried to show us? This assignment requires research,
but also an argument: what is the food-related problem being addressed, and how could we, one
day, perhaps, solve it? You will need to find at least four sources (a book, a Web site, a journal
article, and another source of your choice) to support your argument.
Essay 4: Research Paper, 6-7 pages
Is there a particular phenomenon that boggles you? A subfield in your major that you’d like to
delve into deeper? An author, historical figure, or controversial event that you’d like to learn more
about? This is an opportunity to take your own interests, plus the skills you’ve learned in this
course so far, to write an engaging, well-researched, thought-provoking paper. This essay will be
done in stages, both in and out of class. In total, it will count for 35% of the final grade, but will be
broken down into smaller stages:
Annotated bibliography 5%
In-class presentation (5-7 minutes) 5%
Drafts 1 and 2, and peer reviews 5%
Final paper 20%
You will learn how to locate and find sources on the GMU libraries page and in the databases, as
well as how use MLA citations in-text and on a Works Cited page. A minimum of seven reputable
sources are required. You may choose whatever topic interests you, but your topic MUST be
approved by the instructor prior to beginning research. Your audience will be your peers (and your
professor), and during the last week of the course you will be presenting your research to the class.
Paper Formatting:
All papers should be double-spaced in Times New Roman 12 pt. font. Margins should be set at 1” all
around. Page numbers are required beginning on the second page, in the top right hand corner.
Multiple pages must be stapled. When you use citations, use MLA format. The top of each essay
should look like the following:
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Your Name
Date
Professor’s Last Name – Class, Section
Engaging, Thought-Provoking Title Here
First sentence of first paragraph begins here…
Policies:
1. Attendance: Success in this course depends on showing up on time and preparing for
class. In-class discussion and peer review will be imperative to your understanding of the
material. Please notify me beforehand if you are missing a class. Even in your absence, the
late work policy applies.
2. Late Work: Homework, drafts, and in-class writing will not be accepted late and cannot
be made up if you miss class; you will lose those points. If there are extenuating
circumstances, or a documentable emergency, that do not allow you to turn your work in
on time, talk to me beforehand or as soon as possible to make alternate arrangements. The
general policy will be a 10%, or one letter grade, deduction for each calendar day an essay is
late (A to B, B to C, C to D, D to F).
3. Revision: A required revision of Essay 1 will be due one week after its initial due date.
The higher of the two grades will be the one counted towards your semester course grade.
You will also be given the opportunity to significantly revise Essays 2 and 3. You may have
one week after the assignment is returned to turn in your revised copy, along with your
peer revisions and your original, turned-in essay. You cannot receive a lower grade on your
revised essay (i.e. the higher of the two grades will be the one counted).
4. Office Hours: Please take advantage of this time to ask questions of your instructor oneon-one. During the first and second week of classes you will be required to visit your
professor’s office hours for a ten-minute “get to know you” conference for a participation
grade.
Honor Code & Plagiarism:
Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another source
without giving that source credit. Writers give credit through the use of accepted documentation
styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or end notes; a simple listing of books, articles, and
websites is not sufficient. This class will include direct instruction in strategies for handling sources
as part of our curriculum. However, students in composition classes must also take responsibility
for understanding and practicing the basic principles listed below. To avoid plagiarism, meet the
expectations of a US Academic Audience, give their readers a chance to investigate the issue
further, and make credible arguments, writers must…
• put quotation marks around, and give an in-text citation for, any sentences or distinctive
phrases (even very short, 2- or 3-word phrases) that writers copy directly from any outside
source: a book, a textbook, an article, a website, a newspaper, a song, a baseball card, an
interview, an encyclopedia, a CD, a movie, etc.
