ENGLISH 10
Essential Language Skills
WELCOME!
English 10: Essential Language Skills
Mondays: 6-10:30 pm
Room 208
CLASSROOM RULES
Food and Drink
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Heald College has a
policy of no food or
drink in the
classroom, other than
bottled water. Please
follow this policy.
Professional Behavior
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Respect is the rule in
my classroom. Please
respect yourself, your
classmates and your
instructor.
Silence your cell phones.
Be awake and attentive
during class times.
Use computers only at
appropriate times and
for classroom
work/email only
Please see the syllabus for more of my policies
ABOUT ME
Melissa Gunby
 Bachelor of Arts: English, History, 2002
 Master of Arts: English Composition, 2008
 I have a cat named J.C. – just cat.
 I live in Woodland.
 I play the trumpet in the Woodland Community
Band
 I knit and crochet
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INDEX CARD
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Please give me the following information on the
index card:
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Your Name
Your academic program here at Heald
Phone numbers (please indicate home, cell/text)
Your email (any and/or all)
A statement saying it’s okay for me to leave a
message if I call and am unable to reach you.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Melissa_Gunby@heald.edu ( _ between first and
last names)
 530-508-6501 (message or text)
 msgunby@gmail.com
 Facebook: msgunby@gmail.com
 Twitter: msgunby
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Please call, text,
or email if you will
miss class.
ICEBREAKER!
Since we’re going to be together for an intense 10
weeks of learning, it’s important that we all get
to know each other.
 On the handout, there are two blank boxes near
the center. Please fill them in with a question
you want to know about your classmates.
 Talk to every person in class and try to fill in as
many names in each box as possible. You should
get up and move around.
 After you’ve filled in every box with at least one
name, we’ll share the results with the class.
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BREAK TIME!
Please be back promptly in 10 minutes
WHAT TO EXPECT IN THIS CLASS
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Minimum of 10 informal writing assignments,
such as journals.
 Minimum of 10 readings
 Minimum of 6 paragraphs and/or essays
 Self-edit work using conventional rules of English
punctuation, spelling, and grammar
 Give 1 oral presentation
 Expand vocabulary through a guided assignment
 A final portfolio project
 Two chapter tests
 A final exam
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JOURNALS
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Each week you will be assigned to complete a journal entry.
The topics will be up to you; some of the readings you will
be assigned will have questions at the end for discussion or
writing that you may use for that week’s journal.
Alternatively, on the handout about the journals you
received are a list of suggestions should you get stuck.
I would prefer not to read a list of things you did during a
day or week, but rather see some reflection on a topic or
idea.
You should expect to write at least 1 full page or 2
shorter entries every week.
Grammar and spelling will not effect your grade; however,
I may make corrections to help you improve.
Journals will be turned in at the beginning of each class
session.
I would prefer Journal entries to be typed, but I will accept
hand-written submissions.
READINGS
There will be assigned readings for homework
every week. Some of these may be handed out to
you, some may be from the text book.
 There will be discussion on the readings
assigned for homework. Please be prepared.
 We will be doing some reading in class. Please
expect to read aloud in class.
 We will more than likely read more than the
required 10 assignments.
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WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
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We will write a minimum of 6 paragraphs and/or
essays throughout the duration of this course. Each
assignment will have a focus and/or genre.
Each assignment will be work-shopped in class if time
permits. This means you will be sharing your writing
with your classmates. One of the best ways to learn to
improve in your writing is to get feedback from many
other sources.
Through these assignments, you will develop skills to
help you learn what to look for in self-editing, such as
patterns of errors and rules of Standard Academic
English.
We will be using MLA format.
All formal assignments must be typed.
ORAL PRESENTATION
During week 9 (March 14), each student will be
responsible for giving a presentation. Whatever
topic you choose is up to you, but please choose a
topic that is appropriate for the professional
environment of Heald.
 More details will be given on this assignment
soon.
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VOCABULARY ASSIGNMENT
Each week you will be assigned a selection of
words from the Vocabulary Handout. You will be
responsible for looking up the definitions of these
words and using them correctly in a sentence.
 We will do various activities with the vocabulary
during class time.
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FINAL PORTFOLIO PROJECT
One of the great ways to learn is to reflect on the
process you’ve gone through to get to the end. At
the culmination of this class, each student will
submit a final portfolio of their work for the
quarter.
 The portfolio will include a statement of
reflection that details the things that the student
has learned about their writing skills, about
themselves, etc., throughout the course.
 More information will follow soon.
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EXAMS AND QUIZZES
Chapter Exams
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There will be two
tests:
Chapters 1-4 (Feb 14)
 Chapters 5-8 (March
14)
 There is no midterm
exam for this class.
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Final Exam and Vocab
There will be a quiz on
the vocabulary packet
on March 21.
 There will be a final
exam on March 28.
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WHERE TO FIND COURSE MATERIALS
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I have set up a folder for this class on Google
Documents. This will allow you to access all
paperwork for the class throughout the quarter in
case you misplace anything or miss a handout in
class. I will also email the link and post it to the
facebook and twitter accounts.
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https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B1z4e8V1Yo3UOTlkZTM4
Y2EtY2FkOC00NjliLTgxMmMtN2Y2YTJhNDUxYmM1&h
l=en
You will not need a gmail account to access this
folder.
I will also post regular reminders from the twitter
account I set up (@msgunby) and facebook. I will not
follow you back on either of these accounts, but you
can contact me through them.
ONE FINAL NOTE…
This class meets only once per week. One lecture
per week is not going to be sufficient for you to
retain all the material, though I try to do fun and
interesting things with it. You must take some
responsibility for studying outside of class time in
order to be successful on the quizzes and exams.
