Professor: Dr. Francesco Crocco Office Hours: Fri. 12-2pm & 5-6pm, Rm.

N711
Course & Section: ENG 101.147 Office Phone: 212.220.8000 x8293
Meets: Fri. 2-4:45pm, Rm. M1016 Email: fcrocco@bmcc.cuny.edu

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” —Socrates

I. Required Books (avail @ Manhattan Books):

 MLA: The Easy Way. 7th ed. Peggy M. Houghton & Timothy J. Houghton. Baker College, 2009.
ISBN: 9780923568956
 All course readings are available for free from the course website @ http://bmcceng101.wordpress.com.

II. Official Course Description & Goals:

English 101—English Composition—is required of all BMCC students, no matter what their curriculum. The
course introduces students to academic writing; by its conclusion, students will be ready for English 201 and for
the writing they will be asked to do in advanced courses across the curriculum. Students completing English
101 will have mastered the fundamentals of college-level reading and writing, including developing a thesis-
driven response to the writing of others and following the basic conventions of citation and documentation.
They will have practiced what Mike Rose calls the “habits of mind” necessary for success in college and in the
larger world: summarizing, classifying, comparing, and analyzing.

Expressed as learning outcomes, we expect that students completing English 101 will:
• Organize, develop, and revise at least four thesis-driven essays that include substantial support and use a
variety of rhetorical strategies
• Summarize, paraphrase, and quote from readings
• Critically analyze numerous readings
• Demonstrate a command of edited American English, using vocabulary and syntax appropriate to
college-level work
• Demonstrate familiarity with MLA conventions of citation and documentation
These learning outcomes will be assessed by the course requirements outlined below.

III. Course Requirements & Grading:

1. Formal Essays 50%
2. Informal Writing 20%
3. Departmental Final Exam 30%

 Formal Essays: There will be four thesis-driven Formal Essays that will require extensive citation from
course readings and/or additional research. Three will be take-home essays and one will be an in-class
practice essay for the Departmental Final Exam. Take-home essays will go through mandatory
brainstorming and peer review workshops (worth five points each toward the final draft). Final drafts
will be 3-4 typed pages (not including pages for outlines and works cited) and must follow rules for
formatting and citation explained in MLA: The Easy Way.

 Informal Writing: Informal writing includes all work that’s not graded as part of the Formal Essays,
such as class work, homework, and quizzes. The largest portion of this grade will come from responses
to the readings, which will be posted and shared each week on the course discussion page @
http://bmcceng101discussion.wordpress.com. Posts must be at least 200 words and may include
relevant media and links. The deadline for posting is midnight before class (usually Thursdays).
Register an account at www.wordpress.com and log in for full access to posting features. Use your
FULL NAME when posting so that I can identify your posts and give you credit. Inappropriate or
offensive material will be removed and its author brought to justice. To avoid lost content from internet
dropouts, draft your posts in a word document and cut/paste them onto the discussion page. You are
 expected to print out your posts and bring them to class each day to participate in class discussion. For
more about the discussion page, see the section on the course website below.

 Departmental Final Exam: At the end of this course, you must take a 90-minute departmental essay
exam. It will ask you to compose a thesis-centered essay of at least 500 words that summarizes and
responds to one or two essays. Both essays will be read and discussed prior to the exam, and you may
bring marked copies of these two essays with you to the exam along with a dictionary.

IV. Course Website

This class will have its own website at http://bmcceng101.wordpress.com. I will use the website to (1) make
announcements, (2) post course readings through BMCC E-Reserve, (3) post course documents (such as the
syllabus, schedule, essay assignments, etc.), (4) post links to useful material on the internet, and (5) host a
weekly discussion about reading assignments. This discussion will take place on the course discussion page,
which will be linked to the homepage and can be found at http://bmcceng101discussion.wordpress.com.

V. Course Policies:
1. Attendance: Because we only meet once a week, you are allowed only TWO absences for the semester. After
that, each absence will subtract FIVE points from your final grade. THREE bonus points will be added to your
final grade for perfect attendance. Excessive absences will lead to expulsion from the course. Attendance is
taken at the beginning of each class. If you are not present when attendance is called, you will be marked late.
2 lates = 1 absence.
2. Late Work: Formal Essays that are late will lose 5pts. No Formal Essays will be accepted more than one class
session late. Weekly posts and other homework assignments that are turned in late will lose half credit.
3. Revision: Graded Formal Essays may be revised for a better grade, but revisions must be submitted no more
than two weeks later.
4. Tutoring: The Learning Resource Center provides free tutoring services for ENG 101 & 201 students. The
center is located in S500 and can be reached by phone at 212.220.8620.
5. BMCC Policy for Accommodating Students with Disabilities: BMCC is an equal opportunity institution.
Students with diagnosed disabilities can contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities to set up
reasonable accommodations. The office is located in Rm. N320 and can be reached online at
http://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/disabled.
6. BMCC Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity: Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s ideas,
words or artistic, scientific, or technical work as one’s own creation. Using the idea or work of another is
permissible only when the original author is identified. Paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as direct
quotations, require citations to the original source. Plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional. Lack of
dishonest intent does not necessarily absolve a student of responsibility for plagiarism. Students who are unsure
how and when to provide documentation are advised to consult with their instructors. The library has online
guides designed to help students to appropriately cite material. They can be reached at
http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/help/citing/citingmla.html.
7. Classroom Conduct: Cell phones OFF. Use the restroom at your discretion (but don’t abuse it). Offensive
behavior towards anyone in the class will be dealt with swiftly and sternly.

IV. Valedictory Statements

Finally, some words of wisdom from past students of mine:

“Study hard, always participate.”

“The class is fun and interesting.”
“Come to class on time and do all your work.”
“This class changes the way you write and see things.”
“I love this class because it always follows the syllabus.”
“Do as much reading and writing as possible because it will help you to write better.”

2
“Right now, your probably thinking this is a boring class or will be, but hang in there. Prof. C. knows
what he is doing. The exercises will help you out a lot. And there are cookies and juice at the end of
the semester!”