Wrapping Up: Well Done!

First, great class this semester. We faced difficult topics, challenging readings and paper assignments made to make you work. You did work, each of you producing some excellent writing on your way to the end of the class.

I'm very proud of how you took part in the discussions about Underground America, as well as your final project on immigration. Well done!

For those of you who want to contact Peter Orner, he'd be happy to hear from you. His email is peterorner (at) gmail (dot) com

If you'd like a copy of Underground America in Spanish, you should be able to stop in to their offices (Voices of Witness) at 849 Valencia St. Tell them you were in my class and that Peter suggested you come by. I bet they'll be happy to give you a copy for free. They're great folks! 

You can also email mimi lok here at mimi.lok (at) voiceofwitness (dot) org and she'll help you out as well.

Here's a link to the book in Spanish: 

http://voiceofwitness.org/en-las-sombras-de-estados-unidos/

Once again,

All my best and thanks for a great term! Stay in touch and feel free to let me know if you'd like a signed copy of my book. I'm happy to make that happen.

Homework for Thanksgiving Week

1) Carefully read the assignment for your final project (Oral History and Research Paper) and write down any questions you have to raise at the start of next class.

Link to full paper assignment and schedule: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-0Jh0q__dp3ZWZMeFUxNzl3MUE/view?usp=sharing
Look carefully also at the schedule on page 2.

2) Watch or read President Obama's speech on immigration from 11/20/14
Video link: http://youtu.be/wejt939QXko (see below)
Transcript and Video: The Washington Post

3) Line up or start interview for your Final Project (know who your subject will be)

4) Do Library Workshop B, “Finding Magazine, Journal, and Newspaper articles in periodical databases.” http://www.ccsf.edu/~library/libskills_register.php

5) Start searching online databases for articles connected to your immigration issue.

Underground America Paper (and Schedule)

Here's the document for the paper assignment: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-0Jh0q__dp3eGJSdlp1U0xDMEk/view?usp=sharing 

The schedule for the paper is as follows:

11/10 No Class

Actively read: "El Mojado" (p. 203) and Adela (p. 305)

11/17 Paper Rough Draft Due: Bring 3 copies

11/24 Final Draft Due

Homework for 11/3

Hello folks, good work this week on getting through the concept of arguments and the argumentative paper. Special thanks to Cheri for sharing her work with the rest of the class.

For this next week

First: Root for the Giants! Go Giants!

Read: 

1) The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Please print this out, if you're able, so you can show active reading on it. We'll be referring to this in class and on your next paper. (Assignment to come.)

2) In Underground America let's continue with the narratives of Lorena (p. 181) and Desiree (p. 261)

Write:
Think about the 30 articles in the Declaration of Human Rights. Write a page and a half about what violations of these human rights you see Lorena and Desiree encounter. You can do this in your journal, to be checked off. (Consider this prewriting/freewriting for the prompt below.)

Lab/Online:
Continue working in Reading Plus by doing 3 SR, 1 iB and 1, RA
Learning Curve: this week we focus on Verbs! (one assignment here)

Start thinking about the following prompt for your next paper:

Argument: Drawing on at least two narratives in Underground America, expose experiences in which human rights have been violated according to the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and/or the United States Constitution, including the right to freedom of speech. 

I will give you a more detailed explanation of the assignment in class.

United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Here is the Declaration of Human Rights (for your next assignment)
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

HW for 10/27

1) Make sure you have a good Halloween costume. Never too early to start thinking about this.

2) Actively read p. 1-54 in Underground America (Orner).
This includes: Forward, Introduction, Diana, Mr. Lai and Saleem.

3) Write one page in your journal/notebook about your thoughts and response to this reading.

4) Do your usual work in Reading Plus and Learning Curve.

Have a great week!

Reading for Week of 10-6 to 10-13

First, your primary homework for the current week is to revise, edit and proofread your draft of the "Reefer Madness" argument paper.

Keep in mind that you're writing to evaluate Schlosser's use of persuasive techniques and how he presents his argument. Each body paragraph should have an idea (you making a point of your own about how effective Schlosser is) and material from the text that you're analyzing. If this doesn't make sense, email me asap.

Also, here's a handy Proofreading Tips Sheet that you can use when you're ready.

For this week, also read the conclusion "Out of the Underground" in Schlosser. If you have the extra afterword, please read that too, but if you're pressed for time, you can save it for next week.

