English 1102, Composition & Modern English II: Writing Arguments about Literature

Spring 2013 Sections: TCAC, MWF 9:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m., Smith Hall, Room 149 TEAB, MWF 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m., Smith Hall, Room 154

Instructor and Office Hours Ben P. Robertson, Ph.D., Associate Professor, English Monday/Wednesday/Friday:

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Course Description and Objectives English 1102 continues the study of the writing skills you began learning in English 1101, but this course will place more emphasis on library research, literature, and argumentation. In this course, we will practice organizing arguments, developing well-supported paragraphs, and incorporating logical and critical thought into a series of essays that demonstrate a minimum of mechanical problems. We will analyze a variety of rhetorical modes; practice multiple approaches to prewriting and revision; learn to spot and correct syntax, usage, and vocabulary errors; incorporate computer technology as a learning tool; and participate in peer-critique, in-class workshops to develop writing skills. In general terms, this course also will attempt to achieve the following goals.

• Provide students with a better understanding of the writing process from the development of the subject through final revisions.

• Create opportunities for students to develop and use structure in writing, incorporating logical and coherent generalizations and details within each writing assignment.

• Demonstrate an understanding of basic reference and documentation skills, focusing on quotations and paraphrasing.

• Develop analytical and critical reading skills.

• Successfully produce multiple extended compositions or equivalent assignments.

• Employ grammar, mechanics, punctuation, and sentence and paragraph structure that are in alignment with American English.

Course Prerequisites Students must earn at least a C in English 1101, Composition and Modern English I, to enroll in this course. Texts and Materials Please acquire the following texts and materials to use for this course.

• Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia, eds. Backpack Literature. 4th ed. New York: Pearson/Longman,

2012. ISBN-10: 1-256-41264-3 / ISBN-13: 978-1-256-41264-9

• Hacker, Diana, and Nancy Sommers. A Writer’s Reference (with Exercises). 7th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. ISBN-10: 0-312-60147-6 / ISBN-13: 978-0-312-60147-8

• Szpilman, Wladyslaw. The Pianist. New York: Picador, 1999.

• Johnson, Steven. The Ghost Map. New York: River Head Books, 2006.

• A flash drive, a notebook with looseleaf paper, and a pencil or pen.

Additional course readings are available online, and others may be placed on reserve in the library, where you may read them during library hours. Assignments Your grade for this course will be determined based on the following assignments and their respective percentage weights. The capital letters in brackets after each item refer to the goals addressed by each entry for the Alabama Department of Education Criteria for Certification of Teachers in Secondary Schools (listed in my “General Course Policies”):

� Essays #1 through #4 (70 %) [C, E, F, H, I] � Essays #5 through #8 (10 %) [C, E, G, H] � Presentation (10 %) [A, B, C, D, E, F, H, I, J] � Daily Work (10 %) [A, B, C, D, G, H, I, J]

Total possible score: 100 % The “Daily Work” category includes items completed in class such as peer review, collaboration exercises, quizzes, general class participation, and any other exercises or writing not otherwise listed. This category also includes rough drafts of assignments and minor assignments done outside class.

English 1102, Composition and Modern English II, page 2

Tentative Schedule All reading assignments should be completed by the day they are listed (some additional readings or assignments may not be assigned until one class period in advance). Note that you’re responsible for completing all of the readings and answering questions about them on exams and quizzes even if we do not discuss them all in class. Note, also, that this schedule is subject to change.

Weeks Dates Reading Assignments/Activities Items Due

Week 1 Wed., Jan. 9 Syllabus/Schedule, Assignments, Handouts, Plagiarism Fri., Jan. 11 Diagnostic Essay

Week 2 Mon., Jan. 14 Essay Organization and MLA Formatting; Read the “Extra Guidelines for Essay Writing” handout; “Writing a Research Paper” in Backpack Literature (pp. 1137-1162); “Academic Writing” in A Writer’s Reference

(pp. 69-111).

LAST DAY TO ADD A COURSE OR WITHDRAW WITHOUT OWING FULL TUITION

Wed., Jan. 16 Documenting and Integrating Sources in MLA Style Read “MLA Papers” in A Writer’s Reference (pp. 421-492).

Fri., Jan. 18 Documenting and Integrating Sources in MLA Style Week 3 Mon., Jan. 21 M. L. King holiday! No class today!

Wed., Jan. 23 Documenting and Integrating Sources in MLA Style Grammar Exercises #1. Fri., Jan. 25 Read August Wilson’s Fences in Backpack Literature (pp. 1022-1179).

