DAILY HOMEWORK
Note: bulleted items are due on the date immediately above them.
Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Monday, September 7, 2026
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
- Read and sign the class contract (see Handouts section of class web page)
- Complete the contact information survey.
- Read and mark the following handouts (located in Readings section of our Canvas site. They are all part of the large “First Three Weeks Readings” document):
- "How to Really Read this Book"—Frechie, Halbert, McCormick
- "A Special Note on Taking Separate Notes on Readings Rather Than Marking Text"--Halbert
- "First They Changed My Name"—Caffilene Allen
- "The Sanctuary of School"—Lynda Barry
- "The First Major Turning Point" –Malcolm X
- "'I Just Wana Be Average'"—Mike Rose
- Chapters VI and VII of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself.
- "Theme for English B"—Langston Hughes
- "The Conversion of the Jews"—Philip Roth
- "Honor Bound"—Joseph Steffan
- REMEMBER: this first reading check will be your first major impression on Dr. Halbert
- Be prepared to have your photograph taken.
- Last Day to Add.
Monday, September 14, 2026
- Freewriting activity for Paper #1. Post a copy on the Discussion Board in the "Paper 1: Freewriting" section.
- Bring your reading packet to class.
- Read and mark "The Comma” in Hacker (A Pocket Style Manual) 54-61. If these page numbers do not line up with your edition, read your edition's statements on comma usage with coordinating conjunctions (and & but) and comma usage with introductory elements/phrase/clauses.
- Read and mark "MLA Format; sample research paper" (Hacker 176-186) and skim the sample essay to visually see how a paper should look in this course.
- NOTE: Dr. Halbert may be a few minutes late as he will be coming from a medical appointment. Do not leave class.
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Monday, September 21, 2026
- NO CLASS. Required conferences. Bring a REVISED and printed second draft and post a copy to the discussion board in the "Paper #1: Draft 2" forum. Five points for posting, 10 points for attending conference with a printed copy.
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
- NO CLASS: We do not meet on Tuesdays.
- Last Day to Drop.
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
- NO CLASS. Required conferences. Bring a REVISED and printed second draft and post a copy to the discussion board in the "Paper #1: Draft 2" forum. Five points for posting, 10 points for attending conference with a printed copy.
- First day of Withdrawal Period without signature.
Monday, September 28, 2026
- Final draft of Paper #1 due. See checklist for details. Post a copy in the “Paper #1: Final Draft (Graded)” assignment (for up to 200 points) and a copy in the “Paper #1: Final Draft (Discussion Board)” slot (for five points).
- NO CLASS. Dr. Halbert will be attending an event in Harrisburg.
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
- Read and mark Paulo Freire's "The 'Banking' Concept of Education" (located in the Readings section of our Canvas web site).
- WARNING: This reading is incredibly difficult. You will need to budget at least two hours to this document. Use a dictionary and write questions you have about the text in the margins along with your other comments.
Monday, October 5, 2026
- Read and mark "How to Integrate a Quote into a Paper" from the Handouts Section.
- Read and mark " How to Deal with Titles" from the Handouts Section.
- Read and mark the entire “Research” section in A Pocket Style Manual (87-106): core concepts include “Finding Appropriate Sources,” Avoiding Plagiarism,” and “Evaluating Sources. “Please put a Post-it book tab next to the ellipsis mark, brackets, long quotations, and signal phrases.
- Read and mark “Integrating Sources” and “Integrating Literary Quotations” in A Pocket Style Manual (116-132).
- Read and mark "Quotation Marks") in A Pocket Style Manual (70-73). Place a Post-it book tab next to "quotation within a quotation" and "blended quotation."
- Skim and Mark “MLA Documentation Style” in A Pocket Style Manual (132-176). Put a Post-It book tab on page 134 (“List of MA in-text citation models” and “list of MLA Works Cited Models”). Place a Post-it book tab next "One Selection from an Anthology," " Work from a Web Site," and "A Database."
- You may wish to start Paper #2.
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
- First draft of Paper #2 due. Bring a printed copy (for five points) and post a copy in the "Paper #2: Draft 1" forum (for another five points).
- Bring your copy of Freire and A Pocket Style Manual to class.
- Set up your conference with me using Starfish/My Success Network on the MC3 Portal. Make sure you pick a conference at Pottstown Campus, not Blue Bell.
Monday, October 12, 2026
- NO CLASS: Required conferences. Bring a REVISED printed second draft and post a copy to the discussion board in the "Paper #2: Draft 2” forum. Five points for posting, 10 points for attending conference with a printed copy.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
- NO CLASS: Required conferences. Bring a REVISED printed second draft and post a copy to the discussion board in the "Paper #2: Draft 2” forum. Five points for posting, 10 points for attending conference with a printed copy.
Monday, October 19, 2025
- Third draft of Paper #2 due. Bring a printed copy (for five points) and post a copy in the "Paper #2: Draft 3" forum (for another five points).
- Bring your laptop so that you can do the in-class self-check. You will need to be able to access a copy of MS Word, available in the Montco Portal under “Office 365” if you do not have it installed. You should export your paper as an MS Word file prior to class if you use Google Docs or another word processor and be able to access the actual file on your computer.
- Bring your copy of Freire and A Pocket Style Manual to class.
Wednesday, October 21, 2025
- Read and selection from Lies My Teacher Told Me by Loewen (located in the Readings section of our Canvas web site).