Keep in mind to do some Reading Plus and Learning Curve work this week: one exercise on LC and 5 from RP. If you're still having difficulty, email me.

Good luck with your drafts! Keep in mind there's a free tutoring service on Ocean campus on the 2nd floor of Rosenburg Library. R205. Faculty and ace students are standing by to read YOUR draft and give you feedback. Check it out!

Midterm Exam Schedule

October 20th will be the date of our midterm. 

It will be an in-class essay. I will give you the question in class as well as a handout to use for prewriting/outlining your response.

You will have one hour to do pre-writing and then the rest of the class to write your essay.
The prompt for this essay will involve the all sections of Reefer Madness, except "The Empire of the Obscene." This means you will have to read Schlosser's conclusion "Out of the Underground" for the exam.

CHANGED: Your homework for the week of 10/13 to 10/20 will be active reading from Underground America: the essays "Roberto" p. 55 and "Olga"p. 99 

MLA Works Cited Page and In-Text Citations

Here are two great handouts from our library that help you see the proper formatting and use of MLA citations.

First, for your in-text citations, see this handout. 

Second, here's the handout for your MLA Works Cited Page format.

From the English Lab page, here are a few helpful pieces: 

On formatting your whole paper in MLA style in MS Word. 

AND... 

Here is a very clear video tutorial to help you with Word 2007/2010 MLA formatting, including running a page header and setting up your Works Cited page.

Reading Plus and Learning Curve Help Pages

Hey folks,

Good to see you logging into Reading Plus and Learning Curve from the lab tonight.

Remember our goal is to do one Learning Curve assignment per week and spend 30-45 minutes on Reading Plus doing exercises. Shoot for three SeeReader (SR) exercises and one each of Read Around (RA) and iBalance (iB).

If you're having trouble at home, here are a couple of helpful hints to get you going:

1) Learning Curve:

Click here: Improving sentence-level skills with Learning Curve

2) Reading Plus:

Go to login.readingplus.com 

Site code is ccsf

Your username is your student ID. 

Your Password is your last name (first letter capitalized).

Another way to enter the site is try "searching by class" 

See below:  

Ok. Onward! 

Homework Schedule for Paper 2 Assignment

Your Homework Schedule for the Next Segment (Reefer Madness Paper) is as follows:

Week of 9/22:
Answer Questions on Ch. 1 Handout here and respond to Q5 with at least 1 page of free writing toward your essay in your journal. (Note: I will be checking these off in class on 9/29.)

Go over Active Reading for entire "Reefer Madness" chapter, improving your first round and summarizing/mapping the main points and structure that Schlosser uses. Identify specific items you might want to use in your paper. Also decide which way to go with your thesis.

Note: here is the handout on Ethos/Pathos Logos.

Week of 9/29:
Write Rough Draft of Reefer Madness Paper.
Use your free writing and consider outline structure from handout to create paragraphs with main ideas/topic sentences to support your thesis.
Bring three printed copies of your draft to class for peer review.

Week of 10/6:
Finish your Final Draft to hand in on 10/13 at the start of class.
Consider:
Revision tools: Use feedback from Peer Review and Outline Template Handout

Editing: Now that you've considered your paragraph arrangement and what points you want to get across, examine the interior of your paragraphs: Do they start with a topic sentence (an idea)? If not, where/what is the idea for the paragraph? What unifies it? Do you use evidence? Is it properly set up, cited if necessary? Do you make your point clear?
Is each paragraph approx. 1/3 to 2/3 of a page? Not longer or shorter?

Proofreading: Consider the work you've been doing on Learning Curve. Go to Lab to get help from tutors. Read your work out loud to hear how it sounds. Use proofreading strategies here.

2nd Paper: Your First Argument Paper: "Reefer Madness" -- Is Schlosser Effective?

An Appealing Argument?

Background

In the first chapter of Eric Schlosser’s book Reefer Madness, he argues that the punishments for marijuana use and possession are perhaps too stringent and these strict laws reveal a problem within American culture’s perception of marijuana use and possession.

Task

In a 3-4 page essay discuss in detail how effective you think Schlosser’s argument is. Some questions to think about when addressing this prompt would be: What is Schlosser’s argument? How does he support his argument? What kind of argumentative strategies is Schlosser using? Is he persuasive and if so, how? If not, why not? What function do rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos and logos have in his argument?

