Course Syllabus

Instructor Contact

Anna Mills

• Email: amills@ccsf.edu (or Canvas messages)
• Office Hours: 12:30-1 Mondays and by appointment.  We can talk by Zoom, Pronto, or phone, or we can message back and forth.
• I will respond to all course email within 24 hours Monday-Friday, exclusive of school holidays. Once the course begins, I prefer to get messages through the Canvas Inbox or Pronto. 

Tutor Contacts

• Paul Madariaga (embedded tutor): pmadariaga@ccsf.edu or through the Canvas inbox

How to use Pronto:

Open Pronto by clicking on the Pronto button in your Global Navigation.  It’s located just under the Help button.

The first time you open Pronto, you will need to complete a few steps. Click a Continue button to agree to terms of service, read about installing the mobile app if you want to use Pronto on your iPhone or Android device. You don’t need to install it right away, but you will receive an email with details for downloading the mobile app. If you open that email on your mobile device, you will have easy links to downloads as well as the username you need to use when logging in on your mobile device. You won’t be using your student ID number and instead, you will use your default email in Canvas. You will be using your RAM ID password.

Visit Pronto’s support site for more guides on using Pronto in Canvas.

Announcements 

I will post announcements on the “Instructor Announcements” page in Canvas throughout the semester. You will get notifications of any new announcements according to your preferred Notification Preferences. 

What Is This Course About?

English 1AS is meant to empower you to improve your reading, writing, and thinking so that you can succeed in other college classes and in your career.  We will learn how to analyze other people’s arguments and respond with our own persuasive arguments. Students will work on grammar and sentence style as needed on an individualized basis. 

The course outline of record describes English 1A as "University-parallel reading, writing, and critical thinking with a major research component. Reading, writing, and research assignments are based predominately on non-fiction texts.”  The course outline for English 1AS describes it as offering "supplemental training in academic essay writing and analytical reading to help students...complete English 1A."

Student Learning Outcomes

1. After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

   1. Analyze university-level texts.
   2. Compose research-based, organized essays that are driven by an arguable thesis and that employ critical thinking.
   3. Apply the major conventions of standard written English.
   4. Choose and integrate credible sources for support, using appropriate citation format.
   5. Identify and implement reading strategies to interpret first-year college-level texts
   6. Implement outlining and paragraphing strategies to compose and revise thesis-driven essays
   7. Employ revision strategies to improve sentence grammar
   8. Apply source integration strategies in writing

Class Meetings

We will meet for live Zoom sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:10-1:30.  You will earn attendance credit for these, but you will always have the option to earn that credit by watching the video later and making specific comments on it.

In addition, you will be required to meet on Zoom with our class tutor for homework credit at least three times in the semester. Our English department embedded tutor Paul Madariaga will be offering appointments. 

I will offer a Zoom office hour on Monday from 12:30-1 (though this will not count for homework credit).

Course Web Site

We will use the Canvas Learning Management system.  I can help with the course material and with some Canvas issues. But, if you need help uploading an assignment or with the mechanics of Canvas, Canvas help is the number to call.

For 24/7 help with Canvas call: 1-844-592-2198.

Course Theme: Gender

Like many English instructors, I find that focusing on a theme helps students build reading, writing, and critical thinking skills they can carry with them. Reading varying points of view on one topic allows us to come up with richer arguments. The theme gives the class cohesion and makes our discussions more substantive and meaningful.

Why gender as a theme? It's everywhere, it's so complex, so much is at stake, and there are so many interesting subtopics to explore. From the clothes we put on to the way we move to the way we introduce ourselves, we are all constantly confirming or resisting gender norms. Does the truth of gender lie in a person’s self-identification or in their biology? What rights do transgender people have, and how should those rights be protected? What do we want the words feminine and masculine to mean?  How does our perceived gender affect our careers and our economic status?  How do we want to teach children about gender?  We'll read essays on a range of gender-related topics.

I welcome trans and gender-nonconforming students, students with traditional views on gender, and those who don't start out with a particular interest in discussing gender.  

Books

We will use free open educational resources, such as the textbook How Arguments Work: A Guide to Writing and Analyzing Texts in College throughout the semester.  However, each 1AS class reads a full-length book of nonfiction. You will need to get the book below in either hard copy or E-book version by October 1. 

Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

Places to get it:

CCSF Bookstore
SF Public Library (hard copy, E-Book, and audiobook versions)

Alibris used and new hard copies
Amazon: Kindle or hard copy
eBay used hard copies

About Your Teacher, Anna

You might want to know a little bit about where your teacher is coming from. I have been teaching at City College since 2005, and I tutored here for four years before that. I love this job and am proud of this institution. Teaching is in my blood: I am the daughter of an elementary school teacher and a math professor. My parents taught me to love reading, writing, and thinking and to see the classroom as a dramatic and exciting place to be.

Before I had kids, I spent much of my time outside CCSF writing personal essays and book reviews and sending them out for publication. I got a lot of rejection slips and some acceptances. Writing helps me figure out what I think and feel and gain insight into problems or issues that matter to me. It allows me to share my ideas with others and get responses. I find it difficult, fun, frustrating, humbling, exhilarating, and always stimulating. It takes me a long time, I do a lot of revisions (sometimes ten or twenty), and I always need feedback.

As a fellow struggling writer, I’d like to be here to help guide you so you can make it to the most rewarding moments in the writing process. My hope is that you will make this class your own, that you will use it to find your own voice as a writer and thinker in college.

About Your Tutor, Paul

"Hello Class,

My name is Paul Madariaga, and I will be your embedded English tutor for the course! I have been tutoring English for 6 years, and I've really enjoyed working with students here at CCSF. I'm currently working on my Masters in English Literature at SFSU. I transferred to SFSU from Fullerton College, a Community College in Southern California. I very much appreciated the time I spent within a Community College and am excited to work with you all."

Diversity and Inclusion

My goal is to live up to this statement from the CCSF Office of Student Equity: “We believe that all students, of varying backgrounds, races, nationalities, genders, sexual orientations, beliefs, religions, socio-economic statuses, have the right to access higher education and receive the resources and support they need to achieve their educational and professional goals. We welcome, encourage, and engage in diverse perspectives in respectful dialogue, and our commitment is to be critically race-conscious, anti-racist, and culturally responsive in all that we do. Education is for all who enter the doors of this college. We welcome you.”

I recognize that my background as a white, middle-class woman sometimes limits my awareness and my ability to create a truly equitable classroom environment, despite my best efforts. When students give me feedback, I really do appreciate it.

Often arguments about gender challenge deeply held personal beliefs, both for traditionalists and radicals. Whatever your own beliefs, I hope this course can encourage surprise and reflection for you and still feel respectful and welcoming. Please let me know if you have suggestions for me on how to do better.

Canvas

Students will use the Canvas Learning Management system.  I can help with the course material and with some Canvas issues. But, if you need help uploading an assignment or with the mechanics of Canvas, Canvas help is the number to call.

For 24/7 help with Canvas call: 1-844-592-2198.

Zoom Video Conferencing

Zoom is built into our Canvas system and will be an optional but highly encouraged way for us to connect this semester.  You are not required to show yourself on video in order to listen and view our class Zoom.

Recommended

• Update your browser for best results in Canvas 

Important Dates

• Day Class Begins: Tuesday, 8/17/2021
• Day Class Ends: 12/17/2021
• Last Day to Add without instructor's approval: 9/3/2021
• Last Day to Drop with a W or apply for leave of absence: 11/19/2021

Participation

The course is designed around the live Zooms on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  However, if you would really like to take this section of 1A and can't attend live, you can view the recording and send me a message with at least two specific comments about what happened in class by 11:59pm on the same day to earn attendance credit for that day.  Click on CityZoom on the left of our course page and then on the Recordings tab to find the recording for that day.

Your attendance average counts as 5% of your overall grade in the course.

Course work will be due at 11:59 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays so we can discuss it and answer questions in class the next day. Regular and timely participation is essential to doing well in this class. Please let me know if you are struggling.  I want to work with you to help you be successful!

If you need to miss more than one class/homework deadline in a row, please let me know with a message. 

Embedded Tutoring

Our section is lucky enough to work with the English department's Embedded Tutoring program.  Our tutor, Paul Madariaga, will attend live Zooms and meet with you one-on-one at least three times this semester. See our class tutoring page for a message from him about what he can help with and how to sign up.

