Welcome to English 101. This semester, you have an opportunity to hone
skills you will use often and come to depend on throughout your college career
and beyond: reading and writing. Because good communication is a crucial part
of so many jobs, a person who can write effectively and read thoroughly
possesses skills applicable to many careers.
With
fifteen years of experience teaching writing, I can draw from a wide range of
experiences to help you. I have worked
with writers from elementary school to adult, native speakers and non-native
speakers, accelerated learners and remedial students. My goal is to help you see improvement in your
reading and writing skills this semester and to empower you with strategies you
can use to continue your progress after this course ends.
Course Description: The UW-Colleges describes English 101 as a writing
course that focuses on the basic techniques of
composition, on the composing process with attention to drafts and revisions,
and on coherence and organization of student essays. The objectives that follow have been
established by the English Department of the University of
Wisconsin Colleges.
Course Objectives:
1. The ability to write
coherent, well-developed sentences, paragraphs, and essays, with particular
emphasis upon creating appropriate and effective topic sentences and thesis
statements.
2. The ability to generate an
essay from the original prewriting through stages of revision to the finished
product.
3. The ability to follow canons
of appropriate diction and of grammatical and mechanical conventions.
4. The ability to read
critically, especially to analyze and evaluate essays in terms of their authors’
writing techniques.
Textbooks & Supplies:
Maxwell, Rhoda J.
Writing Our Lives.
Hacker, Diane.
A Pocket Style
Manual. 3rd ed.
Arlov, Pamela.
Wordsmith: A Guide to College
Writing.
A collegiate dictionary and thesaurus
A notebook and 2 folders
Grading Formula
(approximate):
Essay #1 Description, “
Essay #2 Narration, “A Story from
Childhood” 150 points
Essay #3 Persuasion, “A Letter to
___” 150 points
Essay #4 Cause & Effect, “Birth
Order” 150 points
Final Project 100 points
Journal 100 points
Quizzes & Participation 200 points
Grading Scale (based on the
percentage of total points available):
97-100% = A+ 88-89% = B+ 78-79% = C+ 68-69% = D+
93-97% = A 83-87%
= B 73-77% = C 63-67% = D
90-92% = A- 80-82%
= B- 70-72% = C- 60-62% = D-
A score of 59% or lower will earn a
grade of F.
Reading Assignments: Complete all reading assignments in advance
of the day they will be discussed. You
will need to have read the works in order to discuss them, of course. You may have a reading quiz, as well.
After
reading the assignment, follow the instructions in “Writing Reading Responses,”
pages 19-32 of the Maxwell text, to create your journal entries.
Writing Activities: In
the Maxwell text, you will see Writing Activities, Personal Responses, Writer’s
Craft, Content Focus, and Guiding Questions.
These writings are somewhat less formal than the Writing
Assignments. Usually, these will be first
drafts, works not taken through the entire writing process. However, they will help you prepare for the
essays we write. As noted on the Course
Schedule, the Personal Responses, some Writing Activities, and some Content
Questions are assigned as journal entries.
See “Journals” below. The other
activities and questions may sometimes be done in class and sometimes assigned
for you to complete with your writing group.
Please ask me if you are unsure.
Writing Assignments: Writing Assignments #1-5 are the most formal
level of writing. These papers will
follow the full writing process from prewriting through final draft. Prewriting is often begun in your
journal. You may also create additional
prewriting in the form of lists, webs, outlines, etc. For all papers, submit prewriting (other than journal), rough drafts, revised
drafts, editing work, and a final draft.
Because Course Objective #2 indicates that students must demonstrate
ability to create an essay using the full writing process, final drafts alone
are unacceptable. Each paper should be
2-3 pages. Final copies should be typed in 12 point Times New Roman, double
spaced with standard one-inch margins.
Put your name, my name, English 101, assignment, and date in the upper
right. Center and capitalize your
title. Keep your last name and page
number in the upper right of each page.
Staple pages of each draft together.
Please don’t paperclip—the clips invariably come off. Put all materials in a folder.
Save all your revisions and returned work for the
entire semester in a portfolio. Throw
nothing away—it may be useful later. Never hand me your only copy of
anything. Keep an extra copy of all
written work, and back up files on your computer. No unexcused late work will be accepted.
The university’s writing lab is available to all
students and provides one-to-one help with all stages of the writing
process. I encourage all students to try
our university’s writing lab or the online writing tutors. If you have difficulty earning a “C” or better
on your first paper, I will help you schedule regular meetings with a writing
lab tutor.
