Eng 100

Basic Principles of Composition

Jeannine Stanko
Class Sections/Time/Location
Section: BC72

Dates: 8/19 12/8

Days: Tuesdays

Time: 6:30 9:40 PM

Room: N307
Ice Breaker
Choose a classmate that you dont already know. Ask
this classmate the following questions. You will be
introducing this person to the rest of the class so
make sure to write down their answers!
1. What do you want to be when you grow up?
2. What is your favorite Disney movie?
3. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
4. If you could visit any place in the world, where
would you go and why?
5. What is something that greatly annoys you?
Instructor Information
Jeannine Stanko
724-396-4158
jstanko@ccac.edu

Office Hours: MTW by appointment
Office Location: Writing Lab

Class website:
www.english100barbados.weebly.com

Materials & Resources
Miller, George. The Prentice Hall Reader. 10
th
ed.
Boston: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.

Internet capability

Flash drive

Tutoring Options: The Learning Assistance Center
and the Learning Commons provide free tutoring
to registered CCAC students. Online services are
available through smartthinking.com
Learning Outcomes
Write effective paragraphs and short expository
essays that employ unity, coherence,
completeness, and order
Apply editing skills
Apply basic skills in critical reading and thinking
Shape writing by an awareness of audience,
purpose, and tone
Use and credit sources responsibly and
appropriately
Produce 5-7 multi-paragraph essays, some of
which include reading-based writing, 14-18 pages
of writing for the semester
Listed Topics
Sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and
punctuation
Paragraph development, unity, and coherence
Thesis sentence development, evaluation, and
placement
Plagiarism and proper citation conventions
The Writing Process
Editing and proofreading
Computer format
Quotation, summary, paraphrase
Writing for audience, purpose, and tone
Primary vs. secondary sources
Evaluating basic library holdings and internet sources
Differentiating between academic, professional, and
informal writing
Evaluation
Grading scale
A = 100-90%
B = 89 80%
C = 79-70%
D = 69-60%
F = 59% or below
Students must earn a C grade or better to
register for the next course in this
discipline or to use this course as a
prerequisite for a course in another
discipline.



Tests & Quizzes
18% of final grade
Quizzes(4) - 80 points each
Grammar Final 50 points
Writing Final (2-3pgs) 50 points

Presentation
10% of final grade
Writing chapter presentation
Must be done in groups (max 4 per group)
Description
Compare/contrast
Classification/division
Process
cause & effect
Argument
Pre-writes, Plans
10% final grade
Pre-writes & Plans (1-2pgs each), 100 points total




Attendance 22%
Students are expected to attend every class.
Each class is worth a portion of your final grade.
Rough drafts, peer reviews, in-class work, and quizzes cannot
be made up.
If you choose to come to class unprepared, you will be marked
absent.
For example, in order to participate in the peer review process,
you must have a completed rough draft. Rough drafts are due the
class before submissions no exceptions.
You will be considered late if you arrive after I have taken roll.
Lateness or early departure of 20 or more minutes counts as a
complete absence. After three late entries or early departure,
coming in late or leaving early will count as an absence.
Missing three classes will result in class failure. After missing
three classes, your grade will drop one letter grade every time
you miss class.

Essays
40% final grade
Essay #1 (1-2pgs) 100 pts
(narrative or description)
Essay #2 (2-3pgs) 100 pts
compare/contrast or classification/division
Essay #3 (2-3pgs) 100pts
Process or cause & effect
Essay #4 (2-3pgs) 100pts
argument annotated bibliography

Total 400 points



Mulligans
Each quiz and essay can be redone once
Due before next quiz or essay
If absent for a quiz, the mulligan is
forfeited. If an essay is submitted after
its due date, the mulligan is forfeited.
Further instructions for mulligan
submission described in syllabus
Essay Submission
Must be submitted at beginning of class!
Late papers forfeit mulligan
Essays will not be accepted after mulligan
deadline
Computer problem is NOT an emergency.
Email essay option
Attach & copy/paste into body
Must be received before class on due date
I will respond for your reassurance (text!)
A plagiarized essay will result in failure of
assignment!


Electronics
Must be turned off & out of sight

Texting or engaging in social networking
Computer/internet activities during instruction
Receive an absence for class period

No personal calls or bathroom breaks
Inform about emergencies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-uaFsE5xSM

Disclaimers
Disruptions talking during instruction or
student Q&A
Refer to Student Handbook for
acceptable/unacceptable behavior
Disciplinary policies & procedures of college
CCAC makes every effort to provide reasonable
accommodations for students with disabilities.
Questions about services and procedures should
contact the Office of Supportive Services.
During the semester, reasonable changes to the
course outline may be academically appropriate.
Students will be notified of these adjustments in
a timely manner.
Class Website
can access through Blackboard
Can access directly
www.english100barbados.weebly.com


Questions?