Watch videos on Blackboard for this and other reading assignments. Turnitin Practice

Week 4 Mon., Jan. 28 Read Susan Glaspell’s Trifles in Backpack Literature (pp. 659-678). Format Assignment Wed., Jan. 30 Source Discussion/Evaluation; Read about appropriate language

(Section W4 on pp. 173-180 in A Writer’s Reference) Sources for Essay #1; Grammar Exercises #2.

Fri., Feb. 1 Professor’s gone to a conference! No class today! Work on Essay 1.

Week 5 Mon., Feb. 4 Essay Discussion and Review (Group 1) Draft of Essay #1 Wed., Feb. 6 Essay Discussion and Review (Group 2) Draft of Essay #1

Fri., Feb. 8 Read Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” in Backpack Literature (pp. 393-395)

Essay #1

Week 6 Mon., Feb. 11 Read W. H. Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” in Backpack Literature (p. 588).

Wed., Feb. 13 Read John Keats’s “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and Percy Shelley’s “Ozymandias” in Backpack Literature (pp. 476-77 and 638).

Grammar Exercises #3

Fri., Feb. 15 Essay #5 (in class) Week 7 Mon., Feb. 18 Source Discussion/Evaluation; Read about problems with pronouns

(Section G3 on pp. 217-231 in A Writer’s Reference). Sources for Essay #2; Grammar Exercises #4.

Wed., Feb. 20 Essay Discussion and Review (Group 2) Draft of Essay #2 Fri., Feb. 22 Essay Discussion and Review (Group 1) Draft of Essay #2

Week 8* Mon., Feb. 25 Read Dudley Randall’s “Ballad of Birmingham” in Backpack Literature (pp. 520-521)

Essay #2

Wed., Feb. 27 Begin working on “Recognizing Proper MLA Citations”; Read about run-on sentences (Section G6 on pp. 245-251 in A Writer’s Reference) and about sentence fragments (Section G5 on pp. 238-244 in A

Writer’s Reference).

Grammar Exercises #5.

Fri., Mar. 1 Finish “Recognizing Proper MLA Citations”

Week 9* Mon., Mar. 4 Essay #6 (in class) Wed., Mar. 6 Read Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” in Backpack Literature (pp.

216-224). Grammar Exercises #6

Fri., Mar. 8 Read Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” in Backpack Literature (pp. 323-337).

Week 10 Mon., Mar. 11 Spring break! No class today!

Wed., Mar. 13 Spring break! No class today! Fri., Mar. 15 Spring break! No class today!

Week 11 Mon., Mar. 18 Discussion of short stories. LAST DAY TO DROP ANY COURSE.

Wed., Mar. 20 Essay #7 (in class) Fri., Mar. 22 Source Discussion/Evaluation; Read about the comma (Section P1 on

pp. 293-307 in A Writer’s Reference). Sources for Essay #3; Grammar Exercises #7

Week 12 Mon., Mar. 25 Essay Discussion and Review (Group 1) Draft of Essay #3 Wed., Mar. 27 Essay Discussion and Review (Group 2) Draft of Essay #3 Fri., Mar. 29 Read “A Different Image” online (on Blackboard). Essay #3

Week 13 Mon., Apr. 1 Read Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in Backpack Literature (pp. 880-941).

English 1102, Composition and Modern English II, page 3

Wed., Apr. 3 Read Seamus Heaney’s “Digging” (pp. 612-613) Fri., Apr. 5 Professor’s gone to a conference! No class today! Work on Essay 4.

Week 14 Mon., Apr. 8 Read Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” in Backpack Literature (pp. 77-92). Wed., Apr. 10 Essay #8 (in class) Fri., Apr. 12 Source Discussion/Evaluation; Read about italics, quotation marks,

and capitalization (Sections P10, P8, and P5 on pp. 351-353, 342-45, and 322-328 in A Writer’s Reference).

Sources for Essay #4; Grammar Exercises #8

Week 15 Mon., Apr. 15 Essay Discussion and Review (Group 2) Draft of Essay #4 Wed., Apr. 17 Essay Discussion and Review (Group 1) Draft of Essay #4 Fri., Apr. 19 Presentation Discussion and Sample Essay #4

Week 16 Mon., Apr. 22 Presentations Wed., Apr. 24 Presentations Fri., Apr. 26 Presentations

Week 17 Mon., Apr. 29 Final Exam Discussion and Review Rev. of Essay 1, 2, or 3 Wed., May 1 Dead Day Fri., May 3 Final Exam for 9 a.m. Class ���� 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Week 18 Tue., May 7 Final Exam for 11 a.m. Class ���� 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.