Sinta Jimenez Owens' Spring English 102 Syllabus

1. English Composition and Literature
EN 102 Section 16 (3 credits)
Spring 2013
Wednesdays 5:00pm to 7:35pm, Room B210
Professor Sinta Jimenez | Email: sowens@frederick.edu
GRADING
Grades will be determined out of a 800 point total.
ASSIGNMENTS POINTS
Paper 1 - Response 100
Paper 2 - Research 100
Paper 3 - Argument 100
Paper 4 - Textual Analysis 100
Paper 5 - Comparison 100
Quizzes 100 (4 quizzes/25 points each)
Homework 80 (8 assignments/10 points each)
In-Class Writing Assignments 120 (8 assignments/15 points each)
Final Exam 100
SUBMISSION
We will be using SafeAssign on Blackboard for the submission of all papers. SafeAssign
automatically checks papers for plagiarism against text online and in print.
BLACKBOARD
We will be using Blackboard for quizzes and in-class writing assignments in addition to the
distribution of grades, assignment information, and paper submission.
PAPER GUIDELINES
I do not read drafts but I do allow rewrites, due one week after a grade has been issued.
All papers must have the following:
Proper header, numbered pages
MLA citation
5 sources (only 2 from the internet)
SCHEDULE
Below is the schedule from which may be subject to change but we will try to adhere to the
schedule set below.
Week 1
In Class: Introduction. Discussion of SafeAssign, Syllabus, Blackboard. Lecture on Critical
Reading, Form and Content. Read Sylvia Plath poem - Page 10 "Metaphors." Class discussion.
Small groups to write summary of "Metaphors". Read Rosa Ehrenreich Brooks - Page 33 "I
Hate Trees". Summarize Brooks' essay and then analyze your summary. What was most
difficult about writing the summary? What is the difference between summarizing an essay and
a creative piece like fiction or poetry?

2. Reading/Assignment: Read pages 20 to 28. Written assignment responding to Franz Kafka -
Page 26 "Before the Law", answer Writing Exercise questions on Page 28. Define the terms
"ambiguity of syntax", "parse", "independent clause", "dependent clause", "ambiguity of
diction", "ambiguity of words".
Week 2
Due: Definitions and Franz Kafka response.
In Class: Lecture on the conventions of Poetry and Fiction. Read Mary Oliver's "August" on
Page 49. Read student summaries of "August" on Page 55.
In-Class Writing Assignment 1: Read Margaret Atwood's story "Happy Endings" on Page 116
then answer the reflection and discussion questions on Page 117.
Reading/Assignment: Pages 122 to 138. Begin work on Response Paper.
Week 3
In Class: More poetic and literary analysis. (Page 175 to 177) William Blake's "London",
Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", and Mary Oliver's "Singapore",
Julia Alvarez's "Snow" (Page 184 to 185).
In-Class Writing Assignment 1: Writing Exercise on Page 178, A Social Response.
Reading/Assignment: Page 139 to 164. Written assignment answering Character Analysis
questions on Page 149 on Susan Glaspell's "Trifles".
Week 4
Due: Character Analysis and Response Paper.
In Class: QUIZ 1. Lecture on the conventions of Plays, Essays, Non-Fiction, and Research
Paper. Discussion and reading of Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape" on Page 189.
Discussion and Reading of "The Death of a Moth" by Virginia Woolf on Page 157. Discussion
and reading of Langston Hughes' "Salvation" Page 369 to 370. Thesis, MLA, Works Cited,
Plagiarism review.
In-Class Writing Assignment 2: Writing Exercise on the Power of Description on Page 188.
Reading/Assignment: Begin work on Research Paper. Page 88 to 93, 210 to 220. Written
assignment on "How Susie Bayer's T-shirt Ended Up on Yusuf Mama's Back" by George
Packer, respond to questions on Page 206.
Week 5
Due: Response to George Packer's Essay.
In Class: Lecture on Literary Devices. Analysis of Keats, Browning, William Carlos Williams
and Auden Page 224 to 228.
In-Class Writing Assignment 3: Writing Exercise on Personal Essay on Page 217.

3. Week 6
Due: Research Paper.
In Class: Lecture will focus on textual analysis and analyzing argumentative essays.
In-Class Writing Assignment 4: Responses will be written and discussed on May Sarton's
essay "The Rewards of Living a Solitary Life" (Page 39-41) and Chinua Achebe's "Dead Man's
Path" (Page 44-46).
Reading/Assignment: Begin work on Argumentative Paper. Read Page 232 to 237. Written
assignment on Writing Exercise Page 237, Translating Odi et Amo.
Week 7
Due: Odi et Amo assignment.
In Class: QUIZ 2. Lecture on Translation. Read and analyze Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue."
In-Class Writing Assignment 5: Writing Exercise on Page 242, Translation in Everyday Life.
Reading/Assignment: Writing Exercise on Page 245, Code Switching.
Week 8
Due: Argumentative Paper.
In Class: Lecture on Textual Analysis of Fiction. Reading and analysis of James Baldwin Page
258 to 274, Alice Walker Page 278 to 284, James Joyce Page 255 to 257.
In-Class Writing Assignment 6: Exercise on Textual Analysis, students will analyze Baldwin,
Walker or Joyce.
Reading/Assignment: Begin work on Textual Analysis Paper. Written assignment of 1 page
textual analysis of "The Waltz" by Dorothy Parker Page 372 to 374.
Week 9
Due: 1 Page textual analysis of Parker.
In Class: Lecture on the Textual Analysis of Poetry. Shakespeare Page 384, Poe Page 388, TS
Eliot Page 389 to 391.
Reading/Assignment: Page 396 to 415. Summarize and textually analyze Orhan Pamuk's "To
Look Out the Window"
Week 10
Due: Pamuk Analysis
In Class: QUIZ 3. Good and Evil in Literature. Lecture on beliefs and ethics. Read and discuss
"The Things They Carried" Page 447 to 455. Read and discuss Dylan Thomas Page 458.
In-Class Writing Assignment 7: Compare and contrast sacred texts with secular texts, Voltaire
and Rushdie vs. The Bible Page Page 426 to 432.

4. Reading/Assignment: Written assignment, 1 page response to "Hills on White Elephants" by
Hemingway.
Week 11
Due: Textual Analysis Paper and 1 page Hemingway response.
In Class: Lecture on African Literature.
Reading/Assignment: Begin work on Comparison Paper. Read and write a critical essay about
Zaabalwai by Naguib Mahfouz Page 491to 497 (2 pages).
Week 12
Due: Mahfouz Essay.
In Class: Lecture on Asian Literature.
In-Class Writing Assignment 8: Comparison between Lahiri and Ishiguro.
Reading/Assignment: Read 668 to 667 and write a critical essay comparing the two Marquez
excerpts (2 pages).
Week 13
Due: Marquez Essay and Comparison Paper.
In Class: QUIZ 4. Lecture on Latin American Literature.
Week 14
Final Exam Review.
Week 15
Final Exam