•
completely rewrite—not just switch out a few words—any information they find in a
separate source and wish to summarize or paraphrase for their readers, and also give an intext citation for that paraphrased information
•
give an in-text citation for any facts, statistics, or opinions which the writers learned from
outside sources (or which they just happen to know) and which are not considered
“common knowledge” in the target audience (this may require new research to locate a
credible outside source to cite)
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•
give a new in-text citation for each element of information—that is, do not rely on a single
citation at the end of a paragraph, because that is not usually sufficient to inform a reader
clearly of how much of the paragraph comes from an outside source.
Writers must also include a Works Cited or References list at the end of their essay, providing full
bibliographic information for every source cited in their essay.
While different disciplines may have slightly different citation styles, and different instructors may
emphasize different levels of citation for different assignments, writers should always begin with
these conservative practices unless they are expressly told otherwise. Writers who follow these
steps carefully will almost certainly avoid plagiarism. If writers ever have questions about a citation
practice, they should ask their instructor!
Instructors in the Composition Program support the George Mason Honor Code, which requires
them to report any suspected instances of plagiarism to the Honor Council. All judgments about
plagiarism are made after careful review by the Honor Council, which may issue penalties ranging
from grade-deductions to course failure to expulsion from GMU.
General Education:
This course is part of the GMU General Education Program, which is designed to help students
prepare for advanced work in their major field and for a lifetime of learning. For more information
on the mission of the General Education Program, consult the University Catalog or visit
http://provost.gmu.edu/gened/.
Methods of Instruction:
Most class meetings of English 101 will be interactive and will involve a significant amount of
student discussion and writing. Students may be asked to work individually as well as
collaboratively as they investigate issues, practice writing strategies and techniques, learn research
and critical reading approaches, and review their own and their peers’ writing. Students who attend
regularly and stay engaged in class activities, who keep up with all of the assignments, and who
block off sufficient time each week for thoughtful drafting and revising usually succeed in this class.
Completion Policy:
All final essays must be accompanied by one or more earlier drafts. You must complete all main
essay assignments to earn a “C” or higher.
English 101 Grading Policy:
Students in English 101 must earn a grade of C or higher to complete the 101 requirement;
students whose grades are lower than a C will earn an NC.
A grade of NC reflects the philosophy that learning to write in an academic setting is a
developmental process and that some students may require more time in this development. Since
this grade does not affect students’ Grade Point Averages, students are not penalized for requiring
additional time to meet the course requirements in ENGH101. Because of this policy, grades of
Incomplete are not given in ENGH101.
Midterm Grades:
In English 101, students receive a midterm letter grade based on the work of the first seven weeks of
the course. The purpose of this grade is to help students find out how well they are doing in the
first half of the course in order to make any adjustments necessary for success in the course as a
whole. The work in the second half of the semester may be weighted more heavily, and so the
midterm grade is not meant to predict the final course grade. Students may view their grade online
as soon as it is recorded.
Course Grading Policy: In grading essays, I use the following general criteria:
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A “C” level grade (70-79%) denotes average college-level writing and achievement. The essay is a
competent response to the assignment: it meets, to some degree, all the assignment requirements,
and demonstrates that the author has put significant time and effort into communicating his/her
ideas to his/her targeted audience. It has a thesis, presents some support, and moves from point to
point in an orderly fashion; sentence-level errors do not significantly prevent comprehension.
Essays that do not meet these criteria will not earn a “C.”
A “B” level grade (80-89%) highlights a strong example of college writing and thinking. In addition
to meeting the “C” level requirements, such an essay goes further in some way(s): it demonstrates
some insight into the “gray areas” of the topic, provides original or very thorough support that is
tightly woven into the overall argument, reads smoothly at both the sentence and paragraph levels,
and/or exhibits a personal “voice” or style. It has few sentence-level errors.
An “A” level grade (90-100%) marks an essay that engages the reader in a provocative conversation.
Even more than in a “B” essay, its author anticipates and responds to possible reader questions,
uses a wide range of supporting evidence, structures arguments and analyses to create a fluid
reading experience, provides unexpected insights, and/or uses language with care and facility.
