English 101B: Introduction to Literature

Ohlone College, Spring 2010

Section 06: MW 11:30am–1:35pm, NC 2123

INSTRUCTOR: Assistant Professor Jennifer Hurley

OFFICE: Newark Center 2115
EMAIL: jhurley@ohlone.edu
COURSE BLOG: http://hurleyenglish101b.blogspot.com
PHONE: (510) 742-2377
OFFICE HOURS (BY APPOINTMENT): MW 8:45–9:45am; TTh 11:20am–12:20pm & 2:50–3:50pm
TUTORING IN THE NEWARK LIBRARY: M 2–2:30pm

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Professor Jennifer Hurley has been teaching English full time at Ohlone College since 2001. Prior to then, she
worked as a journalist in San Francisco covering housing issues and as an editor for a San Diego publishing
company. She is author of three textbooks from the Opposing Viewpoints series—Teen Pregnancy, Animal
Rights, and The 1960s—and her short stories and essays have appeared in various literary magazines. She has
served as a writer-in-residence at artist colonies in Costa Rica, Portugal, and Hawaii. Her education includes a
B.A. in Literature/Writing from UC San Diego and an M.A. in Creative Writing from Boston University.

HOW TO CONTACT ME
I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions about your writing assignments, course readings, or the
material we’ve covered in class. If you were absent, please don’t contact me about what you missed;
instead, get in touch with another student.

For quick questions, feel free to approach me before or after class, or send me an email. For longer discussions,
please make an appointment to see me in office hours. Appointments can be made in person or via email. If you
have a schedule conflict during office hours, let me know. Usually I can offer you an alternate time.

WHAT IS ENGLISH 101B?

English 101B offers transfer-level students an introduction to the four major genres of literature: short fiction,
the play, poetry, and the novel. The course will focus on reading, discussing, and writing about literature. You
do not need prior experience reading literature to take this course, but I expect you to know the writing skills
covered in English 101A (including writing an argument essay and documenting your sources using MLA style)
and to be able to write using grammatically correct English.

COURSE GOALS
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
1. comprehend why the study of literature is important;
2. define literature and differentiate the various literary genres;
3. summarize, analyze, and interpret works of literature in classroom discussions and in formal essays;
4. understand basic literary terms and apply them to various works of literature;
5. analyze the themes and style of a work of literature; and
6. feel a greater sense of confidence in your ability to understand and appreciate a work of literature.

COURSE MATERIALS
1. Light in August by William Faulkner, ISBN: 0-679-73226-8 (easy to find used, or about $10 new on Amazon)
2. $15 to see a play performed live at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre
3. To prevent the need for an expensive anthology, I will ask you to print some of your readings from the course
blog. (See the top of this syllabus for the website address of the blog.) After printing, number the paragraphs
in the margins so we can refer to specific sections during our discussions. Please do not take this course if you
cannot commit to printing the readings and bringing a paper copy with you to class. A laptop or iphone is not an
acceptable alternative. You are welcome to shrink the readings or print double-sided to save paper.
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4. A notebook for note-taking and a portable stapler
5. College-level dictionary that you can bring to class (preferably a paper one)

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All of the work you do for this class must be your own. Any instance of cheating or plagiarism will mean
immediate dismissal from the course with a grade of F. Ohlone’s policy on academic integrity appears later in
this syllabus.

CELL PHONE/LAPTOP POLICY

So that you can devote your full attention to learning, please do not use your cell phone and or laptop in the
classroom unless I have indicated otherwise. Before class begins, turn off all electronic devices and put them
out of sight. Please note that texting in class shows disrespect to the instructor.

GRADES
I strive to offer you a system of grading that is fair and easy to understand. If at any time you would like an
explanation of the grading procedures, please come talk to me. My standards for your performance are high, but
I am rooting for your success.

Attendance and Participation: 25 points

Homework Assignments: 2 points each, 40 total (one score dropped)
Argument Paper: 30 points
Rough Drafts: 1 point each (if you bring the draft to class)
Poetry Exam: 20 points
Final Exam: 25 points
Group Presentation: 10 points
Pop Quizzes: 1–2 points each

Important Note: If you earn less than a C- on all three major assignments (argument paper, poetry exam,
and final exam), then you will not pass the class, regardless of how your final percentage tallies.

At the end of the semester, I will determine your final grade by figuring the percentage of points you have
earned out of the total number of points possible. Plus and minus grades are not given at Ohlone College.
A: 90–100
B: 80–89
C: 70–79
D: 60–69
F: below 60

ATTENDANCE
- I will drop students who demonstrate poor attendance during the first half of the semester.
- At any point in the semester, if you miss three classes in a row without contacting me, expect to be dropped.
- If you miss six or more classes during the semester you will fail the class.
- If you are absent for any reason, it is your own responsibility to get the assignments from another student and
complete them on time. Please do not ask me what you missed.

PUNCTUALITY
- If you are late on a regular basis (once a week or more), your final grade will be lowered by one letter grade.
- If you must come late to a class, please come in quietly and take a seat by the door instead of walking in front
of me while I am talking to the rest of the class.
- After class let me know that you were late; otherwise you may be marked absent.

