15week1101syllabus

ENC 1101 15-Week Model Syllabus

Office: Bldg. 540- **or** phone: (386) 506-3795 Room 232 **What to Expect in English I** e-mail: westc@daytonastate.edu
 * Carolyn West Course Outline ENC 1101**


 * I****. Objective**

The chief goal of this course is to sharpen and expand your writing ability. You'll find that the "essential skills" we will focus on will not only be basic for your other academic and professional work, but useful in your own personal life as well. Many students say "But I can't write" or "I don't like to write." Often this is a result of little experience in reading and writing or of being forced to write in an artificial way. But writing can become as natural as thinking itself. In fact—writing is thinking. That is why your skill with the Three R's—reading 'riting and reasoning—are so important for your full participation in our modern, complex world. Therefore, this semester we will aim to polish these skills with continued practice and study.

You will find that you have plenty to say once your interest is uncorked. That is why I do not ordinarily "assign" a topic to write about. We do, however, have several patterns or methods of rhetorical development that you are expected to master this semes­ter, such as comparison/ contrast or process analysis. Part of my job is to help you develop a topic that interests you through one of the methods. In order to do this, you need to make a list of at least 25 specific topics you would like to write about this semester. (Make the topics as concrete as possible. For example, instead of listing “family” as a choice, focus on the contrast between your brothers, or the effects of a major change your family has experienced.) Your list is your own "assignment" and can be revised and enlarged throughout the semester. Be sure to bring it to each class session, along with your other writing materials, texts, and journal notebook.
 * II****. Topics for Writing**

You will see that the Course Description for ENC 1101 lists several important writing skills. These are the "College Level Academic Skills" for CLAST. Colleges around the state have identified these skills (in addition to reading and math skills) as necessary for success in college work. The CLAST requirement is to ensure that you've received your "money's worth" at the end of this course and, more formally, before receiving the AA degree or transferring to a four-year-college. Therefore, we will highlight these skills by themselves and in the context of essays you are reading and writing. You will be asked to turn in exercises from your text each week, after checking and correcting them. The scores from these will constitute about one-ninth of your grade. Further help will be available, including the tutoring center.
 * III****. Writing Skills**

As you check over the Course Description, remember that you are required by the Gordon Rule to produce a substantial amount of written work during the semester. These assignments may seem overwhelming at first, but you'll be surprised at how quickly words will flow once you've learned to limit your topic and find specifics to develop your main points.
 * IV****. Written Work**


 * A****. __Informal__.** (= to 30% of course grade) One-third of the writing requirements will be made up of informal writing, including prewriting, handbook exercises, Newsweek responses, journal entries, the library assignment and other writing practice. All of this material should be kept in a portfolio or “journal," a small paper three-hole folder that holds stan­dard college notebook paper.

The jour­nal is required for a completion of the course. (Do not use rough drafts of graded essays in the journal). You will be given assignments, practice and writing suggestions throughout the semester to keep in your journal, so you should be sure to bring it to __every__ __class__ __meeting__.


 * B****.** **__Formal__.** (= to 70% of course grade) The remaining portion of the required writing will be satisfied when you complete at least __six full-length formal essays__. Two of these will be done in class as the semester essay/exam, and the others will involve your using a variety of "rhetorical strategies" or organizational patterns, in the following order: (1) a "How to..." or process analysis, (2) a descriptive narrative, (3) a comparison /contrast, (4) a documented argument or persuasion and (5) a cause/ effect paper and (6) a paper using your choice of a method of development (or combined methods).

Obviously these six essays make up the bulk of work for the course and the grade will show this. As you prepare your drafts to turn in, follow the format for essay instructions (yellow handout)//.// You will be revising the drafts of these essays several times, focusing on the development of several types of skills. All of you should check the discussion of plagiarism in your handbook before using outside sources or information. Papers using sources need to be carefully documented, using correct MLA format, before I can accept them.


 * C****. __Revisions__.** **All of your formal essays will require corrections and revisions, so please type them, __double-spaced__, on a word processor and save them in a document file.** (If you cannot use a computer, please type your final draft, again double spaced, on one side of the page only.) For in-class essays, write in ink, double spacing, and use standard note­book paper—no spiral binding.) **__Save your rough drafts to submit with your final draft of each essay__**. In fact, save all your written work, including notes, trial runs, abandoned drafts, brainstorming, etc. for your journal.