Sharing Papers: On the days drafts are due, please bring
enough copies for the members of your writing group. (These drafts may be printed on scrap paper.)
Sharing your own work and analyzing the drafts of others are some of the best
ways to improve your critical reading skills, which is related to Course
Objective #4.
Attendance: You are
expected to attend every class period, to arrive on time and to leave at the
scheduled end time. Emergencies do
arise, however, and you will have two emergency days—days to stay home due to
illness or exhaustion. However,
deadlines are still deadlines. If you
happen to fall ill on a day an assignment is due, get the assignment to me on
time or, if that is impossible, bring a note from your physician to excuse the
absence. (Remember, e-mail and fax
machines are notorious for errors. If
you e-mail or fax an assignment, it is your responsibility to call me and
verify that the work has arrived.)
Assignments submitted late will receive zero points and cannot be
revised. If you are tardy or leave early
more than twice, this will count as an absence.
Revision Policy: After I evaluate your paper, you may revise
once more. A revision should include
corrections of any editing oversights, but that is just a band-aid
approach. I expect to see major surgery
on your paper. Revision is an
opportunity to overhaul the content, improve the organization, and tighten the
focus. Meet with me, use the writing lab, and seek help from classmates as you
revise. You must hand in the old version
with the revision. Usually, students
improve at least slightly, but grades may go up or down. If you’re nervous
about your revision, meet with me in advance.
The new grade will replace the old grade. This revision option is available only to
students who meet attendance requirements and submit their complete writing
process (see “Attendance” and “Writing Assignments” above).
Journals: Before class, you will need to write a page
or so based on the Personal Responses, Content Questions, or Writing Activities
in the Maxwell text. See the Course
Schedule for specific daily assignments.
An example of a Personal Response is provided on page 77 of the Maxwell
text. Please type your journal entries
and print a copy to bring to class to help you contribute to class discussion. You may want to revise or add to your journal
after class discussion. Check the
spelling and re-read for logic, but there is no need to complete the entire
writing process with the journal entries.
One single-spaced page is the minimum.
Keep your journal separate from class notes and other work. Journals will be collected twice during the
semester. See the Course Schedule for due dates. Journaling and responding to readings is a
form of prewriting. The main purpose is
to get your ideas on paper so you can use them in class discussion and in your
drafts.
Conferences: You will have opportunities to confer with me
in class during writing workshop time, during scheduled conferences, or by
appointment. Feel free to contact me at
my office, at home, or by e-mail. I’ll
do my best to get back to you promptly. I am not on campus every day, so a home phone call will get
the fastest results.
Writing Groups: All students will be grouped for purposes of
discussing reading assignments, working on study questions together, and
reviewing papers. An enormously
important part of the writing process is learning to revise, edit, and improve
your own writing. Other writers are an
invaluable resource to you as you agonize over word choices, organization, and
the horrors of the comma splice. You will need to find a way to meet with your
group at least one hour per week. You
may decide to work on a paper or on discussion questions, but each Friday you
will need to submit a written report of what your group did or, if you held a
discussion, you could submit a cassette recording of your meeting. My personal recommendation? Meet in person and bring food. Coated with enough chocolate, any task
becomes palatable.
Grammar, Punctuation, and
Usage: You are expected to follow the dictates of
correct grammar, punctuation, and usage for all final drafts. (Journal entries are a bit less formal.) As indicated in the Course Objective #3, you
are expected to demonstrate your ability to follow standard punctuation,
spelling, word choice, usage, grammar, and mechanics. In addition to class activities, I will help
you pinpoint areas for improvement individually through my comments on your
papers. Use these suggestions to improve
your writing. Use the Hacker text to
review.
Writing Help:
(1) You can bring questions to
me.
(2) You can talk to your writing group.
(3) The English Department has a
Writing Laboratory available for one-to-one help from a student tutor during
the scheduled hours. The lab is located
in 2121 Founders Hall.
(4) The UW-System offers an
online writing lab through UW-Waukesha
at http://www.waukesha.uwc.edu/academics/owl/
After you complete a brief introductory survey and e-mail your writing, a tutor
will usually respond within 24 hours.
Participation: All students are expected to offer EXUBERANT
participation both in class discussions and in the writing groups. (Participation is included in the grading.)
Final Exam: There is no final exam during final exam week. You will be asked to complete a final
portfolio showcasing your accomplishments, but that project will be due on the
last day of regular classes.