De Anza College
Laura Raffaelli-Mcleish
Fall 2014
Sept. 22–Dec. 12
English Writing 1A: Composition and Reading
Course Information
Grade Units:
5 units
Course Section/ Day/Time/Place: 25 meets Tues./Thurs. 8:30-10:45 in AT205
Contact Information
Office Hour: By appointment only in F31C
Email:
raffaellimcleishlaura@fhda.edu
Website:
http://faculty.deanza.edu/raffaellilaura/
Prerequisites
Placement based on English Placement Test scores or successful completion of assigned
courses in basic reading and writing skills. This is a course in which you receive a letter
grade as explained below.
Required Materials
 Computer access (Computers available in the Language Arts Labs in AT305 & 307see doors for schedules)
 An active email address through the De Anza Portal
 Pens: black or blue (no pencils please)
 A grammar handbook - Free online handbook available at:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm
(See also: Online Resources on my faculty website)
 A college-level dictionary - Free online dictionary available at: http://www.m-w.com/.
A print dictionary is recommended for in-class essays.
Recommended Materials
 A DASB card with money for printing in the Language Arts Computer Lab (See:
http://www.deanza.edu/dasbcard/)
 A binder with paper & dividers
Required Texts
 Lahiri, Jhumpa. Interpreter of Maladies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1999.
 Sapphire. Push. New York: Vintage Books, 1996.
 Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. New York: Penguin Books, 1999.
 Trimble, John. Writing with Style. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice H, 2000.
1
General Objectives
You are here to learn the reading and writing skills necessary for academic writing. To
succeed in this class you will have to work hard and try new strategies. This course
helps you to compose essays that are clear, well-organized, well-developed, and
interesting for your audiences. All of the reading assignments and writing tasks are
designed to help you succeed in thinking critically and expressing your ideas effectively.
Course Objectives
A. Examine the various forms and occasions of written language, as well as other
kinds of discourse, and consider them potential subjects and in some instances
models for academic writing
B. Read rhetorically and culturally diverse narrative and expository texts and analyze
them from a variety of perspectives
C. Generate ideas and topics for essays
D. Formulate and support theses
E. Integrate and organize ideas
F. Develop personal style/voice appropriate to purpose and audience
G. Identify and practice common rhetorical strategies used in academic writing
H. Practice writing as a multistep process, with particular attention to planning and
revision
I. Compose essays with varying purposes, audiences, and rhetorical strategies, from
personal to academic
Grading
You will receive clearly defined instructions for each major assignment. The following is
a breakdown of the class assignments and parts are subject to change if necessary
during the course:
Assignments
Points
Misc. Participation & Homework
Reading Quizzes
3 Out-of-Class Essays:
Diagnostic Revision (750 words)
Interpreter of Maladies (1000 words)
The Tempest (1000 words)
1 In-class Essay:
PUSH (1000 words)
Collaborative Projects:
PUSH Theme Website (750 words)
Grammar Lesson / Presentation (500 words)
The Tempest (500 words)
Final Exam
Total
100
100
75
100
100
100
75
75
75
200
1000
2
Grading (Cont’d)
Letter grades are calculated as follows:
97-100%
94-96%
90-93%
87-89%
84-86%
80-83%
= A+
=A
= A= B+
=B
= B-
77-79%
72-76%
67-71%
64-66%
60-63%
0-59%
=
=
=
=
=
=
C+
C
D+
D
DF
Attendance
Regular class attendance is mandatory. You are allowed three (3) absences, which
consist of both emergencies and non-emergencies. After your third absence, you may
be dropped. If you have a pattern of tardiness (entering after the lesson has already
started), you may also be dropped: 3 tardies = 1 absence. I do not grade on your
attendance, but I do grade on your participation and completion of the workload, which
will suffer if you are not present.
Completing Assignments
To pass this course, you must complete ALL major assignments, including essays,
exams, and projects. The assigned readings and homework should be read and
completed before each session.
Submitting Work When Absent: If you know you are going to be absent when homework
or a major assignment is due, or when groups meet for Project Collaboration Days (See
below*), let me know in person or by email at least one class session in advance to make
necessary arrangements. If you miss class, you are still required to turn in any work due
that day in one of these ways:
1) Place the assignment with my name on it in the Student Drop Box on the side of
the Administration Building facing the fountain and cafeteria), or
2) Email it to me as a Word (doc) or Rich Text Format (rtf) attachment and bring the
assignment to the next class meeting you attend.
Late Essays: For each class session an essay is late, you will lose points as follows:
Due Tuesday but submitted Thursday:
-5 points
Due Thursday but emailed by Saturday @ midnight -5 points
Due Thursday but submitted following Tuesday:
-10 points
Due Tuesday but submitted following Tuesday:
-15 points
Essays not submitted within one week of the due date: 0 points
It is your responsibility to make sure I receive your work, so don’t wait for me to ask you
about it. Submit the work to me as soon as you have it to avoid grade reductions.