 * V****.** **Methods of Instruction**

Sometimes we will have lecture/discussion during class meetings, and you will note that assignments will be laid out step by step, **so you must be in class each day or miss part of the sequence**. In addition, the heart of the course involves the individual conferences with me, which will actually take place during class time. Thus, a "work­shop" atmosphere will prevail, and you will be writing and revising while others are having their conferences. You will be expected to have at least five conferences with me. __**Regular class attendance is necessary for this type of instruction, so students who have more than three unexcused absences may experience a lowered grade in the course.**__ If you cannot be in class, **please call me or another student to get your assignment so that you will be prepared for the next class.** Please feel free to call me or stop by my office with questions, comments or to discuss your writing. If you would prefer to have a writing conference in my office, one can be scheduled during my office hours. Please fill in the schedule of my office hours below:

Monday_ __Wednesday__ __Friday__ __Tuesday__ __Thursday__

__Carolyn West Office: Bldg. 540-Rm.232 __ __ENC 1101 Phone: (386) 506-3795 __ __Spring 2008 **CALENDAR OF ASSIGNMENTS** e-mail: ** westc@dbcc.edu **__

__ Jan. 14-17 Introduction to ENC 1101; Course Description, Outline and Calendar of Assignments __ __ Choosing an audience; narrowing a topic to a thesis; begin Essay #1--”How to. . .” __ __ **READ:** All class handouts; “Planning and Shaping” (p. 35-40) in __McGraw-Hill Handbook __.__ **DUE:** writing sample; list of writing topics or interests (2 copies); list of steps for Essay #1

Jan. 22-24 Drafting and revising; developing introductory and body paragraphs. Conference on Essay #1 (Bring your books and rough draft to class.) and “Write Focused Paragraphs” (p.65-67) in Handbook__; sample essays;__ Newswee __k;__ **DUE:** Newsweek __summaries/responses; Exercise 4.1 (p. 67-69) in__ Handbook __.__
 * READ: ** “Purpose and Audience (p. 25-33); “Thesis . . . Structure” (p. 46-50)
 * (Do all **Handbook** __exercises on separate paper; submit them after you have__ **
 * checked the exercises and added changes, corrections and additions—with **
 * differently colored ink—using the answer key.) **

Jan. 28- Writing about yourself, using description and narration; begin Essay #2--Personal Feb. 7 Experience; bring newspaper stories to class. **READ:** Newsweek __; “Include Specifics and Concrete Words” (p.781) and__ “Personal Essays” (p. 237-241) Handbook __; read sample personal experience essays.__ **DUE:** Newsweek __work; Journal #1 and #2; Exercise 49.3 (p. 782);__ Handbook __;__ Turn in Essay #1 “How To. . .” ***(Submit all rough drafts/notes with final draft when you turn in your essays.)**

Feb. 11-14 Using precise word choice, concrete description and complex sentence structure. Conferences on Essay #2 (Bring your rough draft to class.) **READ:** “Coordination, Subordination” (p.729-735) in Handbook __You may also__ want to review the common English sentence patterns (p.550-551 & p.561-564) **DUE:** Newsweek __work; Exercises 44.1 (p.736-737) in__ Handbook (Please **underline** your chosen coordinating or subordinating wording in Exercise 44.1).

Feb. 18-21 Developing thesis and topic sentence; using examples; avoiding sentence errors **READ:** “Sentence Fragments” (p.572-582); Comma Splices and Run-on Sentences” (p.584- 594) in H andbook__;__ Newsweek; __and “Guidelines for Revision” handout__ **DUE:** Exercises 32-3 (p.582-583); 33-3 (p.594-595) Handbook__;__ Newsweek __work.__

Feb. 25-28 Organizing comparison and contrast; using effective parallels and transitions. Begin Essay #3--Comparison or Contrast. (Parallel brainstorming in class) Journal #3 **READ:** “Faulty Parallelism” (p. 710-715) and “Patterns for Comparison and Contrast” (p. 78-79) in Handbook__;__ Newsweek __; read sample comparison/contrast essays.__ **DUE:** Exercise 42.2 (p. 716) Handbook__;__ Newsweek __work;__ Turn in Essay #2 (all brainstorming, rough and final drafts).

