Syllabus for English 1B, Section #70459
Introduction to the Study of Literature

Contact Information
Mrs. Berg, Instructor						     Email: emily.berg@reedleycollege.edu
Office:	 Annex 6						     Phone: 638-3641, ext. 3150
Office Hours:	by arrangement

Course Description
English 1B is a literature survey and composition course that is designed to follow English 1A. Students will be introduced to four major literary genres: short story, novel, poetry, and drama. It is a three unit course, which is fully transferable to University of California and California State University and most other public and private four-year colleges and universities.  The purpose of this course is to assist you in development of critical thinking, reading and writing skills through experience with literature, including fiction, poetry, plays, and criticism.

In a full-term, 18 week class, students are required to read approximately 100 pages per week and to write papers related to the reading assignments. Students should plan to spend 6-9 hours a week outside of class reading, writing and discussing the literature for the class.   For a summer school condensed class, this means that you should expect to read 300 pages a week and complete 18 to 27 hours a week on your homework.  This class is a huge commitment!  

Course Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
•	Demonstrate critical thinking and literary skills with literature through a variety of linked reading, writing, and discussion activities.
•	Demonstrate connections between literary works of the same or different genres.
•	Make connections between the situations of literature and his/her experience.

Grading Policy
Your grade is calculated by using the following traditional grading scale during the semester:  

A=90-100%; B=80-89%; C=70-79%; D=60-69%; F=0-59%

The following weights on assignments will determine your semester grade:
	Class Participation 							Required
	Quizzes								10%
	In Class/Timed Writing-Reading Reflections, Drafts.		10%
	          (Journals and discussion board activities)
	Midterm								 5%
	Essays	(four)								60%
	Final Essay – Literary Criticism/Research				15%

Class participation is defined as reading the class assignments; joining in the exchange of opinions in group and whole class discussion; starting appropriate new items for discussion; and perhaps most important of all, asking questions.

Changes to the Syllabus/Calendar
The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary for the benefit of the class to change policies on the syllabus or dates on the calendar.  Missing class or not checking Blackboard is not an excuse for not being aware of any changes that are made to the calendar or the syllabus.    

Required Texts and Materials
Dickinson, Emily.  Selected Poems.  Dover Thrift Edition.

Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia.  Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 2nd   Edition.  New York: Pearson/Longman, 2008.

Shakespeare, William.  The Tempest.  Dover Thrift Edition.

Twain, Mark.  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  Dover Thrift Edition.

A flash drive; a set of highlighters; plenty of lined paper, and pencils and blue or black ink pens.

Word Processing Formats 
The most common word processing format is Microsoft Word (that saves files as “.doc”). If you use another word processing program or have Office 2007 (the latest Word version that saves documents as “.docx” instead of “.doc”), you will need to learn to save your work in Rich Text Format (RTF).  Do not use Microsoft Works or any other program that does not allow for easy conversion.    Using WordPad is unacceptable.  If you have WordPad, you must plan to visit a local library—public or school—to convert your work before sending it for review or as the final product.

E-Mail
An e-mail address is essential.  If you do not currently have one, you should set one up through Reedley College, Hotmail or Yahoo. These accounts are free and available through any computer that has Internet access; however, the Reedley College account must be activated first from campus. I will use e-mail to communicate with the class as a whole, with groups, and with individuals. 

When you send an email, you must be specific in the message and always sign your name.  Your email address does not necessarily identify who you are.  I do not read or respond to email if I don’t know the sender.

In addition, remember, when you email an instructor, you are not text messaging or emailing a friend.  You need to run spell check and think about the way you are writing; for example, do not use lower case i’s when using the first person pronoun “I”.

If you change your email address during the course of the semester, you MUST update your email address on Blackboard and WebAdvisor.  You should also notify your instructors of email changes as well.

Keep in mind that the class e-mail list is to be used for school related messaging only.  Any other use of the e-mail list can result in your being dropped from the course.  Continued sending of unsolicited e-mail could be viewed as a form of harassment.  Appropriate action will be taken as necessary per school policy.

