ENGLISH 114B: APPROACHES TO UNIVERSITY WRITING

Transmitting Signals
Spring 2015
Instructor: Professor Guevara
Section 32 (14171)
Email:jordan.guevara.781@my.csun.edu
JR 212
Office: Santa Susana 406
MW 11:00am 12:15pm
Office hours: MW 12:30pm 2:30pm or
by appointment
I believe that today more than ever a book should be sought after even if it has only one great page in it:
we must search for fragments, splinters, toenails, anything that has ore in it, anything that is capable of
resuscitating the body and soul.
Tropic of Cancer - Henry Miller
A New Method: The Projects
First, let me welcome you back. The Progressions brought us to the academic argumentative essay by way
of an introduction to rhetorical strategies and scholarly research. The Projects ask that we continue there
yet with greater emphasis on collaboration and a more sophisticated theoretical scope. The Projects
include Project Text, Project Space, and Project Web, and each entails critical reading, process work,
and group work. The Projects also require composing with new media, fieldwork, and class presentations.
We will be exploring our worlds by looking at different identities. This will require a greater analysis on
media, popular culture both here and abroad, and maybe even ourselves.
Course Theme: [Pop Culture] [Technology]
Our theme this semester will stem from our interactions with pop culture and the receptacles of the
advancements of new media. This semester I am inviting all of you to step out of yourselves and explore
both the familiar and unfamiliar. We all ingest media on a daily basis; however, the majority of our time
spent online requires little to no critical thinking. Lets change that. Lets begin by asking ourselves
questions that delve deeper into pop culture and the systemic underpinnings that govern it. What am I
interested in and why? How do I go about receiving the information given to me? What are some current
issues that pique my interest? Is it the effects of technology, for better or worse? Is it gender through the
different mediums of art? How do sports play a role in our society? What is being presented in todays
news? Where do I receive my news and what are the consequences of using my preferred means? What
role does the government play in my specific field of research? What role does the university?
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
You will gain the ability to read critically
Youll read extensively from a variety of academic and non-academic texts, including anthology essays,
academic journal articles, autobiography, fiction, and news media. You will demonstrate the capacity to
read critically by responding to these texts during class discussions as well as writing projects that include
exercises, essays, and thematic projects.
You will gain the ability to write effectively
You will produce a range of writing that demonstrates proficiency with rhetorical strategies and
expository writing concepts. This writing will include autobiography, dialogues, epistles, descriptive and
argumentative essays, interactive Web reflections, thematic projects, and blogs.

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You will gain knowledge of the cultural diversity of literatures

You will read an assorted body of literature produced by writers from across the globe. You will discuss
and write about these diverse experiences.
Our Method: The Projects
Similar to the way 114A consisted of three progressions, 114B contains three Projects:
A. Project Web
Blog posts and responses
Website Creation
Scholarly Research
Presentation Essay
Website Project Presentation
B. Project Space
Blog posts and responses
Ethnography
Field Research
Scholarly Research
Essay 2
C. Project Text
Blog posts and responses
Critical Reading
Other in-class writing
Group Presentation
Essay 3
D. Portfolio and Reflection Essay
STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To help students learn to write an academic essaythat is, a thesis driven text that is
characterized by reason, logic, and analytic thinking;
2. To help students understand that writing in an academic context means becoming knowledgeable
about the subject, indicating awareness of the ideas of others, basing claims on logic and credible
evidence, and using language in such a way as to appear truthful and fair;
3. To help students understand writing as a recursive processwhich includes invention, drafting,
and revision;
4. To help students gain facility in various contexts for writing, including timed writing, and develop
rhetorical strategies appropriate to audience and purpose;
5. To help students develop critical reading strategies and apply them to both print and visual texts.
In this context, students will become aware of different texts, including those that reflect
multicultural images and voices;
6. To help students develop fluency and style by practicing sentence variety, increasing vocabulary,
and using the conventions of edited American English;
7. To help students develop proficiency in research and documentation techniques;
8. To help students understand how to use writing and reading as a means of participating in
democracy and social change.

