English 201A: In-Person/Classroom

Instructor: Sean Boling, sboling@cuesta.edu

On weekdays I respond to messages sent via email or the Inbox in Canvas on the same day; weekends may be more sporadic.

Course Description:  The most worthwhile skills you should leave college with are the ability to think critically and analytically, while being able to articulate your ideas clearly. Formulating and evaluating the decisions we make and the positions we take (as well as those of others) develops our intellectual intelligence, while analyzing the human experience revealed in the arts enhances our emotional intelligence. Thus, we will be doing a bit of both in this class—critical thinking and artistic analysis—through both verbal and written means, to help us develop these vital skills. The theme that unifies all of the above is look closer…at the world around us, at ourselves, and at others. Being curious about life makes it much more interesting. Here is the list of Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completing ENGL 201A successfully, students will be able to

1. Employ close reading strategies to identify and interpret patterns and ideas written in complex texts and to demonstrate comprehension of main and supporting ideas in selected readings.
2. Develop process-based writing practices that include generating, drafting, and revising to produce clear and persuasive writing.
3. Write essays that are organized effectively.
4. Formulate effective strategies to find relevant resources, critically evaluate information in light of its complexities of authority and production, and ethically attribute and skillfully integrate source material.
5. Write fair and persuasive arguments that assert and support positions, demonstrate audience awareness, and incorporate differing viewpoints. 

Here are some services to keep in mind should you need some guidance in achieving these outcomes...

Any student who requires accommodations due to a learning challenge, please be sure to register with our Disabled Student Programs and Services Links to an external site.department and contact me as soon as possible in order to make arrangements. 

Meanwhile, all of us, regardless of our challenges, could use some additional feedback and assistance with our work at times. Please take advantage of the wonderful services we provide through our Student Success Center, including Tutorial Services.

Having technical difficulties with Canvas? If I don't have the answer, the good people at technical support will: support@instructure.com

And here is how we will accomplish the learning outcomes of 201A...

Required Texts:  You Are Not So Smart, by David McRaney, The Stranger, by Albert Camus (translation by Matthew Ward)

Optional Text: A Pocket Style Manual, 9th edition, by Diana Hacker                     

Course Requirements:         

Analytical Essays (35% of overall grade): Each will be in some way tied to the materials we will be reading and viewing the first half of the semester.

*The In Practice essay is based on a chapter of your choosing from David McRaney’s You Are Not So Smart. Apply examples from your life or others to one of the concepts discussed in the text.

*For our Film Analysis, we use the McRaney text again, but this time apply it to the two films we view in class. Your assignment is to choose one of the films and demonstrate how the characters and their actions exemplify one (or more) of the concepts from the book.

*Our Novel Analysis is based on The Stranger, a compelling book in that the main character and his actions are tough to pin down. You will decide for yourself what you believe the book is trying to say, and prove your claim through evidence from the text.

*Our Timed Essay is based on material we will have covered in the three analytical essays that precede it, with a slightly different spin on that material. I would give you the details, but that would eliminate the element of surprise necessary for a timed essay. (I promise it won't be too big of a surprise.)

Music Analysis Presentation (5%): A chance to deconstruct the message of a song that contains some form of social commentary and present it to the class. These will take place over the course of the semester, three presentations at a time at the beginning of certain classes.

Research Paper (20%): The cornerstone of English 201A, it will be a somewhat large assignment (2000 words minimum, at least seven sources utilized), but it will be made very clear to you as to how to go about composing it. Four smaller portions of your grade will be based on the Proposal you turn in which frames your topic and thesis, an Annotated Works Cited that analyzes your source materials and how you will use them, a Research Paper Plan in which you not only outline your paper, but incorporate the sources you will be invoking, and a Rough Draft Review, wherein you submit at least the first half of your paper so we can make sure it's headed in a convincing direction. These preparatory assignments are part of the Preparatory Assignments component of you overall grade (see below), and should keep you focused and on track towards a fine paper.

Library Information Literacy Assignment (10%): More commonly referred to by its acronym, the LILA, this assignment is designed to enhance your ability to conduct research and evaluate potential sources. You will be required to complete the four units of the LILA on our Canvas site. Each unit has its own module with a quiz associated with it.

Preparatory Assignments (30%): As noted in some of the descriptions above, these are designed to assist in the composition of your essays, enhance certain concepts that are central to the work we do, and provide additional instruction. They include our discussions of the texts, our proposals and plans for the analytical essays, and the Research Paper preparatory assignments, and brief exercises dedicated to our course content. 

