MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Spring 2011
ENG 101 FC2 – College Composition I
3 Credits, Prerequisite: ENG 011 or Equivalent
MWF 3:05 - 4:30 Parkhouse 313
Instructor: Professor Andrew Marcinek
Phone number: 484-416-0424
Email: ontheroad51@gmail.com
Office: NA
Office Hours: By Appointment
COURSE OVERVIEW
ENG 101 is based on the premise that critical thinking generates clear writing. In this
course, the student learns to read critically, a skill that involves distinguishing central
ideas from supporting material and identifying an author’s purpose, assumptions,
attitudes, and biases. Additionally, the student in ENG 101 learns a writing process that
involves generating ideas, drafting, composing, revising, and editing. The student also
learns to locate, use, and accurately reference various sources of information.
This course will be a collaborative effort that includes our class and beyond. We will
focus on reading critically, thinking critically, evaluating information, and producing
purposeful writing. The goal of this course is to take our message beyond the classroom
and engage with the connected world. We will be using the written word as our medium
and covering a variety of domestic and world issues. The focus of this course is not the
grade, but to become effective communicators in a world driven by connectivity.
This course is not my course; it is yours. I will not lecture at you and I will not give you a
grade. Your voice will be the wheels of the course. Don’t think of me as the sage on the
stage, the guy with the big forehead full of knowledge, but see me as a collaborator.
Challenge my points and always present your opinion and constrictive criticism.
Finally, I would like you all to fail at least once during this course. This is not to say I
don’t want to see you succeed, but I want to see you take risks and think beyond the
grade. Don’t settle for average or what you have always done, but go beyond your
comfort zone. At the end of this course I hope you continue to think, read, and evaluate
critically. I hope you continue learning beyond the grade you receive.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
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Read critically
Evaluate a writing task for purpose, audience, context, and point of view
Address a topic using a rhetorical strategy appropriate to the writing task
Locate and use outside information sources with basic proficiency
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Develop coherent and persuasive essays that present carefully developed and
well-supported theses
Use formal, standard usage, grammar, and punctuation
Cite the work of others using a standard model of documentation
Adopt ethical writing standards
TEXTBOOK AND REQUIRED MATERIALS
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A Writer’s Reference, 6 Edition with Exercises by Diana Hacker
Acting Out Culture by James S. Miller
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COLLEGE POLICIES
All College policies must be followed and are a binding part of this syllabus. Please refer
to the student handbook for the Student Code of Conduct, and Student Academic Code of
Ethics policies.
Services for Students with Disabilities: Montgomery County Community College
(MCCC) welcomes qualified students with disabilities and endorses the principles of
nondiscrimination and reasonable accommodation as described in the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). To see if you are eligible for services and reasonable
accommodations in this course please review the policy on the Disabilities website at:
http://www.mc3.edu/campusLife/student-resources/disabilities
Services for Veterans: Student veterans may be eligible for benefits and services related
to military service. For the veteran’s resources available at the College please go to the
Veterans Affairs Office website at: http://www.mc3.edu/campusLife/studentresources/veterans
CLASSROOM POLICIES
Attendance: Students are allowed only two absences for the whole semester. If students
have more than five absences, they must withdraw from the course. If an unavoidable
emergency arises requiring an additional absence, students must contact me that day to
request permission to remain enrolled in the class. Students can leave a message by
calling 215-641-6625.
Class Cancellation: In the event of inclement weather or other emergency, the MCCC
School Closing Code is 320 for day classes and 2320 for evening classes.
Announcements will be made on KYW (1060 AM) and other local stations. You can also
sign up for text messaging for bulletins on campus emergencies at
http://www3.mc3.edu/txt/enroll.html. In the event that I need to cancel a class, you will
be notified via email.
Withdrawal Policy/Audit Policy: Please refer to the College calendar for deadlines for
withdrawal, and obtain any necessary signatures from me if you wish to withdraw.
PLEASE NOTE: If you stop attending but do not formally withdraw, you will receive an
F for the course. I will not sign a withdrawl form after the last day of classes.
Communication and Correspondence: The best way to contact me is via email. Keep
in mind, however, that when you email me or any professor, you should write in a
professional manner. I highly recommend that you use your MC3 email account and not
a separate personal account. When I receive emails from addresses I do not know, I
delete them, as they generally try to sell me products and services I neither want nor
need.
