Department
of English, Foreign Language, and Journalism
English 104-02 MWF 9:00-9:50
English 104-11 MWF 12:00-12:50
Dr. Stacia Bensyl SSC 222 I
Phone 271-5936 email—bensyl@griffon.mwsc.edu
Office hours: M-F 10:00-11:00 and by appointment
Required Text:
Optional Text:
The New Century Handbook
I cannot stress the
importance of having a good handbook.
If you already have a handbook from another class, that is fine.
Please bring your
books to class every day. You never
know when you might need them. We will
be discussing readings in Signs of Life or writing about the readings
every day.
Course Objectives:
The course objectives for English 104 are outlined at: http://www2.mwsc.edu/eflj/eng104.html#Institutional. I strongly recommend that students review
these course objectives in addition to my going over them the first day of
class.
Paper Topics:
Paper #1: Descriptive
Essay
Paper #2:
Comparison/contrast essay
Paper #3: Solution
essay
Paper #4: Position
essay
·
· Your four portfolios are each worth 25% of
your final grade.
·
· NOTE:
I will bring portfolios to class once to hand them back. If you're not in class to receive your
portfolio, you need to come to my office to pick it up.
Final Exam Period:
·
· You MUST attend the final exam period to
pass the class. It is college policy
that we meet during the final exam period.
I will hand back your fourth portfolio and give you your final grade at
that time. If you do not attend the
final exam meeting, you will fail the class.
In class
writing/portfolio policy:
You will write something in class almost every day. I say almost, because sometimes peer reviews
or class discussion will take up all of our class time. You cannot make up the in class
writings. Each day's assignment must be
dated. Individual assignments will not
be graded; instead, you will be graded on your portfolio performance as a
whole. All rough drafts must be word-processed. On portfolio due dates, I will collect your
completed portfolio. You will receive a
typed evaluation of the in class work in the portfolio, as well as an
evaluation of the process and final draft of your paper.
Attendance policy:
I take attendance every day. I will allow you one mental health day and two excused absences
for things such as an on campus event you must participate in, jury duty, a
death, illness, etc. After the third absence you will receive an "F"
in the class.
Student Disability:
Students with disabilities (impaired hearing, vision,
reading disorders, etc.) should notify me in writing of the disability before
the end of the first week of class. In
consultation with the Center for Academic Support, I will work out a course of
study for such students.
Grading policy:
First off, you can't pass this class without turning in all
four of your portfolios and attending the final exam meeting. The grading scale is as follows:
100-90% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69% = D
59-0% = F
Remember, you must receive a grade of "C" or above
to enroll in English 108 next semester.
Late paper policy:
You may turn in one late
portfolio. Your late portfolio cannot be the final portfolio. The late portfolio must be turned in the
class meeting after its original due date.
Rewrite Policy:
You may re-write papers in portfolios #1, #2, and #3 for a better grade. Due dates for re-writes will be announced in class when I hand back papers. The grade you receive for the re-write will be averaged with the grade you initially received for the portfolio. I do not require students to re-write. The process is optional. I do require you, however, to take the re-write process seriously. Simply making mechanical changes in the paper is not re-writing--it's editing. That should have been done initially. Re-writes will be handed back to you at some point during the semester, but I give precedence to current assignments. It is possible that a re-write might not get back to you until the last week of class.
Class Assignment
Schedule:
Please remember that
this is a TENTATIVE schedule. We may
need to adjust due dates or assignment dates as the semester progresses. The term "invention" refers to any
writing that we do which is "brainstorming" or "prewriting"
for your final paper, or any writing which lets you practice techniques and
methods of writing. Please come to
class having read the assignment for that day.
Be prepared to discuss your ideas in class. Also be prepared to write in class every day.
Reading/Writing Assignments:
Jan. 21 Introduction and class standards
23 “The Signs of Shopping” page 63
26 “The Addictive Virus” page 71
28 “The Haunted Superstore” page 76
30 “What’s in a Package?” page 84
Feb. 2 invention
4 invention
6 invention
9 Rough draft of Essay #1 due for peer review
11 Portfolio #1 due
13 “American Icons” page 721
16 No class—Presidents’ Day
18 “Be Like Mike” page 729
20 “Our Barbies, Ourselves” page 766
23 “Larger Than Life” page 785
25 “A Patriot’s Tale” page 795
27 invention
Mar. 1 invention
3 invention
5 Rough draft of Essay #2 due for peer review
8 Portfolio #2 due—This will not be returned to you before March 24
10 “Kid Kustomers” page 181
12 No class—Bensyl with ENG399
15 Spring Break
17 Spring Break
19 Spring Break
22 “The Haves and the Have-Nots” page 623
24 “I Won. I’m Sorry.” page 679
26 “Athletics 101: A Change in Eligibility Rules Is Long Overdue” page 659
29 invention
31 invention
Apr. 2 invention
5 invention
7 Rough draft of Essay #3 due for peer review
9 No class—Bensyl at conference
12 Portfolio #3 due
14 “Disney World: Public Use/Private State” page 415
16 “The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Talk-Show Furor” page 243
19 “Careful, You May Run Out of Planet: SUVs and the Exploitation of the American Myth” page 112
21 “You Can’t Say That” page 258
23 invention
26 invention
28 invention
30 Rough draft of Essay #4 due for peer review
May 3 Portfolio #4 due
FINAL EXAM:
ENG104-02 Wednesday, May 12 8:30-10:20
ENG104-11 Monday, May 10 11:30-1:20