Las Positas College
3000 Campus Hill Drive
Livermore, CA 94551-7650
(925) 424-1000
(925) 443-0742 (Fax)
Course Outline for English 104
INTEGRATED READING AND WRITING II
I.
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
ENG 104 — INTEGRATED READING AND WRITING II— 4 units
Preparation in English for success in courses across the curriculum. Integrates reading,
critical thinking and writing assignments and introduces research and documentation skills.
Designed to accommodate students who would benefit from one-on-one support and some
small group instruction as they prepare for English 1A. Prerequisite: English 100A with a
“Pass,” or equivalent course or appropriate skill level demonstrated through the English
assessment process. 3 hours lecture, 3 hours laboratory.
[Typical contact hours: lecture 52.5, laboratory 52.5]
II.
NUMBER OF TIMES COURSE MAY BE TAKEN FOR CREDIT: One
III.
PREREQUISITE AND/OR ADVISORY SKILLS:
Before entering this course the student should be able to:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
M.
IV.
establish goals for the reading a text prior to reading it by employing strategies
such as forming appropriate questions;
recognize textbook and essay structures;
use visual skimming and scanning techniques;
read with a focused, active style;
use textual annotation;
identify and summarize text’s main and supporting ideas;
generate ideas for writing based on the reading, using a variety of pre and postreading techniques;
create paragraphs that develop an idea with logically related information;
organize coherent, multi-paragraph essays that develop a central idea;
infer ideas from personal experiences;
identify and describe thematic connections between texts and personal
experiences;
produce sentences without gross errors that impede communication;
demonstrate academic integrity and responsibility.
MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
use strategies to assess a text’s difficulty, purpose, and main idea prior to the act of
reading;
annotate a text during the act of reading;
employ strategies that enable a critical evaluation of a text;
respond critically to a text through class discussions and writing;
use concepts of paragraph and essay structure and development to analyze
his/her own and others’ essays;
write effective summaries of texts that avoid wording and sentence structure of the
original;
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
M.
respond to texts drawing on personal experience and other texts;
organize coherent essays around a central idea or a position;
apply structural elements in writing that are appropriate to the audience and
purpose;
provide appropriate and accurate evidence to support positions and conclusions;
demonstrate academic integrity and responsibility, particularly when integrating the
exact language and ideas of an outside text into one’s own writing;
utilize effective grammar recall to check sentences for correct grammar and
mechanics;
proofread his/her own and others’ prose.
V.
CONTENT:
A.
Texts of primarily non-fictional narrative and expository essays from across the
curriculum
B.
Class and small group discussion of these readings, which assist the student in
evaluating and annotating the text and source, analyzing the author’s strategy,
drawing inferences and conclusions, citing textual references and applying the
outcome to other contexts, including the student’s individual worldview
C.
Practice using pre-reading and post-reading strategies
D.
Practice writing expressive and analytical responses to texts
E.
Practice identifying and analyzing the structure of essays
F.
Practice writing effective summaries
G.
Practice of a writing process, including individual and collaborative prewriting,
planning, drafting, revision, and editing
H.
Practice writing unified and coherent paragraphs, sentences constructed with
variety, and multi-paragraph essays
I.
Essay assignments that require the writer to respond to and/or reference texts
J.
Instruction in the forms, causes, and effects of cheating and plagiarism
K.
Introduction to documentation
L.
Practice analyzing sentence structure, correcting major grammatical errors, and
applying punctuation rules
M.
Laboratory work on reading, writing, and grammar assignments
VI.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
A.
Lecture
B.
Class and group reading and discussion
C.
Class and group application of concepts
D.
Individualized tutorial and laboratory instruction
E.
Computer-assisted instruction
F.
Course management software to assist students in tracking their grades and
communicating with their instructor
VII.
TYPICAL ASSIGNMENTS:
A.
Essay Prompt: Personal Memoir
1. In Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston writes about her
experience in the internment camp and how it shaped her life. For this
assignment, you will also write a personal memoir. In your personal memoir,
write an essay modeled on Wakatsuki Houston’s book, or another text
assigned by your instructor, focusing on an event that was a turning point in
your life.
2. Brainstorming
a.
Make a list of possible topics for your memoir. List at least five
personal experiences in your life that you consider significant, events
that affected your future choices and/or the way that you think about
yourself. Be prepared to share your list with a partner.
b.
3.
Working with a partner, you should each share your list, taking turns
sharing some of the stories in more detail.
Freewriting
a.
After sharing some of your stories with a partner, choose one to
“freewrite” about. Write freely for ten minutes about one of the stories
that your find important in your life. Write without stopping, not worrying
about grammar, spelling or word choice.
b.
Read over your freewrite, assessing whether this is the story that you
want to use for your personal memoir essay. If it isn’t, freewrite about
another title from your table of contents.
c.
Main point: Once you have chosen your topic for your essay, consider
the following question as your main point of the essay: How was this
experience a turning point in your life? Answer this question at the
bottom of the freewrite.
4.
B.
Making an Essay Plan
a. Review your freewriting, looking for major ideas or events that you would
like to put into your essay. Put a star next to each idea from the
freewriting that you would like to include in the essay.
b. On a new sheet of paper, make a list of all the events or ideas from your
freewriting that you marked with a star.
c. Add to your list any other important ideas or events that you did not
include in your freewriting but would like to include in the essay.
d. Your essay will need to be divided into “paragraphs,” or chunks of text
that go together. Looking at your list of important experiences and ideas,
divide them into three or four paragraphs. Write the number “1” next to
every idea for the first paragraph, a “2” next to every idea for the second
paragraph, a “3” next to every idea for the third paragraph. You should
not go above five paragraphs, since this is a short essay.
e. Show your freewriting and paragraph outline to your instructor. You
should use these documents later to help you write your essay.
