English 1101-027: Composition and Rhetoric
Fall 2002
TR 1-2:15
Office Hours: TR 9:45-12 and by appt.
howellbe@mail.armstrong.edu
www.llp.armstrong.edu/howells
Office: 202A Gamble Hall, 927-5218
Mailbox: 108A
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Dr. Elizabeth Howells English 1101-027: Composition and Rhetoric Fall 2002 TR 1-2:15 Office Hours: TR 9:45-12 and by appt. howellbe@mail.armstrong.edu www.llp.armstrong.edu/howells Office: 202A Gamble Hall, 927-5218 Mailbox: 108A |
ENGLISH 1101: Composition and Rhetoric
Many times critical thinking happens through the dialogic relationship
between reading, writing, and thinking. We make sense of the world through careful
reading of it: observing it and reflecting on it. That observation or reading
may take different forms but learning happens through reflection or thinking.
This is a beginning composition course and it will begin with a topic you are
experts on: being students. We will reflect on your own experience as evidence
to prove your purpose to be true. We will move from writing on an area of your
expertise to writing from observations in order to learn about something you
do not know about. Next, we will shift into conventional researching before
returning to an I-search project. Over the course of the term, we will write
on five different themes:
· Thinking about Education
· Observing People and Places
· Writing in the Disciplines
· Reflecting on Self
· Reading Ourselves as Writers
Through those different themes, as the unit titles suggest, we will find ourselves
working on skills like thinking, observing, reflecting, and reading along with
writing. We will also find ourselves writing for different purposes on different
occasions to an academic audience. While our writing will all be purposeful,
we will explore style issues in different circumstances. We will solve problems,
draw conclusions, engage in research, undertake analysis, and reflect on our
writing processes over the course of the term. Our final portfolios, the culmination
of the course, will be a chance to synthesize all of this work before you move
on to 1102.
TEXTS: READING
Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy II, The Scribner Handbook for Writers
XJ Kennedy et al, The Norton Reader, compact edition
REQUIREMENTS
1. Reading. This class will be reading intensive as much as it is writing intensive.
You will not be successful in this course unless you do all of the reading.
2. In-class Writing/ Reading Responses. I try to balance the reading load
by giving you time to respond to the reading in class. These will be informal
writings on a selected topic or on your assigned reading, and they will be a
daily requirement. They should allow you to work out your ideas for your formal
papers. We will discuss how these should be premeditated, thoughtful, engaged
responses.
3. Formal Writing.
· You will also be required to write two in-class essays which should
be considered practice for the state-required Regents' exam.
· You will be required to write 4 formal papers over the course of the
term on each of the four units. These will be 4-5 page typed, word-processed
essays.
· There will also be a final formal essay in your portfolio about yourself
as a writer.
You will receive a formal assignment sheet with instructions on how to successfully
complete each essay. These papers must be turned in on time. Failure to complete
one of these essays will constitute failure of the course
4. Group Presentation. Besides the informal group work on an almost daily basis, you will be participating in a book club or small reading group on occasion. You will also be required to orchestrate a presentation as a group introducing the class to writing in a particular discipline. This group presentation will involve a library orientation and a research component.
5. Workshop Participation. Along with other kinds of group work required, another form of cooperative learning will be the workshop. This class values revision and will demonstrate that by devoting a significant amount of class time to talking about writing and to talking about your writing specifically in workshops. This demands that each individual student produce thoughtful and engaged responses to his or her fellow students writing in order to make these workshops, indeed this course, successful.
6. Conferences. You will be required to meet individually with me at least
three times over the course of this semester:
· You will have a midterm conference where you will receive a grade-so-far
and have the opportunity to discuss your midterm portfolio. You will sign up
for a specific meeting time.
· You will have one conference during the first four weeks of class AND
one last conference sometime after the midterm conference that you are responsible
for scheduling. You should come during my office hours or make an appointment
to see me. You should have prepared an agenda for our meeting.
