English 101C: Critical Thinking

Ohlone College
Spring 2010
Section 09: TTH 1:15–2:50pm, NC 2102

INSTRUCTOR: Assistant Professor Jennifer Hurley

OFFICE: Newark Center 2115
EMAIL: jhurley@ohlone.edu
COURSE BLOG: http://hurleyenglish101c.blogspot.com
PHONE: (510) 742-2377
OFFICE HOURS (BY APPOINTMENT): MW 8:45–9:45am; TTh 11:20am–12:20pm & 2:50–3:50pm
TUTORING IN THE NEWARK LIBRARY: M 2–2:30pm

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Professor Jennifer Hurley has been teaching English full time at Ohlone College since 2001. Prior to then, she
worked as a journalist in San Francisco covering housing issues and as an editor for a San Diego publishing
company. She is author of three textbooks from the Opposing Viewpoints series—Teen Pregnancy, Animal
Rights, and The 1960s—and her short stories and essays have appeared in various literary magazines. She has
served as a writer-in-residence at artist colonies in Costa Rica, Portugal, and Hawaii. Her education includes a
B.A. in Literature/Writing from UC San Diego and an M.A. in Creative Writing from Boston University.

HOW TO CONTACT ME
I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions about your writing assignments, course readings, or the
material we’ve covered in class. If you were absent, please don’t contact me about what you missed;
instead, get in touch with another student.

For quick questions, feel free to approach me before or after class, or send me an email. For longer discussions,
please make an appointment to see me in office hours. Appointments can be made in person or via email. If you
have a schedule conflict during office hours, let me know. Usually I can offer you an alternate time.

WHAT IS ENGLISH 101C?

English 101C will introduce you to the skills of critical thinking. It is similar to English 101A, with a stronger
emphasis on critical reading, the use of logic, exposing flawed arguments, and evaluating sources.

COURSE GOALS
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
1. understand what it means to think critically;
2. apply specific critical thinking skills to a variety of readings and subject matter;
3. demonstrate your ability to think critically through in-class discussion and writing tasks; and
4. feel a greater sense of confidence in your ability to think critically.

COURSE MATERIALS
1. To prevent the need for an expensive anthology, I will ask you to print some of your readings from the course
blog (about 10 pages per week on average). (See the top of this syllabus for the website address of the blog.)
After printing, number the paragraphs in the margins so we can refer to specific sections during our
discussions. Please do not take this course if you cannot commit to printing the readings and bringing a paper
copy with you to class. A laptop or iphone is not an acceptable alternative. You are welcome to shrink the
readings or print double-sided to save paper.
2. College-level dictionary, to be brought to class (preferably a paper one)
3. Notebook for in-class notes and a portable stapler

OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Part of your role as a college student and a citizen is knowing what is going on in the world. From time to time I
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will quiz you about the news. You don’t need to memorize details, but you should know the basic headlines and
issues. To prepare for these quizzes, sign up for free daily email updates from the New York Times. Go to
www.nytimes.com and click on “Register Now” in the upper right-hand corner. For a creative take on current
issues, watch the Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert shows on Comedy Central from 10–11pm on weeknights.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All of the work you do for this class must be your own. Any instance of cheating or plagiarism will mean
immediate dismissal from the course with a grade of F. Ohlone’s policy on academic integrity appears later in
this syllabus.

CELL PHONE/LAPTOP POLICY

So that you can devote your full attention to learning, please do not use your cell phone and or laptop in the
classroom, unless I have indicated otherwise. Before class begins, turn off all electronic devices and put them
out of sight. Please note that texting in class shows disrespect to the instructor.

GRADES
I strive to offer you a system of grading that is fair and easy to understand. If at any time you would like an
explanation of the grading procedures, please come talk to me. My standards for your performance are high, but
I am rooting for your success!

Attendance and Participation: 25 points

Homework Assignments: 2 points each
Graded Papers (2): 30 points each
Rough Drafts of Graded Papers: 1 point each (only if you bring the draft to class)
Midterm: 20 points
Final Exam: 20 points
Group Presentation: 10 points
Pop Quizzes: 1–2 points each

At the end of the semester, I will determine your final grade by figuring the percentage of points you have
earned out of the total number of points possible. Plus and minus grades are not given at Ohlone College.
A: 90–100
B: 80–89
C: 70–79
D: 60–69
F: below 60
Important Note: If you earn less than a C- on all four major assignments (graded papers, midterm, and
final exam), then you will not pass the class, regardless of how your final percentage tallies.

ATTENDANCE
- I will drop students who demonstrate poor attendance during the first half of the semester.
- At any point in the semester, if you miss three classes in a row without contacting me, expect to be dropped.
- If you miss six or more classes during the semester you will fail the class.
- If you are absent for any reason, it is your own responsibility to get the assignments from another student and
complete them on time. Please do not ask me what you missed.

PUNCTUALITY
- If you are late on a regular basis (once a week or more), your final grade will be lowered by one letter grade.
- If you must come late to a class, please come in quietly and take a seat by the door instead of walking in front
of me while I am talking to the rest of the class.
- After class let me know that you were late; otherwise you may be marked absent.

