Syllabus

Dr. Hope A. Parisi

ENG 91: Reading and Writing Workshop I 

hopekcc@aol.com    (When emailing me, please put your name in the subject line.)

Office Hours: L219, 9:10am-10:10am, M, W, Th, and by appointment

Class Meets: 

Monday          3-4 per.    Room C110

Tuesday          3-4 per.    LAB, Reading and Writing Center, L219

Wednesday     3-4 per.    Room C110

Thursday        3-4  per.    Room M110

Our Course Theme:

This semester in ENG 91, you will have many different opportunities to build your confidence as a reader and writer.  The basic idea behind the course is that the more you read and write, the better you will become.  I will try to assist you in every way I can.

All of our readings this semester center on the theme of learning and resourcefulness.  The question of how people learn, and the similarities and differences among learners, is our area of interest.  You might have noticed, for example, that certain conditions (in school, at home, within yourself—your moods, your memories of learning, your unique perspective on the world) make learning easy for you sometimes and more difficult at other times.  What are the ways in which people learn and move forward in spite of obstacles?  How do challenges impede and assist in the learning process?  In what different ways does resourcefulness affect learning?

This course will also help you to analyze and appreciate learning as a complex process, involving many simultaneous aspects and activities—i.e. questioning, observing, taking guesses, trying, revising, evaluating, re-evaluating.  It will include an interesting examination of learning and education as young people experience these in a problematic society.   As we work together, you will see the connections between improving your abilities in reading and writing and the creative and resourceful process of learning anything.

Required Texts: 

Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

One Day the Soldiers Came by Charles London

Required Supplies:  You will need several folders, one for Reading Logs, another for Take-Home Essays, and another for all of our class handouts.  You will need loose leaf or a separate notebook to jot down information from the board as I will expect you to copy down each day’s class notes.  You will need to keep these notes in good order.  Also please have a small stapler, plenty of loose leaf, and several pens that feel comfortable in your hand.

Assignments:

1.  Freewriting Booklets:  You will complete approximately four to five freewriting booklets until the middle of the semester.  The point of this assignment is to help you develop speed in writing, and to give you an experience of writing for exploring ideas for yourself.  This is not “writing for a teacher,” but writing for you.  I will check to see that booklets are completed but will not read the content of this work.

2.  Reading Logs:  These assignments are informal responses to specific questions that I will ask you about our class texts.  Each journal should be two and a half to three pages.  You will receive credit for the assignment only if it is complete.  Complete means that you have handed it in on time, met the required length, and answered the questions with time and care.  You must also include at least two direct references to your text.  (E.g. As Beah writes on page 13, “. . . .” )  We will do four to six reading logs through the semester.

3.  In-Class Essays:  These are essays that you must begin and complete in class.  The purpose is for you to practice writing according to a prompt within a limited amount of time.  These in-class essays often help you to “bring together” everything you are learning as a writer. 

4.  Take-Home Essays:  In addition to the above assignments, we will write four essays, called take-home essays.  These essays will be based on our class theme of learning.  The first one or two essays generally draw on our personal experience.  As we go on, our essays will include our analysis of the experience of someone about whom we are reading, while we try to make connections and generalizations by way of a broad range of societal/ personal observation. 
                                

Midterm Evaluation:

At the midterm, I will ask you to include all work to date in a folder.  While I will have seen most of this work as you completed it in the first six weeks, this midterm folder will allow me to evaluate your progress as a whole and make suggestions.

Endterm Evaluation/  How Do You Pass the Course?

The endterm assessment is based on two assessments:

1.  A Writing Portfolio—a folder of some of your best work from the semester.  This folder includes two revised essays, a reflective essay describing your response to the course and your learning in ENG 91, and a final in-class essay.

2.  A Reading Assessment—an endterm departmental reading exam.  (Students  also must demonstrate proficiency in reading through the work you have done during the term.)

Both the portfolio and the reading test are cross-read by another teacher in the English Department.  It must be clear from your work that you are ready to proceed to the next level, ENG 92, in both reading and writing. Only those students who have fulfilled all work and attendance requirements for the course will be eligible to submit these endterm assessments.

Your responsibilities:
Come to class everyday and be on time.  Much of the work we do in class cannot be made up at home.  You  must be here. 
Bring the materials you need.  Each day you should have your books, paper, folders,  and assignments

   that are due. 
   Keep up with your reading.  You are expected to read at least 10 pages a day,

 or 70 pages a week.  Please don’t fall behind.
Keep up with your writing. You will write about 600-800 words a week.
Attend lab two hours a week:  Your attendance at lab is part of your class attendance.  Each week in lab you will work on assignments that I will see and collect.  They are part of your work for the course.

   Policies:

   Attendance is essential.  No more than eight absences are permitted.  A lateness

   (more than ten minutes late) counts as a third of an absence. 

Cell phones should be turned off or set to vibrate.  Please no texting in class.

Only “soft” quiet food, or a drink, is permitted in class.  If you are eating something, please be discreet.  Keep in mind that others may be sitting in class without having eaten breakfast and your eating may be a source of disturbance.

   If you need to leave class early, please sit near the door. 

   Leaving early will be noted.

Plagiarism is prohibited, and is known as “academic dishonesty.”  Please give credit in your writing to anyone you quote or paraphrase for ideas.  Absolutely no cutting and pasting from the internet.

Civility in the Classroom:   A College-Wide Statement
Kingsborough Community College is committed to the highest standards of academic and ethical integrity, acknowledging that respect for self and others is the foundation of educational excellence.
Civility in the classroom and respect for the opinions of others is very important in an academic environment.  It is likely you may not agree with everything which is said or discussed in the classroom, yet courteous behavior and responses are expected.  Therefore, in this classroom, any acts of harassment and/or discrimination based on matters of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and/or ability are not acceptable.
Whether we are students, faculty, or staff, we have a right to be in a safe environment, free of disturbance, and civil in all aspects of human relations.