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1301. ENGLISH COMPOSITION I (Lecture)

English 1301, Houston Community College System General Syllabus
Professor: Martha Matura Email: martha.matura@hccs.edu
Office/Phone: HCC Central College, Fine Arts Building, 3517 Austin Street, Room 319. The
phone number for the English department is 713 718-6671.
Note: Students will receive more information on policies and procedures about attendance, late
work, academic honesty, readings, and other expectations. All assignments for grades will be
made in writingthe following syllabus lists weeks and general focus and assignments only.
Textbooks:
Maimon, Elaine P, Janice H. Peritz, and Kathleen Blake Yancey. The McGraw-Hill Handbook,
Second Edition. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2010. ISBN 978-0-07-739577-3 (required)
Peterson, Linda H, John C. Brereton. Ed. The Norton Reader, Twelfth Edition. New York:
Norton and Company, 2008. ISBN 978-0-393-92948-1 (required)
Course description: A more extensive study of the skills introduced in ENGL 1301 with an
emphasis on critical thinking, research, documentation techniques, and literary and rhetorical
analysis.
Course prerequisites: Completion of ENGL 1301 or a satisfactory score on the CLEP exam.
Student learning outcomes: The student will be able to
1. apply basic principles of rhetorical analysis;
2. write essays that classify, explain, and evaluate rhetorical and literary strategies employed
in argument, persuasion, and various forms of literature;
3. identify, differentiate, integrate, and synthesize research materials into argumentative
and/or analytical essays;
4. employ appropriate documentation style and format across the spectrum of in-class and
out-of-class written discourse, and
5. demonstrate library literacy.
Grade Percentages: Here is how the final course grade is determined:
5% Essay: Critical Analysis Essays, grammar and punctuation, MLA (written in-class)
5% Essay: Research Proposal, grammar and punctuation MLA (written out of class)
5% Thesis, Working Title, Introductory paragraph, grammar and punctuation, MLA
20% Essay 3: Research Overview, grammar and punctuation MLA (written out of class)
25% Essay 4: Process Argument, grammar and punctuation, MLA (written out of class)
10% Essay 5: Grammar/Language Use/Final Essay, MLA
10% Research Project, Discussion, Review, grammar and punctuation, MLA, APA
10% Research Project, Argument Discussion, grammar and punctuation, MLA, APA
10% Participation (in-class presentation and attendance)
0% Main discussion (no credit)
100% Total

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Mission Statement for English

The purpose of the English Department is to provide courses that transfer to four-year colleges;
introduce students to literature fro diverse traditions; prepare students to write clear,
communicative, well-organized, and detailed prose; and develop students reading, writing, and
analytical skills.
Course Calendar / 8 weeks
(Note: The title of the assigned textbook editor Linda Petersons The Norton Reader is
abbreviated below as TNR.)
Week 1:
08/29: Introductions. Overview of the course and requirements. Brief writing sample composed
in class.
08/31 Introduction to inference, argument, and analytical thinking. Rewrite introductory
paragraph of brief writing sample to include a thesis and organizing statement for argument.
MLA heading introduced. Read Norton Reader (TNR) Introduction pages xx-xxxix: audience,
author, context and purpose, and geTNRe and conventions.
WEEK 2:
09/05 NO NIGHT CLASSES LABOR DAY HOLIDAY (Offices Closed).
09/07. Responding critically to sources and responding to rhetorical context. Write a brief
summary with critical analysis discussing authors purpose, analyzing style, level of diction,
sentence structure and organization. Read TNR Notes on Punctuation (Thomas) page 553.
WEEK 3:
09/12 Shorter writing #1 due. Discuss point of view and voice. Essay #1 topics assigned. Read
TNR Looking at Women (Sanders) page 226. Complete questions 1-4.
09/14 Characteristics of the argument: conversation with a goal, taking a stand, reasons and
evidence. Essay #2: begin writing in-class and complete out of class. Include: MLA heading,
working title, introductory paragraph, thesis, organizing statement, argument premise. Read TNR
Saudis in Bikinis (Kristof) p. 340, Questions 1-3, Between the Sexes (Quindlen) p.241,
Questions 1-3, Love (Slater) p. 243 Essay Question #4.
WEEK 4:
09/19 Essay #2 due. Workshop Essay 2. Characteristics of the definition essay. Effectively using
your writing purpose and tone. Read TNR My Father Leslie Stephen (Woolf) p. 137, Essay
Question 4.
09/21 Double-entry journals reviewed along with research process. Read TNR Boring from
Within: The Art of the Freshman Essay (Booth) p. 566. Essay Question #4.

