Kalamazoo Valley Community College
ENG 110 – College Writing 1
Course Outline
This course outline must be brought with you to class every day. If we refer to it and
you do not have it with you, you lose 25 points from your total course points.
Therefore, it would be good to keep it in your notebook for sure.
Gloria Larrieu, KVCC English Professor
Phone: 488-4026
Office #7344
E-mail: glarrieu@kvcc.edu
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays
Tuesdays and Thursdays
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. — and by appointment
In a participatory universe, there are no neutral observers.
Thinking is neither coerced nor coercive. It is exploratory, suggestive; it does not
prove anything, or finally arrive anywhere. Thus, to say people are ‘thoughtful’ or
‘thought-provoking’ suggests that they are open-minded, reflective, challenging—
more likely to question than to assert, inclined to listen to many sides, capable of
making distinctions that hold differences in play rather than dividing in order to
exclude, and desirous of persuading others rather than reducing them to silence
by refuting them.
-- Elizabeth Minnich
Union Institute and University in
Cincinnati
What are the important policies up front that I really need to know in order to pass this
class?
1.
No late papers are accepted.
2.
You may have 4 absences for classes that meet 2 days per week and 2 absences for
classes that meet 1 day per week. If you go over that allowance, you will be dropped from
my roster. In other words, if you are absent more than two weeks’ worth of classes, you
cannot pass this course.
3.
If two weeks pass and I hear nothing from you via phone, e-mail, or office hours
appointment, you will be dropped from the roster.
4.
Three late arrivals or early exits equal 1 absence.
5.
Be aware of final dates to drop the class. If too much interferes with your commitment to
this class, it might be better to consider dropping it. I will be glad to talk with any student
about this should the situation arise.
6.
Homework responses are due the first class day of the week for classes that meet 2 days
per week and at the beginning of the period for classes that meet 1 day per week. No late
homework will be accepted, and homework cannot be made up. All homework will be peer
graded with a possible 25 points for each of 8 responses. If you fail to grade a peer’s
paper, you will lose all 25 points.
7.
Do not plagiarize, which means to deliberately copy someone else’s work without giving
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that writer proper credit. Anyone who does so and is discovered will be turned in to the
Vice President for Academic Affairs for the first offence and it will go on permanent student
records. The second offence will cause a student to fail the class while a third offence will
prohibit a student from attending KVCC.
8.
Get at least 2 phone numbers or e-mail addresses of your peers. If you must miss class,
call them to catch up on missed class work.
9.
If you need special assistance for any reason, please be sure to talk to me about the
matter right away so that I may accommodate you.
These rules have arisen as a result of a cliché: A few bad apples can spoil the whole bushel. In
fairness to all, I will enforce these policies.
What is this class all about?
English 110 is a college writing course that will help students become more competent and
confident writers and thinkers—speakers and listeners. It will enable students to practice and
become more skillful in the different stages of the reading, discussion, and writing process:
generating ideas, planning and organizing, draft writing, revising, refining, proofreading, and
peer reviewing. Students will write a variety of papers that focus on contemporary topics that
affect our lives here and now, locally and globally. Research skills such as using the library and
following appropriate documentation style in citing sources will be taught. Students will have the
opportunity to improve their grammar, style, and thinking skills and learn how to create writing
necessary for success in further academic and employment pursuits.
What are the prerequisites for this class?
Before registering for 110, you must take the ASSET. (See the KVCC Class Schedule
regarding Testing Services). If you have not taken the ASSET by the end of the first week of the
term, you may be dropped from the class. An alternative prerequisite is the completion of
English 098 with a grade of 2.0 or better. See me after the first class session if you do not
meet these requirements.
What will I get out of this class by doing my best?
We will never pass this way again. The people in this room and the resulting energy and the
synergism among us can be very powerful in many ways. We will be reading about and
discussing many compelling ideas, and if they are not compelling to you, then fake it till you
make it: pretend and maybe it will become real. Any college classroom has the possibility of
becoming life changing.
By the end of the semester, students will be able to achieve skills in four major areas that
greatly affect the writing process: College Writing Skills, Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage,
Critical Thinking Skills, and Civil Behavior. If you pass this class, you will learn how to think
about ideas, discuss them, determine what your opinion is, and write a well-developed, focused
essay about it. You will learn how to use outside research to create a research paper and also
learn MLA or APA Style. By practicing writing, revision, and through class discussion, students
who pass this class will have learned how to clean up many grammar, mechanics, and usage
problems. Finally, by practicing civility in this classroom, we will all learn how to respect one
another and our differences and, in turn, respect ourselves.
What is required of me in order to pass this class?
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1.
Reading aloud.
2.
Participation in class discussions.
3.
Four papers: 3 essays and 1 research paper.
4.
