English 098: Composition Writing Lab

Writing to Learn

Fall 2004

Southern Connecticut State University

Dr. Crawford

 

 

Office:                                     Engleman D263

Office Hours: MW 3:30-4:30pm; TR 11:00am-12:00pm

Office Phone: 392-7051

Email:                   crawfordi1@southernct.edu

 

 

Course Introduction

Welcome to English 098. This course will give you the opportunity to practice college-level reading, writing, and thinking in a supportive, workshop-focused atmosphere. This is a non-credit class; however, students who produce outstanding final portfolios will be considered for placement in English 101 next semester.

 

Our topic this semester is your academic writing process. You probably write a great deal already: journals, emails, music lyrics, poetry, stories, and so on. Together we¹ll build on these experiences and discover answers to the following questions: What do you have to unlearn to write successfully in college? Why is reading well such an important part of writing well in college? How do you know what to say? How do you find questions that interest you enough to read and write about them? Why is revision the most important part of writing? How can you take advantage of Standard English grammar and usage, the internet, Modern Language Association style guidelines, and other tools to make your writing powerful and interesting to your audience? And most importantly, what role do your readers play in your writing process?

 

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, you will have:

·          Learned strategies for reading, understanding, and responding to texts.

·          Learned critical thinking strategies, including how to compare different points of view and how to develop your own point of view.

·          Learned strategies for approaching writing as a process that includes pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading.

·          Learned strategies for making and supporting your own claims in writing.

·          Learned strategies for helping others with their thinking, reading, and writing.

 

 

Required Text

Donald M. Murray, Write to Learn. 8th ed. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005.

 

Recommended Text (Another handbook with MLA style guidelines is acceptable).

Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual. 4th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin¹s 2004.

 

Other Required Materials

 

Course Requirements

  1. Attendance at all class sessions with assignments prepared (10%).
  2. Daily entries in writer¹s notebook (20%).
  3. Active participation in all writing workshops (20%).
  4. Final portfolio (50%). The final portfolio will include:
    1. All drafts of your major essay sequence. Choose one of the following:

                                                                                i.       Sequence 1: descriptive essay, informative essay, and persuasive essay

                                                                                  ii.       Sequence 2: descriptive essay, analytical essay, and persuasive essay

    1. 4-5pp. presentation-quality final drafts of at least two essays from Sequence 1 or Sequence 2.*
    2. 3-4pp. Case History of one presentation-quality final draft from Sequence 1 or Sequence 2.

 

* Students who wish to be considered for English 101 placement must include presentation-quality final drafts of all three major essays.

 

Final portfolios will not be accepted from students with missing work or excessive absences. Students who do not or cannot submit a final portfolio will need to repeat English 098.

 

Attendance and Preparation

Reading, writing, and/or research assignments will be due at each class session. I will call on all students regularly to share their completed assignments. I will announce your assignments at the end of each class session and I will usually email your assignments to your MySCSU email account. It is your responsibility to make note of and complete all reading, writing, and research assignments. Sometimes you will read Murray, Hacker, or texts you find on Infotrac. Sometimes you will complete writing assignments in your writer¹s notebook. Sometimes you will contribute to an on-line discussion forum, conduct internet research, or complete on-line exercises. Many assignments are already on the course schedule that follows. Additional assignments will be added during the semester.

 

Writer¹s Notebook

Throughout the semester, you will keep a writer¹s notebook. This will be the foundation for your longer essays and your final portfolio. You will write in your writer¹s notebook every day. Sometimes I will provide you with a prompt. Sometimes you will choose from several prompts I provide. Sometimes you will invent your own prompt. You will use your writer¹s notebook to make a daily habit of writing; writing daily will be the key to your success in this writing course, other writing-intensive courses you will take, and writing you will do throughout your life. Writer¹s notebooks will be collected periodically throughout the semester. Keep up with your writer¹s notebook entries: writer¹s notebook entries that are missing or incomplete when I collect them may not be made up.

