Course Title: Composition II Instructor: Laura Apfelbeck e-mail: lapfelbe@uwc.edu
Course Description: A rhetoric course that focuses on writing that presents information and ideas effectively, with attention to the essay and techniques of documentation. Emphasis will be on academic writing that is applicable across the curriculum.
The achievement of the following skills:
(1) to develop ideas and to write effective expository and argumentative prose
(2) to use secondary print and electronic materials as sources for student essays
(3) to use techniques of research and documentation
(4) to read and interpret critically professional and student writing.
Grading Formula:
Essay #1 Comparison/Contrast 150
points
Essay #2 Classification 150
points
Essay #3 Argument/Persuasion 150 points
Essay #4 Research Paper 300 points
Journal 150
points
In-class Work & Participation 150 points
Quizzes 150
points
Grading Scale:
98-100% = 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-
(Notes: A
score of 59% or lower will earn a grade of F. Those seeking associate degrees need a solid C
or better.)
Reading Assignments: Complete all reading assignments in advance
of the day they will be discussed. Read
more than once and take notes on the readings.
It helps to meet with your group to discuss the readings and to answer
assigned questions. You will need to
have studied the works in order to understand and discuss them, of course. You may have a reading quiz, as well.
Writing Assignments: For all essays, you are required to submit your discovery techniques, rough draft(s), revising &
editing materials, and a final draft. I will
provide a list of required materials before the paper is due. Papers will be 3-5 pages for all except the
Research Paper, which will be 8-10 pages.
Final copies should be typed in 12 point Times New Roman, double spaced
with standard one-inch margins. Use MLA
style for the first page of the paper.
See “Part Four: Student Essay in MLA Style” (p295+) in The Curious Researcher for an
example. Check the format for heading,
title, pagination, etc. Label your work
and place the required materials into a folder before submitting.
Save all your revisions and returned work in your portfolio
for the entire semester. Throw nothing
away—it may be useful later. (Packrats,
indulge yourselves.)
Never hand me your only copy of anything. Keep an extra copy of all written work. I do not accept late papers. Your paper is due at the beginning of the
class period on the due date.
Essay #1 (Comparison/Contrast)
In this unit, we will read
several essays and short stories concentrating on similarities and differences
between the works. For your essay, you
need to choose one of the following options in your Bedford Reader:
Ø “Suggestions for Writing” #4
on p90, #1 on p. 94 (comparing and contrasting your own experiences w/Tan’s
and/or Angelou’s)
Ø “Suggestions for Writing” #4
on p323
Ø “Suggestions for Writing” #1
on p323, writing 2 pages of “I Want a Husband” as described but adding a 2-page
comparison and contrast of your version and Brady’s
Ø “Suggestions for Writing” #4
on p110
Ø Watch the film Smoke Signals and compare and contrast
with “Indian Education”
Ø Compare and contrast two
versions of American Gothic—see p 212-13 for ideas.
Ø “Suggestions for Writing”
#1, 2, or 3 on p. 226
Ø “Suggestions for Writing” #1
p232
Ø “Suggestions for Writing” #4
p232, comparing and contrasting the humor.
Which essay is funnier and why?
Ø
Essay #2 (Classification)
In class, we will read and
discuss several essays that use the classification technique. Ultimately, you will choose one of these
options for your own essay:
·
“Suggestions for Writing” #1 on p369
·
“Suggestions for Writing” #1 on p379
·
“Suggestions for Writing” #1 on p387
·
One of the “Additional Writing Topics” p409
Essay #3 (Argument &
Persuasion)
Again, we will read several examples of argument and persuasion
in class. You will need to select a
controversial subject and, with a partner who holds the opposing view, gather
sources and create your drafts. The
final paper will be individual work, but the process of using your partner as a
sounding board for your arguments is intended to help you solidify your points.
Each of you will need to use two outside sources. Topics include but are not
limited to
ü “Suggestions for Writing” #1
on p520
ü “Suggestions for Writing” #1
on p527
ü “Suggestions for Writing” #3
on p440
ü “Suggestions for Writing” #2
on p555
ü “Suggestions for Writing” #1
on p662
Essay #4
(Research Paper).