*Project Collaboration Days: If you are absent on a Project Collaboration Day, your
absence will be recorded in group meeting logs and your grade will be reduced for the
final grade of the project. The more meetings you miss, the more the grade will be
reduced.
3
No Make-ups: There are no make-ups for missed quizzes, homework, and participation
assignments. You are responsible for submitting any work due on the days you are absent
(via email or student drop-off box).
Common Sense: Turn your work in on time and you will do just fine. 
Extra Credit
I offer two opportunities for extra credit. Points are awarded based on the quality of
written materials submitted. All extra credit must be submitted no later than Tuesday,
December 2.
Tutoring and Workshops (up to 15 homework/participation points possible): See the
Writing and Reading Center website (http://www.deanza.edu/studentsuccess/) for
information on drop-in tutoring, and see the Skills Workshop Schedule on the Student
Success Center website for information on how to sign up for a workshop. Attend any
combination of up to 3 tutoring sessions and/or workshops total (5 quiz points possible
for each). Before attending drop-in tutoring, please read "How to Have a Successful
Tutoring Session". Writing due: For each tutoring session or workshop, type a one page
journal, summarizing what you did, what you learned of value, and how you can apply
what was learned to your writing. Use MLA Format for each journal.
Cross Cultural Partners Participant (up to 15 Essay points possible): Sign up for De
Anza's CCP program to meet with a native or non-native speaker for 3 hours of meeting
time (5 points possible for each hour and meeting log). See the CCP website
(http://www.deanza.edu/ccpartners/) for information, events, and the online application
(due in Week 3; partners matched in Week 5). Writing due: For each of 3 meetings with
your partner, type a one page journal in which you summarize what you and your partner
learned from each other, and what you gained from the experience. For best results, take
notes during or shortly after each time you meet with your partner, and type up your
meeting logs in summary form for submission to me. The meeting logs you turn in to me
may include content you post online for the CCP website, but be sure to include the
information requested above. Use MLA Format for each journal.
Participation and Conduct
The Golden Rule: You don’t have to agree with your classmates, but you are expected to
respect their rights to express opinions, as you would like yours to be respected in return.
Plan to be present, prepared for, and involved in class. To help us all stay focused on the
class lecture/discussion each hour, please follow these rules:



Please practice active listening and avoid interrupting others. Only one person should
be speaking at a time during discussions and lectures.
Technological devices should be turned off or silent at all times. Cell phone ringtones
and text messages are distracting.
Please stay in the classroom except during breaks and in cases of true emergency. If
you absolutely must exit the room, please do so quietly, and re-enter quietly.
4
On your first offense of misconduct, you will be officially warned. On your second offense,
you will be asked to leave the classroom for the day, will not be allowed to make up inclass work, and will miss the remaining activities and instructions. Persistent incivility may
result in your being withdrawn from the course. De Anza College will enforce all policies
in the Standards of Student Conduct (see Course Schedule).
Academic Honesty
I am interested in your ideas as well as how clearly you can discuss the ideas of others.
If you use the ideas of anyone else, you are required to acknowledge the original source
and/or author. If you use the exact words from a source, use quotation marks and
acknowledge the source. Cheating includes (but is not limited to) having somebody else
write your essays for you, or using an essay, in part or in whole, from any informational
source (such as the Internet, a book, a magazine, a newspaper, and so forth). Plagiarism
will result in an F for the assignment and possible failure for the course. If you are
uncertain about how to cite a source, visit Plagiarism.org, talk to a tutor, or contact me
before you turn in the assignment.

EWRT1A Schedule of Readings & Major Assignments
(Subject to change with prior notice)
Important College Dates*
Last day to add classes – Sat., Oct. 4
Last day to drop for a refund– Sun., Oct. 5
Last day to drop a class with no record of grade – Sun., Oct. 5
Last day to request P/NP grade – Fri., Oct. 17
Last day to drop with a "W" – Fri., Nov. 14
Final Exams – Dec. 9-12
Final Exam for EWRT1A – Fri., Dec. 12, at 7:00-9:00 a.m.
* These dates are enforced by the college with no exception. It is the student’s
responsibility to add or drop the course by the scheduled dates above.
Title Abbreviations
PCD
IoM
WwS
Tmp.
