ENG 101(01) Composition I
Fall 2001
Katherine Holman – Library 115 – 735-4321
Email addresses: kholman@uwc.edu or kholman@new.rr.com
Office Hours: MWF 8:00-8:50; MW 10:00-10:50 and 2:00-2:30; TR 3:00-3:30 (Other times are available by appointment.)
Class Meeting Time and Place: MWF 9:00-9:50 Library 102
Required Texts: Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide, 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001; Troyka, Lynn Quitman. Simon & Schuster Quick Access Reference for Writers, 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001; a college level dictionary of your choice
Supplementary Materials Currently on Library Reserve: William Zinsser’s On Writing Well (You will be notified in class as other materials are placed on reserve.)
Other Resources: The University provides for you—free—the services of an on-campus English tutor to assist you with particular writing problems. The tutor’s hours will be posted early in the semester on both the English Department bulletin board (located near my office) and at other locations on campus. In addition, you can submit drafts of your essays to the UW Colleges Online Writing Lab for evaluation by a trained student tutor. The email address is <http://waukesha.uwc.edu/stud/owl/>. Other useful Internet resources are the following: <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/writers> (an excellent site with abundant resources); <http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/> (another fine site, managed by Professor Charles Darling of Capital Community College in Hartford, CT); and <http://www.prenhall.com/troyka> (the companion website to the text Quick Access).
Course Description: “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. Prerequisite: a grade of C or better in Basics of Composition or exemption through a sufficiently high placement test score” (UWC Catalog 57). Students will be expected to complete “writing assignments, totaling at least 4000 words, based primarily upon readily accessible information, such as personal observation or essays included in a reader” (UWC English Dept. Course Guidelines for ENG 101).
Course Rationale: English 101 is a course designed to prepare you for the more rigorous academic writing you will be expected to do in English 102, the core writing requirement for the Associate of Arts and Science Degree. By learning to write well about what is familiar or readily accessible to you, you will be able to write well about new ideas and information you will learn as you continue a life of learning. Writing can be fun as I hope you will discover in English 101. I look forward to studying and learning with you this semester.
English Department Objectives: Students in English 101 will achieve the following:
AAS Degree Proficiencies: After successfully completing the course, you will be able to analyze, synthesize, evaluate and interpret information and ideas; integrate knowledge and experience to arrive at creative solutions; read and listen with comprehension and critical perception; and write clearly, precisely, and in a well organized manner. In addition, you will be able to articulate accurately the strengths and weaknesses of your own work; and through frequent small-group activities, you will be able to work collaboratively as part of a team.
Course Procedures: You should expect to do lots of writing in this course; after all, it is a composition course! The English Department requires that students write a minimum of 4000 words during the semester, but I expect that you will actually write far more than that minimum and that you will discover that writing can give you pleasure. In many of our class sessions, you will be able to share your writing with your colleagues. Sometimes you will be sharing your responses to assigned readings; sometimes you will be sharing drafts of your own essays. Often, the class will be divided into smaller discussion groups since it’s usually easier for most of us to share our ideas with four or five people than with a roomful of them. To fulfill your responsibility to the group, however, you need to be sure to come to class prepared. Do the assigned reading and writing, and I’m confident you’ll profit from these small-group discussions.
Course Policies: You are expected to attend all class sessions unless illness or emergency prohibits your attendance. If you must miss class, you should check with a classmate to determine what you missed and to secure any handouts that might have been distributed. In in-class writing, including quizzes, occurred during a day you were absent, you must make up that work within one week to receive credit for the assignment. You are also expected to submit all assignments on time. I understand that life sometimes punches us with unexpected blows, and because of that, I will allow you to submit one assignment late, but only one. After that, points will be deducted for assignments submitted past the due date; and, in any case, I reserve the right to refuse to accept work submitted more than one week late without documentation of serious illness or emergency. You should also read carefully and adhere to the policies contained in the University of Wisconsin Colleges catalog and the Handbook for Students. (Copies of the catalog and handbook are available in the Office of Student Services.)
Grading: Your grade will be determined by your performance of in-class activities such as small-group discussions, peer editing, brief writing assignments, quizzes, etc. (25%) and by the quality of a writing portfolio you assemble during the semester (75%). We’ll discuss together what kind of portfolio might be most useful for you, but my suggestions are that the portfolio will contain your course journal, the five formal essays you will write during the semester, at least three revised essays, selected process papers, and a final self-assessment essay.
Grading Scale
A 93-100 B 83-86 C 73-76 D 63-66
A- 90-92 B- 80-82 C- 70-72 D- 60-62
B+ 87-89 C+ 77-79 D+ 67-69 F 59 or below
*Note: A grade of I or R is also possible in ENG
101; see me or the UW Colleges catalog for details.
I’m looking forward to working with you this semester and encourage you to stop by my office whenever you encounter a problem or even if you just want to talk about your writing with me. I encourage you also to share with me at any time suggestions you might have for improving the class as we work together to become better writers.
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9/26 SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: UW-MARINETTE FALL CONVOCATION
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11/23 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
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