The research paper is the
final exam for English 102. Everything
we’ve learned about analyzing, synthesizing, and interpreting, as well as what
we’ve studied in terms of documentation and style, culminates here. Your mission is to comb libraries and use
computer resources to study a topic in depth and then create an 8- to 10-page
paper. For this paper, one option is to
conduct research for another course, provided you have written consent from the
instructor and the paper meets standards for both Eng. 102 and the other
course. A second option is to research
a topic of personal interest, perhaps related to your future career. A third option is to write an extended
analysis of a topic used for Essay 1, 2, or 3.
Your paper will need to include Internet research and interviews, as
well as printed periodicals, reference books, etc. Plan to visit the library of a four-year
university as well as frequenting the UW-Manitowoc library!
Sharing Papers: On the days first drafts are due, please
bring enough copies for the members of your writing group. Sharing your work and reading the drafts of
others is one of the best ways to improve your critical reading skills and to
get ideas for writing.
Attendance: I do take attendance daily. You will have frequent in-class assignments
that will be included in your participation grade and may be collected as part
of your required writing materials.
These cannot be made up if your absence is unexcused. If you must be
absent on a day an assignment is due, you will need to hand the work in BEFORE
class time or provide a doctor’s excuse.
Although assignments must always be handed in on time, I will allow two
absences without penalty if no work was due on that day. Use the two absences
for emergencies. Students with more than
two unexcused absences will not be allowed to revise their papers after I’ve
graded them. Please do call or e-mail me if you will be absent; also, contact
your group members for notes. That way,
your absence will not cause you to be unprepared for the next class period.
Revision Policy: After essays are graded, you may revise once. A revision will include corrections of any
editing oversights, but primarily it is an opportunity to overhaul the content,
improve the organization, and tighten the focus. You must hand in the old
version with the revision. Usually,
students do improve—at least somewhat—but grades may go up or down. The new
grade will replace the old grade. This
revision option will be available ONLY to students who attend class regularly
and complete the entire writing process (see “Attendance” and “Writing
Assignments” above).
Journals: Before class, you will need to complete a
minimum of one page of typed, double-spaced writing based on the assigned
reading. Please note, the word minimum
above means “C” level work. While a
student might earn an A or B by writing one high quality page, a student cannot
earn a C if he or she does not write one full page The topic for the journal
will be found at the end of each assigned reading under the heading “Journal
Writing.” Journals are collected twice during the semester and, like essays,
cannot be submitted late.
Conferences: You will have opportunities to confer with me
in class during writing workshop time, during office hours, or by appointment. I strongly encourage you to come to me with
your questions or drafts. Feel free to
contact me at my office, at home, or by e-mail.
I am not always on campus on Tues./Thurs., so
e-mail may be slow. Please call.
Writing Groups: All students will be grouped for purposes of
discussing reading assignments, working on study questions together, revising
papers, and editing 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 discuss readings, answer questions, revise or edit, compare
journal entries, or just complain about English 102. However, each Friday your
group will submit a typed one-page report of what you accomplished. You may
confer in person or via e-mail or telephone.
My personal recommendation? Meet in person with food. Coated with enough chocolate, any task
becomes palatable.
Grammar, Punctuation, and
Usage: I
will help you pinpoint areas you need to improve in your writing, and I will
give grammar, punctuation, or usage goals for this course on an individual
basis. You are expected to follow the
dictates of correct grammar, punctuation, and usage for all final drafts. (Journal entries are an exception because
they remain in first-draft form.) Refer
to a grammar text such as Diana Hacker’s A Pocket Style Manual for
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 (F121) available for one-to-one help from a student tutor
either by appointment or during lab hours.
(4) The UW-Center system offers
an online writing lab through UW-Waukesha
at this website: http://waukesha.uwc.edu/academics/owl From the site, you can e-mail your writing, and
a tutor will respond--usually 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.) I often collect materials worked on in class
for credit toward the participation points.
These are fairly easy points to earn, so it makes sense to take
advantage of the opportunity.
Extra
Credit: Students who use the writing lab (online or
on campus) will earn bonus points if they submit the appropriate form. Students who miss NO classes, excused or
unexcused, throughout the semester will earn bonus points tacked on to their
final grades. Also, students who select
a topic appropriate for UW-Manitowoc students as an audience and submit their
essays for publication in the campus newspaper The Free Press will earn extra credit.
Final Exam: There is no additional test during final exam week. In English 102, each essay is a type of exam, with the research paper as the final.