Attendance Policies
Important skills are learned in every class meeting, especially since this is a condensed course—when you are absent, you miss a lot!  Please be aware that more than 3 absences for whatever reason will result in a drop from this class (e.g. 4 absences=drop).  It is your responsibility to get assignments and handouts and to make sure that they are turned in if you are absent.  I suggest that you find a reliable person in class to turn in papers for you, get homework assignments, and pick up work for you should you need to be absent from a class.  Should you need to be tardy more than 10 minutes of any class or need to leave more than 10 minutes early, I will count that as an absence.

Tardies and early departures are disruptive and will not be tolerated; two tardies or early departures of more than 5 minutes will result in one absence. If you arrive late, it is your responsibility to check in with me at the end of class, or your absence will remain on your record.  Please come in quietly and take the closest available seat by the door to minimize disruptions to the class. 

Should you discover that you are unable to regularly attend class for whatever reason, it is imperative that you discuss this with the instructor as soon as possible.  Telling the instructor of work schedule changes, illness, family emergencies, etc. after missing several days/weeks is unacceptable.

Essays 
For each essay assignment, you are required to submit outlines and several drafts before the final due date.  Your drafts need to be of substantial length –the same page requirement as the final draft assignment.  

The four shorter essays written during the semester will only be accepted up to one week after the deadline for any credit.  I take one letter grade off for every class meeting you submit the paper late.  No papers for any reason will be accepted one week after the final due date.  The final literary research paper cannot be submitted late.  

Should I discover while reading your essay that you have not run spell check or sufficiently proofread and edited your work, I will discontinue reading and return the essay to you.  You will then have until the following week to revise the paper and resubmit it with the first paper you submitted.  The highest grade such a “returned” paper can receive is a “C.”

If you submitted your essay on time and wish to rewrite it for a chance at a higher grade, you may do so for any paper of your choice (up to two essays per semester).  Turn in your rewritten draft (along with your first graded essay) within one week of when you got your graded paper back.  

The final draft of all your essays will need to be submitted on Turnitin.com.  More information to follow.  

Quizzes
You will have weekly quizzes based on that week’s readings.  These weekly quizzes cannot be made up.  

Cheating/Plagiarism—as defined in the RC Catalog
Bottom line: do not copy someone else’s words or ideas without giving them credit.  Do not use another student’s paper as your own.  Do not use a paper you wrote from another class in this class.  Do not have another person write the paper for you.  All of these are forms of cheating.   You will receive a zero on the assignment and a report will be filed with the administration for their review.    See your class schedule for more details.  

Midterm and Final Exams
If you are absent for the midterm, you will need to be make it up no later than one week later; there are no exceptions, regardless of the reason for your absence. You will need to come in during my office hours to make up the exam.  The final cannot be made up; if you know in advance that you cannot attend the midterm or final, be sure to speak with me as soon as possible to make alternate plans.

Please refrain from talking during examinations, and you may not leave the classroom unless you have turned in your exam and you have been instructed that you may leave when you are finished.  You may only use the materials specified on the directions of the exam, and you may only use your own materials.  Absolutely no electronic devises may be used or be on your desk during an exam.  Should you be found in violation of these test regulations, you will be immediately dismissed from the exam with no credit.

Essay Formatting
For all work you submit, follow MLA formatting (see pages 1114 in your Backpack Lit text for an example):
__________  Essays must be typed in size 12 standard font (such as Times New Roman) with no bold, 
		capitalized, or italicized fonts.  
__________  It should be double-spaced throughout.  
__________  Margins should be 1” on all sides of the paper and justified on the left.  
__________  All documentation in the essays must follow the parenthetical citations in MLA format.
__________  All essays must be stapled.
__________  On the top left hand side of the paper, you should include (in this order):
 				Your name 
The teacher’s name 
The class (with the section number)
Submission date 
__________  After the header, put your title, centered, on the next line.  Make sure you don’t make the 
title a bigger font than the rest of the paper; don’t put the title in quotes, bolded or 
italicized font.  Give your title a creative spin (not the name of the assignment). 
__________  No cover page or plastic cover sheet is needed for any assignment.
__________  All pages (including the first) are numbered with the number in the upper-right corner, 
one half-inch from the top.  The page number is preceded by your last name. 
__________  Turn in all work with your final draft (all brainstorming, outlines, and drafts).   

