Houston Community College
Fall Semester 2013
English 1301 Course Calendar
Tuesday and Thursday 8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Mr. William Miller
(Office: 319 FAC Bldg.
William.miller@hccs.edu
Prerequisite: Students enrolled have sufficient scores on the diagnostic written
examination. It is the students’ responsibility to make sure they have satisfied all
requirements to be properly enrolled in English 1301.
Course Materials: The required text for this class is The Norton Reader 13th ed.
Students may rent the text from the book store, and a copy of the text will be on
reserve in the HCC Central campus library. Students must have a pocket size
dictionary and a standard size college ruled notebook. Also students will need to
purchase or borrow from the library a novel by Sandra Cisneros, The House on
Mango Street. A cheap copy may be available at Half Price Bookstore or on
Amazon.com.
Students are required to review the HCCS Online Handbook for policies and
procedures.
Course Description:
English 1301 is first part of the two part freshman English requirement. The
course is designed to enhance students reading based writing and analytical skills.
In order to successfully complete English 1301 students must demonstrate
proficient writing, critical thinking, and analytical skills in writing several multi
paragraph essays both in and outside of class.
Requirements:
Students are required to have a copy of the text and the novel. The novel will be
discussed the last two weeks of the semester and it will be the basis for the final
exam for English 1301.
Assignments:
Students will be require to write three in class essays, two outside essays, the
Mid-term Exam, and the Final Exam. The Mid-term and final will be written in
class. The Mid-Term and Final will each count as 20 % of your final grade;
however, failure to take the Mid-Term and or Final will result in a failing grade for
the class. The essays written in class will be written in blue or black ball point pen.
Students are reminded not to write on both sides of a single sheet of paper. Also,
any paper written in pencil will not be graded. Essays written outside of class will
be typed, double spaced, using 10 or 12 font size; and the type must be black ink
on white paper All assignments are due on the due date and no assignment will
be accepted past the due date.
Attendance:
Students are required to meet in class 87% of the class time. Thus, for a class that
meets two times a week, students are allowed to have four absences. Attendance
will comprise ten per cent of your final grade, so it is important that you attend
class regularly.
Grades:
In Class essays____________30%
Outside essays____________20%
Instructor’s Choice_________10%
Mid-Term Exam___________ 20%
Final Exam_______________20%
Grade Scale:
90-100___=A
80-89____=B
70-79____=C
65-69____=D
<65______=F
Incompletes:
Students enrolled in English 1301 may receive an incomplete based on unique
unavoidable circumstances. The general rule is that students enrolled in English
1301 will receive a letter grade for the final grade in the class.
Scholastic Dishonesty:
Students must not submit an assignment for a grade if the student has borrowed
another’s ideas or words without properly acknowledging the borrowed work.
Any student who is determined to have cheated on an assignment will receive an
F for that assignment and it may result in the student failing the course and
possibly being dismissed from the college.
Reasonable Accommodations:
Students in need of special services must contact the Office of Disabilities and
accommodations will be provided.
Cell Phones: Students are to turn-off all cell phoned upon entering the class
room. If a student’s cell phone rings during class, the student may be asked to
leave the class. However, if a student’s phone rings during an in class writing
assignment that student will receive an F for that assignment. The student will
receive an F even if the assignment is the Mid-Term or Final Exam.
Schedule of Assignments
Week One (Aug. 27- 29)
Discuss course overview and review the text book. Assignment- Watch videotaped interview of Charlie Rose with Stanley Fish and Roger Rosenblatt. Write a
paraphrase and evaluation of the video interview. Due Sept. 10, 2013.
Week Two (Sept. 03-05) Holiday Week
Assignment read: “How It Feels to be Colored Me,” “Graduation,” and “On Being a
Cripple.”
Week Three (Sept. 10 -12)
Discuss readings. In- class essay on determinism on the 11th.
Assignment: Read “More Room,” “Strangers,” and Sowers and Reapers.”
Weeek Four (Sept. 17-19)
Review essay assignment and discuss reading assignments. Assignment – Write an
outside essay which will be due Oct. 7, 2013 (see handout for specifics).
Assignment read; “When the Other Dancers Is the Self,” “Strangers in the Village,”
and “Black Men in Public Spaces.”
Week Five (Sept.24-26)
Discuss reading assignments.
Week Six (Oct. 01-03)
Continue discussion and In-Class essay on the 2nd. Essay is to distinguish the
cultural precepts between “Stranger in the Village” and “Black Men in Public
Spaces.” Assignment-read: “In the Kitchen,” “The Wheels of Freedom,” and
“Motherhood.”
Week Seven (Oct. 08-10)
Discuss reading and prepare for Mid-Term exam.
Week Eight (Oct.15- 17)
Continue prep for Mid-Term. Mid-Term will be on the 16th. The Mid-Term will be a
comparison/contrast style essay related to previous readings. Assignment- read:
“Get a Knife, Get a Dog, but Get Rid of Guns,” “The Gender Gap at School,” and
“To Many Colleges Are Still in Denial about Alcohol Abuse.”
Week Nine (Oct.22-24)
Discuss reading assignments. Also discuss usage of the “be” verb and constructing
precise sentences. Assignment-read “College Is a Waste of Time and Money,”
College Pressures,” and “Taking Women Students Seriously.” Essay assignment:
See handout for details.
Week Ten (Oct.29-31)
Continue discussing readings and constructing precise sentences. Read: “Who
Owns Global English,” and “Politics and the English Language.”
Week Eleven (Nov. 05-07)
Continue discussing readings. Outside paper due on Baldwin and Staples
Wednesday, Nov. 05, 2013.
Week Twelve (Nov. 12-14)
Continue reading discussion. In class essay relating to Orwell’s, “ Politics and the
English Language.”
Read: “Shooting an Elephant” and “A Modest Proposal.”
Week Thirteen (Nov.19-21)
Discuss reading assignments.
Week Fourteen (Nov. 26- )
Continue discussion of readings. In class essay relating to “Shooting an Elephant.”
Nov. 28 Thanksgiving Break-no class
Week Fifteen (Dec.03-05) Prepare for final exam.
Week Sixteen (Dec.10-12) Final exam week.
Final exam Thursday Dec. 12, 2013 in class room.