Diagnostic exam
Fill in the scantron bubble that corresponds with
your answer.
Does not count as a grade, but is a factor in your
final exam.
English 100 BC
What is the moral?
A dramatic ballad singer studied under a strict teacher
who insisted that he rehearse day after day, month after
month the same passage from the same song, without
being permitted to go any further. Finally, overwhelmed
by frustration and despair, the young man ran off to find
another profession. One night, stopping at an inn, he
stumbled upon a recitation contest. Having nothing to
lose, he entered the competition and, of course, sang the
one passage that he knew so well. When he had finished,
the sponsor of the contest highly praised his
performance. Despite the student's embarrassed
objections, the sponsor refused to believe that he had
just heard a beginner perform. "Tell me," the sponsor
said, "who is your instructor? He must be a great master."
The student later became known as the great performer
Koshiji.
If a child says he wants to be a professional
basketball player, what must the child do?

If a student wants to be a good writer, what must the
student do?
Parts of Speech
Noun
name of a person, place, thing, or concept
A Noun is a Person, Place, or Thing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0m89e9oZko
Pronoun
word used in place of a noun
Rufus Xaviar Sarsasparilla
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVSr4bsVIpM
Verb
usually expresses action or being
Verb: Thats Whats Happening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvBKnZ6u0jA
Exercise 1.1 Nouns, Pronouns, and Verbs
1. The mathematician John Allen Paulos claims that
too many Americans do not understand basic
mathematical ideas.
verb
2. Paulos calls this lack of understanding
innumeracy.
noun
3. Innumerates may not grasp the idea of
probability.
verb
Exercise 1.1 Nouns, Pronouns, and Verbs
4. Failing to understand the likelihood of an event
may cause poor judgment.
noun
5. Unreasonable fears for example, of being killed
in a terrorist attack may paralyze citizens who
dont appreciate how unlikely such an event is.
Pronoun
6. A related misunderstanding is the failure to
realize how common coincidences are.
verb
Exercise 1.1 Nouns, Pronouns, and Verbs
7. For instance, the chance of two strangers on an
airplane having acquaintances in common is
surprisingly high.
noun
8. In addition, probability shows that in any random
group of twenty-three people, there is a 50 percent
chance that two of them share a birthday.
pronoun
Exercise 1.1 Nouns, Pronouns, and Verbs
9. People unfamiliar with rules of probability may
be dangerously gullible.
verb
10. Educational reforms and a systematic attempt to
show the fun side of math could help Americans
overcome their number resistance.
Noun
Hacker Chapter 8 Active verbs
Whenever possible avoid the passive voice and
use the active voice
Makes writing crisper, more lively, more
concise
Avoid or replace be verbs
be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been

The fly ball was caught by Hernando.
Hernando caught the fly ball.

Hacker Chapter 8 Active Verbs
Use the active voice unless you have a good
reason for choosing the passive.
In active, the subject does the action
In passive, the subject receives the action
Mostly scientific writing

