English 103:
Advanced Composition and Critical Thinking

 

Course Information

 Jenny Tashjian Netto                 (209) 575-7822              nettoj@mjc.edu             Sierra 253        
Section #1027:  Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30-10:50 am in Founders 223
 

Required Texts and Materials

 For this course, you will need three books and a reader.

The required texts are available in the student bookstore.  If you have difficulty obtaining these books in the student bookstore, it is your responsibility to acquire them by other means: 

A Rulebook for Arguments  (isbn 0-87220-552-5)

The Kite Runner (isbn  1594480001)

The Least You Should Know About English (Form A—isbn 1413008941) 

Also, at a later date in the semester, you will need to purchase our course reader from Laser Graphics on 571 Tully (at Tully and Coldwell across the street from the track).  They accept only cash and checks (they do NOT accept credit cards).  This reader will be tailored to our needs as a class and will not be available until we have completed some activities.  Please wait until the announcement is made in class that it is ready to be purchased.   

It will also be necessary for you to xerox research materials and purchase supplies for your projects. Lastly, you may wish to purchase one (or more) book(s) for this project. You should plan for these additional expenses accordingly.                                         

You are ultimately responsible for holding on to any materials I distribute in class; I will not provide duplicate copies of course materials. You will also be responsible for keeping track of your own progress in this course by referring to graded assignments.

 

Coursework

Your grade in this course will be determined by the points you earn on the following assignments. All homework and papers, including the research paper, will be collected at the beginning of class on the due date. Any papers which are not promptly turned in at these times will be considered late. ABSOLUTELY NO LATE PAPERS will be accepted, no exceptions.  

Kite Runner Essay (10% of final grade): you will write a five-page, argumentative essay on our novel.   

Notebook (10% of your final grade): you will complete a series of quizzes, assignments, and activities.  These will be kept in your notebook which will be collected and scored.  Each assignment will be checked in when it is due.  Late assignments will not be scored.  Lost assignments will not be scored.  It is your responsibility to keep your course-work bound in a binder as described above. 

Position Papers (50% of your final grade): you will write five two page position papers (for 10% each) employing an assigned argumentative strategy.  Papers must be typed or word processed and stapled. They must be double-spaced, left-justified, printed in Times 12 point font, and aligned with one inch margins on all sides of the page. Make sure your ink/toner/ribbon is black and adequately dark. I will not grade papers that I cannot read. 

Research Paper (20% of final grade): you will write one eight-page paper synthesizing all of your argumentation techniques and demonstrating your mastery of the topics we have covered.  

Final (10% of final grade):  you will take a final during the scheduled final exam session for your section.   

 

Class Procedures

 Attendance is crucial. Any student who fails to attend class regularly or during the first session may be dropped; however, it is the responsibility of the student to complete the course or to officially withdraw from a class.  Although your grade will not be docked for absences, make-ups will not be given and late work will not be accepted. Excessive absence will therefore adversely affect your grade.

Participation is essential. Students are expected to participate in all classroom exercises and activities.  Non-academic and/pr disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.  Per college policy, cell phones and pages must be turned off during class time.                                  

Deadlines are absolute. All papers and assignments are due on the date designated by the course outline. No late papers will be accepted and no make-ups will be given on any quiz or activity. Everything distributed in class, hand-outs and returned work, will only be distributed once.  If you are absent, it is your responsibility to acquire distributed materials from a classmate.                                                               

Plagiarism is illegal. A word about plagiarism: don't do it. Students are regularly caught and punished for it. If caught, students will fail this course and their cases will be reported for appropriate discipline.  Again, if you plagiarize—at any time and on any assignment—you will get an F in this class.  If you are at all unsure about what constitutes plagiarism, you must ask me before you submit an assignment.                         

Your instructor is available. If you run into a problem with a particular reading or writing assignment, please take the time to talk to me about it. 

