Eng 1102
Dr. David Janssen
TR 6:00-8:40
Summer 2008
Office Hours: by appointment
Phone: (770) 358-5093, office
e-mail: djanssen@gdn.edu
English 1102 Course Objectives
In order to successfully complete ENGL 1102, the student should fulfill these objectives:
Literacy Objective
Students must further advance their reading, comprehension, and response skills, both written and
oral, in relation to nuanced and complex texts.
Critical Thinking Objectives
Students should develop or significantly improve their ability to
 Synthesize, for example in the use of multiple texts as support for an original idea.
 Reflect on argumentative and research writing processes and products.
 Develop and respond to individualized critical questions.
Process Objectives
Students should develop or improve their ability to recognize and apply complex writing
processes, including but not limited to the following:
 Increased awareness of process fundamentals as stated in the process objectives section
of the ENGL 1101 Course Objectives.
 Strategies and skills for academic research.
 Strategies and skills for framing and developing an argument.
 Strategies and skills for critical interpretation.
Product Objectives
Students should develop or improve their ability to produce an organized, coherent, and
developed essay demonstrating a mastery of Standard Written English. Successful demonstration
of these skills includes the following:
 Increased competency in rhetorical strategy as related to audience, tone, and purpose in a
variety of contexts.
 Articulation and understanding of complex subtleties involving a thesis idea.
 Demonstration of the ability to correctly apply modal competency in research and
argumentative situations.
 Demonstration of advanced documentation skills, including but not limited to the
analysis, interpretation, and appropriate documentation of primary and secondary critical
texts.
 Competency in grammatical and mechanical correctness.
 Competency in timed writing situations such as the Regents’ Exam.
Course Requirements
The purpose of this course is to enhance further the critical thinking, reading and writing skills
acquired in English 1101as well as to develop essential research abilities in a variety of rhetorical
situations. You will be required to write five essays this semester, and you will also be required
to write two Regents’ Tests. In addition, your grade will be determined by a series of quizzes I
will give throughout the semester. Some will be announced, but others will be “pop” quizzes, so
you need to come to class prepared. An informal oral presentation will be required at the end of
the semester as well. Finally, you will be required to keep a reading journal that focuses on the
assigned readings. The journal will be due at the end of the semester.
Required Texts
Ways of Reading, 7th Edition
Sarah Vowell, Assassination Vacation
Policies
Absences: In order to succeed, you need to be here. Accordingly, if you miss more than
3 nights, your final grade will be dropped by one letter. If you miss more than 6, it drops
two, and so on. This policy is non-negotiable. If you do miss class, it is also your
responsibility to stay current with the work and to make up any missed work when
possible.
Late Work: Essays will be deducted 5 points for each calendar day they are late. Quizzes
may not be made up.
Plagiarism: If you are caught plagiarizing, you automatically fail the course.
Cell Phones: Please turn off your cell phones before entering class.
Classroom Deportment: As a professor, I have dedicated my life to the academic pursuit.
The classroom is my workspace, and I regard that space with reverence and sanctity. As
a student in my class, I expect you to help me maintain the dignity of the classroom by
respecting its collegial environment. If environmental problems do occur, I will address
them accordingly. If such problems do persist, offenders may be asked not to return to
class. Also, please keep in mind that this is your classroom as well, your environment,
your college experience. And, while I intend to instill in you that same sense of
reverence I feel for the classroom, I also hope to demonstrate and help you to discover
that working in a healthy academic environment can be a blast.
Assignment Schedule
May
29
Class Introduction: read questionnaires
Journal Assignment
June
3
Regents’ Test Preparation
Nuts and Bolts Review
Editing Quiz
Regents’ Test #1
July
5
“The Banking Concept of Education, Paulo Freire: 256-267
“The Loss of the Creature,” Walker Percy: 468-481
“The Achievement of Desire, Richard Rodriguez: 562-581
10
Essay #1 (draft in class)
12
Essay #1 Due
“Haunted America,” Patricia Limerick Nelson: 411-443
“‘Indians’: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History,” Jane Tompkins:
654-670
17
View Film
19
Conferences
24
Essay #2 Due
1
Assassination Vacation: 1-185
Going on Vacation: A Portfolio Introduction
3
Assassination Vacation: 186-255
Regents’ Test #2
8
Review Writing
________ Vacation Proposals Due
10
Peer Review: Rough Draft of Review Due
Peer Review: First Annotation Due
Regents’ Test #3
15
Conferences
17
Vacation Presentation
22
Final Exam
Grade Percentages:
Essay #1(in-class): 5%
Essay #2: 10%
Essay #3: 10%
Essay#4: 15%
Essay #5: 20%
Regents’ Tests: 20%
Quizzes: 10%
Reading Journal: 5%
Oral Presentation: 5%
*Essays #3, #4, #5, and the Oral Presentation assignment together comprise your Vacation
Packet, your final exam for the course, which is worth 50% of your overall grade.