Critical Thinking and Writing
about Literature
English 12
English 1B
Dual Credit
Sir Jeffrey Johnson
W) 916-652-7243 x. 1559
H) 530-885-6844
johnson@puhsd.k12.ca.us
ENGL 0001B:
Critical Thinking and Writing about Literature
Units: 3
Prerequisite:
Completion of ENGL 1A with grade of "C" or better
Hours: 54 lecture
Develops critical thinking, reading, and writing skills applicable to the
analysis of prose, poetry, drama, and criticism from diverse cultural sources
and perspectives. Emphasis on the techniques and principles of effective
written argument. 6,500 words of formal writing and some research required.
This
unique class has Sierra College's English
1B: Critical Thinking and Writing about Literature course material
interwoven with standard coursework for English 12, so students will earn dual-credit:
10 credits of English for completion of high school requirements, and 3 units
of college credit for General Education requirements at any college or
university. English 1B requires 54 hours of instructional time, and this time
will be interspersed throughout the course. A high school course requires more
instructional hours than this college class, so the balance of additional
instructional hours beyond the English 1B requirements will be used to cover
the grade-level department objectives in English 12.
Students
in this dual-credit class will be enrolled in Sierra College and will enjoy
all the benefits of being a student there, including library privileges.
Be aware that students will receive separate
grades for this course: one for their transcripts at Sierra College, and a separate
grade for their transcripts at Del Oro. While it should be noted that
performance in the Sierra College portion of the class will affect the Del Oro
grade, the reverse is not true; the performance in the English 12 portion of
the class will not impact the Sierra College
grade.
English 1B:
Critical Thinking and Writing
about Literature
This
course will focus on writing, reading, and critical thinking skills that will
be applied to the analysis of prose, poetry, drama, and criticism from diverse
cultural sources and perspectives. It includes reading, discussion, and
analysis of selected literary texts and literary criticism. Students will
propose and defend original ideas in writing assignments totaling 6,500 words,
including four essays.
You
will:
1.
analyze
significance of literary elements and techniques
2.
identify
and analyze the intentions, biases, assumptions, and arguments of an author
3.
analyze
and evaluate the significance of literary genres, forms, and critical theories
in literary text
4.
identify
unstated premises and assumptions arising from social, historical, moral,
cultural, psychological, or aesthetic contexts of the literary texts
5.
evaluate
patterns of reasoning in both literary arguments and outside critical sources
6.
evaluate
research sources in literary criticism and related non-fiction in terms of
fairness, accuracy, completeness, and effectiveness
7.
Write
four essays:
a.
A
literary analysis essay on A Separate Peace
b.
An
analysis of poetry unified by a single theme
c.
Analysis
of short stories using a perspective of literary theory such as feminism,
Marxism, etc.
d.
A literary analysis essay of a major drama that synthesizes
and evaluates several critical sources.
Grading
Policy
- Late work is penalized 20%
per day, except in the case of excused absences. Students have the number
of days they are absent to make up missed work.
- Make-up work: Students have
the number of days they are absent to make up missed work. It is the student’s
responsibility to find out what assignments were missed and make them
up in time. Check the Daily Log on the website for missed days. A missed
test must be made up on the day of return or suffer late penalties. Work
missed because of unexcused absences (for whatever reason) cannot be made
up.
- Cheating and/or
plagiarism will result in no credit for the assignment, a phone call home,
and referral to the office.
- The essays and
tests in English 1A will be combined for a final grade. As a reminder, the
work in English 11 will have no bearing on this grade.
A = 90% - 100%
B = 80% - 89%
C = 70% - 79%
D = 60% - 69%
F = Below 60%
Required Texts
- Literature:
An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, 13th
ed. Kennedy and Dana Gioia.
- A
Separate Peace
by John Knowles
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Master
Harold…and the boys by Athol Fugard
- Hamlet by William
Shakespeare
- Cat
on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee
Williams
Office
Hours
I will usually be available before and
after school on a drop-in basis. However, if meeting with me is important, I
suggest you make an appointment so you will be sure to have as much time with
me as you need.
Conduct
Mutual respect between all scholars is
essential to foster academic freedom. Students are expected to come to class
prepared. This particularly applies to reading assignments which will be
discussed in class. A productive discussion is possible only when all
participates have read the material, and are prepared to listen to and
contribute to class discussions.
All Del
Oro student policies will apply in the classroom at all times, including the policy
prohibiting the use of cell phones for any reason during class.