English Composition: Fall 2020 Syllabus
Course Description
English 1A, a course in expository writing, aims to help students express
ideas and convey information in writing (1) with logical reasoning and
adequate factual support and (2) with clarity of purpose, organization,
and language. Beyond these fundamental concerns, the course encourages and
assists students to develop a degree of grace and style which will make
their writing not only clear and convincing, but interesting and readable.
The course also aims to help students analyze student and professional
writing, including writing which reflects cultural diversity.
This course focuses on all aspects of the writing process: pre-writing,
drafting, revising. Much of class time will be spent discussing, writing,
and working in small groups in the classroom and online at mahara:
The Writing Study.
Aims of the Course
An important aim of the course is to give you guided practice in developing clear and coherent longer papers of various types, including those that narrate an autobiographical incident, report information, discuss issues, speculate about causes and effects, present arguments, solve problems, and interpret texts. As you work on these and other kinds of papers, you will develop several related areas:
-
your own "voice" in writing;
-
a repertoire of writing styles appropriate to purpose, audience, and occasion for writing;
-
the ability to compose sentences and paragraphs in a variety of syntactic
patterns and with sufficient specific details;
-
skills in reading, analyzing, and assessing longer pieces of expository
prose by professional writers and peers;
-
a sensitivity to the impact of language on differing readers and
listeners;
- the ability to use appropriate research methods and materials
efficiently, clearly, and effectively for all disciplines;
- the ability to analyze, assess and contribute to online sources.
We
will be using The Writing Study
for the online writing portfolio.
- your skill in writing prose that conforms to the features of
standard written English.
Official Course Description and Objectives
Course Requirements
- Four in-class, timed essays (10%)
- Timed Writing (SAMPLE)
- Timed Writing (2 CRITICAL RESPONSES TO A TEXT)
- Timed Writing (REFLECTION)
- Three revised paper collections (30%): links activated when assigned
- Research web project (10%): individual and group project on
sustainability. Includes:
- footprint
- proposal
- annotated bibliography
- field research and report
- final position paper
- Online Journals
(30%):
consists of:
-
Reading log: summaries and responses to all texts, quizzes short writes
- Five progress reports and any other short homework assignments.
-
Annotated Bibliography (10%): Students will
research a topic of choice for the research project and construct an
annotated bibliography documenting and evaluating their findings,
using Janice Walker's
online MLA Style formating. The bibliography will be posted to
the web as part of the research project.
- Final E-Portfolio (10%)
- Profile (2)
- Paper collections (6)
- Journal (2)
Required Texts and Materials
- Sustainability: a Reader for Writers. Ed. Carl Herndl. Oxford UP. New York. 2014.
ISBN:
978-0-19-994750-8.
- Bullock, Goggin and Weinberg. The Norton Field Guide to
Writing. 4th ed. Norton, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-39361736-8
- Choose a novel from the whole text
booklist.
Required Materials:
A personal computer. While information can be accessed with a variety of devices,
papers and online work cannot be completed on smart phones or tablets. Emails from
smart phones are discouraged as they are rarely thoughtfully processed or clearly
written.
- Pocket Folder for handouts.
- Memory device: all work must be saved (backed-up) in a safe, stable environment
until final grade is recorded.
Recommended materials:
- College level dictionary.
- colored hi-liters.
- post-it notes or small colored tabs.