Syllabus Eng. 097 Fall 2010

Course Information Overview

• English 097 #12809
• Listserve: classfa10.12809-c@csun.edu. NOTE: Only accepts emails generated from a csun webmail account. Will bounce all others.
• 7-945P Wed
• Jerome Richfield 244

Course Philosophy

Reading is an essential part of your university life. To successfully participate in your courses you will need to find ways to decode the texts you encounter. This course will start you on a journey of discovery about texts, their place in the world and the people who produce them. So that I can measure how much you have learned, you must communicate to me the ideas you have encountered and your responses to those ideas, so writing is also an integral part of this reading course.

First-time freshmen are required to complete all developmental writing and math within the first year of enrollment, or they will be asked to "stop out" to complete the requirements elsewhere.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Pop Quizzes

There will be occasional pop quizzes both on the reading assignments, grammar exercises, and on the vocabulary words from the anthology. They will be simple-if you have done the reading.

Written Work

NO LATE PAPERS ACCEPTED! ONLY TYPED, STAPLED WORK ACCEPTED. If you miss ANY of the steps in the process of drafting & turning in even ONE out-of-class essay, your portfolio will NOT be accepted and you risk failing the course!

1. One Book Analysis
2. Two Reader Response Essays to short texts

The Book Analysis and two Reader Response essays must be workshopped with your peers. To receive credit, each draft must show substantial revision in the final version. They must be printed, double-spaced, 12 point type, one inch margins.

3. Two In-class essays

   In-class essays are written once, in the classroom, without prior prompting and cannot be madeup.

4. Homework Journal: Reading Assignment Responses & Novel Study Questions
5. Final Portfolio-see Projects link above.

• All essays must be typewritten, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, and in MLA format.
• The Learning Resource Writing Center- Visiting the LRC for each of the three major essays this semester, affords you extra credit. The lab is located in SB408 and student tutors are available to assist you with various steps in the writing process such as brainstorming, revising and editing. You may call for an appointment: (818) 677-2033. You can also attend on a walk-in basis OR you can arrange for an appointment. For more information about the writing lab visit: CSUN Learning Resource Center http://www.csun.edu/lrc/writing.html

Many assignments are online as Word or pdf files. To view these files, you must have MS Word 2003 or above, OR Word Viewer & Acrobat Reader, free programs, installed on your computer. Campus computers already have MS Word & Acrobat Reader installed, and the program will automatically open when you click on a link to a pdf file.

Download Word Viewer on your home computer

Download Acrobat Reader on your home computer

Participation

1. Do Not throw any papers away until after semester ends!
2. The reading responses/novel study questions are to be done by the day/date due. Each reading journal should be handed in/posted as directed with the specific title, author of the reading, your name and date of your response. You are required to participate in the discussions and you cannot do so if you have not read the assignment. Unannounced quizzes on the reading assignments will be given at regular intervals. On-line tasks such as postings on our discussion forum or listserve assignments on email are to be completed as assigned
3. All written projects are to be completed by the day they are due. Essay rough drafts are to be workshopped with your group, so you must bring enough copies for the group.
4. No Whaaaaaaaaahh Clause everyday, people struggle to maintain employment and make their lives work. Everyday students jump seemingly impossible hurdles to succeed in their classes. I have seen students face devastating personal crisis and still be in class with their assignments prepared. You know the course policies and you know what is expected of you. Please do not come to me with excuses why you were absent and didn't get your work in on time. If a personal crisis arises, talk with me and let me know what is going on before you jeopardize your success in the course. Do not, however, ask me to "tell you " what you've missed; it is not my job to take time to update you for classes you have chosen, for whatever reason, to be absent from. It is up to you to get the notes and copies of handouts from peers. You are responsible for all assignments (on the schedule or assigned in class).
5. I suggest that you make friends with someone before you leave class today and trade phone numbers and email addreses, and take note of our class listserve email address so you can keep apprised of what's going on in your absence. Being absent is not an acceptable excuse for incomplete work.