BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The City University of New York
Department of English
ENGLISH 101: COMPOSITION 1
Fall 2014 3 credits/3 hours/ 0 lab hours
Instructor: Calley Marotta
Section 220 M/W Murray 11118:00-9:15
Office Hours: Thursday 11:30-12:30 & by appointment in N760/761
Mailbox in N751and email Marotta.ca@gmail.com
Course Description
English Composition is the standard 3-credit /3 hour plus conference freshman writing course. The course
introduces students to academic writing. By its conclusion, students will be ready for English 201 and for
the 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 and writing, including
developing a thesis-driven response to the writing of others and following the basic conventions of
citation and documentation. They will have practiced what Mike Rose calls the “habits of mind”
necessary for success in college and in the larger world: summarizing, classifying, comparing,
contrasting, and analyzing. Students will be introduced to basic research methods and MLA
documentation and complete a research project. Students are required to take a departmental final exam
that requires the composition of a 500 word thesis-driven essay comparing and contrasting two essays.
Since writing will help you engage in an academic community, the course readings will be based upon the
theme of Community and Isolation. The essays we read will help us examine who/what designates a
community and how social conditions produce communities, individuals, and outcasts.
We will ask: What connects us and isolates us from one another?
Prerequisites: Pass the CATR and CATW tests
Course Student Learning Outcomes
1. Organize, develop, and revise at least four thesis driven essays
that include substantial support and use a variety of rhetorical
strategies.
2. Summarize, paraphrase, and quote from readings
3. Critically analyse numerous readings
4. Demonstrate a command of edited American English, using
vocabulary and syntax appropriate to college level work
5. Demonstrate a command of the MLA conventions of citation
and documentation
General Education Learning Outcomes
Communication Skills- Students will be able to write, read, listen
and speak critically and effectively.
Arts & Humanities- Students will be able to develop knowledge
and understanding of the arts and literature through critiques of
works of art, music, theatre or literature.
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Measurements
3 out-of-class essays, 1 in-class essay, and the
departmental final examination
graded essays, out-of-class and in-class writing exercises,
and the departmental final examination
out-of-class and in-class writing exercises, class
discussion of readings, graded essays, and the
departmental final examination
graded essays and the final examination
out-of-class graded essays
Measurements
class discussion of readings, graded essays, and the
departmental final examination.
class discussion of readings, graded essays, and the
departmental final examination.
Information & Technology Literacy- Students will be able to
collect, evaluate and interpret information and effectively use
information technologies.
Values- Students will be able to make informed choices based on
an understanding of personal values, human diversity,
multicultural awareness and social responsibility.
blog posts and research for essays
graded essays in response to course theme of community
and isolation
*This is a Pathways Course
CUNY COMMON CORE Location
Please check below the area of the Common Core for which the course is being submitted. (Select only one.)
Required
English Composition
Mathematical and Quantitative
Reasoning
Life and Physical Sciences
Flexible
World Cultures and Global Issues
US Experience in its Diversity
Creative Expression
Individual and Society
Scientific World
Learning Outcomes
In the left column explain the assignments and course attributes that will address the learning outcomes in the right column.
English Composition: Six credits
A course in this area must meet all the learning outcomes in the right column. A student will:
Example: Students will write thesis driven papers,
research papers, blogs entries, informal journal
entries, oral presentations or Blackboard discussion
groups that identify arguments and major
assumptions and evaluate supporting evidence and
contexts in texts by various writers such as Plato,
King, Emerson, Walker, and Anzaldua
Students will write thesis driven papers, research
papers, blogs entries, informal journal entries
and/or blackboard discussion board entries.
Students will produce multiple drafts of each
required paper. Students will engage in peer review
sessions and provide written feedback to others’
writings.
Students will conduct primary and secondary
research using the library and college on-line
databases. Students will write annotated
bibliographies evaluating the sources they found
and/or write research papers that synthesize the
primary and secondary sources they evaluated
Students will write thesis driven papers, research
papers, and/or oral presentations that support a
thesis with well-reasoned arguments using research
and utilizing various technology to support a
persuasive argument. For example, a student may
write an essay comparing educational theories in
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and Malcolm X’s
“Learning to Read.”
Students will write thesis driven research papers
that support an original thesis about various texts
covered in the course. Students will support their
 Read and listen critically and analytically, including identifying an
argument's major assumptions and assertions and evaluating its
supporting evidence.
 Write clearly and coherently in varied, academic formats (such as formal
essays, research papers, and reports) using standard English and
appropriate technology to critique and improve one's own and others'
texts.
 Demonstrate research skills using appropriate technology, including
gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing primary and secondary sources.
 Support a thesis with well-reasoned arguments, and communicate
persuasively across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and
media.
 Formulate original ideas and relate them to the ideas of others by
employing the conventions of ethical attribution and citation.
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arguments using documented and cited primary and
secondary sources, utilizing conventions of MLA
ethical attribution and citation. For example, a
student may write an essay comparing educational
theories in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and
Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read” that would
include in-text citations and a Works Cited list.
Required Texts and Materials



