Writing & Reading (!) 101, Winter 2000, 8 am & 9 am
SYLLABUS & COURSE OUTLINE
You ! Me!
website: go to hcc homepage, find “Staff Directory,” then “Caster” and click on link. Or, http: flightline.highline.ctc.edu/acaster/acweb.html. [Please do not call home number after 9 PM! I too need a life ] Angi’s office & hrs.: Bldg. 15, rm. 205, M-F, 1-2 pm and by appointment to fit your needs.
Required text: *****will not be available until Jan. 24. I will provide copies of first few chapters until then, when it will be available in HCC bookstore. Should you wish to order it online:
McQuade, Donald & Christine McQuade. Seeing and Writing. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2000.
Recommended texts: --- Sebranek, Meyer, & Kemper. Writers Inc. Boston: D.C. Heath & Co. 1996
----a good thesaurus
----a college-level dictionary which includes word roots (Latin, Old German, etc.)
“Tell me, and I’ll forget.
Show me, and I may not remember.
Involve me, and I’ll understand.”
--Native American saying
Writing is your thinking made public—Therefore, all writing must come out of the context of ideas. Then, someone has to read that writing—hence Writing IS Reading! The overall theme of this course is How We See—“We see things as we are, not as they are” (Stone qtd. In McQuade, 5). You are individuals, with individual views of the world. You will find that in a democracy, people, especially experts, do not always agree. That is one of the reasons why we write: to establish and defend our points of view. This takes courage because when our ideas are made public, others know where we stand. In this course, your ideas and your writing will be made public!
You will “publish” your work through discussion, peer reviews, computer, overhead projectors, and collaborative work—the “involve” mentioned in the proverb quoted above.. My job is to establish classroom practices which make discussion and peer evaluation safe. Your job is to take risks in all areas of your thinking and writing in order to improve, and I make that grade-safe by allowing you to revise as often as youwish. Writing, like basketball and juggling, is not a god-given mysterious talent given only to a chosen few but, rather, a skill that gets better with practice, practice that involves increased challenges and, therefore, risk.
“What does it take to be a great writer? A built-in, shockproof crap detector.”
--Ernest Hemingway
Please note that this is not Grammar 101. Students who need extensive work in grammar or mechanics may arrange to add 1-2 credits of Writing 099 if you need work in a specific grammar area. If I see a specific error pattern, I may require that you sign up for 099 in the first two weeks of the quarter (see Wendy Swyt, x 3515, Bldg.15-208).
If you need advice with any stage of drafting your writing assignments, visit the Writing Center, which is part of the Highline Tutoring Center in Building 19, Room 206/207. Writing consultants can help you with editing techniques, brainstorming for ideas, clarifying your thesis, organizing your ideas and many other issues. Just stop by and make an appointment in Building 19 Room 206.
Check out: for study skills help.
Tutoring Center Hours: M (8-4); Tu/W/Th (8-7); Fri. (8-12)—Bldg. 19, upstairs
Objectives of Writing 101:
At the end of this course, successful students will be able to:
- identify structure, purposes, audience and techniques of readings –including voice, tone, metaphor
- clarify cultural literacies and vocabulary and develop resources to enhance both
- consider the consequences, both personal and global, of issues and literacies
- demonstrate the critical ability to “see” through written work
- evaluate your own and your peers’ writing according to specific criteria --FECCCL[1]
- recognize the purpose and value of edited standard English and use when appropriate
- produce 7000 imperfect words and revise them into ~ 5000 words of nearly perfect essays
- pass the Portfolio Exit Exam at the end of the course
****Do not throw away any writing you do in this course until after April 1, 2000!!!!!! You may revise work as many times as you wish for improvement.
Computers: This course is computer-connected which means we will spend every Wednesday in the computer lab (Bldg. 30). I expect all work to be wordprocessed. Be sure to save all of your essay work on a 3” floppy disk in A-drive every time you work on the computer in-class or out-of-class. Please also save a hard copy to avoid computer digestion disasters (“It ate my paper.”). All reading and research, most website discussions, all rough drafts, peer reviews, and final drafts are “homework”—our class time is too limited. So make time, at least 6 hours per week, to go to the computer lab unless you have computer access at home.
Attendance: After Week 1, your groups are responsible to turn in attendance weekly on Fridays. I also keep track, and when your attendance falls below acceptable levels, I will put you on an attendance contract which has severe consequences for continued absences. Attendance is evidence of commitment
Extra credit: Will be given for approved educational events outside of class, contributions to the classroom environment that include extra work (such as videotaping, audio & lyrics’ copies. Purpose is to extend connections, showing that what we do in Writing 101 is reflected in your other courses as well as the “real world” outside academia. 50 pts. maximum, 10 pts. per submission. Outside events must include oral sharing, written response, and evidence (hard copy of outside source, video, or brochure, etc. if an event). Extra peer reviews can also be extra credit.
