English 1101 Syllabus
Instructor: Jade Kierbow Loicano
Office: Pafford 310-B
Office Phone: (678) 839 4744
Office Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (Mon & Wed)
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Thurs)
E-mail: jloicano@westga.edu (all email communication between the student and instructor must
be conducted via my.westga.edu account)
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Required Texts and Materials:
Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried (novel)
Flannery O'Connor's The Complete Stories (short stories)
Tim Burton’s Big Fish (film)
A Writer’s Resource. (handbook)
Journal of the student’s choice (examples to be shown during first class meeting)
Mead folder with pockets
Recommended Texts and Materials:
USB Flashdrive for saving and storing various writing assignments
Highlighter(s) to be used during reading and note taking. Also useful when creating color-coded
systems of organization.
Course Description: A composition course focusing on skills required for both effective
writing for various rhetorical situations and critical reading of texts. In writing, students must
demonstrate competency in argumentation, and writing that is strengthened by the use of
multiple textual sources.
Course Theme and Expectations: During the semester we will investigate, as a class, exactly
how race, region, and gender aid in the creation of identity –individual, regional and national.
For this reason, I expect each student to read/watch/listen to the assigned material with this
theme in mind because our goal for the semester is not the study of plot, but rather the
investigation of context. Each student is responsible for taking notes while reading the texts. I
suggest that everyone purchase a highlighter so that he/she can highlight significant passages
while reading. I also suggest that every student utilize post-it notes or some other marking tool
while engaged in reading/viewing/listening.
Course Requirements: All assignments must be completed in order to pass this course, but
please remember that class discussions are designed to help each student develop original ideas
that can be "fleshed out" in out of class essays. Therefore, active participation from each student
is crucial to the success of every individual, as well as the class as a whole.
Learning Objectives: This is a composition course that focuses on skills required for both
effective writing for various rhetorical situations and critical reading of texts from various genres
(memoir/ autobiography, fiction, film, poetry, etc.). Students must develop competency in
identifying and analyzing arguments of other writers; hone the critical skills needed to define,
shape, and structure their own interpretive positions; and develop facility in the conventions of
academic prose. As such, this course seeks to fulfill the following learning outcomes:
To develop skills in all the tools necessary for effective analysis and argumentation.
To develop facility with the whole writing process from invention through revision.
To understand and employ a variety of rhetorical modes and techniques of persuasion.
To acquire reasonable mastery of conventions of college-level prose writing.
To incorporate and document additional textual materials to strengthen and support arguments
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Grading
Journal entries, class participation
Quizzes
First out of class essay
Second out of class essay
Third out of class essay
In Class Essay
10%
5%
20%
25%
25%
15%
Grading Summary with the Letter to Numeric Scale:
In-Class Essay: 4=95%; 4/3=92%; 3/4=88%; 3=85%; 3/2=82%; 2/3=78%; 2=75%; 2/1=72%;
1/2=68%; 1=65%; 1/0=62%; 0=50% In-Class Essay Rubric
Out-of-Class Essay: A+=98%; A=95%; A-=92%; B+=88%; B=85%; B-=82%; C+=78%;
C=75%; C-=72%; D+=68%; D=65%; D-=62%; F=50% Out-of-Class Essay Rubric
Journal Policy: Students are expected to fulfill the journaling portion of this course, meaning
they are expected to create and sustain a journal throughout the semester. Journal options to be
discussed during first week of class.
Attendance: (see below for FYW policy and add any specific policies you plan to enforce)
Students may be administratively withdrawn from class based on the following
attendance policy: For classes that meet three times a week, a student is allowed four
absences. Upon the fifth absence, the student may be withdrawn. For classes that meet
twice a week, a student is allowed three absences. Upon the fourth absence, the student
may be withdrawn. Be aware that no distinction exists between excused and
unexcused absences.
If the withdrawal occurs prior to October 14, the student will receive a grade of W. If the
withdrawal occurs after October 14, the student will receive a grade of WF. (FYW
Department Policy)
Department Paperless Policy
As of Fall 2006, the English Department implemented a “paperless” policy in its
classrooms. Therefore, all materials (handouts, assignment sheets, notes, etc.) will be
made available online. Students may print these necessary course documents, including
the syllabus, on their home computers.
Disruptive Behavior Policy (see below for FYW policy)
Students may be dismissed from any class meeting at which they exhibit behavior that
disrupts the learning environment of others. Such behavior includes – but is not limited to
– arriving late for class, allowing cell phones to ring, speaking disrespectfully to the
instructor and/or to other students, checking email or surfing the web, and using personal
audio or visual devices. Each dismissal of this kind will count as an absence and will
be applied toward the attendance policy above. (Department Policy)
Plagiarism & Excessive Collaboration Policy (also include your planned course of action, i.e.
any student turning in plagiarized material will receive an F for the course)
Plagiarism & Academic Dishonesty
The Department of English and Philosophy defines plagiarism as taking personal credit
for the words and ideas of others as they are presented in electronic, print, and verbal
sources. The Department expects that students will accurately credit sources in all
assignments. An equally dishonest practice is fabricating sources or facts; it is another
form of misrepresenting the truth. Plagiarism is grounds for failing the course.
See also, excessive collaboration.
The University policies for handling Academic Dishonesty are found in the following
documents:
The Faculty Handbook, sections 207 and 208.0401
http://www.westga.edu/~vpaa/handrev/
Student Uncatalog: "Rights and Responsibilities"; Appendix J.
http://www.westga.edu/handbook/
Excessive Collaboration
By the end of the term in both ENGL 1101 and 1102, students should demonstrate the
ability to produce independent writing (writing without collaborative assistance of peers,
writing tutors, or professionals in the field) that shows an acceptable level of competence.
