Chesapeake College
Wye Mills, Maryland
ENGLISH 101 COMPOSITION
Mr. Allan Roy Andrews, adjunct faculty
Spring, 2012
Course Syllabus
|
I have a great belief in the fact that whenever there is chaos, it creates wonderful thinking. I consider chaos a gift. --Septime Poinsette Clark |
|
|
|
Always we begin again. –-St. Benedict |
|
|
|
The wonder of Wonder is that I am able to wonder. --A.R. Andrews |
Technical Basics:
This syllabus guides Mr. Andrews’ sections of English 101 this semester.
Eng. 101-109=Composition: Tuesday and Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m., H115
Eng. 101-111=Composition: Tuesday and Thursday, 2:30 p.m.-3:45 p.m., H102
These class designations are important for attendance purposes and for your participation via Angel, the college’s electronic e-mail and communication system. You should become familiar with using Angel. All communications, grading, supporting materials, attendance, and the submission of assignments will be handled through Angel. If you have any problem finding your way around this system, please notify the instructor as quickly as possible and you will be guided to a tutorial or to technical services for one-on-one instruction in using Angel. We will have a brief discussion of Angel during our first weeks of class; there are usually fellow students who can be extremely helpful in guiding others around the Angel Web site
Feel free to contact me via e-mail at either of these addresses:
allanandrews@skipjack.chesapeake.edu
You may also leave messages on my cell phone: 410-279-2057. I will respond to your messages as soon as possible.
Textbooks and materials:
- Bullock, Richard, Maureen Daly Goggin, and Francine Weinbert.
The Norton Field Guide to Writing: With Handbook. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. [This book includes the 2009 MLA Guidelines we will be following.]
- Chaff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst.
They Say/I Say: with Readings. NY: Norton. 2009.
You will be encouraged to treat your books as roadmaps and guides for the course, and as a place to engage in “conversation” with the authors and other writers whose works appear in the books [more on this as we move along].
You are also expected to become familiar with online resources for grammar, style and writing research papers. We will discuss many online tools throughout the course, and I will try to make much of this material available to you through Angel. You will discover that an electronic copy and guide to The Norton Field Guide can be accessed on the class pages in Angel under the “Lessons” tab by clicking on the “Eng. 101” link.
Students unfamiliar with Internet research (beyond Google!) may have to spend some extra time in the Academic Resources Center (aka, the library).
A favorite resource of mine is the Purdue University Online Writing Lab, known as OWL. You can explore it at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ This class, like most humanities and language classes, will follow the MLA style and grammar guide, which is presented in The Norton Field Guide.
|
ONLINE PROMPTS: As a critical requirement of this course, you will be asked to make written responses, mostly online, by posting your response to a discussion forum located in the “Resources” section of the class on Angel. We will discuss this in greater detail during an early class sessions. These responses will be graded as part of your final evaluation. WE WILL GO OVER THIS REQUIREMENT IN CLASS. |
Make and keep a copy of all your writings that you submit for credit (either electronically or on paper). A flash drive can be very convenient for this purpose.
Course Description:
During this course we will be intensely involved in the processes of inventing, drafting, and revising short essays on chosen topics, aiming toward a final research paper. Students will concentrate on writing focused, clearly organized, and concretely detailed mini-essays using basic organizational patterns. Students also will be involved in identifying the characteristics of good writing and evaluating published essays as well as other sources online and in print.
The aim of the course is to make you a better writer (and reader) and to give you a better appreciation for good writing. You may not believe this at the beginning of the class, but the focus is going to be on you and your reading and writing. When asked why he became a writer, the poet W. H. Auden replied, “I like to hang around words.” That’s a worthy motive for any composition student.
In this particular section of composition 101, we will be taking a memoir approach to research, discovering research methods that include observation, interviewing, and library work, as well as diving into memory, not only your own but the memories of others. As such, you will be asked to examine forms of literature known as biographies and memoirs and you will learn to ask important and appropriate questions. We will pay particular attention to a method that has come to be known as “oral history.”