*** Please provide me with a Letter of Accommodation from the Office of Access Services if any of the following conditions apply to you: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability; if you have emergency medical information to share with the instructor; or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated. [Access Services is located in Building 6 in the Student Development Center.]
Exit Assessment: The Portfolio. All Writing 101 students must submit a portfolio of writing at the end of the course. This portfolio will include 2 essays from our class which you have revised AND one in-class essay written during the period of the final exam. This portfolio will be read by Angi in consultation with other 101 instructors. You MUST pass the portfolio in order to receive a 2.0 or higher in the course. If you do not pass the Portfolio process, your grade in the course cannot exceed 1.9, no matter what your grade in the class. If any portion of a portfolio is plagiarized, the portfolio will fail. Passing the portfolio does not guarantee passing the class; you must meet my grading requirements as well.
Ethics: The worst academic offenses in western culture are cheating and plagiarism. That means, for this class, 1) Don’t turn in an assignment someone else wrote; 2) Don’t let someone else do a lot of rewriting or proofreading for you, although it’s fine to get feedback; and 3) Don’t copy phrases or sentences from book, articles or the Internet into your papers without citing them. The consequences for cheating and plagiarism can be as serious as failing the course, and in some places, being kicked out of school. In addition, it’s just plain not going to help you become a better writer.
Grading & Assignments:
200 pts Informal writing: 10 First drafts, including pressure-writing
500 pts. Formal writing: 5 Final Drafts
100 pts. 10 Peer Reviews
150 Portfolio
50 In-class activities besides pressure writing (no revisions or make-ups)
Total: 1000 pts.
GPA Assessment:
900-....1000pts. 3.6-4.0 600-699.....1.5-1.9
800-899 3.0-3.5500-599...0.7- 1.4
700-799 2.0-2.9below 500..0.0
important course definitions:
Formal writing: third or final drafts of previous writing, edited and reworked into professional format.
Informal writing: first or second drafts, responses to textbook or handout questions (prompts for writing).
Portfolio: a collection of 3 essays by one student—2 are formal writing & one is the final. A student must pass the portfolio at HCC in order to pass Writing 101.
Pressure writing: in-class essay writing in response to a new prompt. Practice for portfolio final.
Prompt: questions set in a context of ideas in order to produce good essay writing.
Course Outline
(This outline gives due dates & reading assignments. Daily work will support & explain these assignments. Be here! I reserve the right to change this outline once the book is in and to meet your needs)
M: Writing is always due.
Tu, Th: in-class activities , instructor mini-lectures and discussion
W: Computer lab
F: Preview next week’s reading
Course Outline
Week 1 (Jan. 5-7):
Read for next week: pp.1-30 (McQuade)
Write: Do #1, p. 30 or #1, p.77 or design a time capsule per the handout (due Jan. 10). Include photos or ad cut-outs collage as illustration with your writing .
******Ex cr option for next 2 weeks: go to local art museum and report back. Be specific.
Week 2 (Jan. 10-14): Academic Literacy; FECCCL grading criteria.
Write: Do #2, p. 37 or #2,p. 77 or #2, p. 71 (this is informal writing due Tu. , Jan. 18)
Read by Tu., next week: pp. 31-87
Week 3 (Jan. 18-21): No class Jan. 17 (MLK b-day)
Revise & expand one of your writings from Weeks 1-2 (now, formal writing). Due Mon., Jan. 24.
Read for next week: pp. 87-135
Write: #1 or #2, p. 135 or #1, p. 105
Week 4 (Jan. 24-28): Books now available!!! Go buy one.
This week: Chapter 4 ,“Figuring the Body” (have read by Thurs.)
Updated course outline will be passed out.*** Start taking responsibility to choose your own Informal Writing Assignments from McQuades’ “Writing” sections at ends of reading.
Read for next week: Chapter 5
Week 5 (Jan. 31-Feb. 4): Finish Chapter 4 & Chapter 5, “Engendering Difference”
M: Formal writing #2 due.
Read Chap. 8 for next week.
Week 6 (Feb. 7-11): Chapter 8, “Writing in the Age of the Image”
M: Informal writing due.
Read Chap. 6 for next week.
Week 7 (Feb. 14-18): Chapter 6, “Constructing Race”
.M: Formal writing #3 due.
