ENC 1102

COURSE SYLLABUS

Instructor: Alejandro Salinas

Department: Communication, Arts, & Philosophy
Room Number: 1371
Telephone: (305)237-6358
E-mail: asalinas@mdc.edu or asalinas1313@gmail.com

Course Description:
One of the main purposes of this course is help you gain a stronger appreciation for literature. We will learn basic
techniques of literary analysis by examining a wide range of works. In the process, we will try to see that literature is
much more than just busywork for school. It can teach you about both the world and yourself, sometimes even showing
you things in a way that will make you want to change them. It can take you to worlds distant from your own, filled with
people extraordinary and common, good and bad, and always magically real--at least in the good stuff. When it comes
down to it, literature can be one of the main sources of pleasure in your life. I hope that one of the semester's most
important lessons is simply that great books, movies and music can be a lot of fun.

This course is about learning to experience literature richly, but just as much, it is about learning to write more effectively.
It is a continuation of the English Composition I course you have already taken. You will spend much of your time
writing responses to the works we read. The goal is to let you practice building arguments. You will take a stand on what
you think a work "means," supporting it through evidence from the text and, eventually, outside sources. The analytical
principles you will apply to literature represent a valuable tool in any field that you will use it throughout your academic
career.

A final major theme of this course is research: learning to find it and to integrate it in your own writing to make your
storytelling and argument-building more powerful.

Course Texts:
All our readings will come from handouts and internet links, but I recommend that you get a handbook that covers
research and grammar. If you don’t have one, I recommend Hacker (listed below), which is available at the bookstore.
Note that you can also purchase an online version for a little less. If you’re interested in the online version or aren’t
sure if the handbook you have is acceptable, please see me.
• Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers, 5th Ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004
• (Can purchase online version at dianahacker.com/bedhandbook)

Assignments:
You'll be required to write four essays. Length requirements will range from 500-1500 words. For some of your essays,
you'll have peer workshops, in which you'll get into groups, exchange essays, and offer each other comments on how you
can improve them. Using this feedback, you'll have a chance to revise your essay and turn it in again. The second time
around, I'll assign a grade. In addition, you will write three in-class essays, including a final exam.

Besides writing essays, you'll also be required to complete several shorter assignments. If you do an adequate job on an
assignment, showing that you’ve put some time and thought into it, you will receive a check (√), worth 10 points toward
your final grade. If you do a less than adequate job, you will receive either a check minus (√-), worth 5 points, or a zero.
Among the most common shorter assignments are informal respomnses.You may talk about a personal experience the
reading called to mind, you may agree or disagree with a position being taken, or you may comment on points about style
or structure that you noticed in the writing. Really, you can talk about anything, as long as you're coherent and
thoughtful. In addition, you may have some announced quizzes and in-class group activities. Although the essays make
up much of your final grade, the quizzes, activities and responses will be averaged together to make up another big part,
so don't neglect them.

Service Learning:
Please note that this course has a service-learning component. You will participate in an fifteen-hour service-learning
project that will account for 15% of the semester's grade, and which will be the subject of some of our writing and class
discussion. This semester we will work as tutors and mentors with children, mostly low-income, in community centers
near our campus. You will also have the option of helping restore plant and maintain gardens in urban areas. The
interactions we have with people through service-learning give us a powerful context for understanding the psychology
and social problems like poverty and racism. Service-learning is one of the most exciting and challenging aspects of the
course. Keep in mind, though, that it is not volunteer work. It is not extra work. Service-learning is one of the many tools
we’re using to learn the course content, and it is mandatory.

Grading Criteria:
Essay 1 20%
Service-Learning project 20%
Totals:
Essay 2 10%
Hours 5%
Reflection Journal 5%
Essay 3 (with research) 20%
Essay 4 (final) 20%
HW & Other assignments 20%

94-100% = A
84-90% = B
74-80% = C
64-70% = D
50-60% = F

Attendance and Make-Ups:

• Regular attendance and class participation are an integral part of a satisfactory grade. They are also the
determining factor in “borderline” averages. If you are between an “A” and a “B,” for example, strong
participation will bump you up while a lack of participation will bump you down.
• If you are absent three consecutive classes, the instructor may drop you from the class.
• Journals, homework and in-class exercises can not be made up. All essays submitted late, whether first or final
draft, will be penalized by half a letter. After one class period, they will not be accepted.
• A documented emergency will be dealt with on an individual basis.

Drops: If students are unable to continue in the course, they must notify the instructor. It is their responsibility to fill out
an official withdrawal form with the registrar’s office. If they do not officially withdraw, they may receive an F in the
course.

Policies:
• Plagiarism means producing a work that is fully or partly someone else’s and claming it as your own. Plagiarized
work will receive an “F.” You also risk facing disciplinary action from the college.
• I will hand your papers back to you to keep; it is your responsibility to hold on to them.
• Academic Integrity: You are expected to adhere to the policies of academic integrity as outlined in the Students'
Rights and Responsibilities Handbook. Violation of the policies will result in disciplinary action also outlined in
the handbook.
• All students must come to class prepared with their own books and materials. In the interest of fairness to all
students who desire a classroom environment conducive to learning, no students will be allowed to share books.
If students come to class without their own books, they must not infringe upon the rights of those who come
prepared.
• Beepers and cellular phones must be turned off prior to class.

See online calendar for schedule and office hours