Greetings
By the time you read this, you will have already attended the first day of class. As I explained in class, all copies of handouts will be posted on the blog for your convenience.
Below you will find a copy of the course syllabus distributed today in class. You will ALSO find your reading assignments for both Packet 1 and Packet 2. As you will note on the syllabus, Packet 1 is due to be read by Monday, Feb. 3rd. Packet 2 is due to be read by Wednesday, Feb. 5th.
SPRING 2014, CSU
SACRAMENTO
COURSE: English 1A: College Composition I
Section 11 MW, 130-245 pm, Douglass Hall 111
INSTRUCTOR: Catherine Fraga
E-mail: sacto1954@gmail.com
Office Hours: CLV 149, MWF 12:15 PM-1:15 PM or by
appointment
CLASS BLOG: www.English1ASpring2014.blogspot.com
Prerequisites: Placement by examination OR successful
completion of English 1 or its equivalent.
************************************************************************
REQUIRED
TEXTS & MATERIALS
·
House as a Mirror of Self: Exploring the
Deeper Meaning of Home
By Clare Cooper Marcus
Publisher: Conari Press
·
The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood
by Kien Nguyen
Publisher: Bay Back Books
***This book must be read by Wednesday, April 2
·
House of Sand and Fog
by Andre Dubus III
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.
***Part One must be read by Monday, April 14
***Part Two must be read by Monday, April 21
·
Rules of Thumb: A Guide for Writers—9th Edition
by Jay Silverman, Elaine Hughes, Diana Roberts Wienbroer
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
·
8 1/2” x
11” lined notebook paper (paper that is torn out of a notebook without a
straight edge will not be accepted).
·
Stapler
COURSE
DESCRIPTION:
English 1A is a freshman writing course that offers students
the opportunity to learn and develop the reading and writing skills that
will be most useful to them during a four-year college program. The course is designed to help students
improve their ability to understand and critically judge reading material
and to write an essay which has a single controlling idea and which is
coherently developed using idiomatically and grammatically correct English.
The heart of the course is readings that require a range of
narrative, analytical, reflective and research writing skills.
COURSE
REQUIREMENTS:
1. Attendance
and punctuality are required. I
have designed this course so that it depends on your presence and
participation. If you’re absent,
you are still responsible for finding out what you’ve missed (including lecture
notes, handouts, changes in due dates, etc.) Refer to your class phone list.
2. Having
more than three absences will seriously alter your final grade. This is not because I do not
consider you mature enough to make a commitment to a class; it is because if
you do miss more than 3 classes, you miss group work, or in class writing, or a
journal assignment, or a quiz, or an in class essay assignment, and/or a bevy
of other possible events, all of which affect the grade you earn (see #8 below). Please communicate with me. I am very understanding and reasonable.
3. If
you must miss a class on a day an assignment is due, you are still responsible
for getting the assignment to me on time.
Again, use the phone list,
call your mother, or??? This is
merely a fairness issue; we all have life situations that are often difficult
and unexpected, and if others manage to still get their work in on time, I
cannot give special exceptions to just a few. If you miss class and would like to e-mail me your work, you
must first contact me for
permission. Again, this is a fairness issue.
4. There
will be numerous reading and writing assignments in this course. Weekly reading assignments will be
given, and I expect you to complete them on time and come prepared to class. We may not get an opportunity to
discuss everything we read in class, but that is inevitable in any college
course.
5. You
will complete a question and comment
assignment for several of the reading assignments. The question is optional, but the
commentary is not. Your commentary must be a minimum of eight sentences in
length. (I know ALL the
shortcuts students may try. Be
assured that if you write eight very general, short, simple sentences you will
not receive credit for the assignment. A thorough explanation of what is
required for these question and comment assignments and a sample will be
provided.) No late homework will
be accepted.
An out of class essay may
be handed in late, but there is a stiff
penalty. For every day your essay is late, the grade for that essay
will drop a full ten points. This includes weekends. Points subtracted for
lateness cannot be made up during the revision process.
6. Journal writing assignments
are assigned and completed in class and are not allowed to be made up.
7.
