DUAL CREDIT ENGLISH 1301: COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC I
Course Information / Faculty InformationCourse Title: Composition and Rhetoric I / Name: Stephanie Shasteen
Course Number: ENGL 1301 / E-mail:
Credit Hours: 3 credits: 3 hrs. lecture / Room Location: T-6
COURSE MATERIALS:
Required: Johnson-Sheehan, Paine, Writing Today, 3rd ed., Pearson & Longman, 2015.
Recommended: Strunk, White, The Elements of Style, 4th ed.,Longman, 1999.
Kirszner & Mandell, The Brief Wadsworth Handbook, 7th ed., Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012.
The optional recommended textbook is a good resource to have to improve your writing. It is not required for the course.
Purchase textbooks at the University Park bookstore in person or online. I also recommend Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com for cheaper, used options with free 2-day shipping. Textbooks must be purchased within the first week of classes (by Sept. 1st). You may also RENT textbooks from either the bookstore or online retailers.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
A multi-paragraph composition course, including language study and the mechanics of writing, with examples from selected readings. (2304015112) LSCS Catalog
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will read college level materials to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of individual and collaborative writing processes.
- Develop ideas with appropriate support and attribution, following standard style guidelines in documenting sources.
- Write in a style appropriate to audience and purpose
- Read, reflect, and respond critically to a variety of texts.
- Use edited American English in academic essays.
Guidelines and Policies
Attendance: Students must follow Klein ISD attendance policies. Class starts when the bell rings and ends when the bell rings. Arriving to class late without a pass and/or packing your things up before I have ended the lesson and dismissed you is unacceptable.
Schedule of Readings:
1st Six Weeks – Basics of Rhetoric and Persuasive Writing
Week 1: Introduction to the Course; rhetoric and its elements
Politics and the English Language – George Orwell (handout)
Grammar Exam (form Z)
Self-Introduction Essay
Week 2:Rhetoric and its elements
On Rhetoric, Book 1 Part 1 – Aristotle (handout)
Good Readers and Good Writers – Nabokov (handout)
Week 3: Syllogisms and Enthymeme; audiences and rhetorical situations
On Rhetoric, Book 1 Parts 2 & 3 – Aristotle
Ch 3 & 4 in Writing Today
Homme de Plume - Catherine Nichols
Week 4:Rhetorical patterns and argumentative strategies
Ch 20, 21, 22 in Writing Today
Small Change – Malcolm Gladwell
Week 5: Evaluating sources and the veracity of information; political rhetoric; rhetorical analyses
My Galon The New Yorker – George Saunders
Ch 9 & 37 in Writing Today
Week 6:Evaluating Political Candidates
Ch. 2 & 27 in Writing Today
VEEP, season 3 episode 9 “Crate”
Week 7: Definitions of Visual Rhetoric
The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present – Patricia Bizzell
Understanding Media: Extensions of Man – Marshall McLuhan
Week 8:Ethics of Digital Representation
Regarding the Pain of Others – Susan Sontag
On Photography – Susan Sontag
Week 9: Semiotics and Visual Rhetoric
Rhetoric of the Image – Roland Barthe
Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design –Gunther Kress & Theo van Leeuwen
Week 10:Ethics of Digital Representation
Selection from Don’t Let me Be Lonely – Claudia Rankine (poetry handout)
Miss Representation – Jennifer Siebel Newsome (documentary)
Week 11: Personal Narrative
The Money – Junot Diaz
Superman and Me – Sherman Alexie
Week 12: Memoir & Humor
A Plague of Tics – David Sedaris
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – Dave Eggers
Week 13:Profiles
Gladwell’s TED Talk – Malcolm Gladwell
Ch 6 & 34 in Writing Today
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 14:Profile Presentations
Week 15: Profile Presentations
Week 16:Wrap Up/Reflection
Class Participation (see rubric for participation grading on my teacher website):
- To prime yourself for the day’s lesson, come to class with the assigned readings fresh on your mind. You should have thoroughly digested the readings well in advance, and given them another quick glance before class to warm up your brain.
- It is your responsibility to make your presence and dedication to success in the classroom known to me. You can demonstrate engagement through thoughtful contributions to class discussions, visiting me individually, and through email/discussion board threads.
Exams/quizzes: one exam per six weeks be given and will consist of short answer questions and an in-class essay and averaged together will count 10% of your final grade. These exams are meant to test your knowledge of the readings and ability to write concisely and thoughtfully in short response format. Periodic pop quizzes will be given and will count as daily grades. Quizzes will cover assigned readings and class discussions and lectures. This requires you to be actively engaged in every discussion, every day. The final exam will be the major research paper of the course.
Make-up exams and late work: I do not give zeroes or late work penalties in this class. Above all, I want you to learn in this class and for your grade to accurate measure of your learning. Zeroes merely reflect your behaviors, not your actual learning. Assignments will have due dates but if you miss that due date, you must fill out a “late or incomplete assignment form” indicating a reason why you missed the due date and when you plan to make it up, as well as a plan moving forward to prevent recidivism. If you miss your revised make-up date, you will make up the exam or assignment in my presence on a day and time of my choosing. The same goes for plagiarized work: if I catch a plagiarized assignment, you will make up the entire assignment in my presence on a day and time of my choosing.
Cell Phone and Personal Electronics Policy :
Out of sight, out of mind. If I see it, I will turn it in to your principal and you can retrieve it from them.
Grading Policy:
Final grades are determined by averaging the total of each area listed below:
Assignment
/Percentage
Participation / 20.00%Quizzes/Exams/In Class Essays / 20.00%
Essay 1 / 15.00%
Essay 2 / 15.00%
Speech + Accompanying Paper / 15.00%
Essay 4 / 15.00%
Grading Scale:
90-100 / A80-89 / B
70-79 / C
60-69 / D
Below 59 / F
Lone Star College-University Park Campus and System Policies
Academic Integrity
Klein Oak High School and the Lone Star College System uphold the core values of learning: honesty, respect, fairness, and accountability. All learners – students, faculty, staff and administrators – will act with integrity and honesty and must produce their own work and give appropriate credit to the work of others. Plagiarism, fabrication of sources, cheating, or unauthorized collaboration is not permitted on any work.
Academic dishonesty/plagiarism is a serious offense in academia and may result in failure of the paper, failure of the course, or worse.
Student Behavior
Behavior that disrupts, distracts, or disrespects others’ learning-- such as tardiness or talking out of turn--hurts others and is an infringement on that person’s freedom to learn. Such behavior will not be tolerated. Be nice. Be on time. Contribute meaningfully to discussions and the intellectual culture of the class.
FERPA
The academic, financial, and non-directory information on your student account is confidential and protected by the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA). LSCS cannot release certain information to another person without your written authorization.