 

Writing Workshops

We will spend significant time in class writing together and exchanging and responding to each others¹ writing. Sometimes you will begin an entry in your writer¹s notebook. Sometimes we will continue entries you began in your writer¹s notebook for homework. Sometimes we will begin drafting longer essays. Sometimes we will revise longer essays. I will regularly respond to the work you produce during workshops. Sometimes I will talk with you in class about your writing. Sometimes I will collect your writing and make written comments. Sometimes you will exchange and respond to each others¹ writing.

 

Final Portfolio

There are no exams in this course. Your major project for the course will be your final portfolio. All in-class work and assigned homework prepares you to write the major essays you will present in your final portfolio. You will develop the topics, themes, and arguments for your major essays from your writer¹s notebook entries, conferences with me, and workshops with me and your classmates. The major essay assignments will ask you to draw on your interests in art, culture, politics, athletics, religion, or academics to produce a sequence of essays addressing related topics and themes.

 

Major Essay Assignments

You will have a choice between two major essay sequences. Here are brief versions of the essay assignments for each sequence:

·          Descriptive Essay (Sequence 1 option): Describe an issue or problem faced by your family, church, community, or a sports team or civic organization you belong to.

·          Descriptive Essay (Sequence 2 option): Describe one of your artistic, cultural, political, athletic, religious, or academic interests.

·          Informative Essay. (Sequence 1): Research and inform an audience of your peers about the causes and scope of the issue or problem you wrote about in your descriptive essay.

·          Analytical Essay. (Sequence 2): Write a critical analysis of a piece of art, a political speech, an athletic performance, a religious sermon, or an academic essay related to the interest you wrote about in your descriptive essay.

·          Persuasive Essay (Sequence 1 option): For a general audience, present possible solutions to the issue or problem you wrote about in your descriptive and informative essays and argue for what you believe is the best solution.

·          Persuasive Essay (Sequence 2 option): For a general audience, present several points of view about a debate related to the interest you wrote about in your descriptive essay or the text you wrote about in your analytical essay and lay out your own point of view.

·          Case History Essay (Sequence 1 and Sequence 2): Narrate the process of writing one of the presentation-quality final drafts you have included in your portfolio for your portfolio readers.

 

Grading and Placement in English 100 or English 101

English 098 is a non-credit, pass/fail course. Your final portfolio will be read by me and/or a committee of English 098 instructors at the end of the term to determine if you have produced passing work. Students who produce passing work will be eligible to take English 100. Students who do not produce passing work will fail the course and will need to repeat English 098.

 

Students who I feel have consistently produced outstanding work will have their portfolios read by another committee of other English 098 instructors, who will determine whether or not they should move directly into English 101. I expect students who are interested in moving directly into English 101 to identify themselves to me early in the course and to far exceed the minimum requirements and expectations established in this syllabus throughout the semester.

 

Attendance Policy

SCSU English instructors share the following attendance policy in their courses:

For classes meeting twice a week (i.e., TR), students may miss a maximum of two class sessions without penalty; students who miss more than six class sessions for any reason will fail the course.

 

This policy reflects our experience that students who do not attend and participate in all class sessions jeopardize their progress and the progress of the class as a whole.

 

Late Work Policy

Late work will be accepted only if you contact me and make alternative arrangements by the scheduled due date.

 

Students with missing work or excessive absences at midterm will be asked to withdraw from the course and will need to repeat English 098.

 

Plagiarism

Students who plagiarize or commit other forms of academic dishonesty will fail the course and a report will be filed with the Dean of Arts and Sciences. The Dean may choose to take further action.

 

Special Accommodations

If you require special accommodations, please see me with documentation from the Disabilities Resources Office. If you have other information you would like to share with me, such as emergency medical information, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible.

 

 

Class Schedule

 

English 098.07 meets TR 9:35-10:50am in EN D264

English 098.09 meets TR 12:25--1:40pm in EN D264

 

 

Date

 

T 8/30

In Class: Introductions, syllabus, and in-class writing

For Next Class: set up MySCSU and INFOTRAC accounts; WL chap 2, 3, 4; do the list assignment modeled on pp. 9-11 to begin your writer¹s notebook;

 

R 9/2

In Class: Discussion--What surprised you about WL chapters 3 and 4? What suggestions will you follow? Share list assignments; begin workshop prompts pp. 37-39.