English 1A is graded A, B, C, D, or F. Do not assume that because you have not
submitted one or more of the three out of class essay assignments, you will
still be able to pass the course. Even
though you have missed the due date, and have an automatic “F” for that
assignment, YOU STILL MUST WRITE AND
SUBMIT ALL THREE OUT OF CLASS ESSAYS TO PASS THE COURSE.
A note on
classroom etiquette:
If you feel you cannot survive
each class session without the use of your cell phone, iPod, or laptop
computer, please do not enroll in this
class. (I own all three of these devices, and value each of them, but I do
not plan on using them during my classroom time with you. Simply, it is the
highest degree of rudeness and disrespect.) If I see you busy texting, etc. I will not hesitate to ask
you to leave until you finish your crucial business. I plan to give you my full
attention and I expect the same from all my students.
About being tardy for class:
It
seems that over the last few years, tardiness has REALLY escalated and become
problematic in my classes. I am not sure why, but I do know that most of my
colleagues deduct a percentage of the earned grade for tardiness. It is really
annoying and disruptive, both to me and the rest of the class, when students
enter the class late—we only meet for 75 minutes twice a week, and I begin
class immediately. In the “real world”, there is even less tolerance for
lateness. Plan ahead. I realize things can happen beyond your control, but
looking for parking is not a good excuse. If I see that tardiness is becoming
excessive, I may have to ask you to drop the class.
About Extra Credit:
Quite
simply, I do not believe in extra credit. In “real life” there is no extra
credit. When one makes an error, one hopefully learns from the error and moves
on.
About Rough Drafts:
For all three out of
class essay assignments, you may submit a rough draft. This is purely optional.
Due dates for these rough drafts can be found on the course outline.
About Revisions:
You have the option to
revise ONE of the three out of class essays. The revision must be submitted
within one week of receiving it back with my comments. ALL CHANGES TO THE
ORIGINAL MUST BE HIGHLIGHTED ON THE REVISION. If you are still not pleased with
your earned score after receiving the revision back from me, you may continue
to revise this one essay until you are pleased. Additional revisions do not
have a due date—it just must be submitted by the last day of the course.
Theme: The Significance of Home
· We will consider home
as our
course-long theme. The significance of home – as a place of beginnings, as a
starting point, as a place of comfort, regret, anguish, joy, personal growth,
and loss – fuels a meaningful, intriguing collection of themes. Home is a base from which all of us
emerge.
· Most of us have
pre-conceived notions of home as a place of love, comfort, security. For millions of children, however,
these definitions do not fit their reality of home as a place to escape: escape
from cycles of poverty, mistrust, abuse.
· The course will explore
not only home as a safety net, but also the illusions we have of home
perpetuated by Madison Avenue advertising agencies.
· What are our expectations
of home? Again, does our “real”
home live up to the expectations society has created? How do different cultural values and priorities play a role
in determining what home should and should not be? Attempting to answer these questions is the task I have set
for us during this semester.
· What does it mean to leave
home for the first time? What does
it mean to be rootless, without a home?
· Finally, how can we
reconnect to the earth as home, knowing full well that the lives we have
created for ourselves impact the finite planet all of us call home?
·
We view at least two films which explore the theme of home. These films
will allow us to observe and witness concepts we have read about and discussed.
COURSE OUTLINE
(Please note: Bring this outline to class each
session; changes could occur at a moment’s notice. Also, most reading and writing assignments are noted --
other class exercises and lectures
may not be noted specifically)
ALL OUT OF CLASS ASSIGNMENTS (HOMEWORK, ESSAYS, ETC) MUST BE TYPED
AND DOUBLE SPACED UNLESS INSTRUCTED OTHERWISE. PLEASE USE TIMES NEW ROMAN, 12
POINT FONT.
Week One
(1/27-1/31)
·
Introduction to the Course (course theme
explained) (Monday)
·
Course Outline Distributed (handout) (Monday)
·
Question/Comment Homework Explained (Wed.)
·
Unacceptable Errors & Oral Presentation
assigned (handouts) (Wed.)
·
Discussion: Reading and Evaluating Short
Fiction (Wed.)
