BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
City University of New York
Department of English
ENG 101-081
English Composition
TUES 8:00-9:40, THUR 8:00-8:50
Office Hours: Tues 9:40, by appointment
And by appointment
3 hours (3 credits)
Asilia Franklin-Phipps
Phone: 347-416-1906
Course Description
English 101—English Composition—is required of all BMCC students, no matter what their curriculum. The
course introduces students to academic writing; by its conclusion, students will be ready for English 201 and for
writing they will be asked to do in advanced courses across the curriculum.
Students completing English 101 will have mastered the fundamentals of college-level reading, writing, including
developing a thesis-driven response to the writing of others and following the basic conventions of citation and
documentation. They will have practices what Mike Rose calls the “habits of mind” necessary for success in college
and in the larger world: summarizing, classifying, comparing, and analyzing.
Prerequisites/Co-requisites
Passing score on the CATW
Student Learning Outcomes
Students who complete this course can expect the following learning outcomes:
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Organize, develop, and revise at least four thesis-driven essays that include substantial support and use
variety of rhetorical strategies (Assessment: three out-of-class essays), one in-class essay, departmental
final examination)
Summarize, paraphrase, and quote from readings (Assessment: graded essays, final project-TBA, reading
response journals, departmental final examination)
Critically analyze numerous college-level readings (Assessment: in-class group exercises, class discussion
of readings, graded essays, departmental final examination)
Demonstrate a command of edited American English, using vocabulary and syntax appropriate to collegelevel work. (Assessment: graded essays, final project-TBA, and departmental final examination.)
Demonstrate a command of the MLA conventions of citation and documentation. (Assessment: three outof-class graded essays)
General Education Outcomes
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Communication Skills—students will write, read, listen, and speak critically and effectively. (Assessment:
graded essays, class and small group discussion of readings, departmental examination.)
Values—students will make informed choices based on an understanding of personal values,
human diversity, multicultural awareness, and social responsibility. (Assessment: graded essays, class
discussion of readings)
Required Text & Readings
 A dictionary with at least 70,000 entries
 Pens or pencils and an eight-and-a-half-by-eleven inch pad of paper/notebook.
 A folder for handouts
 Something to save essays on (a USB drive, or disk, or Google account for Google docs.)
 The Bedford Reader, 10th Edition by X.J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy and Jane E. Aaron
 ISBN-13: 9780312667795
 ISBN: 0312667795
 Edition Description: Tenth Edition
Other Resources
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Class wikispace URL coming soon.
*Note: Please bring all class materials each class session including paper, pens, books and assignments.
All books are available at the BMCC bookstore, barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com. If ordering online please
consider the delivery time.
PLEASE HAVE REQUIRED TEXTS BY FEBRUARY 21ST. YOU WILL NOT PASS THE CLASS
WITHOUT HAVING THE BOOKS.
Course Requirements:
Regular, punctual attendance is requirements for the class. Excessive absences and/or chronic lateness will have
direct and indirect consequences on your final grade. I will take attendance at the beginning of each class session.
English department and course policy allow no more than 4 hours of unexcused absences per semester.
Excessive absences as well as lateness may cause you to be dropped from the class roll.
Evaluation & Requirements of Students
Students receive letter grades, A through F; based on their writing, course work and their performance on the
departmental final examination. Course work counts for 70% of the grade and the final examination counts for 30%.
By the conclusion of English 101, students will have completed three formal, thesis-driven essays of three to four
typewritten pages each and which will have gone through multiple drafts. In addition, students will write one inclass essay in preparation for the final examination. Each of these will make use of summary, paraphrase, and
quotation as well as analysis and argument. Together, these four essays compromise 50% of the course grade.
Additional course work includes homework readings for each class; journal entries for each essay read at home,
quizzes, in-class writing assignments, group work, and peer-review workshops. This, along with class participation,
comprises 20% of the course grade.
Students are responsible for work covered on days missed due to absence. Essays due are to be handed in at the
beginning of that class session. Essays handed in after this point (even later during the same class) will be marked
late.
The work in this course is intensive, and it will be difficult to catch up if you fall behind. Students must come to
class prepared to participate. Thus, the reading and assignments must be done on time before each class session.
Papers handed in late will be marked down one letter grade for each class meeting late (a paper due Monday but
handed in Wednesday will be marked down one letter grade). Papers will not be accepted more than one week
past the initial due date. Students will not have an opportunity to make up in-class quizzes or peer-review sessions,
and missed classes on these days will be reflected in the student’s grade.
It is the students’ responsibility to take notes in class no matter who is speaking and to make sure that what is said
by both the instructor and fellow students is clear. If you do not understand our readings or discussion, you must ask
questions.
In summary, the final grade will be based on 4 Essays (50%), Participation (homework, journal entries, quizzes,
class participation) (20%), and the Departmental final examination (30%).
LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED THE WEEK THEY ARE DUE. Beyond that week,
you will not receive credit for the assignment. Each class session the assignment is late, the assignment will lose one
letter grade. Students are expected to come to class prepared—this includes printing. Any assignment that is not
turned in at the beginning of class is considered late. Emailed assignments will not be accepted.
College Attendance Policy
At BMCC, the maximum number of absences is limited to one more hour than the number of hours a class meets in
one week. For example, you may be enrolled in a three-hour class. In that class, you would be allowed 4 hours of
absence (not 4 days). In the case of excessive absences, the instructor has the option to lower the grade or assign an
F or WU grade.
Academic Adjustments for Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments for this course must
contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities. BMCC is committed to providing equal access to all
programs and curricula to all students.
BMCC Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity Statement
Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s ideas, words or artistic, scientific, or technical work as one’s own
creation. Using the idea or work of another is permissible only when the original author is identified. Paraphrasing
and summarizing, as well as direct quotations, require citations to the original source. Plagiarism may be intentional
or unintentional. Lack of dishonest intent does not necessarily absolve a student of responsibility for plagiarism.
Students who are unsure how and when to provide documentation are advised to consult with their instructors. The
library has guides designed to help students to appropriately identify a cited work. The full policy can be found on
BMCC’s web side, www.bmcc.cuny.edu. For further information on integrity and behavior, please consult the
college bulletin (also available online).
Academic Schedule:
All reading and writing assignments will be announced in advance. The professor will provide the students with
regular schedules of assignments.
Important Dates:
February 3rd
February 17th
April 11th
Last day to add/change a class
Last day to drop without a “W”
Last day to withdraw with a “W”
Other Notes:
Please respectful of the academic environment. Cell phones, iPods and laptops used for anything other than
engaging in classroom activities are not part of the learning experience.
Other Tips