English
1010 MW2H
Prof. Moser
Fall 2017
4232B
Office hours: M, W: 12:15-1:15
Course website: academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/moser
Course Description:
English 1010 is
a workshop in expository writing. Throughout the semester, we will be
reading expository texts and responding to readings, pre-writing, writing,
editing and revising essays both in-class and outside. You will become
familiar with new ways to incorporate the things you read, see, and
experience into the things you write. You will be introduced to methods for
searching the library and internet data bases to gather information, ways to
evaluate secondary sources, and the use of MLA documentation. In addition,
we will reinforce grammar and syntax rules.
Students who successfully
complete this course will be able to:
· Read critically and write analytically
· Formulate a strong thesis with
well-organized support
· Summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize
information from a variety of sources
· Structure a persuasive and cohesive
argument
· Incorporate and integrate evidence into
their writing using MLA documentation
· Edit and revise their own writing using
peer and instructor critiques
Use appropriate conventions of
language, including correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation
· Use the library to find appropriate
print and electronic sources
Required Texts:
Noah, Trevor. Born a
Crime (freshman
common reading). Spiegel & Grau. 2016.
Ways of Reading.
Bedford/St.Martins. 10th edition. 2017.
E-book and rental options available (less expensive than the textbook).
Hacker, Diana. A
Writer’s Reference. 7th edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin‘s, 2010). E-book
available and recommended (much less expensive)
Reader's Journal (a notebook in which you will record your thoughts about
the readings)
Course
requirements:
1.You are
allowed 3 absences. Any additional absences will affect your grade.
Two latenesses = 1 absence. Excessive lateness or absence will result in a
failing grade for the course.
2. All readings
are due when assigned. If you are absent, be sure to get the reading
assignment for the next class.
3. All essays
must be typed in 12 pt. font, Times New Roman, double-spaced, 1.25” margins
(left and right), 1” margins (top and bottom).
4. All essays
are due when assigned. If you are absent on the day an essay is due, you
must email that essay to me by midnight of the due date.
5. You may hand
in ONE essay late but no more than ONE WEEK late. No other late work will be
accepted.
6. All essays
require second drafts. An essay that has not been revised will not receive
a grade.
7. You must
take the LOOP Orientation (a library use orientation exercise). http://dewey.brooklyn.cuny.edu/library/help/loop/
8. There will
be an in-class midterm essay, modeled on the final exam.
9. All students
must take a departmental final exam worth 20% of your final grade. The
final exam is on Dec. 14 from 10:30-12:30. (Please note this date when
making travel plans).
Samples of past
final exams can be found at http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/composition/exitexam.html
Note: Cell
phones must be silenced and put away. If you are texting during class, I
will mark you absent. See me if there is an urgent reason for you to have
your phone out during class.
Plagiarism:
Below is
Brooklyn College’s policy:
"The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment
free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being
aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both. The
complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College
procedure for implementing that policy can be found at this site:http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If a faculty
member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation,
confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty
member MUST report the violation."
All cases of plagiarism will be reported to the Brooklyn College Committee
on Academic Integrity. A student who plagiarizes in this class will receive
a grade of F for the assignment and may receive a grade of F for the course.
Students with
Disabilities: In order to
receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be
registered with the Center for Student Disability Services. Students who
have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are
invited to set up an appointment with the Director of the Center for Student
Disability Services, Ms. Valerie Stewart-Lovell at 718-951-5538. If you have
already registered with the Center for Student Disability Services, please
provide me with the course accommodation form and discuss your specific
accommodation with me.
Grading:
Passing grades range from A to C- (the lowest possible passing grade for the
course). A student who has completed all the work for this course but who
still needs more practice in producing competent academic English may
receive a grade of NC (no credit). This grade does not penalize the student
and does not count in her GPA. A student who does not complete assignments
for the course or who is excessively absent or late will receive a grade of
F. Students may take the course up to three times.
Participation: 10%
Assignments
(not essay-length) 10%
5 Essays (3
written at home and revised; 2 in-class): 60%
Final
Exam: 20%
WW= wrong word
WF=word form
s-v= subject-verb
agreement
pron = pronoun agreement
r/o= run on sentence
frag=fragment
dang=dangling modifier
misplaced=misplaced modifier
Tentative Class
Schedule:
Monday, Aug. 28: Introductions;
Literacy narrative in-class writing
Wednesday, August
30: Grammar workshop; Noah
discussion.
