English 101 Introduction to College Writing

English 101 -- Introduction to College Writing

Section 53 -- Fall 2009

Bronwyn T. Williams Office: Humanities 204C

Phone: 852-4741 (leave a message if necessary)

Office Hours: T-R 10-11; 1-2:30; and by appt.

Writing is the most disciplined form of thinking; writing is the fundamental tool of the intellectual life. Write your life down and you can stand back and study it, learn from it...Writing is a fascinating discipline of the mind. -- Donald Murray.

Purpose

As the quotation above reminds us, writing is an essential tool of intellectual inquiry andpersonal expression.The focus of this course is to help you developcritical and creative approaches to writing as a way of thinking, learning, and communication that will enrich your lifein the University community and beyond. Everyone has ideas worth expressing and this course will help you learn the most effective strategies for communicating your ideas to your audience. You'll be asked to write assignments that will draw on your own experiences, the texts you read, and the ideas you encounter. We will work together on these assignments -- from brainstorming to final revisions -- to help you make them the strongest pieces of writing possible.The goal, then, is to help you improve your abilities to understand and respond creatively and critically to whatever writing and reading challenges you may encounter. And, all things being equal, we'll have fun.

Requirements

Writing:The primary requirement for the course will be four-to-six pages of non-fiction prose writing each week. This will be fulfilled through a combination of in-class and out-of-class assignments. (All out-of-class papers must be typed! Any untyped paper will not be accepted.) We will discuss the details of these assignments later in the semester. By the end of the semester you will have completed four revised essays that will form the core of your writing portfolio. Your writing portfolio will form the primary basis for your grade. More information about the portfolio is provided in the section on Grading.

Do not throw away anything you write in this class until the end of the course. At the end of the course, you will need to include in your portfolio the writing activities that led up to the finished essays, and you will want to refer to earlier work in order to write all of your final essays.

You will have to keep a journal in which you will put responses to readings, in-class writing assignments, your notes and freewrites for your essays, reflections on your writing and writing processes, and a variety of other class assignments. Get a big notebook or journal for this -- or two or three. I do not grade journals on content, but I do check and respond to them periodically and give you credit for completing your journal assignments. You will include your journal in your final portfolio. You also may be asked to share journal entries with classmates. All writing done for this course might be shared with your classmates and should be written with such an awareness of audience in mind.

Reading:Any class about writing is also a class about reading. You will be expected to do all of the assigned readings and be prepared to talk about them in class. This will require that you do careful and thoughtful readings of the works -- a quick scanning of an essay will not be sufficient. You will be expected to read each assignment more than once, take notes as you go, complete reading-response assignments, and come to class prepared to talk about the readings.

Required Texts and Assignments:The Best American Essays, 5th College Edition. Atwan, Robert. Ed.

Reading assignments also will include articles and essays posted on Blackboard. You are expected to print out texts posted on Blackboard and bring them to class. There will be both class discussions and papers pertaining to assigned readings. Failure to do assigned readings will mean you cannot participate effectively in class discussions and that, in turn, will harm your grade.

I think writers have a terrific responsibility to jerk people's heads around, hold them squarely, clump up their hair, bunch it up in their fists and make them look in the mirror. -- Caryl Phillips

Grading

The primary basis for your grade in this course will be your writing portfolio. I will not be giving letter grades for individual papers during the course. You will get credit for handing in papers and these papers certainly will get full responses and suggestions for revision from me and from your classmates. During the semester you will be able to work on assignments, returning to essays throughout the semester as you continue to learn about becoming a more effective writer. At the end of the semester, you will submit a portfolio of your writing. I will read and evaluate your portfolio as a body of work, including final revisions, early drafts, journal entries, reflections on writing, and so on, rather than as a series of individual papers. We will discuss the criteria I will use for grading portfolios during the course of the semester.