March 3-6 Active and passive voice; sentence coherence; Conference on Essay #3 (Bring your outline and rough draft to class for your conference.) **READ:** “Active Verbs” (p. 749-752), “Confusing Shifts” (p. 700-708); “Misplaced. . . Dangling Modifiers” (p. 720-727) in Handbook **DUE:** Exercises 46.2 (p.751-752), 41.2 (p. 706-707), 43.2 (p. 727) and 49.1 (p. 778-779) Newsweek __work; your own comparison or contrast thesis statement__


 * *All essays must be revised and corrected before the tentatively assigned grade is finalized. **
 * All written work (with instructor permission) must be turned in within one week of assigned due date. **

March 10-14 Spring Break

March 17-25 Argument and persuasion, using logic and rational thinking to argue a position; types of evidence and logical fallacies; Using the library and other sources; begin Essay #4-- Persuasion Paper. Journal #4, sample essay and handouts on thesis for a research paper; **DUE:** Essay #3, Comparison or Contrast (all drafts and T-charts)

March 26- Argument and persuasion, using logic and rational thinking to argue a position; types of April 8 evidence and logical fallacies; using the library and other sources; begin Essay #4-- Persuasion Paper. Journal #5; distinguishing fact from opinion **READ:** “Arguments” (p.210-223), review “Thesis Checklist” (p. 46-47) in Handbook __;__ “Understanding Research” (p.278-284) in Handbook **DUE:** Newsweek __work; library assignment; your thesis for your persuasion paper.__

April 9-15 Evaluating and documenting sources; using the MLA parenthetical style of documentation. **READ:** “Evaluating Sources” (p.322-328); “Working with Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism” (p. 347-360) and “MLA Documentation Style” (p.381-393 +) Handbook __.__ Bring two sources you have found for your persuasion paper to class. **DUE:** Test on paraphrasing, summarizing, quoting and documenting; Exercises 21.1 (p. 354-355 and 21.2 (p.356) in Handbook __; Library Assignment.__

April 16-24 Review for semester exam; writing under pressure; practice with in-class CLAST essay. Semester Examination--objective test and in-class essay #5 on an assigned topic (Be sure that you have completed and checked all exercises so that you can use them to review for the exam.) **READ: “**Homonyms “(p.939-940), “Glossary of Usage” (p.789-798), “Exact Language” (p. 777-779) and “Essay Exams” (p. 242-247) in Handbook The two in-class exams; First Journal Check. Essay #4 in manila envelope with copies of all sources, notes, drafts, etc. (No grace period is available for Essay #4, which is due this day.)
 * DUE: ** Sentence and usage practice quizzes; Exercises 35-2 (p. 620) and 61-2 (p.925)

April 28- Definition and classification; using denotation and connotation; avoiding jargon May 5 Journal # 7and #8. Editing for capitalization and punctuation problems. All written work should be completed this week; revision of persuasion paper. **READ:** “Choose Words with Suitable Connotations” (p.779-781) Handbook __;__ “Common Uses of the Comma” (p.806-814),”Semicolons” (p. 837-839) and “Capitalization” (p. 892-901) in Handbook **DUE:** Exercise 49.2 (p.780-781); 51.4 (p.814-815); 52.1 (p.839-840) and 57.1 (p.901-902) in Handbook __. **(Use complete sentences for the exercises to study punctuation in**__ __**context.)** Final draft of your “My Turn” essay.__

May 6-9 Final Exam Period

Textbooks: The New McGraw-Hill Handbook __by Maimon, Peritz and Yancey (ISBN-13 978-0-07-298050-9)__ __Subscription to__ Newsweek __magazine__ American Heritage Dictionary__--(hard cover edition) or other college dictionary (optional)

Supplies: Standard college notebook paper or writing tablet; 3-hole paper notebook; computer disks or jump drive; highlighter as well as ink pens with differently colored inks. (Please do not use **pencil** for any of your English writing assignments.)