ENGLISH WRITING 1A

Composition and Reading

Winter, 2006

EWRT-001A-36 (Call #2798)

5.0 Units

Mr. John Swensson

http://faculty.deanza.edu/swenssonjohn

This quarter in honor of the teaching of COL Robert E. Lynch of Broken Arrow, OK--My Social Science teacher at West Point who taught me about the individual and communities.

Getting Started

Obtain Your Books and Materials

Developing Your Study Plan

Study Tips

Using the Course Computer Components

Class Homepage

Class Listserv

Weekly Assignment Schedule

Final Grades

Assistance Directory

Instructor Office Hours

Counseling Support

De Anza College Resources

Course Description

Students use a variety of media components and participate in class and online discussions with the instructor and other students. You will learn the techniques and practice of expository and argumentative writing based on personal experience, observation, research, critical reading, and critical thinking. Students are required to have access to a computer with e-mail and World Wide Web capabilities to send in assignments and participate in course activities. Collaborative Learning, assisted by technology, is the primary methodology used in this course. You will teach the course, make presentations in front of the class, edit your peers papers, and participate in out-of-class group meetings to prepare for class.

Prerequisites

Placement based on English Placement Test scores or other equivalent assessment information or successful completion of assigned courses in basic reading and writing skills.

Requirements

Be prepared to spend a minimum of 15 hours each week studying course materials, working and collaborating on assignments and projects, and participating in class activities.

Complete all assigned readings in the books, handouts and instructional syllabus.
View the videotape of the Ten Year Anniversary performance of "Les Mis."
Write and turn in the equivalent of six essays.

Objectives

After completing the readings and writing assignments, and participating in the class listserv, you should be able to:

Distinguish the diverse rhetorical forms and purposes of the discipline of composition.
Analyze texts from a wide variety of perspectives.
Examine relationships between personal life experiences and the material in the course texts.
Compare themes and ideas in several texts.
Evaluate points of view, development of arguments, and ideas in the texts.
Generate ideas and topics for essays.
Develop an awareness of audience.
Translate personal interests and experiences into formal analytical writing.
Formulate and defend a thesis.
Compose organized, focused, well-developed essays.
Use diction and tone appropriate to different purposes and audiences.
Employ diverse forms of personal and formal writing.
Practice writing as a process.

Winter 2006 Course Objectives

To learn to write an effective, well-organized, and supported argumentative theme and a variety of paragraph forms.
To examine the relationship between the individual and the community, looking at a variety of individuals and communities.
To examine and appreciate a variety of cultures that will comprise our environment as we head into the third millennium.
To learn a bit about technology for communication and research.
To heighten our appreciation of life and literature by reading and writing about THE PLAGUE, a novel that examines the notion of an individual's responsibilities to a community. We will also study Camus' THE STRANGER.
We will also study communities in the musical, LES MISERABLES by viewing the videotape, "Les Miserables in Concert."

Getting Started

Obtain Your Books and Materials

Purchase at the De Anza College Bookstore:

Camus, Albert. THE PLAGUE, 1st ed.; Vintage International, Random House, Inc.
___________. THE STRANGER, any edition
Swensson, John, Swensson's Argumentative Apocalypse and Les Miserables Libretto, 12/00 ed.; De Anza College Printing Services.
Les Miserables: the Dream Cast Ten-Year Anniversary (VHS tape), Columbia Tri-Star WILL BE ISSUED TO EACH GROUP

Bookstore Textbook Department

Textbooks are located downstairs in the Bookstore by course department and number.

Bookstore Hours:

Monday--Thursday, 8:00 AM--8:00 PM

Friday, 8:00 AM--2:00 PM

Textbooks by Telephone and Internet

This service is available to purchase materials by telephone. Call the De Anza Bookstore at (408)864-8323. Have your Visa, MasterCard, or Discover Card number and expiration date ready. You will be charged for the textbooks, a UPS shipping charge, and a $3.50 handling fee. To order books on the web, visit http://books.fhda.edu

Developing Your Study Plan

Study Tips

Get Organized

A three-ring binder with dividers is a great tool to use to store the Homepage, file your notes, and keep track of any materials mailed to you during the course.