Your final portfolio will include:

Four final revisions of essays and the drafts that preceded those revisions
Written reflections on the writing experiences involved in creating each essay
An introduction that reflects on the work included in the portfolio and the writing

experiences of the class

Your writing journal.

Your final grade will be based on:

Your writing portfolio, including final revisions of your four best essays, earlier drafts of the essays, and written reflections on the essays and your writing processes. 80 percent.
Participation in class discussions of readings and papers, use of journals, and in-class writing assignments. Participation in class presentation. Attendance of class sessions and conferences. 20 percent.

Composition Program courses use a +/- grading scale.

Mid-Semester Portfolio: In order to give you a sense of where you stand in the course, you will turn in a brief, less formal mid-semester portfolio that I will give a provisional grade. A provisional grade is not permanent, but will give you a sense where you stand in the course at mid-semester. Your final portfolio grade could be higher or lower, depending on the work you do the rest of the semester.

Deadlines and Late Papers:Each final essay in the portfolio will have been submitted for class and teacher review according to set deadlines. Any paper not submitted on deadline for these reviews will not be accepted for the portfolio. Failure to include all of the work and to meet deadlines throughout the semester will jeopardize your ability to receive a passing grade on the portfolio. Unexcused late papers will harm your grade. If you turn in work late or miss assignments you will find that it will become increasingly difficult to complete subsequent assignments. I will only give excuses for turning a paper or assignment in late before the paper is due. No exceptions. If you have a problem get word to me somehow, leave a message or send an email if necessary, before the paper is due. I will accept no unexcused late papers that are more than two class sessions late. You must complete all assignments to pass the course.

If, at any time during the semester, you have concerns about your grade, you should talk with me immediately. Don't wait to come to me a week before the semester ends and ask me what you have to do to get an "A". That is the question you need to ask the first week of the semester, not the last.

Conferences: You are required to have periodic individual conferences with me in my office. This is our opportunity to work together to improve your writing. You will get the most out of conferences if you prepare for them -- think about how your work is going, what is working, where you are having trouble, what questions you have for me. Then show up on time, ask questions of me, and take notes about what we discuss. Attendance at conferences is mandatory. Missing them without a prior excuse will count as an absence in the course.

Extra Help With Writing: All students can receive writing advice and tutoring from the University Writing Center. The Writing Center is located on the third floor of the main library. You may call, 852-2173, or contact them through their Web page at to set up an appointment or to get help online or you may walk-in for an appointment. I will talk about this more in class.

Official Policies

General Education Course:This course satisfies a University General Education Requirement for Written Communication and is open to all incoming UofL students.

Grievances:If you have problems or questions about the course or my conduct of the course please come see me immediately. If you are not satisfied with my response you should speak with the Director of Composition or the Chair of the Department.

Disability Accommodations:If you have a documented disability or condition that may impair your ability to complete assignments or otherwise satisfy course criteria please talk to me immediately so that we can identify, discuss, and document any feasible instructional modifications or accommodations. You need to notify me no later than the end of the first week of the semester in which the course is offered or not later than the second week after such a disability or condition is diagnosed, whichever occurs earliest. For further information and help, contact the Disabilities Resource Center on campus.

Attendance and Participation: As with any class, attendance is expected. Unlike many classes, however, this one will include in-class writing or reading exercises and discussion almost every session. The material covered in these exercises and discussions will be vital to your success in writing your essays and cannot be made up by looking at a classmate's notes. I do take attendance and you do get credit for having the readings done when you come to class, and for participating in class discussions. Missing class will usually mean missing in-class assignments and discussions and that will add up when the time comes for the final grade. Missed in-class exercises cannot be made up.

You may only have an excused absence and receive permission to turn in work late if you provide me with a validexcuse before the class session. You can leave a voicemail or email message before class. Two weeks of unexcused absences is grounds for the alteration of your final letter grade; three weeks of unexcused absences is grounds for failure of the course.

