English Composition 102
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Meeting days and times
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Instructor:
Office:Office location
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Course Description:
English Composition 102 is the second course in the sequence of writing courses required of non-transfer students and must be taken immediately following the successful completion of English Composition 101. This course builds on the critical reading, thinking, and writing skills developed in 101 and further prepares students for the types of intellectual inquiry as well as critical analysis and writing required in upper-lever courses offered at the university. Students engage increasingly complex texts of different genres and from a variety of disciplinary orientations. Emphasis continues to be placed on writing as a process as students are required to conduct and to critically evaluate research as well as to maintain an independent voice as they negotiate multiple primary and secondary sources.
Learning Goals:
At the successful completion of English Composition 102, students should be able to identify the nuanced ways in which texts of different genres and media act upon readers/viewers; to engage and analyze increasingly complex and ambiguous ideas and readings of various academic disciplines through close textual analysis; to create and construct sustained, analytical, argumentative essays that intellectually synthesize complex ideas and draw on multiple sources for support; to conduct, evaluate, and incorporate research in support of independent interpretations; to attribute and cite words and ideas from primary and secondary sources; and to demonstrate control of grammar and syntax as well as to clearly and effectively convey ideas in standard English.
Texts (Required)
Morrison, Toni. Beloved (available at the campus bookstore or can be bought online)
Course Packet
Blackboard:
We'll also be using the web-based Blackboard course software ( I will post the syllabus and syllabus updates there, and I'll also post course documents and assignments. Be sure that you have created a Net ID; you'll need it to access the site.
Course Requirements:
- Four formal essays, including 1 research paper
- Informal (1 typed-page) writing assignments
- In-class writing assignments (many short; four full-period)
- Quizzes
- Conferences
- Portfolio
Assignments:
You will be required to write 4 formal essays during the course; each essay will be based on an assigned reading, which we will discuss in class. (Refer to your schedule for due dates on readings, writings, and other assignments.)
Essays are due on the date indicated. I allow extensions but you must asked for an extension at least 3 full days before the assignment is due and you must stick to the extension due date or face late penalties.
Papers that are one week late will be lowered one full letter grade; papers over one week late will receive a failing grade. All work must be submitted, however, in order to pass this course.
All assignments should be typed and proofread for grammar and spelling errors; all assignments must also include a title for your essay and states your name, my name, and the date. All essays must be stapled.
In-class Essays:
In-class writings, both graded and ungraded, will be used to help you develop your skills as a writer throughout the various stages of the writing process. There will be frequent in-class writing assignments designed to help you develop skills in constructing a thesis statement, creating a clear focus on your paper’s argument through strong topic sentences, working on paragraph development, effectively using textual support, writing introductory or concluding paragraphs, and editing for grammatical errors.
Attendance:
In addition to benefiting you as a student and writer, attendance is mandatory. You are permitted three absences. After that, you will lose a half of a letter grade with each subsequent absence. You will automatically fail the course if you have more than six absences. Attendance will be taken at the BEGINNING of each session, so please arrive by the scheduled time. Two late arrivals (within 15 minutes of the start of class) are considered an absence. Even if you are absent, you are responsible for all assignments. If you miss class due to illness or emergency, consult another (reliable) student or contact me. You are expected to come to the next class fully caught up on all reading and writing assignments
Portfolios:
You are required to keep all of your essays in a pocket folder, with formal, typed essays on one side, and in-class essays, including the midterm and final exam, on the other. If completing an outline or a draft is part of the paper assignment, these should be included as well. Please keep your portfolio in chronological order and remember that the portfolio represents you as a student. Therefore, please keep a neat and professional folder. The portfolio will be used at midterm and end of semester to review and assess your progress in this course. Your portfolio must be submitted at the end of the semester in order for you to receive your final grade.
Writing Program Academic Integrity Policy:
The Rutgers University Interim Academic Integrity Policy defines plagiarism as “the representation of the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic work.” In Writing Program courses instruction is given and emphasis is placed on attribution and citation skills. Intentionally committing plagiarism is a serious offense with severe consequences. Writing Program instructors are required to report students who intentionally violate this policy to the Director of the Writing Program and to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs.
The most common academic integrity violations by writing students are:
-“Quoting directly or paraphrasing, to a moderate extent, without acknowledging the source”
-“Presenting the work of another as one’s own”
-“Plagiarizing major portions of a written assignment”
-“Submitting purchased materials such as term papers”
The Rutgers University Interim Academic Integrity Policy establishes levels of violations and recommends sanctions. Depending upon the severity of the case and the level of the violation, the sanctions for these violations include: failure in the course, mandatory participation in a series of noncredit academic integrity workshops, and/or suspension.
If you are in doubt as to what constitutes plagiarism or are concerned that you are misappropriating someone’s words or ideas, speak immediately with your instructor. For more information, you can also consult the University Code of Student Conduct or the Student Judicial Affairs website (
Students with Disabilities:
Rutgers University is committed to providing equal educational opportunity to students with disabilities. Any student who requires reasonable accommodations based on a qualified disability should contact Dean Genevieve Sumski at or . You can also go to Robeson Campus Center, room 352.
