Moreno Valley College, Department of Communications

ENGL 1A: English Composition

Spring 2017

Instructor: Addison Palacios Lecture: Tuesday, Thursday 6:00pm-8:30pm

Email: Addison.Palacios@rccd.edu Location: PSC 10
_____________________________________________________________________________

If you were to say to the grown-ups: "I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with
geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof," they would not be able to get any idea of that
house at all. You would have to say to them: "I saw a house that cost $20,000." Then they would
exclaim: "Oh, what a pretty house that is!" -- The Little Prince

I paid my way into enough things that I liked, so that I had a good time. Either you paid by
learning about them, or by experience, or by taking chances, or by money. Enjoying living was
learning to get your moneys worth and knowing when you had it. You could get your moneys
worth. The world was a good place to buy in. -- The Sun Also Rises

Course Objectives:

English 1A teaches students to read critically and think analytically. The course will
foster each students ability to read and write with rhetorical awareness of the particular writing
situations audience, purpose, and genre conventions. Students will use the complete composing
process recursively, including invention, planning, drafting, revising, proofreading, and editing.
They will perform various kinds of research (including memory search, field research, library
and Internet research) and will properly document sources. As members of a community of
writers, students will actively read and critique each others writing in progress, supporting one
anothers development as writers and critical thinkers.

Course Theme:

In this course specifically, we will be engaging with the theme of Money and Value.
Throughout the semester we will look at money in its many manifestations: the tangible, the
abstract, the necessary, the luxuriant, the identity-formative, the ethical. We will use readings to
discuss having a lot of money and other readings that describe having very little. Not all of the
readings will be in the same genre. Some are humorous while others are works of satire,
lamentations, analyses, explorations, and complaints. The selections represent a variety of voices
with a variety of concerns. Many of these writers explain how money functions, how the middle
class has changed over a generation, why college costs so much, and why minimum wage
workers cant always just pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Additionally, you will be asked
to make observations about how money operates in your life as well as find and interpret the
ways the media and popular culture shape our perspective on money.
 Because part of our view of money comes from the cultural climate in which we live, we
will be reading and viewing works of popular fiction and film in addition to the essays in the
course reader. The aim of these texts is to show how cultural values have a significant impact on
what our values are as well as expose ourselves to a variety of writing styles.

Things to be familiar with before class:

Upon entering the classroom, students should have some familiarity with the following skills:
Recognize thesis, audience, purpose, and evidence in advanced, pre-collegiate texts
Compose developed, unified, stylistically competent essays of 650-1000+ words that are
relatively free from errors in grammar and mechanics; employ one or more patterns of
development; respond to advanced pre-collegiate texts; adjust for audience and purpose
with advanced-intermediate skill; control voice, tone, and level of formality with
advanced-intermediate skill; employ, at advanced-intermediate level, the standard
methods of academic written discourse for guiding readers through an analysis or
argument (e.g., introductions and conclusions, transitions, topic sentences); use evidence
effectively, with advanced-intermediate skill, to support a thesis; and demonstrate
awareness of the writing process and an ability to critique their own work and the work of
others with advanced-intermediate skill
Understand the purpose of textual source citations and be able to employ MLA
conventions for documenting sources and citing parenthetically, with basic-level skill.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

Analyze rhetorical strategies, reliability, ideas, and evidence in non-fiction texts of varied
difficulty.
Demonstrate varied and flexible strategies for generating, drafting, and revising essays.
Construct arguments that explore complex academic issues by evaluating differing ideas
on an issue, testing rival hypotheses, and responding to the challenges to ones own
argument.
Critical Thinking - Students will be able to demonstrate higher-order thinking
skills about issues, problems, and explanations for which multiple solutions are
possible. Students will be able to explore problems and, where possible, solve
them. Students will be able to develop, test, and evaluate rival hypotheses.
Students will be able to construct sound arguments and evaluate the arguments of
others.
Write unified, well-organized, text-based essays of various lengths, applying a variety of
rhetorical strategies with arguable theses and persuasive support, free of disruptive errors.
Communication Skills - Students will be able to communicate effectively in
diverse situations. They will be able to create, express, and interpret meaning in
 oral, visual, and written forms. They will also be able to demonstrate quantitative
literacy and the ability to use graphical, symbolic, and numerical methods to
analyze, organize, and interpret data.
Find, evaluate, analyze, interpret, and engage with primary and secondary sources,
meaningfully incorporating them into essays, using appropriate documentation format.
Information Competency & Technology Literacy - Students will be able to use
technology to locate, organize, and evaluate information. They will be able to
locate relevant information, judge the reliability of sources, and evaluate the
evidence contained in those sources as they construct arguments, make decisions,
and solve problems.

