Week 6

Week 6 11B	Class Work	Homework
Monday Turn in Syllabus the following Monday  for 100 points Extra credit if and only if you have completed all assignments!	Reminder Signed Mentor Slips are Past Due Thirty Facts Past Due Presentations*	CST Vocabulary Review allegory       alliteration       allusion       conceits       diction       foreshadowing       metaphor       meter       parallelism       point of view       rhetoric       rhythm       symbolism       syntax tone *
Tuesday	Virtual Selves Discussion and Debate Preparation* *	Highlight and Annotate: What you could say online could haunt you*
Wednesday	Cornel Notes *	TBA* *
Thursday	Rhetorical Precis* *	Study for Vocabulary Exam *
Friday	CST Practice *	10 More facts from another source*

Grading/Rubric Reminder

Grading Rubric Reminder

Students who are sophisticated writers and who pride themselves in being format AND content adept will readily understand that a research paper is a formal document that college professors will expect to be letter-perfect, even at the submission of the first draft; with this astute understanding taken into account, students must face the most strict requirements for such a document not only in the information that is researched, documented, and composed, but also in the Modern Language Association rules of research paper documentation. There is no excuse for errors in such an important assignment and although some leeway is provided for students at the secondary level, the post-secondary stringent grade marking and expectation of letter-perfect work is not only expected, but demanded. With that in mind, at the secondary level, the following marks were used in scoring senior research papers:
A Produces markedly superior work
B Produces superior work
C Demonstrates satisfactory work
D Needs to improve progress in work
F Demonstrates little or no progress in work

These descriptors are courtesy of Los Angeles Unified School District Form 34-H-1, titled "Criteria for Marks."
The following list denotes possible reasons students' research papers were marked down and does not represent every infraction that may be made:

1. Pages not numbered according to Modern Language Association (MLA) format requirements
2. Four-line heading not formatted according to MLA requirements
3. Spell-grammar check not used (run-ons, spelling errors and other such breaches)
4. Slang or trite expressions used in a formal document
5. Pronoun usage ("I", "You") and contractions are NOT PERMITTED in formal documents
6. Sources used are not reliable and do not reflect "Digital Library" type sources
7. No personal interview with an expert, expert not properly credentialed for reader, or interview not listed in Works Cited list
8. Widows/orphans improper formatting not fixed
9. Works Cited page sources not used in paper but listed in Works Cited page and/or Works Cited in two-page format instead of one page
10.Working outline and/or final draft of outline not provided
11.Page or paragraph length criteria not met
12.Citations listed in body of document not correctly formatted according to MLA requirements
13.Research paper deadline not met

Week Five

Week 5 11B	Class Work	Homework
Monday Turn in Syllabus the following Monday  for 100 points Extra credit if and only if you have completed all assignments!	Reminder Signed Mentor Slips are Past Due Thirty Facts Past Due Presentations*	Read for the GIST Answer GIST Questions on “Time’s Person of the Year: You” by Lev Grossman *
Tuesday	Presentations* *	1.             Highlight and Annotate “Time’s Person of the Year: You” by Lev Grossman * 2.            Take Cornell Style Notes
Wednesday	Class Discussion *	TBA * *
Thursday	Rhetorical Precis* *	Draft 1 Rhetorical Precis*
Friday	Print out 1 table showing statistics, graph, map *	Draft 2 Rhetorical Precis*

Syllabus

Contemporary Composition

Course Syllabus

Spring 2011

Elizabeth Cohen, Ph.D.

This semester, we will cover the appropriate contemporary writing and grammar components necessary in a variety of formal domains.  Our work will be directed toward the following goals:

-       Recognizing and understanding rhetorical devices and their use in written and visual communications.

-       Thinking critically about an author’s purpose ways in which s/he uses rhetoric to achieve those ends.

-       Becoming better writers to succeed in a junior college or university & within the professional community.

-       Gaining speech expertise so that you may comfortably prepare and give a presentation at a collegiate level or in the workplace.

Required Materials:

-       Binder (or notebook and folder) with paper specifically for English class

-       Readers/Writers Notebook

-       Pens (blue or black ink, red, green ink)

-       #2 Pencils, eraser

-       Highlighters

-       Handouts being read by the class

-       Materials for all projects

Grades:

I do not “give” grades – you earn them.  All work assigned is worth points.  This includes active classroom participation.  Larger assignments carry a heavier point value.  For example, a homework assignment may be worth 100 points, while a final draft of an essay may be worth 500 points.  Your grade will be determined by dividing the number of points you earned by the number of points possible.  Therefore, if you keep track of your work, monitor Engrade.com, you should be able to calculate your grade at any time.

Homework:

Use your HHS planner or another planner in which you keep track of your homework assignments.  This organizational skill will be vital for both college and professional life.

-       Homework will be preparation for essays, studying for tests, reading, journaling and gathering sources for classroom discussions.  DO ALL OF IT.

-       Assignments drop by one full letter grade for each day they are late.  I will not take late work past one week after the due date.