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WEEK 5:
09/26 Discuss characteristics of writing styles, analyzing voice/tone . Read TNR A Vindication
of the Rights of Woman (Wollstonecraft), Knowledge and Virtue (Newman), Gettsburg
(Lincoln), Farewell to Arms (Hemingway), Progress and Change (White), Beer Can
(Updike), River Music (Williams) pages 603-607. Questions 1-4. Begin in-class essay
Question 5.
09/28 Analyzing and modeling writing style. Read TNR A Vindication of the Rights of
Woman (Wollstonecraft), Knowledge and Virtue (Newman), Gettsburg (Lincoln),
Farewell to Arms (Hemingway), Progress and Change (White), Beer Can (Updike), River
Music (Williams) pages 603-607. Workshop Essay Question 5.
WEEK 6:
10/03 Essay #3 due. Read TNR We Do Abortions Here: A Nurses Story p. 747 Essay Question
4.
10/05 Essay #3 due. Workshop essay: TNR We Do Abortions Here: A Nurses Story p. 747
Essay Question 4. Read TNR The Terrifying Normalcy of AIDS (Gould) p. 754. Questions 13.
WEEK 7:
10/10 Documented Essay Research Paper Assignment. Formal Documentation MLA, APA and
note taking. Topics for discussion in argument. Read TNR The Morals of the Prince
(Machiavelli) p. 865.
10/12 Documented Essay Research Paper Assignment issues reviewed. Discuss Workshop Essay.
Writing the Documented Researched Essay: studying sources, avoiding plagiarism, signal
phrases to avoid misleading readers, organizing, drafting, revising, and achieving the completed
paper. Formal Documentation MLA, APA.
WEEK 8:
10/17 Research paper Final Draft Due. Individual in-class presentations (approx three to four
minutes each). RE: The most important things I learned in writing the research documented
essay for this course.
10/19 Final Exam
Instructional methods: This course will incorporate lecture, class discussions and debates, inclass analysis in small groups, essay writing (in class and out), research process for completing a
major paper in proper MLA format, student presentations in class, and a final examination.
Student Assignments: Several different types of writing assignments comprise the bulk of your
work for this course: these submissions will be graded for appropriateness, unity and focus,
development, organization sentence structure, word usage, and mechanics, as well as (for
research-based writing) proper citation and documentation of sources in current MLA format.