Monday, Sept. 4: NO
CLASS; LABOR DAY
Wednesday, Sept. 6: Noah.
Part I (through p. 116) BRING A QUOTE FROM PART I THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO
DISCUSS IN CLASS.
For Wednesday: choose one of the following writing
topics. All essays should be typed, 12 pt font, 1" margins. Bring your
essay to class on Wednesday. 1-2 pages.
1. Noah writes about the gaps in his education (see the introduction to chapter 15; see 194-95). Think about your formal education. What do you feel was missing? when did you become aware of this gap? How were you made aware of it? What do you attribute it to?
2. Names: Write about your name, or the name of a
family member or friend. What is its meaning---to you personally, and
more universally? Does it have cultural resonances? How do you feel
about having this name?
Monday,
Sept. 11: Write a paragraph that is based on your selected quote.
The paragraph should start with a topic sentence that sums up the meaning of
your quote in the context of the book. The paragraph must include
references to 2 or 3 passages in the book that are relevant to your quote.
You must also incorporate the quote into your paragraph. Submit your
paragraph as an attachment in word by noon on Monday.
Noah, Parts II and III.
Note a
passage that you find intriguing, provocative, confusing.
Wednesday, Sept. 13: Noah; Vuong.
Monday, Sept. 18: Brainstorm ideas for first essay,
using the "I Remember" poem as a prompt. Focus on one thing to
remember---home; a person; a pet; a book; an item of clothing; a movie---and
see how many memories you can conjure. This is not to be handed in.
It's meant as an aid for fashioning your first essay, based on the Noah
book. You can use either of the paragraphs that you have already developed
as the skeleton for this first essay, or come up with an entirely new topic.
The brainstorming in "I Remember" should help you find a topic, if you
haven't already come upon an idea. This essay will be due on Monday,
Sept. 25, in class.
In class on Monday----grammar workshop
This writing assignment can take any form you want.
Read Rodriguez, “The Achievement of
Desire,” in your packet.
Be prepared to discuss questions 1 and 2 from "Questions for a Second
Reading" (directly following the essay).
Wednesday, Sept 27: Rodriguez: a question of style. Be
sure to have read the Rodriguez essay (see Sept 18) and bring the text to
class.
Monday, Oct 2: Second draft, Noah essay due.
Finish discussion of Rodriguez essay:
In class: write a paragraph
analyzing the last words of the essay: "the end of education."
Wednesday, Oct. 4: To be submitted in class: Look carefully at the style in the
paragraph at the bottom of p. 342 ("But withheld from my mother and
father.....I slipped quietly out of the house.") Write a paragraph that
mimics Rodriguez's style in this paragraph. Your paragraph can be on any
topic you like; you aren't expected to follow Rodriguez's paragraph sentence
by sentence. But you need to isolate various stylistic techniques that
Rodrigues uses, and imitate them in your own paragraph. Be prepared to
explain how your paragraph resembles Rodriguez's.
You should use the rhetorical devices
that we discussed in class on Monday----parentheses; asides; colons;
semi-colons; fragments; one-word sentences; juxtapositions. You don't
need to use ALL these devices---just enough to make your paragraph read like
Rodriguez's. Bring 2 copies of your paragraph to
class.
Wednesday, Oct. 11: Read Gloria
Anzaldua, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.”
Monday, Oct. 9:
NO CLASS; COLUMBUS DAY
Wednesday, Oct. 11: Anzaldua
Also for Wednesday---Outline an essay that imitates Anzaldua's
approach. You will be writing (for Monday, Oct. 16), an
autobiographical text whose shape and motives can be described in Anzaldua's
terms---a "mosaic" or "montage" or "collage."
