COMPOSITION II: WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE

 

EGL 1020                                                                   Instructor: Dr S Selina Jamil

Fall 2012                                                                     Office: M 3065  Phone: 301 322 0575

LD 01 (53178) MWF 8 – 8:50  (M 3091)                   Office Hours: MWF 7 – 7:50 AM, MW 1:00 –1:50 PM 

LD 06 (53183) MWF 10 – 10:50 (M 3099)                Email: jamilss@pgcc.edu,

LD 11 (53188 ) MWF 12-12:50 (M2082)                              (selinajamil@gmail.com)

 

                                                                                   

The Department’s “Course Description”:  

Second semester composition using literature as the subject for discussion and writing.  Study various kinds of literature (e.g., drama, poetry, short story).  EGL 1100, EGL 1320 or EGL 1340 also will fulfill the Composition II requirement. 

 

Prerequisite: EGL 1010 with a grade of C or higher.                                              

 

Course Description and Objectives: English 1020 is a writing course designed to introduce you to the genres of fiction, drama, and poetry through a selection of literary texts. Close reading is essential in this class, for I expect you to be thoughtful, analytical interpreters. That is, the thrust of this course is for you to become clear and potent thinkers, and hence persuasive writers. This class will aim at sharpening your ability to express sophisticated ideas clearly, intelligently, and logically. In your writings you will work at finding a purpose and main point in order to develop a proper thesis, using topic sentences for all sub points, using specific examples and details in order to develop sub points, developing each sub point by quoting and paraphrasing primary and secondary sources, tracing a logical progression of thought, maintaining unity and coherence, writing with energy and grace, finding your own unique voice, and also avoiding grammatical errors. We will pay close attention to themes about self-absorption and self-discovery, reason and imagination, innocence and experience, the individual and society, journey and quest, freedom and imprisonment, tangible and intangible values, relationships and conflicts, fragmentation and alienation, etc. 

 

 

The Department’s “Expected Course Outcomes”:

Upon successful completion of the course, the students will be able to

 

1.                  Write analytical essays about literary texts by

·         Formulating restricted, unified and precise thesis statement

·         Organizing essay content into introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs

·         Composing restricted, unified, and precise topic sentences for paragraphs

·         Writing unified and coherent paragraphs that are well developed with supporting materials drawn from the literary text(s)

·         Applying grammar and usage rules correctly

·         Choosing appropriate diction

·         Writing clear, coherent, and precise sentences

2.                  Apply basic literary terms in the genres of fiction, drama, and poetry (for example,

theme, imagery, figurative language, character, plot, tone, etc.)

3.                  Write research-based essays using secondary sources to:

·         Demonstrate an understanding of plagiarism

·         Synthesize several different sources into an essay to support its thesis

·         Quote, summarize, and paraphrase responsibly within that paper

·         Document sources according to the MLA format

·         Students are required to write several papers which must add up to at least 15 pages in length; one of these papers must be multi-sourced.

 

 

 

Credit Hour Explanation: At Prince George’s Community College, for all credit courses, students are expected to spend a minimum of 37.5 combined hours of instructional time and related coursework time per credit hour. This course is a 3-credit course. This course achieves the minimum of 112.5 hours of instructional time by requiring 37.5 hours of instructional time and 75 hours of student work outside of instructional time. 

 

The Work and Grades: You will write 3 expository essays, including a research paper. You  must use the MLA style of documentation for all the essays. I will not accept research papers that do not make use of scholarly secondary sources, and that do not provide in-text citations, or a Works Cited page at the end of the essay. The research paper will be longer (approximately 6 pages) than the other 2 essays (approximately 4 pages). All of these essays must be typed, double-spaced, collated, and stapled. For each of your essays you must choose a kind of argument (definition, comparison, contrast, causal, evaluation, process, classification, etc.). Do not turn in a hand-written draft of any assignment, and do not email me your final drafts. Always turn in the hard copy. Late submissions are acceptable only under special circumstances but receive lower grades. (I will deduct 5 points for each day after the due date.) If you do not turn in all the papers, you will not pass the course. I encourage you to discuss all your rough drafts with me. In addition, you will take 5 tests. Further, you will take part in class discussion regularly. You cannot “make up” missed class participation, and so be aware of what you lose absolutely when you do not come to class.

