Skyline College      http://skylinecollege.net/

 English 165:  Critical Thinking and Advanced Composition Honors  -- Fall 2004  

                             Course Theme: Search for Self and Identity   

 

 

                                     Instructor:  Rachel Bell     

                                        Webpage: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/bellr

                                         Email: bellr@smccd.net, Voice Mail: (650) 738-4349

                                                    Office: Building 5, Room 5108

 

         

English office & mailboxes:  Room 8110-12, 738-4202    Course Meetings:  T Th  11:10-12:25pm

Computers and Tutoring in TLC: Bldg 5, Room 5100       Room 2104, Course Dates: 8/18 – 12/14

Engl 853: Get help writing papers—enroll now CRN #87409   Schedule #84877  – Engl 165AH, Units 3.0

 

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  “In order to be a great writer, a person must have a built-in, shock-proof crap detector”  --  Ernest Hemingway     

 

  “An abstract idea is always bad.  Your sentences should be full of stones, metals, chairs,

     tables, animals, men, and women.”  -- Alain de Lille

 

               

Course Prerequisites:  Completion of English 100 or 105 with a letter grade of “C” or better.

 

 

Course Objectives:  By the end of the semester, you will have developed a strong understanding of what it means to think and write critically.  Through the writing and reading you do in this course, you will be able to analyze; criticize; advocate and reason both inductively and deductively; distinguish fact from judgment; understand the relationship of language to logic; identify the assumptions upon which particular conclusions depend; and recognize common errors of logic in language and thought.  All students in this section will be required to do Honors-level work.

 

 

Required Materials: 

“The only good thing you can say about banning certain books is it gets kids to read them” Dennis Miller 

 

              Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

              The Awakening by Kate Chopin               

              Growing Up Asian American ed. Maria Hong

                Black Looks: Race and Representation by bell hooks

                Honky by Dalton Conley

              Course Reader available at Skyline's Bookstore

              English Hour-by-Arrangement Folder—available at the Skyline Bookstore

 

 

Course Policies:  

 

(1) Attendance—Your active participation is necessary for you and your classmates to realize the objectives of this course.  Therefore your attendance is crucial.  A maximum of 4 (four) absences is permitted; each absence after the fourth will significantly lower your grade. 

 

(2) Late Assignments—No late work will be accepted.  All due dates are given well in advance;  therefore I feel that it is unfair to the students who complete their work on time to accept the work from those who do not.  However, because “life happens,” each student will be allowed two “late tickets” during the semester; twice students may choose to turn an assignment in the following class period after the due date.  Late assignments beyond this will not be accepted.

 

(3) Class participation—Remember that participation counts--both for your grade and in your life.  It is essential that you become consciously involved in class by participating in discussions and contributing thoughtful comments, questions, and answers. 

 

(4) Disabled Students—Reasonable accommodation will be provided for eligible students with disabilities. Contact the DSPS office for an accommodation letter (650) 738-4280.

 

 

“I’ll find my father through words.  I’ll bring him back to life with words.  I will build a cathedral

of words.  I’ll create a country with my words.  In my words I’ll find the universe and I’ll understand the eternal present though my words.  In my words, I will find, I will end, I will become the words themselves, become words, words, words, I will incarnate words, words, words”   

 -- Arturo Arias After the Bombs

 

Papers:   Six major papers will be written for this class.  The requirements are as follows:

 

(1)  Due Dates--       Paper #1 (2-4 pages, 500-1000 words)  Draft due 9/7, Revised 9/14

                               Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words)  Draft due 9/28, Revised 10/05

                               Paper #3:  Midterm essay exam Tuesday 10/19

 Collaborative Research Paper #4: (4-6 pages, 1000-1500 words)         Draft due 11/16, Revised 11/23

                    Research Paper #5: (4-6 pages, 1000-1500 words)          Draft due 12/7, Revised 12/14

                                  Paper #6:  Final essay exam—2 ½ hours on Tuesday, Dec 14th 11:10am-1:40pm

 

 

 

                               “Research is formalized curiosity.  It is poking and prying with a purpose.”  -- Zora Neale Hurston

 

 

(2) Revision--  E.B. White said, “The best writing is rewriting.”  Because revising or “re-seeing” a piece of writing is such an important aspect of the writing process, each of the papers has two due dates.  Each student will receive feedback and suggestions on each of  his/her papers through class workshop/discussion groups; then each student will be asked to revise each paper based on peer feedback.  Please note:  if the first due date for a paper is missed, the paper cannot be turned in at all.

 

 

(3) Workshopping--  Each paper will be read, discussed, and commented upon by small student workshop groups.  Workshop days are very important, and therefore a missed workshop day will count as two (2) absences and a late paper will not be accepted.  Students without a completed paper (meeting page and format requirements) will not be allowed to participate in the workshop.  Below are the workshop dates--students must bring a copy of their paper for themselves as well as for the other members of their group:

 

Workshops for Paper #1:  Tues 9/7           Workshops for Paper #4:  Tues 11/16

Workshops for Paper #2:  Tues 9/28                    Workshops for Paper #5:  Tues 12/7

 

 

 

(4)  Format—Papers must meet the required minimum length or run the risk of not being accepted. 

All papers must be typed, double-spaced, have 1” margins, and have a font of 12. 

 

 

 

        “A great many people think that they are thinking when they are only rearranging their prejudices.”   -- William James

 

 

Course Grade:                                             Record Your Own Grades:

Paper 1                                                   10%              Score for Paper 1      ______ x .10  =  _____

Paper 2                                                   10%              Score for Paper 2      ______ x .10  =  _____

Paper 3—In Class 10/19                           10%              Score for Paper 3      ______ x .10  =  _____

Paper 4                                                   15%              Score for Paper 4      ______ x .15  =  _____      

Paper 5                                                   15%              Score for Paper 5      ______ x .15  =  _____      

Paper 6—Final Exam 12/14                       10%              Score for Paper 6      ______ x .10  =  _____

Quizzes & Homework                              10%              Avg. Quiz/HM Score______ x .10  =  _____

Class Presentation                                    10%              Score for Presentation_____ x .10  =  _____

Hour by Arrangement                                 5%              Hour by Arrangement _____ x .05  =  _____

* Participation                                           5%              Participation             ______ x .05  =  _____

          *TOTAL:      (convert total to %)   ________

 

* Participation includes being prepared each day, meeting   

with me at least once during the course of the semester,          * Deduct 1% for each absence over allowed 4.

adding to daily discussion, and giving your classmates            Scoring as follows:  100-90=A, 89-80=B

thoughtful responses to their writing in workshops.                       79-70=C, 69-60=D, 59-0=F