English 101

Welcome to English 101. This website contains assignments and other materials needed for the course.

Course Materials

Materials are grouped into the following categories:

Course Policies and Information
Major Assignments

Assigned Readings
Peer Review
Critical Reading
Persuasive Writing
Writing Style and Surface Revision
More Help with Writing

Course Policies and Information

Syllabus (DOC file), containing course policies
Homework Calendar (DOC file), listing all the homework assignments for the quarter, including smaller assignments not listed on the syllabus.
Expectations of students and professor
Homework – Grade Correlation This graph shows the relationship between homework scores and overall grades over 8 quarters of English 101. Although there is a lot of variability caused by other factors, the overall trend is clear: a 72% correlation (very high) between homework scores and final grade. People who do their homework consistently tend to do better, on average, than those who do not.
Grade Guideline, showing what grades mean to me.
Inclement Weather Policy

Major Assignments

Essay I (DOC file)
Essay II (DOC file)
Essay III (DOC file)
- Tips for Writing the Argument Paper
- A sample paper, comparing and contrasting speeches by Barack Obama and Cynthia McKinney on race in America. The sample paper includes comments in the margin pointing out the required elements (summary, evidence analysis, reasoning analysis, counter-argument, etc.).
Portfolio Details

I will occasionally post readings here if I cannot get copies to you in time. The following readings are in PDF format. You will need Acrobat Reader, which you can download here if you do not have it already. (If you are not sure, just click on the link to the file and see what happens. If the computer asks you what program to use to open the file, you need to download the Reader.)

Personal Narrative Readings

First article (in PDF format) for personal narrative assignment.
Second article (in PDF format) for personal narrative assignment.

Expository Essay Readings

The essay (PDF file). I will hand out paper copies in class.

Persuasive Essay Readings

Paper copies will be passed out in class.

Block the Vote, by Robert Kennedy, Jr., and Greg Palast, from Rolling Stone.
Democracy Imperiled, by John Fund, from the National Review Online.
- Paragraph outline of “Democracy Imperiled.”

Peer Review

Critical Reading

Persuasive Writing

What is a Thesis
Ways to Deal with Assumptions

What is a Counter-Argument
Rules of Citation (DOC file).

Writing Style and Surface Revision

Writing Links, a list of links with helpful advice on key writing issues.
Introductions, Body Paragraphs, and Conclusions for Argument Papers, from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab
A Proper Introduction, from Capital Community College in Hartford, Connecticut.
Quotations Exercise
Parallelism
Coordination Exercise
Subordination Exercise

More Help with Writing

The The Writing and Learning Studio (TWLS, formerly the ASC), Room 1501

TWLS provides instructional handouts and texts, a comfortable study environment, and drop–in tutoring for students in any discipline who want to work on college reading strategies, study skills, research papers, essays, or other kinds of writing assignments. Additionally, TWLS offers variable credit courses and workshops on topics such as note–taking, memory improvement, research writing, test–taking, and grammar.