English 1A: CompositionCourse Description and ObjectivesRequired Books and MaterialsYOU MUST HAVE BOTH BOOKS IN CLASS ON THE SECOND DAY OF CLASS – NO EXCEPTIONSRecommended MaterialsYour AssignmentsDetailed descriptions and instructions will be provided throughout the semester in class and on the course website. The basic goal of these assignments is to make you a better, more organized & analytical writer.Resource Skills: These are skills that you will be learning and practicing that will make you a self-sufficient college student. They represent your ability to take advantage of the many resources available to you. A major component is your activities in the Writing Center and in your journal. You are required to spend 18 hours in the Writing and Reading Center. This part of your grade also includes any individualized grammar assignments that will be assigned, any writing center assignments, or other study skills assignments given out over the semester. All students in 1A must work with an instructor or tutor in the Writing Center or with me in my office hours at least once on every paper. (If you work with an instructor or tutor, you won’t need a confirmation slip; the assignment sheet has a place for the instructor to sign. If you work with an instructor a second time you should get a confirmation slip.) I encourage all students to work with me in office hours when schedules permit, but students who are struggling to write strong passing level papers may be specifically required to do so.Class Participation: This grade will be the average of all in-class writing, quizzes, and a grade assigned daily based on your participation in the class. You and I together are responsible for the success of your learning environment. This class will engage in a lot of cooperative and collaborative learning through discussion, writing projects, presentations and other activities. The most basic principle for your success is that you need to come to every class, on time, and participate in discussion every time we meet. Think critically about the readings before you arrive; take notes in the margin of your book; ask questions of the texts and bring those questions and ideas to class for discussion. Some class days you will be specifically required to bring a discussion question on a 3x5 card based on the California Dreams and Realities questions; these also represent part of your class participation.Critical Thinking papers: These papers give you the opportunity to work on your formal writing skills. You will practice constructing an arguable thesis supported by evidence and persuasive argumentation.The Research Paper Project: The position paper and research paper (related assignments) allow you to extend your formal writing and argumentation skills into the realm of research and into your community.Course Requirements and Policies:Grading Policies: In order to pass this class, a student must complete all papers and take the final exam. However, mere completion of all assignments and the exam does not guarantee a passing grade; you must also illustrate skill proficiency, represented by a passing level average on the 3 Critical Thinking papers, the Position Paper and the Research Paper. In addition to your number grade, most assignments will also be annotated with many comments from the instructor. There are no "plus" or "minus" grades available for your final grade. Your overall grade must be a 70% or better to receive a passing grade in this class.Paper Format Requirements: I WILL NOT ACCEPT a paper that does not meet the following format specifications: 1) Times or Times New Roman 12 point font, 2) one inch margins all the way around, 3) MLA format for page layout and any source reference. If you are not sure about how to format any of these requirements, see me in my office before an assignment is due; Writing Center lab aides can also help you. See page 337 in your Bedford Guide for what your first page should look like. If you turn in a paper that is improperly formatted, it will be handed back to you. You will lose one percentage point on your final grade on paper for every day it takes you to return the paper.Late Assignments: We have a very unique schedule where one assignment builds on the next and students who get behind rarely catch up. Absence does not relieve you of work that is due. Unexplained late papers will receive a failing grade. Tardiness will be dealt with in the same way as absences; any work missed in class cannot be made up and will lower your participation grade. If you are ill the day an assignment is due, you can email it by 2:00 pm and it won’t be considered late. If you want to request an extension, you must discuss it with me more than 24 hours before the paper is due. I will not grant same day extensions. Students who receive an extension will get one 24 hour period “free”; after that, each 24 hours will “cost” 10% of your grade on the paper. Students who receive extensions cannot rewrite papers.Classroom Environment: Because so much of the work that you do this semester in class will be cooperative, working with your classmates in group or paired activities, or with me in whole class discussions, it is crucial that the classroom be a place of mutual respect. All students must be able to express ideas, concerns, and criticisms without fear of personal reprisal, but must do so responsibly and with positive and constructive intentions for the class. To this end, we will devise our own rules of appropriate class conduct. Students who are unable to participate in this way will be counseled or, in severe situations, asked to drop the course. All students must come prepared to participate and cannot regularly “hang out” in the back or choose not to participate. We will sometimes have circle based seminar discussions in which all students are expected to participate and talk and debate ideas with one another as much as or more than with the professor.Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. A student may miss three classes without penalty other than missing work done in class that day. BUT, if you miss four classes in this course, you need to see me and you will likely fail the class, unless you drop first, which is your right and your responsibility. Attendance is a part of your grade, though you do not get good marks for class participation simply by showing up. There are no excused absences in this course. Any work that you miss in class (in class