Read Latino Module (handouts) for next week. Week 8 (Feb. 22-25): No class Feb. 21. Multicultural Literacies. HCC Globalism/Diversity RQ.
Tu: Informal writing due.
F: Meet in library—multicultural resources.
Week 9 (Feb. 28-March 3) . Multicultural Literacies, cont’d :M: Formal writing #4 due. Th: Latino/multicultural first draft due (must include 1 research source)
F: Cultural Literacy Quiz on Multicultural unit. Preview next week
Week 10 (March 6-10):M: Formal writing #5 due
W: Pressure-writing practice in computer lab.
Week 11 (March 13-17) :
FINAL….8 AM 101 class final ------Wed. March 15, 8-10 am.
FINAL…9 AM 101 class final -----Friday, March 17, 8-10 am.
LAST DAY TO TURN IN ANY REVISIONS: Monday, March 13, 5 pm. to Angi’s office Bldg. 15. BE SURE TO MAKE 2 COPIES OF REVISED PORTFOLIO ESSAYS—1 for revision grade, 1 for portfolio grade. Portfolio essays use no names-Social Sec. # only.
F E C C C L = grading criteria
*****These are suggestions to help you achieve control over your writing-as-thinking-made-public. Not all essays will use all of these options. Writing varies widely, depending on the writer, his/her purpose, the problem being solved, and the data and time available. If you bought Writers Inc. as recommended, USE ITS INDEX (I have included relevant bullets below)!!
FOCUS: Use a strong argument/opinion statement (thesis). Narrow your topic. Stick to it: A good technique is to reread your conclusion first and then reread your introduction: do they match or does it seem like 2 papers? Remember, your conclusion in your first or second draft is probably much better and more focussed than the intro, so go back and rewrite the intro to match! You can also use a metaphor ( see Caster's "A Fish Tale") to control flow of essay (e.g. feeling like an Outsider could be like a book no one ever takes out of the library or a fish out of water, etc.) [see bullets 024, 025, 060, 131, 133, 168]
EVIDENCE: Many things count as evidence: quotes and dialogue (and use " " !!), statistics, expert testimony, interview data, anecdotes, examples, concrete detail. Use the 4 W's: Who, What, Where, When. DO NOT SEPARATE YOUR WRITING FROM YOUR READING--writing does not take place without a context; that is why we have a reading text, to give you context for your writing. You could even (gasp, choke) go to the library and do research! A particularly good and quick form of research is to look up your key word(s) in a good dictionary--gives you more ideas [see bullets 110-133].
COMMITMENT: Final draft must be double-spaced, typed or wordprocessed, proofread to avoid typos and surface error, of sufficient length to do justice to the subject matter, show risk of using argument/opinion and not simplistic thesis, show significant change from rough draft to final draft using teacher/peer comments. Get a real live audience: Go to Writing Lab or. Tutoring Center or a friend. Be careful about relatives...parents and partners can be problematic editors... And be sure to avoid simplistic theses! [bullets 036-038, 051]
Simplistic thesis: "The members of our group are both the same and different." [This is a cop-out; you are making no claim]
Complex thesis: "The wide diversity in our group--gender, geographic, linguistic and racial-- could cause problems unless we remember that multiple points of view provide the theme for this course."
COHERENCE:2 kinds: (1) Whole essay coherence--use metaphoric, thematic word repetition, transitions, italics or subtitles, style, tone;(2) Paragraph to paragraph coherence--use transitions, repeat phrase from last line of one paragraph to first line of another. [see bullets 134, 425, 114, 115, 059-063, 133, 109]
COMPLEXITY: check the Thinking Operations in Writers Inc; have you used Application, Analysis, and Synthesis? Have you considered other points of view besides your own? Have you dug beneath the surface for real meaning? Are you sounding empty, like a politician (specious)? Have you considered Consequences? Implications? Most of Writing 101 is reflective writing [see bullets 135, 337-353, 554-574], which answers the question, Why is this experience important?
LINGUISTIC MATURITY: This means Vocabulary and Grammar. Combine sentences to avoid short, choppy style. Avoid the IT-disease and the I-disease. Borrow words (not whole chunks! that's plagiarism--bad, bad) from our texts or from what Angi or your fellow students write on the board; use those vocabulary words; use dictionary and thesaurus. Also, consult the spelling and commonly confused words sections in Writers Inc. [see bullets 066-071, 085, 113, 446-464]
[1] Focus, Evidence, Commitment, Coherence, Complexity, Linguistic Maturity—see last page of this syllabus!