Spring 2024 | ENGLISH 1121 | Section D095
Professor: Joe Brogdon
Email: joseph.brogdon27@citytech.cuny.edu
Course Site: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/engl1121-d095/
Course meeting times: Tuesday/Thursday 4:10-5:25 PM, Namm 500
Weekly office hours: Tuesday/Thursday 3:00-4:00, Namm 509
Welcome:
Welcome to City Tech and English 1121. We are living through a very difficult time in our city, country, and world, and trying to adapt. In our class, we will prioritize intellectual nourishment, community, and humanity. If you have any concerns about the course or college, or if there is any situation preventing you from participating, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Know that I am here to work with you.
Course Description:
An advanced course in expository essay writing that requires a library paper. Further development of research and documentation skills (MLA style). Assigned literary and expository readings.
Every City Tech (and CUNY) student takes Composition I, which features reading and writing assignments that will help prepare you for college and beyond. Together we will work on communicating effectively, building an argument, adapting your writing for different needs and situations, interpreting and responding to a text, incorporating and citing secondary source material. We will be reading pieces both for their inherent literary and informational value and also as models for our own writing projects. Sharing your own ideas and experiences and adding your voice to our discussions will enrich our class community.
Prerequisite:
English 1101 or equivalent
Course Meetings:
This course will meet twice a week for an hour and fifteen minutes. I have emailed you the class meeting info (and it can also be found on Blackboard). Class meetings are required.
Course Website:
This course will take place online. Our homework and messages from me will be on this website, and twice weekly in our class meetings. It is extremely important that you familiarize yourself with our website and find out where everything is. This is where you will find your assignments and post your homework as well as finished units. This is how weâll keep in touch, so please check in on the website daily! You are responsible for being up-to-date and knowing what is on our course site. You are also responsible for checking your City Tech email daily. Please contact me if you are having trouble!
Course Tools and Required Materials:
- All readings for our course are Open Educational Resources/Zero Textbook Costs (OER/ZTC), which means instead of buying a textbook, students will use materials that are freely or openly availableâat no cost to studentsânot only throughout the semester but after the end of the semester. These materials are linked from our OpenLab course site in the schedule and the weekly assignments.
- Several of the texts weâll read in this course are part of Core Books at CUNY, a CUNY-wide initiative funded by a Teagle Foundation grant. Reading these texts will help us engage with broad humanistic questions that we will use to inspire our writing.
- The New York Times (create a free Academic Pass account with your City Tech email)
Grading Breakdown:
Unit 1 : 20%
Unit 2 : 20%
Unit 3: 20%
Final Reflection: 10%
Low-stakes Writing (Homework and In-class Exercises): 30%
Youâll see that âlow-stakes writingâ counts for 30% of your grade in this class. What does this mean? What is âlow-stakes writing?â How is this calculated? Why is this such a high percentage?
in this class, youâre graded almost as much on your weekly low-stakes assignments as you are on your high-stakes essay assignments. A lot of this is the stuff we do in class as well as the less formal stuff you do at home. This means you have to be in class to get credit for it, and you have to keep up with the day-to-day to get that 30%
This is because in this class, youâre not learning how to write one particular paper, or how to do one particular thing, you are learning about the process of writing (and readingâand researching) and all of those things are the behind-the-scenes work.
How will low-stakes writing be graded?
More or less, if you do it, youâll get the credit. You have to do it thoroughly and thoughtfully, and you have to do it in a timely manner. (If youâre having trouble with getting things done on time, please let me know.) Writing is largely about discipline and routine, so this is a good way to learn thatâ and to earn 30% of the credit for this course.
Late Paper Policy:
Major essays are due before class begins on the due date. If you are having difficulty completing a major assignment please talk to me before it is due.
Revision Policy:
In this course, you canâand will!– revise all major units for your final portfolio (see Unit 4: Final Portfolio). Your new grade entirely replaces your old grade. You can also revise your units sooner than that if you feel youâd like more feedback. Please come see me during office hours if youâre confused about my comments or youâd like additional feedback.