-       Work is due AT THE BEGINNING of class.  In some cases, due dates are firm, whether you are on campus or not.  Work turned in after the designated collection time will be marked late, whether it is turned in the same day or not.  Of course, you may always choose to turn work in early.

-       Oral assignments can NOT be made up.

-       See me during advisory, lunch, or during after-school tutoring about make-up work.  Do not ask me for make-up work, as class is about to begin or end.

PLEASE NOTE:  I will grant extensions for most assignments without penalty to your grade ONLY IF you see me at least 48 hours before the assignment is due to arrange an appropriate turn-in date. I understand that students have other commitments, however, organizing your time and planning ahead are vital skills.  Extensions will NOT be granted on the day that work is due.

Attendance/Tardies:

            If you are late for class, I will be keeping track.  If it becomes habitual, I will give you detention, call home, refer you to your counselor, and/or lower your work habits/cooperation grades.  The professional world does not accept tardiness, and the rest of us seem to be able to make it on time.  Thus, so will you.  Period.

            You cannot learn enough to pass this class if you are not IN class.  Clearly, there are some things that are REALLY worth being absent for.  There is no excuse for excessive absenteeism however.  If there is a verifiable excuse (family emergency, serious illness, etc) be sure you call another student and get the work you missed.  YOU are responsible for any work you miss due to absences – I will not chase after you for make-up work.

 

Contemporary Composition Course Sequence: Dates Subject to Change

February                   14-19                                    Introduction to Rhetoric – written and visual rhetorical devices

                                                      Major Assignments Due:  Junior Project Topic Packet, Letter of Intent Draft

February                   22-27                                    Los Angeles, Unread City – Reading:                    “Going Up in L.A.” by Ruben Martinez

                                    Major Assignment Due:  Resume, revised Letter of Intent, and 10 facts about Junior Project Topic

March 1 – 4                                    Los Angeles, Unread City – Reading: “Coming Home to Van Nuys,” by Sandra Tsing Loh

                                                      Major Assignments Due: Revised Resume, Brainstorm on Reflective Essay,  Signed Mentor Slip Due

March 7- 11                                    Los Angeles, Unread City – Culminating Task: Reflective Essay and Multimedia Project

                                                      Assignments Due: Reflective Essay due: Thursday, 3/10; Presentation due: Friday, 3/11 10 more facts due

March 15 - 19                                    Virtual Selves - Reading: “Time’s Person of the Year: You” by Lev Grossman

                                                      Assignment Due: Rhetorical Précis; due Friday, 3/18     1 Data table on Junior Project Topic

March 28- -  1at                  Virtual Selves – Reading: “What You Say Online Could Haunt You: Schools, Employers Scrutinize Social Websites Such as MySpace and Facebook” by Janet Kornblum and Mary Beth Marklein

                                                      Assignment Due: Debate Preparation; due Thursday, 3/24    1 Map on Junior Project Topic

April 4 - 8                                    Rhetoric of War – Reading: “Fighting Words: The War Over Language,” by Jon Hooten

                                                      Assignment Due: Newspaper – Euphemism Analysis; Due Friday, 4/8    1 Chart on Junior project Topic

April 11 - 15                  Rhetoric of War – Reading: “Making Metaphor No More? Sportspeople Rethink Their Words of War,” by Bob Moser

                                                      Assignment Due: Rhetorical Précis; Due Wednesday, 4/14; Socratic Seminar Preparation; Due Friday, 4/16 Signed Progress report from your Mentor due

April 18 - 22                  Rhetoric of War – Culminating Assignment: Analytical Essay

                                                      Assignment Due: Analytical Essay with all Writing Process Steps; Due Monday 4/25

April 26 - 29                  Developing a Research Question/ Initial Research steps; Readings TBD

                                                      Assignment Due: Survey Questions; Due Wednesday, 4/27; 10 Interview Questions Due 4/28; MLA Citations; Due Friday, 4/29

May 2 – 6                                    Using Developing a Thesis/Central Claim Based on Research; Readings TBD

                                                      Assignment Due: Thesis Statement and Outline; Introduction to the problem Due Friday, 5/6

                                                     

May 9- 13                                    CST Preparation/ Formative Assessments (Tentative)

                                   

May 16 – 20                                    Junior Research Project Topics 1-3 Edited Drafts Due

                                                     

May 23 - 27                                    Analysis of Survey and Interviews

May 31-June 3                                    Junior Research Project Conclusion and Call to Action

June 6 - 10                                    Junior Research Project Final Draft Due to trunitin.com by Sunday, June 5^th at Noon.

June 14 - 18                                    Final Multimedia Preparation and Presentations

                                                      Assignment Due: Research Portfolio including Senior Project Preparation; Due Friday, 6/18

June 20 – 24                                    Final Exam Week

                                                      Assignment Due: Final PowerPoint/Multimedia Presentation

*                        *                        *                        TEAR OFF                        *                        *                        *                       

I have read/reviewed the requirements for this class.                        I have read/discussed this syllabus with my child.

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Student Printed Name and Signature                                                 Parent/Guardian Printed Name and Signature

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Student’s Email Address                                                                        Parent/Guardian Email Address and/or Phone Number