Please purchase 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology (Third Edition) by Samuel Cohen. This
text is available at the BMCC bookstore. Please bring this text to every class in addition to
any other required readings that I copy and distribute in class.
Take notes in an 8 x 10 notebook and organize papers in a folder.
You will need a college level dictionary for the final and practice exam.
Course Requirements
Out of Class Work
 3 out-of-class essays graded as drafts/ able to be revised
 Assigned readings to be completed before class
 1 blog due before class or handed in during class (see blog sheet)
In-Class Work
 Informal writing including group work
 1 practice essay for the final exam
Participation is a part of your grade because you will learn through thinking and talking as
well as writing. In order to receive the maximum credit you must:



Be prepared to speak about the readings or writing skills at least once each class. You
can ask a question or share a comment with the class, or you can ask a follow-up question
to another student.
Please refer to other students by name, look at the person sharing, and put your hand
down while other people are speaking. Please raise your hand and wait to be called on
and do not call out unless you are instructed.
I will be asking you to read aloud and may even call on you when your hand is not up. I
never call on students to punish them or catch them doing something wrong, I call on
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students to move the class along so we can all learn as much as possible. Please support
your fellow students by showing them respect and recognizing their hard work.
Departmental Final Exam
 You will compose, draft and edit a thesis-centered essay of at least 500 words.
Class Preparation

Bring readings marked with notes. (see sheet) It may also be helpful to take notes in an
organizer (discussed second class).

Read the texts more than once if possible.

Complete blog post including your discussion question. Writing the blog post and
reading other students’ posts will also help you understand the readings.
Handing in Graded Assignments

Essays will be handed-in in class by the deadline. I will not accept assignments over email.
If you miss the deadline, I still want your paper, but it is ineligible from receiving the highest
grade. If you miss the deadline---don’t miss class, hand the essay into my mailbox.
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CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE
Attendance and Punctuality

Attend every class on time. More than 2 absences may affect your grade and more than 4
hours (not classes) missed may result in a failing grade. If you know that you will need to
miss class, please let me know ahead of time (though this does not excuse your absence). If
you are late, please enter quietly and take the nearest seat so as not to disturb others.

You are responsible for any work assigned during an absence. If you miss class, contact me
via email and ask another student to lend you their notes.
Electronics

The college’s policy is that cell phones and electronic equipment must be off and stored
away during class. If you use assistive technology as a part of an accommodation, please talk
to me and we will make arrangements for you to use it.
This is a Classroom Committed to Accessibility:

Please let me know if there are ways that I can make it easier for you to learn. If the seating
arrangement, sound in the classroom, or anything else is preventing you from doing your best
work, contact me and we work together to solve the problem.

Students with disabilities who require accommodations, please contact the Office of
Accessibility and they will prepare the documents I need in order to arrange accommodations
on assessments. BMCC is committed to providing equal access to all programs and curricula
to all students.
Extra Resources

I would like to meet with everyone at least once this semester. I will bring a sign-up sheet
for office hours to every class so that you can sign up. You don’t need a specific reason to
come and talk to me, but it will benefit you to bring a written idea or work to discuss.