7. Portfolios. Revision is an essential component of the writing process. This class will demand you revise in order to improve your writing. As a part of this, twice this semester I'll see a collection of your work that will include formal and informal writing. Your midterm portfolio will be more of a collection and reflection. Your final portfolio will consist of 15-20 pages of beautifully revised writing. It will be prefaced by a 4 page reflective analysis where you will examine--make observations about--your own writing. A formal assignment will follow.
8. Attendance. Obviously, almost all of your informal writing is done in-class, as is group work and class discussion; therefore, you must be here in order to be successful in this course. You are allowed three absences. No excuses. No penalties. After four your grade will be dropped a letter per absence; you will be dropped from the course with seven absences.
EVALUATION
You will not receive letter grades on individual papers. You will, however,
receive extensive comments on your writing that should both give you a sense
of the quality of your work as well as a way to begin to revise and improve
your writing. If, at any point, you are at all unclear about where you stand,
it is your responsibility to see me so we can discuss it. At mid-term, you will
receive a grade-so-far. At the end of the semester you will receive a final
grade.
Your grades will be based on the following criteria:
· Meeting all of the requirements listed above.
· The quality of your written and oral work, in groups and as an individual.
· Your demonstration of a willingness to try new things, think new ways,
and explore different perspectives as both readers and writers.
FINAL GRADES will be based on the following scale:
A=90-100
B=80-89
C=70-79
D=60-69
F=GRADES BELOW 59
PLAGIARISM
Violations of the Honor Code will be handled according to the procedures in
the Armstrong Atlantic State University handbook. Plagiarism will not be tolerated
in this class.
THE WRITING CENTER
The Writing Center, located in 109 Gamble, can be looked on as an extension
of any writing classroom. I encourage you to take advantage of this free service
whenever you are writing a paper or trying to revise one. Drop in or call 927-5210
for an appointment.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, AASU provides appropriate and reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities. Documentation and services are available at the Office of Disability Services located in Student Affairs in the MCC.
This syllabus is subject to revision at the instructor's discretion.
SCHEDULE: Unless otherwise identified, all reading is The Norton Reader, compact
8.20 Introduction and Syllabus
8.22 Holt 228-236; Booth 247-257; Thomas 301-303
8.27 PRACTICE REGENTS'; Keillor 297-301
8.29 Miller & Swift 289-294; Rich 258-264
9.3 DRAFT DUE (TYPED)
9.5 FINAL DRAFT DUE PAPER ONE
9.10 Eighner 15-24; Guterson 107-117; Tierney 295-297
9.12 McMurtry 187-192; Mitford 180-187; Eiseley 45-51
9.17 Assignment One Due
9.19 Assignment Two Due
9.24 Assignment Three Due
9.26 DRAFT DUE (TYPED)
10.1 FINAL DRAFT DUE PAPER TWO; Reading TBA
10.3 Reading TBA
10.8 LIBRARY DAY
10.10 Group Work
10.15 Group Work
10.17 Presentations
10.22 Presentations
10.24 Presentations/ Assignment
10.29 LIBRARY DAY
10.31 DRAFT DUE (TYPED)
11.5 FINAL DRAFT DUE PAPER THREE; White 53-59; Walker 34-40; Sanders 63-74;
Dillard 74-79
11.7 Quindlin 142-145; Norris 102-107; Staples 217-220; Gladwell 152-160
11.12 DRAFT DUE (TYPED)
11.14 FINAL DRAFT DUE PAPER FOUR; portfolio workshop and reflections
11.19 portfolio workshop and reflections; Welty 573-579; Nabokov 579-584
11.21 PRACTICE REGENTS'
11.26-11.28 NO CLASSES; THANKSGIVING
12.3 PORTFOLIO DRAFT DUE-WORKSHOP
12.5 FINAL PORTFOLIO DUE
PORTFOLIO PICK-UP TBA
Do remember that students must earn a grade of C or better in ENGL 1101 to qualify
for admission to ENGL 1102.