“D” and “F” level essays do not meet the basic expectations of the assignment.
Students with disabilities:
If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and
contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 703-993-2474. All academic accommodations
must be arranged through the ODS.
GMU Nondiscrimination Policy:
George Mason University is committed to providing equal opportunity and an educational and
work environment free from any discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin,
sex, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or age. GMU shall adhere to all applicable state
and federal equal opportunity/affirmative action statutes and regulations.
Classroom Etiquette:
It is the responsibility of all of us to work towards creating a welcoming class environment. Please
respect the opinions of others. It is acceptable to disagree, but do so in a way that lets voices and
opinions to be heard. We only have a short time together each week and have lots to accomplish.
Arrive to class on time and turn off your cell phone or any other electronic devices before entering
the classroom. Beverages are allowed, but please do not eat in class.
Everyone must be an active listener and a constructive critic, and, of course, you must be willing to
share your ideas with the rest of the class. Our classroom environment is based on mutual respect
for others; listening and responding thoughtfully to divergent opinions and comments is essential
to acquiring critical thinking skills, as well as intellectual growth. Your contributions will enrich
this experience for the entire class.
Please keep some type of notebook to record information that is presented in class or that comes
up in discussion, as well as questions, comments, and ideas that you develop as the semester
progresses. Trust me, this is in your best interest!
Laptop Day:
Our scheduled laptop day is every Thursday. You may bring your own laptop to class, or check
one out in Robinson Hall A room 107, with your GMU ID card. Laptops are only to be open and
used during allotted laptop class time for database searching, posting on BlackBoard, or other in-
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class writing assignments. When taking notes for class, please use some kind of paper notebook,
not an iPad or laptop. Laptops are allowed on Tuesdays for composition-related activities, but
must be closed during discussion. After one warning, you will lose the right to have your laptop
open. Please make sure you charge your laptop before class; there are very few electrical outlets in
our classroom, and you likely will not be able to charge your laptop during class.
The University Writing Center:
Robinson A114, http://writingcenter.gmu.edu, (703) 993-1200
The Writing Center is one of the best resources on campus. They have an outstanding website that
offers a wealth of online resources for student writers. You can schedule a 45-minute appointment
with a trained tutor to help with any phase of the writing process either with the Online Writing
Lab (OWL) or, even better, in person. You can make an appointment on their website, by calling
(703) 993-1200, or by stopping by Robinson A114. If you do have an appointment, make sure to get
a Client Report Form from your tutor. This shows me that you did, in fact, have a session with a
tutor and explains what you worked on during your one-on-one session. I will consider WC visits
for extra credit while grading your papers if I see a Client Report Form attached to your essay.
Course Schedule (subject to change):
WEEK 1:
Tuesday, August 30th
Introduction, syllabus, expectations (yours and mine), course guidelines
“What is First Year Composition all about?”
Thursday, September 1st
Go over Essay 1 prompt
Reading due: LBR, “A Writer Reads,” pages 2-5; “A Proposal to Abolish Grading,” page 312; “The
Hunt for a Good Teacher,” page 320; “An Argument Worth Having,” page 321
**Schedule your one-on-one conference with me by the end of class today
WEEK 2:
Tuesday, September 6th
Peer review, techniques for revision (especially introductory & concluding paragraphs), using
elevated language in college-level writing (but avoiding “Engfish”)
Writing due: two-page draft of Essay 1 for peer review in-class
**last day to add or drop a class without penalty
Thursday, September 8th
ESSAY 1 DUE
Grammar day—bring Hacker handbook to class; commas, colons, semicolons
Real world writing: the email
WEEK 3:
Tuesday, September 13th
A sense of place: understanding and using descriptive language in exposition; humor writing
Go over Essay 2 prompt
Reading due: David Sedaris, “Cyclops” and “A Plague of Tics”; LBR, pages 31-32
Thursday, September 15th
REVISION OF ESSAY 1 DUE
Brainstorming—the outline, the free write, and the topic sentence
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In-class beginning drafting of Essay 2
WEEK 4:
Tuesday, September 20th
Ethos, pathos, logos
Visual rhetoric: is everything really an argument? Is everything a text?