Preview Your Textbooks

Scan the Table of Contents, major chapter headings and subheadings of your textbooks.

Develop a Study Schedule

Many students report that they benefit from a regular study schedule. Rough-out a schedule for when during the week you'll read your textbook assignments, complete your writing assignments, communicate with your instructor and classmates.

Keep Good Notes

Create a good set of notes for each unit of instruction. By doing this you'll be able to review your material without "cramming" everything in at the last minute.

Avoid Interruptions

Let your family and roommates know about your study schedule, and ask that you not be
disturbed while you are studying.

Ask for Help if You Need It

Contact your fellow students or instructor when you have questions about the material or assignments.

Using the Course Computer Components

Computer Hardware:

It is required that you have access to a computer that provides you with your own e-mail address and with which you can send and receive daily e-mail and browse the World Wide Web.

Class Homepage:

The instructor's homepage, Swensson's Argumentative Apocalypse, contains instructional and assignment material for the course. Instructional Units are:

Unit 1: Course Introduction/Orientation

Unit 2: Technology Orientation

Unit 3: The Body Paragraph

Unit 4: The Argumentative Theme

Unit 5: Logic

Unit 6: Documentation & The Grammar Guide

Unit 7: Student Success

Unit 8: Multiculturalism

Unit 9: Editing Skills

Unit 10: Analyzing & Writing About Literature

The homepage address is:

http://lore.fhda.edu/faculty/swensson/index.html

Class Listserv:

Participation in computer online activities is required. Enrolled students will be subscribed to an EWRT1A listserv (e-mail-based distribution list). Students are encouraged to use this list to ask questions and communicate with each other. Only subscribers (class members) will be allowed to post messages to the list.

To send a message to the whole class, send an e-mail to the listserv at

ADDRESS TBA

If you want to send an e-mail to the instructor only, instead of the whole class, you may e-mail him at swenssonjohn@fhda.edu. When you e-mail your instructor please include the contents of your assignment in the body of the e-mail message. Do not send any attachments to your e-mailed assignments or messages.

E-mail Tip: If you haven't done so already, take the time to create a signature line in your e-mail software. A signature line contains your name and any other contact information you'd like to include in your e-mail messages (e-mail address, phone #, etc.). It is attached to the bottom of your e-mail messages automatically when you send them.

Peer Editing/Collaborative Learning Groups

Each student will be assigned to a five-person peer editing/collaborative learning group. Exchange phone numbers and, using the address-book function of your e-mail software, create a mini-listserv for your group. You will receive many assignments to be accomplished at the Group level throughout the quarter.

Weekly Assignment Schedule

Specific assignments will be made in class. If you miss a class (or take your ONE authorized absence), contact a member of your group to get the assignment

Week One: January 9-13--GETTING STARTED--FORMING OUR OWN COMMUNITY

Familiarize Yourself with:

the course homepage http://lore.fhda.edu/Faculty/Swensson/Index.HTML,

<>
Start Listening/viewing the LES MIS Libretto throughout the first part of the course. The midterm on this piece will be in Week 8. The optimal way to do this is to view the LES MIS in Concert Ten Year Anniversary Tape with the marked up Libretto open in front of you. EACH GROUP WILL RECEIVE A TAPE/DISC

Study Homepage Instructional Unit 3/The Body Paragraph. Complete Exercise 3.5.1 and turn in. This diagnostic paragraph should be double spaced, with no outside assistance. This is the only piece of unassisted writing you will complete except for quizzes and in-class writing. (200-word minimum diagnostic paragraph). Start your paragraph with the appropriate topic sentence.

In Class: view MLK, "From Montgomery to Memphis."

Week Two: January 17-20--DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, Jr.--THE CIVIL RIGHTS COMMUNITY

Study Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter From Birmingham Jail," at http://www.almaz.com/nobel/peace/MLK-jail.html and visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. websites that are linked to the course Reading List.

<> Study Randall Jarrell's poem "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" at http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/gunner/gunner.html . You will be required to draw and bring to class a picture of this poem. Any medium. I am not grading the artistic merit--rather your ability to portray the IDEAS in the poem. You will also be assigned Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est," and/or Henry Reed's "Naming of Parts," both of which may be found through Google.

