Course Syllabus

Department: Humanities
Date: March 6, 2012
I. Course Prefix and Number: ENG 105
Course Syllabus
Course Name: Freshman English II Honors
Credit Hours and Contact Hours: 3 credit hours and 3 contact hours
Catalog Description including pre- and co-requisites:
An advanced reading and writing course for students with strong backgrounds
in these areas. Readings will encompass four genres: the novel, short story,
poetry, and drama. Papers emphasize analytical and writing skills. This
course is designed for the student who has a special interest in examining
literature in depth and in learning about critical modes. This course is a
substitute for ENG 102.Prerequisite: ENG 101 or ENG 104
II. Course Outcomes and Objectives
Student Learning Outcomes:
Successful completion of English 105 means that students will be able to
1. Demonstrate the ability to read with comprehension literature from a wide range of
genres and historical periods by:
o recognizing the characteristics of the genre and using these features to interpret
the work;
o interpreting multiple levels of meaning in a work;
o evaluating the effectiveness of passages in a work;
o identifying, applying, and understanding literary devices (such as narrative point
of view, character motivation, use of setting, etc.);
o examining how literature or language expresses insights about the human
condition
o analyzing and explaining how the work of a particular writer reflects its historical,
cultural, and/or political context.
2. Compose coherent essays using common college-level written forms which not only
narrate and explain but also interpret and analyze by
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o managing the composing process (drafting, revising, and copy-editing);
o revising drafts with attention to altering content and approach by reorganizing
material or by clarifying and strengthening the coherence of ideas;
o presenting an easily identifiable and focused controlling purpose or thesis.
3. Develop well-argued interpretations of a text based on close reading that may include
research with evidence drawn from carefully selected sources and documented in
accepted style (the MLA) by
o presenting a controlling purpose, responding to the assignment prompt with
evidence drawn from carefully selected sources;
o basing conclusions on thoughtful integration of the students’ own thinking and a
careful analysis of outside sources.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of the conventions and methods of at least one of the
humanities in addition to those encompassed by other knowledge areas required by the
General Education Program. (SUNY General Education Student Learning Outcome)
5. Demonstrate Self-Reflective Thinking (Metacognition)
• identify their strengths and weaknesses as learners
• identify, their underlying values and beliefs as learners
• identify their assumptions and preconceptions about learning
• Identify the relative usefulness of certain habits, strategies, and learning
environments to their success as learners.
Relationship to Academic Programs and Curriculum:
English105 is a required course for all degree programs at the college. The skills
addressed in the course objectives are integral to a student’s work in numerous
courses throughout the curriculum.
College Learning Outcomes Addressed by the Course:
x writing x computer literacy
oral communication ethics/values
x reading citizenship
mathematics global concerns
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x critical thinking x information resources
III. Instructional Materials and Methods
Types of Course Materials:
1. An anthology of literature, required
2. A handbook for writers, recommended
Methods of Instruction (e.g. Lecture, Lab, Seminar …):
1. discussion
2. large and small group conversation
3. analytical and reader response writing assignments
4. peer and instructor response to writing assignments
5. library research techniques
6. worksheets, critical analysis, writing strategies
7. a variety of formal and informal writing assignments
Honors Pedagogy
Honors courses are designed to move beyond the traditional lecture format and place
an emphasis on active and integrative learning.
Honors courses emphasize writing as a tool for learning and reflection as well as
communication.
Honors courses place special emphasis on metacognition. As such, students are
encouraged to directly study their own learning processes.
Honors courses are not meant to require more or harder work. Rather, the work is
qualitatively different and requires a high level of commitment and participation in the
learning process..
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IV. Assessment Measures (Summarize how the college and student learning outcomes
will be assessed):
A variety of written assignments/papers (e.g. a journal, an explanatory essay, an
analysis, an explication, a well-reasoned argument, and/or a researched essay,
which locates, evaluates, and synthesizes information from sources, etc.) will be
used to assess reading, writing, critical thinking and reasoning, computer literacy,
and information resources.
Presentations (e.g. creating and facilitating class discussions, oral
conversations/commentaries, etc.) will be used to assess oral communication.
A variety of readings and reading strategies, including recognizing the meaning
of words, making inferences, recognizing the organizational structures of texts,
will be used to assess the mastery of course content.
Exams will be written to assess the mastery of literary devices, reading
comprehension, etc.
In addition, to assess the SUNY General Education Student Learning Outcome,
students will be required to craft and submit an evidence-based literary argument
in response to a short story. In this essay, students will be required to make and
support an original claim while demonstrating a solid understanding of literary
conventions.
Also a final reflective essay gives students the opportunity to review all of their
work throughout the semester and realize broader insights about their learning
experience. Students are encouraged to mine and refer to their reflective
freewrites as well as work they did in and outside of class for evidence of this
process. Ideally, students establish a central claim about themselves as learners
and provide details and examples from their work to support this claim. The
students’ purpose is essentially to tell the story of their semester as learners –
Where did they succeed? Where were they surprised? Where did they struggle?
How did they cope? What insights can they take about themselves as learners
into future learning opportunities in school, the work place, and life?
V. General Outline of Topics Covered:
Short fiction: Reading and writing about the short story and its elements, etc.
Poetry: Reading and writing about poetry, discovering its themes, etc.
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Drama: Reading and writing about drama, etc.
Reflective Writing: Writing to critically reflect on various facets of learning
throughout the course.
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