I think of your final research paper as AN INTRODUCTION TO A LIFE, and it will include your own original research along with the findings of other writers of biographies and memoirs. Most other papers will lead up to this final product, so it is important that you keep up with the work as we go along. Each writing assignment has an aim, no matter how seemingly remote, of helping you produce your final memoir essay.
Along the way, you will learn of and practice 1) observational writing; 2) descriptive writing; 3) narrative writing; 4.) argumentative writing; 5) expository writing; 6) analytic cause-and-effect writing; and 7) critical writing. It is hoped you’ll also learn something about 8) humorous; and 9) inspirational writing as well as 10) conversational writing. Oh, yes, you'll also pick up valuable pointers on doing 11) academic writing or research writing, which is needed in almost every college course you will take. You may not have to do a great deal of academic writing, but you must be familiar with it because you'll be expected to read a great deal of it.
This form of writing, you’ll discover, has its own rules, guides and styles. It is important for college-educated persons to be familiar with this form of writing even if one never becomes an academic researcher. Whatever field of study you choose during your college and post-college career will often direct you to research in that field, and you should be able to critically read research literature. Your final project in this course, while expected to be autobiographical, must also be fully academic; that is, you must show evidence of research of many sorts and be able to provide the proper academic citations for that research. [We will have numerous opportunities to discuss and practice this throughout the semester.]
============================================================
You should also be aware that all your papers will be graded, but for some the mere submission of your writing will earn you a grade. In addition to a letter or number grade on several papers, you will be receiving comments designed to help you improve your writing. You should become good at self-editing and rewriting by responding to and interpreting editing comments on your work. A major lesson I hope you’ll absorb is that good writing is rewriting and demands repeated revisions.
Keep in mind that grading and the return of your submitted papers is planned to be done through Angel. Once again, it is important for you to become familiar with the use of Angel.
*******************************************************************************
Learning Outcomes
These are the outcomes upon which all English 101 instructors have agreed:
Students should:
1. Write logically organized, syntactically coherent, and grammatically correct essays;
2. Develop a coherent and arguable thesis statement in each paper;
3. Evaluate bibliographic sources;
4. Integrate these sources, proficiently and ethically; and
5. Produce an eight-page (8) research paper using MLA style appropriately and correctly, with an additional page containing a minimum of five (5) research citations in the appropriate bibliographic format (MLA).
=========================================================
Basic policy notes: (Please read these carefully.) [The following notes constitute the "small print" that is often passed over in legal contracts and in college class requirements.]
- Bring your textbooks to every class meeting.
- Participation in the class, including being familiar with any readings, posting drafts and other assignments to the drop-box or discussion forum as assigned, and being present (physically and mentally) for each class constitutes a hidden percentage of your grade. It is college policy that attendance be monitored regularly. Absences will cost you points and will jeopardize your passing this course.
- We will be using many sources from the Internet, and I expect you to communicate with me about the course in class and via e-mail; that is, by sending me some assignments and responding to my comments.
- Late submissions will be accepted, but will be penalized for each class period for which they are late. You may be excused if there are exceptional circumstances for late submissions or when arrangements have been made with me ahead of time. Absence from class on the day an assignment is due is not an excuse; your late paper will be penalized. Even if you are not in class, you can submit the paper via e-mail or through an Angel Dropbox and get it in on time.
- While there are certain assignments that are required in order to pass the class, you are unlikely to pass the class with those alone (a perfect 65% is still a D).
- Cell phone usage and text-messaging are discouraged; it’s just plain rude to use cell phones in class. Also, eating in class is inappropriate and rude. Eat outside the class. [Incidentally, it is equally rude and inappropriate to sleep or converse with a neighbor during class!] There may not be a formal penalty for rudeness, but it will provide a negative subjective element against you.