Goals for this Essay

•       A unique title that shows some level or original creativity/thought.
•       An introduction that introduces the reading, author, and topic and catches the reader’s attention.
•    Clear thesis statement that conveys your opinion about Schlosser’s argument (NOT about marijuana laws).
• Your thesis should be one of the two: either you find Schlosser's argument effective or you do not find it effective--then you'll prove why.

• Well-organized body paragraphs in which you:

·      Have strong topic sentences that clearly support your thesis statement.

·      Use of evidence from Schlosser’s introduction and first chapter to support your points, specifically identifying effective or non-effective use of rhetoric (think Logos, Ethos, Pathos) in his argument.

·      Explain/analyze how and why your evidence proves your points.

• Quotations and references to Reefer Madness using the MLA guidelines.
• Work Cited page.
• Free of proofreading errors.

Due Dates/Schedule

Rough Draft: 10/6—Start early! 

Begin preparing your ideas and outlining or freewriting before 9/29.

Final draft due:         10/13

Homework for week of 9/15

THIS HOMEWORK IS DUE ON 9/22.

1)   Outline "Reefer Madness" pp. 13 to 53 using template handout as a guide.

Outline should have: 10 sections

Strive to use complete sentences for the main ideas of sections.

            Should be typed and printed.

See attached template handout for assistance. 

2)   Actively Read “Reefer Madness” to end (p. 74)

I’ll be checking active reading in class.
Continue to focus on marking main points, adding key words in margins.

3)   Learning Curve – Finish Subject/Verb Agreement assignment.

4)   Reading Plus: Complete Diagnostic test and work through a few more exercises until you either a) level up or b) reach an hour’s time spent.

Don’t let too many days go by before you start in on this work. Break it up into pieces that you can accomplish easily and chip away.

Part of the challenge of the once-weekly course is to take responsibility for your own time management and get work done over a span of time. You can do it! Email me if you need pointers, help or encouragement.

Accessing Online Resources for Class

We have two useful online resources to draw from so far for your class lab hours.

1) The first is Learning Curve.

You may access our class page on learning curve here:
http://www.macmillanhighered.com/learningcurve/rules7e/938931

When you first access this page, you'll need to use the code 8pj-duj-aygf6s9a to get in. 

Follow these instructions:

select “I have a student access code,” enter the code 8pj-duj-aygf6s9a, and click Submit.

If you have problems registering or logging in, please contact Customer Support. You can reach a representative 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

1. through the online form
2. by chat

Or from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. EST, 7 days a week: 
by phone at (800) 936-6899

2) The second is Reading Plus

Access Reading Plus here: https://login.readingplus.com

The site code is ccsf

Select our class from the list, your name and use YOUR LAST NAME as your password.

3) The English Dept Lab Page

For more info, questions and further resources, visit the English Web Resources Page here:

http://www.ccsf.edu/Departments/English/labpage/webresources.htm

or the English Dept. Lab page. 

Enjoy!

Homework Due on 9/15: Continuing Summary Work

Hello!

As many of you realized last night, your summary assignment is still in the works. All but a few of you chose to do revision and development for another week rather than turning your current work in for a grade. Having looked a few of these over, I can say you made the right choice. 

Look to your peer editing and revision process this week to keep improving those summaries. I look forward to seeing final drafts Next Week.

Reading HW: do your best Active Reading on Schlosser's first section in the book, "Reefer Madness." (The section has the same title as the book.) to p. 53. 

I'll be grading your active reading on pp. 13 to 53 of the book as your quiz grade on active reading during our next 

class. Be sure to mark main points in the margins and underline the best of his ideas.

Here's the link to the peer review form, again. 

Initial Homework Assignments: Leading to Summary Assignment 1

First assignments and initial schedule

Note: Due to Labor Day, we will not meet on 9/1. This means some legwork*.

Week 1: 8/18

First Homework assignment:

1) Actively read Reefer Madness: Intro (p. 1-11) and start “In the Strawberry Fields” pages 77-88. Note: your active reading will be checked off in class and evaluated in Week 2.

2) Autobiography of a reader: Length: Two typed pages

(double-spaced, 12 pt font, 1.25” margins)

Describe your experiences in life relating to reading. Lead up to where you are now from your first exposure to reading. (Did someone first read to you? Who? When/where did you learn how to read? What books have you liked best? What kinds of reading have excited you most?) You may choose to begin this assignment by making a timeline to help you with finding the important dates and moments of your life as far as reading is concerned.

