English 113: Critical Thinking and Writing

Spring 2015 M/W 1:30

Instructor: Christi Watson
Ofce Hours: Monday, Wednesday 9:00-12:00, Rood 53, extension: 5676
please make an appointment
email: christine.watson@biola.edu
Texts:
The Little Seagull Handbook by Richard Bullock and Francine Weinberg
*please retain the above handbook for use in future courses
Individual Notebook (See requirements listed below)
The Holy Bible (translation of students choice)
Course Objectives: This course is designed to help you become a successful critical thinker and
writer. You will achieve these goals by learning to understand and use the many rhetorical
techniques available to writers, developing effective writing habits, and cultivating active
reading skills. By the end of the semester, you should be able to:
Apply effective drafting and revision techniques to your essays, including improved
proofreading skills. [IDEA 8]
Effectively researchand integratecredible and relevant sources that support the
theses of your research projects. [IDEA 9]
Distinguish between biblical and unbiblical practices and perspectives in the course
content area. [IDEA 21]
Judiciously format work according to Modern Language Association (MLA) and/or
American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines appropriate for chosen
audience(s).
In addition to the course objectives, course content is designed to align with select English
Department Program Learning Outcomes (EDplos):
(1) Cultivate empathy through engaging with texts
(2) Illustrate intellectual curiosity and devise strategies for independent inquiry
(6) Interpret texts within their socio-historical contexts
Grading Breakdown:
Participation
Homework
Assignment 1 Descriptive Essay
Assignment 2 Close Reading Essay
Assignment 3 Figurative Language Analysis
Assignment 4 Celebration of Student Writing
Assignment 5 Research Essay
Assignment 6 Revision and Reflective Essay

10%
5%
10%
15%
15%
10%
20%
15%

Grade Scale:
A
93-100 AB+
87-89
C+
77-79
D+
67-69
F
59 or below

90-92
B
83-86
C
73-76
D
63-66

BCD-

80-82
70-72
60-62

A "W" indicates an official withdrawal (within the third to eighth week) from a course
and does not affect the student's grade point average.
A "UW" indicates an unofficial withdrawal. Students who register for courses but do not
attend classes are given the grade of "UW" which will influence the GPA in the same
way as an "F" grade.
A temporary mark of "RD" (report delayed) will be issued in special cases when
approved by the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.
Important Spring Dates:
Monday, January 26
Friday, January 30
Friday, February 6
Wednesday, March 11-13
Monday, Mar. 16-27
Friday, March 20
Monday, March 30-May 22
Friday, April 3
Friday, April 3-12
Monday, May 18-22
Friday, May 22

Classes begin; Convocation

Late enrollment & online and hybrid class adds complete
Last day to add classes
Missions Conference
Academic Advising for Summer 2015, and Fall 2015
Last day to withdraw & receive a partial refund
Registration for Summer 2015, and Fall 2015
Good Friday Holiday (University closed)
Easter break
Final exam week (undergraduate)
Spring Commencement

Class Policies:
Attendance and Participation: You are expected to come to each class session on time, with all
necessary texts, and prepared to hand in assignments. Exploratory writing assignments are
frequently given at the beginning of class, and count toward your participation grade. They are
often connected to the reading you do outside of class, and cannot be made up. Because of this
important in-class writing activity, more than 3 absences, for any reason, will adversely affect
your grade. If you have an emergency come up during the semester, please contact me via email
as soon as possible, (preferably before you are absent) so that we can work on necessary
accommodations.
Late Work: No late major assignments will be accepted. If you are unable to make it to class
on the day a paper or project is due, you must make arrangements to get me a hard copy on that
day, during the class session. If you are unable to make it to class, it is also your responsibility to
obtain lecture notes or class exercises from someone in the class.

