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English
Composition Provisional Assignments- Subject to Change & Modification
Weeks One &
Two:
Topic :
Introduction to the Course and Thesis
-
- for more information about the the thesis
statement.
Assignment Due :
- 1) Write
a minimum one paragraph introduction of yourself
Reading Text: Companion
Site
PART I: READING AND WRITING WELL
1. The Writing Process
Prewriting
Writing the First Draft
Revising
Editing and Proofreading
Writing an Expository Essay: A Student Essay in
Progress
*Jeffery Olesky, Golf: A
Character Builder (student essay)
2. From Reading to Writing
Getting the Most Out of Your Reading
H. Allen Smith, Claude
Fetridge's Infuriating Law
Rachel Carson, A
Fable for Tomorrow
Using Your Reading in the Writing Process
*Lisa V. Driver, The Strong
Arm of a Sixth Grade Teacher (student essay)
Zoe Ockenga, The
Excuse "Not To" (student essay)
*Susan Francis, The
Disgrace of Man (student essay)
Weeks Three &
Four:
- Web Assignment :
Click on "Exercise Central" icon below or on the homepage.
Submit your first name, last name, and instructor email twice: use sabri.bebawi@sjcc.edu
Choose quizzes under the categories 1) Word Choice/Language and 2)
Mechanics/Spelling for a total of at least 10 online quizzes (choose any
quizzes under these two categories that interest you). If you score below
70%, do the quiz again.
You are graded for participation only. If
you have any questions or confusion, email sabri@sabri.org
. You do not need to send quiz scores, the scores are stored
aromatically on Quiz Central, and I can access them with my password.
-
-
Assignment Due :
- 1) A minimum one-paragraph answer
to the following questions: What is a thesis statement? Why is it
important? What are the characteristics of a good thesis statement? What
are the characteristics of a bad thesis statement?
Reading Text:
Companion
Site
PART II: THE ELEMENTS OF THE
ESSAY
3. Thesis, P.67
Helen Keller, The Most Important Day
James Lincoln Collier, Anxiety: Challenge by
Another Name
Witold Rybzynski, One Good Turn: The
Importance of Machine-Made Screws
4. Unity, P. 86
Sandra Cisneros, My Name
Gloria Naylor, The Meanings of a Word
*Samuel H. Scudder, Learning to See
5. Organization, P. 106
Cherokee Paul McDonald, A View from the
Bridge
Eudora Welty, The Corner Store
*William Lutz, Doubt About Doublespeak
6. Beginnings and Endings, P. 129
Michael T. Kaufman, Of My Friend Hector
and Achilles
Dick Gregory, Shame
Ruth Russell, The Wounds that Can't Be
Stitched Up
Carl T. Rowan, Unforgettable Miss Bessie
ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
Think about an important day in your life.
Using the thesis statement "The most important day of my life
was...," write an essay in which you show the significance of that day by
recounting and explaining the events that took place as Keller does in her
essay. P. 74
Weeks Five & Six:
Topic :
Run-ons, Commas Splices and Fragments
Reading Text:
Companion
Site
7. Paragraphs, P. 160
William Zinsser, Simplicity
*Pico Iyer, In Praise of the Humble Comma
Mike Rose, "I Just Wanna Be Average"
8. Transitions, P. 184
Steve Brody, How I Got Smart
Russell Baker, Becoming a Writer
*Pete Hamill, Band of Brothers: Faces of Honor
9. Effective Sentences, P. 208
Annie Dillard, Hitting Pay Dirt
Langston Hughes, Salvation
Caroline Hwang, The Good Daughter
Martin Gansberg, 38 Who Saw Murder Didn't Call
the Police
Web Assignment :
Do a minimum of four (4) quizzes in each of the following categories listed
under "Sentence Grammar": Comma Splices, Sentence Fragments, and Fused
(run on) Sentences for a total of at least 12 online quizzes. DO both
multiple choice and fill-in quizzes. If you score below 70%, do the quiz again.
http://bedfordstmartins.com/exercisecentral/con_index.htm?99stu
Assignment Due:
1) Choose one of the
questions on PP. 181-182 and write a minimum one paragraph response to
"I Just Wanna Be Average," P. 178
Weeks Seven & Eight:
PART III: THE LANGUAGE OF THE ESSAY, P.
237
10. Diction and Tone, P. 237
*Nedra Newkirk Lamar, Does a Finger Fing?
David Raymond, On Being 17, Bright, and
Unable to Read
*Sarah Vowell, Pop-A-Shot
*Judith Ortiz Cofer, And May He Be Bilingual
11. Figurative Language, P. 265
Robert Ramirez, The Barrio
*Gary Soto, The Jacket
George Orwell, A Hanging
Assignment Due:
- 1) Write a brief essay in which you
describe your neighborhood. P. 272
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2) Choose one of the questions on P. 285 and write a coherent
essay.
Weeks Nine & Ten:
PART IV: TYPES OF ESSAYS, P. 289
12. Illustration
Barbara Huttmann, A Crime of
Compassion
Natalie Goldberg, Be Specific
Richard Lederer, The Case for Short Words
*Helen Keller, Three Days to See
13. Narration
*Henry Louis Gates Jr., What's in a
Name?
Roger Hoffman, The Dare
Maya Angelou, Momma, the Dentist, and Me
Kate Chopin, The Story of an Hour
14. Description
Gilbert Highet, Subway Station
James Tuite, The Sounds of the City
*David McCullough, I Love Washington
*Thomas Friedman, My Favorite Teacher
Assignment Due:
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