NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
ENGLISH COMPOSITION I
FALL 2012 / TUESDAY, THURSDAY

Course: English Composition I, ENG 1101, section #_____________

Professor Thomas Wilk
Email: twilk@citytech.cuny.edu
Phone: (347) 709 – 9455 (Google voice number — accepts text messages)

Office Hours: Thursday 11:30 to 1:30 in Atrium 037 (Faculty Resource Room) and by appointment

 Required course materials:

1. Course textbooks:
   1. The Place Where We Dwell: Reading and Writing About New York City, 3rd edition, 2012. Edited by Juanita But, Mark Noonan, and Sean Scanlan; ISBN 978-0-7575-9017-7 – you must get this newest edition; old editions will not work
   2. Rules of Thumb, 9th edition, 2012. By Jay Silverman. ISBN: 978-0073405964
2. Two folders: one for notes, one for writing portfolio
3. Writing materials
4. Notebook for note-taking and journal writing
5. Separate sheets of 8.5″ x 11″ paper for handing in writing assignments

Course Description and goals:

ENG 1101 is the only course at CUNY City Tech that every student is required to take. Welcome! This is an introductory college course in writing and use of research. Students will practice different patterns of writing and will use outside texts in their writing to deepen their arguments. ENG 1101 students will read many different types of texts: current news, critical essays, literary texts, poetry, song lyrics, film clips, scholarly journal articles, and other online sources. A research project is the largest project of the semester which involves students tethering together the writing and research skills they have learned in the course. There is also a two-part final exam at the conclusion of the semester.

Whether you sleep with a dictionary under your pillow or break out in hives at the sight of of a semicolon, ENG 1101 has something for you. Writing is important to many parts of our daily lives and it is important for each person to improve his or her written craft. In fact, composition researcher Andrea Lunsford has found that the current generation of the young do more writing than any previous generation — of course, it may be types of writing that older generations did not partake in — texting, emailing, Facebook posting — but these are important forms of writing, nonetheless. And whether you are writing a letter to secure a job interview, or are posting in an online debate, the choice of every word, and the placement of every piece of punctuation, counts!

The goal of this introductory writing class is to make students of any skill level more competent and confident writers and researchers. Period.

Course Grading Procedures:

30% Essay #1, Essay #2, Midterm Essay, and revisions of each
10% Classwork, Open Lab posts, and quizzes
10% Class participation
20% Part I and Part II of Final Exam
30% Final Research Project

I will use Blackboard to post your grades online. This is for convenience only — these are not your “official” grades. Instructions on accessing Blackboard are listed below.

Course Rules:

Rules:

1. Be a positive asset to our class
   • Come to class prepared with your course book(s) when they are needed, homework, and other supplies for participating in class.
   • Do not sleep, use your cellphone, or be disruptive to our class. I trust you will be respectful to your classmates and to myself.
   • Do not use electronic translators in class. You may use print dictionaries.
   • If you must leave the room, you must ask me for permission.
   • If you are absent four times your grade will go down by one letter; seven times, two letters; eleven times, three letters; thirteen absences mean automatic course failure.
   • If you are over five minutes late to class I will mark you “late.” Three lates equal one absence.
   • If you have a medical, family, or legal emergency and must miss class, please provide me with written documentation and I will exonerate you from the absence.
   • Any time you turn in writing to me, it must be your writing — period! If you turn in writing that is not yours, your assignment will receive a zero and you will not be able to resubmit it.

2. Complete all assignments on time
   • Late assignments will not be accepted. Make sure to note if an assignment is due in class or posted on Open Lab by a certain time. Do not email me late assignments. You cannot leave class to print out late work.
   • You are allowed one late pass (a “No Questions Asked” late pass) to turn in one assignment one class day late. The late pass is printed in this syllabus. If you do not use this late pass, it will be worth five points at the end of the semester.
   • If you have a documented absence and miss in-class assignments, you must type a one-page summary of any reading in our course book to make up missed points.

Students who do exceptional work, with pride, neatness, and professionalism, are likely to receive extra points on assignments. If you do not follow the rules, I will subtract points from you.

Blackboard and Open Lab

I will use Blackboard to post grades and solicit your papers for SafeAssign. I will use Open Lab for class discussions and posting readings and other class announcements online.

Access to Blackboard:

How to log in to the CUNY Portal and Blackboard:

1. Go to https://cunyportal.cuny.edu/portal/site/cuny (I recommend you bookmark this page.)
2. Enter your login information.
3. Once logged into the Portal, on the left-hand side, click the icon that says “Blackboard.”
4. On the top right-hand side, you will see a list of classes you are enrolled in. Find our class, ENG 1121, and click on it.
5. Inside our Blackboard site, you will see page section links on the left-hand side: Announcements, Discussion Board, Course Documents, and so on. Visit these sections often.
6. If you need additional help, please contact either Rezaul Hoque (718) 254 — 8565 or Julio Henriquez (718) 260 — 4992 in the G600 computer lab.
   1. Extra technical support:
      1. Get Blackboard support: http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/websupport1/It/online/students/index.html
      2. Get a City Tech email account: If you need help with setting up City Tech email in CUNY portal or if you do not have a City Tech email, please contact the Student Help Desk in N-124, or call them at 718-260-4900 or email helpdesk@campus.citytech.cuny.edu

Access to Open Lab:

1. Go to https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/ and create a user account

2. Click on “Courses” and search for our class’ Open Lab website

3. Become a member of our class

4. Check Open Lab at least once a day for class discussion updates and class announcements

5. Explore Open Lab and check out other classes, clubs, and other users’ portfolios

6. Have fun!

My Availability

I will respond to Open Lab posts and student emails Monday through Friday, 9 – 5 PM. Also, please only call me for important circumstances: for example, if you can’t figure out which textbook to buy, if you can’t find me during a time we are supposed to meet, or if you have an important assignment question. Please do not call me to tell me you are going to be late to class. If you do call, please also leave a message with your name and number.

New York City College of Technology Policy on Academic Integrity

Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions, and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting, and citing sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the College recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and at New York City College of Technology and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion. The complete text of the College policy on Academic Integrity may be found in the catalog.

Course Schedule:

This schedule is subject to change. Please bring The Place Where We Dwell every day; please bring Rules of Thumb when announced. 

Class grades will be available online through the CUNY Portal soon after December 27th