All essays must be turned in with a Project Evaluation Key on top.
5.
Revision of all essays. You may revise research paper if time permits.
6.
Grades on revisions will replace a previous grade, provided that the paper is significantly
improved. Remember that it is possible to get a worse grade on a revision because the
stakes get higher with each draft. All revisions must be turned in attached to the most
recent copy of the paper. Revisions without the latest recent draft will not be accepted.
7.
You must learn MLA or APA Style for all papers. I recommend MLA for this class. Once
you learn a style, you can easily adapt to another.
8.
You must bring your paper to workshop with peers in class. Since there are no late papers
allowed, this should not be a problem for anyone.
9.
Use the English tutorial center on the second floor.
10.
The final paper will be peer reviewed by a class colleague (25 points).
11.
Final portfolio
12.
Behave with civility and respect in the classroom and toward one another.
13.
Turn off all cell phones.
14.
Library orientation for regular use and for research. If you miss class on any day that
library orientation is scheduled, you will have to make up the orientation on your
own and bring me a signed note from the librarian.
15.
One ten minute conference with me: if you fail to show up for your scheduled meeting
in my office, you will lose 100 total points from your final grade tally.
What materials do I need to bring to class?
1.
Two 3½ inch computer diskettes (high-density, 1.44 mb) or another type of device on
which to save all class work. Be sure to keep any saving device with you at all times
since you never know when we might go to the library computer lab to work on
papers. If you have no saved work with you, you will b e asked to leave class and
be marked absent for the period.
2.
Your grammar handbook. (Both Dr. Dave’s and The Writer’s Reference).
3.
Portfolio folder and folder for course work.
4.
Some note-taking paper and pens.
5.
Stapler and/or paperclips. I will accept no papers that are not stapled or clipped. No
exceptions.
What do you expect from us on homework responses?
Homework responses will be typed, a minimum of one page single-spaced. Write a response
(your ideas and opinions) about something we have read or discussed in class or a reading
assignment you choose that is currently on our radar screen. Bring it to class and trade with
someone who will take your response home and assign it points from 0 to 25.
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What are some ideas for homework responses?
1.
Identify and comment on a short quotation, passage, incident, or a main idea, exploring its
relevance to the whole chapter, essay, and story.
2.
Comment on an idea the author puts forth—from your perspective as well as the author’s.
3.
Comment on an author’s position and his/her motives on a particular issue.
4.
Explore what a reading says about a particular culture and how you relate to it.
5.
If you do not understand everything in a piece, find a passage you do understand and
explain why it is true or false.
6.
Find and explain a contradiction or paradox in the reading.
7.
Explain how one reading is different from something else we have read, or how it is similar.
8.
Discuss some aspect of the reading with a friend for twenty minutes or so, demonstrating
your understanding of the writing. Make a tape of your discussion and let me listen to it.
(I will accept this as a substitute for written homework twice.)
9.
Paraphrase a statement in a reading and then respond to it.
What texts do I need for this class?
Sin Boldly by David R. Williams, Ph.D.
The Pocket Reference for Writers by Toby Fulwiler
True Notebooks by Mark Salzman
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
What criteria do you use to assign points to our papers?
90-100=4.0: Superior work beyond course objectives and expectations. Grammar and
mechanics are well executed and development is superlative. Organization of ideas shows
good skills in completing each task. Work shows high motivation and intent to persevere and
improve skills and complete course objectives. Work also shows thinking skills and intention, as
well as courage in attempting unfamiliar topics and ideas.
85-89=3.5: Excellent skills that show students’ ability in organization, development, grammar,
punctuation, mechanics, and knowledge of good essay writing. Work also shows thinking skills,
intentions, and high motivation.
80-84=3.0: Good to excellent skills in grammar, mechanics, organization and development of
ideas, and better-than-average skills in completing assigned task. Needs more polish and
revision, though. Work shows high motivation and intent to persevere and improve skills, as
well as complete course objectives.
75-79=2.5: Good skills in grammar, mechanics, organization and development of ideas and
certainly passing work; however, more polish and revision on grammar and mechanics skills
needed. Good motivation to persevere and improve and meet requirements for course
objectives.
70-74=2.0: Passing work that lacks the above criteria.
Below 70=1.5 or less: Work shows poor skills in grammar, mechanics, organization and
development of ideas and/or poor motivation to persevere and improve skills and meet minimum
course objectives. Attendance and participation may be poor.
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What are the grading criteria?
Essay #1
Essay #2
Essay #3
Research paper
Homework
Portfolio
Total
Grade Breakdown:
855-950 = 4.0
808-854 = 3.5
760-807 = 3.0
713-759 = 2.5
665-712 = 2.0
618-664 = 1.5
570-617 = 1.0
Below 570 = 0.0
100 pts.