Other: Make sure you are ready to participate in discussions and exploratory writing by reading
all text assignments. Please also remember to use polite consideration when addressing others in
the class. With the exception of a laptop in special cases, no electronic devices are allowed in
class. I will let you know beforehand if there is a date that is appropriate to bring a laptop
computer. Otherwise, leave it and all other electronics turned off and put away.
Revision Policy: Revising papers is an important and necessary part of the composition process.
As such, you may be required to rewrite papers at different points in the semester. You should
not consider this process as punitive, but rather an as additional resource to help you improve.
However, if the instructor decides that your work is intentionally shoddy and careless, you might
receive the grade you earn, and not be granted to privilege of a revision.
For Assignments 1 and 2, a mandated revision may be required. If this is the case, you will
receive the mark RM for revision mandatory upon the return of your paper. Your grade
will be a zero until you fulfill the revision requirements. I will expect an email from you
sometime between the return of your paper and the next class session suggesting a time you
can meet with me. Please do not ask me to set a time, as I have given you my office hours at
the top of the syllabus. It is possible that I may ask you to visit the Writing Center. If that is the
direction, please email me between the return of your paper and the next class session with
information about your coming appointment at the Writing Center. The revised version of your
paper will be due on the revision date indicated in the course schedule. If you fail to follow
the directions and revise the paper as directed, you will earn a zero for the paper.
If you would like to revise either Assignment 1 or 2 you may do so, and turn in the revision
on the date indicated in the course schedule. If you choose to do a True Revision, (see
handout), you will earn a new grade for one of the assignments. You do not have to meet with
me, but you are always welcome to do so. You may also want to visit the Writing Center. If
you opt for the free choice revision, you must include a cover letter detailing significant
changes that were made, and where in the essay the changes can be found.
Revision is mandatory for all students for Assignment 3. Revision activities for this
assignment are due at the end of the semester. See the syllabus for the due date.
Because you have an individual meeting with me for Assignment 5, where we discuss your
full draft, there is no revision opportunity for this paper. Success on this paper is directly
correlated to you completing the paper before our meeting. At that point, I will give you verbal
feedback, and you will have a few days to revise before the final due date. See assignment
sheet for individual meetings.
For all revisions, please follow the guidelines on the handout entitled True Revision.
All revisions must be submitted with the original final draft essay, and rubric.
Biola Academic Honesty Statement:
We are committed to ethical practices in teaching, scholarship, and service. Please see the
undergraduate student handbook policy on academic honesty. You must indicate the sources of
all written, oral, and/or performed work. If it is completely your own, you are encouraged to
present it as such, taking pleasure in ownership of your own created work. However, it is also
imperative that you give full credit to any and all others whose work you have included in your
presentation via paraphrase, direct quotation, and/or performance: citing the name(s),
author(s)/creator(s), and source(s) of the work with appropriate bibliographic information. To do

otherwise is to put oneself in jeopardy of being sanctioned for plagiarisman act that can carry
serious consequences up to and including expulsion from the university.
Accessibility Statement:
Students desiring accommodations for this class on the basis of physical, psychological and/or
emotional disabilities must contact The Learning Center that houses both learning assistance and
disability services. The Learning Center is located in the Biola Library, Upper Level, Room U137, and this department can be reached by calling 562.906.4542 or by dialing extension #4542
if calling from the La Mirada campus.
Inclusion Statement:
The University deplores the unfair treatment of individuals based on race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, physical disability, sex, or cultural differences, regardless whether such
treatment is intentional or simply resultant from careless or insensitive behavior. Rather,
employees and members of the student body should embrace the expectation of Scripture to love
God with all their being and their neighbors as themselves.
Writing Center Statement:
The Biola Writing Center, located on the middle floor of the library, offers free assistance to
students who wish to receive feedback and assessment of papers in progress. The Writing
Center emphasizes the process of writing and striving to produce a students best possible work
through guided questions and suggestions for improvement
(http://studentlife.biola.edu/academics/writing-center/). To make an appointment, students
should stop in for a visit or call (562) 903-4826.
Writing Portfolio:
At the conclusion of the semester, you will be required to submit a final draft copy of all essays
completed during the duration of the course to the Writing Program Blackboard site. Submission
is a requirement of successful completion of the course.
Class Assignments
Homework assignments (HW) will accompany almost all reading assignments, and projects. The
homework will consist a few questions or prompts that are meant to stimulate your thinking.
Often they can be modified to fit part of your formal essays. HW directions can be found on the
full-length assignment sheets handed out at the beginning of each assignment. They should be
typed or hand-written legibly in blue or black ink. If you do not complete the HW, and turn it in
on the day it is due, your participation in class activities will be limited, which may also affect
your participation grade. If you have a pre-authorized absence on the day a HW is due, I will
accept it upon your return.
You will keep a binder called the Individual Notebook that includes exploratory writing
(EW), handouts, short story text, poems, lecture notes, and in-class activities. This notebook
will be used as a text, and checked periodically for completion. Make sure to stay current with
your notebook, and always bring it to class. Your notebook scores figure into your participation
grade.

