Northwest-Shoals
Community College / Spring 2003
English
102, Composition II
M/W
Class, 9:30 am – 10:45 am
Instructor:
Michael Patrick McClung, B.A., M.A.
256/331-6313
Office:
AV-16
E-mail:
mcclung@nwscc.edu
Required Texts:
Perrine’s Literature, (8th
Edition)
Harcourt Guide to MLA
Documentation, L.
S. Schwartz
Class
Attendance: Students should attend all class meetings.
Students who miss more than 5 class meetings (that is, more than 20% of
the course) will receive an F for
the course regardless of the grades they have earned thus far.
Thus, students are discouraged from missing any class meeting unless a
genuine emergency arises. If you
are absent due to sickness, you do not need to bring a doctor’s excuse to
the instructor; unlike high school, there are no “excused”
absences—absent is absent for whatever reason.
Conferences:
Students are encouraged to speak with the instructor at any time during the
semester about their progress and improvement.
However, students should not at any time during the semester tell the
instructor what grade they “just have to have.”
Example: “Oh, Mr. McClung, I need to bring up my GPA, and I just have
to have a B in this class!”
Grades: Your
final course grade will come from performance on essays, exams, the research
paper, and any other assignments that the instructor gives.
Essays will comprise much of the course content, and they will be
judged based on development and support, grammar and mechanics, thesis and
organization, unity, coherence, and diction.
Essays turned in late will be graded more stringently than those
written and turned in on time.
Grade
Percentages: Essays
1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A = 16.25% of final course average
Research Paper = 30% of final course average
Final Exam = 5% of final course average
Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA): It is the policy of NW-SCC to comply with the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Any
student covered under this act needing and desiring reasonable accommodations
for this class should notify the instructor by the end of the second week of
classes. Students may not claim to
have a disability at the end of the term and then request special treatment,
change of grade, etc.
Academic
Citizenship: The following are some things
you need to know about being a student in this course or any other college
course. (1) You may not habitually
come to class late; tardiness is rude and it is a distraction.
Repeated or habitual tardiness indicates gross ignorance of academic
amenities. The instructor will take
special notice of those who are repeatedly late to class, and habitual tardiness
will result in a lower final course grade for the student; (2) You must purchase
the required book(s) for the course; the books are not optional; (3) You may not
talk and carry on conversations with your friends and neighbors while the
instructor is talking; (4) You may not sleep in class or work on classwork for
other courses; (5) It is your job to look interested during class time even if
you are not; this is one of the most important lessons you can learn in life;
(6) You will not allow a cell phone to ring under any circumstances during class
time; in fact, throw your cell phone in the garbage today on your way out of
class—every time you use a cell phone, it decreases your intelligence
substantially; (7) If you copy essays or portions of essays off the Internet and
turn them in as your own work, you will be found guilty of plagiarism and will
have an F in the course as of that day;
taking someone else’s writing—whether from the Internet or any other print
source—and presenting it as your own is a serious academic offense.
About Your
Professor: Mr. McClung received his B.A. degree in English from the
University of North Alabama (1993) and his M.A. degree in English from the
University of Alabama at Birmingham (1995).
He has taught in the English Departments of UAB, UNA, and NW-SCC.
Course Schedule:
Seating Assignment
1/15:
Guidelines for
Writing About Literature handout
Five-Paragraph Essay Model
Literary Essay Examples
Diagnostic Writing Assignment
1/20:
No Class; King/Lee Holiday
1/22:
Introduction to Short Stories
Readings: “A Worn Path,”
223; “Miss Brill,”
182; “The Cask of Amontillado,” 680
1/27:
Lab – 1A, first essay for a grade (bring
two diskettes)
1/29:
Assignment TBA
2/5:
Lab – 2X
2/10:
Research Paper Assignment given
out
Library Orientation
2/12:
Lab – 2Y
2/17:
Readings: Harcourt Guide to MLA,
1-30
Discussion of Bibliography and Note Cards
2/19:
Lab – 2A
Library time for Research Paper
2/26:
Introduction to Poetry
Readings: “Cross,” 766; “Ballad of
Birmingham,” 728; “The Red Wheel-
barrow,” 730; “The Man He Killed,” 739;
Break of Day,” 747; “There’s been a
death . . . ,” 747; “Dream
Deferred,” 805;
“Love,” 897, “Hymn to God the Father,
768
3/3:
Individual
Conferences about the Research Paper
Library Time
3/5:
Lab – 3X
3/10:
Readings: “Mirror,” 749; “When my love
swears . . . ,” 759; “The Chimney Sweeper,”
837; “Incident,” 832; “A narrow fellow in the
grass,” 1037; “To Autumn,” 783; “Batter my
heart, three-personed God,” 840; “I heard a
fly buzz . . . ,” 948; “Woman Work,” 908
3/19:
Lab – 3A
Library Time
3/24:
Spring Break / No Class
3/26:
Spring Break / No Class
3/31:
Begin Typing Research Paper in the Lab
4/2:
Introduction to Drama
Death of a Salesman, 1545+
4/7:
Lab – Research Paper Time
4/9:
Complete Discussion of Death of a
Salesman
4/14:
Lab – Research Paper Time
4/21:
Lab – Research Paper Time
4/23:
Lab – Research Paper Time
4/28:
Lab
– Research Paper Due!
Late Papers Lose 15 points.
4/30:
Sophocles, Oedipus Rex
5/5:
Lab – 4A on Drama
Final Exam: Monday, May 12,
8:00 am – 10:00 am