The Learning Resource Center offers free tutoring for English students. Please show them
our class work so that the tutors understand what we having been doing in class. I may ask
you to go to the Center. If you go on your own and bring me a note saying you attended a
tutoring session, you will receive extra credit.
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
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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 site, www.bmcc.cuny.edu. We will discuss this more in
class---It is not a silly question to ask about what qualifies as plagiarism. Just don’t do it!
Grading
 Essays 1
 Essay 2
 Essay 3
 Essay 4
 Informal Writing (blog posts, class/group work)
 Class Participation
 Departmental Final Exam
10%
10%
10%
10%
15%
15%
30%
Tentative Schedule (subject to change according to student needs)
Date
Reading/Writing Topic
W 9/3
Introductions
M 9/8
How an Essay Works
Identifying Claims
“They Say/I Say”
Reading for Class
Excerpts from Outliers Malcolm
Gladwell; Practice Doug LeMov
Writing for Class
First Blog Post
Incarceration
W 9/10
Responding to Claims
with Strong Claims
“They Say/I Say”
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin
Luther King (first half)
Blog Post
M 9/15
Writing Introductions
with Strong Claims
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin
Luther King continued
“Closing Statements” Maria Alyokhina
(handout)
Blog Post
Essay 1 Assigned:
Photo Essay
W 9/17
Supporting Claims with
Evidence
“Learning to Read” Malcolm X
Blog Post
M 9/22
Excerpts from Asylums Erving Goffman
(hand out)
Blog Post
*Bring Draft
Photo and
Captions
W 9/24
NO CLASS
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Urban Landscapes
M 9/29
Strong Claims and
Reasons
Getting to your claim
through your reasons
W 10/1
Claims and Evidence
writing body paragraphs
with a point
M 10/6
Types of Evidence
W 10/8
Source Based
Paragraphs
First Unit Reflections
Deadline: Essay 1
with stapled draft
“How Not to be Alone” Jonathan Safran
Foer (handout) started in class
“TV: The Plug in Drug” Marie Winn
Anti-Blog Post
(argue against what
you really think for
the “I Say”)
Blog Post
Essay 2 Assigned
“The End of 5 Pointz” New York Times
article (handout)
Blog Post
*Do a Grafitti
“Walking Tour”
Introduce Group Project
M 10/13
W 10/15
NO CLASSES
Outside research
M 10/20
Group Graffiti Project
using reliable research
sources and supporting
claims with evidence
Summarizing a claim
W 10/22
Backward Outlining
“On Compassion” Ascher
Blog Post
“Broken Windows”
Blog Post
Deadline: Essay 2
with stapled draft
M 10/27
Source-Based
Paragraphs: choosing
relevant quotations
“Serving in Florida” Ehrenreich
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Blog Post
Essay 3 Assigned
In/dependence in America
W 10/29
Body paragraphs
using point sentences
“Declaration of Independence” (handout)
Blog Post
M 11/3
Creating Unity
using key words
“Declaration of Independence” (handout)
Blog Post
“The Lesson” (handout) Bambara
Bring 2 copies of a
draft
Blog Post
Mythologies excerpts
Bring 2 copies of
a draft
Blog Post
W 11/5
M 11/10
Writing Clear Sentences
proof reading strategies
Writing Clear Sentences
subjects and verbs
W 11/12
Explaining Evidence
using connectors and
transitions
“In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens”
Alice Walker and excerpt from “A Room
of One’s Own” Virginia Woolf (handout)
M 11/17
Compare and Contrast
finding similarities and
differences in claims
“On Being a Cripple” Nancy Mairs with
excerpts from Rose Marie Garland
Thompson reading (handout)
Essay 3 Due
with stapled draft
Blog Post
Blog Post
Nation
W 11/19
TBA
“Mother Tongue” Amy Tan
Blog Post
M 11/24
TBA
David Simon
Blog Post
Essay 4: In Class Practice Exam
Blog Post
Blog Post
W 11/26
M 12/1
Final Review
“Borderlands” Anzaldua
W 12/3
Final Review
“Borderlands” Anzaldua
M 12/8
Final Review
TBA
W 12/10
Final Exam in class
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