Required texts and materials:
Scholes, Robert, et al. The Practice of Writing, Fifth Edition. Boston: Bedford, 2001.
Hunt, Christine and Thomas Huckin. The New Century Handbook. Boston: Allyn &
Bacon, 1999.
A large, durable notebook for all in-class and out-of class writings
A folder to keep ALL writings
I recommend a good college dictionary
Students with disabilities:
Anyone who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of her or his potential to succeed in this course must notify me in writing as soon as possible so that we can discuss course requirements, options and accommodations.
Attendance:
Since this is an evening class, one missed class would be the equivalent to a full week of day classes, and since this class falls on Monday, we will not be conducting class on Labor Day or Columbus Day, which means we will meet less than a Tuesday night class. As a result, your attendance in every class session is crucial for your success. If you miss a class, you cannot "make-up" the work, and this will put you at serious risk for failing the course. I understand that sometimes life has its own plans and cars break down, children and family get sick or you might have to work. You need to make the best decision for you and your family in these cases, but because we are so limited on time, there are no excuses or "make-ups." If you miss one class session, your chances for passing the course are slim. Please consider this, and if you feel that you will not be able to attend each and every session, fully, stop by the Registrar’s office and drop this class.
Academic dishonesty and other general rules and regulations that could result in disciplinary action:
Please refer to the MWSC Student Handbook for these regulations. Though most plagiarism is done accidentally, it is important that you understand the repercussions for such behavior. In addition to the punishment handed down by Student Affairs, you will fail the project. The burden of proof is on the student, so it is highly recommended that you keep every piece of writing you generate.
Grading:
Grades are based upon:
90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
59 and below F
You will write 5 major papers. Each one will be worth 100 points. At the end of the semester, you will submit a portfolio of all your writing. The portfolio is also worth 100 points, but if you fail to turn this portfolio in to me, you will fail the course. In addition to these major assignments, you will complete numerous smaller assignments. I will not collect all of them, and I will not tell you which ones I will and will not collect. I assign these writings so that you can practice your writing skills. Each writing that you complete builds upon the next one. If you choose not to complete an assignment and I don’t collect it, do not feel that you "lucked out" and didn’t get caught. Your overall writing and your final portfolio will reflect your practice time.
Revisions:
All assignments can be revised. This is not mandatory, but I strongly suggest revision if you receive a grade of D or F. Revisions must be completed within two weeks from my returning the graded paper. In order to revise, you must conference with me and you must see a tutor in the Center for Academic Support. I urge you, also, to utilize the tutors in the CAS on a regular basis. Do not wait until you have received a low score.
Course Objectives:
ENG 104 students will complete four formal writing assignments in addition to other graded and ungraded work through which they will learn how to discover ideas, respond to texts, and summarize others' ideas. In these assignments, students will learn how to analyze readings and share information with others by reading and responding to course texts and other materials gathered through research. Final drafts of all formal writing assignments must be word-processed. All students are expected to be prepared for class and participate in class discussions related to reading and writing assignments. In addition, students will keep complete portfolios of all their writings.
Objectives and Means:
Upon completion of ENG 104:
You should understand that writing can be used for different purposes.
To reach this understanding, you will:
You should understand that multiple audiences exist.
To reach this understanding, you will:You should understand that writing is a recursive process.
To reach this understanding, you will:
You should understand that many productive ways exist to generate ideas and images for your work.
To reach this understanding, you will:
practice various invention techniques, some of which may be brainstorming, listing, free-writing,
looping, clustering, cubing, reading, interviewing, and researching.You should understand that common patterns of organization exist.
To reach this understanding, you will:
You should understand that formal distinctions exist among different prose genres.
To reach this understanding, you will:
You should understand that editing skills enable writers to polish their work in order to keep the reader's attention focused on the message conveyed or the experience created.
To reach this understanding, you will:
learn how to identify and correct your own spelling, grammatical, and mechanical errors in the final stage of the writing process.
You should understand that reading is an interactive process that functions in our lives as a pleasurable activity as well as a means of acquiring knowledge.
To reach this understanding, you will
Key Questions:
Over the course of the semester, we will continue to work with a number of critical questions about writing. The following are just a few:
What is the purpose of your writing?
What writing strategy will you use? What writing conventions will you use?
What is your topic?
How do you want to affect your readers? How did you affect them?
What do you want them to feel? How do you achieve this?
What has been written about this topic? How is your slant on the topic different?
What’s unexpected and expected about this topic?
Tentative Course Outline for August and first half of September:
This is only tentative, meaning it could change at any time, depending upon the time and needs of the class. If this is helpful for you, I will supply you with a tentative outline for each month.
Monday,
August 20 Distribution of syllabus
Discuss the Writing Process (on board)
Discuss Language and Culture
Complete "Imagining Your Reader" page 7
Discuss Audience Awareness
Complete "Recognizing Conventions" page 8-9
Assignment: Read Chapters 1-5, pay close attention to Part 2
Complete questions on page 49, Exercise 3.4,
Questions on page 53-54, Exercises 4.1 and 4.2
August 27 Discuss assignments
In-class complete 3.2 and 3.3, discuss 4.2, specifically
Assignment: Using one of the writings you have done so far,
Continue writing a draft of your first paper–writing
the self: expression and reflection–handout
Re-read Chapter 5
Assign paper #1
September 3 No class Labor Day
September 10 Paper #1 Due
Discuss Chapter 5
Complete reading of Louise Erdrich and Richard Wright’s works
individually and discuss
In groups, take Clyde Milner’s essay and break it in to a time line
similar to that found on page 102
Individually, complete 5.2 and 5.3 and discuss
Assign Chapter 6 and 7 complete 6.1 page 126 and 7.2
No Class:
September 3, Labor Day or October 8, Columbus Day
Our final class will be on Monday, December 3 at our regular time and place