English B1A Spring 2020

Instructor: Tamara LyndeEmail: TLynde@bakersfieldcollege.edu

Office and Office Hours: by appointmentMeets M,W 1:00-2:25 PM in H-2

Course Description:Critical reading, writing, and thinking. Students will critically read and write primarily expository and argumentative texts that respond to a variety of rhetorical situations and contexts and incorporate college-level research. Minimum 6,000 words formal writing.

Goals/SLOs:

Upon completion the student will be able to:Read and think critically, including a variety of primarily non-fiction texts for content, context, and rhetorical merit with consideration of tone, audience, and purpose.

Upon completion the student will be able to; Evaluate and establish the credibility of print and online sources.

Upon completion the student will be able to;Demonstrate the legitimate use of scholarly sources by using library and online reference materials. incorporating summary, paraphrase, and direct quotes. synthesizing multiple primary and secondary sources. avoiding plagiarism.

Upon completion the student will be able to;Write essays out of class that • demonstrate the use of expository and argumentative or persuasive forms of writing. • reflect an orderly research and writing process. • use correct MLA form and documentation. • show evidence of drafting, editing, and revision to reflect an academic style and tone.

Upon completion the student will be able to; Write timed essays in class exhibiting acceptable college-level control of mechanics, organization, development, and coherence.

Course Theme:

The theme we will be exploring this semester is institutional inequality, in other words how established systems like federal and state governments and the corrections system create an environment that produces unequal treatment to the people these systems are supposed to serve. Furthermore, we will be exploring potential solutions to these inequalities and how those solutions can be sustained to create a more equal society.

Required Texts and Materials:

Goshgarian, Gary and Kathleen Krueger. Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader.

Pearson/Longman, 2015.

ISBN: 978-0-321-92553-4

Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2016.

ISBN: 978-1-319-00920-5

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow. The New Press, 2012.

ISBN: 978-1-595-58643-8

A college-level dictionary.

One folder in which to keep all of your work.

A notebook for notes.

A flashdrive on which to save your papers as well as computer and library access.

Grading:

Letter grades for this course will be based on the following scale:

100-90%=A 89-80%=B 79-70%=C 69-60%=D 59% and below=F

The various assignments for this course will be weighted as follows:

Research Paper: 30% Essay 1: 5%

Exam 1: 10% Essay 2: 5%

Exam 2: 10% Essay 3: 5%

Library Assignment: 5% Summaries: 5%

Annotated Bibliography: 5% Quizzes: 5%

Critique: 5% Participation/Classwork: 5%

Analysis of The New Jim Crow: 5%

Policies to be Aware Of:

Attendance:

Mastering college-level writing takes time and consistent effort. Therefore, regular and punctual attendance is mandatory. After four absences or coming to class late or leaving early six times, you will be dropped from the course regardless of the reason. If you foresee any attendance problems from the start, please drop the course as soon as possible and take it again at a more convenient time. I would like to see you succeed, not struggle and possibly fail due to conflicting schedules. Also, since classes are usually full and have waitlists, students who do not attend the first two class sessions will be dropped.

Assignment Format:

All assignments, unless otherwise indicated, should be typed using size 12 font, one inch margins, and a reasonable font style.

Late Assignments:

With this class, since so much must be accomplished in so little a time, it is imperative that students stay on top of their work and not miss deadlines. Therefore, late assignments are not accepted except in the case of a medical or legal emergency. Assignments that are missed for other reasons, for example a conflicting work schedule or a faulty printer, will not be accepted. If missing a due date is unavoidable, make alternative arrangements with the instructor beforehand. Simply missing a date and making excuses after the fact is not acceptable.

Adding the class:

Bakersfield College currently uses an automated wait list. If a spot opens up in the class, the computer will select a student from the wait list to be put in the class. This being the case, I will not sign any add slips, especially for people who are not on the wait list.

Cheating and Plagiarism:

Plagiarism, cheating, or any other form of academic dishonesty is not acceptable. If a student cheats or plagiarizes in any way, he or she will receive a zero on the assignment in question and possibly be referred to the dean of students who may take administrative action including the possibility of suspension.

Assignment Descriptions:

Essays 1-3:

Each of these essays is a different preparative draft for the course research paper. While each paper has slightly different directions, some general expectations apply to all three of these essays: Each of these essays must first and foremost adhere to argumentative academic essay format. Each must have a clear, well-written introduction, body, and conclusion and clearly stay on topic and remain unified. Each of these essays must also have a strong, well-crated, argumentative thesis statement which is clearly and coherently supported in the body. Each essay will also need to be carefully edited and contain few, if any, grammar mistakes. Although some of the essays will be written in class, careful proofreading will still be essential. In addition, these essays must have a level of formality appropriate to academic writing and must also have an appropriate academic tone.

Essay 1 Exploration:

This essay will be your first attempt at making an argument on your chosen topic and will allow you to explore your topic in writing for the first time, hence the name exploration. This essay, unlike the other three, will be written completely without sources using only reasoning that you come up with, hypothetical examples, and common knowledge as support for the thesis you've chosen. This will allow you to test your topic and see if there is enough material for an argument that can be developed into a research paper. Therefore, choosing a topic and appropriate thesis must be done carefully and with instructor approval. This paper will need to be at least 500 words long, but, since it will not use sources, will not need to have a works cited page or internal documentation. This essay will be written in class and, therefore, will not need to be typed.

