ENG 121-14: FALL 2014

English Composition I
Course Section: M, Th 9:30 a.m.-10:50 a.m.
Instructor: Ms. Ashbourne
Office: Raritan Hall Rm. _____
Email: karenea0138@portal.middlesexcc.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
Course Description: Through a variety of writing projects requiring description, characterization, narration,
illustration, process analysis, comparison and contrast, and definition, as well as through a documented essay,
students develop competence writing clear, correct, effective English prose. Extensive reading materials serve
as structural models and as the bases for discussion and for the writing of essays involving response, analysis,
and synthesis. During the course, the student will write between 7,000 and 10,000 words, including drafts and
revisions.
Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of ENG 121, the student should be able to:
Compose coherent, developed and grammatical essays that demonstrate the students ability to
paraphrase, summarize and respond to texts.
Compose a documented essay demonstrating the ability to locate, evaluate and integrate source material
and cite this information correctly.
Read critically and apply inferential and critical skills to college-level readings.
Comprehend and use college-level language.
Demonstrate mastery of the writing process.
Synthesize and organize facts, ideas and opinions in a clear and well-developed manner using various
methods of development.
Required Textbooks:
What It Takes: Academic Writing in College. 2nd ed.
ENG 121 LibGuide (ENG 121 Readings)- Students can print these readings for free in the library or computer
labs. The link is: (http://middlesexcc.libguides.com/content.php?pid=586484&sid=4834259)
The Little Seagull Handbook. 2nd ed. w/Exercises
Student Disabilities:
The College has various support systems for students with learning disabilities. Please make use of them if you
feel you may require some of these services. A particular program is called Project Connections. Project
Connections is an academic and counseling support program for students with learning disabilities. It is a
competitive admission program and not all students with learning disabilities will be accepted. Although many
disabilities may impact learning, only students with a diagnosis of a specific learning disability are eligible. For
further information visit: www.middlesexcc.edu/projcon/control.cfm
Our Classroom:
The classroom offers us this great opportunity for discovering ideas together and learning from one another. I
am a learner too, and I value our 160 minutes that the College weekly affords us for productive conversation
and other intellectual activity. My responsibilities for this endeavor are:
Articulating course goals and expectations, and helping you to meet them
Providing and maintaining focus and structure for discussions and assignments
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 Encouraging the development of a welcoming, supportive, and challenging classroom community

