English 100: Introduction to College Writing

Fall 2004

Missouri Western State College

School of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism

 

Section 01: 8:00-8:50 MWF, JGM 104

Writer’s Workshop: 9:00-9:50 MW, SSC 214

 

Section 65: 9:00-9:50 MWF, JGM 104

Writer’s Workshop: 10:00-10:50 MW, SSC 222 U and V

 

Section 13: 12:00-12:50 MWF, JGM 120

Writer’s Workshop: 1:00-1:50 MW, SSC 214

 

Instructor: Tom Pankiewicz               

Office: SSC 222R                 

Phone: 271-4156                  

Office Hours: Monday 2:00-3:00, Thursday 10:00-2:00, and by appointment.          

E-mail: pankiew@missouriwestern.edu

               

Required Texts and Course Materials:

                Introduction to Creative Writing: English 100.  Boston: McGraw Hill, 2004.

                hooks, bell. Bone Black. New York: Owl Books, 1996.

                English 100 Writer’s Workshops.  Fall 2004 ed.

                Notebook for journal

                Folders for each task

                3-1/2" floppy disks and a disk-storage box

                Photocopies for group work as requested

 

Course Goals and Policies concerning Attendance, Civility and Cooperation, Grading, Student Disability, and Academic Honesty are found on pages vii-ix on the English 100 textbook. 

 

Course Information

 

                English 100 is really about discovering how you read and write most effectively.  Through frequent writing, drafting and revising major essays, reading a variety of essays and stories, participating in discussion, and reflecting on your work, you will learn what reading and writing strategies work best for you and lead to academic success. 

 

Writing Tasks:

You will complete four major writing tasks and submit a course portfolio. A student who does not turn in all four tasks or submit a course portfolio will not pass the course even if the grades achieved in the other writing tasks are satisfactory.

                Each task will focus on a theme.  A variety of class activities including assigned readings, class discussion, and multiple drafts reflecting response group suggestions will accompany each writing task. 

                The Tasks are:

·         Task One: Describing Significance Carefully.  Write a narrative essay about an experience in your life that has had a significant effect on you or that has changed your views in an important way.  The essay must recreate the event and analyze the event’s significance.  Due Week Four.

·         Task Two: Explaining What Things Mean.   Write an essay that examines the meaning of a concrete object or place and its relationship to you.  Due Week Seven.

·         Task Three: Connecting Reading and Writing.  Write a position paper that examines an issue concerning education. The essay must use examples from your experience as well as from class readings and independent research.  Due Week Eleven.

·         Task Four: Re-thinking Your Writing.  Write an essay on a topic of importance to you. Due Week Fourteen. 

·         Portfolio with a Reflective Essay.  Due Week Fifteen.

 

Portfolio:

The four tasks mentioned above and other writings will be revised and collected in an end-of-course portfolio. The portfolio will account for approximately 70 percent of your course grade.  A portfolio allows your final grade to be based on your best writing; it places you in control of the quality of your writing.   

                 Since writing is a process, I encourage you to revise your essays throughout the semester. I will respond to your essays with written comments; I will hold a series of revision workshops throughout the semester; I will be available to confer with you about your writing throughout the semester. But I will not assign a grade to any essay until it is published in the portfolio. 

                The portfolio, due at the end of the semester, will include published drafts of your essays, previous drafts and responses, selected course writing, and a reflective essay.  I will evaluate the portfolio and return it by the final exam. 

 

Process Folder:

Each task will conclude with the submission of a process folder, a collection of the work that led to the essay.  No essay will be accepted without a process folder.  The folder will include:

·         Polished draft of the essay;

·         Working drafts of the essay with peer group responses attached;

·         Writing log;

·         In-class reflection and questions. 

Each process folder will be graded and returned.  The process folder will evaluate work on the task, but it will not evaluate the essay.  No essay will receive a grade until it is published in the portfolio. 

 

Journal:

                You will keep a journal throughout the semester.  A one-page summary or a one-page response is required for all reading assignments.  Additional topics will be assigned throughout the semester.  The journal will be collected periodically for evaluation. 

 

Quizzes and In-class Participation:

                You will be quizzed on most reading assignments and will be expected to participate fully in all class activities.   Missing work, of course, is noted with a zero. 

               

Final Exam:

                An in-class essay will serve as the final exam.  The final exam for this section will be held on:

·         Section 01 – Wednesday, December 15

·         Section 65 – Friday, December 17

·         Section 13 – Wednesday, December 15

 

Grading:

                The components of your grade in the course are:

·         Process Folders, Journal, Quizzes, Participation, and Final …………………………………30 – 40 %

·         Portfolio ………………………………………………………………………….……………….60 - 70%

 

Conferences:

The most effective and valuable help that I can give you is through a conference or a conversation about your writing.  My office hours are listed above if you wish to just drop by.  I will also bring my calendar to every class to schedule appointments.

If at any time during the semester, you do not understand an assignment or a task, see me, call me, or e-mail me to discuss the confusion. 

 

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.

 

Essay Format:

                 Papers must be word-processed, double-spaced, and use a 12-point font. Be sure to save each assignment on a computer disk and keep a hard copy of each assignment for yourself. 

 

Late Tasks Papers:

Late papers or assignments—including essays left at home or “temporarily lost” by a computer malfunction—will not be accepted unless you speak with me first.  If you are facing difficulties in completing an assignment before the deadline, discuss the problems with me in person—not over the phone or via e-mail.  During the conference, we will work out a plan to complete the assignment.  No late assignment will be accepted after one day unless we have worked out an alternative plan.  As stated above: A student who does not turn in all four tasks or submit a course portfolio will not pass the course even if the grades achieved in the other writing tasks are satisfactory.