English 101
Fall 2008
Fernley campus
Terri Choate, instructor
wishujoy@gmail.com
575-7443
Note: The instructor reserves the right to make changes to the syllabus at any time.
Changes will be announced in class, and it is the student’s responsibility to keep abreast.
Note also that assignments are due on the date they appear in the syllabus: look ahead!
Week 1
Aug. 25
Course introduction
Diagnostic essay
Paragraphs & Paragraph strategies
(BH p.76-99)
Week 3
Sept. 8
Week 2
Labor Day no class
Week 4
The structure of an essay
Beginning, support, ending paragraphs
Sentences & sentence errors
(BH 238-257)
Choosing a research topic
Read: BH, review paragraphs, p 76-99
M: Sedaris, p 251; Vowell, p 259
Due: a substantial (1/2-2/3 page)
paragraph using one of the patterns of
organization discussed in BH (p 8290)…underline your topic sentence
and name the organizational pattern
(25 extra credit points)
Week 5
Sept. 22
Analysis
Division & Classification
Commas (BH 372-398)
Conducting Research
Read: BH, p 533-557
M Orwell, p 285; King, p 412;
Goldberg, p 306; Models p 408-412
Begin your research for research paper.
Due: Reflective essay draft
Sept. 1
Sept. 15
Clarity & Simplicity
(BH 146-168, 178-191)
Summary & paraphrase
Reflective essay workshop
Research topics
Proofing/revision symbols
Quiz 1: Comma rules 1&2
Read: BH p.528-533
M: Zinsser, p 168; Dillard, p 215
Due: Reading log #1, Common book #1
Research paper topic and initial thesis
Week 6
Sept.29
Other punctuation
Verb tense (BH 325-333)
Informative Writing
Evaluating sources
Quiz 2: All commas
Read: BH, p 557-571
M Twain, p 438; Catton, p 456;
Mailer, p 480
Continue research!
Due: Reading log #2, Common book #2,
research paper sources
Week 7
Oct. 6
Week 8
Agreement & Shifts
Begin education unit
Oct.13
School Reform?
Curriculum content
Quiz 3: Verbs
Read: M Kralovec, p 86; Brody p 130;
McCullough, p 205; Sherry p 510
Hirsch (http://tinyurl.com/kr3sv)
Read: “Phonetics teaching…”
(http://tinyurl.com/6gvgav),
“School Vouchers”
(http://tinyurl.com/6jnpp4)
Continue research!
Due: informative essay draft copy
Watch: http://tinyurl.com/67fzcm
(John Stossel “Stupid in America”)
Continue research!
Due: Reading Log #3, Common Book #3,
reflective essay final copy
Week 9
Oct. 20
The Hobart Shakespeareans
Research writing
Integrating source material
Avoiding plagiarism
Week 10
Oct.27
Making an argument: The Environment
“An Inconvenient Truth”
Due: informative essay, final copy
Read: M p. 484-491 and 492-497
BH 489-504
Due: analysis essay draft copy
Week 11
Week 12
Bring to class research notes.
Nov. 3
Making an argument: The Environment
“The Great Global Warming Swindle”
Logical Fallacies
Quiz 4: Agreement
Read: M Tangney p 524, Kahan p 530
BH p. 505-517
Bjorn Lomborg, “How to Get…”
(http://tinyurl.com/57j245)
Nov.10
Toulmin analysis
Read: “On Takings, Taxes, and …”
(http://tinyurl.com/5uu3km) and construct
a counter argument
“Toulmin’s Analysis”
(http://tinyurl.com/2q4z3y)
Due: research paper draft copy and
final copy analysis paper
Week 13
Nov. 17
Rhetoric
MLA Documentation workshop
(BH 622-697)
Word Choice & Emphasis
Modifiers
(BH 206-235,302-309)
Read: M King, p 498; “The Gettysburg
Address”
Due: Draft copy argument essay
Week 15
Dec. 1
Class presentations of arguments
Week 14
Nov. 24
Pronoun reference/case
(BH 279-300)
“Citizen King: American Experience”
Read: Patrick Henry, Lou Gehrig, Ronald
Reagan speeches
Due: Reading log #4, Common book #4,
Week 16
Dec. 8
Class presentation of research papers
“Freestyle”
Quiz 5: Pronouns
Due: argument essay final copy, Reading
Log #5
Due: research paper final copy
Common book #5