Spring 2004

Instructor: C. L. Eastman
Ticket/Time/ Location:
059312 Tuesdays and Thursdays 11-12:30 p.m., Bldg. 26A, Rm. 105
059320 Tuesdays and Thursdays 1-2:30 p.m., Bldg. 26D, Rm. 206
059322 Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:30-4 p.m., Bldg. 26A, Rm. 101
Phone/Email: 909.594.5611x3049 or ceastman@whittier.edu
Office/Hours: 26D-211, 12:30 to 1 p.m. TTH, or by appointment

Required Text: Brandon, Paragraphs and Essays (Houghton--Mifflin, third edition)
Strongly Recommended Supplemental Text: MLA Handbook
You Will Also Need: One Student Composition Book, 10 1/4 by 7 7/8; and, at least one examination booklet ("Blue Book")

Course Description: A course which aims to develop students' ability to read critically, draw valid inferences from their reading, and use a "process" approach to writing paragraphs and essays in response to assigned readings.
Procedural Ground Rules:
1. All readings and assignments (journal excepted) are due on the date listed in the syllabus. No late or "dropped off" work will be accepted except in cases of excused absence (medical with verification or school-sanctioned trip, as per college policy).
2. It is the student's responsibility to keep abreast of all assignment deadlines, specific guidelines for particular assignments, and the inevitable changes of schedule. Towards this end the student is advised to have both the instructor's phone number as well as that of a classmate in his or her data bank.
3. All essay/paragraph assignments, with the obvious exception of those produced in class, should be typed or "word-processed" on white 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper.
4. I can not state this forcefully enough: Keep all returned assignments in a separate notebook until the end of the semester!
5. No student who accumulates more than nine hours of unexcused absence will receive credit for the class. Prior to the drop deadline the instructor will drop a student from the roll after nine hours of unexcused absence. A student who remains on the roll after the drop deadline and accumulates nine hours of unexcused absence will receive a grade of "F" or "No Credit" for the class. Time missed because the student has arrived late or left early will be counted against the nine hour total. If a student arrives late to class, he or she must make sure, at an appropriate time, that the instructor has not charged a full class absence against his or her attendance record.
6. Under no circumstances will the instructor allow class time to be used for the discussion of an individual student's grade or attendance status. The student wishing clarification or discussion of such matters must make an appointment to see the instructor outside of scheduled class time or during scheduled office hours.
Grading: All work will be given a point value based on this scale:
A=10 A-=9 B=8 C=7 D=6 F=5 Unsubmitted=0
The course grade will be determined on the following percentages:
5 paragraph assignments, grades averaged 40%
Narrative essay 20%
Final Examination 20%
Homework/Journal/Class Assignments 20%

Incompletes: Because of the ephemeral nature of the relationship between part-time faculty and the college, no incompletes will be approved.
Electronic Device/Class Disruption: Please switch off pagers, phones and any other noise making device before class starts. A student whose pager/phone goes off audibly in class, or who causes any other type of class disruption, will be warned on a first occurrence; on a second occurrence the Dean of Humanities will be notified and the student will be suspended from class; on any subsequent occurrence, the student will be expelled from the class and receive no credit. Only those who can verify that they are peace officers, fire fighters, or emergency service personnel on active duty (not student/academy/volunteer) will be exempted from this policy.
A Final Caveat Regarding Plagiarism: Plagiarism, according to the editors of the third edition of the MLA Handbook, comes from the Latin plagiarius ("kidnapper") and constitutes "the act of using another person's ideas or expressions in your writing without acknowledging the source" (21). Depending on the severity and extent of the offense, the penalties for plagiarism in this class may include an "F" grade on the assignment for the first occurrence and an "F" grade for the course on a second occurrence.

Week of: Schedule of Readings and Assignments

1/12-16: Diagnostic writing; discussion of syllabus; exercise (in class), "Classmate Introduction"

1/19-23: Journal 1; Discussion of Brandon, pp.249-257, "Connecting Reading and Writing"-Outlining, Annotating, Summarizing; Incredibly Difficult Homework pp.19-21

1/26-30: Journal 2; Discussion of Brandon, pp.258-264, "Connecting Reading and Writing"-Summarizing, Reaction, and Two-Part Response; Incredibly Difficult Homework pg.21, ex.3

2/2-6: Journal 3; Discussion of Brandon, pp. 22-33, "Kinds of Sentences"; Incredibly Difficult Homework pp.33-35
*last day to withdraw without a "W" is 2/6

2/9-13: Journal 4; Discussion of Brandon, pp.36-52, "Combining Sentences" and 162-188, "Punctuation"; Incredibly Difficult Homework pp. 52-54 and 190-191

2/16-20: Journal 5; Summary Writing, Assignment One-draft due 2/19

2/23-27: Journal 6; Discussion of Brandon, pp. 55-77, "Correcting Fragments, Comma Splices, and Run-Ons"; Incredibly Difficult Homework pp.78-80

3/1-3/5: Journal 7; Discussion of Brandon, pp.211-229, "The Writing Process for the Paragraph, Stage One and Stage Two"; Incredibly Difficult Homework pp. 105-109

3/8-3/12: Journal 8; Discussion of Brandon, pp.230-238, "The Writing Process for The Paragraph, Stage Three"; Incredibly Difficult Homework pp.128-133

3/15-3/19: Journal 9; Summary Writing, Assignment Two-draft due 3/18

3/22-3/26: Journal 10; Discussion of Brandon, pp.299-314, "Writing with Examples"; Incredibly Difficult Homework pp.146-149;
Assignment Three: Exemplification Paragraph -draft due 4/1
*last day to withdraw with a "W" is 3/26

3/29-4/2: Journal 11; "Peer Review and Revision"; Incredibly Difficult Homework pp. 159-162;

4/5-4/9: Journal 12; Discussion of Brandon, pp.332-346, "Cause and Effect"; Incredibly Difficult Homework pp. 206-209
Assignment Four: Cause/Effect Paragraph-draft due 4/20

4/12-4/16 Spring Break
4/19-4/23: Journal 13; Discussion of Brandon, pp.347-360, "Comparison and Contrast";
Assignment Five: Comparison/Contrast Paragraph-draft due 4/29

4/26-4/30: Journal 14; Discussion of Brandon, pp.239-246, "From Paragraph to Essay"; Incredibly Difficult Homework pg. 402

5/3-5/7: Journal 15; Discussion of Brandon, pp.266-270, "Narration"; Incredibly Difficult Homework pg. 403
Assignment Six: Narrative Essay-due 5/13

5/10-5/14: Journal 16; Discussion of Brandon, pp.271-274, "Connecting Reading and Writing: Growing Pains and Pleasures"; Incredibly Difficult Homework pg.404

5/14-5/21: Final Exams
059312: Tuesday, May 18, 10:30 a.m.
059320: Thursday, May 20, 10:30 a.m.
059322: Tuesday, May 18, 1:30 p.m.
Final Exams are held in our regular meeting place.