Professor Kevin Petersen

Professor Kevin Petersen

Department of English, O’Leary 474

Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 12:30 – 2:30

College Writing I •Fall 2012

University of Massachusetts, Lowell

http://spargens.wordpress.com

Course Description:

College Writing I prepares you for the number of writing assignments you will asked to complete at the University–no small task. Regardless of your major, writing will be an essential resource for your academic, professional, and financial success. Class assignments, scholarships, job interviews, opportunities to study abroad, getting out of a course requirement, and more all depend upon on how well you communicate in the written form (this includes email). To practice this craft, you need to read carefully and write frequently.

Our approach relies on the writing process: the several drafts oneconstructs while working toward a final draft. You will be expected to participate fully at eachlevel – from initial brainstorming to copy-editing a polished piece – and your final essay gradewill reflect both the your effort along the way and the result of that process. We will discuss and practicemethods of inquiry; how to collect, arrange, and present information; how to revise our proseinto clear, thoughtful sentences and paragraphs; and how to respond to one another’s work withconstructive criticism. As we make our way through the semester, we will tackle individual essay questions; but every assignment ideally builds on the previous and will help you strengthen your writing skills.

One of the most important skills you will learn in college is how to ask questions. Theessay identifies a question and attempts to answer it with analysis and supporting facts as well as with personal experience and individual style. Wewill practice in this class how to ask questions, how to identify worthwhile topics, how to build an argument, and how to construct meaningful, effective prose. You will write constantly,formally and informally, and every piece of writing will help you explore ideas, narrow topics,identify problems, and practice composition. The class will examine how to usecomputers with the different stages of writing, and how “quick and dirty” writing helps fashion atopic and clarify thinking. As an adult and member of the academic community it is imperativeyou know how to participate in academic discourse. The skills emphasized in this course ideallywill help you make a significant contribution.

Required Texts:

• Andre Dubus,Townie (2011) - this is the common text every student in College Writing was given

• Joseph Williams and Gregory Colomb,Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, 10th edition (2012)

Texts must be brought to class everyday since we will use them extensively. Studentswithout their materials will lose participation points and may not be able to complete in-class assignments.

You are also required to bring a notebook and something to write with every class meeting. It is an excellent idea at the beginning of the semester to think through and commit to an organizational system to keep track of assignments and hand-outs.

Grade Breakdown:

Essays obviously comprise the majority of your grade. You will receive specific instructionsfor each essay, but generally essays must be typed, stapled, handed in at the beginning of classwhen they are due, and submitted to turnitin.com. Late assignments will not be accepted.

·  15% - Metaphors of Place, 4 pages: This essay will involve surveying different metaphors of how we describe home, communities, and environments. Examining these metaphors will help us clarify what they can tell us about our relationship to places. You will combine your own analysis with a survey of peers on how people describe this abstract yet powerful sense of place.

·  15% -The Quest for Self-Reliance, 4 pages: After reading a recent critique of Emerson's essay "Self Reliance," we will explore this concept in relationship to our digital lives.

·  25% - Home Town and Memories, 5-6 pages: This essay will ask you to consider how we remember our home town, for what reasons, and what difficulties challenge our memories. It will ask you to explore the physical presence of history in your town and we will use exciting new technology to map how histories of what our towns were and where they might be heading.

·  15% - The Writing Suite Spot, 4 pages: This essay will ask you to reflect on how you composed your essays and what digital or low-tech tools you used. The essay will also ask you to consider how a sense of self and a sense of belonging are exhibited in writing, and in turn how writing helps develop a sense of self and community.

Other graded components:

·  15% - In-Class Assignments: This includes quizzes, workshop exercises, and short, informalwriting assignments.

·  15% - Participation: For this class to succeed, every student needs to show up prepared andengage in the day’s work. Students earn participation points for discussion as well as bringing reading material to class. This also includes peer review.

Daily Grind:

Students are expected to have the readings and assignments completed at the beginning ofclass. In addition to bringing your textbooks, you will also need to bring a notebook and pen orpencil everyday. This is a writing class and you will be asked to write in some fashion everymeeting.

The class website (spargens.wordpress.com) will have links to paper assignments, course material, announcements, andthe mostcurrent class calendar. Occasionally you will be asked to write directly onthe website in a blog format. Subscribing to the RSS feed to be notified instantly of changes andannouncements is an excellent idea, and we will cover this in the beginning of the semester.

While we will use online environments for research and writing, there will is no need tobring a laptop to class. I expect students to turn off all cell phones and other electronic gadgetsand have them stored away out of sight. Failure to do so will harm your participation grade andmay count as an absence (see below).

Because this is a workshop course that emphasizes the writing process, each class meetingwill be a step toward completing a final draft. Therefore, no late assignments will be acceptedand usually missed in-class exercises may not be made up.

Attendance:

Coming to class is crucial. More thantwoabsences will result in a lowered participationgrade;five absenceswill result in a zero for participation and your final grade will be loweredone whole grade;more than fiveabsences will automatically result in an F for the course. Inaddition, students who do not bring required materials, who are not prepared, who text or playwith electronic devices, or who show up significantly late (more than 10 minutes) will be considered absent for the day. If youanticipate a problem, please come see me ahead of time so that we can discuss options.

Accommodations:

In accordance with University policy and the ADA, I will happily accommodate studentswith documented disabilities confirmed by the Office of Disability Services (McGauvran 363,978-934-4338). If you have a documented disability that will necessitate academicaccommodations, please notify me in the first week of classes so that we might make appropriatearrangements. If you will miss class due to religious observances or other protected activities,please see me in advance so that we can plan for any changes to due dates, etc.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is presenting the work of another as your own or not acknowledging the workof another. As college students and adults you are responsible for understanding the college'srules for academic honesty and asking me to explain any confusion you may have aboutplagiarism. Please see the University's policy for more information (http://www.uml.edu/catalog/undergraduate/policies/academic_dishonesty.htm). We will discuss this in detail in class. It isalways better to consult me ahead of time about any questions you may have; after a paper isturned in, there is nothing I can do. Cases of plagiarism will not be tolerated and will result in afailure in the course as well as possible University sanctions.

Office Hours and Email:

If you cannot meet during my scheduledoffice hours please let me know (in person) so we canarrange a time; we can also explore using Skype (user name: profpetersen) or some other virtual meeting arrangement. Feel free to email me as well, although I have found that for anything beyond asimple question it is far more productive, and enjoyable, to talk face-to-face. You must use your official UML email account and check it regularly. I do not check myemail after 5 pm so please give me ample time to respond.

Schedule (this may change, so be sure to check with the website):

To be announced