University Policies:
Accessibility Statement:
City Tech is committed to supporting the educational goals of enrolled students with disabilities in the areas of enrollment, academic advisement, tutoring, assistive technologies, and testing accommodations. If you have or think you may have a disability, you may be eligible for reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments as provided under applicable federal, state and city laws. You may also request services for temporary conditions or medical issues under certain circumstances. If you have questions about your eligibility or would like to seek accommodation services or academic adjustments, you can leave a voicemail at 718-260-5143, send an email to: Accessibility@citytech.cuny.edu, or visit the Centerâs website at http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/accessibility/ for more information.
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.
Support Resources:
College Writing Center:
Online writing tutoring is available through the Writing Center at City Tech! I encourage you to utilize their services. Keep in mind youâll need to make an appointment ahead of time. Itâs unlikely theyâll be able to squeeze you in at the last minute, especially during busy times, so plan ahead!
Advising:
The transition to college is challenging for everyone. It is helpful to periodically reflect on how you are doing in your classes, and how your anticipated area of study (major) is progressing, as well as to plan next steps. Once advisement begins, you will be assigned a faculty advisor. During this period, if you have not been emailed and/or you do not see your advisor/appointment on CUNY First, go to your major’s homepage; there, you will find advisement details that will include contact information, as well as dates and times.
English 1121 Learning Outcomes
Departmental Learning Outcomes:
It is expected that at a minimum, students in ENG 1121 will:
Read and listen critically and analytically in a variety of genres and rhetorical situations: Identify and evaluate exigencies, purposes, claims, supporting evidence, and underlying assumptions in a variety of texts, genres, and media.
Adapt to and compose in a variety of genres: Adapt writing conventions in ways that are suitable to different exigencies and purposes in a variety of contexts, including academic, workplace, and civic audiences. When appropriate, repurpose prior work to new genres, audiences, and media by adjusting delivery, design, tone, organization, and language.
Use research as a process of inquiry and engagement with multiple perspectives: Learn to focus on a topic and develop research questions that lead to propositions and claims that can be supported with well-reasoned arguments. Persuasively communicate and repurpose research projects across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and media. Demonstrate research skills through attribution and citation gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing both primary and secondary sources. Learn how to use appropriate citation styles depending on disciplinary and situational requirements (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).
Use reflection and other metacognitive processes to revise prior assumptions about reading and writing and transfer acquired knowledge into new writing situations. Students write reflections of their own reading and writing process from the beginning and throughout the semester with the intention to transfer their acquired knowledge about genre and composing practices into new writing situations.
Demonstrate the social and ethical responsibilities and consequences of writing: Recognize that first-year writing includes academic, workplace, and civic contexts, all of which require careful deliberation concerning the ethical and social ramifications concerning fairness, inclusivity, and respect for diversity. Write and revise for academic and broader, public audiences accordingly.
Compose in 21stâ Century Environments: Learn to choose among the most current and effective delivery methods for different composing situations. Students learn to compose in new media environments, including alphabetic texts, still and moving images, sonic, and mixed media compositions. Use digital media platforms appropriate to audience and purpose.
CUNY Pathways Learning Outcomes:
A course in this area must meet all of the following learning outcomes. A student will:
- Read and listen critically and analytically, including identifying an argumentâs major assumptions and assertions and evaluating its supporting evidence.
- Write clearly and coherently in varied, academic formats (such as formal essays, research papers, and reports) using standard English and appropriate technology to critique and improve oneâs own and othersâ texts.
- Demonstrate research skills using appropriate technology, including gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing primary and secondary sources.
- Support a thesis with well-reasoned arguments, and communicate persuasively across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and media.
- Formulate original ideas and relate them to the ideas of others by employing the conventions of ethical attribution and citation.