Late Policy

All assignments are due at 11:59 p.m. PST on the due date. A late submission may receive a 20% penalty. Submissions more than one week late are not accepted without prior arrangement.  

Course work

Your grade will be based on assignments such as the following:

• Four essays, ranging from 3-10 pages each. 
• Essay brainstorms, essay worksheets, rough drafts, and comments on classmates' papers.
• Discussion posts about once per week on Canvas, usually responding to an assigned reading. These posts are a chance to develop your own ideas and interests, speak directly to your classmates, and experiment with ways to make your writing engaging.
• Comments on other students’ posts
• Attendance at required meetings with the class tutors.
• Live discussion and group exercises on Zoom for which you receive credit, always with a written alternative on Canvas for those who can't make Zoom.
• Notes on assigned readings
• Quizzes
• Individualized work on grammar and mechanics.

Grading Policy

Visit the “Grades” in Canvas to keep track of your grades. I post grades and comments on the online Canvas grade book.

How do I view my grades, teacher comments, and an assignment rubric as a student?

This class gives you many chances to practice and improve your writing, and you get credit for each as part of your grade. Here is the breakdown of how much each part is worth:

Essays: 65% of your overall grade

• First essay (3 pages): 100 points
• Second out-of-class essay (3 pages): 100 points
• Third out-of-class essay (5-6 pages): 200 points
• Research paper (8-10 pages): 300 points
• Final exam essay (3 pages): 100 points

Homework: 30% of your overall grade. Each assignment will be worth 10-20 points.

Attendance: 5% of your overall grade.

My job is to explain what I am looking for in each assignment ahead of time and how I will grade it. Feel free to ask me anytime how I decided on a grade. I have changed grades in the past as a result of discussions with students. I also welcome requests for more comments on student work.

Extra Credit

Each time you meet with a tutor in addition to the times it is required for homework, you will receive a 10 point boost to your homework average. You can meet with a tutor to discuss a reading or improve a forum post, brainstorm ideas for a paper, organize a draft, or polish grammar. 

Many of my best students have told me about their learning disabilities. They have advocated for themselves, taken advantage of the support services at CCSF, and earned excellent grades. Right now, City College is providing services by Zoom and email. If you wonder whether or not you have a learning disability, you can meet with a counselor at the Disabled Students Programs and Services Department (DSPS) to discuss your questions and possibly receive free testing. 

If you already have a diagnosis, you may not realize how much support there is at CCSF, even during the pandemic. Make sure to register with DSPS so you can get documentation of your disability and request appropriate accommodations.

If you need accommodations because of a disability, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible early in the semester. My office hours are every Thursday 1:30-2 on Zoom and Pronto and at other times by appointment. I used to work in the DSPS department, so I am familiar with what's available.

Here’s to a plagiarism-free semester! As you probably know, plagiarism means presenting another person’s words or ideas as one’s own. It can happen accidentally or intentionally, but either way, it is a serious violation of trust and of academic norms. Any work handed in that contains plagiarism, whether it is accidental or intentional, will automatically receive a ZERO. That is worse than an F (an F is 50% credit).

Here is a rule of thumb to help you avoid it: Plagiarism means using four or more words in a row from another person’s writing without putting those words in quotation marks. See these links and ask me any questions:

Encourage Academic Integrity and Prevent Plagiarism.

Citing Information Sources. 

Please also note that students who register in CCSF classes are required to abide by the CCSF Student Code of Conduct.. Violation of the code is basis for referral to the Student Conduct Coordinator or dismissal from class or from the College. See the Office of Student Affairs.  

Student Expectations 

You will succeed in this course if you meet the following expectations:

• Complete the essays and other assigned activities. Please let me know as soon as you can concerning difficulties that you may have in getting assignments in on time. 
• Complete the discussion posts and replies within the given window of time. Our discussions are much more vibrant when we all participate!
• Do your own and your best work. 

Instructor Expectations

Here is what you can expect of me:

• I will respond to your email or message within 24 hours during the week unless I inform you otherwise.
• I will treat you and your ideas with respect.
• I will grade your essays most often within 1 week and at most within two weeks. I will grade discussion posts and replies most often within 48 hours. (If you have posted late work, it may take longer.) 
• You will see your grades in the Canvas Gradebook.
• I will work hard to make this a great class.