Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Course Content: This course overviews the key grammatical features and structures of modern English,
with the goal of developing the theoretical and practical skills necessary to analyze linguistic structures
at the sentence level and in larger rhetorical units. At the end of this course, students will be able to
describe and evaluate English grammar in their own writing and speech, describe and teach the
grammar of English to others in a linguistically-informed way, and confront and expose myths about
grammar and language usage. Moreover, students will develop an appreciation for the complexity and
creativity of the English language, as well as develop an awareness of the various global Englishes used
around the world and on the Internet.
ENGL 3043 Syllabus 2
Required text
Parrott, M. (2000). Grammar for English Language Teachers (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
The textbook is available on reserve at the Library. Other readings will be uploaded to Blackboard.
Course grades
Assignments will receive letter grades based on the percentage of all points a student receives for a
given assignment. Similarly, final grades will be assigned based on the percentage of all points the
student has received during the semester. The percentages and corresponding letter grades are:
Dr. K will generally grade each assignment within one week. It is YOUR responsibility to check
Blackboard regularly to monitor your grades and notify Dr. K if you have any concerns. If you have any
questions or concerns about a grade, you must contact Dr. K within 10 days of receiving the grade.
Assignments
Points will be awarded in the following amounts, for a maximum of 1000 pts:
Class Activities
Class Activities are sets of exercises to help you review and practice the course content. They will be
handed out in class and will have to be turned in by the end of the same class. We will go over the
exercises together before you submit them, so you will have an opportunity to correct any mistakes.
Each Class Activity will automatically receive the full 20 pts as long as it is submitted by the end of
the class period, is complete, and all mistakes are corrected. Incomplete Activities or Activities with
obvious mistakes will receive a score of 0. Class Activities canNOT be made up later.
Homeworks
You will also turn in 5 Homework assignments this semester. The Homeworks are due at the
beginning of class and must be turned in as hard-copies. If you have to miss a class, you submit your
Homework via e-mail to Dr. K, but you must do so before the start of the class. The Homeworks are
longer and more challenging than the Class Activities, and will be graded based on the correctness
and accuracy of your answers. You may discuss your Homework with other students, but you should
try to solve the problems by yourself. You must also write down your own answers! Merely copying
another students answers is plagiarism and will result in both students receiving a score of 0. If you
work with other students on a Homework, you must list the other students names in your
Homework.
ENGL 3043 Syllabus 3
Reflections
Throughout the semester, you will submit 5 Reflections. A Reflection is an analytical and reflective
response to the readings and ideas we have been discussing in class (any readings/ideas discussed
up to that point; not just those scheduled for a given day). A Reflection is NOT a summary of the
readings! Instead, it is a text that demonstrates your understanding and critical thinking about the
ideas encountered in this coursefor example, by building on the concepts encountered in the
readings or class discussions, extending or developing new interpretations of key concepts,
providing and explaining new examples of key concepts, or drawing connections between the ideas
from this class and other classes/your own life. Each Reflection should be 400-500 words, typed on a
computer, and submitted as a Word file to Blackboard by midnight. In evaluating Reflections, Dr. K
will consider the following criteria:
The text has a clearly stated thesis or central idea early in the text.
The text shows the author has thought carefully about the issues raised in the readings and
class discussions.
The author supports his or her own argument/opinion with relevant, detailed evidence,
examples and sound logic (try to avoid generalizations).
The text clearly and directly references the ideas from the readings or class discussions
(make sure to specify the source or author of the idea).
The author considers alternative viewpoints to his or her own.
The text is well organized (uses multiple paragraphs or sections to make distinct points;
stays focused and effectively moves from one idea to another; has a clear thesis/central idea
and conclusion).
The writing is clear and uses appropriate academic vocabulary, spelling, and grammar.
Midterm Exam
About halfway through the semester, you will take an in-class Midterm Exam covering the material
discussed so far. Further information will be provided later.
Final Exam
At the end of the semester, you will take an in-class Final Exam. Further information will be provided
later.
has been received. Ten calendar days after the report is submitted by the instructor during a
regular semester or after seven calendar days during a summer session, a student may be
dropped from the class for excessive unexcused absences at the request of the instructor. If this
occurs, a grade of WF (withdrawal with failure) will be given for the course.
In this course, if you miss more than three class meetings, you may be dropped!
If at any point during the semester you become seriously ill or are facing other serious, unavoidable
circumstances (personal, financial, or other) that prevent you from coming to class, submitting
assignments on time, or turning in your best work, you must contact Dr. K as soon as possible. Some
absences may count as excused and some deadlines may be extended, but you have to let Dr. K
know in a timely manner!
Deadlines
All major assignments and deadlines are listed in the course schedule, but during the semester Dr. K
may alter some assignments, change deadlines, or create new assignments. It is YOUR responsibility to
stay informed about what is due and when. You should attend all classes and check your SAU e-mail
and Blackboard regularly.
Technical difficulties
Technical difficultiesincluding broken computers, problems
with Internet connectivity, or other technology-related
problemsare NEVER an excuse for late or missed work! You
should always plan ahead to ensure that you can submit your
work before the due date and you should regularly back up all
your work. Consider using a free cloud/storage service, like
Dropbox or Google Drive.
Contacting Dr. K
To contact Dr. K, please use the information listed on the first page
of this syllabus. When e-mailing Dr. K, use proper email etiquette:
Include an informative subject line, begin with an appropriate
greeting, use appropriate grammar and spelling, and sign with
your full name, class number or title, and class meeting time.
Moreover, you should allow at least 24 hours for Dr. K to respond
to e-mails during the week and longer during weekends. Finally,
please keep in mind that Dr. K will NOT discuss your grades in an
e-mail. If you wish to discuss your grades, you must set up an
appointment with Dr. K.
ENGL 3043 Syllabus 5
2 8/28 (M) Content and function word, bound Fromkin ch. 2 (p. 33-43)
and free morphemes McWhorter, Billy and Me
9/6 (W) Rule productivity, lexical gaps, Fromkin ch. 2 (p. 52-56, 56-60) Reflection 1
other morphological processes Luu, Reduplication CA2
Parts of speech
10 10/23 (M) The present perfect, reported and Parrott s. 16, 18 Reflection 4
direct speech
Text/Podcast Link
McWhorter, Billy and Me http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/lexicon_valley/2016/10/john_mc
whorter_on_the_made_up_rules_of_pronouns.html
Fileds, Southern Drawl https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/why-does-a-southern-
drawl-sound-uneducated-to-some/
Luu, Reduplication https://daily.jstor.org/the-nitty-gritty-on-reduplication-so-good-you-have-
to-say-it-
twice/?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=face
book
Nosowitz, Yall http://www.nkytribune.com/2016/10/yall-youuns-yinz-youse-how-
regional-dialects-are-filling-a-void-in-standard-english-for-a-plural-
pronoun/
McCulloch, Doge Speech http://the-toast.net/2014/02/06/linguist-explains-grammar-doge-wow/
Waldman, Adjective Order http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_good_word/2014/08/the_study_of
_adjective_order_and_gsssacpm.html
Carey, Because https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/because-has-become-a-
preposition-because-grammar/
Lydon, Interjections https://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/when-a-word-isnt-a-word-or-is-
it/
Baheri, Can Even http://the-toast.net/2013/11/20/yes-you-can-even/2/
Sedivy, Can Grammar Win http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3434
Elections
McWhorter, Black English http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/lexicon_valley/2016/11/john_mc
whorter_on_black_english_as_the_new_lingua_franca.html
Friedman, AAVE http://the-magazine.org/12/aint-no-reason#.WX-KqIjyupZ