 

Course Outline

  

Monday, January 9:

Introduction

Wednesday, January 11:

Class:  Kite Runner

Grammar: Words Often Confused (Set 1) (p 4)

Monday, January 16:

Holiday

Wednesday, January 18:

Quiz on Section I in Rulebook

Class:  The Lit Essay

Grammar: Words Often Confused (Set 2) (p 14)

The Eight Parts of Speech (p 23)

Monday, January 23:

Kite Runner Paper Due

Class:  Introduce Topic #1

Grammar: Adjectives and Adverbs (p 29)

 

Wednesday, January 25:

Quiz on Section II in Rulebook

Class:  Introduce Groups

Grammar:  Contractions (p 36)

Monday, January 30:

Position Paper #1 Due

Class:  Introduce Topic #2

Grammar:  Possessives (p 42)

 

Wednesday, February 1:

Quiz on Section III in Rulebook

Class:  Group Conferences

Grammar:  Words that Can Be Broken into Parts (p 50)

Monday, February 6:

Class:  Background Presentations Topic #2

Grammar:  Unit #1 Mastery Test

Wednesday, February 8:

Quiz on Section X in Rulebook

Class:  Topic #2 Continued

Grammar:  Finding Subjects and Verbs (p 63)

Locating Prepositional Phrases (p 69)

 

Monday, February 13:

Position Paper #2 Due

Class:  Introduce Topic #3

Grammar:  Understanding Dependent Clauses (p 75)

 

Wednesday, February 15:

Quiz on Section IV in Rulebook

Class:  Group Conferences

Grammar:  Correcting Fragments (p 82)

Monday, February 20:

Holiday

 

Wednesday, February 22:

Class:  Background Presentations Topic #3

Grammar:  Correcting Run-on Sentences (p 89)

Identifying Verb Phrases (p 97)

Using Standard English Verbs (p 102)

Monday, February 27:

Position Paper #3 Due

Class:  Introduce Topic #4

Grammar: Using Regular and Irregular Verbs (p 108)

 

Wednesday, March 1:

Quiz on Section V in Rulebook

Class:  Group Conferences

Grammar:  Maintaining Subject-Verb Agreement (p 118)

Monday, March 6:

Class:  Background Presentations Topic #4

Grammar:  Avoiding Shifts in Time (p 125)

Recognizing Verbal Phrases (p 127)

Wednesday, March 8:

Class:  Topic #4 Continued

Grammar:  Correcting Modifiers (p 133)

Monday, March 13:

Position Paper #4 Due

Class:  Introduce Topic #5

Grammar:  Following Sentence Patterns (p 137)

Wednesday, March 15:

Quiz on Section VI in Rulebook

Class:  Group Conferences

Grammar:  Avoiding Clichés (p 144)

Monday, March 20:

Class:  Background Presentations Topic #5

Grammar:  Correcting for Parallel Structure (p 148)

Wednesday, March 22:

Quiz on Appendix in Rulebook

Class:  Topic #5 Continued

Grammar:  Using Pronouns (p 154)

Monday, March 27:

Position Paper #5 Due

Class:  Introduce Research Paper

Grammar:  Avoiding Shifts in Person (p 162)

Wednesday, March 29:

Quiz on Section VII in Rulebook

Class:  Regrouping

Grammar: Unit #2 Mastery Test

Monday, April 3:

Research Materials Due

Class:  Instructor Conferences

Grammar:  Period, Question Mark, Exclamation Point, etc. (p 167)

Wednesday, April 5:

Quiz on Section VIII in Rulebook

Class: Research

Grammar:  Comma Rules 1, 2, and 3 (p 174)

Monday, April 10:

Research Outline Due

Class:  Instructor Conferences

Grammar:  Comma Rules 4, 5, and 6 (p 181)

Wednesday, April 12:

Quiz on Section IX in Rulebook

Class:  Polishing

Grammar:  Quotation Marks (p 189)

Capital Letters (p 195)

Monday, April 17:

Research Paper Due

Group Final Conferences

Unit #3 Mastery Test

Wednesday, April 19:

Group Final Conferences

Final Exam: Scheduled Final Time