Week Two (2/3-2/7)
·
Stapler Check (worth 25 points) (Monday)
·
Read Short Fiction Packet #1 (Monday)
·
BE SURE
TO BRING SYLLABUS TO CLASS TODAY (Monday)
·
Read Short Fiction Packet 2 (Wednesday) Q & C #1 due today
·
Group Work #1 (Wednesday)
Week Three
(2/10-2/14)
·
Read Chapters 1& 2 in House as Mirror of Self (Monday)
· Quiz
based on pgs. 2-60 in Rules of Thumb (Wednesday)
·
Out of Class Essay #1 assigned today (Wednesday)
Week Four
(2/17-2/21)
·
Discussion: How to Evaluate a Documentary
Film (Monday)
·
Read Chapters 3, 4 and 5 in House as Mirror of Self (Monday)
·
Concentrated lessons on grammar and
punctuation (Wed.)
Week Five
(2/24-2/28)
·
View documentary film, Daughter from Danang by today (this film is on reserve in Media in
the CSUS Library) (Monday)
·
Preparation for in-class writing tomorrow (Monday)
·
In-Class Essay #1 (Wednesday)
·
Optional:
ROUGH DRAFT OF OUT OF CLASS ESSAY #1 DUE NO LATER THAN TODAY, WEDNESDAY, AT
MIDNIGHT. DRAFT MUST BE E-MAILED TO ME AS A WORD DOCUMENT AND I WILL E-MAIL IT
BACK TO YOU WITH MY COMMENTARY.
Week Six (3/3-3/7)
·
Read Chapters 6 & 7 in House as Mirror of Self (Monday)
Q & C #2 due today
·
Read pgs. 112-134 in Rules of Thumb (Monday)
·
Quiz on pgs. 112-134 (see above) (Monday)
·
Out of Class Essay 1 due today (Wed.)
·
Group Work #2 (Wed.)
·
Out of class #2 assigned today (Wed.)
Week Seven
(3/10-3/14)
·
Discuss MLA Documentation in class (Mon. & Wed.)
·
Read pages 136-149 in Rules of Thumb (Wed.)
·
Quiz on pages 136-149 (see above) (Wed.)
Week Eight
(3/17-3/21)
·
Read Chapter 8 in The House as Mirror of Self (Mon.) Q & C #3 due today
·
Read Chapter 9 in The House as Mirror of Self (Wed.)
·
Group Work #3 (Wednesday)
Optional: ROUGH DRAFT OF OUT OF CLASS ESSAY #2 DUE NO LATER THAN TODAY, FRIDAY, AT MIDNIGHT. DRAFT MUST BE E-MAILED TO ME AS A WORD DOCUMENT AND I WILL E-MAIL IT BACK TO YOU WITH MY COMMENTARY(Friday)
Week Nine
(3/24-3/30)
SPRING BREAK—no classes—enjoy and be safe.
Week Ten: (3/31-4/4 )
·
No class today. Campus-wide holiday. C. Chavez
B/D (Monday)
·
The
Unwanted MUST be read by today (Wednesday)
·
Discuss The
Unwanted (Wednesday)
Week Eleven:
(4/7-4/11)
·
Out of class essay #2 due today (Monday)
·
Out of class essay #3 assigned (Monday)
·
Read Chapter 10 in The House as Mirror of Self (Wednesday)
Week
Twelve: (4/14-4/18)
· Part
One of House of Sand and Fog, pages 15-218, due today (Monday)
Q & C #4 due today
· Group
Work #4 (Wed.)
Week
Thirteen: (4/21-4/25)
·
Part Two of House of Sand and Fog,
Pages 221-365, due today (Mon.)
·
Discuss entire novel, House of Sand and Fog (Wed.)
·
Optional:
ROUGH DRAFT OF OUT OF CLASS ESSAY #3 DUE NO LATER THAN TODAY, WEDNESDAY, AT
MIDNIGHT. DRAFT MUST BE E-MAILED TO ME AS A WORD DOCUMENT AND I WILL E-MAIL IT
BACK TO YOU WITH MY COMMENTARY. (Wed.)
Week
Fourteen: (4/28-5/2)
·
The film, House
of Sand and Fog, must be viewed by today. The film is on reserve for
viewing in Media at the CSUS library. (Monday)
·
Out of class essay #3 due today (Wed.)
·
In class essay #2 on novel & film, House of Sand and Fog (Wed.)
Week Fifteen
(5/5-5/9)
·
Discussion: How to Critically Read an Essay (Mon and Wed)
Week Sixteen
(5/12-5/16)
·
Oral Presentations (Mon.)
