to the schedule of readings and assignments
required texts:
The Oxford English Grammar
Sidney Greenbaum
Oxford University Press
Downloadable Practice Manual and Diagrams
description: What makes the following an English sentence? Can you account for all the different elements of the sentence, and show how they function together? By the end of this term, an A student in 3384 should have enough sense of the structure of modern, written, standard English to make a good attempt at answering those questions.
"In his seventies, Al McCarron shot his age so often that a golf ball company that offered a free golf ball to anyone who sent in a certified scorecard showing that a person had shot his age wrote him a note asking him to send in the scorecards a dozen at a time so they could simply ship him a dozen balls at a time." (John Feinstein, The Majors [1999; NY: Little, Brown, 2000, p.94]
assignments: There will be thirteen (13) short "weekly" papers to be written in class on the date indicated (usually a Friday, though sometimes on a Wednesday; check the calendar below). No weekly will be done as a "make-up" without official authorized absence from the University (ie UTA business, religious holiday, or military service; illness or other personal trouble does not count as an authorized absence). The final exam will be in our regular classroom Monday 7 May, 1400-1630 (2pm-430pm). All in-class writing, EXCEPT the final exam, will be open-book, open-note; you may bring anything you need to the weekly writing meetings, but you may not confer with other students during those meetings. The final exam will be closed-book, and you may not refer to anything except your exam paper during the final exam.
grading: Each weekly paper will be graded 1 (for satisfactory work) or 0 (for unsatisfactory). If you earn 11 or more weekly points, your grade going into the final will be C. If you earn 10 weekly points, your grade going into the final will be D. If you earn 9 weeklies, your grade going into the final will be a provisional "E," and if you earn 8, your grade going into the final will be F. (If you earn 7 or fewer, you will make an F for the course no matter what you do on the final.) If your grade on the final is 80-89, your course grade will be one letter above your weekly total. If your grade on the final is 90-100, your course grade will be two letters above your weekly total. The final is optional; you cannot lose points by not taking it.
academic dishonesty policy: It is the philosophy of The University of Texas at Arlington that academic dishonesty is a completely unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures. Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University. "Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts." [Regents' Rules and Regulations, Part One, Chapter Vi, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22]
disability policy: The University of Texas at Arlington is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; reference Public Law 93112—The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. With the passage of new federal legislation entitled Americans with Disabilities Act – (ADA), pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same opportunities enjoyed by all citizens. As a faculty member, I am required by law to provide "reasonable accommodation" to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability. Student responsibility primarily rests with informing faculty at the beginning of the semester and in providing authorized documentation through designated administrative channels.
schedule of assignments and readings:
(Section and page numbers are from the Oxford English Grammar)
18 Jan: Intro & Syllabus
20 Jan: Intro to Linguistics (7.1-7.6, 365-371)
23 Jan: More Linguistics (1.7-2.2, 14-25)
25 Jan: Visit from Russia Study program. History of the English Language (1.1-1.6, 3-14; 8.2-8.9, 400-412)
27 Jan: WEEKLY PAPER #1
30 Jan-1 Feb: A Comparative View
3 Feb: WEEKLY PAPER #2
6 Feb: no class meeting
8 Feb: Nouns (4.1-4.12, 92-116)
10 Feb: WEEKLY PAPER #3
13-15 Feb: More Words (4.13-4.47, 117-202)
17 Feb: WEEKLY PAPER #4
20-22 Feb: Noun Phrases (5.1-5.16, 208-246)
24 Feb: WEEKLY PAPER #5
27-29 Feb: Verb Phrases and Other Phrases (5.17-5.49, 246-304)
2 March: WEEKLY PAPER #6
5 March: Sentences & Clauses (Chapter 3, 42-87)
7 March: WEEKLY PAPER #7
19-21 March: Sentences & Clauses (6.1-6.12, 308-336)
23 March: WEEKLY PAPER #8
26-28 March: Sentences & Clauses (6.13-6.19, 337-362)
30 March: WEEKLY PAPER #9
2-4 Apr: Sentences & Clauses (practice manual and diagrams)
6 Apr: WEEKLY PAPER #10
9-11 Apr: Sentences & Clauses (practice manual and diagrams)
13 Apr: WEEKLY PAPER #11
16-18 Apr: Morphology (9.1-9.40, 439-476)
20 Apr: WEEKLY PAPER #12
23-25 Apr: Phonetics (10.1-10.18, 480-502)
27 Apr: WEEKLY PAPER #13
30 Apr, 2 May, 4 May: Review
7 May: FINAL EXAM: 1400-1630