Essay 2 Use of Preliminary Source Material:

This essay will be the second version of your research paper. For this paper, you will need to rewrite your first essay so that it uses at least two sources that you've researched to support the thesis. Note that should you change topics before writing this essay, for this assignment you will need to write an entirely new essay on this new topic, which must also be instructor-approved, using at least two sources. This essay will be take- home and, therefore, must be typed. It should be at least two full typed pages long and appropriately document the sources used. It should also have an appropriately formatted works cited page. Note, however, that the works cited page does not count as part of the page length requirement. In addition, note that this essay should correct any and all errors that occurred in the first essay.

Essay 3 Rebuttal Paper:

This essay, the third version of your research paper, will be a revision of the second essay, but in addition to the corrections, and use of source material, this paper must also include at least two rebuttals of arguments that oppose your thesis. This will greatly strengthen your argument and allow you expand your paper without simply padding it. Like Essay 2, this paper will be take-home and must be typed. It must also include a properly formatted works cited page, which will not count as part of the page length for the assignment. This assignment will need to be at least two and a half typed pages in length.

Critique:

In order to assess your critical reading and evaluation skills, we will be writing a critique. For this assignment, you will be required to write an essay that evaluates the credibility of a source you are considering using for your research paper in which, you will be arguing either for or against your source's credibility using specific examples from the source to support your stance. This assignment should be at least 2-4 pages long and follow the critique format (which we will discuss in class). It will require correct MLA documentation and a works cited page. Note that the source students select for this assignment should be argumentative rather than informational.

Annotated Bibliography:

This is a rather important assignment that directly relates to your research paper. For this assignment, you will need to find and read at least 7 sources that you will be using for your research paper. For each source, you will need to create an MLA style bibliographic entry. Also, after each entry you will need to write a brief summary of the source (one paragraph approximately 150 words long) and then briefly (in a sentence or two) explain why the source is important or useful to the research paper that you plan to write.

Summaries:

In order to understand how different pieces of writing function rhetorically, we will be writing summaries on several different essays. Each summary must convey the main and supporting ideas of the essay, leaving out minor detail. The ideas of the essay expressed in the summary must also be understandable to someone who has not read the essay. In addition, summaries must be written in the correct format and must avoid simply re-narrating the essay. A set of critical reading notes must also be attached to the summary as a separate document. These critical reading notes will indicate whether you think the essay is credible or not and explain briefly why. Note that each summary must be proportional in length to the original essay.

Quizzes:

In order to assess your progress with and comprehension of the novel for our class, we will have a number of quizzes. These will largely be given at the beginning of class and cannot be made up if missed due to absence or tardiness.

Library Assignment:

This important assignment requires you to explore and become familiar with the Bakersfield College Library resources. This assignment will require you to find out how to search for books, articles, websites, and other important sources for your research paper.

Analysis of The New Jim Crow:

This assignment will be the culmination of our work with the book for this class, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. For this paper, you will have a few options, but largely, this paper will require that you analyze this book in light of the concept of institutional inequality. This assignment will need to be 2-4 pages long and need to use the book as a source. Any other sources that you choose to use for this paper will need to be approved by the instructor. This paper will be take-home, will require MLA format (in-text citations and a works cited page), need to be typed, and require the student to have read and have a solid grasp of the issues and themes involved in Alexander’s book.

Exam 1:

A little later than half-way through the semester we will take Exam 1 which will consist of an in-class essay that is focused on a specific reading. This is meant to be a test of your writing and editing skills as well as your critical reading abilities. Practicing with the essays required in class, therefore, will be invaluable in doing well on this exam. This paper will need to be handwritten in a bluebook and need to be at least 500 words long. As with our other essays, this will need to

have a strong thesis, cogent support, and properly cited references to the source. This essay, however, will not require MLA documentation.

Classwork and Participation:

During this course you will be given a number of in-class and out of class activities designed to help you master the skills necessary to do well in this class. Participating in these activities and being an active learner in class will greatly add to your abilities as a student and a writer.

Research Paper:

This assignment is the most challenging and rewarding part of the course. It is the culmination of the planning, research, and hard work that you have put into the class. The research paper will need to be 5 pages minimum in length, use at last 5 sources, use correct MLA documentation both in-text and on the works cited page, and be less than 20% direct quotes. It will need to have a well-crafted argumentative thesis that is strongly supported. The paper will also need to be well-organized, unified, and well-developed. To many students, and assignment of this size can be intimidating, but if you have done the work and the research in good faith, writing this paper should come almost naturally. However, if you have any questions or problems, contact me as soon as possible.