- Read and mark the selection from Limbo by Lubrano (located in the Readings section of our Canvas web site).
Monday, October 26, 2026
- Final draft of Paper #2 due. See checklist for details. Post a copy in the “Paper #2: Final Draft (Graded)” assignment (for up to 200 points) and a copy in the “Paper #2: Final Draft (Discussion Board)” slot (for five points).
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Monday, November 2, 2026
- Library Orientation Day. Absences count double. Location to be announced.
- Research Paper prewriting due. Post a copy in the "Research Paper: Prewriting" forum and bring a printed copy to class (five points total).
- REMINDER: Tomorrow is election day. Make a plan to vote if you did not vote by mail and are registered to vote.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
- Meet in Library for research. Sign in with Dr. H in the lobby.
- Last day of Withdrawal Period without signature.
Thursday, November 5, 2026
- NO CLASS: We do not meet on Thursdays.
- First day of Withdrawal Period with faculty signature.
Monday, November 9, 2026
- Meet in Library for research. Sign in with Dr. H in the lobby.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
- Annotated Bibliography due by 5PM today. Submit to “Annotated Bibliography (Graded)” (for up to 50 points) and post to "Research Bank" on the discussion board (for five points).
- Make sure your Annotated Bibliography contains all three sections and looks like the sample annotated bibliography.
- Two-minute Presentations (10 points).
- Today is Veterans Day.
Monday, November 16, 2026
- First Draft of Research Paper Due. Bring a printed copy (for five points) and post a copy to the "Research Paper: Draft 1" forum (for five more). Minimum of TWO pages required.
- Set up your conference with me using Starfish/My Success Network on the MC3 Portal. Make sure you pick a conference at Pottstown Campus, not Blue Bell.
Wednesday, November 18, 2026
- Second Draft of Research Paper Due. Bring a printed copy (for five points) and post a copy to the "Research Paper: Draft 2" forum (for five more). Minimum of five pages required.
Thursday, November 19, 2026
- NO CLASS: We do not meet on Thursdays.
- Last day of Withdrawal Period with faculty signature.
Friday, November 20, 2026
- NO CLASS: We do not meet on Thursdays.
- All withdrawals after today require administrative approval and documentation.
Monday, November 23, 2026
- NO CLASS. Student Conferences. Bring a REVISED printed and complete draft (with works cited) and post a copy to the discussion board in the “Research Paper: Conference Draft” forum. Five points for posting; 10 points for attending conference with a printed copy.
- Folks who sign up for this conference time and attend with a complete draft will get five points of extra credit.
Wednesday, November 25, 2026
- NO CLASS: Thanksgiving Break starts
Monday, November 30, 2026
- NO CLASS. Student Conferences. Bring a REVISED printed and complete draft (with works cited) and post a copy to the discussion board in the “Research Paper: Conference Draft” forum. Five points for posting, 10 points for attending conference with a printed copy.
Wednesday, December 2, 2026
- NO CLASS. Student Conferences. Bring a REVISED printed and complete draft (with works cited) and post a copy to the discussion board in the “Research Paper: Conference Draft” forum. Five points for posting, 10 points for attending conference with a printed copy.
Monday, December 7, 2026
- Fourth Draft of Research Paper Due. Bring a printed copy (for five points) and post a copy to the "Research Paper: Draft 4" forum (for five more). The paper should be complete with an MLA Works Cited Page.
Wednesday, December 9, 2026
- Fifth Draft of Research Paper Due. Bring a printed copy (for five points) and post a copy to the "Research Paper: Draft 5" forum (for five more). The paper should be complete with an MLA Works Cited Pag
- Bring your laptop so that you can do the in-class self-check. You will need to be able to access a copy of MS Word, available in the Montco Portal under “Office 365” if you do not have it installed. You should export your paper as an MS Word file prior to class if you use Google Docs or another word processor and be able to access the actual file on your computer.
Monday, December 14, 2026
- Final draft of Research Paper Due. Post a copy in the “Research Paper: Final Draft (Graded)” assignment (for 300 possible points) and in the “Research Paper: Final Draft (Discussion Board)” slot (for 5 points). Both are required.
- Our last class meeting.
- It is always a good idea to attend and arrive on time to any final course meeting in college.
Monday, December 21, 2026
- OPTIONAL Major Paper Rewrite of Paper #1 due by noon. Please post a copy in the “Optional Major Paper Rewrite” Assignment and email a copy to Dr. Halbert at hhalbert@mc3.edu with the subject line “ENG 101 Major Paper Rewrite. Make sure you read the instructions first.
End of Semester Reminders
- It is a good idea to go the final meeting of all your classes. Professors often give key information for final projects, final exams, and other issues on the final day. Small class sizes also mean they generally notice who came to the final class (and who did not).
- Check your Montco email and Canvas announcements every day until Dr. Halbert says the grades are posted.
- Don’t email Dr. Halbert to see if the grades are done: he will announce when he is done.
- Do check your gradebook on Canvas during exam week to see individual assignment grades as they are entered.
- If there is a problem with a graded assignment, please email Dr. Halbert immediately.
- Final grades due Wednesday, December 23, 2026, at 11:59 PM. I will post an announcement when the grades are finalized. Please do not email me to see if grades are done early: wait for the announcement.
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Date site created: August 24, 2026