English 101-42 Syllabus: Fall 2001
If you have a dream, you have everything. If you think you have
everything and have no dream, then everything means nothing.
Anon.
Course Objectives:
English 101, an introductory composition course, emphasizes reading and writing. It thus provides a foundation for critical thinking, composition skills, organization, editing and revision with emphasis on forms appropriate to collegiate writing.You will participate in class discussions regarding the reading assignments, hone your skills in thinking, reading, and writing, and produce a body of written work.
Learning Goals:
At the end of this course you should be able to interpret and evaluate expository essays to see how they have been constructed. You should be able to write clear, coherent, grammatically correct essays on a topic which you develop from prewriting through a final draft. You should be able to locate and evaluate supporting information both online and in the university library. You should feel more comfortable in talking and working in small groups with your peers and with me. When you leave this course, you should feel that you are a more competent communicator both on the page and in speech.
Text:
Dreams and Inward Journeys: A Rhetoric and Reader for Writers, 4th ed. M. & J. Ford.
Writing reference book (the one in your shrink-wrapped package is fine.)
a good dictionary
Writing Matters, eds. Jones, McKinney, and Tower
Assignments:
In-class writing
Journal Notebooks
Group Presentations and activities
Class participation
Essays (drafts and revisions)
Teacher/Student Conferences
Mid-term and final portfolios
Requirements:
Reading: This class will be reading intensive as much as it is writing intensive. You will not be successful in this course unless you do all of the reading.
Journal: This is a loose-leaf notebook for assigned writings. Most of the time I'll assign topics. You should write about three (3) pages per week in your journal. Keep each journal entry; don't discard it once I've collected and read it. Since all of your writing is a potential piece for your portfolio, please keep any and all writing you do for this class. No late entries accepted.
Drafts: A draft is a piece of writing in progress. You will write, rewrite and revise your essays to produce a final product. Therefore, keep all earlier versions and revisions of each assignment; they may be requested for use in class discussion, conferencing, and for your portfolio.
Group Activities: Group work is integral to the 101 classroom. You will share writings, from the idea stage to final draft, and work through the revision process together in groups. Respect, honesty and commitment (i.e., PARTICIPATION) make for success in this category.
Conferences: You will be required to meet individually with me at least two times over the course of this semester. We will discuss the details of these meetings at a later date.
Portfolios: Revisions is an essential component of the writing process. This class will demand you revise in order to improve your writing. As a part of this requirement, twice during the semester I will review a collection of your formal and informal writing. Your midterm portfolio will contain both polished essays and drafts of work in progress. I should contain at least 8-10 pages of polished writing along with notes, drafts, etc. The final portfolio will contain 20-25 pages of polished writing. No extensions will be given for the portfolios.
Formal Papers: You will be required to write four (4) formal papers over the course of the term. You will receive an assignment sheet with instructions on how to successfully complete each essay. For the drafts of your formal essays, you may request ONE extension (usually twenty-four hours) PROVIDED YOU NOTIFY ME A CLASS IN ADVANCE. Otherwise, no late papers will be accepted.
Failure to turn in an essay will result in a letter grade deduction of your overall final grade and will also impact your portfolio grades. Except for your in-class work and preliminary drafts, all assignments must be typewritten and double-spaced on clean paper with a one-inch margin. Use a plain, regular type front such as Times New Roman with a 10 or 12 point size.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. See page 105 in Writing Matters for details.
Respect for Others: Respect for others is expected. Any behavior that distracts (eating, talking while others are talking, etc.) or is disrespectful (personal attacks, etc.) is unacceptable. Students may be asked to leave the classroom if they choose to act in such a way. Cell phones and pagers must be turned off during class time. You many be reached during classes or conferences at the department phone (334-5311) in case of an emergency.
Attendance: Since a great preponderance of your informal writing will be done during class, as is group work and class discussion, you must be here in order to be successful in the course.
- You are allowed three absences. No excuses. No penalties- Three tardies equal one absences
- Any absence over three will reduce your grade by one letter.
- At seven absences, you will be dropped from this course with a grade of 'F.'
- Absence is not an acceptable excuse for late papers.
- You are responsible for making up all missed class work and for coming prepared to the class following the absence.
Evaluation: You will not receive letter grades on individual papers. You will, however, receive extensive comments on your writing that should both give you a sense of the quality of your work as well as a way to begin to revise and improve your writing. If at any point you are unclear about where you stand, it is your responsibility to see me to discuss. At mid-term, you will receive a tentative grade. At the end of the semester you will receive a final grade which will be based on the following criteria:
- Meeting all of the requirements listed above
- The quality of your written and oral work, in groups and as an individual
- Demonstrated progress in writing ability from the beginning of the semester to end of the semester.
The Writing Center
This is a resource open to all students in the university for getting feedback on drafts in progress. You will receive help on brainstorming, planning, organizing, composing, revising, editing, and proofreading. I encourage you to take full advantage of this service. Once you have visited, the center will send me a note saying that you've been there. This, of course, will reflect positively upon your final evaluation. The Writing center is located at 101 McIver and is open Monday through Thursday 9:00am-8:00pm, and Friday 9:00am-3:00pm. Phone: 334-3125.
Special Accommodations:
If you have a disability that could affect your performance in this course or for which you need accommodation, please contact me and/or the office of Disability Services at 334-5440.
Email:
To subscribe to the English department listserve: From the computer you receive e-mail on send the following message to listproc@uncg.edu: "Subscribe English-I your firstname your lastname" (with the lower case L, not the numeral 1 following English.