English 1E (Fall 2021) – General Information

Table of Contents

General Information

Course Title

English 1E: College Composition and Reading: Extended Instruction

Sections

This syllabus applies to section M2488.

Instructor

Greg Kemble

Office Location

1100 Building, Room 1179.

My office is in the rear of the library building, but you can’t reach it through the library. Walk around the right side of the library building (facing the front). Most of the way down the building (after the patio area), you’ll find a single glass door. Enter there, and then continue straight through the inner glass door. My office is in the second alcove on your right.

Note that I am not often in my office. This will be especially true this semester, as we continue to struggle with COVID. Indeed, I will probably find a place with better ventilation to meet students. So, when possible, please contact me in advance to make arrangements to meet.

Contact information

  • Email: gkemble@yccd.edu
  • Office Phone: (530) 749-3821 — please leave a voicemail.

Email is the best way to contact me, as I check my email much more often than I check my voicemail.

Student Hours / Office Hours

I’ve also scheduled three student hours (or, if you prefer, “office hours”) each week. One hour will be held in person; the other two will be held on Zoom.

  • Mondays 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. (In person, location to be announced)
  • Tuesdays 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. (Zoom — see below for link) [updated time]
  • Wednesdays 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. (Zoom — see below for link)

However, I am also available by appointment. If you or I can’t make the above listed times, I’m happy to find a time that works for you, even if that means connecting in the evening or on a weekend.

When not meeting in person, I prefer to meet via Zoom (rather than the phone) because it gives us the opportunity to share a screen — we can look at a paper or website together, for example. But if you’d prefer to talk on the phone, we can arrange that by appointment.

Link for Zoom Student Hours

Passcode (it should be embedded in the link, but just in case): 538309

Final exam

As I write this, I can’t find the Final Exam schedule. Final Week is December 10-16. I will let you know our specific date and time once I know it.

Textbooks

Required

Cover of They Say / I Say

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say / I Say. 4th edition. Norton, 2018. ISBN: 978-0-393-63167-8.

This is the 4th edition, without readings, and it would be best if we all used the same text. However, the 3rd edition, or the 3rd or 4th edition with readings, should be fine, if you already have one of those. The differences aren’t earth shattering, and as long as you’re a bit flexible, you should be able to get by.

Optional

Cover of LB Brief

Aaron, Jane E. Little Brown Handbook: Brief. 2nd edition. Pearson, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-323-04096-6.

I’m not sure if this is the Yuba College edition; I know we used to have a college edition, but the publisher discontinued it.

However, all handbooks are pretty much the same. Older editions, or non-Yuba College editions, or even completely different handbooks are all fine (though information about MLA citation may be out of date). Indeed, you may even be able to get by with just the Internet, as long as you have good access. You’ll just need to use the index (or search engine) to find explanations about issues I point out in your papers.

Course Description

Here’s the description of English 1E that you’ll find in the Yuba College catalog:

An introductory course offering instruction in expository and argumentative writing, appropriate and effective use of language, close reading, cogent thinking, research strategies, information literacy, and documentation. Focus on the recursivity of writing processes and integrating reading, writing, and speaking skills. Students will write a minimum of 6000 words.

If you don’t already have a lot of experience with college or with college-level writing, some of that might not make a lot of sense yet. That’s okay — that’s why you’re here! Don’t let the fancy words intimidate you.

You might notice that the course description for English 1E is identical to that for English 1A. That’s because English 1E is English 1A with additional support. When you pass English 1E, you will have met the same requirements as if you’d taken English 1A. These include prerequisites, as well as graduation and transfer requirements.

As you might imagine, then, English 1E is a pretty demanding course. I don’t want you to be afraid of it — that doesn’t help anyone! — but I don’t want you to be complacent, either.

Time Commitment

As I just said, English 1E is pretty demanding. That’s not just because we English professors are ogres (though we may be); we’re also required to follow some policies that the state of California has set for us. (They even require us to include the following breakdown in the course’s syllabus!)

English 1E is a 5-unit course, which translates to:

  • Total hours for the course: 270
    • In-class (“lecture”) hours: 90
    • Out-of-class (“homework”) hours: 180

Does that sound like a lot? It is! I am often surprised at how many students expect to be able to do the work of the course in just a few hours each weekend — or, worse, in a few hours at the end of the semester.

Now, I’m not trying to scare you here. But it’s important that you understand what’s expected of you so that you can plan accordingly.

Are you ready?

Requirements for placing into transfer level composition have changed, due to changes in California state law; placement is now mostly based on high school Grade Point Average (GPA) — though passing ENGL 51 or 56 still qualifies you for the course.

This means that our class might include students with a wide range of reading and writing skills and expectations:

  • some of you may have been required to take this class based on your GPA and may feel nervous or intimidated by the thought of college-level writing, or frustrated because you don’t think your GPA reflects your actual abilities (that is very possible!);
  • some of you may have chosen to take this class because you don’t feel ready and would like the extra help;
  • some of you may be just out of high school and have not yet encountered college-level academics;
  • some of you may have been away from school for a number of years and fear that you have forgotten much of what you used to know;
  • some of you are masters of a language other than English, but struggle with English;
  • some of you are just sure that, for whatever reason, you’re not good writers.

I will do my best to meet you at whatever level you find yourself. As I write this syllabus, enrollment is relatively low, which means that I may be able to offer much more individualized instruction. And when I respond to your assignments, and especially your major essays, I do my best to address your particular needs.

But you will need to do your part, too. Please read my comments carefully, and ask questions when something is not clear.

Above all: understand that one aspect — probably the most important aspect — of college is learning how to learn. Don’t rely only on me and my instruction; make sure you also seek answers on your own. There are a lot of good writing resources out there (I’ll point to several of them throughout the course, including later in this syllabus). The more you pursue questions on your own, the more useful my help — and the help of teachers in future courses — will be.

Next up: Learning Outcomes

I’ve broken this syllabus up into several parts so that it’s not just one long, overwhelming document. The next section is about Learning Outcomes.