CSU Expository Reading & Writing Course

Teacher: Megan Botton

E-mail:

Remind: remind.com/join/7d2fca

Welcome to my class! I am pleased to have a chance to work with you this year. As we begin this semester, it is important that you understand my expectations. By signing this contract, you acknowledge your value as a member of this class and accept the responsibilities of membership.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The ERWC course is a CSU-designed English course that focuses on non-fiction (expository) reading and writing skills. This course is designed to better prepare students for the type of expository reading and writing skills that they need to be successful in college and the workplace.

The goal of the Expository Reading and Writing Course is to prepare college-bound seniors for the literacy demands of higher education. Through a sequence of rigorous instructional modules, students in this year-long, rhetoric-based course develop advanced proficiencies in expository, analytical, and argumentative reading and writing. The cornerstone of the course—the assignment template—presents a process for helping students read, comprehend, and respond to nonfiction and literary texts. Modules also provide instruction in research methods and documentation conventions. Students will be expected to increase their awareness of the rhetorical strategies employed by authors, and to apply those strategies in their own writing. They will read closely to examine the relationship between an author’s argument or theme and his or her audience and purpose, to analyze the impact of structural and rhetorical strategies and to examine the social, political, and philosophical assumptions that underlie the text. By the end of this year-long course, students will be expected to use this process independently when reading unfamiliar texts and writing in response to them. Course texts include contemporary essays, newspaper and magazine articles, editorials, reports, biographies, memos, assorted public documents, and other non-fiction texts. Written assessments and holistic scoring guides conclude each unit.

OBJECTIVES

Students in ERWC will:

oAnalyze an author’s use of rhetorical devices, patterns of organization, and word choice

oAnalyze an author’s explicit and implicit viewpoints

oCritique and/or defend an author’s arguments by referring to and citing the text

oFormulate personal viewpoints and make claims based on the text

oDevelop multiple academic and analytical essays that are focused and persuasive

oRevise writing to improve argument and organization, and revise the work of peers

oRecord rubric scores for each essay in order to reflect and improve on subsequent essays

oPractice strategies for “on-demand” timed essay tests

oPractice Speaking/Listening Skills in a variety of ways

ORGANIZATION

ERWC is designed so that every unit follows the same sequential method of rhetorical reading and writing. Each topic we explore will take 2-6 weeks, depending on the length of the readings and will follow this sequence.

oReading Rhetorically (strategies and activities for Pre-Reading, Reading, and Post-Reading)

oConnecting Reading to Writing (strategies and activities for Referencing Text, Negotiating Voices)

oWriting Rhetorically (strategies and activities for Prewriting, Writing, Revising, Editing, Evaluating)

oThere may be additional speaking/listening abilities explored in these units (Speeches, Debates, Discussion, Class Presentations, etc)

TEXTS

The texts assigned in this course are nonfiction articles and essays from magazines and newspapers. The module titles for this year are as follows (all models are tentative and subject to change):

Semester One / Semester Two
* Introductory Mini-Module / * Mid-course Skill Assessment
  1. Rhetoric of the Op-Ed Page
/
  1. Bring a Text You Like to Class

  1. What's Next? Thinking About Life After High School**
/
  1. Juvenile Justice

  1. Racial Profiling
/
  1. Bullying at School: Research Project**

  1. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
/
  1. 1984 by George Orwell

  1. The Value of Life
/
  1. Good Food/Bad Food

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS

●You are expected to be prompt. Be in your seat and ready to work when the bell rings. If you are not in your seat when the tardy bell rings, you will be marked tardy. Tardies will be tallied weekly and excessive tardies will result in disciplinary action.

●You are expected to be prepared. Bring required books, homework, notebooks, pens and other materials to class.

●You are expected to be polite. Show respect to everyone in the class, which extends to other people’s possessions. Remember, only one person will be talking at any given moment, and that person should have everyone’s attention, whether a student or the instructor. All students have a right to learn, and the teacher has a right to teach. If a student is infringing on these rights, they must be removed.

●You are expected to be productive. Come to class ready to participate and give due diligence to all assignments.

oYou are expected to use the bathroom before coming to or after leaving the classroom. In the event of an emergency, you may use the restroom; however you will be missing out on valuable classroom time.

oPractice electronic responsibility; Avoid electronic distractions such as iPods, texting, smartphones, etc. Devices should not be out during class unless specifically allowed by the teacher. These should be put away in your bag. Violations will be reported to your assistant principal. Also see BYOD below.

●You are expected to follow all Saugus High School rules. For example, the school does not allow food or drink in class, so you are expected to know better than to bring it. Water is allowed.