Study Unit 4/The Argumentative Theme

In week two you will be assigned to a collaborative learning group. Contact each person via telephone and/or e-mail. Using the address-book function in your e-mail software, construct an address for your study group.

Note: Monday, 16 January, is the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday. The campus will be closed.

Week Three: January 23-27--TAPESTRY--THE MULTICULTURAL, EMERGING COMMUNITY

Ten-Year Life Plan Orientation

Theme 2, "Success in EWRT 1A." Write Theme 2 "Student Success." You will do an outline for this paper which will look like "Overfelt's Finest," on p. 6 of Unit 4. Your thesis will be "I will (or will not) be successful in EWRT 1A." Your two body paragraphs (minimum) will consist of one paragraph which is a rewritten diagnostic paragraph about your Previous Education and one about your family background (See Unit 3.5.2). Your paper will contain an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph, following the sheet music, the parts and pieces, enumerated and exhaustively explained in Unit 4.

Study Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's "A Tapestry of Hope," at http://www.deanza.edu/faculty/swensson/tapestry.html

Study Unit 8/Multiculturalism

Cultural Reports, if we do them, will start this week.

Study Homepage Instructional Unit 10/Analyzing and Writing about Literature.

Week Four: January 30-February 3--CULTURAL REPORTS/"Mr. Green"--GENDER ROLES & COMMUNITIES W/IN COMMUNITIES

Study Robert Olen Butler's "Mr. Green," at http://www.deanza.edu/faculty/swensson/green.html

Cultural Reports, if we do them, will continue this week.

Week Five: February 6-10--"Patriotism"--SACRIFICE FOR THE COMMUNITY

Study Mishima's "Patriotism," http://www.mutantfrog.com/patriotism-by-yukio-mishima/ about a couple in a Japanese warrior culture.

Study about August Rodin (1840-1917) and his two statues, "The Burghers of Calais," and "The Gates of Hell." Optional Class Field Trip to the Rodin Collection at Stanford University.

Week Six: February 13-16--LES MIS--CHOOSING SIDES IN A COMMUNITY

Start LES MIS if you have not already begun. In addition to the Libretto which you have on paper, be sure to visit the home page at

http://www.lesmis.com

You may also read the entire novel (in French or English), go any weekend to the Palace Theater in London to see the musical, or use Cliff's Notes. Or view the dreary version of LES MIS w/ Gerard Depardieu which came out in a Hollywood movie in 1998. Start with the story summary on the homepage if this is your first trip through LES MIS. Play the CD or tape in your car ad nauseum.

Theme 3. A complete (650 word minimum) argumentative theme developing a well-structured argument about (1) some restricted aspect of YOUR relationship to the State such as a limited aspect of YOUR education, or (2) your evaluation of "Patriotism," or (3)"Letter from Birmingham Jail.". The key here is to think small. If you choose to do your relationship with the State (Topic #1), topics which work well include a specific condition or process at De Anza College (long lines in Admissions,
Bookstore prices, Distance Learning Office procedures, lab hours, etc). Topics which do NOT work well include Abortion, Gun control, and the cost of education. Any one of the three topics requires a well-organized argument with a thesis and supporting topic sentences and the use of at least two outside references, one of which may be an e-mail or personal interview with an "expert," such as a school administrator. This, and subsequent papers must include parenthetical notes and Works Cited Entries.

Study Unit 6/Documentation & The Grammar Guide of the homepage.

Week Seven: February 21-24--LES MIS cont.

LES MIS, cont. Note that you may turn in the midterm anytime so as to have time available to work on the Ten Year Life Plan, which is approachinig.

Week Eight: February 27-March 3-LES MIS Mid Term

Explain in a well developed body paragraph paragraph for each, six of the following songs. In your response, identify, the singer, the Act, and the themes contained within the song, as well as the meaning of the important lyrics. You MUST respond to one song sung by Valjean, one song sung by Javert, one song by the Thenardiers, and one song sung by a group. 15 points x 6 songs= 90 points.

