New York City College of Technology
ENG 1101: English Composition I
Fall 2019
Professor: Jody R. Rosen
Pronouns: she/her/hers
LC63: T/Th 11:30-12:30 Namm 701
CL63: T 1:00-1:50, Namm 701
E-mail: jrrosen@citytech.cuny.edu
Mailbox: Namm 512 (English Dept.)
Office: Namm 520
Office Hours: T 11:00-11:30AM, 1:50-2:50PM; Th 11:00-11:30AM, and by appointment

Ways of Seeing: Adventures with Image and Text

Course Description and Objectives

Ways of Seeing: Adventures with Image and Text is a First-Year Learning Community that brings together this ENG 1101 English Composition I course (class and lab) with Prof. Jenna Spevack’s COMD 1100-LC08: Graphic Design Principles, M/Th 2:30-5:00PM. Students must be enrolled in both courses to complete the Learning Community. It will include field trips, hands-on projects, and cross-sensory experiences to help you discover and express your creative vision. The Learning Community will have a peer mentor, Evelyn Ng, who will help you navigate your first semester at City Tech.

English Composition I is a course in effective essay writing and basic research techniques, including the use of the library. CUNY certification in reading and writing is the prerequisite for this course. College-level readings are assigned as the basis for in-class and online discussion and for essay writing. In addition to our three hours of class time, we will have an hour per week of lab time. As with any 3-credit course, students should expect to spend at least six hours per week on work for this course in addition to class time. Through discussion, reading, writing in drafts, collaborating, revising, and presenting work, students will learn to:

Use writing as a process of discovery, building habits of critical thinking;
Draft, revise, and edit writing in a variety of genres and with an awareness of the conventions and purposes of those genres;
Write paragraphs made up of clear and logical sentences of varied structure, using correct spelling, conventional punctuation, and correct grammar and syntax;
Reflect on writing as part of the revision process
Read and listen actively, carefully, thoroughly, critically, and analytically, considering details and the piece as a whole;
Formulate questions as part of the reading process in anticipation of class or online discussions;
Demonstrate the ability to summarize, paraphrase, quote, and argue with readings, both assigned and through research
Gain expertise with online tools such as blogs, collaborative documents, online writing centers, and library research tools;
Communicate professionally via e-mail and other online media;
Demonstrate information fluency—the ability to find, evaluate, use, and create online resources.
Understand and demonstrate the power and consequences of writing
Begin to develop a personal writing style.

Course Requirements:

Textbooks and Supplies:

Access to a computer, the Internet, and a printer: instead of a textbook, all of our readings will be available online, and much of our writing will be completed and submitted online, with printed drafts due in class. Students can print in the Library, in the Learning Center, and in the G600 Computer Lab. Our course materials are openly available on our OpenLab site.
An OpenLab account: sign up at https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu
Membership in our 2019 OpenLab course, Ways of Seeing: Image and Text
A functioning City Tech email account: your address should be firstname.lastname@mail.citytech.cuny.edu
Access to the Circulating Collection, the Reserves, and the Databases at the Ursula C. Schwerin Library. You must go to the Ursula Schwerin Library on the 4^th floor of the Library building to activate your ID card.
Access to an online writing guide, such as the Online Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu
A college-level dictionary, such as the American Heritage Dictionary. An online dictionary such as http://m-w.com will suffice.
A notebook for class notes and reading notes
Various in-class handouts, including all of your course readings
A sturdy folder to hold your work and course handouts.

Attendance and participation:

City Tech’s policy states: “Attendance and class participation are essential and excessive absences may affect the final grade.” Active attendance is especially important in this discussion- and group-work based course. Rather than seeking an excused absence, be sure to make up any missed work, keep to deadlines, get class notes and assignments from classmates and keep up with the scheduled coursework. If you are sick and contagious, please do not come to class! If you need to miss many classes, please be in touch to coordinate a solution. To meet course goals, come prepared, bring any required materials, and contribute to the day’s activity. Similarly, participation on the OpenLab course site is essential for our virtual community.

Please be respectful of other viewpoints or opinions in class and online. Distractions such as non-ENG 1101-materials or unrelated technology use are not welcome, since they will negatively affect your participation, and in turn, your success.

