FMS 103 focuses on the four main purposes of expository writing: to report, explain, argue and reflect. You will write one major paper (4-7 pp) and one shorter paper for each kind of writing. Throughout the course, you will also be asked to complete in-class and out-of-class assignments. Additionally, we will read the collection of short stories by Andrea Barrett. Our topic, our issue, is to clarify our identities as efficient, eloquent, critical writers.

Your work will undergo serious consideration and subsequent reconstruction. You are responsible for becoming a critical reader of your own work and the work of your classmates. Your drafts will be studied throughout each paper, and three required conferences are scheduled into the course. My office hours are listed below, and I am happy to meet with you then to supplement our conferences and classwork.

What you need to know about me is that I take your writing seriously. When you turn in a paper, I will read it wholistically, asking these questions: How does the paper succeed as an entity? Where does it shy away or detour from itself? We will discuss these issues, and your papers will be returned to you with comments, not grades.

At midterm (see schedule) you will receive a letter grade based on all of your work: participation, presence, the development of your critical eye towards written work, etc. You will receive a final letter grade at the end of the semester based on your willingness to work and develop your writerly identity, particularly as shown throughout the course, and finally in your end-of-term portfolio. When you have questions about your progress, please come see me during office hours.

Due dates are scheduled to provide you with plenty of time to complete your work without missing class. Please plan to attend every classyou know all the reasons attendance is important; I wont list them here. I will enforce a strict late work and absentee policy: No Late Work. Missing a conference jeopardizes your grade. Three absences are the maximum without a final grade penalty. Thereafter, each absence is one letter grade for the semester. Upon your seventh absence you will be dropped from theclass with an F. I will keep track of absences and expect you to do the same. Please arrive prior to 9 so we can begin on the dot.