Think about the different positions you could be said to occupy (student,
son, daughter, brother, sister, violinist, athlete, second language speaker,
Email the outline to me by
noon on Wednesday, so we can look at your work together in class.
Monday, Oct. 16: Essay #2---voices.
First draft due.
Grammar and style
workshop
Write an introduction that
ends in a thesis statement to EITHER compare or contrast the Ben Shahn
photograph and the Grant Wood painting.
Wednesday, Oct. 18 :
Compare/contrast:
Ben Shahn photo and Grant Wood painting. In class writing and grammar
workshop
Monday, Oct. 23: compare/contrast continued
Draft 2 of voices essay due. Bring both your first draft, with my comments, and a hard copy of your second draft to class.
Wednesday, Oct. 25:
Essay 3---in class writing
The differences in appearance, identity, and purpose of the subjects in American Gothic and Rehabilitation Clients emphasize the dissimilarities in class during the Great Depression.
These two artworks contrast in the appearance of their subjects’ facial expressions, posture and clothing. The couple in the painting stand firmly and confidently while the couple in the photograph slouch, reflecting their acceptance of their circumstances and their weariness.
Looking ahead: Due
Monday, Nov. 20: Museum assignment: Essay #4, part 1
Go to the Met or MOMA.
(If you go to the Met, remember that there is a SUGGESTED admission; you can
pay as little as you want---don't hesitate to hand the cashier a dollar, or
even change; as a CUNY student, you get into MOMA free)
Select a painting
that seems silent and still, yet invites conversation. Your job is to figure
out what sorts of questions to ask, to interrogate the painting, to get it
to speak, to engage with the past in some form of dialogue. Write an essay
in which you record this process and what you have learned from it.
Somewhere in your paper, perhaps at the end, turn back to Berger's essay and
speak to it about how this process has or hasn't confirmed what you take to
be Berger's expectations. Be sure to include either a link to the painting
or a picture of the painting with your essay.
Possible
paintings at the Met:
Renoir, Madame Charpentier and her family
Vermeer, Maid Asleep
Sargent, Madame X
Raphael, Colonna Altarpiece
Hopper, The Lighthouse at Two Lights
If you fall in
love with a painting, then you can choose that one.
Wednesday, Nov. 1:
In class: ways of seeing paintings;
ways of seeing film:
This is for Monday, Nov. 6:
Look at the opening scenes from each of
the following films (copy and paste the youtube sites). Write the narrative
that corresponds to each film's opening scene. Then analyze how the director
tells the story, how he guides you to create a narrative (for example, what
specific devices does he use? how do light and dark work? camera angles?
distance?). For each film, write a paragraph in response to the prompts
above; then write a thesis statement that governs the paragraph. Print out
and bring the paragraphs to class.
Rear Window
(Hitchcock) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5It0nmoYE4 rear window
Pickup on South Street (Fuller) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vvO4EI4Xb8&list=PLFBi_-T4ly9PK3HHmKujWFu-Nl9vbwG_e
Writing an academic paragraph---in class exercise
Wed, Nov
8----ways of seeing film.
Due on Friday, Nov 10 by midnight: revisions of film narratives (if you
chose to revise)
Due on Monday, Nov. 13: polished version of academic
paragraph written in Wednesday's class
Due on Monday, Nov. 13: narrative
of first 3 minutes of "The Searchers" (after the opening credits). Available
on youtube.
Monday, Nov 13-Wed. Nov 15:
Read Bordo, "Beauty
(re)discovers the Male Body."
For in-class discussion:
Divide the
essay into main sections. How do these sections fit together to form Bordo's
argument?
