Class Location:
Office:
Office Hour:
Email:
T/TH: 8:00 - 9:50 AM
F: 9-9:50 AM; RM 5971
6028
TH, 12:30-1:30
Or by appointment goldstonescott@fhda.edu
Course Objective:
The purpose of English 1A is to introduce you to academic writing and develop your critical reading, thinking and writing skills. The researching, reading, writing and editing skills you will learn in this course are designed to help you not just in this class, but in all academic coursework regardless of your major. We will be reading and reflecting upon a broad spectrum of primarily non-fiction prose designed to help you develop and express your own ideas with clarity, precision and effectiveness. Class discussions, peer workshops and self-assessment through a
Metacognitive Journal and Term Portfolio are all elements of the course that will allow you to take an active role in your growth and assessment throughout the term.
Course Website: http://foothillenglish1a.pbworks.com/
Student Objectives:

Apply critical reading/thinking/writing skills analyzing and writing, both in and out-ofclass essays, about various freshman composition level readings including essays, fiction and non-fiction.

Demonstrate the ability to follow academic conventions by formatting expository essays, including page-layout, parenthetical citations and Works Cited entries, in the current standard MLA format

Write freshman-level essays that follow the various stages of essay writing, including pre-writing, thesis development, illustration and support of the thesis using concrete,

specific evidence/examples, editing, proofreading and which are free of most errors in syntax, grammar, punctuation, diction, and spelling

Demonstrate understanding of effective college-level argumentation by producing logically-supported arguments and by recognizing and avoiding common logical fallacies

Produce a research paper which utilizes the various elements of research production, such as designing a research plan, compiling research notes, producing an outline, developing a draft, producing a finished paper that utilizes at least five academic sources and has a complete MLA-format Works Cited page
Course Requirements:
A passing grade in English 1A requires completion of all major course assignments.
These include: Three essays (Critical Reflection Paper, Advertisement Analysis Paper, and Persuasive-
Argumentative Research Paper), a Presentation (Research Paper), periodic quizzes on class readings, journal entries in and outside of the class, an in-class essay, final exam, and the ongoing revision of the Term Portfolio.
Plagiarism Policy:
Plagiarism is copying someone else’s work and representing it as your own. Any student who plagiarizes any written work in English 1A or cheats on an assignment will automatically receive an F on that assignment and the Language Arts Dean will be notified. DON’T DO IT!
Attendance and Rules:
Due to the nature of this class, in-class journal prompts, quizzes, presentations and peer reviews require active participation in this course and attendance is mandatory. Please come prepared to take part in class discussions and peer workshops. Missing more than three classes may result in the lowering of your final grade by one third of a letter grade (an A- would be dropped to a B+).
If you foresee circumstances that will result in your being unable to attend class, please contact me through my office phone or via e-mail. It is a good idea to become acquainted with one or more class members who can fill you in on material covered during an absence in order for you to come to the following class prepared. You are expected to arrive at class on time, to treat your fellow students with respect and to complete your assignments on time. Failing to follow the rules may result in being dropped from the class. Please refrain from using cell phones or any other electronic devices in class.

Required Materials:
Krakauer, Jon, Into Thin Air
Steinbeck, John. Travels With Charley: In Search of America
A binder with dividers (for Portfolio)
A spiral or composition notebook (for journal)
A college level dictionary (recommended)
Course Content:
Metacognitive Journal : Keeping a journal as you read is one of the best ways of exploring a piece of writing. In the Metacognitive Journal you will be keeping for this class as you read, you will record your first impressions, explore relationships, ask questions, write down quotations, copy whole passages that are difficult or aesthetically pleasing. This is your opportunity to interact with and share your thoughts on a text with your classmates and a way of generating ideas for essays.
Essays : You will be writing three essays (roughly 1000 words except for the research paper) in addition to the two in-class essays that will help comprise the midterm and final exams. The outof-class essays will have three dates (one for each draft – rough, peer workshop and final).
Critical Reflection Paper: For the basis of this paper, you will reflect on one of the major themes in John Steinbeck’s Travels With Charley and/or William Least Heat
Moon’s “Nameless, Tennessee”. Refer to the tentative course calendar for due dates for drafts and peer review.
Advertisement Analysis Paper: The purpose of the Advertisement Analysis Paper is to thoroughly analyze an ad (newspaper, magazine, radio, web or any other) and look for elements that tell the reader something about that specific product or service. These elements can be implied or exposed directly to the audience. The writer should focus on these elements in order to present a clear argument on how this advertisement can influence people’s attitudes towards a certain object or idea, and then analyze them carefully to discover if the message implied is successful or not.

