Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "EN 110-7"
COURSE NAME: "Advanced Composition"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2021

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: David Castronuovo
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 1:30-2:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: Placement via JCU English Composition Placement Exam or completion of either EN 103 or EN 105 with a grade of C or above
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course prepares students to read, think, and write critically. Students will develop their ability to read critically and analyze primary and secondary sources, hone their composition skills through in and out of class essays, and will complete the course by writing and revising a fully-documented and well-reasoned research paper, complemented by an annotated bibliography and literature review. EN110 focuses on the argumentative form, encouraging students to position their work within current critical discourses. The course develops the following skills: source selection and interrogation, identification and contextualization of themes, thesis development and defense, digital literacies, use of library resources, and careful citation in MLA style. Students must receive a grade of C or above in this course to fulfill the University’s English Composition requirement and to be eligible to take courses in English literature.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

When we write down our thoughts, they immediately become subject to review, interpretation, development, and modification. With this in mind, the course envisions the writing/editing/re-writing of multiple drafts (of any given assignment) as a strategy that enhances and deepens productive thought. To this end, students will do extensive editing of each other's work, and must prepare themselves to offer and receive constructive criticism from the instructor and from colleagues.

The course requires students to do a significant amount of critical in-depth reading of challenging texts.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will leave the course knowing how to question, fruitfully, the accuracy and quality of their own writing and research methods.

TEXTBOOK:

NONE

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Weekly Quizzes		15%
Three In-class Essays (each counts 5% of the final grade)		15%
Annotated Bibliography		20%
Argumentative Full-sentence Outline		Required
Literature Review		10%
Argumentative Research Paper (8 pages + Works Cited)		30%
Final Exam (Paper Presentation + Written Exam)		10%
* The instructor expects full participation in all aspects of the course. Failure to attend class, to submit assignments on time, or to participate fully in class, will result in a significant lowering of the final course grade.		Required

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
A : Work consistently exceeds the instructor's average expectations for the assignment.
B : Work sometimes/often exceeds the instructor's average expectations for the assignment.
C: Work meets the instructor's average expectations for the assignment.
D: This level of work does not meet the instructor's average expectations for the assignment.
F: This level of work fails to demonstrate knowledge or understanding of the issues raised by the assignment.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:

ASSIGNMENTS, ATTENDANCE, ABSENCES

- Assignments:

Class members must submit written assignments on Turnitin/Moodle.

The instructor does not accept assignments submitted by email.

The instructor does not generally accept late assignments.

John Cabot guidelines indicate that students must complete 6-9 hours of homework per week (for a 3 credit course).

- Attendance:

The instructor expects students to attend lessons with the same seriousness of purpose they would bring to a business meeting or a meeting called by an employer.

While attending remotely, students must enable video, such that they can address the professor and the rest of the class visually. If you are not available both on video and with a working microphone, you will not be counted as present for the lesson.

- Absences:

The instructor will only excuse absences for (1) observance of religious holidays, or (2) medical problems documented in writing by the physicians at John Cabot Health Services, or by a private physician. (The instructor requires written medical documentation in order to excuse the absence, whether or not the absence is Covid-related.)

Unexcused absences will affect the student's final course grade significantly, as indicated below.

- First absence: the instructor lowers the final grade by 0 %.

- Second absence: the instructor lowers the final grade by an additional 0 %.

- Each subsequent absence will lower the student's final grade by an additional 5%.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

A) The course has four components:

1) grammar and syntax

2) the mechanics of writing a research paper in Modern Language Association (MLA) style

3) the reading of in-depth, scholarly (peer-reviewed) articles and book chapters

4) the interpretation of events, texts, images, sounds

B) Major Readings

William Wallace, "Michelangelo's Risen Christ" (with field walk to the Church of Santa Maria Minerva, Rome)

José M. Sánchez, Pius XII and the Holocaust (selections) (with field walk to Rome's Jewish "Ghetto")

Katherine Anne Porter, "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"

Susan Sontag, "In Plato's Cave," from On Photography

C) General Calendar

Weeks I --> IV

Grammar:

Active and passive verbs

Subject-verb proximity

Avoidance of status verbs

Mechanics of Writing:

The paragraph

The topic sentence

MLA format

Bibliographic information in MLA style: the Works Cited / Zotero

Choosing a research topic

The research pitch

Finding and evaluating sources

Annotation (formal and informal)

Quoting and Paraphrasing

The Annotated Bibliography

Interpretation:

Peck, Emily. "Sexual Assault Survivors Aren't Just Daughters."

Wallace, William. "Michelangelo's Risen Christ."

Weeks V --> VIII

Grammar:

Punctuation / Reading aloud

Punctuation of introductory material within the sentence

Punctuation of interrupting material with the sentence

Punctuation of independent material within the sentence (comma, coordinating conjunctions)

Mechanics of Writing:

The Annotated Bibliography (cont'd.)

Plagiarism

Paraphrasing (cont'd.)

The Thesis Statement

The Full-sentence outline

Interpretation:

Michael Phayer, The Catholic Church and the Holocaust (selections)

Weeks IX-XI

Grammar:

Punctuation of Independent Material (within the sentence), cont'd. (the colon, the period, multiple additions)

Mechanics of Writing:

The Literature Review

In-text (parenthetical) Citation of Sources in MLA style

The Argumentative Academic Research Paper: Refining the Topic

The Thesis Statement (cont'd.)

Development of Ideas

Organization of the Argument

Research / Argument / Opinion: Finding the correct balance

Interpretation:

Katherine Anne Porter, "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"

Weeks XII --> XIV

Grammar:

Review

Mechanics of Writing:

The Writer's Voice

Drafting and Editing

Adding / Eliminating Sources

Transitions 1 (sentence to sentence)

Transitions 2 (paragraph to paragraph)

Peer-editing

Preparation of the Final Presentation (oral presentation of the research paper)

Interpretation:

Sontag, Susan. Selections from On Photography

Final Exam (written)