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Out-of-class Essays: Each submission should be approximately 650 or more words in length,
preferably typed, double-spaced paper format according to guidelines in the Handbook or Purdue
Online Writing lab (see Instructional Methods, below)
*Final drafts must be submitted in hard copy and directly to the professor (not left in mailboxes,
with a secretary, under an office door, etc.).
In-class Essays: Each submission will be composed in the professors presence within a 75
minute time limit. Each essay should be approximately 500 or more words in length,
handwritten, double-spaced, with numbered pages following the guidelines in the Handbook.
Essay topic options will be assigned and discussed in the class session that immediately precedes
the date of the in-class writing.
Shorter writings: Each submission, whether composed in class or out, should be approximately
250 words or more in length, typed or handwritten, and double-spaced with numbered pages.
Research paper and process:
*Your major course assignment will produce a specific, unified, developed, organized, and
coherent research paper (type) of approximately 1500 or more words.
*Each paper must utilize at least 6 sources and make at least 16 in-text citations.
*Students will show competency in a research paper process that includes selecting and
narrowing topics that are appropriate for this assignment, collecting sources from indexes,
creating a working bibliography, taking notes from sources, citing sources in proper MLA
formats, and providing proper documentation for those sources.
*The final draft should follow MLA guidelines in all matters, as shown in the Handbook or the
MLA handout provided by the instructor.
*Students will earn a process grade based on timely completion of each process step (see the
course calendar), and this process grade will be one factor in determining the final grade for the
Research Paper project.
*Topics will be selected from options presented by the instructor and discussed in classall
topics must be presented to the instructor for approval.
*Students are expected to have all HCC library access and privileges in current status in order to
access scholarly websites for research.
Note: Research is expensive and students will be required to provide printed copies of all
of their research source documentation. Please make allowances for this expense.
In-class presentation: Late in the course, each student will make a brief (3-4 minute), relatively
informal oral presentation in class (see Course Calendar), to be evaluated in terms of
appropriateness, unity and focus, development, organization, and clarity.
Final exam: In Week 8, the course concludes with a written examination testing students
knowledge of key terms and concepts relevant to this course, as well as their editing skills
regarding sentence grammar, diction, and mechanics.

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Attendance: Your regular attendance and on-time arrival in class are necessary for success. You
will earn an attendance grade (see Participation category below) based on the following scale:
0 absences = 100(A+); 1 absence = 90 (A-); 2 absences = 85 (B); 3 absences = 75 (C); 4
absences = 70 (C); 5 absences = 65 (D); 6 absences = 55 (F); 7 or more absences = 50 or less (F).
Assessments (grade values of assignments): Unless the instructor makes changes and
announces otherwise, the overall breakdown of the graded assignments and their corresponding
values will be calculated as stated in the Grades Percentages section on page one.
Services to students with disabilities: Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical,
learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange for reasonable accommodations
must contact the Disability Services Office at the beginning of each semester. For more
information, please contact the disability counselor on campus (or call 713 718-5165).
Academic honesty: Students are expected to be familiar with the HCC policy on academic
honesty (as detailed in various HCC publications) and are responsible for conducting themselves
with honor and integrity in fulfilling course requirements. HCC officials may initiate penalties
and/or disciplinary proceedings against any student accused of scholastic dishonesty (which
include, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion). Should you have any
questions about proper handling of source material for your writing, consult the MLA guidelines,
your instructor and/or a tutor (FAC 321-B). Evidence of plagiarism results in a grade of F.
Attendance: Students must attend class regularly and submit assignments on time to pass this
course. HCC policy establishes that a student may be administratively withdrawn from a course
upon missing more than 12.5% of the scheduled sessions (i.e. more than four class sessions).
Course withdrawal: If you elect to withdraw formally from any HCC class and thereby receive
a W on your grade transcript, you must contact a HCC counselor or your professor prior to the
withdrawal deadline for the current semester to initiate the process. If you do not do so and
simple cease to attend, your will receive a final grade by default (quite likely F) based on your
course average in relation to the full slate of required assignments.
Classroom decorum: No cell phones or electronic communications devices may be used
without permission. No disruption (behavioral, electronic, or otherwise) of class is acceptable.
Please be courteous and respectful of others.
Grading scale: 90-100 = A, 80-80 = B, 70-79 = C, 60-69 = D, 0-59 = F
At her discretion, the professor may announce necessary changes in this syllabus and
assignment calendar at any time during the term.
EGLS3 -- Evaluation for Greater Learning Student Survey System
At Houston Community College, professors believe that thoughtful student
feedback is necessary to improve teaching and learning. During a designated
time, you will be asked to answer a short online survey of research-based
questions related to instruction. The anonymous results of the survey will be
made available to your professors and division chairs for continual

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improvement of instruction. Look for the survey as part of the Houston
Community College Student System online near the end of the term.