Classroom Etiquette: Do not hold private conversations in this class, and do not use
computers in computer labs to engage in extracurricular activities like online shopping,
checking your email, or visiting Facebook. Turn off all cell phones and other electronic
devices before entering the classroom. Students who violate classroom decorum will be
asked to leave and will be counted as absent for that day. Repeated violations will result
in the student’s failure for the course.
GRADES AND ASSIGMENTS
The attached course calendar lists all reading and writing assignments. You are required
to complete all assignments by the dates listed. In addition to keeping up with these
assignments, you will also be responsible for any additional readings and writing
exercises I assign, contributing to classroom discussions, and regular attendance, all of
which are described below.
Grading Standards: In order to pass, all papers must be formatted properly. Papers
should be double-spaced. Use 12-pt. Times New Roman for your font. See pages 320
and 321 of A Writer’s Reference for a sample first page and Works Cited page.
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The “A” paper demonstrates a clear understanding of the reading material and
the topics under consideration as well as the ways in which those topics are
connected. A student’s position to the arguments in the and ideas in the texts
represents a thorough engagement with the central issues and terms used by the
authors. The “A” paper also demonstrates that the writer can connect different
authors in terms of the issues of the course. When others read an “A” paper, both
the subject of the paper and the framework of interpretation are always clear.
Thesis statements effectively reflect the writer’s purposes. Body paragraphs are
well organized, fully developed and concise. The writer chooses quotations that
indicate an understanding of the key terms and ideas of the texts under discussion.
The writing reflects an ability to explain and use the language of these texts.
Sentences are varied in length and structure. The word choice is uniformly good.
Words are chosen for precise denotation, connotation and tone. Appropriate
transitional words and phrases and effective coherence techniques make the prose
distinctive. Virtually no errors in syntax, grammar, mechanics and usage
occur.
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The “B” paper demonstrates more than a basic understanding of the reading
material and the topics under consideration. A student’s position to the arguments
and ideas in the texts represents a strong attempt to engage with the central issues
and terms used by the authors. The “B” paper also demonstrates that the writer
can draw partial connections among the different authors in terms of the issues of
the course. When others read the “B” paper, both the subject and the framework
of the interpretations is usually clear. Where the writing suffers is based upon an
insufficient understanding of the assigned text and not an inability to organize
papers effectively. Therefore, the thesis statement will reflect the writer’s
purpose. Reasonably well-developed unified paragraphs explore thee thesis. The
organization is logical and correct based upon the writer’s understanding of the
texts. The writer chooses quotations that indicate an understanding of the author’s
key terms and goals, but does not always effectively define of explain the
quotations. The writing reflects a partial ability to explain and use the author’s
language. Sentence show a variety of patterns, and constructions indicate that the
writer has facility in the use of language. Effective transitions are accompanied by
sentences constructed with orderly relationships between word groups. The writer
has gone beyond automatic word choice to find more precise and effective
phrasing. The paper is generally correct in grammar, mechanics, and usage,
though there may be some problems with complex grammar and
punctuation.
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The “C” paper demonstrates an adequate understanding of the reading material
and the topics under consideration. The student attempts to engage with the
central issues and terms used by the authors. The student does not, however,
reflect an understanding of more than one or two of the central points. Subsidiary
or side points are not connected to form a coherent whole. The “C” paper
demonstrates that the writer can make basic connections among writers and ideas.
The “C” paper is coherent and simple in structure. Paragraphs follow a logical
organizational plan, and they are sufficiently unified and developed. Sentence
variety is minimal, and sentence construction lacks sophistication. Some
transitions are used and parts of the essay are related to each other in a fairly
orderly way. The transitions also reflect a basic understanding of the assigned
texts. Word choice is generally correct, but the range is limited; therefore, the
writing may be imprecise or monotonous. Though the paper contains few
major errors, there are some mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation and
mechanics.
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A “D” paper (or below) contains writing that does not demonstrate an
understanding of the reading materials the topics under consideration. A student’s
position to the arguments in the assigned texts does not engage with the central
issues and terms of the author(s). Opinions seem to be based only on personal
experience. The writer fails to demonstrate an ability to read or engage with
academic discourse. Thesis statement and organization are vague and/or weak or
missing. Underdeveloped, ineffective paragraphs do not support the thesis. They
may be made up of a series of generalizations without the details or of only details
that have no controlling thesis. Sentences lack variety. Errors in sentence structure
are often frequent enough to distract the reader. Transitions and coherence devices
are inadequate. Words are occasionally misused. Sentences often fail to conform
to conventions of standard written English; syntactical, mechanical,
grammatical, and usage errors occur frequently.
