ENGLISH 101E Spring 2002

Writing in English as a Second Language II

Section 1

Five days a week: MWF 9:00-10:40 a.m. and TTh 9:30 - 10:45 a.m.

AB 300 (South Campus)

COURSE SYLLABUS

Instructor: Dr. John M. Green
Office location: Sullivan 207C
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 1:15 to 2:30 p.m.
Office phone: (978) 542-6252
E-mail address: jgreen@salemstate.edu
Home page: http://www.salemstate.edu/~jgreen
COURSE DESCRIPTION This is a course for students whose native language is not English. The course focuses on English language skills necessary for success at the college level, with extensive reading (including both fiction and nonfiction) and extensive writing of various kinds. For details, see "Course Requirements," below.

There will be two broad themes that will run through our class discussions and reading and writing assignments throughout this course:

 This course satisfies Salem State's Composition I (English 101) requirement. After you complete this course, you will be ready to go on to Composition II (English 102).


REQUIRED TEXTS (listed in the order in which we will read them; you should buy the first four right away and the other three as soon as you can. The bookstore returns unbought textbooks around the middle of the semester!)

Clouse, Barbara Fine. Working It Out: A Troubleshooting Guide for Writers. 3rd Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.

King, Stephen. Different Seasons. New York: Signet, 1982. (We will read the novella "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" in this book.)

Kearny Datesman, Maryanne, and others. The American Ways: An Introduction to American Culture. Second Edition. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1995.

Martin, Charles. Looking at Type: The Fundamentals. Gainesville, FL: Center for Applications of Psychological Type, 1997.

Delany, Sarah L. and A. Elizabeth. Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years. New York: Dell, 1993.

Robinson, Harriet Green. The Gaylord Wacs. Laguna Beach, CA: Laurel Press, 2001. (This book will not be in the college bookstore. You will buy it from me.)

Sone, Monica Itoh. Nisei Daughter. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1979.


REQUIRED MATERIALS

Two 8 1/2 x 11 inch spiral notebooks, one for daily freewriting and one for response journals (see Course Requirements, below) COURSE REQUIREMENTS 1. Reading: approximately 10 pages a day, seven days a week. Daily reading assignments will be distributed separately from this syllabus. If a class is cancelled because of bad weather or for any other reason, you should keep up with the schedule of assignments.

2. Writing:
 

• daily freewriting in class

• participation in e-mail exchanges with Harriet Green Robinson, the author of The Gaylord Wacs. (You will need an e-mail account and access to the Internet.)

• double entry response journals due every class day that there has been a reading assignment in one of the assigned texts for the course. (See the list of assigned readings attached to this syllabus.)

• semester project (your "book"). Detailed guidelines and suggested topics for writing will be distributed separately from this syllabus. You will write three drafts of each of the chapters or sections for your final project. Drafts will be due every week on Monday or Tuesday, as follows:
DUE DATES Rough drafts Revised drafts Edited drafts
Tue Jan 22 Rough draft 1
Mon Jan 28 Rough draft 2
Mon Feb 4 Revised draft 1
Mon Feb 11 Revised draft 2
Tue Feb 19 Edited draft 1
Mon Feb 25 Rough draft 3
Mon Mar 4 Edited draft 2
Mon Mar 18 Rough draft 4
Mon Mar 25 Revised draft 3
Mon Apr 1 Revised draft 4
Tue Apr 16 Edited draft 3
Mon Apr 22 Edited draft 4
Tue Apr 30 Your "book," including all four final drafts
On Tuesday, April 30, your "book" will be due. It will include all four final drafts. You will also be handing in a packet with your prewriting notes, rough drafts, and revised drafts for all four papers.
 
  In the rough drafts, the emphasis will be on fluency -- the ability to find things to say and to express them easily and clearly. For each rough draft, you should hand in approximately five pages of rough draft material. This means you could complete each rough draft assignment on time by writing one page (about 285 words) or a bit more each day for five days. After you have written four rough draft assignments, you will have about 20 pages of rough draft material.

In the revised drafts, the emphasis will be on clarity -- the ability to organize ideas clearly. After you have completed all four revised draft assignments, you will have at least 20 pages of material that has been revised for organization and overall clarity.

In the edited (or final) drafts, the emphasis will be on correctness -- grammar, punctuation, spelling, and so forth.

 All three drafts must be completed for each chapter of your semester project.


3. Self-evaluation at the end of the semester. (More details later.)

4. Attendance and class participation, including group work in class.
 
 

 GRADES AND EVALUATION Grades will be based on completion of the course requirements described above:
  • the daily reading assignments.

• the various writing assignments described above: daily freewriting in class, double entry response journals on the daily reading assignments, participation in the e-mail exchanges with Harriet Green Robinson, and the various drafts (rough, revised, and edited) you will complete while working on the semester project.

• self-evaluations

• attendance and class participation, including group work in class. See "Attendance policies," below.
 

 I use a criterion referenced rather than a norm referenced grading system. This means that I have not decided in advance that a certain percentage of students will get "A's," a certain percentage "B's," and so forth. I do not "grade on the curve." If everybody in the class does good work and deserves a good grade, then everybody will get a good grade. I like to give good grades, but I don't give presents.

To get a good grade in the course, it is important to hand in work on time. Late work will usually be accepted (with some exceptions), but it will receive a lower grade than work handed in on time.

There will be no final exam in the course.
 

 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION AND POLICIES Attendance policies:
  • Attendance is required, and excessive absences and/or tardies can result in a low grade or even a failing grade in the course.

• Each student is responsible for completing all course requirements and for keeping up with everything that goes on in the course (whether or not the student is present).

• If you are absent, you should:
 

• contact another student or the teacher to find out what you have missed.

• give the teacher a legitimate excuse, if possible.
 

 Plagiarism: Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of someone else and submitting them as if you had written them yourself. It is both dishonest and against the law. Penalties for plagiarism can include an automatic grade of F for the course, as well as being reported to the Vice President, Academic Affairs, which can lead to suspension or expulsion from the college. See the 2000-2002 catalog, page 284, for the full description of the college policy on academic dishonesty.

Equal access policy (students with disabilities): The following very important statement is official college policy. If you have a disability of any kind, please read this carefully.
 

"Salem State College is committed to providing equal access to the educational experience for all students in compliance with Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act and The Americans with Disabilities Act and to providing all reasonable academic accommodations aids and adjustments. Any student who has a documented disability requiring an accommodation, aid or adjustment should speak with the instructor immediately. Students with Disabilities who have not previously done so should provide documentation to and schedule an appointment with the Office for Students with Disabilities and obtain appropriate services." (Salem State College 2000-2002 catalog, p. 285.)
Copyright 2002 John M. Green
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