English 110 – Fall '23

Syllabus

ENGLISH 110 | Fall 2023

Section P, Code: XXXXX

Tues/Thurs- 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM

(DOWNLOAD Syllabus)

Welcome to your first-year composition (writing) course!

First and foremost, I’d like to make clear that you are welcome to contact me about anything at any time. Yes, this includes when you’re scrambling to finish an assignment late at night. I want to get to know you, and I take seriously my role in supporting your learning. I will make every effort to help you achieve your goals for this course.

Please email me at: [email protected]

You can text me (via Remind101) at: (774) 353-0907 (class code: @engl110f23)

Secondly, I want you to know that I am committed to creating a learning environment that honors, respects, and accounts for our differences, especially since we represent and will encounter diverse cultural, racial, linguistic, and gendered identities and abilities. As such, it’s essential that we are always courteous and considerate of each other.

I recognize that students come from different educational, linguistic, and racial backgrounds and that it takes several years, not a semester, to develop English academic language, especially if English is a student’s additional (and not first) language. As your instructor, I am committed to providing ongoing feedback on your writing to highlight potential areas to revise/develop (including language uses).

That being said, I will not be grading you on your language. We will use a Grading Contract for this course. Please see our contract for details. In short, your grade will be based on your attendance, your completion of all minor and major assignments, and how diligently you practiced the specific goals of each assignment. Thus, I encourage you to take an active role in this class and in developing your writing and language.

Lastly, I care deeply about students being present and engaged in class, and I’ll do my best to make class meetings meaningful and useful. I ask that you come to class on time and prepared with all relevant readings or texts. I understand that everyone has different approaches to participation, so I welcome you to engage in class in a way that best fits you (by quietly but actively listening, writing in the chat, taking notes, asking questions, and/or offering comments). Everyone is required, however, to collaborate with peers during group work.

I’m looking forward to a great semester together! Keep reading for more details on our course.


Course Overview

This semester we’ll explore the connections between writing, reading, rhetoric, and critical thinking. You’re invited to practice writing for different purposes and audiences, and you’ll have the opportunity to both give and receive substantial feedback on your and others’ writing. As learning from each other will be a large part of what we do, you are encouraged to be an active participant in the classroom community.  

For the purposes of building our critical reading and thinking practices, we will engage several readings on a shared course topic of inquiry: “The Politics of Language.”

We can understand this course as drawing on the topic of language and literacy as a vehicle for critically analyzing and developing our own languages and literacies.

We will explore questions such as these:

  • What is the relationship between language, race, and power?
  • What are the historical and political implications behind how “Standard English” is valued and traditionally approached?
  • How is language used as a tool for measuring students’ and others’ learning, qualifications, and intelligence?
  • How are we—the readers and writers participating in this class—affected by the ways that language and literacy function in the U.S.?

That is, how do our language backgrounds affect our lived experiences and how we are perceived and treated by others? 

This is a “ZERO Textbook Cost” course. All materials will be accessible on Blackboard and on our Course Site.

We will also read a collection of student writing (yours, your peers’, and others’). Please either print or have digital access to all course documents and materials for class.

Recommended Open Education Resources

Use these additional resources as needed for help with the writing process, editing, and formatting. 

https://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/write/fieldguide/index.asp

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/englishcomp1v2xmaster/

https://writingcommons.org/

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/

Online Technology and Software Requirements     

You will need to regularly access:

  • Our Course Site (where you’ll find all class materials like readings, calendars, and assignment prompts)
  • Blackboard (CCNY’s online teaching support system where you’ll access and submit materials)
  • CUNY Academic Commons (where you’ll create a digital portfolio)
  • Word-processing software of your choice: Microsoft Office, Office365 (available for free to CCNY students), Google Docs, etc. No matter what you use, please save all documents as .doc or .docx files and please no links, PDFs, or Pages files.

I encourage you to save and organize our course documents and your work. You will need to return to assignments, so the more organized the better. Create a designated “English 110 Fall 2023” folder on your computer and be strategic in how you use subfolders and title documents. Computers, as you know, are susceptible to crashing and freezing. Save your work frequently and back up your files (in multiple places!).