·
Last class day (Wed.) Today you will bring to class your gradesheet and all your
graded work that you have saved from the semester.
Week Seventeen FINALS
WEEK
THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM IN THIS CLASS.
English 1A, Spring 2014,
Prof. Fraga
GRADE WORKSHEET-----1675 POINTS POSSIBLE
Stapler
Check (25 pts.)
Monday, February 3—stapler in your possession!______
Oral
Presentation=(100 pts.)
Oral Pres._____(100)
Out of
Class Essays (800 points)
Out of Class Essay 1_____(200 pts.) Out of Class Essay 2_____(400 pts.) Out of Class Essay 3_____(200 pts.)
Rules of Thumb
Quizzes (300 points)
Pgs. 1-60 (100)_____ Pgs. 115-166 (100)_____ Pgs 136-149 (100)_____
Unannounced
Quizzes (250) (50 points each)
Quiz 1____Quiz 2_____Quiz 3_____Quiz 4_____Quiz 5_____
Homework=(400
pts.)
Q and C #1 (100)_____Q and C #2 (100)_____Q and C #3
(100)_____Q and C #4 (100)_____
In Class
Group Work (200 pts.)
Group Work 1 (50 pts)_____Group Work 2 (50
pts)_____Group Work 3 (50 pts)_____Group Work 4 (50 pts)_____
In Class
Essays (200 pts.)
In class essay #1 (100)_____In class essay #2 (100)
_____
**************************************************************************************
How to assess your grade earned: Divide the points you
earn by 1675 to find the percentage. Then see chart below.
100-94=A 63-60=C- Example:
1455 pts. earned=86.8% =B+
93-90=A- 59-54=D
Example:
1601 pts. earned=95.5%=A
89-84=B+ 53-0=F Example:
1333 pts. earned=79.5%=B-
83-80=B Example:
1200 pts. earned=71.6%=C+
79-74=B-
73-70=C+
69-64=C
*********************************************************
PACKET 1 ASSIGNMENT:
"Clothes"
a short story by Chitra Divakaruni
http://www.woodsidehs.org/uploadedFiles/file_642.pdf
"Why Don't You Dance?"
a short story by Raymond Carver
http://www.greathill.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Story-Carver-Why-Dont-You-Dance.pdf
PACKET 2 ASSIGNMENT:
"Show & Tell"
a short story by Andrew Lam
http://www.terrain.org/fiction/2/lam.htm
"The Wig"
a short short story by Brady Udall
complete story is below:
THE WIG
By Brady Udall
(First Prize:
Story’s Short Short Competition)
My eight-year-old son found a wig in the garbage Dumpster
this morning. I walked into the kitchen, highly irritated that I couldn’t make
a respectable knot in my green paisley tie, and there he was at the table,
eating cereal and reading the funnies, the wig pulled tightly over his head
like a football helmet. The wig
was a dirty bush of curly blond hair, the kind you might see on a prostitute or
someone who is trying to imitate Marilyn Monroe.
I asked where he got the wig and he told me, his mouth full
of cereal. When I advised him that
we don’t wear things we find in the garbage, he simply continued eating and
reading as if he didn’t hear me.
I wanted him to take that wig off but I couldn’t ask him to
do it. I forgot all about my tie
and going to work. I looked out
the window where mist fell slowly on the street. I paced into the living room and back, trying not to look at
my son. He ignored me. I could hear him munching cereal and
rustling paper.
There was a picture, or a memory, real or imagined, that I
couldn’t get out of my mind: Last
fall, before the accident, my wife was sitting in the chair where now my son
always sits. She was reading the
paper to see how the Blackhawks did the night before, and her sleep-mussed hair
was only slightly longer and darker than the hair of my son’s wig.
I wondered if my son had a similar picture in his head, or
if he had a picture at all. I
watched him and he finally looked up at me but his face was blank. He went back to his reading. I walked around the table, picked him
up, and held him against my chest.
I pressed my nose into that wig and it smelled not like the clean
shampoo scent I might have been hoping for, but like old lettuce. I suppose it didn’t matter at that
point. My son put his smooth arms
around my neck and for maybe a few seconds we were together again, the three of
us.
