English 111 is an introductory course in college composition. To be eligible for this class, a student should have received qualifying scores on the English Placement Exam. Other students may be eligible by completion of the ESL or the Developmental Programs.

The first requirement for this course is that students read provocative literature, literature that will stimulate thinking about meaningful issues. Without such reading, there can be no meaningful writing. This brings us to the second requirement for the course: that students write clear, coherent essays that are analytical, interpretative, and argumentative in nature, essays that are based on support from the texts assigned in class and, in some cases, from outside research. Each of these essays will be driven by a strong thesis statement, a statement that reflects a student's original thought about the text under consideration. The course also requires that a student document his or her findings appropriately, based on the Modern Language Association format.

Texts: With the exception of the Diana Hacker book, the texts listed below are not available in our bookstore. You will have to visit your local bookstores--or go online--to find the texts. Please buy the publishers' editions listed below so that we all have the same texts with which to work.

Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. Penguin.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Selected Essays. Penguin.
Frost, Robert. The Poetry of Robert Frost. New York: H. Holt, 2002. If you want to buy a different version of this poetry text, that will be fine.
Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook for Writers. Seventh Edition. This text is in our bookstore.
Hemingway, Ernest. Short Stories, The First Forty-nine. Simon and Schuster.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Washington Square Press. (Folger Library Edition).

Course Objectives:
At the completion of this course, a student should be able to accomplish the following tasks:

  • to read thoughtfully and analytically and to draw logical conclusions from that reading
  • to create thoughtful, intelligent essays about the topics assigned in class
  • to create a firm thesis statement that reflects an opinion about a topic
  • to support a thesis with specific facts and opinions, connected logically
  • to write paragraphs that are coherent, unified, and developed
  • to write clear, complete sentences consistently throughout an essay
  • to adhere to the rules of grammar, spelling, punctutation, and usage as illustrated in the Bedford Handbook for Writers
  • to document research material according to the MLA guidelines

Evaluation:
You will write six essays this semester. These will develop topics based on the books I have assigned for the class. For each paper, you will create a firm thesis statement that expresses an opinion about a topic, and then you will use specific examples from the texts to support the thesis. The papers will range from 500 words to 1000 words. You will have at least two weeks to write a paper, and each must be typed. These essays will comprise approximately 80% of the final evaluation. Objective quizzes, based on readings and class discussions, will comprise approximately 20% of the overall evaluation. To see what is necessary for you to take these quizzes, visit the link "Quiz Requirements" on my website.

Conferences:
For each essay, you will be required to show me a thesis and at least an introduction to the paper. When appropriate, I will then make suggestions to help you improve the essay. After you have completed each paper, I will evaluate and return it. You should then study my remarks, look up the errors in the handbook, and then, if you wish, arrange a conference with me to discuss the paper. The first meetings, which will take place in class before the paper is due, are required; a conference after the essay has been evaluated is not required. An evaluated essay may be revised but not for a different grade.

Essays--Due Dates, Late Dates:
The essays for this course are listed below, along with the total points for each paper. If you turn in your paper on the first date listed for the essay, it will receive full credit. If you turn in the essay on the second date listed, the paper will be penalized one full letter grade. That is, if the essay would normally receive a "B," that same essay turned in late will receive a "C." If you do not turn in an essay, it will receive a zero, not an "F." In my course, a great difference exists between an "F," which means that you made a substantial attempt to achieve the goals but weren't able to, and a zero, which means that you made no substantial attempt to achieve the goals. I will decide what constitutues a "substantial attempt." It will be difficult for anyone to receive a good grade for the course if just one paper receives a zero.

1/14

Hacker: Writing about Literature, 667- 697; Frost: "Tree at my Window," "Mowing," "Tuft of Flowers"
1/21 Hacker: Generate Ideas and Sketch a Plan: 2-29, Rough Out an initial Draft: 30-42; Frost: "Mending Wall," "Home Burial," "After Apple-Picking," "The Wood-Pile," "The Road Not Taken," "Birches"
1/28 Hacker: Make Global Revisions: 42-75; Repair Sentence Fragments: 238-247; Frost: "'Out, Out--'" "Fire and Ice," "Nothing Gold," "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening," "Once by the Pacific," "Departmental," "Desert Places," "The Gift Outright"

Essay one will focus on the poetry of Robert Frost. The essay is due on 2/1. The due date for this paper is a Friday--to allow you another day of discussion before the paper is turned in. Put the paper in my mailbox, in room 252, by 2:00 p.m. The late date is 2/5, with the stipulation that the grade for a late paper will be lowered one full letter grade. The essay is worth fifty points.

2/4 Hacker: Build Effective Paragraphs 76-99; Hemingway: "Up in Michigan," "Indian Camp," "My Old Man"
2/11 Hacker: Prefer Active Verbs, 146-151; Balance Parallel Ideas 152-157; Repair Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers: 168-177; Eliminate Distracting Shifts: 178-184; Hemingway: "Soldier's Home," "Hills Like White Elephants," "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"
2/18 Hacker: Emphasize Key Ideas: 185-199; Provide some Variety: 200-204; Hemingway: "The Undefeated," "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber"; Emerson: "The American Scholar"

Essay two will focus on the short stories by Ernest Hemingway. The essay is due on 2/21. The late date is 2/26, with the same stipulations for essay one. The essay is worth sixty points.

2/25 Hacker: Tighten Wordy Sentences: 206-212; Choose Appropriate Language: 212-226; Find Exact Words: 226-236; Emerson "The Divinity School Address" and "Self-Reliance"
3/3 Hacker: Revise Run-on Sentences: 248-257; Make Subjects and Verbs Agree: 258-271; Emerson: "The Poet" and "Fate"

Essay three will focus on the essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The essay is due on 3/18. The late date is 3/20, with the same stipulations for essay one. The essay is worth seventy points.

3/10 Spring Break -- No Classes
3/17 Hacker: Make Pronouns and Antecedents Agree: 271-278; Make Pronoun References Clear: 279-285; Chopin: The Awakening
3/24 Hacker: The Comma: 372-391; Unnecessary Commas: 391- 398; Chopin: The Awakening, continued

Essay four will focus on the novel by Kate Chopin. The essay is due on 4/1. The late date is 4/3, with the same stipulations as mentioned above. The essay is worth eighty points.

3/31 Hacker: The Semicolon: 398-404; The Colon: 404-407; The Apostrophe: 408-413; Shakespeare: Macbeth
4/7 Hacker: Quotation Marks: 413-421; Other Punctuation Marks: 425-432; Numbers 438-440; Shakespeare: Macbeth
4/14 Hacker: Italics: 441-445; Shakespeare: Macbeth

Essay five will focus on Macbeth. The essay is due on 4/22. The late date is 4/24, with the same stipulations as mentioned above. The essay is worth ninety points.

4/21 Hacker: Evaluating Sources: 555-571; Managing Information; Avoiding Plagiarism: 572- 579; Citing Sources; Avoiding Plagiarism: 592-596; Integrating Sources: 597-608
4/28 Hacker: MLA Documentation Style: 609-621; 621-653; Sample MLA Paper 659-666
5/6 Final Exam Week-- Final Essay Due

Essay six will be a research project; it will expand one of your previous essays. the essay is due on 5/6. The late date is 5/8. The essay is worth one hundred points.

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