Skyline College

English 110: Composition, Literature & Critical Thinking —Spring 2017

Course Theme—Activism: Be the Change

Professor: Rachel Bell	Class Meetings: Tues/Thurs 11:10-12:25pm, room 8222
Office Location: 7306 and Office Phone: 738-4349	Course Number 45821, 3.0 units
Web Address: http://accounts.smccd.edu/bellr/	Office hours: Tues/Thurs 1-3pm Call or email to book an appointment
E-mail: bellr@smccd.edu	Course dates: 1/17/17 to 5/25/17
English office & mailboxes: Room 8112-8114, 738-4202 Online course orientation: http://accounts.smccd.edu/bellr/Orientation.htm Online Classroom: smccd.instructure.com	Take advantage of campus support services: The Learning Center (bldg 5) provides support for writing, reading, math and other subjects. Sign up for LSKL 800 for general tutoring, or LSKL 853 for reading and writing support. Librarians, on the 2nd floor of bldg 5, can assist with research and library questions. Academic counselors, health services, and other student support services are available in the Student Services Center in bldg 2.

Course Prerequisites:
Completion of English 100 or 105 with a letter grade of “C” or better.

Course Description:
Transfer-level course introduces students to major imaginative genres of poetry, drama, and fiction from diverse cultural sources and literary critical perspectives. Students will write analytical essays, employing methods of literary analysis and research and demonstrating critical thinking skills appropriate to a college-level writing class. Transfer: UC; CSU (A2, A3, C2).

Course Objectives:

By the end of the semester, you will have developed a strong understanding of what it means to think, read, and write critically as these skills apply to the analysis of fiction, poetry, drama, and literary criticism. Through the writing and reading you do in this course, you will be able to understand the relationship between meaning in literature and language; to evaluate and analyze the relationship between meaning and the use of sophisticated literary forms and strategies; to identify unstated premises and hidden assumptions in writing; to
recognize the similarities and differences between arguments of an author and his/her character(s); and to properly integrate source material into essay writing.


Student Learning Outcomes: By the end of the semester, students will be able to do the following:

1. ESSAYS: Write focused, organized, well-developed, and text-based essays appropriate to the college
transfer level using effective paragraphs, which support a clear thesis statement, and
demonstrate competence in standard English grammar and usage.
2. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: Demonstrate critical reading, writing, and thinking skills through analysis, synthesis,
and evaluation of important ideas.
3. SOURCES: Effectively evaluate and fluidly integrate relevant sources, using appropriate research
strategies and tools, and documenting them according to MLA guidelines.



Required Email:

SMCCD EMAIL ACCOUNT: I will occasionally be sending important updates and assignment reminders through email, so be sure to activate your smccd.edu email account by logging in at http://my.smccd.edu/. Check it regularly throughout the semester. If you would rather use your own email, you will need to forward your my.smccd.edu email to your regular email account:

Follow these steps to forward your email:

1. Go to Websmart at https://websmart.smccd.edu/

2. In your student account area, click on the link that says "New! Student Email"

3. Here, you may view your email address and password, and you may reset your password.

4. IMPORTANT: Open your my.smccd.edu email.

5. Click “Settings” at the top of the page.

6. Click the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab.

7. Under Forwarding, click the “Forward a copy of incoming mail” button.

8. Enter the email address you want to forward your email to

9. Click “Save Changes.”

Required Textbooks:

(1) Poetry: African American Poetry: an Anthology 1773-1927 ed. Joan R. Sherman

(2) Plays: Inside/Outside: Six Plays from Palestine and the Diaspora eds. Wallace & Khalidi

(3) Short stories: Great Short Stories by American Women edited by Candace Ward

(4) Graphic novel: V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and Davis Lloyd

(5) Department Rhetoric--Optional: Unless you prefer a print version (which you can
purchase in Skyline’s Bookstore). The Rhetoric is provided for you electronically at:
http://www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/

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) Disabled Students— In coordination with the Disability Resource Center office, reasonable accommodation will be provided for eligible students with disabilities. For more assistance, please contact the DRC Bldg 5, Room 5132, phone 650-738-4280, email skydrc@smccd.edu.