PARTICIPATION
- Participation includes all of the following: contributing to in-class discussions, participating in group work,
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taking notes during class, and coming to see me in office hours.
- To earn an A or B in attendance and participation, you must contribute to in-class discussions.
- If you participate regularly in class and have superior attendance (only one absence), you will
automatically earn five extra credit points.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS
- Detailed requirements for your homework assignments can be found on the blog.
- Submit your homework assignments to me by email (jhurley@ohlone.edu) before the start of class.
Please do not send attachments. Instead, copy and paste the text into the body of an email.
- Write the following in the subject line of your email: your last name, class and section number, and the
homework assignment number (HW#1, etc.).
- Unless otherwise specified, it is not a requirement that you bring a printed copy of your homework to class.

HOW HOMEWORK IS GRADED

- Each homework assignment is worth 2 points. Assignments that do not meet the requirements earn half credit.
- Homework assignments may be turned in up to 2 weeks late, but all late homework receives half credit, no
exceptions. Homework assignments more than 2 weeks late receive no credit.
- You will not receive written comments on your homework, but I am happy to give you feedback during office
hours. Please don’t hesitate to make an appointment for this purpose.

ARGUMENT PAPER
- Your argument paper should be printed out and submitted directly to me at the beginning of class.
- If you must miss class on the day the paper is due, please email me your paper AND bring me a printed copy
on the next day of class.
- Please use MLA format with a header including your last name and the page number, and 12 point Times New
Roman as your font. For more on MLA format, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/.
- Professionalism counts: Papers that are unstapled, poorly proofread, or printed using a dying ink cartridge
automatically receive lower grades.

ROUGH DRAFTS
- I will ask you to complete at least two typed rough drafts of your argument paper before the final draft is due.
- Do not submit rough drafts via email; instead, bring a printed copy of your draft to class for peer review.
- If you are not present in class on draft day, you will not receive credit for your draft—no exceptions.
- If you would like my feedback on your draft, please make an appointment with me in office hours.

IN-CLASS WRITING
Two of your major assignments—the poetry exam and the final—will be written in class. We will prepare for
these exams ahead of time.

GROUP PRESENTATIONS
Detailed requirements for your group presentation are available on the blog.

OTHER IMPORTANT DETAILS

- Keep a copy of every writing assignment that you do for this class. If an assignment gets lost, I cannot give
you a grade unless you supply me with another copy. Also, keep any graded work that you receive back from
me.
- If you have a late assignment due to an absence, it is treated the same as any other late assignment. This is also
true of assignments that are late due to computer/printer errors. I appreciate those students who submit late work
with a willingness to accept the penalty and without making excuses.
- There is no such thing as “make-up work” in this class. If you miss the final exam, an in-class writing
assignment, or a quiz, you cannot make these up, nor can you rewrite a paper for a new grade. Please do not ask
me if you can take the final exam at another time.

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OUTSIDE HELP
- Students who make appointments with me in office hours usually do better than those who don’t.
- Free peer tutors are available in the Newark Library or in Hyman Hall (1st floor) on the Fremont campus.
- To get a tutor, you may need to be persistent. Find out when the tutors are available for drop-in sessions. If you
need help getting a tutor, please see me.

POLICY ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Obviously, cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. Any instance of cheating or plagiarism, intentional or
unintentional, will result in your immediate dismissal from the course with a grade of F. There are no
second chances or “make-ups” for these offenses; therefore, it is essential that you understand how cheating and
plagiarism are defined.

Definition of Cheating:
Ohlone College defines cheating as “the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work
through the use of any dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent means.” Cheating in this course includes:

1. Copying from another student’s exam, essay, or homework

2. During an exam, using sources or materials not authorized by the instructor
3. Altering grades
4. Having someone take an exam for you, or taking an exam for someone else
5. Representing someone else’s work as your own (plagiarism)

Definition of Plagiarism:
Ohlone College defines plagiarism as “the act of representing the work of another as one’s own (without giving
appropriate credit) regardless of how that work was obtained and submitting it to fulfill academic requirements.”
In plain language, plagiarism is copying someone else’s words or ideas without giving that person credit.

There are two types of plagiarism. You are committing intentional plagiarism if you intentionally misrepresent
someone else’s work as your own. Examples of intentional plagiarism:

1. Taking an essay or part of an essay from the Internet, a magazine, a book, or a friend, and submitting
it as your own
2. Incorporating someone else’s ideas, paragraphs, sentences, or words into your paper, with the
intention of representing them as your own
3. Turning in any writing that you yourself did not do

You are committing unintentional plagiarism if you fail to give credit to any author whose ideas or words you
use in your writing. Examples of unintentional plagiarism:

1. “Borrowing” paragraphs, phrases, or words (three or more in a row) or from an

author without giving credit to that author
2. Failing to give the name of the author whose ideas you are using in your paper
3. Failing to put quotation marks around phrases or passages that you have taken
directly from a source.