Plagiarism: The Student Academic Code of Ethics, which defines academic dishonesty,
its consequences, and the appeal process, can be found on the MCCC website
(www.mc3.edu). If you plagiarize, you will fail this class.
Grading Scale:
A
4.00
A3.67
B+
3.33
B
3.00
B2.67
C+
2.33
C
2.00
D
1.00
F
0.00
Missed or Late Work
Students who hand in late work will lose a full letter grade for each day the assignment is
late. Failure to complete all assignments for this course will result in a failure for the
course.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
Be sure to take full advantage of the Learning Assistance Lab and all support services
offered by Montgomery County Community College.
COURSE CALENDAR
All assigned readings are to be completed by the next class.
Week 1:
2/23 - Introductions
Google Docs and Wikispace
Michael Wesch Video
2/25 - READ: A Writer’s Reference Section C “Composing and Revising” 3 - 54
DUE: The State of Writing Paper
Week 2:
2/28 - Present WR section C
READ: WR Section A “ Academic Writing” 57-90
3/2 Present WR section A
READ: WR Section S “Sentence Style” 93-127
3/4 Present Section S
READ: WR Section W “Word Choice” 131-174
Week 3:
3/7 Present Section W
READ: John Taylor Gatto, “Against School” 506
3/9 Discuss Gatto
READ: Brigid Schulte, “The Case for the Purloined Paper” 524
3/11 - Discuss Schulte
READ: Jonathan Kozol, “Preparing Minds for Markets” 530
Week 4:
3/14 - 3/20 - SPRING BREAK
Week 5:
3/21 - Discuss Kozol
READ: Alfie Kohn, “From Degrading to De-grading” 472
3/23 - Discuss Kohn
READ: Sarah Igo, “Statistical Citizens” 10
DUE: Rough Draft #1
3/25 - Discuss Igo
READ: Ian Frazier, “All Consuming Patriotism” 39
Week 6:
3/28 - Discuss Frazier
READ: Rebecca Saxe, “Do The Right Thing: Cognitive Science’s Search for a Common
Morality” 46
DUE: Paper #1
3/30 - Discuss Saxe
READ: David Brooks, “People Like Us” 67
4/1 Discuss Brooks
READ: Naomi Klein, “Triumph of Identity Marketing” 114
DUE: Rough Draft #2
Week 7:
4/4 Discuss Klein
READ: Michael Dyson, “Frames of Reference”
DUE: Paper #2
4/6 4/8 -
Discuss Dyson
READ: Ariel Levy, “Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture” 144
Discuss Levy
READ: Brooke Knight, “Watch Me! Webcams and the Public Exposure of Private Lives” 150
Week 8:
4/11- Discuss Knight
READ: Michael Pollan, “Big Organic” 174
DUE: Rough Draft #3
4/13 - Discuss Pollan
READ: Francine Prose, “The Wages of Sin” 197
DUE: Paper #3
4/15 - Discuss Prose
READ: Jason Fagone, “In Gorging, Truth” 204
Week 9:
4/18 - Discuss Fagone
READ: Caroline Knapp, “Add Cake, Subtract Self-Esteem
4/20 - Discuss Knapp
READ: Barbara Ehrenreich, “Finding a Coach in the Land of Oz” 278
DUE: Rough Draft #4
4/22 - Discuss Ehrenreich
READ: Chris Byron, “Party Like It’s 1999” 290
Week 10:
4/25 - Discuss Byron
READ: Louis Uchitelle, “The Consequences - Undoing Sanity” 299
DUE: Paper #4
4/27 - Discuss Uchitelle
READ: Anothony DePalma, “Fifteen Years on the Bottom Rung” 312
4/29 - Discuss DePalma
Final Presentation Project Explanation
Week 11:
5/2 DUE: Paper #5 Rough Draft
DUE: Paper #5 (Submitted to turnitin.com by 5/5)
5/4 -
READING DAY - No Class
5/5 - 5/11 FINAL EXAMS