PARTICIPATION
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- Participation includes the following: contributing to in-class discussions, participating in group work, taking
notes during class, and coming to see me in office hours.
- To earn an A or B in attendance and participation, you must contribute to discussions.
- If you participate regularly in class and have superior attendance (only one absence), you will
automatically earn five extra credit points.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS
- Detailed requirements for your homework assignments can be found on the blog.
- Submit your homework assignments to me by email (jhurley@ohlone.edu) before the start of class. Please
do not send attachments. Instead, copy and paste the text into the body of an email.
- Write the following in the subject line of your email: your last name, class and section number, and the
homework assignment number (HW#1, etc.).
- Unless otherwise specified, it is not a requirement that you bring a printed copy of your homework to class.

HOW HOMEWORK IS GRADED

- Each homework assignment is worth 2 points. Assignments that do not meet the requirements earn half credit.
- Homework assignments may be turned in up to 2 weeks late, but all late homework receives half credit, no
exceptions. Homework assignments more than 2 weeks late receive no credit.
- You will not receive written comments on your homework, but I am happy to give you feedback during office
hours. Please don’t hesitate to make an appointment for this purpose.

GRADED PAPERS
- Graded papers should always be printed out and submitted directly to me at the beginning of class.
- If you must miss class on the day a graded paper is due, please email me your paper AND bring me a printed
copy on the next day of class.
- Free late pass! You may submit one of your graded papers up to one week late with no penalty!
- You will always receive written feedback on your graded papers.
- Please note that if you do not turn in one of the graded papers, you will fail the class.

FORMATTING GUIDELINES FOR GRADED PAPERS

- Please use MLA format for all graded papers, with a header including your last name and the page number,
and 12 point Times New Roman as your font.
- If you are not familiar with MLA format, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/.
- Professionalism counts: Papers that are unstapled, poorly proofread, or printed using a dying ink cartridge
automatically receive lower grades.

ROUGH DRAFTS
- I will ask you to complete at least two typed rough drafts of your graded papers before the final draft is due.
- Do not submit rough drafts via email; instead, bring a printed copy of your draft to class for peer
review.
- If you are not present in class on draft day, you will not receive credit for your draft—no exceptions.
- If you would like my feedback on your draft, please make an appointment with me in office hours.

IN-CLASS WRITING
Two of your major assignments—the midterm and the final exam—will be written in class. We will prepare for
these assignments ahead of time.

GROUP PRESENTATIONS
Detailed requirements for your group presentation are available on the blog.

OTHER IMPORTANT DETAILS

- Keep a copy of every writing assignment you do for this class. If an assignment gets lost, I cannot give you a
grade unless you supply me with another copy. Also, keep all of the graded work that you receive back from me.
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- If you have a late assignment due to an absence, it is treated the same as any other late assignment. The same is
true of assignments that are late due to computer/printer errors. I appreciate those students who submit late work
with a willingness to accept the penalty and without making excuses.
- There is no such thing as “make-up work” in this class. If you miss the final exam, an in-class writing
assignment, or a quiz, you cannot make these up, nor can you rewrite a paper for a new grade. Please do not ask
me if you can take the final exam at another time.

OUTSIDE HELP
- Students who make appointments with me in office hours usually do better than those who don’t.
- Free peer tutors are available in the Newark Library or in Hyman Hall (1st floor) on the Fremont campus.
- To get a tutor, you may need to be persistent. Find out when the tutors are available for drop-in sessions. If you
need help getting a tutor, please see me.

POLICY ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Obviously, cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. Any instance of cheating or plagiarism, intentional or
unintentional, will result in your immediate dismissal from the course with a grade of F. There are no
second chances or “make-ups” for these offenses; therefore, it is essential that you understand how cheating and
plagiarism are defined.

Definition of Cheating:
Ohlone College defines cheating as “the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work
through the use of any dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent means.” Cheating in this course includes:

1. Copying from another student’s exam, essay, or homework

2. During an exam, using sources or materials not authorized by the instructor
3. Altering grades
4. Having someone take an exam for you, or taking an exam for someone else
5. Representing someone else’s work as your own (plagiarism)

Definition of Plagiarism:
Ohlone College defines plagiarism as “the act of representing the work of another as one’s own (without giving
appropriate credit) regardless of how that work was obtained and submitting it to fulfill academic requirements.”
In plain language, plagiarism is copying someone else’s words or ideas without giving that person credit.

There are two types of plagiarism. You are committing intentional plagiarism if you intentionally misrepresent
someone else’s work as your own. Examples of intentional plagiarism:

1. Taking an essay or part of an essay from the Internet, a magazine, a book, or a friend, and submitting
it as your own
2. Incorporating someone else’s ideas, paragraphs, sentences, or words into your paper, with the
intention of representing them as your own
3. Turning in any writing that you yourself did not do

You are committing unintentional plagiarism if you fail to give credit to any author whose ideas or words you
use in your writing. Examples of unintentional plagiarism:

1. “Borrowing” paragraphs, phrases, or words (three or more in a row) or from an

author without giving credit to that author
2. Failing to give the name of the author whose ideas you are using in your paper
3. Failing to put quotation marks around phrases or passages that you have taken
directly from a source