Monday, Nov. 13:
Do this
for Wednesday: 1. Trace the way Bordo uses the
word and concept of "gaze" in the various sections
2. Find 4 quotes and 2 photos in the article that you want to discuss in class.
3. Choose an advertising image for beauty. Be sure to email me the link before class.
Email me a day and time from the following list for a 10-minute conference:
Wednesday, Nov. 22: 12:15 Deanna, 12:30
Nikhil; 12:45; 1;00 Susan
Monday, Nov. 27: 12:15 Sara, 12:25Christine;
12:35 Rahul; 12:45 Sal; 1:00 Noshin; 5:00 Jacob;
Wednesday, Nov. 29: 12:15
George;
12:25.Janntaul; 12:35 Noor.; 12:45 Shameera.; 1:00 Alice
Thursday, Nov
30: 11: Margo; 11:10 David.; 11:20..............;
11:30.............11:40.............11:50.................
Monday, Dec. 4:
12:15 Sheila; 12:25 Gina; 12:35 Pheobe; 12:45 Crystal; 1:00 Daniel; 5:00
Sahil; 5:10; 5:20; 5:30
Wednesday, Dec. 6: 12:15 Ivan; 12:25 Shana;12:35
Christine;12:45..Nick;1:00.Pheobe.
If none of these times works for you, please contact me and we can try to work out an alternate time.
Wednesday, Nov. 15:
Ways of seeing advertisements
Summary vs. analysis: In class:
Using the ad you selected (or a different ad but be sure to include the
link), write a 1-3 sentence summary of the ad and a 3-5 sentence analysis.
Monday, Nov.
20:
1. Summary and analysis of your advertisement. By email/
Read Griffin, "Our Secret"----to discuss in class:
What kinds of research did Griffin
do to support her assertions?
Pick one theme
in "Our Secret" and trace it throughout the essay. Note how Griffin uses
this theme, where it appears, what may be juxtaposed to it. For example, you
might choose any of the following: the effects of childhood upbringing on
adult behaviors; the relations of violence to cultural patterns; the
cultural patterns that seem related to Nazi hatred; the effects of familial
and national secrets; the Nazi manipulations of science and media; the
intertwining of personal and cultural habits; secrets; facism; Himmler;
sexuality; visual media (photos and pictures). If you find another theme
that interests you, choose that one. This is not an essay; you can just
bullet point or outline the incidence and trajectory of the theme you
choose. Come to class prepared to share your work.
Using
the last paragraph of Griffin's "Our Secret" as a starting point, find other
passages from Griffin that seem deeply connected to memory
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Monday, Nov. 27: Griffin, continued. Group work according to the theme you've chosen to trace throughout the essay. Bring one quote that you think is particularly powerful.
Grammar and style workshop; the mechanics of quoting
Wednesday, Nov. 29: Read
"Contest of Words," Ben Lerner.
Museum assignment Part 2
DUE: (Essay #5, part 2)
1. Locate and
read two secondary scholarly sources that discuss the painting you chose and
one source that offers biographical information about its artist. These must
be academic, scholarly sources. Check the Met and MOMA websites for sources,
Google Scholar, JSTOR, or consult one of the reference librarians.
2.
Write a 1-2 page paper summarizing the information gained from the three
outside sources. Use quotes to support your claims; paraphrase when you can.
Be sure to document any information that is not in your own words or not
common knowledge.
3. Using the knowledge gained from these 3 sources,
revisit your chosen painting (this time, you can do a virtual visit)
and revisit the main arguments in Berger's essay. Does the additional
knowledge enhance or diminish your appreciation of the painting (or possibly
both enhance and diminish)? In what ways? (be specific). How does your new
reaction to the painting coincide with or differ from Berger's claims?
Monday, Dec 4:
"The Gene Hackers," Michael Specter
Wednesday, Dec. 6: "Gene
Hackers" continued
Monday, Dec.
11: Final draft of museum essay---parts 1 and 2
Monday, Dec. 11: LAST DAY OF CLASS
1. Bring the
essay for the final exam. You will be given time to discuss the essay in
groups.
2. Bring your reading journals.
3. Bring a hard copy of your
final museum essay---parts 1 and 2, first and second drafts.
FINAL EXAM: Thursday, Dec.14, 10:30-12:30, room
1105 Ingersoll. (NOTE ROOM CHANGE!)