COURSE OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this course is to prepare you for college writing assignments—and, more generally, for success in college. You will learn to:

1. Draft and revise expository essays using various explanatory strategies.

2. Read critically and respond in writing to professionally written texts.

3. Critique student texts.

4. Locate (in written library sources and on line) information for your writing.

5. Use the college computer network.

6. Understand and follow rules of grammar and punctuation.

7. Write correct, varied, and appropriate sentences.

8. Divide writing effectively into paragraphs.

9. Use appropriate academic diction in writing.

10. Participate in class discussion and group projects.

TEXT: Strunk & White, The Elements of Style, 4^th ed.

ATTENDANCE: Each night’s class is a week’s work. In class we will critique drafts of essays, work on group projects or individual writing assignments, and do grammar and style exercises. This work cannot be made up if you are absent. Speak to me if an absence is unavoidable.

THE FINER THINGS IN LIFE:

1. Food. We will take turns bringing a snack to share during our break (usually 7-7:15 p.m.). Keep it small (cookies, fruit, chips, etc).

2. Art. Bring in a poster to decorate our classroom. We will also use the posters for a writing assignment. Posters are due by Sept. 17.

ESSAYS: Topics, length: At home, you will write 4 essays of no less than 600 words each. Choose your own topics, but the essays must be expository in purpose and strategies. You may NOT write about abortion, gun control, legalizing marijuana, or capital punishment.

Reading: Each essay is to be a response to reading.

--Choose your own texts to write about; they could be magazine or newspaper articles, books or parts of books, or on-line readings.

--For the first two essays, respond to a single reading. Summarize the

main ideas of the text and comment on it, including, for example, agreement or disagreement, or personal experience or observation that relates to the text.

--For the last two, use an additional relevant reading. This additional reading should supply information to help you develop your ideas, such as facts, statistics, examples, or reinforcing or contrasting ideas.

--For all the essays, you need to give a citation for the texts you use.

Drafts, dates, format: For each essay, you will hand in one rough draft (ungraded) and a final draft. See Daily Syllabus for due dates. All of these must be typed, double spaced. In each case the essay is due at the beginning of class (5:50 p.m.).

Late essays: If your essay is late, don’t hand it in. It receives zero points. BUT if you have a good reason for requesting an extension, ask me no later than 5 p.m. on the due date. I’m tough but not unreasonable.

Class critique: We will critique rough drafts in class. Thus you will need 9 copies of your rough draft. Also bring at least one copy of each of your readings.

In-class writing. You will write 4 essays of no less than 400 words each during class hours. I will give you readings or topics for these essays.

GRADING: I grade on a point system.

At-home essays (4) 30 pts. each 120 pts.

In-class essays (3) varies 60 pts.

In-class exercises 20 pts.

Class discussion 10 pts.

Final test 30 pts.

Total 240 pts.

For an A you will need 215 pts.; for a B, 190; for a C, 165; for a D, 140r. I do give pluses and minuses. An R grade is also possible.

DAILY SYLLABUS

Date Topic

9/10 Syllabus. Getting acquainted. Computer orientation.

9/17 1^st in-class essay. S&W Foreword, Introd., I, 1-3.

9/24 Review of first writing. Paragraph & essay structure. S&W I, 4-6.

10/1 1^st rough draft. Small group critiques.

10/8 1^st good draft. S&W I, 7-11.

10/15 2^nd in-class essay. S&W II13-17.

10/22 2^nd rough draft. Small group critiques.

10/29 2^nd good draft. Finding & using sources. S&W II, 18-19.

11/5 3^rd rough draft. Small group critiques.

11/12 3^rd good draft. S&W II, 20-22.

11/19 3^rd in-class essay. S&W III, IV.

11/26 4^th rough draft. Small group critiques.

12/3 4^th good draft. S&W IV.

12/10 Review; preparing for Eng 102.

12/17 Final test; final in-class essay.