Exam 2:

At the close of this class, we will take Exam 2. This exam will consist of an in-class essay that is meant to test your ability to critically think, write a strong, coherent argument, and properly cite sources with MLA. Beforehand you will be given two sources to read and study. On the day of the final, you will need to write a 500 word minimum essay that effectively utilizes both sources and properly cites them using MLA documentation including internal documentation and a works cited page. Like the midterm, this essay will need to be handwritten in a bluebook.

Turnitin.com:

Turnitin.com is a tool to help you avoid plagiarism. Approximately two hours after you submit your paper to this online program, you can access a color-coded report with details about your use of sources in your paper. Because this site does not detect problems with paraphrasing that is not cited properly, you should use this site only as a guide. To use turnitin.com, you will need to

register on the site and set up a password. Once this is done, you will then need to create a “user profile” specifically for this class and any others that may use the site. You will need the following information to set up your user profile:

Class ID¬¬ 23565611

Class Enrollment Password––Argument

After your profile is created, you can log onto and use the site.

Note: Submitting a paper to turnitin.com does not mean you have submitted your paper to your instructor; you must also hand in a copy of your paper to your instructor.

For this course, the following assignments will need to be turned in to turnitin.com:

Annotated Bibliography

Research Paper Rough Draft

Research Paper Final Draft

Analysis of The New Jim Crow

Critique

Essay 2

Exam 1

All Summaries

If, however, any of these assignments are turned in without being turned in to turnitin.com, 10% will be deducted from the grade with the exception of the final draft of the Research Paper. The final draft of the Research Paper will not be accepted if it is not also turned in to turnitin.com by the time it is due in class.

Course Calendar:

Note: All assigned reading should be completed before the day it appears on the calendar.

1/22: (Week 1): Introduction to course and course theme. Introduction to academic writing as a scholarly conversation and critical reading as a necessary foundation for entering the conversation. “Single Mothers are Not the Problem” Handout.

1/27 (Week 2): In-class Diagnostic Essay.

1/29: Critical reading continued: Levels of reading. Critical reading tools. Argument basics: thesis, reasons, evidence. Summarization. Dialogues 27-40. “Ageism: A ‘Prevalent and Insidious’ Health Threat” Handout. Go over diagnostic.

2/3 (Week 3): Summary 1 Due. More tools to analyze and evaluate arguments: Types of arguments. Types of support. The three classical appeals: Ethos, Logos, Pathos. Ambiguity in arguments. “With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything” Handout. “Imaginary Perversion Becoming a Crime” Handout.

2/5: More on the appeals and ambiguity. Value Assumptions. Beginning the research paper: selecting researchable topics and basic research strategies.

2/10 (Week 4): Summary 2 Due. Tentative Research Topics Due. MLA basics. Hacker 376-385 and 388-398 and 398-428. Creating a review of research presentation: What are the main arguments on this topic? What evidence is available? Critical reading continued: Assumptions.

2/12: More on MLA. Creating a works consulted. More on Critical reading: Descriptive assumptions.

2/17: Holiday. No School.

2/19 (Week 5): Summary 3 Due. Review of research presentations.

2/24 (Week 6): Review of research presentations continued. Beginning to enter the scholarly conversation: Crafting a research proposal. Critical reading continued: Logical fallacies. Dialogues 46-57. More practice with MLA.

2/26: Summary 4 Due. Research Proposal Due. Critiquing sources. Essay and writing basics. Hacker 78-91.

3/2 (Week 7): Essay 1 (in-class).

3/4: More on critiquing sources. Writing a critique essay: Format and examples. Practice activity: “Slaves, Monsters, and Others” Handout.

3/9 (Week 8): In-class Practice Critique

3/11: MLA continued: more on integrating sources into the text of an essay. Avoiding plagiarism.

3/16 (Week 9): Critique Due. Planning the next draft of the research paper. Research basics. Beginning to compile the annotated bibliography.

3/18: Exam 1

3/23 (Week 10): More on annotated bibliographies and research. In-class Practice annotations.

3/25:Essay 2 Due. Additional argumentation strategies: Rebuttals and addressing opposition fairly and effectively. Dialogues 80-100. Toulmin. Dialogues 180-195.

3/30 (Week 11): Essay 3 (in-class).

4/1: Library Assignment Due. Introduction mass incarceration, historical oppression, and the war on drugs.

4/6-4/12: Spring Break. No School.

4/13 (Week 12): Reading Quiz. New Jim Crow 1-96. Discussion of Chapters 1 and 2.

4/15: Reading Quiz. New Jim Crow P. 97-177. Discussion of chapters 3 and 4 Annotated Bibliography Due. Schedule conferences. Writing the Research Paper.

4/20 (Week 13): Reading Quiz. New Jim Crow 178-261. Discussion of chapters 5 and 6. Writing the analysis.

4/22: Final thoughts on Alexander and The New Jim Crow. Research Paper Rough Draft Due.

4/27 (Week 14) : Analysis Due. Conferences.

4/29: Conferences.

5/4 (Week 15): Conferences.

5/6: Research Paper Due. Review for Exam 2.

5/11 (Week 16): Exam 2

Students With Disabilities:

Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact Disabled Student Programs & Services located at Student Services Building, 1st Floor, Counseling Center (661-395-4334), as soon as possible to better ensure such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.