English 1SC, Applied Intermediate Composition for the Sciences
Course Syllabus

The following is a syllabus for a class offered  at the University of California, Riverside.


Instructor : P. Aaron Potter

Course Description :
College level readers and writers are responsible for digesting and presenting a broad range of material, in a variety of formats. This statement is as true, or more so, for students of the sciences as it is for students of the humanities. This is a writing course designed for students majoring in the sciences : as such, it is committed to the principle that the skills which go into good composition -- careful observation, critical evaluation, clear organization and accurate representation -- are also necessary for success in the sciences. As scientists, you will be responsible for the effective presentation of material in your field, whether that entails notes on a patient’s medical chart, or scholarly articles presenting vital research. Similarly, you will be responsible for interpreting and evaluating the writing of others on a daily basis. In addition to scientific knowledge, you must acquire the tools of a writer, or that knowledge can never be communicated. This class is intended to help you acquire those tools.

Required Textbooks :

• Signs of Life in the USA, edited by Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon
• Dracula, Bram Stoker

Course Requirements :
Students are responsible for arriving in class on-time and prepared, which includes responsibility for all assigned readings on the dates indicated in the schedule. All papers and drafts of papers are due at the beginning of class on the due date indicated. In addition, occasional in-class exercises and quizzes will be assigned, and are factored into the final grade as indicated below. It should be noted that showing up for class on time and prepared is considered *minimally* adequate behavior for a college-level class, and thus merits a *C* grade. Active participation in classroom discussion is essential to earning a higher grade in the participation category.

Grading : (numbers in parentheses indicate minimum page-length requirements)

• Summaries #1-2 (1/2 each) -- 10% (5% each)
• Annotated bibliography (6) -- 20%
• Process description essay (3) -- 10%
• Object/Text analysis essay (5) -- 20%
• Speculative writing essay (5) -- 20%
• Final examination -- 10%
• Participation, quizzes -- 10%

Class Policies:

• Failure to turn in *one* assignment results in a zero ("F") for that assignment. Failure to turn in *two* assignments results in a zero for those assignments *and* a zero for the participation section of the grade. Failure to turn in *three* or more assignments results in an automatic failing grade in the class.
• Late papers are automatically graded one full letter grade lower than they would otherwise have merited (an "A" turns into a "B," for example). An additional one-third letter grade is deducted for each additional day (not class day, but every day) that the assignment remains outstanding (that is, from a "B" to a "B-" to a "C+" and so on). If the assignment is as much as a week overdue, then it counts as not being handed in, per the policy above.
• All essays should be typed and double-spaced, with approximately 1 - 1.5 inch margins on all sides, in a 12 point font (Times New Roman or a similar ‘standard’ font is strongly preferred). College level papers are thoroughly formal documents : spelling and grammar are important components of your writing, and I urge you to proofread carefully! Feel free to use a spell-checker, but don’t let it do your thinking for you. For more information on paper format, see the class web-pages and follow the link to the "style guide."
• Papers which are shorter than the required minimum will automatically be graded one full letter grade lower than they would otherwise have merited. Papers which are two or more pages deficient are automatically given a grade of "F" (0). Please note that one sentence does not constitute a "page" of writing -- the writing should extend at least half-way down the page for it to be counted towards the minimum length requirements. Material from other sources does not count towards the minimum page length.
• This class adheres strictly to the University policy on academic dishonesty.

Course Schedule :

• Week 1 -- Course Intro
  • 04 / 04 (Tu) -- Introduction to the course, requirements, and policies.
  • 04 / 06 (Th) -- Reading due: Maasik and Solomon, "Popular Signs," SOL 1-19. Assignment #1 (summary #1) handed out.
• Week 2 -- Basic and Advanced Semiotics
  • 04 / 11 (Tu) -- Assignment #1 (summary) due! Reading due: Willis, "Disney World: Public Use / Private State," SoL 744-56. Assignment #2 (summary #2) handed out.
  • 04 / 13 (Th) -- Reading due: Medhurst, "Batman, Deviance, and Camp," SoL 686-702; Rivenburg, "Snap! Crackle! Plot!" SoL 716-20.
• Week 3 -- Processes and Science as Semiotic Objects
  • 04 / 18 (Tu) -- Assignment #2 (summary) due! Reading due: Gladwell, "The Science of Shopping," SoL 757-64. Class exercise: process description. Assignment #3 (process description) handed out.
  • 04 / 20 (Th) -- Reading due: Blum, "The Gender Blur," SoL 453-460; Wolf, "The Beauty Myth," SoL 481-90. Assignment #4 (annotated bibliography) handed out.
• Week 4 -- Something Book Oriented and a midterm break
  • 04 / 25 (Tu) -- Assignment #3 (description) due! Reading due: Lowery, "The Traditional Romance Formula," SoL 418-25; Martin, "Dangerous Passions," SoL 425-8.
  • 04 / 27 (Th) -- No Class!
• Week 5 -- Dracula
  • 05 / 02 (Tu) -- Reading due: Dracula, chapters 1-7. Assignment #5 (object/text analysis) handed out.
  • 05 / 04 (Th) -- Reading due: Dracula, chapters 8-11.
• Week 6 -- Dracula
  • 05 / 09 (Tu) -- Reading due: Dracula, chapters 12-16.
  • 05 / 11 (Th) -- Assignment #5 (analysis) due! Reading due: Dracula, chapters 17-21.
• Week 7 -- Reading at the Movies
  • 05 / 16 (Tu) -- Reading due: Dracula, chapters 22-27; Seger, "Creating the Myth," SoL 308-17. Class exercise: Bram Stoker's Dracula
  • 05 / 18 (Th) -- Assignment #4 (bibliography) due! Class exercise: Bram Stoker's Dracula.
• Week 8 -- Futurity - tech
  • 05 / 23 (Tu) -- Reading due: Lee, "Cult," SoL 398-413. Assignment #6 (speculative writing) handed out.
  • 05 / 25 (Th) -- Reading due: Reeves, Rodgers, and Epstein, "Rewriting Popularity: the Cult Files," SoL 265-276. Class exercise: Star Trek
• Week 9 -- Futurity - society
  • 05 / 30 (Tu) -- Reading due: Croal and Hughes, "Lara Croft, the Bit Girl," SoL 702-5; Miller, "Women and Children First: Gender and the Settling of the Electronic Frontier," SoL 505-13.
  • 06 / 01 (Th) -- Reading due: Dick, "Blade Runner," SoL 385-93. Class exercise: The Matrix.
• Week 10 -- Final Thoughts, Wrap up
  • 06 / 06 (Tu) -- Assignment #6 (speculation) due!
  • 06 / 08 (Th) -- Review, examination preparation, and wrap-up.
• 06 / 12 (M) -- Final Examination, 8:00 - 11:00 a.m. (location to be announced).

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Please direct comments and questions to P. Aaron Potter (potterama@earthlink.net)