Reading due: LBR, page 16: “A Checklist”; page 206, “On Being a Cripple”; and pages 48-53
Thursday, September 22nd
Peer review day: bring three page draft of Essay 2 to class, with alternate introductory and
concluding paragraphs (that means 2 different copies)
**bring a pair of scissors to class
WEEK 5:
Tuesday, September 27th
Time management, planning for assignments, and stages of the writing process
Grammar day: bring Hacker handbook to class (MLA citations)
*select and bring in one song for language/argument analysis activity next class
Reading due: LBR, “Eminem is Right,” pages 171-184
Thursday, September 29th
ESSAY 2 DUE
We read them, we see them, and we hear them: “sound” rhetoric and arguments
Discuss Essay 3 prompt
Introduction to thesis writing
WEEK 6:
Tuesday, October 4th
All about arguments (and a little about food)
Reading due: LBR pages 84-85 and 101-109; pages 5-8, “Animal, Vegetable, Miserable” and pages
535-536, “Lying in a Hammock…”
Thursday, October 6th
Audience, persona, and tone
Reading due: LBR pages 492-500, “Eat Food: Food Defined”; pages 501-504, “Feeding Our Future”;
pages 505-507, “Fast Food”
WEEK 7:
Tuesday, October 11th
In-class screening of FOOD, INC.
Writing due: three different versions of thesis statements for Essay 3
Thursday, October 13th
Finish screening of FOOD, INC. and discussion
Introduction to the GMU library databases; locating and evaluating sources
WEEK 8:
Tuesday, October 18th
Transitions and organization
More on sources: the good, the bad, and the ugly (and, oftentimes, the weird)
Writing due: locate at least three sources for Essay 3; mini annotated bibliography
Thursday, October 20th
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Peer review
Recap: thesis statements, argument, and ethos/pathos/logos
Writing due: bring in four-page draft of Essay 3 for peer review
WEEK 9:
Tuesday, October 25th
Visual arguments; advertisements, photographs and political cartoons
Reading due: LBR, pages 122-133 and “The Marlboro Man,” pages 382-388
Thursday, October 27th
ESSAY 3 DUE
Introduction to research writing; what is, and isn’t, a research question?
WEEK 10:
Tuesday, November 1st
Argument, persuasion, research: how it all ties together
Reading due: LBR, pages 423-425, “What Adolescents Miss…” and pages 109-114, “Hollow Claims
about Fantasy Violence”
Thursday, November 3rd
Reading due: LBR, pages 150-152, “I Want a Wife”
Writing due: three possible research paper topics (approximately 5 sentences each, with 1-2
possible source ideas)
WEEK 11:
Tuesday, November 8th
Thursday, November 10th
WEEK 12:
Tuesday, November 15th
NO CLASS—conferences
Thursday, November 17th
NO CLASS—conferences
WEEK 13:
Tuesday, November 22nd
Discussion of plagiarism, citations, and quoting sources
Thursday, November 24th
NO CLASS—Thanksgiving Holiday
WEEK 14:
Tuesday, November 29th
The “radical revision”
Thursday, December 1st
Peer Review part 1
Writing due: bring three copies of “almost” final draft to class
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WEEK 15:
Tuesday, December 6th
Peer Review part 2
Writing due: bring three revised “final” copies of 6-page draft to class
Thursday, December 8th
ESSAY 4 DUE
Final paper presentations
WEEK 16:
Tuesday, December 13th
Final paper presentations
Thursday, December 15th
More final paper presentations
Last day of class—In-class reflective writing; looking back, and looking ahead
Reading due: David Sedaris, “The Learning Curve” and “What I Learned”
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