ENG 101 -1
Course Overview and Syllabus
ENG 101
College Composition
Spring 2016
Instructor:
James Nelson
Office:
Building 5 Room 538
Class: 055
TTh 9:30 – 10:50 AM
Campus E-mail: [email protected]
Bldg 9 Rm 140
076
TTh 3:30 – 4:50 PM
Bldg 12 Rm 205
Office Hours:
MWF 1:00 – 1:50 AM,
T&Th 2:00 – 2:50 PM or
by appointment
Office Phone:
292-3390
Web Page: web.monroecc.edu/jnelson
Required Texts and Supplies:
A notebook
Course Learning Outcomes:
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Students will:
Summarize sophisticated texts.
Analyze and critique persuasive texts.
Support a well-articulated thesis statement by integrating information from source material.
Locate and evaluate a variety of sources as potential support material in a written essay.
Use standard documentation style for source-based writing.
Exhibit proficiency in practices of standard written English (such as grammar, mechanics,
and style).
Identify areas of weakness in their own written work, and revise for improvement.
Demonstrate basic oral communication skills.
Course Description:
A course emphasizing college-level essay writing with special attention on the writing process. Students draft, revise,
and edit multiple essays. They also study research, persuasion, and oral discourse in ways that challenge and
develop their reading and thinking abilities. (ENG 101 or ENG 200 satisfy the composition requirement for
graduation.) Three class hours. (SUNY-BC)
ENG 101 -2
Instructor Expectations/ Important Information:
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I would appreciate hearing from anyone who needs any special accommodations for
seating, testing, taking class notes, or completing assignments.
– Participation

Attendance and punctuality obviously impact participation, but active participation is
the primary basis of the participation grade.
Missing more than 2 classes for a TTh class will affect your grade. Lateness will affect your grade as well. If you EXCEED 3
absences for a TTh course, I may withdraw you for unsatisfactory attendance. In addition, I reserve the right to add a grade
penalty for absences incurred after the last day for faculty to recommend course withdrawal for nonattendance.
 Should you decide to withdraw from this course yourself, please consult with a financial aid advisor first.
 The door will be shut at the beginning of class. Students are expected to respect that boundary and not
knock or attempt to enter after that point.
 All reading assignments must be completed for the class period. Students who have not completed the work
in preparation for class discussion will be told to leave for the day in order to complete the work. This will
be marked as an absence for that day.
– Written Requirements

All written assignments will be completed and handed in via Insite. Students must submit all assignments by
11:59 PM on the due date. All papers handed in after that point will be late.
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You must hand in all final drafts of essays to complete the requirements for the class. Failure to hand in any of
the assigned final drafts will result in automatic failure of this class.
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To receive revision credit for each paper, the student must submit the first draft of each paper by 11:59 PM on
the due date. If the paper is not submitted on time, then the draft will fail the revision portion of the grade.

Academic dishonesty of any sort will not be tolerated. If any work handed in contains any material from an
outside source which is not given proper citation, that work may earn an “F" and the student may be in danger
of failing the class depending on the magnitude of the offense. Please see the MCC Student Handbook rules
for plagiarism for further clarification.
o Duplication is a form of academic dishonesty in which the student has handed in material
for a grade in more than one class without having received permission from both instructors
prior to handing it in. (This includes high school work as well as college-level.)
ENG 101 -3
Policy on Late Work
 A late final draft of an essay will be penalized one full letter grade per 24
hour period. A paper will be considered “late” if it is turned in after 11:59
PM the day it is due.
The learning centers:

Brighton – Bldg 11 Rm 106.

