Course Essentials

What is English 120/020 all about?

In this class, we will become a community of writers, learners, and critical thinkers. You all have stories to share, opinions to express, and arguments to make, and I am here to help you do all of that. There is no such thing as "bad writers" in our class. We will all work together to be the best writers we can be. And, when you add in the 020 component, that just means you will receive additional support from resources, materials, and myself.

Course Description

English 120: Freshman composition course. Students study the elements and principles of composition through the practice of writing expository essays and a research paper. Analysis of assigned readings stimulate critical thinking and serve as models of effective writing. Emphasis is on integrating outside sources as evidence in students’ argumentative essays, documenting source material in MLA format, and using the reading, writing, and revision processes to build effective skills. The course allows students to develop metacognitive awareness of the roles that writing can play in their lives.

English 020: This course is designed to review and reinforce the skills necessary to be successful in ENGL 120 (Freshman Composition). Students study the elements and principles of composition through the practice of editing and revising narrative, expository, and argumentative essays. Students are also introduced to effective reading skills and strategies necessary for the analysis of college level material.

Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI)

Even though AI and Chat GPT are taking over the world, this course is still taught by a human being: me! So, even if you sometimes feel like you are working on your own, or "teaching yourself," it is my goal to ensure that this class captures the feeling of being in a classroom. Therefore, I will try my best to initiate regular and substantive interaction with you, and that is done through a variety of ways. I have designed the Modules to be user friendly and show that there is a voice and personality behind all of the pages, activities, and videos. In addition, I will be giving you feedback on all of the materials you submit, sending out multiple Announcements per week, and I am available in the Chat link. We will also be having weekly Zoom office hours, and while they are not mandatory, I invite you to stop by to say "hi," maybe meet your fellow classmates, and get assistance from me. Finally, I hope you will participate in making videos for our Padlets so you will get to see and hear your classmates. The whole point of this is to build a supportive and inclusive community.

Course Theme: Exploring Your Future

This semester, most of the class will be focused on your potential academic and career goals. This will be the subject of our first essay, which is a personal and reflective paper. Then, we will write a rhetorical analysis on the subject of cancel culture and banning media. Finally, our third essay will come back to the topic of 'exploring your future' as you will research a controversial topic in your field of study. All of our essays, readings, and other assignments, will be connected to this theme, and we will build on this knowledge throughout the course of the semester.

What Else You Need to Know

You need this course to graduate or transfer. But, that is just one reason for taking this class. Many of you might think of writing as difficult or tedious, but being able to write clearly, express your ideas well, and critically analyze information, will be valuable to you far beyond this course. Whether it is communicating with other instructors, your employers, your children's schools or anyone else., it is essential that you can do so clearly and confidently.

My Philosophy on Inclusion

I am deeply and passionately committed to acknowledging, confronting, and actively striving to eradicate all forms of racism, ethnic oppression, or discrimination based on sexual orientation or preference. Thus, this course operates from the belief that racism is real, is present, and is something that Black, Indigenous, Jews, and all People of Color face daily. Part of my objective for this course, therefore, is to create a safe and brave space that enables all of my students to engage openly, safely, equally, equitably, and honorably with their education. In taking this course, you are expected to do your best to embrace these values; and, while I expect that we will all make mistakes along the way, I also hope that we will work together to engage with all of our classmates and with the material through thoughtful respect of everyone and their individual truths.

Please take a look at our English Department's Anti-racism Statement

Textbook

This is a no cost course, meaning there are no textbooks required. All of the information/readings/lectures you need will be uploaded to our Canvas container. What that means is that you want to go through our weekly modules very carefully rather than only clicking on the assignments due.

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