Purpose:

This course is designed to sharpen the kinds of writing, reading, and thinking skills you will need to be successful in college and beyond. The short assignments in the beginning will ask you to draw from personal experiences. Then we will work our way towards longer research-based essays. By the end of the course you should be able to, among other things, (1) write clearly and effectively on a variety of subjects and in a variety of styles, and (2) carry out a reasonable analysis of the writings of others.

Texts:

Dreams and Inward Journeys: A Rhetoric and Reader for Writers. Ford and Ford

Ship Fever. Andrea Barrett

Writing Matters. Jones, McKinney, and Tower

Course Requirements:

Besides good attendance, productive group work, and respect for your fellow students and me, the main requirement for this course is a final Writing Portfolio of 20-25 pages of polished writing. This will consist of revised copies of the 4 formal essays we will write throughout the semester, as well as your choice of writings from your Writers Log, a scrap-book of in-class writings, journal entries, creative writings, and such. You will turn in three pages of Writers Log material per week, some of the topics to be assigned. Keep the Writers Log stuff in a separate folder, which you can dip into for ideas for the formal assignments. The portfolio will be turned in to me at mid-term and at the end of the semester for evaluation. Several writing conferences with me are also required.

Grading:

This course is set up as a "Writing Workshop," which emphasizes sharing and revising our written work. Thus, class attendance and participation are major components of your overall grade. The other deciding factor is the state of your mid-term and final Writing Portfolio. Although I will read and provide feedback on your 4 formal essays, you will not receive a grade on these essays. I will instead give you a grade on your portfolio at mid-term and again at the end of the semester. We will talk about portfolios in detail.

Policy on Written Work:

No late work will be accepted unless under extremely extenuating circumstances. Except for in-class writings, all work to be turned in to me should be typed, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins and in Times New Roman, Arial, or Book Antiqua fonts. No exotic fonts, please.

Learning Disabilities:

I will accommodate learning disabilities and differences. Please let me know immediately so we can work something out or call the office of Disability Services at 334-5440.

Plagiarism is wrong. It is illegal, and it can get you kicked out of the university. Dont do it. Read and understand the Universitys Academic Integrity Policy. See page 102 in Writing Matters for more information on plagiarism.

Writing Center:

This is a great resource for help with any part of the writing process, from brainstorming to final revision. Hours are Monday-Thursday, 9 to 8, and Fridays 9 to 3. Call and make an appointment at 334-3125.

The Calendar (Subject to Change):

8/21 Getting to know one another

Diagnostic Essay

8/23 Unit One: Discovering our Writing Processes

William Stafford, "A Way of Writing," 17

Chanani, "Whirling Through: My Writing Process as a Tornado Within," 61

Scrapbook Topic: write about your writing process. Use drawings or models if you wish.

8/28 Why Write?

Peter Elbow, "Teaching Two Kinds of Thinking by Teaching Writing," 30

Exercise: The Double-Entry Journal

8/30 Essay #1 Due: Writing Process

Begin Unit Two: Observation and Description

Scrapbook Topic: Write about one observation you have made so far at UNCG.

9/4 Meet at Weatherspoon Art Gallery

Medina, "Tiny But Big" Writing Matters 46

Writing Matters, Part One.

Scrapbook Topic: Observing the World through Art.

9/6 Group Work on Descriptive Essays

9/11 Essay #2 due, Description of Art or Nature

Begin Unit Three: Remembering

Stephen Jay Gould, "Muller Bros. Moving & Storage," 155

Scrapbook Topic: Freewrite on a significant event or person in your life.

9/13 Richard Wright, "The Library Card," 74

"The Behavior of the Hawkweeds" in Ship Fever

Conferences

9/18 Maya Angelou, "The Angel of the Candy Counter," 128

bell hooks, "Writing Autobiography," 141

"Ave Maria" in Writing Matters, 41

9/20 Essay Three Due: A Significant Event or Person

Begin Unit Four: Re-Reading, Re-Thinking

Intro to Chapter 4, "Dreams, Myths, and Fairy Tales," 174

Scrapbook: Write a definition of "myth" or "mythology" based on your experience.

9/25 Giovanni, "ego-tripping (there may be a reason why)"

Marquez, "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World," 179

Campbell, "The Four Functions of Mythology," 184

Discuss Portfolios

9/27 Meet in Jackson Library to begin research on myths.

Carl Jung, "The Importance of Dreams," 189

"Portfolio of Creation Myths," 198

10/2 Bettelheim, "Fairy Tales and the Existential Predicament," 203

"Four Versions of Cinderella," 208-220.

Group Work on Mythology Paper

10/4 Mid-Term Portfolio Due

"Rare Bird" in Ship Fever, 59

"Film in the Writing Class" in Writing Matters, 31