3) Read over this syllabus to see if you have any questions.

Week 2: 8/25

Second Homework Assignment – Due 9/8

Note: due to the Labor Day holiday, we will not have class on 9/1. *It is your responsibility to connect with your peer group during these two weeks for feedback and workshop on your summary assignment.

Note: See attached handout for peer review. 

1) Finish actively reading “Into the Strawberry Fields.” Your active reading will be graded as a quiz score on 9/8 in class. (Scale of 1-10)

2) Graded Writing Assignment #1: Summarize Schlosser’s “Strawberry Fields” section covering as many of the main points, arguments and evidence as you can in 2-3 pages. (Not more than 3.)

Week 3: 9/8

            Collect Graded Assignment 1: Summary (rough draft and final)

Active reading for Strawberry Fields graded: quiz grade.

Further discussion of Summary/Writing process and Schlosser reading.

Syllabus here!

City College of San Francisco

English 1A: University Reading and Composition

Course Syllabus                    Fall 2014

Section: 360  CRN: 75606                Meetings: Mondays 6:00-8:50PM

Instructor: Seth Harwood                  Location: Mission Campus Rm. 363

Email: ­­­­­sethharwood@gmail.com       Office Hrs: Monday 5:30-6:00        

Office: MiC Rm 262                         Phone/voice mail: 206-350-4998

 

 

Course Description

English 1A is a rigorous, transfer-level course designed to improve your ability to read and think critically, develop your academic writing skills, and enable you to produce thoughtful critical responses to the writings and ideas of others. Frequent writing assignments will be based on two full-length nonfiction works. You will be asked to write three primary essays, including one research paper, produce at least one draft and a final version of each, as well as complete a variety of shorter writing assignments designed to develop skills.

To help ensure your success in this course, attend every class, take the texts seriously, and never get behind in the reading. Expect a substantial writing or reading assignment for every class meeting and a longer writing assignment every three to four weeks. If you are concerned that this might not be the right class for you, please come talk to me.

Required Texts

• Eric Schlosser, Reefer Madness
• Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives (Voices of Witness), Peter Orner, ed.
• The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (Pocket edition) or similar – this will help you a great deal with your readings and our class discussions. Keep this on hand as you do your homework and bring it to class. I will have regular dictionary checks where you can get extra credit.

·       In addition, you should have a notebook with pockets (for handouts) to use for taking notes and doing in-class writing assignments for this class.

Alternative sources for your books:

All of the above books are available in your college bookstore. I suggest you purchase Reefer Madness immediately, if you haven’t already. For your other books, it may pay to search a few alternative sources where you may be able to find the other books for less than the bookstore charges. These will require use of the internet and a credit card. You should order these immediately to leave ample time for delivery.

• www.Abebooks.com    A good source for used books. This is a collection of booksellers compiled nationwide. Good rates and very reliable.
• Amazon.com       Be sure to click on the “used and new” listing to see the used prices and list of sources when you search for your books.
• www.half.com           Cheap books. Not as good as abebooks, but always handy to have as many sources as you can get.

 

Class Participation

Because this course is strongly dependent on discussion, attendance is critical to your success and the success of your classmates.  You must come to class every week prepared to speak about the material at hand. I expect each of you to engage actively in classroom conversations while leaving space for others’ voices to be heard. If you can foresee any problems with this, come see me as soon as possible. Part of your grade will depend on your participation, so don’t come to me at the end of the term to try and explain why you have not participated.

Class Preparation

You are expected to show up every night for class having actively read the current assignment and ready to contribute to the discussion.  In addition, I will assign short writing or thinking assignments to go along with the readings.  These selections will be announced in class.  If you do not get this assignment because you missed class, it is your responsibility to contact a classmate to learn the assignment. 

Attendance

If you are absent you and your particular insights will be missed.  If you must be absent from class for a necessary reason, you must contact me by email to explain. Per college rules students are allowed to miss a total of 6 class hours per term. Be very careful about attendance. Your absences are your own to use wisely for emergencies, necessary events, whatever may arise. Do not use them unwisely and leave yourself in a hole if something comes up. Note: If you must miss two classes in a row, definitely email me.

