Skyline
College
Instructor: Rachel Bell
Web
page: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/bellr
Office Hours: T Th 2:30-5:00pm, Room
7306
"Memoirs are the
backstairs of history." –George Meredith
“We weave our memories into
narrative, from which we construct our identities. -- Leonard Shengold
Course
Prerequisites: Writing Prereq: Completion
of ENG 836 or ESOL 400 or ENGL 846 with a grade C or higher or appropriate
scores on approved college placement tests. Reading Prereq: READ 836
or ESOL 400 or ENGL 846 with a grade of C or higher, or eligibility for
400-level Reading courses on approved Reading placement test, or other means
measures as necessary. Transfer:
UC; CSU (A2).
Course
Objectives: The
purpose of this course is to help students develop their ability to write
thoughtfully and effectively. The
premise of this course is that writing is an integral part of the thinking
process and that successful essay writing depends on a mixture of creative
thinking and an awareness of writing styles and forms. The objective of this course is to guide
students toward becoming critical readers, writers, and thinkers through
recognizing the effective writing strategies of other writers, through becoming
aware of their own processes of writing, and through learning to discern
logical relationships between words, ideas, and arguments.
"We read to know we're not alone" -- C.S. Lewis
Required Materials: Course
Reader (at Skyline's Bookstore) and the following texts…
Philippines – The Oracles: My Filipino Grandparents in America by Pati Navalta Poblete
Vietnam – The Eaves of Heaven: A Life in Three Wars by Andrew X. Pham
Pakistan – In the Name of Honor by
Mukhtar Mai
Honduras – Enrique's Journey by
Sonia Nazario
Course Policies:
(1) Attendance—Your active participation is necessary for you and
your classmates to realize the objectives of this course. Therefore your attendance is crucial. A maximum of 4 (four) absences is permitted over
the course of the semester. Exceeding
these absences will adversely affect your participation grade.
(2) Late
Assignments—No late work will be
accepted. All due dates are given well
in advance; therefore I feel that it is unfair to the students who complete
their work on time to accept the work from those who do not. However, because “life happens,” each student
will be allowed two “late tickets” during the semester; twice students may
choose to turn an assignment in the following class period after the
due date. Late assignments beyond this will
not be accepted. You cannot use late tickets on in-class exams.
(3) Class
participation—Remember that
participation counts--both for your grade and in your life. It is essential that you become consciously
involved in class by participating in discussions and contributing thoughtful
comments, questions, and answers.
(4) Plagiarism-- Paraphrasing or directly copying any text and using it as your own
without proper attribution, whether you’ve done it intentionally or not, is
plagiarism and is unacceptable and will result in failure. We will carefully look at how to integrate
and properly document outside sources.
(5) Disabled
Students—Reasonable
accommodation will be provided for eligible students with disabilities. Contact
the DSPS office for an accommodation letter (650) 738-4280.
Papers: Five
major papers will be written for this class.
The requirements are as follows:
(1) Due Dates-- Paper
#1 (2-4 pages, 500-1000 words) Draft
due 2/16, Revised 2/23
Research
Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words) Draft
due 3/23, Revised 3/30
Paper #3 Midterm essay exam on Thursday, April
22nd 11:10-12:25pm
Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6 pages,
1000-1500 words) Draft 5/18, Revised 5/27
Paper #5
Final essay exam—2 ½ hours on Thurs, May 27th 11:10-1:40pm
(2) Revision-- E.B. White said, “The best writing is rewriting.” Because revising or “re-seeing” a piece of
writing is such an important aspect of the writing process, each of the papers
has two due dates. Each student will
receive feedback and suggestions on each of his/her papers through in class
workshop groups of three; then each student will be asked to revise each paper
based on peer feedback.
Please note: if the first due
date for a paper is missed, the paper cannot be turned in at all and will not
receive a grade.
(3) Workshopping--Each paper will be read, discussed, and commented upon by student
workshop groups. Students without a
completed paper on the day of the workshop will not be allowed to participate
in the workshop. Students not participating
in workshops will lose their peer participation points for that activity, they
will not receive the benefit of commentary on their writing, and if they do not
turn a paper in on the workshop date, they cannot turn in a revised paper a
week later for a grade. You cannot pass
the course if you fail to turn in one of the five (5) major papers for the
course. Below are the workshop
dates--students must upload a copy of their paper for their group members and
comment on the writing of their group members on the day specified:
Paper #1
Workshop: Tues, 2/16 Paper #2
Workshop: Tues, 3/23 Paper #4 Workshop: Tues, 5/18
(4) Format—Papers must meet the required minimum length or run
the risk of not being accepted. All
papers must be typed, double-spaced, have 1” margins, and have a font of
12.
“Autobiography is the
most fascinating thing you can do because you get to touch the human condition.
And in the end, what else is there?
To me, it's the ultimate affirmation of life, and a miracle of this transient,
extremely fragile
organism. To celebrate that, I think, is a noble thing to do.” -- Jim
Dine
Course Grade: Record
Your Own Grades:
Paper 1 10% Score for Paper
1 ______ x .10 =
_____
Paper 2 10% Score for Paper
2 ______ x .10 =
_____
Paper 3—Midterm 10% Score for Paper
3 ______ x .10 =
_____
Paper 4 20% Score for Paper
4 ______ x .20 =
_____
Paper 5—Final on 5/27 20% Score for Paper
5 ______ x .20 =
_____
Presentation 10% Presentation
score ______ x .10 =
_____
* Participation
10% Participation ______ x .10 =
_____
TOTAL:
(convert total to %) ________
*
Participation includes being prepared each day, meeting
with me at
least once during the course of the semester,
adding to
daily discussion, and giving your classmates Scoring as follows: 100-90=A, 89-80=B
thoughtful
responses to their writing in workshops. 79-70=C, 69-60=D, 59-0=F
For an online grade calculator, go
to: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/ReaderGradingMenu.htm