Email: jmcmahon@elcamino.edu
Office: PE4; extension 5673
Website: Breakthrough Writer: Easiest way to find blog is to go to Google and type “breakthrough writer.” My blog will be your first hit.
http://herculodge.typepad.com/breakthrough_writer/
Assigned Texts and Essay Assignments for English 1A:
Cooked by Jeff Henderson. In the context of the novel, write 6-page extended definition of the term redemption. Use a single-sentence definition, distinguishing characteristics, analogies, negation, and other expository modes. Essay should be 6 pages.
A Good Fall by Ha Jin: In a 6-page research paper, develop a thesis about freedom as this theme applies to no fewer than 3 stories in the collection.
Back in the World by Tobias Wolff: In a 6-page research paper, use no fewer than 3 stories from the book to write an extended definition of the word irony.
The Overcoat and Other Short Stories by Nikolai Gogol: In a 6-page research paper write an extended definition of the word chimera by comparing the "overcoat" to you’re an “overcoat” from your personal life.
Research and Grammar Book: A Writer’s Resource El Camino College Handbook 3rd Edition
Grading
4 Research Papers: 6 pages with correct MLA format Works Cited page: 225 each for 900 points
4 Take-Home Quizzes (posted on blog a few days before due date) 25 points for 100 points.
Grant Total: 1,000 points. 900 is A. 800 is B. 700 is C. 600 is D.
You Can’t Revise Essays or Quizzes for Higher Grade
In the past, revisions have been the equivalent of me correcting student papers, essentially playing the role of proofreader so that I’m giving higher grades for my corrections. I have concluded that such a process is a complete farce so instead of revisions you can give me the first 2 or 3 pages of your essay anytime before it’s due, including on the day you turn in the quiz and I will identify patterns of grammar errors and content problems so that I can hopefully get you on the right track.
Late Essays Are Deducted a Full Letter Grade
Because getting into the lax habit of finding excuses for turning in late work is anathema to succeeding in the real world, late essays are discouraged by deducted full letter grade. If essay is more than a week late, you cannot get any points and mathematically you will fail the class so most likely you will be dropped.
Plagiarism, the act of trying to deceive your instructor by turning in work that is NOT your own writing, will result in zero points and will seriously endanger your possibility of passing the course.
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.
Writing and Reading Schedule
August 29 Introduction, Grading Policy, Late Assignment Policy, etc.
August 31 Cooked 1-50
September 5 Holiday
September 7 Cooked 51-200
September 12 Cooked 200-end
September 14 Cooked Quiz 1 is due in my office PE4.
September 19 Cooked Essay 1 for first half of students (A-L) due in my office PE4.
September 21 Cooked Essay 1 for second half of students (M-Z) due in my office PE4.
September 26 A Good Fall “The Beauty” 25-48 and “Temporary Love” 175-194
September 28 A Good Fall: “A Composer and His Parakeets” 9 and “Choice” 49
October 3 A Good Fall: “The House Behind a Weeping Cherry” 195 and “A Good Fall” 221
October 5 A Good Fall “In the Crossfire” 87
October 10 A Good Fall “The Bane of the Internet”
October 12 Quiz 2 is due in my office PE4.
October 17 Essay 2 for second half of students (M-Z) is due in my office PE4.
October 19 Essay 2 for first half of students (A-L) is due in my office PE4.
October 24 Back in the World: “The Missing Person”
October 26 Back in the World: “The Rich Brother”
October 31 Back in the World: “Desert Breakdown, 1968”
November 2 Back in the World: “Say Yes”
November 7 Back in the World: “Our Story Begins”
November 9 Quiz 3 due in my office PE4
November 14 Essay 3 for first half of class (A-L) due in my office PE4.
November 16 Essay 3 for second half of class (M-Z) due in my office PE4.
November 21 The Overcoat (read 25%)
November 23 The Overcoat (read 50%)
November 28 The Overcoat (read 75%)
November 30 The Overcoat (finish)
December 5 Quiz 4 due in my office PE4
December 7 Consultations in my office PE4
December 12 Essay 4 for second half (M-Z) due in my office PE4
December 14 Essay 4 for first half (A-L) due in my office PE4
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