Steve Cushman
Fall 2001
Office: Petty 01G
Office Hours: T&TH 3:30-5 and by appt.
E-mail: S_Cushma@uncg.edu

The aim of this course is to provide you with reading, writing, and thinking strategies for your college work as well as for your literacy beyond the academy. In this course youll concentrate on composing skills: how to brainstorm ideas for writing, how to get them on

paper in some organized fashion, and how to rethink and revise these ideas in interesting and clear ways for an audience of readers. To become an imaginative and proficient writer means much more than following rules and conventions: it means understanding the relationship between the writer, subject matter, and potential readers. The way to become a better writer is, of course, to practice.

This course will include lots of practice in reading and writing, both in and out of the class. Youll write for a range of audiences: yourself, classmates, and me. Youll read others works in progress along with the work of published writers. Youll learn how to read like a writer so that your work will be more alive and active with voice and purpose and meaning. Youll also learn how to read a variety of text: essays, poetry, creative nonfiction, and short fiction so that youll be able to approach other college reading with a variety of reading strategies.

________________________________________________________________________

E-Reserve

Andrea Barrett Ship Fever

2 two pocket notebooks with binder (one for daily writing, one for portfolios)

loose leaf paper (no spiral)

1. 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 the reading. Almost all of your reading will be in the form of E-reserve material. If you come to class without the reading material, you will be asked to leave and counted as absent for the day.

Use the following steps to access the E-reserve material:

-UNCG Library home page

-Reserves

-Steve Cushman

-Full Text Online

-Username: ereserves

-Password: fall2001

-Print

2. In-class Writing/Reading Responses. I try to balance the intense reading load by

giving you time to respond to the reading in class. These will be informal writings on a selected topic or the assigned reading, and they should and will lead to formal papers.

3. Formal Writing. You will be required to write 4 formal papers (3-5 pages) this semester. All out of class assignments must be 12 font, typed, double spaced, and on one side of page with one inch margins. Late papers will not be accepted. Failure to turn in one of these papers will result in your failure of the course.

4. Workshop Participation. Along with other types of group work that this class requires, another form of cooperative learning will be workshop. In the workshop, each student will produce thoughtful and engaging (verbal and written) responses to his or her fellow students writing. These responses will aid your classmates in improving and seeing their work more clearly, towards the end result, a finished, formal paper.

5. Conferences. You will be required to meet individually with me at least three times over the course of this semester during my office hours or by making an appointment.

1-one conference during the first three weeks of class

2-a mid-term conference where well discuss your grade-so-far and mid-term portfolio

3-one final conference sometime between the mid-term and due date of portfolios

6. Portfolios. Revision is an essential component of the writing process. This class will demand you revise in order to improve your writing. As part of this, twice this semester I will see a collection of your work that will include formal and informal writing. Your midterm portfolio is a work in progress. Your final portfolio will consist of 15-20 pages of revised writing. It will also include a final reflection letter where you will respond to your initial letter and make observations on how far your writing has come in this course.

7. Attendance. Almost all of your informal writing is done in class, as is group and class discussion; therefore, you must be here in order to be successful in this course. You are allowed 3 absences. No absences are excused!! Each absence after 3 drops your letter grade. After 6 absences, you will be dropped from this course with an F. An absence is not an acceptable excuse for late papers. Two tardies equal one absence.

8. Author Readings. You are also responsible for attending one on-campus reading of fiction or Poetry and writing a short response to this. I will announce times and dates.

9. Evaluation. You will not receive letter grades on individual papers. You will, however, receive extensive comments on your writing that should both give you an idea of how you are doing as well as ways to revise and improve. If, at any point, you are unclear about where you stand, it is your responsibility to come and see me so we can discuss it. At mid-term, you will receive a grade-so-far. At the end of the semester, you will receive a final grade. Your grades will be based on the following criteria:

--Meeting all the requirements listed above.

--The quality of your written and oral work, in groups and as an individual.

--Your demonstration of a willingness to try new things, think new ways, and explore different perspectives as both a reader and writer.

The Writing Center is located in McIver 101 and can be looked at as an extension of any writing classroom. They will offer you feedback on a work in progress and answer

questions you have on writing. Either stop by or schedule an appointment at 334-3125.

Class Schedule--I reserve the right to change this schedule at any time. Changes will be announced in class.

T-Course Introduction

TH-Dillard "Seeing" & WM 7-16 & Letter To Me due

T-Woiwode "Ode to an Orange" & WM 17-19

TH-Sanders "Buckeye" & Nye "Mint Snowball" (bring in object that is important to you)

T-Weatherspoon Art Gallery

TH-Allison "This Is Our World"

T-Essay #1 draft due-Workshop

TH-Workshop #2

T-Essay #1 Due & WWW. Word.com/work/ bring in two samples from this site

TH-White "Once More to the Lake" & Lopez "Hot Springs"

T-Dorris "Three yards"

TH-Budnitz "Park Bench"

T-Essay #2 draft due-Workshop

TH- Workshop #2

T-Essay #2 Final Draft & Mid-Term Portfolio Due