English 100:
Introduction to College Writing
Fall
2007
College of Liberal Arts and
Sciences
Department of English, Foreign Languages, and
Journalism
Section 65: 8:00-8:50 MWF,
Writer’s Workshop: 10:00-10:50 MW, Popplewell
102
Section 5: 9:00-9:50 MWF, Murphy
224
Writer’s Workshop: 8:00-8:50 MW, Eder 222U and
Instructor: Tom Pankiewicz
Office:
Phone: 816-271-4156
Office Hours: MWF 2:00-3:00, T
10:00-12:00 and by appointment.
E-mail:
pankiew@missouriwestern.edu
Required Texts and Course Materials:
Introduction to College Writing: English 100. Fourth Edition.
Clouse, Barbara Fine. A
Troubleshooting Guide for Writers. Fourth Edition.
Newsweek. A student
subscription for the fall semester.
Course Description:
“One thing that is always with the writer – no matter
how long he has written or how good he is – is the continuing process of
learning how to write.”
-Flannery O’Connor
In
this course we will study the process of writing. The truth is, no one just sits
down and instantly produces a perfect piece of writing. There are many steps a writer goes
through when producing a text, including pre-writing (or gathering and
organizing ideas and thoughts), writing, revising and editing, and we will
discuss these steps in this course. In discovering writing as a process, you
will discover the reading and writing strategies and processes that work best
for you. The emphasis here is on
you and your attention to the topics.
Course Theme:
The theme of this course is “My Turn.” You probably
cannot learn without becoming engaged by the subject and without being able to
relate material to your own life.
In this course, you have numerous opportunities to make these connections
through reading, discussion and writing. “My Turn” places the focus on you and
on the experiences and knowledge you bring to the class. You will have time to
reflect on, to study and to express your ideas about events and yourself. You
will have your turn to read, discuss and
write.
“My Turn” also refers to a weekly feature in Newsweek, a reader’s essay that sheds
light on a slice of American life. In class, you will be asked to do the same.
Course Goals and Class Assignments:
Reading
Goals:
·
Read actively for
greater understanding;
·
Use reading to
improve writing by drawing ideas and information from written texts
·
Use texts to
understand own and others’ experiences;
·
Read writing
assignments effectively as a guide to creating better
papers;
·
Recognize good
writing by actively reading good prose.
Writing Goals:
·
Move from
writer-based to reader-based prose
·
Write at greater
length more easily, more quickly, and more usefully;
·
Structure writing
to fit the assignment, purpose, and audience;
·
Develop ideas and
concepts with specific details, examples, and
explanations;
·
Craft more
effective and polished sentences and paragraphs;
·
Use effective
planning, invention, revision, and editing to complete successful writing
tasks.
General Studies
Goals:
·
Think critically
and reason analytically;
·
Write and speak
clearly and effectively;
·
Gain a greater
awareness of the present through an understanding of other cultures and
times;
·
Understand and
appreciate moral values and ethical choices;
·
Understand and
enjoy aesthetic experiences and share in related creative
activities.
For common objectives/means and
institutional competencies for ENG 100 also refer to the English department
website at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/EFLJ/eng100.asp
Methods of instruction include assigned readings,
lectures, class discussions, group work, writer’s workshops, informal writing
assignments and formal writing assignments. Students will be expected to participate
in all group work and writing exercises.
Textbook(s):
Please be sure to read all assigned textbook essays, Newsweek articles, handbook chapters and
other reading assignments. Be
prepared to discuss the day’s reading in class and to complete journal
assignments, quizzes and other exercises in regard to the
reading.
Reading
Response:
You will write (informal) responses to most of your assigned readings.
These responses will be your explanations of and reactions to the readings. The
length for a response is one full, word-processed page.
Writer’s
Workshops:
As in all sections of English 100, you have been assigned a mandatory,
small group Writer’s Workshop which meets once a week. Your Writer’s Workshop
will differ from the traditional workshop in that it will be a
conferencing/tutoring session focused on your writing rather than the planned
workshop sequence of activities. In
this section of English 100 you will confer with both your instructor and
workshop leader during the semester.
You will receive personal responses and suggestions to help you develop
and revise each essay and to help you grow as a writer. You will also be allowed time, in
workshop, to write and revise. Your
writing will become the central text of both the class and the workshop and your
needs will become the content of the instruction.
This Conference Writer’s Workshop requires three commitments from
you. First, you must confer with
your instructor, workshop tutor and/or small groups in workshop. It is expected that you will schedule a
conference with instructor at least once every threee weeks. Second, you must bring a
work-in-progress to each writing workshop/conference or be prepared to write,
with the help of your tutor, in workshop. Your instructor and workshop leader
will discuss your progress weekly.
This is a labor-intensive effort on the part of your instructor and
tutor, but it is one that we feel will benefit you. Third, you must share with us how this
project is working. We need to know
what activities are most helpful and what activities are ineffective, so we will
ask for frequent feedback.
Conferences:
Writers need readers. There
is no other way to improve. I know
that I am a strong reader and one who is willing read your work and to offer my
responses. During this semester,
you are required to schedule a conference once every three weeks. (In other words, you need to schedule a
minimum of five conferences.) When
you come to the conference:
·
Be on
time.
·
Missing a scheduled
conference will be counted as an absence.
·
If you do not come
prepared to the conference with a working draft, you will be marked absent.
·
Come to the
conference with a question or concern about your latest assignment/draft. You must initiate the conference,
showing your interest in your work and focusing on where you need a response.
