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Kalamazoo Valley Community College
English 160: Writing & Research — Course Outline
Contact Info:
Dr. Gloria Larrieu
Office Hours:MW- 2:30-3:30 p.m.; TR,1-2:50 p.m.;
and by appointment.
Office Location: 7510
Phone: 488-4026/ Web:
E-mail:
In a participatory universe, there are no neutral observers.
(Found on a tee shirt at the People’s Food Co-op, Kalamazoo)
What are the important policies up front that I really need to know in order to pass this class?
  1. NO LATE PAPERS ARE ALLOWED.
  2. First drafts of papers must be peer reviewed before turning them in. Peer reviews are held in class and are worth 25 points. Anyone who misses peer review must go to the writing center and have the paper initialed by a tutor after he or she goes over the paper. The maximum for writing center tutoring is 10 points, so you don’t want to miss peer review. Also, the Writing Center asks that you don’t wait till the last minute to go over your paper with one of the tutors. They most likely will turn you away for lack of adequate time.
  3. We will meet at least 26 class sessions this semester. You will receive 10 points for each day you attend class for a total of 260 points for attendance. Attendance points may not be made up. Also, if a paper is due on a day you are absent, I will not accept the paper since it is late. Every three times you are late for class and/or leave early, you will lose 10 points.
  4. If two weeks pass and I hear nothing from you via phone, e-mail, or office hours appointment, you will be dropped from the roster.
  5. Be aware of final dates to drop the class. If too much interferes with your commitment to this class, it might be better to consider dropping it. I will be glad to talk with any student about this should the situation arise.
  6. No one may stay enrolled in this class who has not attended at least once during the first two weeks of the semester under any circumstances. In addition, I will not go over what happened over the first three sessions of class. You’ll have to catch up on your own or beg for the mercy of a colleague. School starts on the first day, not the second or third week!
  7. If you are absent, I will not go backwards and explain two or three hours worth of class time to any student. You are required to keep up with class schedules and assignments. Be sure to get a phone number or email from a colleague so you can contact someone for class information.
  8. Do not plagiarize, which means to deliberately copy someone else’s work without giving that writer proper credit. Anyone who does so and is discovered will be turned in to the Vice President for Academic Affairs for the first offence and it will go on permanent student records. The second offence will cause a student to fail the class while a third offence will prohibit a student from attending KVCC. These rules for plagiarizing are in the KVCC handbook.
  9. If you need special assistance for any reason, please be sure to talk to me about the matter right away so that I may accommodate you.
  10. Computer usage will not be allowed in class. If you have questions about this, please discuss it with me after class. All cell phones must be turned off as well. I don’t want to see any cell phones out.
  11. Anyone who behaves in an abusive or uncivil manner toward classmates, guests, or me will be asked to leave the classroom and be dropped from the course immediately. There is zero tolerance for such behavior.
  12. This syllabus is not a contract between us; I reserve the right to change particular aspects for the good of all students.

What is this class all about?
English 160 is a college writing course that will help students become more competent and confident writers and thinkers—speakers and listeners. The course is designed to be especially helpful to those students considering transferring to a four-year college or university; there will be a focus on academic writing skills required for future college classes such as answering essay questions on in-class assignments. English 160 (4 credit hours) will enable students to practice and become more skillful in the different stages of the writing process: generating ideas, planning and organizing, rough-draft writing, revising, refining, and proofreading. Students will write at least three first drafts and three final drafts seven pages long for research papers. Research skills such as using the library and following appropriate documentation style in citing sources will be taught. This four-credit course will especially stress research methodology, traditional and electronic, culminating in a final research paper of at least seven pages not including a cover sheet or the works cited page. Furthermore, students will have the opportunity to work closely with their instructor in laboratory settings. Students who persist will improve their grammar, style, and thinking skills and learn how to produce writing necessary for success in further academic and employment pursuits. This semester we will focus primarily on the theme of Hurricane Katrina: for the ways it affected the inhabitants of New Orleans; for the ways it has become a metaphor for much that is lacking in American society; for the ways it has not only affected the U.S. but has also influenced the global world; and for much that will be revealed to us during the course of the semester.
