English 1b: writing about literature

Welcome to Darren Keast's online English 1B at CCSf

Hello! English 1B is the second writing-focused class needed for transfer to four-year universities. You will apply the organization and critical reading skills developed in English 1A but extend them to Writing about Literature (which is the class name). So you read poems, short stories, a play, and a novel and then analyze their meaning in discussions and essays.

My sections of 1B are offered through City Online and there are no in-person or Zoom meetings (if you want one that does, the English department both types). We will use the Canvas course software and follow a 16-week semester (so we start two weeks after the regular semester). To succeed, you will need to be disciplined to follow the schedule of readings, online activities, and essays indpendently.

Please contact me by email at dkeast@ccsf.edu

Student Learning Outcomes for English 1B

  1. Compose coherent expository and argumentative essays about literary texts.

  2. Synthesize critical reading, academic research, and cultural contexts in writing about literature.

  3. Analyze and evaluate literature by means of close textual reading, identifying central themes and key literary elements.

  4. Distinguish between literal and figurative language and assess how these figures of speech help generate themes.