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Course Syllabus Fall 2011

LIT 3332.001/501??
Instructor: Thomas Lambert Contact: email preferred Thomas.lambert1@utdallas.edu - Drop boxes or mail within eLearning should be used for assignments. Conversation partners should be requested through regular email. Phone: (972) 883-4151 Office Hours: Wednesday 2:30-4:00 (advance notice appreciated) I am available for appointments outside of office hours. Just send me an email or talk with me after class. Office Location: JO 5.608C, 5th floor Jonsson Bldg. Classroom: SoM 2.107

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions: None Course Description: This course will prepare students to understand and use the English grammar system. As speakers of English we have an immense knowledge of grammar but rarely appreciate the complexity . Students will be expected to learn about the basic systems which comprise English grammar and to be able to make these systems explicit to others. Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes Students will differentiate prescriptive and descriptive grammar. Students will identify and use grammatical terminology grounded in essential to analyzing the English grammar system. Students will use evidence and reason to categorize and analyze the structure of English words, phrases and clauses. Required Textbooks and Materials: Klammer, Thomas P., Shulz and Della Volpe. Analyzing English Grammar 6th Edition ISBN-13: 978-0-205-68594-3, Pearson 2009. Suggested Course Materials: Gucker, P. Essential English Grammar. Dover Publications 1966. ISBN-10: 0486216497 ISBN-13: 978-0486216492 Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage. ISBN-10: 0877796335, MerriamWebster 2002. Truss, Lynne, Eats, Shoots and Leaves. New York, Gotham Books, Gotham; 1st edition April 11, ISBN-10: 1592402038 ISBN-13: 978-1592402038, 2006. Huddleston, R. and Geoffrey Pullum, A Students Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge U Press, 2005. ISBN-10: 0521612888, ISBN-13: 978-0521612883. Williams, Joseph M., Style Toward Clarity and Grace. U. of Chicago Press 2008. ISBN-10: 0205747469, ISBN-13: 978-0205747467 Additional readings and exercises will be distributed via eLearning and/or in class.

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Assignments & Academic Calendar All readings and their corresponding exercises should be completed before class for which they are scheduled. Select exercises will be handed in for grading. Due to the large number of exercises and their fundamental importance to this course, class time will often be allocated to the completion of exercises. The exercises will not be collected unless indicated ahead of time. The following schedule is subject to change at instructors discretion. Aug 25 Parts of speech/lexical categories. Intro/video. Syllabus Aug 30 Continue introduction. What is grammar? Why grammar? Prescriptive and descriptive points of view. Parts of speech/lexical categories. Sept 1 Klammer Text Ch 1Continue Intro Parts of speech, lexical categories Sept 6 Klammer Ch 2 English Varieties Sept 8 Klammer Ch 3 Morphology Sept 13 Morphology Sept 15 Klammer Ch 4 Form-Class Words Sept 20 Klammer Ch 4 Form-Class Words Sept 22 Form-Class Words Sept 27 Form-class Words Sept 29 ********************* Exam 1 Ch 1-4**************************** Oct 4 Ch 5 Structure-Class Words - Modifiers Oct 6 Ch 5 Structure-Class Words - Modifiers Oct 11 Ch 5 Structure-Class Words - Modifiers Oct 13 Klammer Ch 6 Connectors Oct 18 Klammer Ch 6 Connectors Oct 20 Klammer Ch 6 Connectors Oct 25 **************Exam 2**************************************** Ch 5-6 Oct 27 Klammer Ch 7 Phrases Nov 1 Klammer Ch 7 Phrases Nov 3 Klammer Ch 7 Phrases *Last day to request Conversation Partner

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Nov 8 Klammer Ch 8 Sentence Types Nov 10 Klammer Ch 8 Sentence Types Nov 15 Klammer Ch 9 Sentence Transformations Nov 17 Klammer Ch 9 Sentence Transformations Nov 22 Klammer Ch 10 Adj & Adv Clauses Nov 24 Happy Thanksgiving! Nov 29 Klammer Ch 10 Adj & Adv Clauses Dec 1 Review Dec 6 ****************** Exam 3******************************* (not cumulative)

Grading Policy Exam 1 Exam 2 Exam 3 Attendance/Participation/HW Scale:


Grade A+ A AB+ B BC+ C CD+ D DF X CR NC Average 100-96 95-93 92-90 89-86 85-83 82-80 79-76 75-73 72-70 69-66 65-63 62-60 59-0 Incomplete Credit No Credit

30% 30% 30% 10% 100%

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Course & Instructor Policies Class will be interactive and participation is always encouraged and occasionally required. Readings and exercises on the syllabus should be completed before class and students should be prepared to engage in discussion of material and to do related exercises. Additional readings will be given via eLearning Discussions area. Students are required to participate five times in the Discussion section of eLearning during the semester. I will post a weekly article or topic for discussion. Students may also use the Discussion section to get help from classmates by asking questions related to course material. Any question asked or answered will count as one of your five responses. This participation is informal and will make up 5 points of the attendance/participation/HW grade. The other 5 points will come from my subjective evaluation of your performance in the course. If you miss an exam, a make-up will be given only upon furnishing a written medical excuse. Late homework will be penalized 10 points for each day late. Some students find the material in this course exceedingly simple. Many others experience conceptual difficulties and/or grammar-related anxiety. If you are in this second group, you will need additional resources and extensive preparation outside class. Dont wait till the end of the semester to get started. Note that I will give a grade of A+ to only one or two students in each section. Extra Credit: Conversation Partner Program. Students can earn 5 points extra credit for meeting with an international teaching assistant for three hours of conversation and writing a 1-2 paragraph response paper about the experience. This extra credit may be earned once for each exam, or a maximum of 15 points. Please email me to request a conversation partner. I cannot guarantee the opportunity to earn the maximum 15 points of extra credit. It may be limited by the number of TAs participating. These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.
UTD policies: http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies

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