For Next Class: continue pp. 37-39 prompts in writer¹s notebook; read WL chap 5, 7 , and 8;

 

T 9/7

In Class: Practice chap 8 techniques; begin workshop prompts pp. 73-77.

For Next Class: continue pp. 73-77 workshop prompts in writer¹s notebook;

 

R 9/9

In Class: assign Descriptive Essay; begin drafting Descriptive Essay

For Next Class: WL chap 17, 18, 19; continue writer¹s notebook;

 

T 9/14

In Class: draft Descriptive Essay

For Next Class: read WL chap 20; finish first draft of Descriptive Essay; continue writer¹s notebook;

 

R 9/16

In Class: workshop Descriptive Essay

For Next Class: reflective writing in writer¹s notebook.;

 

T 9/21

In Class: assign Informative and Analytical essays; share writer¹s notebooks

For Next Class: WL chap 10 and 12; continue writer¹s notebook;

 

R 9/23

In Class: plan Informative and Analytical essays

For Next Class: WL chap 11; research Informative and Analytical essays; continue writer¹s notebook;

 

T 9/28

In Class: share research; draft Informative and Analytical essays

For Next Class: WL chap 21; begin workshop prompts pp. 193-96;

 

 

R 9/30

In Class: share research; draft Informative and Analytical essays using workshop prompts pp. 193-96.

For Next Class: finish first draft of Informative or Analytical essay; continue writer¹s notebook;

 

T 10/5

In Class: workshop Informative and Analytical Essays

For Next Class: reflective writing in writer¹s notebook;

 

R 10/7

In Class: assign Persuasive Essay

For Next Class: read WL chap 9, 22, and 27; complete first draft of Persuasive Essay; continue writer¹s notebook;

 

T 10/12

No class meeting‹midterm conference times by appointment

R 10/14

No class meeting‹midterm conference times by appointment

T 10/19

In Class: Discussion: how did you handle this task on your own? What techniques did you return to or try from WL and why? Workshop Persuasive Essay.

For Next Class: read WL 24 and 25; continue writer¹s notebook;

 

R 10/21

In Class: making final portfolio decisions; sign up for your focus day

For Next Class: read WL 28 and 30; continue writer¹s notebook; bring PSM;

 

T 10/26

In Class: preparing for focus days; 10/28 writer distributes work

For Next Class: read 10/28 writer¹s work; continue writer¹s notebook; bring PSM;

R 10/28

In Class: focus on ____________________________________

For Next Class: read 11/2 writer¹s work; continue writer¹s notebook; bring PSM;

T 11/2

In Class: focus on ____________________________________

For Next Class: read 11/4 writer¹s work; continue writer¹s notebook; bring PSM;

R 11/4

In Class: focus on ____________________________________

For Next Class: read 11/9 writer¹s work; continue writer¹s notebook; bring PSM;

T 11/9

In Class: focus on ____________________________________

For Next Class: read 11/11 writer¹s work; continue writer¹s notebook; bring PSM;

R 11/11

In Class: focus on ____________________________________

For Next Class: read 11/16 writer¹s work; continue writer¹s notebook; bring PSM;

T 11/16

In Class: focus on ____________________________________

For Next Class: read 11/18 writer¹s work; continue writer¹s notebook; bring PSM;

 

R 11/18

In Class: focus on _____________________________________

For Next Class: read 11/23 writer¹s work; continue writer¹s notebook; bring PSM;

T 11/23

In Class:  focus on ____________________________________

For Next Class: read WL chap 23 and 26;

R 11/25

No class‹Thanksgiving

T 11/30

In Class: assign Case History Essay

For Next Class: draft Case History Essay; edit other essays;

 

R 12/2

In Class: workshop Case History Essay; discuss editing

For Next Class: finish portfolio;

 

T 12/7

Final portfolios due; complete course evaluations

Time and place:______________________

R 12/9

No class

R 12/16 8-10am

Optional final portfolio conferences for section 07

Conference time and place: _________________________

R 12/16 12:45-2:45pm

Optional final portfolio conferences for section 09

Conference time and place: _________________________