Instructor: Grace Mlady

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Fall 2009 – English 101

Instructor: Grace Mlady

Email:

Office: Wheatley, 6th floor, Room 113

Office hours: MWF 10-11:00 AM and by appointment

Class website: (follow links to 101, section 2, 6, or 15)

Required texts:All required reading will be posted on the class website under “Resources” and must be printed and ready for use in class.

Additional Materials:Please make sure you have a folder to keep all handouts, papers (including drafts), and notes.

Course Introduction

Writing is more than a way of saying what you know and how you know it. It is also a way of discovering ideas, sometimes even leading to new knowledge that wasn’t there at the start. English 101 is a course in critical reading and writing which will help you to develop an active and authoritative relationship to college texts. The course will focus on your role as a critical reader by requiring that you actively respond to what you read in this class. We will view writing as an act of interpreting the world, one which requires detailed reasoning in order to be clear and compelling. I will help you take a closer look at your own responses to consider where they come from and how they might be expanded, strengthened or challenged. Your responses will not be judged as either right or wrong answers, but rather looked at as interpretations or persuasive, detailed viewpoints. We will work with these interpretations in order to achieve the utmost clarity, so that your meaning is continually developed. Throughout the semester you will also work with your classmates’ papers. The work we do with each other's papers will be analytical and supportive and respectful of each writer’s unique perspective.

Throughout this course, we will think of reading and writing as activities that bring us into conversation with authors who have strong perspectives and rigorous writing styles. As active readers we will interpret the texts and examine where these interpretations come from and how they might be strengthened or challenged. In this way, we will use reading and writing to engage in conversation with our authors. By conversing with these authors (reading, writing and discussing their work and your responses to them), you will create a portfolio of essays that will reflect your own strong perspectives and writing style. My goal is to help you make sense of college-level reading by actively engaging with the texts through writing. This course is a chance to engage in a college education that emphasizes critical analysis, self-discovery, and the creation of your own ideas and interpretations and not simply a regurgitation of authors’ and their works.

Course Description

This course will involve four units of related reading and writing assignments. In the first sequence, we will work with newspaper articles that present controversial current-day issues or situations. You will examine the issues being presented and the context in which they arise in these articles. As you move through this first sequence, you will develop a large collection of your own responses and ideas regarding the issues presented in the articles. By critically reading your own perspectives, you will have the opportunity to draw some conclusions about your own ideas and where they come from.

For the second unit, we will read two short stories that are similar in structure and theme: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Rappaccini’s Daughter” and Ha Jin’s “Saboteur.” In the third unit, we will read the essay “‘Fake’ News versus ‘Real’ News as Sources of Political Information: The Daily Show and Postmodern Political Reality” by Jeffrey P. Jones. By reading, note-taking, and discussing the themes and substance of these texts, you will develop your skills as critical readers and writers. In this course, writing is thinking, and these texts and our discussions of them will enable you to push and trace your thinking on the page regarding these topics.

Our fourth and final sequence will involve a compilation of essays and articles in a final project packet. We will read, discuss and write about the perspectives presented in each topic. By reading and responding to each article or essay in the packet you will have the chance to complicate and expand your own points of view about the topic through conversation with the authors, your classmates and yourself. Be assured that our work with each other’s papers will be analytical and supportive, never harsh or condescending. Some assignments and class discussions will address early stages of the composing process (note-taking, glossing, and close-reading); other assignments will address revision. Whether letter-graded or number-graded, every assignment counts toward your final grade.

Grading

While the grades you receive on the larger essays will have the most impact on your final grade, the smaller number-graded assignments play a large role in building toward the formal essays and should not be skipped. It is important to keep up with all the assignments as the significance of each contributes to the next.

Small assignments will equal 20% of your final grade. These assignments will be graded from 1 to 3 as follows:

o1 - Surface level work. Does not engage with the assignment and so has little

critical analysis and/or discussion of viewpoints.

o2 - Engages with the text but needs more depth and focus.

o3 - Strong engagement with the reading and addresses key elements of the work

with deep analysis and discussion.

All small, number-graded assignments must be turned in on time; small assignments will not be accepted late.

You will complete four formal graded essays which will equal 80% of your final grade. Letter-graded essays will drop 1/3 grade each day they are late and will not be accepted after one week of the assigned due date. For example, if an essay is due on Monday and you turn it in on Wednesday and earn an ‘A-' the grade becomes a ‘B’.

Large essays that are submitted late cannot be revised.Graded essays handed in on time can be revisedand submitted for a new grade. For example, if you get a ‘B’ on your first graded paper and earn a ‘B+’ for revision, the ‘B+’ will count toward your final grade. Revisions are due one weekafter your papers are returned.

To qualify for an A or B in the course, you must have successfully completed no less than 80% of all the work, including graded papers, homework, and class work. Students who do not successfully complete at least 60% of the course will not pass, regardless of their grades.

Class participation will contribute to your final grade. You are expected to come to class with all necessary materials, ready to contribute to class work and our discussion. You will not be penalized if you don’t participate; however, the writing and thinking you do for this course primarily revolves around class discussion. Your participation will help you and your classmates push the class ideas further in regards to each text and will ultimately help you with your writing.

Course Requirements and Procedures

1.In order to support a productive and respectful classroom environment you must come to class regularly and on time. If you develop a chronic pattern of lateness, I reserve the right to convert tardies to absences (for example: every 4th time you are late equals one absence) and even to deny entry to class. If you are 20+ minutes late to class, you will be marked absent as this is only a 50 minute course.

2.Students who miss 6 or more classes, no matter what the reason, should not expect to pass the course. If you experience any situation that affects your class attendance, please come visit me about it. If you know you are going to be absent in advance, please inform me in advance as well.

3.Turn off or silence your cell phone before you enter class. Absolutely no texting during class.

4.It is your responsibility to print and staple your paper before class. Please note that if you are present in class, I expect you to have your assignment in hand; please do not email me your paper.

5.There is one exception to emailing: If you miss class and there is an assignment due that day, you may email it to me by 5 pm the day of class and you will still receive credit.

6.If you miss class, it is your responsibility to get the assignment from our class website (

7.Keep your completed assignments in a folder and save all drafts. This will be relevant to your final grade.

8.If you don’t already have an email address, you should set one up. UMass Boston offers free email accounts.

Services offered by the University to Help You Succeed

If you have a disability and feel that you will need specific accommodations in order to complete course requirements, please contact the Ross Center for Disability Services (Campus Center, upper level, room 211) at 617-287-7430 or Please also communicate to me how I can improve accessibility to the course for you.

If you are not fluent in word processing, lessons are available in Healey Library, upper level, room 015 (HL-UL-015). I have posted a quick formatting guide on the class website for your convenience. Also, for more information on the services that the university offers to help you achieve your academic goals, visit and click on “students” in the right-hand column to browse the services available here on campus.

Finally, I am looking forward to working with you and helping you become a successful critical reader and writer. I will try to be both supportive and challenging in class, in conferences and in my comments on your papers. My goal is to help you move closer to the meaning you are trying to make throughout these assignments and notto push you toward a pre-conceived notion or others' beliefs. I am interested in helping you to say what you want to say within the context of the assignments and with great respect for your point of view. Please feel free to visitor email me to discuss any ideas, questions, or concerns or to talk over any matter, large or small.