Course Learning Outcomes   

In this course, you will work to:

  • Examine how attitudes towards linguistic standards empower and oppress language users.
  • Explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.
  • Develop strategies for reading, drafting, collaborating, revising, and editing.
  • Recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaged in writing situations.
  • Understand and use print and digital technologies to address a range of audiences.
  • Locate research sources (including academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives and on the Internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias.
  • Compose texts that integrate a stance with appropriate sources, using strategies such as summary, analysis, synthesis, and argumentation.
  • Practice systematic application of citation conventions.

Major Assignments

You will complete four major writing assignments, which are mentioned below but will be described in more detail within assignment prompts you’ll receive later. All parts of all major assignments must be successfully completed in order to pass this course.

You will write multiple drafts and revise each major assignment based on the peer feedback you receive. You will also receive extensive instructor feedback on your “Final” version, which you will then substantially revise again before including the “Portfolio” version in your Digital Portfolio.

#Assignment NameLengthFull Draft DueFinal Draft DuePortfolio Version Due
    1Written Language & Literacy Narrative2.5-3 pagesThurs.  9/14Fri. 9/29Tues. 10/24
Spoken Language & Literacy Narrative3 minutesTues. 9/19Tues. 9/26N/A
L&L Cover Letter1.5-2 pagesN/AFri. 9/29N/A
    2Rhetorical Analysis Assignment: Part 11-2 pagesThurs. 10/5N/AN/A
Rhetorical Analysis Assignment: Part 22-3 pagesTues. 10/17Thurs. 10/19Thurs. 11/16
RAA Cover Letter1.5-2 pagesN/AThurs. 10/19N/A
  3Researched Essay Proposal1-2 pagesTues. 10/31N/AN/A
Researched Essay5-6 pagesTues. 11/14Fri. 11/17Thurs. 12/7
RE Cover Letter1.5-2 pagesN/AFri. 11/17N/A
  4Self-Assessment Essay3-4 pagesTues. 11/28Tues. 12/5Fri. 12/15
Digital PortfolioVariesTues. 12/10Fri. 12/15Fri. 12/15

Smaller (Homework) Assignments

Reading and writing assignments will be due twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 30 minutes before our class starts (so by 1:30 PM). These will give you the opportunity to practice reading, annotating, taking reading notes, recording your ideas, collaborating (online) with your classmates, and engaging in a variety of research, writing, and revision assignments.

I will review homework on a regular basis. Much of your grade depends on you submitting these smaller homework assignments, so take them seriously because they will add up. See the Grading Contract for details about late and make-up assignments. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need extra accommodation. I am always open to arranging some time to talk and figure out a plan that will get you where you need to be.

Additional Information

Technology Expectations:

We will sometimes rely on our cell phones, laptops, or university desktop computers (located in library computer labs). You are tasked with accessing and submitting documents online, as well as creating a digital portfolio. Learning about and regularly accessing technology is thus a critical part of our course. Please reach out to me if you need help accessing the tech we need for our course.  

The Writing Center:

The CCNY Writing Center provides a supportive learning environment where students can have one-on-one tutoring sessions with experienced writing consultants. The Writing Center is available for virtual meetings. Students can schedule an appointment through the online booking system. This is a free resource available to all students and recommended for all writing assigned in this and other classes. Visit their website for more info http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/writing/ and to book an appointment.

Academic Integrity:

All writing submitted for this course is understood to be your original work. In cases where I detect academic dishonesty (the fraudulent submission of another’s work, in whole or part, as your own), you may be subject to a failing grade for the project or the course, and in the worst case, to academic probation or expulsion. For a more detailed description of the guidelines for adhering to academic integrity, see CCNY’s Policy on Academic Integrity on the college website: https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/it/academic-integrity-policy. As part of this course, we will discuss responsible source use practices.

Special Needs and Accommodations:

There are several Student Support Services available for CCNY students. Check this website for more information: https://ccny.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2019-2020/Undergraduate-Bulletin/Student-Support-Services-Program. If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact CCNY’s AccessAbility Center (Student Disability Services), https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/accessability or call (212) 650-5913 for an appointment to discuss your needs and the process for requesting accommodations. I am committed to accessibility; please do not hesitate to reach out to me so that we can determine ways to make this course accessible to you.

CCNY Quick Links and Other Resources: