English I 2009-2010 syllabus
Books we will use (not in this order)
Fall Semester Spring Semester
The Kitchen God’s Wife MLA Documentation Guide
75 Short Masterpieces The Doomsday Book
UnSpun The Sherlock Holmes Mysteries
The Catcher in the Rye Julius Caesar
Mythology Spoon River Anthology
Life of Pi Rebecca
Vocabulary for the College-Bound Student Vocabulary for the College-Bound Student
GOALS AND PURPOSE
The goals and purpose of this course are to develop further a student’s writing, reading, thinking, and speaking skills and to enhance a student’s ability to appreciate, analyze, understand, and enjoy good writing. This course should be viewed not as an end, but yet another step on the road to becoming a lifelong reader and thinker. Here are some of the questions students will be exploring throughout the year:
How are the content and structure of my writing related? We’ll be learning how to structure essays, opening paragraphs, paragraphs themselves, thesis statements, even sentences. How does that improve or affect your writing? How do grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and syntax (sentence structure) make the content of your writing better?
How can I find my voice in different types of writing? We will be working primarily in four modes of writing: expository, persuasive, creative, and analytical.
 | Expository writing is writing that informs, writing that explains. Most of the writing you have done for school has probably been expository. Job applications, company reports, notes on how to cook a meal – these are all expository pieces So are such prompts as, “Discuss why Holden Caulfield has trouble talking to girls in the novel” or “Explain the change in matter when dry ice is placed in a room.” |
| Persuasive writing is designed to take a position and move the reader to agree with the writer (and maybe take action). Newspaper columns are often in the persuasive mode, as is an essay that takes a position on gun control. |
| Creative writing is designed to express the feelings and beliefs of a writer through a narrative. Narrative writing tells a story, relates events, or captures how people or things affect the writer. Creative writing may be fictional or non-fictional, such as a description of your first kiss or how a character escapes from a Martian prison camp. |
| Analytical writing looks at how writing does what it does, by looking at such things as word choice, sentence structure, metaphors, or images. Analytical writing looks at the parts that make up writing and examines how these parts work to create an effect on the reader. Examples of analytical prompts are “Explain how Bradbury’s use of images creates an atmosphere of doom” or “Discuss the effect that rhythm and pauses have in ‘The Raven.’” |
What makes literature worth reading? While I hope you like the books we read this year, I also hope that you appreciate even those books and stories you don’t particularly like. You can dislike a character (who might be annoying or just plain evil), which still seeing why that character is developed well. Are you able to discuss what makes a story effective or not? Understanding good writing helps you to enjoy it on more levels; it also can make your own writing better.
GRADING POLICY
Semester exam = 10%
Work ethic = 10%
Vocabulary quizzes = 10% Reading quizzes = 15%
Tests and Projects = 25%
Portfolio (Papers) = 30%
| Semester exam refers to the final exam at the end of each semester |
| Work ethic refers to doing your assignments well and on time and taking part in a productive way in class work and discussions. Strong homework and class discussion increase your points; weaker homework and discussion decrease your points. |
| Quizzes may be announced or unannounced. |
| Tests and projects is self-explanatory |
| Portfolio: You will have 5 major papers each semester. After you hand them in, I will return them to you with a grade on it. That is not the final grade. You have until just before winter break to turn in your final first-semester portfolio. Each final paper will then be graded and ALL earlier drafts should be attached to it. So each paper in the portfolio should represent your most polished version of that assignment. We’ll go into more details of the portfolio later. |
OTHER HOUSEKEEPING
| Respect other people in the classroom |
| Do your homework every night. Every other Monday I will give you the assignments for the next two weeks. They are also listed on my Web site at www.tcamb1.com. You are responsible for finding out and doing assignments when you are absent. Homework not ready at the beginning of the paper is graded a zero. |
| I have little patience for assignments not done or turned in late. Occasionally there is a valid reason for lateness; usually there is not. “My printer isn’t working” is not a valid reason for lateness. If your printer is not working, then you can email yourself a copy of your paper and print it first thing in the library. You can, in addition, email a copy to me (tcambisios@mvcds.net) as either a Word attachment or as text in the body of the email. A paper is graded down one letter grade for every day that it is late. If it is due at 10:00 a.m., telling me you will turn it in by 3:00 means that it is late. If you have what you think is a valid excuse for a late assignment, talk to me. |
| Pay attention to school rules, such as those relating to tardiness, the dress code, cell phones, eating food in the Upper School, etc. |
| Plagiarism means attempting to pass off another person’s words, ideas, or work as your own, either in whole or in part. We take plagiarism seriously at Maumee Valley. If you plagiarize, you may be put before a Disciplinary Committee. We will spend some time talking about proper citing of sources. You will also have to submit your papers to the Internet plagiarism service we subscribe to. |