Individual Notebook (NB) requirements: Though the instructor will provide some
handouts, each student is required to print full length text of the following stories,
readings, and poems as a type of anthology for use in the notebook. Most readings will
be posted under modules on Canvas. At the beginning of each assignment, a full-legnth
assignment sheet will be handed out with all necessary readings.
NB Part 1: A Clean Well-Lighted Place by Hemingway
A & P by Updike
Chrysanthemums by Steinbeck
A Rose for Emily by Faulkner
Young Goodman Brown by Hawthorne
Due: Jan. 28
NB Part 2 thru 6: see full length assignment sheets for Assignments 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
Formal Assignments
The following assignments include major papers and projects. Papers and essays are to be typed
in 12 point font with standard margins, and MLA formatted. See The Little Seagull Handbook
pages 130-135 for guidelines.
Assignment 1: Descriptive Essay
Due Feb. 11, length: 2-3 pages
For this assignment you will write about a time you experienced isolation or loneliness. You will
pay close attention to audience while employing the writing conventions covered in class
including sensory detail, showing, not telling, and elements of the short story. One paragraph
of this essay will describe the way you experienced God during this time. This paragraph will
ultimately be remixed to address a wider, secular, academic audience.
See full-length assignment sheet for step-by-step tasks.
Assignment 2: Close Reading Essay
Due February 25, length: 3-4 pages
This assignment gives you the opportunity to engage with a text as a close reader, participating
in summary, reflection, and critical analysis, and demonstrating your awareness of the
differences among these approaches to the text. Through your annotation of the text, you will
closely explore a particular question regarding the theme of community and/or isolation. You
will annotate the text using comments, highlighting, explication, and other techniques we have
studied in class. Your annotations will ultimately culminate in an essay where you report your
most interesting findings.
See full-length assignment sheet for step-by-step tasks.

Assignment 3: Figurative Language Analysis

Due March 18, length 3-4 pages
For this assignment, you will build on your understanding of literary devices to analyze the use
of biblical and poetic figurative language, especially regarding the theme of community. You
will address three main questions: what examples of figurative language are employed in texts?
How do these examples of figurative language contribute to meaning in the texts? How does the
biblical figurative language compare to figurative language from other poetry? Your assignment
will culminate in an argumentative, thesis driven essay analyzing how figurative language
contributes to meaning in multiple texts.
See full-length assignment sheet for step-by-step tasks.
Assignment 4: Celebration of Student Writing Project The Body
Due March 31, and April 1
For this project, you will work as an individual to create a found poem using language from
your first three assignments. The poem will focus on either the theme of community, or the
theme of isolation. It will include three main elements: autobiographical information (from
Assignment 1), biblical language (from Assignment 3), and a metaphor based on your creative
interpretation of one of the body parts from 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. Your found poem will
ultimately be displayed as a mixed modal project involving complete and dismembered
mannequins that represent community and isolation, as you contribute to the visually creative
aspect of the CSW project entitled The Body.
See full-length assignment sheet for step-by-step tasks.
Assignment 5: Research Essay
Due May 6, length 5-6 pages
For this assignment, you will creatively dialogue about one aspect of the culture and history of
your text, and ultimately use the dialogue to answer a question you have about the culture or
history. The purpose of this assignment is threefold:
1) to practice the skill of academic research
2) to understand the value of entering the academic conversation about a scholarly topic;
3) to formulate a clearly articulated argument, supported by scholarly evidence, and formatted
according to MLA conventions
See full-length assignment sheet for step-by-step tasks.
Assignment 6: Revision and Reflective Essay
Part 1 due May 13
Part 2 due Day of the Final Exam length 3-4 pages
For this assignment, you will workshop your previous essay in partners and groups to
significantly revise your work. This assignment will culminate in a re-submission of one of your
previous essays, as well as a reflective paper documenting your experience in metacognition.
See full-length assignment sheet for step-by-step tasks.