Work Ethic: Though it is not something I can quantify numerically into your grade, when everything has been said and done this semester, and it’s time to tally the numbers, you may be on the cusp of two different grades. The one you receive depends upon your performance as a student: meeting deadlines, participating in class, and in general treating the course as though you are serious in your commitment to college. And speaking of meeting deadlines: late assignments are marked down one grade from what they would have earned.

Also…no plagiarism. This may seem patently obvious, but I want to make sure you don’t succumb to the temptation, or engage in it inadvertently.  For if it does happen, you not only fail that assignment, but I have to file a Student Misconduct Report. Please note that using AI software, such as ChatGPT, to generate written content is a form of plagiarism (which to clarify means pretending someone else's words are your own). If I suspect that an essay has been generated by ChatGPT, I will run the file through GPTZero, which is an app that detects whether an essay is the product of AI. Don't let it come to that. Don't be a cheater!

A quick technical note regarding Canvas: make sure your Canvas dashboard is set to "Card View", which means you'll see the squares (cards) for each of your classes when you log on. If you're not seeing the course cards when you log on, but a list of assignments instead, you're on "List View", which you want to avoid. To switch to Card View (or confirm you're not on List View), click on the three dots on the upper right hand corner of the dashboard, and a menu will appear that lists the options. And while this may be a non-academic point to make on our syllabus, if your Canvas settings are mixed up, you won't be able to follow our class clearly and achieve all the academic goals noted above.

As for how your performance on the assignments lead to your overall evaluation in the course, keep these ranges in mind as you keep track of your grade on Canvas:

                                                100% - 90%               A

                                                89% - 80%                  B

                                                79% - 70%                  C

                                                69% - 50%                  D

                                                Anything below that…well, you know.

Some Notes Concerning Standards (or: how to perform well on the assignments in this class and, for that matter, any other class)...

While each assignment will have its own unique grading rubric that will list the specific requirements you should adhere to, there are also certain features that characterize any good piece of work—whether it be written or verbal. Since the work we do here falls under the term “rhetoric” (to use language persuasively), I would like to utilize the three forms of rhetorical appeals that embody the characteristics of good persuasive language to help you understand how to perform well in this class. They are as follows:

Ethos: Latin word that is the basis for terms like “ethics/ethical”, ethos gives the reader a sense of authority; it assures the reader you are a trustworthy source.

Logos: Meaning “logic”, logos illustrates your logical abilities to the reader, appealing to their sense of reason.

Pathos: Root word for terms like “sympathy/empathy”, pathos refers to your ability as a writer to appeal to readers’ humanity, and to respect their opinions and experiences, which may differ from yours.

So let’s now consider how these terms manifest themselves for each grade:

Grade A:          Ethos is demonstrated via a strong sense of understanding the assignment, and even though you may not be an authority on the subject, you have clearly made the effort to process it and learn more about it. Articulation is also part of your ethos: you demonstrate control over sentence structure (in written work) and word usage. Logos is shown via your ability to provide reasonable and well-supported points in defense of your position/thesis, and adhering to the task at hand (not straying into tangents or interpolation). Pathos is illustrated thanks to your consideration of your readers’ potentially differing views or unfamiliarity with the subject. You demonstrate respect for your reader, and possibly incorporate humor and emotion where appropriate. In short, I would read A-level work for pleasure, not just work.

Grade B:          Ethos is still revealed in a strong understanding of the assignment, but you may come across as not being as well-versed on the subject, either due to being less committed to learning about it, or having trouble grasping it. Articulation demonstrates control, but may pose some distractions. Logos is demonstrated but is perhaps inconsistent (some points may be much more persuasive than others, while others may be difficult to connect to your thesis). Pathos may lapse into condescension rather than consideration for your reader, and you may rely too heavily on emotional appeals. I could imagine reading a B-level assignment for pleasure, but every so often I am reminded that it’s work.

Grade C:          Ethos maintains an understanding of the assignment, but your work exhibits a lack of familiarity with the subject matter. Articulation lacks control to a degree that your authority is undermined. Logos presents some convincing points of support, but just as many that lack persuasiveness or a strong relationship to your thesis. Pathos is either absent, inappropriate, or relied upon too heavily at the expense of logos. C-level work comes across as just that: work.

Grade D:          Ethos lacking in terms of understanding the task, revealing little concern for the topic, and/or difficulties with articulation. Logos absent as far as presenting a cohesive case for your thesis. Pathos comes across as inappropriate or a non-issue in light of the above problems. Grading D-level work is very tedious.

Grade F:          None of the above.