Grading Policy:

Your grade will be made up of the following:

Midterm Exam (in-class essay) – 10%

Final Exam – 10%

Primary Writing Projects – 60%

This consists of the major essays for this course. Each of these will require a rough draft, some level of pre-writing, and a peer-review session with your peers. I will evaluate your essays based on an examination of the development, organization, and coherence of your ideas, as well as sentence clarity and your ability to explain your thoughts. I will also evaluate your revision process. As you won’t be as experienced at writing in the beginning of the course, the first two essays will count less than the others: First=10%, second and third=15%, four paper (research) =20%

Homework and Shorter Writing Assignments – 20%

You will write short responses to the essays we read for class. These will be graded as homework. At the end of the term your homework grade will be the number of assignments you have done.

Late homework will NOT be accepted unless you have made arrangements with me beforehand. If you are sick, all homework will be due on the date you return to class, including that day’s assignments—it is your responsibility to find out the assignments from a peer.

There will be three kinds of homework:

·       Journaling: either in class freewriting, or producing a certain number of pages in your journal.

·       Short answer and response: these may be graded but the main focus in evaluation will be to see if you have done the reading and considered it adequately.

·       Active reading: I will explain more about what this is during the first weeks of class. Once you’re comfortable with it, I will come around checking your books to see if you’ve actively read the assignment. Doing this effectively will be worth a full homework grade.

Active reading is essential for good paper writing. The sooner you get proficient with this skill, the better you will do in all of your college writing classes. See Quiz in Week 3.

 

In-Class Work & Participation

Attendance and participation in this course are essential.  As each of us has our own way of writing and learning, the group can learn from each one of you and your insights.  Therefore you are each encouraged to raise any questions you may have about assignments or your concerns about writing. Often you will find that someone else has the same question as you do. In class writing, including freewriting and brainstorming sessions, as well as active participation in class discussion will be evaluated.

A special note on Peer Review: Any good essay goes through several revisions, and getting reader feedback is key. Hence, not having a satisfactory rough draft on a class peer review day will result in a 1/3 of a grade (3 points) reduction on your final draft. Not coming to class that day at all will result in a 2/3 of a grade (six points) reduction on your final draft, as you can’t help out your peers when you’re not there.

Graded Writing Assignments – Turning These in Late:

In the case of any extenuating circumstances, try to make every reasonable effort to contact me before the day the assignment is due. Late essays will be accepted—you must turn in all essays to pass the course. Any late essay that does not have a legitimate reason that I have approved will be lowered one letter grade per day that it is late. If you know that you must be absent on the day a paper is due, you may email your paper to me. But you should also print it to hand in the next time I see you.

 

Revision

Because I value improvement, you may revise and resubmit the papers you write this semester. After reviewing my comments on your grade sheet, you may want to clarify main ideas, produce more support, reorganize your paragraphs, and/or work on your sentence structure and mechanics. If you decide that you would like to revise a paper, come meet with me so we can determine a due date together.

 

Plagiarism

Most easily defined, plagiarism is the handing in of someone else’s work or ideas as your own, whether intentional or not. Plagiarism is a very serious offense: any student found plagiarizing can receive an F in the course and possible administrative penalties, ranging from probation to suspension. You will receive a grade of zero for any paper that you plagiarize. If you have any questions about plagiarism, contact me as soon as possible or raise your question during class time and we’ll discuss it.

Additional Resources

If you would like additional consultation on your writing, I encourage you to stop by the Writing Lab in the Rosenberg Library (second floor) at Ocean Campus. The tutors here are a tremendously helpful (free) resource. You can also visit Cyberia II in the Library, rm. 403 for computer use and help on your English assignments.

From home you can take advantage of 1) Reading Plus Online: More to come on that.

2) Online Resources from the English Dept. at http://www.ccsf.edu/Departments/English/labpage/webresources.htm

You can also come to my office hours for help, which are listed above. I’m always happy to see you in my office.

 

Students with Special Needs

I need to hear from anyone who has a disability that may require some modification of seating, testing or other class requirements so that appropriate arrangements may be made.  Please see me after class or Email me as soon as possible. 

LAB REQUIREMENT: All students are required to spend at least 16 hours (sixteen) using the online and lab-based tools offered by the English dept this term, including Library workshops (on campus and online) and Reading Plus. We will discuss Reading Plus, how to use it, and get you started there during class in the next weeks.