= Project Collaboration Day (Project groups meet on these days)
= Interpreter of Maladies (the book), by Jhumpa Lahiri
= Writing with Style, by John Trimble
= The Tempest, by William Shakespeare
Week 1
T
9/23
Course overview and Diagnostic Essay (Participation grade)
5
HW: Print and read “Introduction for Students: Active Reading, Critical
Thinking, and the Writing Process” for next class
Th
9/25
Discuss “Introduction for Students”; “The World’s Shortest Writing
Course”; “My Two Lives”
HW: Read and annotate WwS Chapter 1(3-12); Read "A Temporary
Matter" (IoM 1-22); Reading Quiz 1 next class
Week 2
T
9/30
Reading Quiz 1; Discuss “A Temporary Matter”; Assign Diagnostic
Revision Essay (due 10/9)
HW: Read and annotate WwS Chapter 2 (13-24); Read "Interpreter of
Maladies" (43-69); Reading Quiz 2 next class
Th
10/2
Reading Quiz 2; Plot Summary Notes; Discuss "Interpreter of Maladies"
HW: Read and annotate WwS Chapter 3 (25-31); Read “This Blessed
House” (IoM 136-57) & “Sexy” (IoM 83-110); Reading Quiz 3 next class;
work on Revised Diagnostic Essay (due 10/9)
Week 3
T
10/7
Reading Quiz 3; Discuss “This Blessed House” & “Sexy”
HW: Read “The Third and Final Continent” (IoM 173-198)
Th
10/9
Revised Diagnostic Essay due; Assign IoM Story Summary and
Analysis Essay (due 10/21)
HW: Read and annotate WwS Chapter 9 (94-98); type a one-page
summary, thesis, & outline of your IoM story of choice for peer review
next class
Week 4
T
10/14 Peer review of IoM summary, thesis, & outline; PCD-Grammar
Presentation Groups Assigned (presentations on 2/7) & Meeting 1
HW: Read your group’s grammar materials for Meeting 2; Work on IoM
Essay (due 10/21)
Th
10/16 PCD-Grammar Presentation Group Meeting 2
HW: IoM Essay due next class
Week 5
T
10/21 IoM Essay due; PCD-Grammar Presentation Group Meeting 3
HW: Begin reading Push Parts I & II (3-97) for Reading Quiz 4 on 10/28
6
Th
10/23 PCD- Grammar Group Presentations
HW: Finish reading Push (3-97) for Reading Quiz 4 next class
Week 6
T
10/28 Reading Quiz 4; Discuss Push Parts I, II, & III
HW: -Read Push Part IV & “Life Stories” (97-end) for Reading Quiz 5 on
Wednesday
Th
10/30 Reading Quiz 5; Assign Push Theme Website Project and Groups
(due by end of class time on 11/11); Push Group Meeting 1
HW: Read and annotate WwS Chapters 4 (“The Importance of Continuity”
45-48); Draft one section for your group’s Push theme
Week 7
T
11/4
PCD-Push Group Meeting 2; Watch first half of Precious (Film adaptation
of PUSH)
HW: Prepare for Push Group Meeting 3
Th
11/6
PCD-Push Group Meeting 3; Watch second half of Precious
HW: Push Theme Website Project due Tuesday (11/11) at end of
class; Push Essay due next Thursday (11/13)
Week 8
T
11/11 PCD-Push Group Meeting 4: Finalize and submit Push Theme Website
by end of class
HW: PUSH in-class essay next class
`
Th
11/13 PUSH in-class essay
HW: Read Tmp., Acts 1 & 2 (1-45) for Reading Quiz 6 next class
Week 9
T
11/18 Reading Quiz 6; Watch & discuss Tmp., Acts 1 & 2; Assign Tmp. Essay
(due 12/4)
HW: Read Tmp., Act 3 (46-60) for Reading Quiz 7 next class
Th
11/20 Reading Quiz 7; Watch & discuss Tmp., Act 3; Assign Tmp. Project
(due at end of class 12/2)- PCD- Tmp. Project Group Meeting 1
HW: Read Tmp., Acts 4 & 5 (60-84) for Reading Quiz 8 next class;
prepare for Tmp. Project Group Meeting 2
7
Week 10
T
11/25 Reading Quiz 8; Watch & discuss Tmp., Acts 4 & 5; PCD-Tmp. Project
Group Meeting 2
HW: Type Introduction and Outline for Tmp. Essay for Peer Review
next class (12/2- Essay due 12/4); prepare for next Tmp. Project meeting
(due at the end of class on 12/2)
Th
11/27 Thanksgiving Holiday – No class meeting (see homework above)
Week 11
T
12/2
Peer Review of Tmp. Essay Introduction and Outline; PCD-Tmp. Blog
Project Group Meeting 3 to Finalize Blog Project due at end of class
HW: Tmp. Essay Final Draft due next class); All Extra Credit due
next class
Th
12/4
Tmp. Essay Final Draft due; Final Exam review
HW: Read Tmp. Blog Projects on my faculty webpage; review for final
exam next week
Week 12
F
12/12 Final Exam (Section 25): 7:00-9:00 a.m. in AT205
8