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REQUIRED TEXTS
Signs of Life in the USA 8th ed. by Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon
They Say/I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein
Wings Essays 22nd ed. 2016
Supplementary Readings via Moodle Printed out & brought to class
Access to a Netflix account
NOTE: Additional reading material will be posted on our class Moodle site. All students will be
responsible for downloading and printing readings as instructed. Remember that the USU gives you 20
free printed pages per day!
REQUIRED MATERIALS
A working CSUN email address you must check this daily for important updates!
Reliable and frequent access to the internet
A USB flash drive to save coursework
CSUN Academic Calendar
GRADING SCALE AND CRITERIA
You will be given a letter grade for this course, and that grade will be determined by the points you
accumulate throughout the semester. The grading scale is as follows:
93-100% A
90-92% A88-89% B+
83-87% B
80-82% B78-79% C+

73-77% C
70-72% C68-69% D+
63-67% D
60-62% D59% and under: FAIL

A Represents a writing level of excellent polish and style, often taking an unusual or especially thoughtful
or insightful position on the topic. The thesis is well supported and the writer addresses the complexity of
the topic by acknowledging and then arguing skillfully against its opposing viewpoint. The essay is
extremely well developed and organized, and the writing is not only free of grammatical problems or
careless mistakes but is rich in details and exhibits considerable fluency and control.
B Represents solid, readable writing that does what the assignment requires. The thesis is thoughtful and
the writer indicates his or her awareness of the complexity of the topic by acknowledging and then
arguing skillfully against and opposing viewpoint. It demonstrates concrete support for the thesis, good
organization, and is mostly free if grammatical problems or careless mistakes.
C Represents writing that, for the most part, satisfies all the requirements of an assignment. However, the
thesis is not well conceived and the writing lacks sufficient, concrete support needed to illustrate its
assertions or prove its point. C-level writing also shows lapses in editing proficiency and many careless
errors.
D Represents writing that does not adequately satisfy the requirements of an assignment. The thesis is
poorly conceived or missing, and the writing lacks coherence and support. D-level writing is
characterized by significant lapses in editing proficiency and many careless errors.
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F Represents writing that is flawed in terms of fulfilling the requirements of the assignment and
supporting a thesis, as well as in overall coherence and appropriateness. The writing is characterized by
considerable lapses in editing and a great many grammatical errors.
Each Project has a series of assignments leading to a final portfolio. Collectively, Participation/In-Class
Assignments and Homework/Moodle Assignments will be 30% of your final grade and will be scored on
a Credit/No Credit system. If you put forth a great effort you will receive full credit for the assignment.
Conversely if you do not make an effort you will receive either partial or no credit. The remaining 70% of
your grade will be assessed and scored on a letter-grade scale (A, B-,etc.). Heres the full break-down of
the grading system:
Participation/In-Class Assignments 60 points
Blog Posts and Journal entries 50 points
Moodle Assignments 90 points
Project Essays, Presentation 50 points (each)
Portfolio 50 points
Total 450 points

*Note: In order to turn in a portfolio, you must complete all three of the project essays.
Final Portfolio REQUIRED FOR COURSE CREDIT
In lieu of a final exam, students will submit a final portfolio at the end of the semester. The portfolio will
include your two formal essays revised, and your reflection essay. For this reason, save all of your work.
Youmustsubmitafinalportfolioinordertopassthecourse.YouwillNOTearnafinalgradein
thecoursewithoutsubmittingacompletefinalportfolio. Late portfolios will NOT be accepted NO
EXCEPTIONS! All portfolios are examined and assessed by a panel of English Department faculty.
Portfolio readers will evaluate each portfolio as representative of a students ability at the end of the
semester.
COURSE POLICIES
Participation and Attendance
Attendance in this class is very important. Because our class meets only once a week it is imperative that
you attend every class. If you miss three classes it will lower your final grade. Any student who misses 4
classes may NOT pass the course. Please come, and please come prepared. The discussions well be
having in class are an integral part of the learning process. The things you think and say are important,
and sharing your ideas with classmates may well give you new ideas. There will be in-class assignments
given without advance notice, and these cannot be made up. Note that it is important to be in class on
time. Parking trouble is not a valid excuse.
In the event of an emergency, please consult with me as soon as possible. I do not respond to emails
asking what you missed in class; it is your responsibility to find out from a fellow classmate. Furthermore,
I do not answer emails after Friday at 5pm. If you email me on the weekend I will respond at the
beginning of the work week.
Tardiness/Leaving Early
Arriving to class late and leaving class early is rude and disruptive. Please take parking conditions and
traffic into consideration when commuting to campus. Points will be deducted from your Participation