The settlers stripped the land of timber.
The land was stripped of timber by the settlers.
Hacker Chapter 8 Active Verbs
Replace be verbs that result in dull or wordy
sentences
As a rule, choose a subject that names the
person or thing doing the action.
Ex. E.5 Strong, Active Verbs
1. Big crowds are drawn to annual Fashion
Week events in American and European cities.
Annual Fashion Week events in American And
European cities draw big crowds.
2. Shows by new and established designers are
attended by photographers, journalists,
models, and celebrities.
Photographers, journalists, models, and
celebrities attend shows by new and
established designers.
Ex. E.5 Strong, Active Verbs
3. Many people in the audience have model-thin
bodies and photogenic faces.
Many people in the audience show off their
model-thin bodies and photogenic faces.
4. Often haute couture shows with their
expensive, trend-setting fashions are the
highlight of the event.
Often, haute couture shows with their
expensive, trend-setting fashions entice the
largest numbers of eager spectators.
Ex. E.5 Strong, Active Verbs
5. Haute couture garments are not expected to
be worn by ordinary people.
Designers do not expect ordinary people to wear
haute couture garments.
6. Haute couture creations are frequently more
like works of art than mere outfits.
Designers frequently consider their haute
couture creations as works of art rather than
mere outfits.
Ex. E.5 Strong, Active Verbs
7. Such clothing can be worn in public only by
runway models.
Only runway models can wear such clothing in
public.
8. Other people seem ridiculous in haute
couture clothes.
Other people attract ridicule in haute couture
clothes.
Ex. E.5 Strong, Active Verbs
9. Clothes can be draped more easily on models
who have very thin bodies.
Dressers can drape clothes more easily on
models who have very thin bodies.
10. Some people are more impressed by the
spectacle than by the clothes.
The spectacle impresses some people more than
the clothes.
Parts of Speech
Adjective
modifies a noun or pronoun
usually answers questions such as
Which one? What kind? How many?
Articles a, an, and the also adjectives
Unpack Your Adjectives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmRBRnyfjFw
Adverb
modifies a verb , an adjective, or an adverb
usually answers questions such as
When? Where? Why? How? Under what conditions? To
what degree?
Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXwE1dVDHP0
Exercise 1.5 Adjectives & Adverbs
1. How well do American students compare with
those in other industrialized nations?
adverb
2. A student who receives the best education the
United States offers is likely to be very prepared.
adjective
3. However, many students, especially those in
poorer neighborhoods, get substandard training.
adjective
Exercise 1.5 Adjectives & Adverbs
4. Education professionals agree that the US
educational system has problems.
adjective
5. Unfortunately, they cannot agree on what to do to
solve this problem.
adverb
6. One proposed solution involves nationwide
standards.
adjective
Exercise 1.5 Adjectives & Adverbs
7. With nationwide standards, students across the
country would be responsible for learning the
same curriculum as all other students in the
United States.
adjective
8. Students could prove they had met the standards
by performing satisfactorily on a standardized
test.
adverb
Exercise 1.5 Adjectives & Adverbs
9. Supporters of this method claim that standards
would force students to master knowledge before
being promoted or graduating.
adjective
10. Some opponents argue that students learn more
easily when teachers are able to use their own
judgment about the curriculum.
adverb
Parts of Speech
Preposition
indicates the relationship between the noun or
pronoun that follows it and another word in the
sentence
Busy Prepositions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmz8mM-nPtM
Conjunction
connects words or word groups
Conjunction Junction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AyjKgz9tKg


Exercise 1.6 Conjunctions &
Prepositions
1. For about the last twenty years, physicists have
been analyzing chaos.
preposition
2. In spite of common perceptions, chaos may not be
completely random.
preposition

Exercise 1.6 Conjunctions &
Prepositions
3. The operations of some incompletely understood
biological systems brains, for example may
thrive in the gray area between order and chaos.
preposition
4. Some physicists believe that apparently chaotic
behavior may actually act according to patterns.
preposition

Exercise 1.6 Conjunctions &
Prepositions
5. If chaos is somehow systematic, it is nevertheless
tremendously complex.
preposition
6. Finding the patterns of chaotic behavior is
sometimes possible, although identifying them is
difficult.
preposition

Exercise 1.6 Conjunctions &
Prepositions
7. One difficulty lies in determining the type of
model appropriate for a given complex system.
preposition
8. Understanding these complex systems not only is
interesting in theory, but also has potential
practical uses.
conjunction

Exercise 1.6 Conjunctions &
Prepositions
9. One group of physicists has tried to understand
the abstractions of chaos theory and make
concrete gains from their knowledge.
conjunction
10. As part of an attempt to predict its future
behavior, they are studying the complex and
chaotic system known as the stock market.
preposition

Prepositions
Can you end a sentence with a preposition?
Where are you at?
Where are you?
She displayed the good humor shes known for.
She displayed the good humor for which she is
known.
I want to know where he came from.
I want to know from where he came.
Prepositions
She is a person I cannot cope with.
She is a person with whom I cannot cope.
If the restructured sentence sounds contrived and
unnatural, simply rewrite the sentence:
It is behavior I will not put up with.
It is behavior up with which I will not
put.
It is behavior I will not tolerate.
ALSO BAD!!!!
The source uses a variety of people
to show what happiness is.

This is how people are.

Never end in a be verb!
Sample essay
Read Preface pages 1 46 (How to Read an Essay,
How to Write an Essay, How to Revise an Essay)
Read definitions of point of view (pg. 583),
agreement (pg. 577) and pronouns (pg. 583)
(6:30PM class) For next Tuesday...
Writing Sample Prompt Due Tuesday
Choose 1 of the following.
Relate an experience that caused you to learn
something about yourself.
Describe either an annoying/obnoxious person or a
pleasant/courteous one.
Compare your values and priorities today to those you
held in high or middle school.
Explain what you consider to be the three most
important qualities of an instructor, teacher, or boss
Explain how to be a successful student.
Explain the causes of a bad day you recently
experienced.
Argue for or against animal testing.