 I highly recommend putting together a study
group for the quizzes and exams, especially if you
have classmates that share other classes with
you.
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ONE MORE NOTE
Because of the two holidays that fall on Mondays
this quarter (MLK day on the 17th of January and
President’s day on 21 February), this class meets
for 4.5 hours, from 6:00 pm to 10:30 pm.
 Please be aware of this change and make
appropriate arrangements for transportation
and/or child care. If you leave before class is
dismissed at 10:30, you will be marked as a
“leave early,” which will affect your attendance
record.
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BREAK TIME!
Please be back promptly in 10 minutes.
CHAPTER 1: AN INVITATION TO WRITING
THE WRITING PROCESS
Brainstorm/Plan
 Draft/Write
 Revise
 Edit
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BRAINSTORMING
SAMPLE ESSAY TOPIC
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Should students at Heald have to perform
community service as part of a graduation
requirement? Please develop an argument to
support your opinion, and be prepared to supply
a counter-argument.
For this exercise, we will pretend that the school
does not already have this requirement.
TYPES OF BRAINSTORMING
Listing
 Free writing
 Discussion
 Mapping/Diagramming
 Clustering
 Outlining
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No
Play an active role Don’t have the
in community
time
Opportunity for
networking in a
career field
Not what college
is for
Looks good on
resumes
Should be able to
choose and not
forced on.
Exposure to
different people
Seems like a HS
or MS type
requirement
Work experience
Money’s too tight
to give up work
hours
Already do as part
of job
LISTING
Yes
Listing
does
exactly
what it
sounds
like; a
writer can
list all the
ideas or
responses
they have
to a
general
topic.
Should community college students have to
do community service to graduate? Didn’t
we have to do it for high school? What’s the
point, anyway? I don’t pay to go to college
just so I can do volunteer work for someone,
and it’s not like I have the time for it
between work and school and the kids. Hell,
I need someone to volunteer for ME so I can
get stuff done around the house  But I
guess maybe it wouldn’t be bad if I could
help in an office where I could make
connections in my major field, like nurses
or something. OH, I need to make that
appointment for my son. I just don’t’ feel
like I can handle anything else on top of all
the homework and tests and work and
everything else that I already have to do. It
might be good for students without family
or work obligations but I just don’t see how
I could do it.
FREE WRITING
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Free writing is a
stream of
consciousness
exercise. It’s
useful to get the
ideas flowing
without thinking
about organization
or mechanics.
No community
service
requirement
MAPPING/DIAGRAMMING
Can’t afford it
Mapping/diagram
ming and
clustering are very
similar. Starting
with a central
idea, branches are
added as new
ideas, branch off.
Related ideas are
attached by
branches. New
ideas start a new
branch.
CLUSTERING
Meet
new/different
people
Yes, community
service
Graduation
requirement
Active role
in
community
Want to
live/work
here
Looks good
on resume
Better
chances of
getting a
job
Work
experience
networking
Rather than using
the more linear
format of
mapping,
clustering uses
bubbles and lines
to connect ideas
based on a main
topic or idea.
Make
more
money
OUTLINING
Topic Sentence: A community service
requirement could greatly benefit students
at a 2-year college.
Primary Support: It could provide students
with valuable experience that would make
them a more desirable employee.
Secondary Support a (explain): Many
employers want to hire workers that
already have some experience.
SSb(example): Volunteering at a retirement
community could help a nursing student get
a job more easily by showing he already has
experience in the field.
SSc(effect/result/analysis): Through the
volunteer experience, students can also get
valuable work experience that could make
them a better candidate for a job in the
future.
Outlining might not
be the most effective
way to start
brainstorming
without doing
something
beforehand.
It may be more
effective to outline
once the ideas have
been generated
using another form
of brainstorming.
This can help more
when a writer has
an idea of what they
want to say without
knowing exactly
how to organize her
thoughts.
This may seem very
formulaic; it is. It’s a
good way to get
started and think
about the
relationships
between sentences
in terms of
organization.
ACTIVITY!
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Everyone free-write for 3
minutes on “The First Day
of School.”
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Group 1: create a list of
ideas to use in a paragraph
for “The First Day of
School.”
Group 2: Create a cluster
or map for “The First Day
of School.”
Group 3: Create an
Outline for “The First Day
of School.”
After you finish
brainstorming, as a group,
try to write a short
paragraph about “The
First Day of School.”
Please turn in your brainstorm and paragraph with the names of all group members
ANOTHER ACTIVITY!
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Another great way to get information for writing
is through interviews and surveys.
Step 1: Complete the survey on page 19 (you may
write the answers on another sheet of paper if you
don’t want to tear the page from your book). I will
tabulate the surveys and share the results with the
class next week.
 Step 2: Find a partner and complete the Interviews
and Introductions worksheet (I will hand it out).
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BREAK TIME!
Please be back promptly in 10 minutes.
THE ACTIVE READER
Pages 614-616
READ “WHAT IS INTELLIGENCE,
ANYWAY?” (PG. 669-70)
Consider the Questions for Critical Thinking.
When finished, we will discuss this as a class
HOMEWORK!
Vocabulary words 1-10
 Read “Homemade Education” and
“Freewriting” handouts
 Journal 1: choose a prompt from the
list or create your own. Either write
1 full page or do 2 small entries this
week.
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Have a great week.
Contact information:
Melissa_gunby@heald.edu
msgunby@gmail.com
Facebook:
msgunby@gmail.com
Twitter: @msgunby
530-508-6501
Office hour: half-hour
before class, in this room.