Katherine Holman - Library 5

Phone numbers: 735-4321 (office) or 732-4414 (home)

Email addresses: kholman@uwc.edu or kholman@cybrzn.com

Office Hours: MW 9:00-10:50; TR 8:30-9:30

Other times are available by appointment.

Meeting Time and Place: Section (01) - MWF 8:00-8:50 - Library 22/23

Required Texts: Axelrod, Rise B., and Charles R. Cooper. The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing. 5^th ed. New York: St. Martin’s, 1997; a college level dictionary

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."

Course Rationale: English 101 is a course in which writing assignments are based primarily upon readily accessible information such as personal experience and observation. Learning to write well about what is familiar to us can help us learn to write well about what we encounter as we explore the unfamiliar: the new territories opened to us as members of a university community. The course emphasis is on writing coherent, well-developed essays and improving critical reading and thinking skills by analyzing our own and others’ writing.

Department Objectives: The achievement of the following:

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 pre-writing through stages of

revision to the finished products.

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.

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, 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 course of the semester; I expect, however, that you will actually write far more than 4000 words and that you will discover that writing is something that gives 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 you 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. You are also expected to turn in 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 the policies contained in the University of Wisconsin Centers catalog and the Handbook for Students.

Grading: Your grade will be determined by your performance in in-class activities such as small-group discussions, peer editing, and any quizzes that might be given (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 the two essays you will have written as participants in the English Department’s Assessment Project, your course journal, the five formal essays you’ll have written during the semester, at least three revised essays, and a course self-assessment. I’ll provide you with detailed guidelines for each formal essay assignment at least one week before the assignment is due and will provide also details and guidelines for the course journal.

Grading Scale

A 93-100 B 83-86 C 73-76 D 63-66

1. 90-92 B- 80-82 C- 70-72 D- 60-62

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 helping us to achieve our mutual course goals.

*Note: Unless designated as an in-class activity, all reading and writing assignments should be completed before you come to class; for example, before class on September 8, you should have read Chapter 14 and the materials distributed on the first day of class, but you have no writing homework. The UW College English Department Assessment Project pre-test essay will be written in class on that day. For September 10, you should do the assigned readings from Chapter 2 and Chapter 11 and write Journal 1 before you come to class; but the revision of the pre-test essay will be an in-class activity. I’ll also be talking to you about your first formal essay assignment. See how this works? If you have questions, check with me.

9/3 Introductions to each other, the course, and the text; brief discussion of Chap. 1;

discussion of the English Department’s Assessment Project for ENG 101

9/6 LABOR DAY HOLIDAY

9/8 Chap. 14: Narrating; in-class Assessment Project pre-test essay

9/10 Chap. 2, pp. 18-30; Journal 1; Chap. 11, pp. 429-34; in-class revision of

Assessment Project essay; introduction of the first formal essay assignment: an

essay about a significant personal event in your life

9/13 Chap. 2, pp. 31-39; Journal 2; Chap. 11, pp. 434-40

9/15 Chap. 2, pp. 40-60; Essay 1 draft due for Peer-editing Workshop

9/17 Chap. 2, pp. 60-63; Journal 3 (to be written in class)

9/20 ESSAY 1 DUE: Remembering an Event; Chap. 15: Describing; Journal 4 (to

be written in class); introduction of the next essay assignment: an essay about a

significant person in your life

9/22 Chap. 3, pp. 64-78; Journal 5

9/24 Chap. 3, pp. 78-85; Journal 6; preliminary course evaluation (We’ll spend some

in-class time on this day to talk about how things are going thus far. Be prepared

to offer suggestions for how the journal writing, essay writing, and small-group

discussions might be made more useful for you as you strive to improve your

writing.)

9/27 Chap. 3, pp. 86-94; Invention and Drafting Workshop

9/29 Chap. 3, pp. 95-104; Essay 2 draft due for Peer-editing Workshop

10/1 Chap. 3, pp. 105-07; Journal 7 (to be written in class)

10/4 ESSAY 2 DUE: Remembering a Person; introduction of the next two essays:

your first revised essay (a revision of either Essay 1 or Essay 2) and Essay 3: your

solution to a problem about which you have first-hand experience

10/6 Chap. 13: Cueing the Reader; Journal 8

10/8 Chap. 16: Defining; Journal 9 (to be written in class)

10/11 Revision Workshop (Bring to class the essay you are currently revising and a list

of the problems you’re trying to solve in your introduction, body, or conclusion.)

