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English ENGL 120-L18
ROOM: 1137 HW: Expository Writing Fall 2015
T F 2:10-3:25; 1137 HW
INSTRUCTOR: Nancy Hightower
OFFICE: 1436 HW
PHONE: 772-5771
EMAIL: nh725@hunter.cuny.edu
OFFICE HOURS: 3:25-4:30 Friday
Class blog: https://hunter12018.wordpress.com/
Course Goals:
The goals of English 120 are to promote students’ abilities to do the following:
 Develop nuanced and persuasive research questions and thesis statements
 Identify, evaluate, and effectively incorporate a variety of sources to explore the research question and
thesis statement
 Apply effective evidence to academic writing situations
 Organize arguments logically and effectively
 Choose effective style and grammar for academic audiences
 Incorporate peer and instructor feedback
 Reflect on the writing and revision process
Required Textbooks:
(Can be purchased from Hunter College Bookstore):
 REQUIRED: Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russell Durst. They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter
in Academic Writing with Readings, 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2015. (The edition is
important. Get the 3rd edition.) ISBN: 978-0393937510. Price: $50.00.
 Bullock, Richard and Francine Weinberg. The Little Seagull Handbook, 2nd ed. ISBN-13: 978-0-393-93580-6.
Price: $25 ($12.50 with They Say/I Say)
These two books can be purchased together as a bundle for $50 under the following ISBN: 978-0-393-27996-2.
(Editions and prices are subject to change.)
Course Requirements:
Along with daily participation and in-class reading and writing exercises, students are required to submit a final
portfolio containing: a pre-semester reading response, a 10-page documented research paper with a Work Cited
page and several drafts, an annotated bibliography, a post-semester reading response, and a final reflective portfolio
essay. Please keep all of your work throughout the semester saved both digitally and as a hardcopy.
Grading Policy:
Class participation
10%
In-class writing, drafts, draft workshopping, and homework 10%
Essay #1
15%
Essay #2 with annotated bibliography
15%
Final research paper
40%
Final portfolio essay with revised reading response
10%
Course Policies:
Attendance/Tardiness: If you miss more than three days of class (excused or otherwise), your final grade will be
substantially reduced. Any student who misses more than six class sessions for any reason will receive an “F.” When
absent, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and obtain the necessary information from another
student. Please do not be late. If consistent lateness is a problem, your final grade will be reduced. If you are more
than fifteen minutes late to class, this will count as an unexcused absence.
2
Late work: I do not accept late work or email submissions. All homework and essays should be ready to be handed
in at the beginning of class on the day they are due. If extenuating circumstances arise, please contact me as soon as
possible. All formal writing assignments must be typed, double-spaced, with standard one-inch margins and in 12
point Times New Roman font.
Electronic devices, such as cell phones, iPods, etc. are prohibited. Computers/laptops/iPads or other similar
tablets are permitted for notetaking, etc., only by the permission of the teacher.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is defined as word-for-word copying
without acknowledgment of the language or ideas of another writer. Obviously, having another person write
or dictate all or part of one’s composition is forbidden. In addition, a writer should copy no printed passage, no
matter how brief, without acknowledging its source and either placing it in quotation marks or setting it aside as a
blocked quotation. This applies to even the briefest of phrases if they are truly individual and distinctive.
Hunter College Academic Integrity Statement: Hunter College regards acts of academic dishonesty (e.g.,
plagiarism, cheating on examinations, obtaining unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official
documents) as serious offenses against the values of intellectual honesty. The college is committed to enforcing the
CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity and will pursue cases of academic dishonesty according to the Hunter College
Academic Integrity Procedures.
Hunter College Academic Accommodation Statement: In compliance with the American Disability Act of
1990 (ADA) and with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Hunter College is committed to ensuring
educational parity and accommodations for all students with documented disabilities and/or medical conditions. It
is recommended that all students with documented disabilities (Emotional, Medical, Physical and/or Learning)
consult the Office of ACCESSability located in Room 1214B East to secure necessary academic accommodations.
For further information and assistance please call (212-772-4857) /TTY (212-650-3230).
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How to be successful in this class:
1. Come to class on time and prepared to participate. Participation includes having assignments completed,
bringing needed materials, contributing to discussions in a positive manner, and working on what is
assigned during the class period.
2. Keep this syllabus and any changes made to it on hand. Know when writing assignments are due. Know
when reading should be completed.
3. Keep all of your work. Do not throw anything away.
4. Ask questions. It is your responsibility to find out what you need to know in order to be successful in
your academic endeavors, as well as in the other areas of your life. Check the class Blackboard site at
least once a week.
If any problems should arise, you may contact me--or I may contact you--to discuss them. If a problem seems
too difficult for us to resolve, mediation is available through the English Department.
Course Schedule:
*This schedule is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion. All changes will be announced in class.
**All page numbers refer to They Say, I Say With Readings; BB refers to Blackboard.
Date
Topic
Readings Due
Assignments Due
Fri
Course
8/28
Introductions
Tues. Critical Reading
Eckert and McConnell-Ginet,
Pre-Semester Reading Response
9/1
“Learning to be Gendered” (736745)
Fri. 9/4 Approaches to
Irvin, “What is Academic Writing?” Exercise #2 on p. 15
academic writing
(BB)
Preface and Introduction (xviii-14)
3
Tues.
9/8
Summarizing and
Responding
Fri.
9/11
Summary and
Analysis
Tues.
9/15
No Class
Fri.
9/17
More on Summary
and Analysis
Tues.
9/22
No Class
Fri.
9/25
Quoting and
Paraphrasing
Tues.
9/29
Fri.
10/1
Peer Editing
Workshop
Asking a Research
Question
Graff, “Hidden Intellectualism”
(264-271)
Chapter 1-2 (19-40)
Zinczenko, “Don’t Blame the
Eater” (462-464)
Gladwell, “Small Change” (399416)
Carroll, “Backpacks vs.
Briefcases: Steps Towards
Rhetorical Analysis” (BB)
King, “Letter from Birmingham
Jail” (BB)
Exercise #2 on page 41
Bring an advertisement to class
Think about King’s rhetorical situation
Jones, “Finding the Good
Argument” (BB)
Slaughter, “Why Women Still
Can’t Have it All” (676-696)
Topic/outline for first paper
Chapter 3: “The Art of Quoting”
(42-50)
Krugman, “Confronting Inequality
(561-580)
Notice how Krugman uses what “they” say to make his
argument. Underline every quotation, summary, and
paraphrase. How are they introduced?
Essay #1 Rough Draft
“Asking a Research Question”
(BB)
Owen and Sawhill, “Should
Everyone go to College” (208225)
Pew Research Team, “King’s
Dream” (627-636)
Essay #1 Final Draft Due