- Violations of academic honesty policy (review the Student Code of Conduct in your Chesapeake College handbook) are handled at the discretion of the instructor and can provide grounds for failing an assignment, the entire class, or more. Cases of plagiarism will be reported in writing to the academic dean; such activities could result in your being expelled from the college.
- Your writings may be the topic of discussion during any conferences you arrange with the instructor. You may gain extra credit in this course by visiting the Academic Resources Center and getting help from a tutor there. Please note that you should work toward a complete draft with references, a Works Cited page, and copies of any sources that are not readily available online.
- A Research Paper Tutorial is available on the LRC Web page, and The Norton Field Guide to Writing also includes guidelines. Note that following the steps and stages for the research paper are required for you to complete this class (and are built-in, for the most part, to your required writing assignments).
- As a way of reviewing some of the rules of grammar and style, we will be using several online sources for guiding and checking your grammar and style and reading appropriate sections of The Norton Field Guide to Writing.
- You will discover that your instructor frequently likes to read to the class as well as use film clips for discussion. Think of this as a kind of “story break.” But listen; the readings should make you laugh, and think, and write! In fact, you will discover that many of the “prompts” for your online writing will come from such stories and clips.
Summary of Course Writing Requirements:
|
1. "Who are you?" Prompt: "What is your name?" 2. Compile an annotated bibliography. Gathering information and observing. Library searches; Internet searches; interviews; magazines and newspapers; document searches; museums and galleries. Must have MLA style for an annotated bibliography. 3. "Where are you from?" Prompt: "Where were you born? Where do you live?” 4. A semester-long series of online responses to “prompts” provided by the instructor. Most of these will be handled by your writing in the online forum of angel or through e-mail. (You should anticipate that you may have anywhere from 10 to 15 of these special assignments over the course of the semester.)*** 5. "What do you do?" Think of writing an answer to this question: “How do you spend your time?” 6. Write a review of a favorite film, book, or TV show. *** 7. Research Paper: A memoir: Stage 1. The beginning (draft) of a personal memoir. [The final project must be 8 pages; the draft should be at least 3 pages.] *** 8. Final drafts: Memoir: Stage 2*** Due last class of semester with MLA style and citations in proper form.
*** These assignments MUST be successfully completed to receive credit for the course.
|
General Class Session Schedule:
Take note that this is a flexible schedule to give you some guidance for how the course will progress. Shifts and alterations in what is covered in each class section are inevitable; nevertheless, this schedule will give you a good idea of what is going on in class.
I.) Week 1: Introduction and Orientation. A roadmap for the course with some guidance for using your textbooks, using the Internet as a research tool, using Angel, and using your imagination.
--A view of what it means to be a writer and a view of teaching writing.
--Words. The importance of words. Reading dictionaries.
Understanding etymology.
--The importance of Questions. The 5W’s and 2H’s. The SQ3R method;
PQRST method; KWL grid; some traditional methods of questioning:
1) The Socratic Method (aka the Law School method) or perhaps
“The Great Debaters” method;
2) The rabbinic method;
3) The method of a famous teacher (parables);
4) The dialogical method; and
5) The John Keating method.
--How to know you are a writer.
--Two important beginnings:
--Contributing to the discussion forum.
--What is your name? (Starting from a “prompt.”)
--The elements of essay writing: Words, Sentences, Paragraphs.
|
*Notice your first writing assignment: A 300-word essay on how you came to be called what you are called. The due date will be announced in class and instructions can always be seen in the assignments section of the class page on Angel. |
Week II.) Doing Research: Using the Internet beyond Google.
--a few words about Wikipedia.
--ever heard of Google Scholar? How about Google Books?
--How about some Billy Joel research: Carpe Diem poetry
--John Keating’s method: goal? Carpe diem
Compare: Herrick’s words;
Arnold’s words; and
Joel’s words.