Course Schedule (subject to change with prior notice)

Mon. Jan. 26

Introductions
Syllabus Overview

Wed. Jan. 28

Due: HW #1 A &P and NB Part 1

In class: A Clean Well Lighted Place
Elements of Short Story
Intro to Assignment 1

Mon. Feb. 2

Due: HW #2 The Chrysanthemums

In class: Continue Elements of the Short Story
Writing: Down Drafts

Wed. Feb. 4

Due: HW #3 A Rose for Emily

In class: Showing, not Telling, Sensory Detail
Writing: Revision of Down Drafts, making a plan

Mon. Feb. 9

Due: HW #4 Young Goodman Brown

In class: Important features of Excellent Work
Writers Workshop: Revision

Wed. Feb. 11

Due: Assignment 1 Descriptive Essay

In Class: Intro to Assignment 2 Close Reading / Exploratory Essay
Close Reading

Mon. Feb. 16

Due: HW #5 Close Reading

In class: Continue close reading, summary, reflection, critical analysis

Wed. Feb. 18

Due: HW #6 The Lamott Piece

In class: Hand back Assignment 1, audience, explication
Writing: Down Drafting

Mon. Feb. 23

Due: Assignment 2 Close Reading Essay Working Draft (WD)

In class: Peer revision

Wed. Feb. 25

Due: Assignment 2 Close Reading Essay Final Draft (FD)

In class: Intro to Assignment 3 and 4: CSW

Mon. Mar. 2

Due: HW #7 Biblical Passages and Poetry

In class: Figurative Language

Wed. Mar. 4

Due: Revision paragraph from Assignment 1

In class: O/A/A chart
Writing: down drafting

Mon. Mar. 9

Due: HW #8
Revisions of Assignments 1 or 2
In class: Thesis statements, and organizing an argument

Wed. Mar. 11

Missions Conference NO CLASS

Mon. Mar. 16

Due: Assignment 3 Figurative language Analysis WD

In class: Peer Revision

Wed. Mar. 18

Due: Assignment 3 Figurative language Analysis FD

In class: Found Poetry

Mon. Mar. 23

Due: CSW Found Poem

In class: CSW project

Wed. Mar. 25

In class: CSW Project

Mon. Mar. 30

Due: CSW Found Poem Display Due to my office (Rood 53)

between 11:30am and 1:30pm

Tues. Mar 31, &

Wed. Apr. 1

CELEBRATION OF STUDENT WRITING

(individual requirements vary. See full-length assignment sheet)

Mon. Apr. 6-10

Spring Break NO CLASSES

Mon. Apr. 13

Due: CSW reflective journal

In class: Intro to Assignment 5 The Research Essay
Scholarly Sources, reliability, validity

Wed. Apr. 15

Due: HW #9 Proposal
In class: Library day

Mon. Apr. 20

Due: HW #10 Sources

In class: Writing as conversation, asking questions

Wed. April 22

Due: HW #11 Dialogue

In class: Drafting

Mon. Apr. 27

In class: Drafting

Wed. Apr. 29

NO CLASS
Individual meetings (see sign up sheet)

Mon. May 4

Due: Assignment 5 Research Essay WD

In class: peer revision

Wed. May 6

Due: Assignment 5 Research Essay FD

In class: Assignment 6
revision activities-- groups

Mon. May 11

In class: revision activities-- partners

Wed. May 13

Due: Assignment 6 Part 1-- Revision of Figurative Language Essay, and

Revision activities
In class: Reflective essay

Mon. May 18-22

FINAL EXAM WEEK

Due: Assignment 6 Part 2-- Reflective essay