At the End of the Day (Community)

I Dreamed a Dream (Fantine)

Who am I? (Valjean)

Master of the House (Thernardiers)

Stars (Javert)

Do you hear the People Sing? (Also called Song of Angry Men) (Revolutionary De Anza Students)

One Day More (The Company)

On My Own (Eponine)

Bring Him Home (Valjean)

Javert's Suicide (Javert)

Empty Chairs at Empty Tables (Marius)

Study Camus' THE STRANGER.

<> Week Nine: March 6-10--THE STRANGER--REJECTING COMMUNITY?

Study Camus' LA PESTE (in French) or THE PLAGUE (in English). A Discussion this week of Camus' THE STRANGER

The better students will have finished their first read by this date.

Week Ten: March 13-17--THE PLAGUE--COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITIES

Camus' THE PLAGUE

Week Eleven: March 20-24--THE PLAGUE, cont

Ten Year Life Plan due Monday, 20 March, 100Points

Final Exam issued. Take home essay based on THE PLAGUE. The FInal Exam has a heavily weighted question which asks you to compare or contrast a limited aspect of THE PLAGUE and THE STRANGER. It is very difficult to achieve an A on the final exam without responding to this question.

Week Twelve: March 27-31--FINALS WEEK

Final Exam Due by 7:00-9:00 AM; Friday, March 31

Turn in in the classroom or email it to your instructor.

No late final exams will be accepted!

English Writing Labs, ATC-102/103

The English Writing Lab, room ATC-102 will be available once each week during class for our use. You will have priority use of the lab during these times to work on your research and writing assignments. You may also use that lab or ATC 103 or the Open Media Lab when they are available as open labs.

Testing and Grading

Final Grades are based are the following points:

Theme 1, "Previous Education" Not Graded

Theme 2, "Success in English 1A" 70 points

Theme 3, "Individual and the State" 90 points

Les Mis Midterm 90 points

Theme 4-5 "10-Year Life Plan" 100 points

Theme 6, Final Exam "The Plague" 100 points

Peer Editing--Generally 20 points for your PEC and 5 points per edit

Note: Assignments and their point value may change during the term at the instructor's discretion.

Academic Integrity

Students who submit the work of others as their own or cheat on exams or other assignments will receive a failing grade in the course and will be reported to college authorities. Do not use Internet Assets without documentation. Use Unit 6 and http://www.easybib.com to create Works Cited Lists . If I suspect you of using unauthorized assistance I put portions of your paper into a search engine to find the source. I failed three students last year--Stay Honest. You expect that of me; I expect that of you.

Final Grade Scale:

A = 90 -- 100%

B = 80 -- 89%

C = 75 -- 79%

D = 70 -- 74%

F = below 70%

To access final grades through the STAR system: After Finals Week:

· Call the STAR system (408-777-9394).

· Press 1 for De Anza College, enter the term number

· Enter your social security number

· Enter your 4-digit PIN number

· Follow the voice directions for obtaining your final grades. They will be read to you.

To access final grades through the Internet:

Go to the following Internet address:

http://www.deanza.fhda.edu/DA_Grades.html

Assistance Directory

Instructor Information

You are encouraged to visit or call your instructor, John Swensson, during office hours to discuss the course material or problems you are having.

John Swensson, your course instructor, is a teacher of English, and Business, and Dean of the Language Arts Division. He took his undergraduate degree in Engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point. After two tours of duty in Viet Nam, he took a graduate degree in English at the University of Virginia, and later, a graduate degree in Business Systems from the University of Northern Colorado. This latter degree was taken via distance learning and also used collaborative learning within the cohort of graduate students with whom he was studying.

A retired army officer, he has lived in Asia, Europe, and Africa. He has extensive experience in Sales and Marketing, including Internet marketing, and has also cowritten and coproduced a Hollywood movie, FIRE BIRDS, starring Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, and Sean Young. He is a past president of the De Anza College Faculty Senate, and has been on six Campus Abroad trips to Paris, london, and Viet Nam.

Instructor Office Hours

Monday --Thursday,

0830-0920 AM or by appointment

Instructor Contact Information

Office Location: L11

Office Telephone: (408) 590-4430 (cell)

FAX Number: (408) 257-9591 (home)

E-mail Address: swenssonjohn@fhda.edu

When leaving your instructor a voice-mail message, leave your name and phone number and indicate when it is most convenient for your call to be returned. Please speak slowly and clearly.