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grade each time you are late or leave early (without a valid reason). As with absences, please inform me if
there is an emergency.
The Bottom Line: Come to class prepared and be on time
1) You will be counted as absent if you are not prepared for class.
2) Missing FOUR OR MORE will most likely result in a failing grade for the course.
Late and Emailed Work
We all have schedules, and we need to keep to them. Please turn in your work on time.
Any assignment due electronically on Moodle will NOT be accepted late.
Assignments due in hardcopy form in class will be accepted late (by the next class session)
with a one-letter grade (point equivalent) penalty.
I do not accept emailed assignments.
I do not respond to emails after 5pm on Friday.
No WAAAAAAAAH! Clause
Every day, people struggle to maintain employment and make their lives work. Every day students jump
seemingly impossible hurdles to succeed in their classes. I have seen students face devastating personal
crises and still be in class with their assignments prepared. You know the course policies and you know
what is expected of you. Please do not come to me with excuses why you were absent and didn't get your
work in on time. If a personal crisis arises, talk with me and let me know what is going on before you
jeopardize your success in the course. Do not, however, ask me to "tell you what you've missed;" it is not
my job to take time to update you on classes you have chosen, for whatever reason, to be absent from. It
is up to you to get the notes and copies of handouts from your peers. You are responsible for all
assignments (on the schedule or assigned in class). I suggest that you make friends with someone before
you leave class today and trade phone numbers and email addresses so you can keep apprised of what's
going on in your absence. Being absent is not an acceptable excuse for incomplete work.
Classroom Conduct
Each student is expected to conduct themselves in a respectful manner. If you are disruptive or
inconsiderate in any way (talking, texting, doing work for another class, etc.) you will be asked to leave.
Dismissal from the class will count as one absence.
Turn off ALL electronic devices (cell phones, iPods, etc.) at the start of class. Laptops or electronic
notebooks/tablets may only be used in the classroom for note-taking or research, if appropriate not for
email, Facebook, etc. Students using laptops may be asked to show me class notes at any time. You will
lose the right to use your laptop and will be docked Participation points if you dont have notes to show
me and/or you use the internet/email during class time.
E-Mail Policy
You must have a working CSUN email address to be able to send and receive class emails. Please check
your email frequently, as well as our class Moodle page, for updates and reminders about the class. You
are welcome to email me regarding questions or concerns about the course; however, no emailed
assignments are accepted.
Please put the name of the course (ENGLISH 114B) in the subject heading of your email; any other
subject line may cause your email to be mistakenly deleted. Also, keep in mind that emails to your
instructors should be respectful, professional, and appropriate.

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Plagiarism
Dont do it. The CSUN catalog defines plagiarism as intentionally or knowingly representing the words,
ideas or works of another as ones own in any academic exercise. Also, keep in mind that if you have
someone edit your work it may create a significant change in your style and/or sophistication. I will
notice this this change and discuss it with you as this is also a form of plagiarism. If you plagiarize, you
will get no credit on the assignment, and I will report the incident to the Dean of Students, at which
point the offense will become part of your permanent record at CSUN. Well be discussing how to go
about properly citing materials in class and we will have a special session with a librarian to discuss
research methods, so youll have no excuse. If you have questions early on about how to cite sources I
will be more than happy to help. I encourage you to meet with me if you are uncertain about whether your
writing could be misconstrued as plagiarism. Academic dishonesty by cheating or plagiarism can result in
an F and is an offense for which a student may be expelled. Lets not go down this road.
Learning Resource Center
The LRC is home to CSUNs Tutoring Lab (for U100 and first-year writing students) and Writing Center
(for all other classes). Student tutors are available to assist you with various steps in the writing process.
You are required to go to LRC for tutoring once for at least two essays. This means you will be there at
least two times this semester. You may call for an appointment: (818) 677-2033. You can also attend on a
walk-in basis (Oviatt Library, 3rd floor, East Wing). For more information about the tutoring lab, visit
http://www.csun.edu/lrc.
Counseling Services
Counseling Services is another wonderful free service the university offers. Transitions can be difficult
and college life poses stressful and challenging situations. If youre ever feeling stuck, it can be a great
help just to talk things out, and Counseling Services can do this for you. Check out the website:
http://www.csun.edu/counseling/ or call (818) 677-2366.
The Early Warning System (TEWS)
This class is linked with The Early Warning System (TEWS), a student-centered support system. This
tool was created with the sole purpose of helping student retention by facilitating early interaction of
faculty, students, advisors and other student service areas. I will always talk to you first, but if for any
reason I am having trouble reaching you, I can reach out to TEWS for extra support for us. If I activate
TEWS, an academic advisor will contact you by email, phone, or mail.
Questions? Concerns? Do not suffer in silence! Talk With Me!

Classmate #1 Name and contact info:______________________________________________

Classmate #2 Name and contact info:______________________________________________

This syllabus is subject to change at the instructors discretion.

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