Course site:

In addition to our class meetings, this Learning Community will share a virtual community on the OpenLab (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu). You will need your City Tech email account to create an account on the OpenLab. Choose a username when you sign up—it does not need to be your real name! Then join our course (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/groups/ways-of-seeing-fylc-fall-2019/). Course readings will be available on our OpenLab site, https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/rosenspevackfylcf19, which houses the up-to-date syllabus and schedule, project assignments, course readings, as well as other handouts, class notes, and informal assignments in various formats; we will also use it to share ideas and writing, hold discussions, as well as submit formal work. Additionally, each student will maintain an ePortfolio on the OpenLab to curate work throughout the semester.

Writing:

This is a writing course, so you will write in class, on the course site, and outside of class. There will be due dates for incremental work, drafts, and finished versions of your work, but you will be responsible for pacing your work and completing each step. Formal assignments should be submitted using MLA formatting—further details will be posted on our OpenLab site. Projects are due digitally by the beginning of class unless otherwise noted. If you have a legitimate reason for requesting an extension for a project, please coordinate with me. Projects submitted late but without an extension will be penalized. In-class writing will contribute to your work on projects, and will factor into your participation, and in-class writing grade, and, where noted, the project grade. Please keep these pieces of informal writing in your folder for this course, since we will return to texts, themes, and ideas throughout the semester.

Revision is an essential part of writing. Projects will include both draft and revised versions. Please be aware that revision is not the same as correcting errors—it requires re-envisioning your work based on your evaluation and the critique from others, leading to refashioning and rewriting it. If you would like to revise a project after I have graded it, you must first make an appointment with me and adhere to our revision contract.

Homework:

Homework is listed on the schedule of classes. This list is subject to change, so consult with our OpenLab site for the most current assignments. Homework assignments can include reading, blogging, commenting, drafting projects, and other work assigned on a rotating basis. Homework assignments are listed for the date they are assigned, rather than the day they are due.

Grading:

Your course grade will be calculated based on the following percentages, which reflect the value of the entire project; missing any component will result in a lower grade. Passing ENG 1101 is contingent upon attendance and the successful completion of all assignments and the final exam:

Project #1 (Ways of Seeing College: FYLC “Our Stories”): 5%
Project #2 (Ways of Seeing Ourselves): 10%
Project #3 (Ways of Seeing Juxtapositions): 15%
Project #4 (Ways of Vision): 15%
Project #5 (Ways of Reflecting): 10%
Departmental Final Exam: 5%
Course Site Glossary, writing, homework, and participation: 25%
In-class participation, quizzes, and in-class assignments: 15%

Support:

I strongly encourage you to speak with me before or after class, during my office hours, or by appointment—this is one of the most direct and effective ways to improve your work or to seek advice! You can also reach out to me via email, though please do not expect an immediate response. I prefer email from your City Tech email.

Other support at City Tech includes your Learning Community peer mentor, the College Learning Center, the Academic Advisement Center, and the Counseling Service Center. Qualified students with disabilities, under applicable federal, state and city laws, seeking reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments must contact the Center for Student Accessibility for information on City Tech’s policies and procedures to obtain such services. Students with questions on eligibility or the need for temporary disability services should also contact the Center at: The Center for Student Accessibility, 300 Jay Street room L-237, 718 260 5143. http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/accessibility

Academic Integrity:

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.”

Plagiarism, the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research, or writing as your own, intentionally or unintentionally, is not tolerated at City Tech. Using proper documentation (MLA style for citations) and thorough textual analysis will help you avoid plagiarism. Any cases of academic dishonesty will result in a grade of zero and appropriate measures taken. If you are confused or have any questions about what plagiarism is and how you might avoid it, please contact me before your assignment is due. Read more about City Tech’s academic honesty policies:

http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/academics/docs/academic_integrity_policy.pdf

Schedule:

Class topics, readings, homework assignments, and project due dates are subject to change. Please refer to the online schedule for the most up-to-date version: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/rosenspevackfylcf19/eng1101schedule/

Syllabus