100 pts.
100 pts.
100 pts.
200 pts.
350 pts.
950 pts.
Portfolio is due the second to the last week of the semester. It contains the following with all
revised clean copies placed in a two-pocket fold
Two essays, one research paper, and a self-evaluation. Self-evaluation: Strengths and
weaknesses; who helped you if anyone; and what is your overall assessment of your effort in
this class. What might you have done differently if anything? (50 points for the evaluation, 100
points for each essay and research paper.)
Who are you as a teacher and a woman?
I love sports (playing more than watching), hiking, nature, reading, learning, hanging with
friends, camping, movies, travel, music (listening and playing, drawing and all kinds of art. I
have three children: Noel is 32 and is an actor in NYC; John Paul, 32, is a genetics counselor
and researcher in Santa FE, NM; and Clare is an esthetician and body worker in Richmond, VA.
She and her partner George have two boys, Andrew and Ryan. We are all very close and see
one another often. I lived in Kalamazoo for a long time in the seventies and eighties, where I
raised my children, was a professional musician for 20 years, a music therapist for five years,
and a racquetball instructor at the YMCA. I played and won many state and national
tournaments in singles and doubles. At the same time, I earned a B.A. in Creative and
Professional Writing with a minor in Women’s Studies at WMU, where I graduated with honors.
In 1990, I went to Albuquerque, NM, where I earned a Master’s degree in literature followed
later by a Ph.D. in English from the University of New Mexico. All of my children came to NM
with me. We all love New Mexico dearly and plan to be together there again one day. My
dissertation is titled “The Organics of Working-Class Struggle: Literature, Theory, and Practice.”
I taught English and literature at UNM for seven years; taught English and literature at
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute for four years; was a consultant for SIPI to evaluate
and revise curricula in the General Studies Department till the project was completed; taught
speech and writing at Diné College on the Navajo reservation for two years; and taught three
years of Developmental English at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute. In 2003, I was
offered a position here at KVCC. As much as I loved New Mexico, I could not turn down this
wonderful job. Another job I have is as a music therapist again here in Kalamazoo and own an
antiques business in South Haven. I look forward to getting to know you during the course of
this semester.
What is your philosophy of teaching and education?
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My teaching and learning goals for students are that they realize their self worth and the worth
of others—just as they are; that they have the possibility of getting hooked on becoming life-long
learners through the appreciation of ideas and knowledge gained in the particular discipline—
literature and/or writing. It is my hope for all students that they acquire critical thinking skills to
broaden their intellectual worlds if they choose to do so and that they learn skills of critical
analysis* in their reading, writing, and discussion., With critical consciousness as a foundation,
students in turn will learn to write with skilled grammar, usage, and mechanics applications—all
to prepare them to become not only competitive professionally and intellectually as articulate
writers but also to help them learn to become problem solvers, mediators, and civil,
responsible, and compassionate citizens of the world. It is my belief that grammar, form, and
parts of speech cannot be force fed to us; first, we must want to express ourselves—be busting
out with our thoughts and ideas. If there ain’t no clay on the table, there will be no sculpture. It
is also important that students become familiar with various technological aids, such as
computers, various programs on computers, and diverse ways to find information through the
Internet or through library resources. This is an area that remains a constant learning ground
for me as I try to introduce new ideas that help my students achieve the goals of the courses I
teach—a seemingly never-ending endeavor. If all this makes no sense to you, then fake it till
you make it.
*Important: The means of education (or the process) is much more important than the end (or
the product: an A or 4.0, a job, a big paycheck and all it affords). Of course, as a writing class,
you will learn about grammar, punctuation, and form. But we learn about grammar, mechanics,
and punctuation through the means of practicing critical analysis and thinking, often called
critical pedagogy (or crit ped) or critical consciousness: this is the main root of any philosophy
of teaching I might embrace. What that means for students is that we often deal with conflict,
controversy, and contemporary topics and issues in the classroom. I most often use themes
and books that support those topics. For example, we are reading about Haiti and a doctor who
has forsaken a lucrative practice in the U.S. to help save lives in the most impoverished country
in the world. Why? Why would he do that? We will also explore food and nutrition. Everyone
eats, so wouldn’t it be good to consider what we eat and that we are what we eat? Now there
may be some students who wonder what this has to do with writing and research. My short
answer is everything. The longer answer exists throughout the 16 weeks of this course. If you
are a student who turns “wonder” into motivation and curiosity, welcome to this class. All I ask
is that you do your best and accept personal responsibility for whatever that “best” might be at
the time. For those of you who prefer “skill-and-drill-type” learning approaches with daily
lectures on grammar, mechanics, and usage, please consider finding another writing course at
this level that serves your needs.
Bien venidos. . .
Glo
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