Damon – Integrated Learning Center 4-130, Electronic Learning Center 4-071
Please check the learning centers for hours
Monroe Community College has a number of Learning Centers at Brighton (for example, Accounting, Math, Psychology,
Writing, the Electronic Learning Center, etc.) and at Damon (for example, the Integrated Learning Center, Electronic Learning
Center, etc.). Learning centers are staffed with instructional personnel and may be equipped with computers and software
to assist students. It is recommended that students use the Learning Centers to get additional help with concepts learned in
the classroom and with their homework. Please refer to your MCC student email to review your referral and objectives for
your use of the Learning Center(s).
All English and Philosophy classes, including this one, are Writing Intensive (WR). In WR courses, students have the
opportunity to learn course content through formal and informal writing assignments. To find out more about WR courses at
MCC, consult your student handbook or visit the Writing Across the Curriculum website at
http://www.monroecc.edu/depts/wac.
Emergency closing or class cancellation:
 College closings will be announced on local broadcasts starting at 5:30 AM. The
MCC website will also display this information. To avoid overloading the phone
lines, do not call the college.
 Class cancellations are available on the MCC website under “Quick Links” and
via phone at 292-2066. Press “1" for Brighton.
Grading Breakdown:
Final Drafts of Papers:
Revision Work on Papers:
Peer Revision on Papers:
Summaries
Class Participation:
40%
20%
10%
10%
20%
A = Excellence
B = Above Average
C = Average
D = Below Average
F = Failure
90-100%
80 – 89%
70 – 79%
60 – 69%
0 – 59%
*Bottom 2% are “-” grades, top 2% are “+” grades.
ENG 101 -4
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Jan.
26
28
WEEK 2
Feb.
2
4
WEEK 3
9
11
16-18
WEEK 4
23
25
Read and discuss “Making the Grade” by Kurt Weisenfeld
Assignments due:
Discuss course overview and syllabus.
Web Reading: Mind Tools’ “Active Listening” ”
Web Reading: Scott’s “Effective Listening and Note-Taking”
Web Reading: Penn State Learning’s “Note Taking”
Assignments due:
Web Reading: Knott’s “Critical Reading Towards Critical Writing.”
Web Reading: Virginia Tech’s “How to Read Essays You Must Analyze.”
Assignments due:
Web Reading: Dowell’s “Introduction to Synthesis”
Access your student e-mail account through the students page on the monroecc.edu
website.
Assignments due:
Web Reading: McCabe & Pavela’s “Ten (Updated) Principles of Academic Integrity: How
Faculty Can Foster Student Honesty” available via Academic Search Complete
through the library’s web page.
Complete a ONE-PAGE summary of the “Ten (Updated) Principles” article at least one
minute before class starts
Web Reading: Strom and Strom – “Curbing Cheating, Raising Integrity” available via
Academic Search Complete through the library’s web page.
Web Reading: Dichtl – “Teaching Integrity” available via Academic Search Complete through
the library’s web page.
Assignments due:
Web Reading: Tippitt, et al. – “Creating Environments that Foster Academic Integrity”
available via Academic Search Complete through the library’s web page.
Web Reading: U of Maryland Office of Student Conduct – “Questions and Answers about
the Code of Academic Integrity”
 Complete a ONE-PAGE summary of this article at least one minute before class starts – That
summary must focus on the process of how the U of Maryland assigns and removes the XF
grade.
Winter Recess: Don’t freeze off anything important!
Assignments due:
Web Reading: “MLA Formatting and Style Guide”
Assignments due:
Complete Draft 1 of the Academic Integrity paper on 2/26 by 11:59 PM
ENG 101 -5
WEEK 5
Mar.
1
3
WEEK 6
8
Assignments due:
Complete Peer Work for the Academic Integrity paper on 2/29 by 11:59 PM
Assignments due:
Bring any concerns about the Academic Integrity paper to class
Complete Final Draft of the Academic Integrity paper on 3/4 by 11:59 PM
Assignment due:
Watch Cinderella on your own outside of class before 3/8. We’ll discuss it in class.
10
WEEK 7
15-17
Assignment due:
Watch Ella Enchanted on your own outside of class before 3/10. We’ll discuss it in class.
Read Parsons’ “Ella Evolving: Cinderella Stories and the Construction of Gender
–Appropriate Behavior” available via the library’s web page. Academic Search
Complete
o Read pp 135-43 – Stop at “Considering Cinderella”
 Complete a ONE-PAGE summary of this article at least one minute before class starts
Assignments due:
Select your own film for the Feminist Critique
Complete Draft 1 of the Feminist Critique paper on 3/18 by 11:59 PM
WEEK 8
22-24
This class will not meet – I will be in Seattle for the PCA/ACA National Conference
Complete Peer Work for the Feminist Critique paper on 3/21 by 11:59 PM
Complete Final Draft of the Feminist Critique paper on 3/25 by 11:59 PM
29-31 Spring Break – Behave responsibly. Don’t forget to come back!
WEEK 9
Apr.
5
Assignments due:
Web reading: Sims’ “Marxist Film Analysis”
 Complete a ONE-PAGE summary of this article at least one minute before class starts –
Focus specifically on narrative content and structures.
Watch My Fair Lady on your own outside of class before 4/5. We’ll discuss it in class.
7
Assignments due:
Watch Ever After on your own outside of class before 4/7. We’ll discuss it in class.
WEEK 10
12-14
WEEK 11
19
21
Assignment due:
Bring any concerns about the Marxist Critique paper to class
Complete Draft 1 of the Marxist Critique paper on 4/15 by 11:59 PM
Assignments due:
Complete Peer Work for the Marxist Critique paper on 4/8 by 11:59 PM
Assignments due:
Bring any concerns about the Marxist Critique paper to class
Complete the final draft of the Marxist Critique paper on 4/22 by 11:59 PM
ENG 101 -6
WEEK 12
26-28
WEEK 13
May
3-5
WEEK 14
10-12
WEEK 15
17
19
Assignments due:
Watch the film Pleasantville before 4/26 and take very careful notes on the actions and
dialogue of the characters.
What point do you think the film-makers are trying to get across?
Do you think the film is meant to teach the viewers something? What?
Assignments due:
Choose and watch your own film: Take careful notes on it and try to discover the theme of
the movie
We will discuss thesis statements for the Critical Analysis paper in class
Assignments due:
Bring any concerns you have about the Critical Analysis paper
Complete Draft 1 of the Critical Analysis paper on 5/13 by 11:59 PM
Assignments due:
Complete Peer Work for the Critical Analysis paper on 5/16 by 11:59 PM
Assignments due:
Bring any concerns you have about the Critical Analysis paper
Complete the final draft of the Critical Analysis paper on 5/20 by 11:59 PM