What are the prerequisites for this class?
Prerequisites for this course are a minimum ASSET Writing Skills score of 41 or COMPASS score of 70 or ENG 098 or ENG 099, and a minimum ASSET Reading score of 32 or COMPASS score of 44 or TRS 094 and TRS 105 or ENG 099.
Please see me after the first class if you have any doubts about your performance in this class. If you are interested in improving your reading, writing, and thinking skills in general or for the purpose of educating yourself to become curious about life in all its forms, it’s important to read and write as a practice. These skills aren’t just for literature and English majors; they can help you to become better thinkers and problem solvers in any field. This course also leads the way for you to become life-long learners should you choose to do so. See me after the first class session if you don’t meet these requirements.
What will I get out of this class by doing my best?
We will never pass this way again. The people in this room and the resulting energy and the synergism among us can be very powerful in many ways. We’ll be reading about and discussing many compelling ideas, and if they are not compelling to you, then fake it till you make it: pretend and maybe it’ll become real. A college classroom has the possibility of becoming life changing.
By the end of the semester, students will be able to achieve skills in four major areas that greatly affect the writing process: College Writing Skills, Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage, Critical Thinking Skills, and Civil Behavior. If you pass this class, you will learn how to think about ideas, discuss them, determine what your opinion is, and write a well-developed, focused essay about it. You will learn how to use outside research to create a research paper and also learn MLA or APA Style. By practicing writing, revision, and through class discussion, students who pass this class will have learned how to clean up many grammar, mechanics, and usage problems. Finally, by practicing civility in this classroom, we will all learn how to respect one another and our differences and, in turn, respect ourselves.
What is required of me in order to pass this class?
1.Reading aloud.
2.Participation in class discussions.
3. Four reading responses worth 25 points each for a total of 100 points. Reading responses should be typed and double spaced, a page and a half to two pages. I won’t accept hand-written responses. I will assign responses randomly throughout the course of the semester.
4.Three papers: Paper One will be 3-6 pages long, not including the reference page, and will be worth 100 points. This paper may be revised for an entirely new score provided it has significantly been improved. Paper Two will achieve the same criteria but any revisions will be averaged in with the original score. Paper Three will be worth 150 pages, include an annotated bibliography, and will also average all drafts for up to 150 points. Paper Three will be 7-10 pages, not including the reference page.
5. Free writing in class
6. All research paper drafts must be turned in with a Project Evaluation Key on top.
7.Final drafts must include the most recent draft attached on the bottom.
8.We will learn MLA and APA Style for papers. Once you learn a style, you can easily adapt to another. Research Paper #3 is your choice.
9.You must bring your first draft RPs to class for peer review worth 25 points. If you miss peer review, you must go to the Writing Center and see a tutor who will go over your paper. This is worth a maximum of 10 points out of the 25. I won’t accept any papers that aren’t peer reviewed or tutor reviewed.
10.Use the English tutorial center on the second floor as a habit to help you with your papers.
What materials do I need to bring to class?
1.Some type of device on which to save all class work. Be sure to keep any saving device with you at all times since you never know when we might go to the library computer lab to work on papers. If you have no saved work with you, you will be asked to leave class and be marked absent for the period.
2.Your grammar handbook and class books assigned at the time.
3. Folder for saved course work.
4.Some note-taking paper and pens.
5.Stapler and/or paper clips. I will not accept papers that are not stapled or clipped.
Please do not tear and fold corners. No exceptions.
What are some ideas for papers and reading responses?
1.Identify and comment on a short quotation, passage, incident, or a main idea, exploring its relevance to the whole chapter, essay, and/or story.
2.Comment on an idea the author puts forth—from your perspective as well as the author’s.
3.Comment on an author’s position and his/her motives on a particular issue.
4.Explore what a reading says about a particular culture and how you relate to it.
5.If you don’t understand everything in a piece, find a passage you do understand and explain why it is true or false.
6.Find and explain a contradiction or paradox in the reading.
7.Explain how one reading is different from something else we’ve read, or how it is similar.
9.Paraphrase a statement in a reading and then respond to it.