Required Texts

Money. Kenneth Gillam, ed. Fountainhead Press, 2011 (available at the

bookstore and online)

Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. Scribner, 2006

Recommended Texts:

Graff, Gerald et al. They Say, I Say 2nd edition. W. W. Norton and Company. 2009.

All other course texts will be provided electronically by the instructor. The instructor may ask
students to print their own copies of certain readings in which case students are expected to come
with the appropriate materials printed and available.

Class Policies
Attendance: Your success in this course depends on regular attendance and active participation.
Please understand that English 1A is not a lecture class where you can get notes for classes you
have missed or easily make up coursework. This is a writers workshop that requires your
presence and constructive participation, and many of the in-class activities cannot be made up.
Attendance will be taken daily, and unexcused absences and late arrivals may ultimately affect
your ability to pass the course. When you miss a class, you cannot receive participation for
that day and you cannot make up any quizzes/in class assignments. It is also up to you to
contact a classmate to find out what youve missed. If you miss more than a week of class
without notifying me ahead of time, I will assume you have dropped the course and remove you
from the roster. Also, being more than 15 minutes late will take away some participation
points for that day though you can still partake in the class and do any quizzes/assignments.
Attendance will take up 100pts in your final grade, or 10%. Each class will count for 3 points (3
if you are on time, prepared, and participate, 2 if you attend but do not participate, and 1 if you
are tardy).
Class Etiquette: It is expected that you will participate appropriately and as adults during class
discussions. We are a diverse academic community, representing different faiths, lifestyles,
ethnicities, sexualities, and cultures. We will be discussing controversial issues in classissues
that typically elicit strong opinions, so it is especially important that you show tolerance and
respect for your fellow classmates at all times.

Please turn off and put away electronic devices, such as phones and iPods, before entering the
classroom. Laptop computers and tablet devices like iPads are only to be used during class for
accessing WebAdvisor and Blackboard.

Late Work: All essays must be printed and submitted by the start of class on the due date.
Absence from class does not extend the due date. You are, however, allowed to turn in one late
paper, no questions asked, by Week 14 of the semester. Emergencies happen and I am
understanding of that. If you predict that your particular circumstances will create difficulties
with turning your work in on time, talk to me as soon as you can. All other late work will lose
2% off the final grade for each day the assignment is late (meaning a B- can become a C+).

Required Formatting: All papers must adhere to the current MLA formatting guidelines. This
includes proper document formatting, such as one-inch margins, Times New Roman 12-pt. font,
and double-spacing, in addition to proper citation of sources. Consult the Writing and Reading
Center for additional help or the Purdue OWL (online).

Communication: Check your email account daily! I will be posting readings to the course site
as well as sending things to you directly via email so it is imperative that you check these things
frequently. Integrate your professional life with your social life and check your email account as
often as you would any other social media app. In the long run, it will become a natural habit that
will ensure that you always receive the right information as promptly as possible. You will also
be in charge of monitoring your own progress in class, so keep track of your grades as they come
so you can regularly see where you stand.

Lab Requirement:

All English composition courses have a lab requirement. The lab component of the class
is built into our meeting time on Thursdays.
The point of the lab requirement is to have extra time to practice the skills you are
learning in class. It is an opportunity for you to practice writing and reading skills necessary for
success in the class without the fear of a grade. As you practice the particular skill I assign for lab
activities, I will walk around the room to help each and every one of you; these conversations
will function as a check that you are completing the required lab activities. Your effort and
attention to fulfilling the activities as I have designed them will form your grade for the lab
portion of the class. Use the time to write without fear, knowing that these activities are
opportunities to help you to improve your writing so that when you turn in your papers, you will
feel more comfortable in your ability to achieve the outcomes of the course. I may also
occasionally collect completed activities to verify you are doing the work and to offer more
feedback. Your attendance is mandatory in the lab portion of class, just as it is for the lecture portion
of the class.

Peer Review:
Writing is a process and feedback from your peers is a vital part of that process. Getting
input from your peers will enable you to rethink and improve your writing; reading your
classmates work will likewise foster new insights regarding your own work. Hence, peer review
is mandatory for this class. You must also come with a draft that is nearly complete, within at
least 1 page of the minimum page count, to get credit for your draft. Drafts that are only 1 page
of 4 or not having a draft at all will automatically deduct 3% from your final grade. So, if your
paper is a day late and you dont come to the peer review, you could potentially lose 5% off your
final grade automatically!

