Your composition notebook is the
place
where most of your preliminary writing takes place. One part will be dedicated to Ender's Shadow; one
part will be dedicated to
your pre-reading writing and vocabulary; one part will be for in-class shortwrites and freewrites. I suggest
you set up your journal
in these sections to make your life easier. Small colored tabs can be helpful for dividing each section.
Ender's Shadow Section
Dedicate and label at least one page (front and back) to each chapter of
the novel (24 chapters in all). We will cover each chapter in class, and
you will write a summary of each chapter. These summaries are due before
class; I will ask students to read their summary aloud before we discuss
that chapter.
As the semester progresses, I will assign different types of
summaries and various other critical reading strategies to be completed in
this section. This work will not be typed up and turned in.
Short article section: The Norton Field Guide to Writing readings and other handouts
For each article we read (from
NFG and handouts), you will be
responsible for class preparation and vocabulary: one paragraph pre-reading freewrite, assigned questions, and a personalized
vocabulary list. The pre-reading freewrites will be shared in groups and sometimes with the rest of the class. Students will go over
their vocabulary and short answers to text questions before the general full class discussion of the article. This work will not be
typed up.
After we have discussed the article in class, students will have one week
to write a paragraph summary and paragraph response to the text (called S/Rs).
These S/Rs will be typed in MLA format and turned in within a week of class
discussion.
20% credit as follows:
- Complete S/R within one week of class discussion -- 2 points.
- Complete S/R withing two weeks of class discussion -- 1 point.
- Complete S/R more than two weeks after class discussion -- 1/2 point.
- ALL S/Rs are subject to 1-2 point range scale for quality.
20%: In the composition notebook, unless otherwise assigned.
- a short summary of each chapter of Ender's Shadow.
- homework assignments
- in-class assignments, except for in-class essays
In class writing: not the timed writing - freewrites, short writes and other techniques such as double journal
entries:
Save one section of your journal for extemporaneous writing in class. Keeping all written work in one place will help
you
stay organized and allow for the greatest practical use of your time.
One final note. I collect your journal in order to give you
credit for work done. I have suggested a methodical way to set up the journal. I do not expect any journal work to be re-written to be
neater and/or tidier, but the writing must be readable. I also have to be able to find and read the work in your journal, so be sure
to label your work as you go. If you choose to type any of the journal work, please make sure to include the work by stapling the
pages to a
journal page.
Terminology
- Extemporaneous writing: impromptu writing with little to no preparation.
- In-class essay: is extemporaneous writing completed in a timed setting. For 50 - 60 the expectation for this type of writing is a
final product that is organized around a central topic (thesis), developed with examples and sufficient details. A five paragraph
essay is an example of a passing essay.
- Freewrite: is also extemporaneous writing, but the goal and end product differ significatly. The goal of freewriting is to simply
write without stopping or editing for a set period of time (usually anywhere from one minute to ten minutes). The purpose with
freewriting is to allow the writer to build fluency and agilty with practice. The goal is never to produce a typically edited, formal
product, rather tp produce ideas and associations.
- Short write: is a hybrid of freewriting and essay writing. It too is extemporaneous. This type of writing is usually longer that a
quick freewrite (10 minutes to forty minutes); therefore the writer may stop and read over what has already been
written to get
more ideas. The goal of a short write is to jot down ideas
to a specific question, or to react to a specific prompt (text, idea, picture, problem), and generate thoughtful, meaningful ideas
associated with the topic. The writer then usualy has a specific main idea to follow and tries to stick to that one idea while coming
up with discussion points or examples for development later.
- Revised writing: making significant changes to drafts that include re-organization, development and editing. Revision (or
"re-seeing")
takes much more time than allowed during a single class period. Workshops allow for planning the revision work that needs to be
completed.
- MLA format: Modern Language Association Format. This is the manuscript(ms) style used by in the humanities. Papers (manuscripts)
submitted for English are expected to follow the style guide for overall formatting, in-text citations and Works Cited. All writing
handbooks have extensive sections on the MLA, APA and other styles required in academic settings. Many online sources provide the same
information. Purdue Owl is an excellent example of a valuable online source.