What texts do I need for this class?
1. Easy WriterLundsford0312554257Bed/St. Martin
(3rd Ed.)2010
2. The Queen of
PalmyraM. Gwin9780061840326Harper/Perennial
April 2010
3. The Other SideA. Kotlowitz038547721XAnchor 1999
Of the River(Random House)
4. ZeitounD. Eggers9780307387943Vintage 6/20/2010
5. A.D. New OrleansNeufeld978037571488-7Pantheon
After the Deluge
6. American Quarterly, Vol. 61, No. 3, Sept. 2009
Various handouts and films
What criteria do you use to assign points to our papers?
90-100 = 4.0: Superior work beyond course objectives and expectations. Grammar and mechanics are well executed and development is superlative. Organization of ideas shows good skills in completing each task. Work shows high motivation and intent to persevere and improve skills and complete course objectives. Work also shows thinking skills and intention, as well as courage in attempting unfamiliar topics and ideas. Clearly, research skills show the writer has a grasp of formal research methodology using a variety of sources. MLA or APA Style is implemented skillfully.
85-89 = 3.5: Excellent skills that show students’ ability in organization, development, grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and knowledge of good essay writing. Work also shows thinking skills, intentions, and high motivation. Research skills are also excellent and use correct APA or MLA form and style.
80-84 = 3.0: Good to excellent skills in grammar, mechanics, organization and development of ideas, and better-than-average skills in completing assigned task. Needs more polish and revision, though. Work shows high motivation and intent to persevere and improve skills, as well as complete course objectives. Good research skills in form and style, as well as content and support.
75-79 = 2.5: Good skills in grammar, mechanics, organization and development of ideas and certainly passing work; however, more polish and revision on grammar and mechanics skills needed. Good motivation to persevere and improve and meet requirements for course objectives. Research needs improvement in clearly stated areas.
70-74 = 2.0: Passing work that lacks the above criteria. Research skills need improvement as specified.
Below 70 = 1.5 or less: Work shows poor skills in grammar, mechanics, organization and development of ideas and/or poor motivation to persevere and improve skills and meet minimum course objectives. Attendance and participation may be poor.
What are the grading criteria?
Possible Points:
Paper One: 100
Paper Two: 100
Paper Three: 150
Four responses: 100 (25 points ea)
Attendance 260 (26 x10)
Workshops 75 (3 @ 25 ea)
Total: 785
Breakdown:
707-785 = 4.0
667-706 = 3.5
628-666 = 3.0
589-627 = 2.5
550-588 = 2.0
510-549 = 1.5
471-509 = 1.0
Below 471 = 0.0
What is your philosophy of teaching and education?
My teaching and learning goals for students are that they realize their self worth and the worth of others—just as they are; that they have the possibility of getting hooked on becoming life-long learners through the appreciation of ideas and knowledge gained in the particular discipline—literature and/or writing. It is my hope for all students that they acquire critical thinking skills to broaden their intellectual worlds if they choose to do so and that they learn skills of critical analysis* in their reading, writing, and discussion., With critical consciousness as a foundation, students in turn will learn to write with skilled grammar, usage, and mechanics applications—all to prepare them to become, not only competitive professionally and intellectually as articulate writers, but also to help them learn to become problem solvers, mediators, and civil, responsible, and compassionate citizens of the world. It is my belief that grammar, form, and parts of speech cannot be force fed to us; first we must want to express ourselves—be busting out with our thoughts and ideas. If there ain’t no clay on the table, there will be no sculpture. It is also important that students become familiar with various technological aids, such as computers, various programs on computers, and diverse ways to find information through the Internet or through library resources. This is an area that remains a constant learning ground for me as I try to introduce new ideas that help my students achieve the goals of the courses I teach—a seemingly never-ending endeavor. If all this makes no sense to you, then fake it till you make it. For those of you who prefer “skill-and-drill-type” learning approaches with daily lectures on grammar, mechanics, and usage, please consider finding another writing course at this level that serves your needs.

Bien venidos. . . .
Glo

CAD-zip/Larrieu/CAS160fall2010.doc127-Oct-18