--Researching in the library without going to the library:
--enrolled students get passwords.
--example: Researching words: The Oxford English Dictionary.
--Questions: The interview as a research tool. Who was Studs Terkel?
What is oral history?
--interviewing your parents or caretakers;
--interviewing your peers.
--What is the proper form for an interview citation?
--Understanding the words we read: “Don’t Blame the Eater,” by Paul Zinczenko, pp. 153-155 in They Say, I Say.
--Research questions for a memoir: What are they?
|
Week III.) Why do we write?:
Repeat to yourself three times: “I am a writer.”
Trying to understand the John Keating method of teaching. Can writing be taught? What is poetry? Can the imagination be educated?
--An example from cinema: What is being taught in the film “Dead Poet’s Society”?
Hearing a story: Word after Word after Word.
- Listening to the words of a teacher of writing:
--from Calkins, Lucy McCormick. “Making Meaning on the Page and in Our Lives,” in The Art of Teaching Writing (new edition). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1994, pp. 3-9.
Week IV.) Words, Sentences, and Paragraphs:
You are expected in this class to develop an interest in WORDS, SENTENCES, AND PARAGRAPHS. These are the essential building blocks of good essay writing.
(By the way, let’s begin by asking ourselves “What is an essay?”)
“Naming of Parts,” by Henry Reed.
Nouns, Verbs; Subjects, Objects;
Let’s try this vocabulary: Actor; Action; Acted upon.
What is the most important part of a five-paragraph essay?
1) Thesis or topic;
2) Detail supporting the thesis or illustrating the topic;
3) Another detail doing the same;
4) Another detail doing the same, perhaps in greater detail; and
5) A conclusion: Bringing the topic together.
|
For fun: Write a six-word essay. |
Words, Ideas, and Arguments:
Reading “The Growing College Gap,” by Tamara Draut, in They Say, I Say, pp. 378-390.
|
WHAT DO YOU DO? 300-WORD ESSAY. |
Week V.): Observing and Describing:
Writing from a visual prompt: Photos in a book. Looking for hints and clues to meaning and purpose.
The importance of “attending.”
Susan Boyle and “Britain’s Got Talent.”
Seeing a painting: “The Fall of Icarus,” by Breughel.
Hearing how someone else sees the painting:
“Musee de Beaux Arts,” by W. H. Auden.
- Some exercises in description: a car; a room; giving directions.
The five senses: What are they? How do we consider them when we’re writing?
|
INDEPENDENT WRITING ASSIGNMENT: REVIEW A BOOK, MOVIE OR TV SHOW. |
Weeks VI and VII.) Some lessons of grammar and style:
Where to go for help on the Internet.
Be sure to bring your copy of the The Norton Field Guide to class.
Weeks VIII and IX) Young people present their lives creatively:
Some examples for your consideration.
Young poets and entertainers at the White House.
--some entertaining clips and food for thought.
Week X) Reading:
Your views supported or challenged?
Peacock, Antonia. “Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious.” In They Say, I Say, pp. 257-269
- Seinfeld;
- Carlin;
- What is humor? Putting humor into words.
What is infantile amnesia? Describing our memories.
Weeks XI and XII.) Let’s do it over; “Always we begin again.”
Editing and revising.
What do editors do? Copy editing and Content editing.
Let’s play with headline writing.
A technique for thought: “The Shipping News.”
WRITE YOUR OWN HEADLINES
The reality of writing is REVISION.
Hear some good writers speak on this topic.
Be sure to bring your Field Guide to Writing to class.
Week XIII) Presenting yourself. The rough draft.
|
Three-page draft of your final project. |
Week XIV) Educating the imagination.
Week XV.) Closing session. All assignments must be in the drop-box by midnight, May 10, 2012:
|
Final Project: Eight pages (8) 12-point type, double-spaced, with a separate page for “Works Cited” containing a minimum of five (5) references in proper MLA bibliographic form. |
