English 9

Course Overview & Expectations

Overview

English 9, in reality, is two courses that initially run parallel but separate of each other. They eventually dovetail into a course that stresses the development of critical reading, thinking and writing skills.

One aspect of English 9 is the study and proper use of the English language involving a comprehensive study of grammar, vocabulary and the mechanics of essay writing. Grammar is presented with the goal of teaching the boys how to manipulate sentences in order to express their thoughts as accurately and concisely as possible. By understanding the structure of English, the students will also develop the self-confidence to revise and edit their own work; therefore, the use of a word processor is essential

Various types of writing will be studied, but emphasis is placed on the expository essay which asks the student to formulate and support a thesis statement.

The reading stresses the presentation of male role models in a overt attempt to help the boys define their role in society. The students will study the concepts of honor and shame and proper and improper behavior as they are helped to understand what society traditionally values in a man. An effort is made to make the actions of such characters as Beowulf, Sir Gawain, Prince Hal, Holden Caulfield, and Troy Maxon relevant to the personal lives of each of the boys.

Works Studied Other Texts Used

Genesis
Beowulf
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Henry IV Part I
Fences
Catcher in the Rye
Lord of the Flies

General Expectations for Students

Students in Brunswick’s English 9 are expected to be in class on time with all the necessary materials. They are expected to do the assigned homework, which includes the annotation of their texts, in a conscientious and timely manner.

Homework

During any given academic week, homework will consist of reading, grammar, vocabulary and written assignments based upon the literature. Homework assignments will take approximately 40 minutes per night, but how long any particular assignment takes will be largely determined by the individual student. Over weekends students will usually be asked to produce 2-4 page word-processed papers based on the week’s reading assignments. Assignments for long weekends and major holidays may consist of reading, generally will not include any writing.

Weekly assignment sheets will be posted on my website.

Weekend Essays

Weekend essays will be 2-4 word-processed papers that require a student to generate original thoughts and interpretations. Lecture notes will provide a basis and a direction for these essays, but the student should clearly understand that he is to incorporate his own thoughts into the paper. The essays will generally be less than two pages early in the year and will become progressively longer as the student grows intellectually and gains command over more sophisticated essay structures.

Grades for these essays are determined by the student’s command of the topic, his depth of understanding and clarity and conciseness of his writing which includes the clarity and strength of sentence, paragraph and essay structure and the proper use of language.

Essays should be word-processed and "hard" copies submitted. Essays should be double-spaced with the student’s name and the current date in the upper left-hand corner. Essays should always be titled. The use of spell-checkers and grammar checkers is encouraged. Electronic copies of weekend essays will also be submitted to create a writing portfolio and for submission to turnitin.com.

Lateness Policy

Essays and other homework assignments are due in class on the day they are assigned. If an assignment is not submitted in class, it will be considered late and will be penalized 5% per day. A student may seek an extension by asking for one before the assignment is due. However, I reserve the right to refuse an extension if I feel the reason for the request is not legitimate or if the student has abused the extension policy previously.

Make-Up Work

If a student is out of school with an illness the day an essay is due, that essay will be due when the student returns to school on the theory that an essay is a long-term assignment, and the student should have been constructing it before the one-day illness.

A student who misses school on the day of a test will be given two days to make-up the test. It is the responsibility of the student to schedule the test with me.

Failure to take a test or submit a paper within the given period of time will result in a 5% per/day penalty. Deadlines following lengthier illnesses will be negotiated on an individual basis.

Essay Rewrites

A student may rewrite an essay after having a writing conference. This conference is to ensure that the rewritten essay will be of suitable quality and worth the time and effort required to earn a new grade. Rewritten papers submitted without consultation will not be accepted. The student will have ten class days to submit a rewritten paper.

Extra Help

Individual attention is available in two ways. A student may "drop-in" to the English Office during free time, or he may schedule a conference. Extra-help may be obtained from any member of the English Department.

Plagiarism

Obviously, students are expected to produce their own work, both conceptually and physically. Especially where the computer network is concerned, the temptation to copy another student’s work is great, but it must be resisted. Copying another student's work, or copying passages or using the ideas from any of the various internet sources without proper attribution is considered plagiarism.

Any assignment found to be plagiarized will receive a zero and the student will be required to rewrite the essay. The student will also face serious official sanctions from Brunswick.

Cliff’s Notes and/or SparkNotes and sources of this type are not considered to be legitimate critical sources by the Brunswick English Department. Brunswick teachers would much rather provide individual attention than have a student resort to inadequate aids. To that end, students are strongly discouraged from employing these sources.

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