Although classroom activities and out-of-class assignments may highlight collaborative
learning and collaborative research, excessive collaboration (collaboration that results in
the loss of a student's voice/style and original claims to course-related work) is
considered another form of academic dishonesty and therefore will not be permitted.
THE WRITING CENTER: TLC 1201 678-839-6513
Writing@westga.edu
www.westga.edu/~writing
The University Writing Center works with students and other members of the UWG community
to improve writing skills.
Role of the Writing Center
The role of the Writing Center is to offer consultation in which tutors question, respond
to, offer choices, and encourage revision in student essays. Tutors do not evaluate or
prescribe solutions to problematic areas in student essays, and tutors are specifically
trained to avoid appropriating the student's work. For more information, visit the Writing
Center online at http://www.westga.edu/writing.
Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 10:00am-7:00pm
Thursday 10:00am-3:00pm
Friday 10:00am-12:00pm
Disability Pledge (see below for statement)
I pledge to do my best to work with the University to provide all students with equal
access to my classes and materials, regardless of special needs, temporary or permanent
disability, special needs related to pregnancy, etc.
If you have any special learning needs, particularly (but not limited to) needs defined
under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and require specific accommodations, please
do not hesitate to make these known to me, either yourself or through Disability Services
in 272 Parker Hall.
Students with documented special needs may expect accommodation in relation to
classroom accessibility, modification of testing, special test administration, etc. This is
not only my personal commitment: it is your right, and it is the law!
For more information, please contact Disability Services at the State University of West
Georgia.
Revision Policy: Never trust anyone who says that text-based writing comes naturally to
him/her. Ever. The type of writing this course demands is a skill, and like any skill, you must
practice. For this reason, revision of the first paper is mandatory. Grade for revised essay will
replace the original grade, whether it is higher or lower.
Quiz Policy: You must read the assigned material in order to do well in this class. Therefore, I
will administer surprise quizzes at the beginning of certain class periods. In order to pass this
class, you must maintain a 67% quiz average. Failure to do so will result in a failing grade for
the semester and withdrawal of the student from class.
MLA Documentation Policy: The Department expects that students learn to cite sources
accurately in the MLA style for documentation.
Extra Credit Policy: Extra credit opportunities may be announced throughout the semester
prior to the event.
Late Work and Extension Policy: To receive full credit, essays must be submitted at the
beginning of class. Any essay submitted after class will be penalized one letter grade per day. I
will not grade any essay submitted later than four days after the due date. In certain instances, a
student may be granted an extension period to complete the assignment. These instances must
constitute an emergency and the student must discuss the extension period with me at least 24
hours BEFORE the assignment is due.
Make-up Work Policy: Students may not make-up missed quizzes or other in-class assignments
unless granted an extension (See above policy).
Recycled Papers: I will not accept recycled papers (papers written for another class) in any form
for any reason. Each essay assignment will be uniquely designed for this course and for this
reason; it is unlikely that any essay previously written by the student will adhere to the specific
guidelines of the essay prompts. In the unlikely event that the pre-existing paper does correspond
with the essay prompt, students are still not allowed to submit it as the final version of his/her
essay.
Reading and Assignment Schedule
August :)
M 22 Discuss Syllabus, Review Course Themes and Expectations
W 24 Begin discussion of semiotics (read The Role of Active Reading before class)
M 29 continue discussion; bring a digital copy of an advertisement with you to class
W 31 Diagnostic in-class essay (bring a large blue book with you to the exam)
September
M 5 Begin discussion of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried (read pages 1-110 before
class; discuss guidelines for Essay 1
W 7 continue discussion (read Thesis Construction, Stephen King on Passive
Voice and Awesome Action Verbs before class)
M 12 continue discussion (read pages 1-110 before class); (read MLA Format before class)
W 14 finish discussion (read 3 Ied Monster before class)
W 21 Thesis Workshop (bring 2 copies of 3 working thesis statements (typed and printed)
with you to class; (read 10 Things that Make Jade Cry,Integrating Quotations. and Writing
an Introduction; Tim O'Brien reading at 7:30p.m.
M 26 Body Paragraph Workshop (bring 2 copies of 3 body paragraph outline (typed and
printed) with you to class
W 28 Essay 1 due at the beginning of class; Read: Purdue OWL: Extended Rules for
Comma Usage
October
M 3 begin discussion of Flannery O'Connor and the Southern Gothic genre (read "A Good
Man Is Hard to Find" before class)
W 5 continue discussion; (read "A Late Encounter with the Enemy"before class)
M 10 continue discussion; (read "The Displaced Person" before class)
W 12 finish discussion; discuss Essay 2 expectations
F 14 Last day to withdraw with a grade of W
M 17 Thesis Workshop (bring 2 copies of 3 working thesis statements (typed and printed)
with you to class
W 19 Body Paragraph Workshop (bring 2 copies of 3 body paragraph outline (typed and
printed) with you to class
M 24 Essay 2 due at the beginning of class
W 26 Begin discussion about Writing about Film ; (read Camera Angles before class)
M 31 begin discussion of Burton's Big Fish (watch film before class)
November
W 2 continue discussion
M 7 continue discussion
W 9 finish discussion
M 14 Thesis Workshop (bring 2 copies of 3 working thesis statements (typed and printed)
with you to class
W 16 finish discussion
M 21 Thanksgiving Break! No Class!!
W 23 Thanksgiving Break! No Class!!
M 28 Body Paragraph Outline Workshop (bring 2 copies (typed and in MLA format) with
you to class)
W 30 Last Day of class; Essay 3 due at the beginning of the class.
December
W 7 Final Exam for 1101-11 at 11:00 a.m. (bring a large blue book with you to the exam)
F 9 Final Exam for 1101-28 at 2:00 p.m. (bring a large blue book with you to the exam)