·
Leave the
conference with a written revision plan.
Center for Academic
Support:
In
addition to conferences and writer’s workshop sessions, you may find help with
your writing at the Center for Academic Support. There is no cost to students
for using these services. I encourage you to make use of these services
throughout this course.
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.
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.
·
Task One:
Narrative Essay.
·
Task Two:
Literacy
Essay.
·
Task Three:
“Looking
for
·
Task Four:
Argumentative
essay.
·
Portfolio. Self-reflection essay.
Peer Revision
Groups:
Prior to submitting your writing tasks, you will be required to
participate in peer revision groups in which you will bring in copies of your
rough draft to share with your group and receive feedback from your group in
order to help you strengthen and revise your own written work. This is a required activity and a part
of your course grade.
Essay Format:
Since I believe writing is a recursive process of
drafting, revision and editing, I wish to read and examine your process. Therefore, you will submit all tasks in
a folder that includes the revised draft to be read, all prior drafts, teacher
comments, peer comments, and an in-class reflection letter.
No essay will be accepted without a folder including
these items.
Tasks must be word-processed,
double-spaced and use 12-point Times New Roman. Be sure to save each assignment
on the university’s “P” drive, and on a computer disk or jump drive. Keep a hard
copy of each assignment for yourself. Every semester at least one student
struggles to complete the final portfolio because of computer problems or a disk
failure. Save and back up all of your work.
Place your name, professor’s name, course, date, and draft number in the
upper left hand corner. Center the
title. Number the pages.
Portfolio:
This section of English 100 requires an end-of-semester portfolio. In a
portfolio-course, final grades for each task are delayed until the end of the
course with the publication of the portfolio. This concept encourages revision
and allows your final grade to be based on
your best writing; it places you in control of the quality of your writing.
The
portfolio will account for two-thirds of your course grade. The portfolio will include the final
drafts of your task essays, previous drafts and teacher and peer responses,
reflection letters and a self-evaluation essay.
Attendance
Policy:
In order to improve student
learning as well as to achieve compliance with federal financial aid policies,
Western has a mandatory attendance policy for all 100 and 200 level courses. You
will be given an excused absence when acting as an official representative of
the university, provided you give prior written verification from the
faculty/staff supervisor of the event. All other absences will be deemed
unexcused. The maximum number of unexcused absences allowed for this class
before the midterm report, October 17 is five (5). Thus, when you have six (6)
unexcused absences you will be reported to the Registrar’s Office, who will
automatically withdraw you from this class. The Financial Aid Office will reduce
financial aid as appropriate
This course
has a very strict attendance policy in Writer’s Workshops as well as in
class. If you miss seven class
periods OR four Writer’s Workshops, you will receive an F in the
class. If you know of any circumstances likely to make this
policy difficult for you this semester, you may wish to consult with your
instructor or advisor to review your options.
Late Work:
Late
in-class writing assignments will not be accepted.
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.
If
you find yourself facing difficulties in completing a task paper, schedule a
conference ( a phone call, leaving a message on my answering machine or sending
me an e-mail are insufficient) to discuss the problems with me. During our conference, we will set a new
deadline.
Grading
Policy:
The components of your grade in the course are:
·
Portfolio
including a self-reflection, revised drafts of all tasks, work folders for all
tasks…..Two-thirds of the Final Grade
·
Course work
including required reading responses, quizzes, reflection letters and in-class
writing…..One-third of the Final Grade.
·
Please note that
you must complete all writing tasks in order to pass this course.
·
Admission into ENG
104 requires a “C” or higher in ENG 100.
Student
Disability:
Any student in this course who has a disability that prevents the fullest
expressions of abilities should contact Missouri Western's special needs
coordinator, Michael Ritter, for possible certification of special needs and
expert recommendations for assistance.
You should also contact me personally as soon as possible so that we can
discuss class requirements.
Academic Honesty Policy and Due
Process:
Academic honesty is required in all academic endeavors.
Violations of academic honesty include any instance of
plagiarism, cheating, seeking credit for another’s work, falsifying documents or
academic records, or any other fraudulent activity. Violations of academic
honesty may result in a failing grade on the assignment, failure in the course,
or expulsion from the University. When a student’s grade has been affected,
violations of academic honesty will be reported to the Provost or designated
representative on the Academic Honesty Violation Report forms. Please see the
2006-07 Student Handbook and Calendar on
page 21 for specific activities identified as violations of this policy and the
student due process procedure. This handbook is also available online at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/handbook/index.pdf
You have the burden of proving that a paper showing evidence of cheating
or plagiarism has in fact been written by you. You should keep thorough evidence of
your writing processes for all papers so that you can meet this burden of
proof.
Civility and Cooperation:
Missouri Western requires all students to help us
maintain good conditions for teaching and learning. All students will treat their
classmates, teachers, and student assistants with civility and respect, both
inside and outside the classroom.
Students who violate this policy may, among other penalties, be counted
absent and asked to leave. You
should review your Missouri Western student handbook for further
information.
If you arrive late for class and the door is closed, do not disturb our
work by knocking or starring through the window.
Turn off and put away your cell phones before class begins.
Personal note
Please feel free to come see me if you have any problems or questions. You can make an appointment to
conference about any paper or homework assignment, to discuss your progress in
class, to clarify or question something that was discussed or done in class,
etc. Communication is very
important between an instructor and his students and, as a result, I will make
myself available to you for any reason.
If
you know of any circumstances likely to make any of these policies or
expectations difficult for you to meet this semester, consult with me as soon as
possible to review your options.