10/13 Editing Workshop (Bring to class a list of questions you have about grammar,

usage, mechanics, and punctuation--the GUMP stuff--in the essay you are

revising.)

10/15 FIRST REVISED ESSAY DUE; Chap. 7, pp. 246-57; Journal 10 (to be written

in class

10/18 Chap. 7, pp. 257-67; Journal 11

10/20 Chap. 7, pp. 268-79; Invention and Drafting Workshop

10/22 Chap. 7, pp. 279-86; Essay 3 draft due for Peer-editing Workshop

10/25 Chap. 7, pp. 286-89; Journal 12 (to be written in class)

10/27 ESSAY 3 DUE: Proposing a Solution; introduction of Essay 4: an essay

justifying an evaluation; mid-term course evaluation (I’ll provide some guidelines,

but I’ll want you to feel free to say whatever you want to say about how the class

is or is not helping you to become a more confident, accomplished writer.)

10/29 Chap. 8, pp. 290-304; Journal 13

11/1 Chap. 8, pp. 304-16; Journal 14

11/3 Chap. 8, pp. 317-24; Invention and Drafting Workshop

11/5 Chap. 8, pp. 325-32; Essay 4 draft due for Peer-editing Workshop

11/8 Chap. 8, pp. 333-35; Journal 15 (to be written in class) [A reminder: November

11 is the last day to withdraw from a class with a transcript recording of "W." If

you decide to drop a class, for whatever reasons, you need to do so by this date;

and if you decide to drop this class, I hope you’ll talk to me about it first.]

11/10 ESSAY 4 DUE: Justifying an Evaluation; introduction of the next two essays:

your second revised essay (a revision of either Essay 3 or Essay 4; but if you think

you might want to revise Essay 4, try to schedule an appointment with me today

or tomorrow) and Essay 5: a profile of a person, place, or event based on an

interview and observation

11/12 Revision Workshop (Bring to class the essay you are currently revising and a list

of the problems you’re trying to solve.)

11/15 Editing Workshop (Bring to class a list of your GUMP questions.)

11/17 SECOND REVISED ESSAY DUE; Chap. 20, pp. 544-47; strategies for

conducting field research: observations

11/19 Chap. 4, pp. 108-20; Chap. 20, pp. 547-50; strategies for field research:

interviews; Journal 16

11/22 Chap. 4, pp. 120-30; Chap. 20, pp. 550-55; strategies for field research:

questionnaires; Journal 17

11/24 Project Plans Due for Essay 5: A Profile (Note: your project plan is Journal

18.); Chap. 4, pp. 131-42

11/26 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

11/29 Chap. 24: Assembling a Writing Portfolio; discussion of the preface to your

portfolio; Journal 19 (your observation notes for Essay 5)

12/1 Discussion of the table of contents for your portfolio; Journal 20 (your interview

questions for Essay 5)

12/3 Chap. 4, pp. 142-55; Essay 5 draft due for Peer-editing Workshop

12/6 In-class writing of the Assessment Project post-test essay

12/8 Discussion of your Self-Assessment Essay; in-class revision of the post-test

essay

12/10 ESSAY 5 DUE: Writing a Profile; brainstorming any remaining questions about

assembling your writing portfolio

12/13 Student Evaluation of Instruction; looking ahead to future writing courses,

especially ENG 102, one of the core requirements for the Associate of Arts and

Sciences degree at the UW Colleges

*A reminder: The university provides for you—free—the services of an English tutor. I encourage you to meet with him if you feel the need for special tutoring. He’ll be posting his schedule early in the semester. If you’d like to meet with him, but his hours don’t match yours, check with me. Perhaps we can work something out. And, of course, I will always be willing to meet with you for one-on-one discussions during my office hours or at any other time our schedules permit if my office hours aren’t convenient for you. In addition, you will have access to the UW-Waukesha Online Writing Lab (OWL). The web address for this resource is http://waukesha.uwc.edu/stud/owl/ Students at this university who are genuinely interested in learning will find abundant support from our faculty, staff, and student leaders; you have my word on it. I’m looking forward to studying and learning with you this semester.

===============================================================

See p. 621 in your text for a sample of the Modern Language Association (MLA) stylistic conventions for essays. Note the information provided in the upper left corner (your name, my name, the course name, and the date), and note also that everything is double-spaced—no extra space between the identification data and the title or between the title and the body of the paper. Pay attention to how pages are numbered (your last name and the page number) and how paragraphs are indented (5 spaces). Use an easily readable font in either 10 or 12 point and standard 1-inch margins.