Modeling respectful and productive methods of listening and responding to diverse ideas
Responding fairly and thoughtfully to your concerns about the course
Offering you structures and opportunities for improving your writing
Continuing my own learning through this course
Evaluating your writing and classroom behaviors with fairness and rigor
Your responsibilities are:
Take the class seriously from the first day. Come to class prepared. Do your best work. Do all you can
to help yourself pass with the grade you want.
Have a good attitude. Attitude is something that can be controlled. Keep private conversations until after
class.
All students are to be respectful of both the instructor and other students.
We should avoid secondary conversations and other incivilities that disrupt our attention to the work and
to one another. The fundamental rule is only one person speaks at a time.
Make some friends in class and get phone numbers so you may call when you need information about
the class. Do not call the English Department or the professor for something you could have asked a
classmate.
Any problems/concerns should be discussed with the professor before or after class or during an office
hour (not during class time).
Visit the professor during office several times during the semester to be sure you are passing and all your
work is complete.
All cell phones and other electronic devices should be stowed during class. Please turn off your phone; if
you must be on call, silence your phone and place it in your pocket. If you receive an emergency phone
call during class, quietly leave the room and take your call outside.
Late arrivals, early departures, and self-authorized breaks during class are disruptive and discourteous to
the rest of the group. Should you be ill or have an emergency, talk with me about your special need, and
I will respond generously.
Activities that expose your disengagement from our work cause static in the classroom; these include
reading material unrelated to this class, using a cell phone for any purpose, raising off-topic issues,
eating, drinking, and napping.
Classroom Requirements:
All students are required to abide by the Code of Student Conduct: (Check Pathfinder or Campus
Cruiser for the specifics). Any violations will be reported to the proper authorities and dealt with
accordingly.
1. Attendance at EVERY class is expected. Students are expected to be on time and to be present for the
ENTIRE class. Regular spot/pop quizzes and exercises will be given for which there are NO MAKEUPS.
2. Take notes; follow directions; do your homework; pay attention to due dates.
3. Regular in class and out of class assignments will be given and graded.
4. Out of class essays are to be done in Times New Roman, 12 Font, double spaced.
5. Students must participate in class discussions. This is part of the final grade.
6. A C must be maintained in all work. Students will not pass if the average of all work is not a C
(70%).
7. Written assignments are to be completed in ink, stapled with first and last name and the date.
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8. Cheating is not tolerated. If a student cheats by copying another persons work, that student will fail that
assignment. If there is more than one offense, the student will be put out of class.
9. Any disturbance during class will not be tolerated. Disruptions of the learning process for other students
include unnecessary talking, cell phone noise etc.
Electronic Communication
Treat e-mail as you would any other communication: with courtesy and clarity. Include an accurate subject
heading, and check your e-mail for my response. You should use your campus cruiser e-mail because the
College sends you important information by this means, and it simplifies my contacting you. If you use an
email account other than your campus cruiser account, I will not respond to that email. So make sure you
use you college e-mail. Write in complete sentences and complete words, and re-read and edit e-mails before
sending them.
Timeliness
Deadlines matter: they help us to manage our time, and they remind us that we live and work with other people
who have their own timelines to manage. I expect you honor deadlines in this course, and not assume that you
can deliver papers and assignments whenever you get around to finishing them. Deadlines also help us structure
our writing process. We all know that starting an assignment at the last minute compromises its quality, and this
course actively discourages just-in-time writing habits. All writing assignments are included in the syllabus
(so you know the arc of the course and can plan ahead), and peer response and drafting are built into the course.
Please take your assignments seriously.
Academic Honesty
All students are expected to do their own original work. If a writer uses someone elses words or ideas and does
not give the author proper credit, it is plagiarism. The deliberate attempt to pass off someone elses hard work as
your own is equivalent to that of stealing. Even if you paraphrase, that is, rephrasing or rewording the quote
altogether, without giving proper credit to the author is considered plagiarism. Plagiarized papers are given
automatic Fs, with no opportunity to make up the assignment, and may result in failing the course. It will also
be reported to the Academic Dean. I take this very seriously, so if there are any doubts, it is always best to cite
and then come talk to me about it.

Grading Policy:
There will be no make-up for missed tests and quizzes. Students may come and see me in the event of
an emergency.
In order to pass English 121, students must attain a grade of C using the following criteria:
Journals & Quizzes:
15%
(Note: students must be present to complete quizzes and many of the journal activities; students may not be able
to make up missed in-class work.)
Out-of-class essays:
(Note: essay 1 = 10%; essay 2 = 15%; essay 3 = 20%; essay 4 = 20%)

65%

In-class essays (midterm and final exams)

20%
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***(students should print out readings from the LibGuide ahead of time and bring those readings to class on
both the midterm and final exam days)
NOTE: As a matter of department policy, no one will receive a grade of C or better for the course
unless he or she completes all the assignments and unless his or her in-class writing and final exam
average C or better.
NOTE: Some steps in the writing process for each paper will be done in class and credit given upon their
completion. Failure to complete steps in the writing process may impact the final paper grade by up to
one letter grade at the instructors discretion.
Please keep in mind that there is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 that protects
the privacy of education records. By federal law, access to grades and other college records belongs to the
student. So the choice of whether or not to share your grades and personal information with others is all yours.
Therefore, I will not be audibly giving out grades in class. Students will individually receive their returned
assignments with their grades accordingly. For further information on FERPA visit:
www2.middlesexcc.edu/services-and-support/registrar/policies-and-procedures/ferpa.html
Assessment Statement: With the goal of continuing to improve the quality of educational services offered to
students, Middlesex County College conducts assessments of student achievement of course, program, and
institutional learning outcomes. Student work may be used anonymously for assessment purposes so that we
may be able to improve the quality of our courses.