5. Essay Requirements:
a. Essay addresses the assignment topic, explaining how the experience
was a turning point in your life.
b. Essay has a main point about your experience
c. Each paragraph is organized around a central idea
d. Paragraphs include concrete details to support main ideas
e. Sentences are generally clear and easy to follow
f.
Essay has a creative title that reflects the specific topic of your essay
g. Essay reflects proofreading
Essay Prompt Example: Group Think
1. Apply the research that you’ve done about the term “groupthink” to one of the
texts we’ve read or watched. In your essay, discuss the following:
a. The definition of groupthink;
b. A brief summary of the text;
c. The causes of groupthink and how they apply to the text (you need only
discuss those that apply);
d. The symptoms of groupthink and how they apply (you need only discuss
those that apply);
e. Ways groupthink can be prevented and how this applies or doesn’t apply
to the text.
For your thesis, answer the question, “What does one learn by applying the
concept of groupthink to this text?” In your essay, you may also draw on
additional texts or examples (such as the Milgram Experiment), but this is not
required.
2. Pre-Reading Assignment Example:
a. “The Stanford Prison Experiment” (Mind Readings p. 230) begins with
four quotations. Explain what each one means, in your own words.
Based on these quotations, what do you think the article will be about?
b. Look up one of the following words, assigned by your instructor, from
“The Stanford Prison Experiment”: repent, misdeeds, penitence, barren,
detachment, mock prison, social psychologists, fortresses, immune,
critical analysis, homogeneous, arbitrary, informed consent, corridor,
solitary confinement, arbitrarily controlled, dehumanized, emasculated,
anonymity, esthetic, ostensible, perfunctory, recalcitrant, dissention,
deindividualized, emulate, latitude, improvise, perverted symbiotic
relationship, self-aggrandizement, self-deprecation, barricaded, taunt,
vilify, compliant, forlorn, psychosomatic, authoritarianism, sanctioned,
deviant, sadism / sadistic, degradation, torment, capricious, confederate
informer, conspirators, futile, disparaging, Kafkaesque metamorphosis,
C.
VIII.
rebukes, psychopathic, pathological syndromes, neurotic hang-ups,
social convention, docilely, paranoid.
Each group should present the definition of their words. Other students
should write down each word and definition.
3. Reading Assignment: Philip Zimbardo’s “The Stanford Prison Experiment,”
anthologized in Mind Readings.
4. Post-Reading may include:
a. Written Response to “The Stanford Prison Experiment.”
b. Quick research on the Milgram Experiment
c. Personal Experience Journal
d. Discussion of film
e. Written response to film
5. Pre-writing for essay: rewriting
Final Exam: Summary and Essay
1. Summary Directions: Carefully read the article/s given to you by your
instructor.
a.
Annotate each article/s to help you understand the main ideas. You
may want to annotate for strong ideas, confusing ideas, and/or ideas
you disagree with. You may also want to write notes in the margins to
help you remember why you marked those sections.
b.
Write a one-paragraph summary of the article/s. Your summary/ies
should do the following:
i.
Name the author early in the summary,
ii.
Give the title of the article early in the summary.
iii.
Use correct punctuation for the title of the article.
iv.
Explain the main point of the article early in the summary.
v.
Provide an accurate description of the article’s ideas.
vi.
Describe the article’s supporting arguments clearly, using good
detail.
vii.
Use your own words rather than quotations or the author’s
words.
viii. Paraphrase correctly and avoid plagiarism.
ix.
Remain objective and do not give a response or your opinion.
x.
Use reporting verbs to clarify that these are the author’s ideas,
not your ideas.
2.
Essay Directions: Write an essay in response to the following prompt: Imagine
that you are a high school student. The school is considering a requirement
that all students do forty hours of volunteer service in the community to
graduate. Do you think service should be required? Your essay should take a
position on this question and support that position with arguments and
examples. Your examples should come from your learning and experiences,
which might include:
a.
Personal experiences
b.
Experiences of people you know
c.
Information you have learned in school
d.
Information you have learned about from a book, movie, or show
e.
The ideas in the articles from your Reading Final Exam:
i.
“Kids with a Cause” by Cathy Gulli
ii.
“Mandatory Volunteerism for Students is a Farce” by Carlos
Ramos-Mrosovsky.
EVALUATION:
A.
Methods
1.
Individualized assessment of progress in sentence structure and editing skills
2.
Lab lessons and workshops, online exercises, tests, and quizzes on grammar
and mechanics
B.
3.
Assessment of written responses to reading
4.
Evaluation of essays
5.
Frequency and quality of class participation
6.
Final exam assessing reading and writing
Frequency
1.
Monthly individualized assessments by instructor and weekly individualized
assessments by instructional assistants
2.
Weekly lab work with instructional assistants
3.
Bi-monthly assessment of written responses to reading
4.
Bi-monthly evaluation of essays
5.
Weekly assessment of frequency and quality of class participation
6.
One final exam
IX.
TYPICAL TEXTS:
A.
Anker, Susan. Real Writing. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009.
B.
Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki, and James D. Houston. Farewell to Manzanar. New
York: Dell Laurel-Leaf-Random House, 1973.
C.
Las Positas College English Department Faculty, eds. Mind Readings: Short
Essays for Reading, Reasoning, and Writing. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010.
X.
OTHER MATERIALS REQUIRED OF STUDENTS:
A.
Computer memory device
B.
Print card
Creation Date:
Revision Date:
11/10/10; 4/11/11
Date Approved by Curriculum Committee: 5/09/2011
Date Approved by Board of Trustees: 6/18/2011
Effective Date:
Fall 2011