It is important to be on time for this class. To come in late is disruptive to the class and disrespectful of both me and of your fellow students. I understand that sometimes there are traffic jams, sick children, or other unforeseen circumstances that will delay you. In those instances I do hope you come to class even if you are late. Please, however, do not make a habit of coming to class late.

Cell Phones, Pagers, and Other Electronic Devices: I expect cell phones and pagers to be turned off and remain put away during class time.

Classroom Community: The essence of any course about literacy is communication. Consequently, a free and open class discussion is essential to our gaining a better understanding of the work or ideas at hand. This is a small course and I prefer to teach through discussion rather than lecture. We need to work together to explore the ideas, readings, and other assignments in the course. This class will live or die depending on the quantity and quality of the discussions. Your participation in class discussions and workshops is vital and required. This means coming prepared to talk about readings and workshop papers, listening to your classmates' comments, and giving all members of the class an opportunity to talk. Successful class discussions also require tolerance and respect from all of the members of the class. This class thrives on the open and honest exchange of ideas. This exchange, however, requires trust and respect. Although we may disagree about and debate various issues and ideas, such discussions should never get personal. To each class you should bring an intelligent, open mind and a tolerant attitude toward the opinions of others. Personal attacks or disruptive behavior have no place in this class and will not be tolerated.

Academic Integrity: The University defines plagiarism as “representing the words or ideas of someone else as one’s own in any academic exercise.” As in any University course, the work you submit must be your own. I will follow the definitions and procedures concerning cheating and plagiarism that are presented in the section on "Academic Dishonesty" in the Student Handbook. If you are not familiar with these rules and procedures I strongly recommend you read about them soon. If you have any question as to whether the work you are submitting could be plagiarized, please come ask me BEFORE you turn it in.If you plagiarize, I reserve the right to fail you and report the case to the College of Arts and Sciences.

This syllabus may be subject to change. If it does, I will let you know in class.

Culture, in other words, is not something extra, like say the sixth finger on a human hand. Culture has rightly been said to be to society what a flower is to a plant. What is important about a flower is not just its beauty. A flower is the carrier of seeds for new plants, the bearer of the future of that species of plants.

-- Ngugi Wa Thiong'o

Reading and Assignment Schedule

Introduction to College Writing -- Fall 2009

Assignments are to be done for the day on which they are listed. All assignments are from The Best American Essays, unless otherwise note. This schedule is subject to change.

Week One

25 August – Introduction

27 August – Marshall Jon Fisher – “Memoria ex Machina” – p. 198

Amy Tan – “Mother Tongue” – p. 160

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Week Two

1 September – Rebecca McClanahan – “Book Marks” – p. 102

3 September – Kitty Burns Florey – “Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog” – 206

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Week Three

8 September – Ellen Ullman – “Dining with Robots” – p. 403

10 September – Scott Russell Sanders – “The Inheritance of Tools” – p. 131

Literacy, Experience, and Culture Essay Draft Due in Class

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Week Four --

15 September – Maria Aldrich – “Hair” – p. 47

John McPhee – “Silk Parachute” – p. 119

17 September –Robert Polito – “Shame” – p. 123

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Week Five

22 September – Scott Russell Sanders – “Under The Influence” – Blackboard

24 September – Susan Orlean – “Lifelike” – p. 254

Barry Lopez – “The Stone Horse” – p. 220

Draft of Second Essay Assignment Due

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Week Six

29 September – Writing Conferences

1 October – Writing Conferences

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Week Seven

6 October –No Outside Reading Assignment

Observation and Culture Essay Draft Due Mid-Semester Portfolio

MID-SEMESTER WRITING PORTFOLIO DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON FRIDAY 6 OCTOBER

8 October -- No Outside Reading Assignment

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Week Eight

13 October – SEMESTER BREAK – NO CLASS

15 October – Alan Dershowitz – “Shouting Fire” – p. 302

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Week Nine

20 October – Frank Conroy – “Think About It” – p. 294

Ian Frazier – “A Lovely Sort of Lower Purpose” – p. 213.