Plagiarism:
At MVC honesty and integrity are fundamental values that guide and inform us as
individuals and as a community. Students must represent themselves truthfully, claim only work
that is their own, acknowledge their use of others words, research results, and ideas, using the
methods accepted by the appropriate academic disciplines and engage honestly in all academic
assignments. Anything less than total commitment to honesty undermines the efforts of the entire
academic community and diminishes the value of an education for everyone, especially for the
person who cheats. Plagiarism includes the copying of language, structure, or ideas of another
and attributing (explicitly or implicitly) the work to ones own efforts. Plagiarism means using
anothers work without giving credit. If you are uncertain about sharing vs. plagiarism, be sure to
ask for clarification. Should I believe you have plagiarized or cheated, I may reduce the score on
your test(s) or assignment(s), reduce your grade in the course, or, in extreme cases, suspend you
from the course. If course suspension is recommended, an administrative officer will review the
information regarding the instance of academic dishonesty, notify the student, and will prescribe
appropriate due process procedures.

Special Needs and Disabilities:

Moreno Valley College is committed to making reasonable efforts to assist individuals with
documented disabilities. If you are seeking reasonable classroom accommodations under the
ADA and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, you must register with Disabled
Student Services Office. Please let me know as soon as possible if
You anticipate barriers related to the format or requirements of this course.
You have emergency medical information to share with me.
You need to make arrangements in case the building must be evacuated.
If you require disability-related accommodations for this class, please visit the DSP & S Office
In Library Building Room 230
Or visit online at http://www.mvc.edu/services/dsps/
Or call (951) 571-6138.
DSP&S will review your concerns and determine, with you, what accommodations are necessary
and appropriate. All information and documentation is confidential. If you use these services,
you are responsible for communicating this to me through DSP&S and for arranging assignments
for the class as necessary.

Management of Stress and Mental Health:

Often the pressure on our students is very strong, involving academic commitments,
relationships, outside jobs and family pressure to name a few. The staff and faculty of RCC are
here to see you succeed academically and care about your emotional and physical health. You
can learn more about the broad range of confidential student services, including counseling and
mental health services available on campus by visiting the Student Health and Psychological
services in the Bradshaw building or calling 951-222-8151. Riverside County offers a 24-Hour
Crisis and Referral Line simply by dialing 211. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline 800-
273- TALK.

Quizzes:
Quizzes involving invention work or reading comprehension may be administered
without prior notification. Quizzes will be given at the start of class. Late students will not be
given additional time on a quiz, nor will they have the opportunity to make up a missed quiz.

Course Requirements
Students will write four essays. All out-of-class essay assignments should follow the MLA
format (typed, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, Times New Roman 12-pt. font, with a properly-
formatted heading and an original, centered title). At-home writing assignments and readings are
to be done before class and active participation in class discussions is required.

Requirements Grading Scale

Grades are composed of the following:
Essay 1 (4-5 pages) 15% A 90 100%
Essay 2 (5-6 pages) 15% B 80 89%
Essay 3 (5-6 pages) 20% C* 70 79 %
Essay 4 (6-7 pages) 25% D 60 69 %
Quizzes/In-Class Lab work 15% F: 0-60%
Participation* 10% *You need a C or higher to pass

*Participation grades are determined from the following: participation in class through
attendance and preparation, responding to instructors and peers questions, engagement in peer
reviews and one on one visits.

Moreno Valley Colleges Writing and Reading Center: Location: HM 222

Monday through Thursday: 10am 6pm; Friday: 10am 3pm; Saturday & Sunday: Closed
 If you have questions about any aspect of your writing for any class you are taking, I
encourage you to make use of Moreno Valley Colleges Writing and Reading Center (WRC). You
can drop-in there to ask reading and writing-related questions. Because you will be required to
complete writing assignments for my course, you may want extra one-to- one help in writing
essays. The WRC can help you with any stage of the writing process, including understanding
the expectations of assignments, brainstorming, drafting,
editing, revising, or proofreading.
The WRC faculty and writing consultants are not there to answer questions about the
content of a class, nor are they a proofreading service. However, they can help you to learn skills
and techniques that will help you put together better essays. There is no sign up, and there are no
appointments necessary. Just show up with a draft of your paper (or thoughts or notes) and a
copy of the directions for the assignment, and the staff in the WRC can help you! The
consultations will be most effective if you come a day or more in advance of the due date of your
writing assignment.

Weekly Thematic Schedule

Week 1-2: Introductions and personal narratives

Paper 1 due at end of week 2

Weeks 3-4: Money and Gender

Weeks 5-6: Money and Ethics

Paper 2 due

Weeks 7-8: Money and Religion

Weeks 9-10: Money and Politics

Weeks 11-12: Money and the Media

Paper 3 due

Weeks 13-14: Money and Language

Weeks 15-16: Value

Paper 4 due Thursday of Finals Week

**Starting week 2 we will be discussing The Sun Also Rises every Thursday. You must come
with a copy of the book, print or electronic, on that day and come having read the required
chapters**