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities 
If you have a verified need for an academic accommodation or materials in alternate media (i.e., Braille, large print, electronic text, etc.) per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, please contact me as soon as possible.

Reminders/Tips for Success

1.	Electronic Devices: Please turn off cell phones and pagers during class and put them away, off your desk.  It is unacceptable to set your phone on discreet and leave it on top of your desk, or to text during class—it is disruptive to you, your fellow students, and your instructor when you check your messages and calls during class.  Please do not use or have on any other electronic equipment during class (I-pods, cell phones, laptops, etc.), including during lab time.

2.	Disruptive behavior during class will not be tolerated for the sake of our learning environment; I reserve the right to ask you to leave the class with an absence if you are disruptive of other’s learning.  Disruptive behavior includes (but is not limited to) talking, passing notes, arguing, eating food, sleeping during class, working on assignments for our class or other classes other than the one being covered in class at the time, receiving cell phone calls during class, text messaging during class, having your cell phone on your desk, not having the materials needed for class, or having your head on your desk.  The first time a student violates these rules, he will receive a verbal warning from the teacher.  The second time (and any time thereafter), the student will be dismissed from the class with an absence.  

3.	Class Content: In this class we will occasionally read, view, and discuss controversial subject matter.  This is college, so adult topics should be expected.  These could include issues such as race, sexuality, gender, and cultures different from your own.  When you are faced with new ideas, ideas that are different than your own, or issues that make you uncomfortable, I expect you to keep an open mind and never to lower yourself into discriminating or using a mocking, harassing, or belittling tone of voice to others.

4.	Final drop dates: If you choose to withdraw from the class, please keep in mind that it is your responsibility to drop from the course before the final day to drop.  If you do not drop yourself and simply stop attending the class, you will earn an F in the course.
Last day to drop (without a “W”):  July 6 		Last day to drop (with a “W”): July 17

5.	Being Prepared for Class: If you show up unprepared for class and unwilling to work, I will ask you to leave with an absence for the day.

6.	Be sure to keep all of your work during the semester.  

Tentative Schedule
Week	Readings—to be completed by Wednesday of each week 	Other Due Dates/  Notices	

1
June 29-July 3	
Backpack Literature, Chapters 1-6, pages 3-173

	
Outline for Essay #1 due Thursday; complete, typed rough draft due Friday
Reading quiz on Friday
Holiday on Friday, July 3: No class.	

2
July 6-10	
Backpack Literature, Chapter 7, pages 174-210

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Chapters 1-15, pages 1-84
	
Final draft due for Essay #1 on Monday.
Outline for Essay #2 due Thursday; complete, typed rough draft of Essay #2 due Friday
Reading quiz on Friday	

3
July 13-17

	
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Chapters 16-Conclusion, pages 85-184

Backpack Literature, Chapters 9-11, pages 311-373
	
Final draft due for Essay #2 on Monday.

Outline for Essay #3 due Thursday; complete, typed rough draft of Essay #3 due Friday

Reading quiz on Friday

4
July 20-24

	

Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson
 
Backpack Literature, Chapters 12-16, pages 374-445, Chapter 19, pages 479-490

Final draft due for Essay #3 on Monday.

Midterm (in-class essay) on Monday

Outline for Essay #4 due Thursday; complete, typed rough draft of Essay #4 due Friday

Reading quiz on Friday

5
July 27-31

	
Backpack Literature, Chapter 22, pages 569-591; Chapter 25, pages 668-792.  

Shakespeare’s The Tempest, 
Acts 1-2
	Final draft due for Essay #4 on Monday.	

6
August 3-7

Shakespeare’s The Tempest, 
Acts 3-5, plus literary criticism	Outline for Literary Criticism/Research paper due Wednesday.  Draft on Thursday.  Final on Friday.