Research Paper : The third required at-home essay will be an argumentative/persuasive research paper of at least 1500 words, using a minimum of three to five primary or secondary sources, correctly documented utilizing MLA format.
Peer Reviews: On Peer Review days, you will bring FOUR double-spaced copies of your essay in rough draft form that you will trade with the members in your peer group. Trading and annotating papers will allow you to generate ideas about how to improve the clarity, organization and content of your paper. You will make your writing suggestions on a peer worksheet that will be given to the essay’s author and later evaluated for a grade that will be based on the quality of your responses. Failure to attend a Peer Review session will result in the deduction of one whole letter grade on your essay! If you cannot attend on a peer review day, it is your responsibility to inform me ASAP so that alternative arrangements can be made.
GRADES
Major out-of-class essays 45%
In-class essays
Grammar Quizzes/Test
20%
10%
A = excellent
B = good
C = satisfactory
D and F = not passing Peer Feedback Sheets 5%
Portfolio Review/Analysis 10%.
Metacognitive Journal 10%
I accept no work after the time of the final exam.
Incomplete Policy: Students must declare their intentions to receive an incomplete no later than two weeks before the end of the term. No incompletes will be issued without a contract!
Extra Credit: Students will be notified of opportunities for extra credit, including attendance at various cultural events related to the class ("Recommended Fieldtrips"). If students attend one or more of these events, and provide evidence of attendance (ticket stub, program, et cetera) along with a typed one- to two-page personal response (review, analysis, reflection, critique, et cetera), they can receive up to ten points for each.
Recommended Fieldtrip/Extra Credit opportunities offered thus far include:
A trip to the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, CA
Visit to the Steinbeck Library at SJSU

Tentative Course Schedule
(Come to class having completed assignments in bold)
JAN 4: Intro to class, class goals
Write short biographical essay in class
Buy textbooks and bring a notebook (journal) to the next class
6: Common proofreading/editing marks
Active Reading
Discuss Metacognitive Journal/ Intro to Blue Highways
7: Due: "Nameless, Tennessee" (please print story and bring to class)
In-Class Journal
Introduction to Travels With Charley
11: Due: Travels With Charley (TWC) pp 1-9, 19-42, Journal Entry (journal entries due with each reading for the rest of the quarter)
Quiz #1
Discuss TWC and Journal Entries
13: Due: TWC 43-48, 59-88
Thesis statements
Discuss fragments, comma splices, and run-ons
14: Quiz #2
Discuss Criteria for Essay #1
Developing paragraphs
18: Due: TWC 88-119
In-Class journal
20: Due: TWC 194-208
Discuss sentence structural problems
Subject-verb agreement/practice
21: Quiz #3
Outline for Essay #1
25: Due: Preliminary draft for Essay #1 (bring 3 copies to class)
Peer Review
27: Due: TWC 249-277
Logic and flaws in logic

28: Intro to Into Thin Air (ITA)
Discuss Quotation marks, italics and ellipses
FEB 1: Due: Introduction – Ch.3 ITA: Journal entry
Quiz #4
3: Due: Essay #1
Discuss commas
In-Class Diagnostic Essay
4: Due: ITA ch 4: Journal entry
Assign and discuss Essay #2 (Ad Analysis Paper)
8: Due: ITA ch 5-6: Journal entry
Quiz #5
10: Due: ITA ch. 7-8: Journal entry
Discuss apostrophes
Quiz #6
11: Due: ITA ch 9-11: Journal entry
Schedule individual meetings
15: Due: ITA ch. 12-14: Journal entry
Watch Storm of the Century
17:
18:
Due: ITA ch 15-17: Journal entry
Finish Storm of the Century
Presidents Holidays Observance: No Class
22: Preliminary draft due, Peer review (bring 3 copies of Essay #2)
24: Individual Meetings: no class
25: Individual Meetings: no class
Deadline to drop with a W
MAR 1: Due: Finish ITA, Journal
Discuss criteria of research paper (Essay #3)
Discuss citing/annotated bibliography

3: Due: Research Paper Proposal
Meet in library for orientation and research
4: Due: Essay #2
Quiz on end of ITA
Rhetorical Devices
8: Due: Annotated Bibliography
Sign up for research presentations
10: Due: Research Paper Rough Draft, (Bring 3 copies for Peer evaluation)
Peer Review
11: TBA
15: Presentation of Research Papers
17: Due: Portfolios and Research Papers
Presentation of Research Papers (cont’d)
18: Begin Portfolio Presentations
Final exam (in class)
Thursday, March 24: 7:30 – 9:30 a.m.