●You are expected to be patient.

oThe teacher dismisses the class, not the bell. We will quickly wrap up the final thought and then I will dismiss you. Do not pack up in anticipation of the bell and do not jump up at the sound of the bell.

If student behavior is unacceptable, consequences will follow

GRADING PROCEDURES

There are three categories which will be weighted and factored into the overall grade for this course:

Assessment of student work will be evaluated:

Reading Activities (annotations, vocabulary, book checks, reading checks, quizzes, etc.) 35%

Writing assignments and projects (including research opportunities and process essays, etc.) 35%

Speaking and listening (discussions, participations, speeches, debates, projects, presentations, etc.) 30%

Grades will be posted at my discretion in the classroom. Printouts may also be obtained at the student’s request during office hours. Grades will not be available via e-mail. Grade and assignment information can be obtained from the Infinite Campus Parent Portal at the five-week grading periods. The following grading scale will be used:

GRADING SCALE

100% - 93% A89.5% - 92% A-

89% - 83% B79.5% - 82% B-

79% - 73% C69.5% - 72% C-

69% - 63% D59.5% - 62% D-

59% - 0% F

Note: This is a yearlong UC/CSU approved course satisfying one-fourth of the “b” requirement for UC/CSU a-g courses. If a student earns a “C” or higher both semesters, they may be able to waive the English Placement Test and enroll directly into college-level English at the CSU. Not a “C-”

If student has earned a “C-” or lower grade on a Report Card or Progress Report, the student will receive an “In danger of failing” comment on their report card.

EXTRA CREDIT

I do not give extra credit to make up for missing assignments, low scores, or lack of participation. Extra credit may be assigned to the class where they may benefit from further exploration of a subject.

*** In order to qualify for extra credit, ALL assignments must have been completed prior; NO missing assignments. ***

ASSIGNMENT STANDARDS

  1. Late work is not acceptable. All work must be turned in on time. Life happens though, so see if you need more time.
  2. Computer or printer problems are not acceptable excuses for failing to turn in work.
  3. For excused absences, students will have the same amount of days to make up an assignment as they have excused absences. If an absence is not cleared within 24 hours, the absence will be considered unexcused. Do not skip class to complete an assignment.
  4. If a student was present in class when an assignment or test was scheduled, but absent the day it was due, the assignment is due upon the student’s return to class. Tests will be made up by appointment. Please make arrangements to make up the test prior to your absence if possible.
  5. Students with special circumstances should contact me privately.

WRITING STANDARDS

  1. I require that assignments be typed. The library is available for computer and internet access before, during, and after school. Also, the school is equipped with WiFi to bring your own device.
  2. All essays must adhere to MLA format as explained in the Saugus Research & Writing Guide.
  3. The deadline is the last possible day to turn in papers to receive credit. Please contact me well in advance of deadlines to discuss any issues regarding these dates.
  4. Cheating of any form results in a referral to the assistant principal. Plagiarism is cheating, so be sure to cite sources accordingly.

TURNITIN.COM

Writing assignments will be required to be submitted electronically to the plagiarism prevention website Turnitin.com. This site checks writing assignments against a database of other papers submitted worldwide as well as the Internet. The site will then determine a percentage of “matched text”. I will then analyze the result to determine what is properly cited quoted material or common language verses possible plagiarism. Students are required to rewrite the possible plagiarized portions assignment by the assignment deadline. Information on how to register and submit papers will be provided at a later date.

BYOD: Saugus High School now has WiFi and students could bring-your-own-device (BYOD) as a tool for study. I suggest if you want to do this, you take ALL appropriate measures to prevent distraction, damage, and theft of the device. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR DEVICE AT ALL TIMES. You will be allowed to use the device in class as long as you are on task and are not causing a distraction to other students. Be aware, the use of these devices is at the discretion of the teacher. Just because I may allow it during appropriate situations does not mean other teachers will do the same. Students are not required to bring in outside technology to school. All students will continue to be able to utilize school equipment. No student will be left out of the instructional process.

CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me via e-mail. I will do my best to ensure that lines of communication between me, students, and parents are open at all times. Moreover, check my website often. I will be updating it near daily. This will be a place for you to locate assignments, track homework, and check grades.

I use Infinite Campus regularly, but be aware it does take some time to import grades and assignments. Please check it often, but use it only as a current snapshot of the grade, not the final grade. Check the following district website for information about Infinite Campus:

Again, feel free to email me if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

By signing this you agree to reading and understand this Syllabus in its entirety.

Student’s Name (Print):______Period:______

Student’s Signature:______

Caretaker name(s) (Print):______

Caretaker Signature: ______

Thank you for all the time and support you give to assure your student’s success.

Please list any special information, notes, or accommodations necessary for your student:

______

1