(5) 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. Students will also submit an “Honesty Pledge” at the beginning of the semester, stating that all work submitted will be their own: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/10Plagiarism.htm

(6) Technology Policy—These policies are made with this idea in mind…

You’re in college to gain knowledge from the classes you have signed up for. This information is going to help you be successful in many areas. Ideally you will excel in these classes, achieve your goals, and earn a degree that you will have for life. To accomplish this you need to not just be physically present but also mentally present which means don’t text, surf the net, take calls in the hallway or in any other way use technology to be “elsewhere” during class time.

Laptops and iPads: Can be used in the classroom and can be a very effective learning tool. However, if you are suspected of misusing the laptop and using it for non-class related activities (checking email, posting on Facebook, instantly messaging, completing homework for another class), you will be required to email your class notes to the instructor 10 minutes after the conclusion every class session. If you are not able to produce the requested notes, you will lose in-class laptop/iPad privileges.

Cell phones: You do not need cell phones for any reason during class time. Before you enter the classroom, turn your cell phones off. This does not mean put them on vibrate; it means to turn them off. Nothing is more distracting than phones ringing during class. There is also no need to ever be texting during class, and yes the instructor can see you when you are texting under the desk. Going out in the hallway to answer a call or make a call is also unacceptable during class time. Students guilty of any of these activities will be marked absent for the day.

IPods or other listening devices: These are inappropriate in the classroom. Before you enter the classroom, turn off and put away any such device.

Two of 40,000 political cartoons drawn by Naji Al-Ali, a Palestinian cartoonist noted for the political
criticism of the Arab regimes and Israel in his works. This cartoon was published in the periodical
Al Muwagaha in 1985, only two years before he was assassinated in London in 1987 at the age of 50.

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 2/7, Revised 2/14
Research Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words) Draft due 3/7, Revised 3/14

Paper #3 Midterm 75-minute essay exam on Thursday, April 13^th 11:10-12:25pm
Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6 pages, 1000-1500 words) Draft 5/16, Revised 5/23

Paper #5 Final essay exam—2 ½ hours on Thurs, May 25th 11:10am to 1:40pm

For detailed paper guidelines and topics, visit: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/papertopics110S17.htm

(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. The first draft is not graded and is used for class workshopping, so students can give and receive advice to apply to the graded revision due a week later. If you would like instructor feedback on your draft, make an office or phone appointment. On papers, you must meet the page minimums. 5% deducted for half a page under and minus 10% for each full page under the minimum.

(3) Workshopping—Each draft will be read and commented upon by student workshop groups. You do not want to come unprepared to or miss a workshop day because: (1) students without a completed paper on the day of the workshop will not be allowed to participate and will be asked to leave; (2) workshop days count as double-absences; (3) you won’t get any peer feedback on your draft; (4) you won’t be able to give written feedback on your peers’ drafts so will receive zero scores and peer review counts as 5% of your overall course grade; (5) if you do not submit a draft, you cannot turn in a revision a week later for a grade and you cannot pass this class if you fail to turn in one of the major papers. Below are the important workshop dates:

Paper #1 Workshop: 2/7 Paper #2 Workshop: 3/7 Paper #4 Workshop: 5/16

(4) Format— All papers must meet the required minimum length, and they must be typed, double-spaced, have 1” margins, and have a font of 12. When you email me assignments as attachments or post assignments in our online classroom, they must be in .DOC, .RTF or .PDF format or else I will not be able to open your document and your work will not be counted as on time.



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 20% Score for Paper 5 ______ x .20 = _____

Peer Paper Review 5% Average Peer Review ______ x .05 = _____
In-Class Participation 5% In-Class Participation ______ x .05 = _____
Homework 10% Average of Homework ______ x .10 = _____
Quizzes 10% Average Quiz score ______ x .10 = _____

TOTAL: (convert total to %) ________

Scoring as follows: 100-90=A, 89-80=B, 79-70=C, 69-60=D, 59-0=F

Departmental Grading Standards: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/6EvaluatingWriting.htm
Online grade calculator: http://accounts.smccd.edu/bellr/GradingMenu.htm

TITLE IX:
The San Mateo County Community College District is committed to maintaining safe and caring college environments at Cañada College, College of San Mateo and Skyline College. The District has established policies and procedures regarding Sexual Misconduct, Harassment, and Assault. A District website has also been developed which provides you with important information about sexual misconduct and sexual assault. http://smccd.edu/titleix/.  To learn more about these issues and how you can help prevent them, you are encouraged to view the “Not Anymore” videos, which can be found on WebSMART under the Student Services link.