Schedule of Meetings and Assignments

This is an overview of what will be accomplished in each class. All below assignments are from your LibGuide
and What It Takes. It is important that you bring The Little Seagull Handbook (LSH) to every class session.
You will be using it alongside the various assignments and class schedules seen below. This may change at the
instructors discretion.
9/4

Course orientation: Explanation of behavioral objectives, instructors expectations, grading

criteria, overview of textbooks, journals, midterm and final exams.
Introduction to The Writing Process-Journal Entry

9/8

What It Takes Reading due: Chapter 1 pgs. 1-8 Summary

LibGuide Reading due: Zap! Pow! Bam!
Journal Entry

9/11

Paper #1 Assignment is given out (750 words)

LibGuide Reading due: Comics Effects on Youth Scored and Comics Linked to Two
Killing
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Little Seagull Reading due: pgs. 98-102 Paraphrase and Quotations

Journal Entry
9/15

Mandatory Complete Rough Draft due for paper #1

What It Takes Reading due: pgs. 31-33 Avoiding Plagiarism
Little Seagull Reading due: pg. 107 Avoiding Plagiarism

9/18

Paper #1 due
What It Takes Reading due: pgs. 8-16
LibGuide Reading due: Health law Urged to Combat Comics and American Superheroes and
the Politics of Good and Evil
Journal Entry

9/22

Paper #2 Assignment is given out (750-850 words)

LibGuide Reading due: Can the Hulk Kick Batman's Butt?
Little Seagull Reading due: pgs. 75-78
Journal Entry

9/25

What It Takes Reading due: pgs. 34-39

LibGuide Reading due: Big Mother is Watching You and Control, Alt, Erase
Journal Entry

9/29

LibGuide Reading due: Teens Using Social Media Show Savvy about Privacy even as They
Share More and Some Privacy, Please? Facebook, under Pressure, Gets the Message

10/2

Mandatory Complete Rough Draft due for paper #2 due

What It Takes Reading due: pgs. 47-57
LibGuide Reading due: Adding to Rules for Online Privacy
Journal Entry

10/6

Paper #2 due
LibGuide Reading due: Teens and Privacy
What It Takes Reading due: pgs. 70-79; 136-140
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Journal Entry
10/9

LibGuide Reading due: Here Comes the Sun and Why the Gasoline Engine Isn't Going Away
Anytime Soon
Journal Entry

10/13

Columbus Day-No Class

10/16

LibGuide Reading due: Why I Still Support Nuclear Power, Even after Fukushima and The
Future of Nukes, and of Japan
*500-word Journal Entry due

10/20

Class will be held in the library; Research and MLA Documentation

Paper #3 Assignment is given out (1000-1250 words)

10/23

MIDTERM (this paper will be the rough draft for paper #3); JOURNALS COLLECTED
AND GRADED

10/27

Little Seagull Reading due: pgs. 267-280

Journal Entry

10/30

What It Takes Reading due: pgs. 79-102

Journal Entry

11/3

Little Seagull Reading due: pgs. 80-95 MLA Documentation

Journal Entry

11/6

Paper #3 due
Paper #4 Assignment is given out (1000-1250 words)
Little Seagull Reading due: pgs. 324-354
Journal Entry

11/10

What It Takes Reading due: 141-159

LibGuide Reading due: Jobs and Schooling
Journal Entry

11/13

LibGuide Reading due: Degrees and Dollars and College Students Bypassing Degrees on
Purpose
Journal Entry

11/17

Mandatory Complete Rough Draft due for paper #4

LibGuide Reading due: The Cost of Not Having a College Degree

11/20

LibGuide Reading due: The New College Credential The Newest College Credential
Journal Entry

11/24

Paper #4 due
LibGuide Reading due: The New Underclass
Journal Entry

11/27

Thanksgiving Day-No Class

12/1

LibGuide Reading due: The Watercooler Effect and A Lie Races on Twitter before the Truth
Can Boot Up
*500-word Journal Entry due

12/4

LibGuide Reading due: A Lie Races on Twitter before the Truth Can Boot up and On
Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can be Done
JOURNALS COLLECTED

12/8

FINAL EXAM REVIEW

12/11

FINAL EXAM