Dahl, Roald. James and the Giant Peach. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1961. ISBN 0-14-130467-7.
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 1950. ISBN 0-06-440942-2.
Rosenwasser, David, and Jill Stephen. Writing Analytically. Third edition. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College, 2000. ISBN 0-15-508070-9.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1997. ISBN 0-590-35342-X.
Another book of your choosing from a provided list. This book will have to be bought by you off-campus.
Required Materials
three-ring binder and looseleaf paper
disk for work in this class (and some backup of some kind)
folders to pass in papers and journals
Course Prerequisites
This course is a college-level English composition course that requires you to have successfully passed ENG 101 (2.0 or better).
Course Objective
We all loved reading or hearing children's stories when we were little-stories of heroes, monsters, talking animals, and magic. What we didn't think of back then, however, is that there are a lot of other thought-provoking things happening in these texts. Truthfully, we didn't "think" about them at all-we just enjoyed them. In this course, we will dig below the surface, analyzing some of these great books of children's fantasy literature. While 101 gave you the skills to add detail and form to your writing, 102 will help you hone your critical reading and writing skills. You will read texts with consideration for tone, theme, character, and other narrative methods, analyze the process behind these texts, and write concise, concentrated essays with reference to these and other sources. This is not a lecture-based course. You are expected to be active in class by participating in the discussions and collaborative activities. To succeed, you'll need to ask questions, share ideas, show your writing to others, and contribute to constructive criticism. We will focus on learning how to read well and how to use your own writing process to explore that reading. The essays you will write will concentrate not only on the content of the course reading, but also on the process involved in writing these pieces of literature and your vision of the outcome of them.
This course has rigorous reading and writing expectations. You will be expected to closely read approximately 100 pages per week, write homework assignments and journal entries (not diaries!). In addition, you will construct three essays and a presentation to the class on a researched topic in addition to a final portfolio of your work. Be prepared to work hard, and to swallow all excuses-just like the protagonists in our favorite children's stories, writing is its own expedition, and requires provisions, determination, and courage.
Course Requirements
Attendance and Participation-Because this class depends on your input, if you are absent more than 7 times, you will not pass the course. If you are absent 5 or more times, your participation grade will be an automatic 0.0. If there is an emergency or a reason you know you will miss class ahead of time, please let me know as soon as possible. All homework is due on its due date. No late assignments will be accepted unless you have spoken with me beforehand. If you encounter an unexpected illness, accident, or emergency, please contact me as soon as possible so arrangements can be made for you to turn in your assignments. What constitutes an "emergency" is up to my discretion and includes documentation of that emergency. However, an absence is an absence; no matter how noble the reason, if you're not in class, you're not participating. There's no such thing as an "excused" absence.
Since we have a limited amount of time every day, you must make every effort to be to class prepared and on time. On time means arriving before class starts at the top of the hour. I will mark you late if you arrive up to 15 minutes after the hour. After that, you will be marked absent, and all absences follow the above policy. Each time you are late will count against your final participation grade, and if you are consistently late, your participation grade may go to a 0.
I realize some of you may be uncomfortable talking in a large group, but the course, your work, and the work of your colleagues depends on your input. Therefore, 15% of your final grade will be based on participation. This will include occasionally leading group discussions. Be prepared to participate in this way.
Reading/Process Journal: You will be required to keep a reading/process journal throughout the course for practice in critical reading and thinking. This journal will be collected with each of the major essays you write this quarter. It behooves you to do the reading on time and write based on the literary criteria we learn about in class; this will aid in research for your essays for the class, as well as strengthen your critical skills. Your reading journal will closely examine such things as plot, character, theme, etc. that are evident in the text selection that you read. You will refer to the texts, quote from them, discuss problematic passages, etc. Basically, you will present the text in an analytical and detailed, yet informal and probably unorganized way. Your journal should be LEGIBLY hand-written on looseleaf paper or typed, and stapled in the upper left-hand corner when it is due. Keep ALL sections of your journal after they are returned.
Quizzes: In order to ensure that you are doing the reading on time and participating in an active way, I may give pop quizzes on the reading from time to time. These quizzes shouldn't be difficult if you've done the appropriate reading assignments up-to-date. There will be no make-up quizzes for people who are absent or tardy to class. These quizzes will count toward your homework grade.
Portfolio: In lieu of a final exam, you will prepare a portfolio of selected work this quarter that appropriately reflects your progress as a writer, demonstrating the skills you developed this quarter. More information will follow on this during the quarter, but make sure to keep everything you do for this class.
Presentation/Annotated Bibliography: You will be required to work outside of class on a project for the end of the quarter. I encourage you to create a group of no more than three people to work together on a project/presentation. This presentation will require basic research, and you will have to manage your time appropriately with other assignments. Be prepared for this. More details will follow as the quarter progresses.
Essay Format: All drafts of essays must be typed or computer printed, and double-spaced. Please use a 12-point standard font such as Times New Roman. Place your name, course title, draft number, date and title of the essay at the top of the first page. Make sure to number all pages. All use of outside references should follow strict MLA format. All other assignments may be handwritten provided the handwriting is legible.
Keep Your Papers: Students should keep their own papers. Among other things, any student who appeals a course grade will need to submit copies of all graded course papers with the appeal.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is cheating yourself and someone else. The consequences can be severe. Whenever you borrow a phrase, sentence, paragraph--or even an idea stated in your own words--from any outside source (newspaper, magazine, TV show, book) without giving credit to that outside source, you have plagiarized. If at any point you have questions about how to acknowledge someone else's words or ideas, see me. Double submission of papers--passing in a paper written for another class--is considered a form of plagiarism. All of the writing for this class must be written for this class.
Revisions: Since writing is a circular process, you will have the opportunity to revise either of the first two essays for a higher grade. This revision will be significant in content, tone, editorial changes, and format. Do not enter into revision lightly; revision is not simply correcting typographical errors. You must notify me in writing of your plan to revise at least three days before the due date, which is one week after the return of your essays (despite any other work you have for the class). Without a detailed revision plan, I will not accept revisions.
Grading
Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities needing accommodations such as accommodated testing, interpreting, note taking, taped textbooks, assistive technology, accessibility arrangements, tutors, etc. must contact the Education Access Center at 527-3697 (2nd floor of the College Center near Registration). The Educational Access Center can assist individuals with both physical and learning/academic disabilities. If you feel you may have a learning disability, please go and speak with the Educational Access Center. All of their services are strictly confidential.
Classroom Behavior: The following are principles of respect you are expected to follow while in our classroom. Respect yourself, your classmates, and your instructor by behaving and participating in our college classroom in a positive and appropriate manner.
The Public Nature of This Class: Part of becoming a good writer is learning to appreciate the ideas and criticisms of others, and in this course our purpose is to come together as a community of writers. Remember that you will often be expected to share your writing with others. Avoid writing about things that you may not be prepared to subject to public scrutiny or that you feel so strongly about that you are unwilling to listen to perspectives other than your own. This does not mean that you are not entitled to an opinion but that you adopt positions responsibly, contemplating the possible effects on others. In particular, please do not write about any criminal activity that you have knowledge of-as a witness, a victim, or a perpetrator. This may seem like an odd thing to caution you about, but if you were to write about such an activity, I may be legally required to report it to the authorities.
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