Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism

Section –01, 8:00-8:50 MWF, JGM 105

Section –11, 1:00-1:50 MWF, JGM 104

ENG 104 College Writing and Rhetoric. Instruction in reading and writing; emphasizes expository prose. Fulfills first half of the General Studies requirement in English composition.

English 104 is about becoming critical readers and thoughtful writers.

Key Course Questions

(What you should know by the time that you finish this course.)

1. Define thesis. Explain how a thesis controls an essay.
2. How does a writer influence an audience?
3. How do you make specific decisions throughout the writing process? (Decisions about audience, subject, purpose, writer, genre, thesis, development, organization, structure, insight, correctness, revision.)
4. Explain and use specific critical thinking strategies in writing.
5. How do you discover, judge, incorporate, and document outside sources of support?
6. How do you know when an essay is complete?
7. Explain how and why a piece of writing is effective? thoughtful? memorable?

Instructor’s Philosophy

(What I believe about teaching writing and how I will apply these beliefs to this course.)

• Students learn to write by writing. In addition to major assignments, I will assign in-class, at home, and personal writing throughout the semester.
• Writing is a process. I will help you learn and practice ways to state a thesis, develop support, research a topic, influence an audience, revise a work, and discover your own voice.
• Writing requires revision. I expect you to write multiple drafts of all major assignments. Multiple drafting adds focus and detail to your writing.
• Writing must have an audience. I will make extensive use of peer response groups and revision workshops in class. I encourage you to confer with me whenever you have questions about your writing.
• Writing requires thought. As a class, we will study how several principles of critical thinking are used in writing. You will also examine several issues in depth, developing and analyzing your thoughts about them.
• Writers must be readers. We will read and discuss a variety of essays and learn how to analyze and evaluate ideas and opinions.
• Writers must be self-reflective. I will ask each of you to judge your own work by writing reflective letters and taking an active role in peer response groups and conferences.

Chaffee, John. Critical Thinking, Thoughtful Writing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.

Hult, Christine and Thomas N. Huckin. The New Century Handbook. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001.

A good college dictionary

Attendance

For this class to be successful and for you to be successful in it, attendance is mandatory. I expect you to be on time and ready to participate for every class meeting. I realize that "things" sometimes come up. Therefore, you are allowed two absences before your course grade will be affected. More than two absences may result in a grade deduction. More than six absences will fail you.

If you miss a class session, you are responsible for all material covered and assignments given during your absence. All out-of-class assignments are due at the beginning of the class period. No late assignments will be accepted unless you have received prior permission.

Quizzes, in-class writing and class activities cannot be made up if you are late for class or absent.

If you miss class because of a college-sponsored activity, you will not be penalized. It is your responsibility to contact me before class for assignments.

Assignments

• Revision Portfolio: You may revise your acceptable essays throughout the semester. I encourage you to do so. I will re-evaluate all revised essays during the final week of the semester and record the highest score. The revision portfolio must include a detailed letter discussing the history of the essay and analyzing its revision, the revised draft, the previously graded draft, all other drafts, responses, and writings related to this essay. Please note that a revision alone does not guarantee a higher grade.

Conferences

I believe that the most effective teaching occurs through conferences over specific essays. My office hours are listed above. I bring a calendar to every class to schedule appointments. I encourage you to make use of this opportunity.

Center for Academic Support

In addition to conferences with me, you may find help with your writing at the Center for Academic Support. The CAS, which is located at the northeast corner of the library building, provides trained tutors for students requiring additional reading and writing instruction. There is no cost to students for using these services. I encourage you to make use of these services throughout this course.

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism is an act of theft. It is taking another’s words or ideas and calling them your own. That does not mean you cannot use another’s words or ideas to illustrate and to support your thoughts, but it does mean that you must give credit to the one whose words and ideas you are using.

Disabled Student Policy

Any student enrolled in this course who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of abilities or that prevents or hinders the completion of class requirements as stated in the syllabus should contact me as soon as possible so we can discuss class requirements.

What I owe you in evaluating your work.

• My time. I will return your work with my comments in a timely fashion.
• My attention. I will listen for your voice and study your ideas.
• My voice. I will raise questions, share reactions, and offer suggestions.
• My honesty. I will try to be clear and open about my evaluation. You need to know when your work is strong and progressing and when it is not. When you do not understand my comments (and that will occur), you must ask me to explain.
• Hope. Unfortunately, evaluation sometimes discourages more than motivates. With an open office door, conferences, an unacceptable work policy, and a revision portfolio, I try to provide opportunities for improvement.

• Five essays - 100 points each
• Process folders - 25 points for each essay
• Mid-term essay - 50 points
• Assorted writing tasks (Check method) - 100 points
• Quizzes - ???
• Final Exam - 100 points

• 100% - 90% = A
• 89% - 80% = B
• 79% - 70% = C
• 69% - 60% = D
• Below 60% = F

• make journal entries to explore their minds and to extend the range of their personal lives.
• write essays to communicate ideas and impose order on their thoughts and experiences;
• use organizational methods and genres appropriate for different purposes;
• construct academic essays that meet criteria for thesis, rhetoric, organization, development, and language.

Students will…

• identify the main concepts and locate supporting details in written works;
• read actively for greater understanding;
• develop their ideas and concepts with specific details, examples, and explanations;
• write summaries that accurately reflect the main ideas and supporting reasons of written texts.
• explain the organization of written works;
• analyze the needs of different audiences.

Students will…

• practice various invention techniques;
• use prewriting to recreate and reflect on their experiences;
• use prewriting to generate information and discover ideas;
• move easily from writing for self-expression to writing for readers;
• write at greater length more easily, more quickly, and more usefully;
• reread early drafts to rethink what they want to write;
• revise for clear presentation of their ideas;
• revise for depth of insight, clarity of organization, and suitability for different purposes.
• identify and correct their own spelling, grammatical, and mechanical errors, especially in the final stage of the writing process.

Students will…

• use thesis statements, topic sentences, and transitions;
• apply all types of common developmental and organizational forms;
• identify the main qualities of effective sentences;
• practice active sentence style and rich, efficient modification;
• practice systematic approaches to editing sentences;
• craft more effective paragraphs.

English 104 is also a primary site for students to work toward the following statewide General Education goals.

Communication:

• A. analyze and evaluate their own and others' speaking and writing;
• B. conceive of writing as a recursive process that involves many strategies, including generating material, evaluating sources when used, drafting, revising, and editing;
• C. make formal written and oral presentations employing correct diction, usage, grammar, and mechanics;
• D. focus on a purpose (e.g., explaining, problem solving, argument) and vary approaches to writing and speaking based on that purpose;
• E. respond to the needs of different audiences and choose words for appropriateness and effect.

• B. formulate questions for clarifying issues and solving problems;
• C. use linguistic, mathematical, or other symbolic approaches to describe problems, identify alternative solutions, and make reasoned choices among those solutions;
• E.. defend conclusions using relevant evidence and reasoned argument;
• F. reflect on and evaluate their critical thinking processes.

• E. present information clearly and concisely, using traditional and contemporary technologies