Required Texts: A Good Fall by Ha Jin; Back in the World by Tobias Wolff; The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol; Cooked by Jeff Henderson; A Writer’s Resource El Camino College Handbook 3rd Edition
Reading and Writing Schedule
June 20 Introduction; Start A Good Fall
June 21 “The Beauty,” “Temporary Love”
June 22 “Choice,” “The House Behind the Weeping Cherry,” “A Good Fall”
June 23 Quiz 1
June 27 Essay 1 due in PE4
June 28 Essay 1 due in PE4; next book is Cooked
June 29 Cooked 1-80
June 30 Cooked 81-150
July 4 Holiday
July 5 Cooked 151-220
July 6 Cooked 221-end
July 7 Quiz 2
July 11 Essay 2 due in PE4
July 12 Essay 2 due in PE4
July 13 The Overcoat, first half
July 14 Start with a Quiz 3. The Overcoat, second half
July 18 Essay 3 due in PE4
July 19 Essay 3 due in PE4
July 20 Back in the World: "The Rich Brother"
July 21 Back in the World: "Desert Breakdown, 1968"; "Say Yes"
July 25 Back in the World: "The Missing Person"
July 26 Quiz 4
July 27 Essay 4 due in PE4
July 27 Essay 4 due in PE4
Essay Assignments
Essay 1 A Good Fall
In a 5-page research paper, develop a thesis that develops the contradictions of freedom as those contradictions are evidenced in the stories of Ha Jin’s A Good Fall. Refer to no fewer than 2 stories. Your outline might look like this:
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Thesis with 4 or 5 mapping components
Paragraphs 3-9: Elaborate on your mapping components
Paragraph 10: Conclusion, a restatement of your thesis
Last page is your Works Cited page with at least 3 sources.
Essay 2 Cooked
A wise man once said that when "we think we're rising in life we're really falling; and when we think we're falling in life we're really rising."
In a 5-page research paper, apply this adage to the memoir of Jeff Henderson as rendered in his book Cooked. Successful papers will use personal comparisons to underscore the salient wisdom above.
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Thesis with 4 or 5 mapping components
Paragraphs 3-9: Elaborate on your mapping components in these supporting paragraphs
Paragraph 10: Restate your thesis with a dramatic restatement.
Last page: Works Cited with no fewer than 3 sources.
Essay 3 The Overcoat
Analyze the story's overcoat as a particular symbol or metaphor and elaborate on this analysis of the metaphor or analogy throughout your essay.
Paragraph 1. Introduction
Paragraph 2. Thesis with 4 or 5 mapping statements
Paragraphs 3-9: Elaborate on your mapping statements
Paragraph 10: Conclusion, a restatement of your thesis
Last page: Works Cited with no fewer than 4 sources
Essay 4 Back in the World
Using at least two stories from Tobias Wolff's Back in the World, explain the book's title in your thesis. Successful papers will use personal experience to illustrate your major points.
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Thesis with 4 or 5 mapping components
Paragraphs 3-9: Support your mapping components
Paragraph 10. Restate your thesis
Last Page: Works Cited with no fewer than 2 sources
Grading
Four Essays, 225 for 900 total
Four Quizzes, 25 for 100 total
Grand Total: 1,000
Late Papers: Reduce one full grade ; no late papers accepted AFTER ONE WEEK. Since not turning in a paper will probably fail you, I’ll drop you at that point.
Success in McMahon’s Class Is Predicated on Three Major Components:
One. Turn in 4 five-page research papers with correct MLA format ON TIME. Research Papers (all 4 of your essays) have a minimum of 4 sources, which can include my lecture notes, interviews, and online sources.
Two. Do the reading assignments so that you can write a one-paragraph response that is cohesive, coherent and well developed in the five surprise closed-book reading tests.
Three. Show up on time to 90% of the classes. Missing 3 out of 30 classes is 90%.
Grading
Four Essays: 225 for 900
Four Reading Exams that are a 1-page 250-word paragraph, 25 each c
Grand Total: 1,000 points based on a total of 6,000 words of writing.
Policies:
You cannot make-up exams.
Late Papers: Reduce one full grade; no late papers accepted AFTER ONE WEEK. Since not turning in a paper will probably fail you, I’ll drop you at that point.
Research Papers should be approximately 1,000 words, 12 font, Times New Roman, page numbers, name, and essay title in upper right hand corner (headers in Microsoft View) and Works Cited should have minimum 3 sources and spacing using MLA format.
Revisions: You may revise one paper for 10-30 pts. depending on the quality of the rewrite. Revision must be turned in one week after original due date.
If your research paper has no headers, your last name and page number on every page, your essay will be deducted 20 points.
If your research paper has no Works Cited page, you’ll lose 40 points.
Pressure to Get an A and Things That Disqualify a Student from Receiving an A Grade
I know a lot of students are under excruciating pressure to get A grades in their classes. I appreciate that and because I do, I need to explain two things that disqualify a student from getting an A grade:
One: Turning in a late essay more than a week after its due date. These late essays get ZERO points and will mathematically eliminate the chances of an A grade.
Two. Cheating, plagiarising, trying to deceive me by turning in work that you didn't write.
Student Learning Objectives:
I. Review of Grammar and Usage The student will locate and demonstrate the ability to correct the following errors in a composition: A. sentence fragments B. comma splices C. misused commas D. fused sentences E. misplaced and dangling modifiers F. incorrect pronoun case G. faculty pronoun references H. pronoun-antecedent disagreement I. subject-verb agreement J. wrong tense II. Instruction in Reading A. Essays The student will 1. locate and paraphrase the thesis/preposition 2. identify the basic types of support used to develop the thesis or proposition: examples, facts, details, reasons, illustrations, anecdotes 3. indicate the shift from general to specific levels of support 4. distinguish statements of fact from statements of opinion 5. identify the method of development/strategy used: comparison, contrast, classification, definition, cause/effect, process, persuasion 6. summarize the idea and content 7. advocate or challenge the author's opinions B. Short fiction and poetry The student will 1. paraphrase the work 2. identify and define the central theme or metaphor 3. assess the aesthetic qualities of the work 4. compare the work with another, drawing conclusions based on appropriate criteria C. Book-length nonfiction The student will 1. summarize the work in its separate units and as a complete entity 2. identify the central theme or themes 3. judge the value of the information 4. advocate or challenge the author's opinions D. Novels The student will 1. summarize the plot 2. identify the central themes 3. indicate the functions of characters, plot, and setting in relation to the themes 4. judge the aesthetic value of 2 or 3 and of the whole work III. Instruction in Composition The student will 1. compose theses/topic statements of a proper scope for the composition 2. delimit subjects by brainstorming and outlining 3. organize the content of a composition using spatial, climatic, and/or chronological principles 4. use a range of general and specific levels of support with proper transitions to signal shifts from one level to another 5. compose introductory and concluding paragraphs for a composition 6. compose a timed essay 7. perform research techniques (use library resources, cite and document sources) and compose a formal research paper of at least 1250 words, utilizing parenthetical documentation
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