 

                                   

                                               

5 Tests                                                 500 points (100 for each)

1st Essay                                              100 points

2nd Essay (Research Paper)                 200 points

3rd Essay                                              100 points

                                                Class Discussion                                 100 points

                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------                                                                                                                                     1000 points

 

 

Academic Honesty Policy: I will not tolerate any form of plagiarism. It is not simply an omission of quotation marks but also a paraphrase that fails to acknowledge the source. Therefore never try to pass off someone else's work as your own. It is a disgrace that results in expulsion or at the least an F in the course.

 

Attendance: Attendance is imperative in this class. For if you miss class on a particular day, you miss the points allotted for that day. You have to be an active participator in class discussions to earn these points. I expect you to take part in class discussions regularly and consistently to earn the discussion points. If you are a passive participator in class discussions but are present on all class days, and if you are always civil and never late, you will earn 80 out of 200 points. But you have to be an active participator in class discussions to earn the rest (120 points). If you engage in disruptive behavior, you will lose your class discussion points. I will excuse 3 absences, but only for unavoidable circumstances. I will take attendance at the beginning of the hour. In order to be marked present, you have to be present for at least 40 minutes of class time. Be sure to let me know when you are late, otherwise you will be marked absent. The 5th lateness will be an absence. I expect you to behave responsibly and maturely about all your assignments and in the class. Further, I expect you to bring your assigned reading material regularly to class and to have read the assigned text before coming to class. You cannot leave the classroom to answer a ringing phone. Cell phones must not make a sound once class begins. And I will not have you walking in or out in the middle of class unless you inform me about the emergency that requires this unusual and unsettling behavior. Please note that repeated disruptive behavior results in the total loss of class discussion points. Be attentive. Also, please note that you will receive a Q grade, if you miss several classes in  within the first few weeks, and you are in danger of receiving an F grade, if you miss several classes during the rest of the semester.

 

 

Texts:

Required texts:

Dr Jamil’s EGL 1020 course pack

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Susanne L. Wofford. Boston and New York: Bedford/ St. Martin’s P, 1994.

 

 

Recommended texts:

MLA. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association

            of America, 2009.

Abrams, M. H. and Geoffrey Galt Harpham. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 10th ed. Australia: Wadsworth,

            2012.

 

In addition, I will provide you with a photocopy of Mahfouz’s short story. Further, you will need a dictionary and a thesaurus. I expect you to read the assigned reading before coming to class. Failure to do so will have a severely adverse effect on your class participation grade. Furthermore, I expect you to bring your assigned text regularly to class. Failure to do so will also jeopardize your class participation grade. In addition, always bring a notebook for the photocopied texts and your work. To keep track of your writing, store all graded work in a folder. Never dispose of any graded work until well after the semester is over.

 

 

Tentative Calendar

 

27 Aug                                    Introduction to the course

29-31 Aug                               Define literary terms (character, action, conflict, plot, narrator, foreshadowing, ambiguity, irony, imagery, symbol, paradox, oxymoron, tropes, signifier & signified)

3 Sep                                       NO CLASSES (Labor Day)

5 – 7 Sep                                 Discuss Mahfouz’s “Half a Day” (photocopy)

10– 12 Sep                              Discuss Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”  (course pack)

14-19 Sep                                Define allegory. Discuss Hawthorne's “Young Goodman Brown” (course pack)

21 Sep                                     Discuss writing 1st Essay

24 Sep                                     1st Test

26 Sep                                     Define novel. Discuss writing 2nd Essay (Research Paper)

28 Sep                                     1st Essay due

26 Sep – 15 Oct                      Discuss R. H. Davis’s Life in the Iron-Mills (course pack)

17 Oct                                     Library Instruction (Accokeek Hall)

19 Oct                                     2nd Test

22 Oct                                     Define tragedy. Introduce Shakespeare

2 Nov                                      2nd Essay (Research Paper) due

24 Oct – 18 Nov                     Define tragedy. Discuss Shakespeare’s Hamlet

21 – 25 Nov                            NO CLASSES (Thanksgiving Holiday)                    

26 Nov                                                3rd Test          

28 Nov                                                3rd Essay due. Discuss prosody

30 Nov                                    4th Test

3 Dec                                       Discuss Browning’s “My Last Duchess” (course pack)

5 Dec                                       Discuss Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” (course pack)  

7 Dec                                       5th Test

 

 

 

 

Please note that I reserve the right to modify the course syllabus at my discretion

 

Prince George’s Community College’s Statement on Civility:
To promote a community of scholarship and civility, everyone at Prince George’s Community College is expected to be respectful, tolerant and courteous towards others at all times, adhere to college policies and procedures, and respect college property. Creating a culture of civility both inside and outside the classroom is everyone’s responsibility.