ENG 104 College Writing and Rhetoric

Section 13             TTh 12:30-1:50 JGM 104

Dr. Joseph Castellini  Room 222T, Phone 4239

castella@missouriwestern.edu

Spring Semester, 2005

 

Missouri Western State College

Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism

 

Materials:

McQuade and Atwan, Popular Writing in America, Oxford, 1993, 5th Ed.

A dictionary of your choice

A spiral notebook reserved exclusively for English work

 

Requirements:

Regular attendance, no more than three unexplained absences; completing reading assignments before coming to class; submitting themes on designated dates; writing 7-9 brief quizzes; writing the final examination.

 

Course Description/Goals:

Common course description and goals for all ENG 104 sections may be reviewed at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/eng104.asp#Objectives

 

Evaluation:

Quizzes 20%; notebooks 25%; themes 30%; final writing 25%

 

Students with Disabilities:

Those students with any disability that will prevent their fullest expression should contact me as soon as possible so that we can discuss class requirements.

 

Attendance Policy:

Consideration will be given to students in the case of genuine illness, emergency, or when acting as representative of MWSC. It shall be the responsibility of the student to notify the class instructor prior to the absence, and if possible, meet with the instructor on the student’s return to discuss the materials missed.

 

Academic Honesty Policy:

Cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the college, constitutes a violation. A grade of zero may be assessed in the evaluation instrument.

 

Assignments:

 

January

 

T-18                Orientation; Syllabus review, writing sample, Quiz samples

                        “The Story of An Hour,” Discussion

 

Th-20               Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants,” Quiz sample

                        Popular Writing in America (Hereafter PWA) Narration, “Fifteen,” p. 289

                        “Now You Take ‘Bambi” or Snow White,” p.285

                        Bring Notebooks.

 

T-25                “Forbidden Words on Campus,” p. 237; “A&P,” p. 612

                        “Dillinger Gets His,” p. 128

 

Th-27               Theme preparation (in class);

                        “Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki…” p. 140

                        “Rambos of the Road, “ p. 296

                        Suggested Topics

 

February

T-1                  Slide Lecture: “Things You Never Knew About Afghanistan”

                        Discussion; Theme #1 due

 

Th-3                 “We Do Abortions Here: A Nurse’s Story,” p. 298

                        “The Fraying of America,” p. 352

 

T-8                  “How to Win Friends…,” p. 393

                        “The Hidden Persuaders,” p. 415

 

Th-10               “Blue Highways,” p. 442

                        “Death of A Maverick Mafioso,” p. 268

 

T-15                Comparison and Contrast (Patterns)

                        “The Parable of the Ring…” p. 96

                        “The Next Great Moment…” p. 165

 

Th-17               Theme #2 due

                        “Settlement of America,” “Feting the Lindbergh of the 15th Century,”

                        p. 244

 

T-22                “Redskins, Braves…,” “Names Debate Off  Target,” p.247

                        “The Senate and Sexism,” p. 241

 

Th-24               “The Joy Luck Club,” p.471

                        Back Lash… p. 478

                        Handouts

 

 

 

 

 

March

 

T-1                  Theme #3 due; Classification

                        “The Closing of the American Mind,” p. 462

 

Th-3                 “Fighting the War on the Cigs,” p.199

                        “On Kids and Slasher Movies,” p. 197

 

T-8                  Process Analysis

                        “How to Write Potent Copy,” p. 88

                        “The World’s Biggest Membrane,” p. 659

                        “The Little Shore,” 670

 

Th-10               Cause/Effect

                        “Mr. Welles and Mass Delusion,” p. 136; see also p. 690

                        “Who’s on First,” p. 692

 

Spring Break: March 12-20 inclusive

 

T-22                “Youth’s Despair Erupts,” p. 182

                        “Adolescents and Their Music,” p. 317

                        Mid-Term grades due

 

Th-24               “The Western: The Legend and the Cardboard Head,” p. 264

                        “How to Tell A Story,” p. 530

 

T-29                “Hooray for This…,” p. 206

                        “Much More Nasty Than They Should Be,” p. 207

 

Th-31               Theme #4 due

                        Argument: “Is There a Santa Claus,” p. 126

                        Heywood Brown, p. 127

                        “Rapping Garbage as Art,” p. 192; See also p. 211

                        “Shaken Survivors Witness Pure Fury,” p. 194

 

April

 

T-5                  “Censorship in America,” p. 225

                        The Declaration of Independence, p. 496

 

Th-7                 “Civilization and Its Malcontents,” p. 330

                        “Antihero,” p. 337

 

 

Handouts will be distributed for remaining classes. Additional Readings will be announced in class.