Grading:
Students need a "C" to pass a writing course. A "C-" is not a passing grade; therefore, if you receive a "C-" on an assignment, you have not passed that assignment.
Also, see attached Writing Program Essay Evaluation and Grading Criteria handout.
3 Formal Essays – 45%
Essay 1 – 10%
Essay 2 – 15%
Essay 3 – 20%
1 Research Paper – 25%
4 In-Class Essays – 10%
In-Class 1 – 5%
In-Class 2 – 5 %
In-Class 3 – 5%
In-Class 4 – 10%
Participation and Portfolio – 5%
Reading Schedule (Tentative)
Jan. 16Diagnostic
Homework: For next class read Deborah Tannen’s “There Is No Unmarked Woman,” p. 620-625 (Signs of Life) N
Jan. 19Go over syllabus and course requirements. Discuss “The Is No Unmarked Woman”
Homework: Aaron Devor’s “Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes,” p. 567-573 (Signs of Life) N
Jan. 23Discuss “Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes”
Homework: For next class read “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid F, “The Verb to Kill” by Luisa Valenzuela F,AND “Between the Pool and the Gardenias” byEdwidgeDanticatF
Jan. 26Discuss “Girl,” “The Verb to Kill,” and “Between the Pool and the Gardenias.” Go over prompt for paper #1
Homework: Read “Without Apology” by Leah Hager Cohen
Jan. 30IN-CLASS WRITING #1
Homework: Work on rough draft of paper #1
Feb. 2ROUGH DRAFT FOR PAPER 1 DUE
Peer review
Homework: For next class read “No Name Woman,” Maxine Hong Kingston N
Feb. 6Discuss “No Name Woman”
Homework: For next class read “Woman’s Most Serious Problem,” Alice Dunbar-Nelson, p. 113-115 (Double-Take) N AND “Problems Facing Negro Young Women,” Marion Vera Cuthbert, p. 116-120 (Double-Take) N
Feb. 9FINAL DRAFT OF PAPER #1 DUE
Discuss “Woman’s Most Serious Problem” and “Problems Facing Negro Young Women”
Homework: For next class read “Race in America,” George Henderson, p. 403-407 (Perspectives on Contemporary Issues) N AND “How It Feels to be Colored Me,” Zora Neale Hurston N (memoir)
Feb. 13Discuss “Race in America” and “How It Feels to be Colored Me.” Go over prompt for paper #2
Homework: For next class read “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin, F
Feb. 16Discuss “Sonny’s Blues”
Homework: Work on rough draft for next class
Feb. 20ROUGH DRAFT OF PAPER #2 DUE
Work on peer revision in class
Homework: Read “The Blues I’m Playing” by Langston Hughes
Feb. 23Discuss “The Blues I’m Playing”
Homework: For next class read “Goldie,” Angelina Weld Grimke, p. 174-187 (Double-Take) F
Feb. 27FINAL DRAFT OF PAPER #2 DUE
Discuss “Goldie”
Homework: “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” Frederick Douglass, p. 497-508 (The Presence of Others) N
March 2In-Class #2
Homework: For next class read “A Party Down at the Square,” Ralph Ellison, F
March 6Discuss “A Party Down at the Square”
Homework: Read “The Stanford Prison Experiment,” Philip G. Zimbardo, p. 344-355 (Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum) N
March 9Go over prompt for paper #3 & discuss “The Stanford Prison Experiment”
Homework: For next class read “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem,” Erich Fromm, p. 356-361 (Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum) N
March 10th – March 18th SPRING BREAK
March 20Discuss “Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem”
Homework: Work on rough draft for paper #3
March 23ROUGH DRAFT OF PAPER #3 DUE
Work on peer revisions in class.
Homework: For next class start Beloved to page 86 (up to Chapter 8)
March 27Discuss Beloved
Homework: Read Beloved to page 158 (up to Chapter 15)
March 30FINAL DRAFT OF PAPER #3 DUE
Discuss Beloved
Homework: Read “And Our Flag Was Still There” by Barbara Kingsolver
April 3IN-CLASS WRITING #3
Homework: Read Beloved to page 255 (up to Chapter 24)
April 6Discuss Beloved
Homework: Read Beloved to end
April 10Finish discussing Beloved
Homework: For next class read “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien, F
April 13Discuss “The Things They Carried”
Homework: Work on rough draft of research paper
April 17ROUGH DRAFT OF RESEARCH PAPER DUE
Homework: Read “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman
April 20Discuss “The Yellow Wallpaper”
April 24TBD
Homework: Read Manning Marable’s “The Prism of Race”
April 27LAST DAY OF CLASS – IN-CLASS FINAL
FINAL DRAFT OF RESEARCH PAPER DUE