Instructor:
Lori Reese
Office
Hours: T & Th: 9:15-10:45, McIver
137C
Office
Phone: 334-5867, e-mail: lkreese2@uncg.edu
T & Th 8:00-9:15 McIver 140
Why
write? So many other ways of communicating are faster, flashier and, well,
easier. Why bother toiling over this anachronistic habit of arranging letters
on paper? In this course, you will write and revise constantly, using engaged
reading and balanced critique to hone your expository skills. But
you will also explore how mastery over the low-tech tool of composition helps
us see, comprehend and navigate our high-tech world.
At the completion of this course, the student will
be able to:
·
Interpret
and evaluate argumentative discourse, including writing and speech
·
Construct
cogent arguments
·
Communicate
those arguments clearly, coherently and effectively
·
Locate,
synthesize, and evaluate relevant information
·
Demonstrate
an understanding of the aims and methods of intellectual discourse
·
Weigh
evidence and evaluate the arguments of differing viewpoints
·
The
skills knowledge, and/or attitudes engendered should be foundational and
applicable to a significant range of discourse
·
The
proposal should indicate how the course will satisfy both these expectations
Texts
The
Seagull Reader: Essays. Joseph Kelly
A
Lesson Before Dying. Ernest Gains
Writing
Matters,
Jones, McKinney, Tower, plus the 2002-2003 Writing Matters Supplement. Perkins, Hanrahan and Carithers
Selected
readings on E-Reserve
Other
Materials Needed
Notebook
for daily free-write exercises
Notebook
for readings and other in-class work
Folder
in which to store essay drafts
Three-ring
binder for midterm and final portfolios
Course
Requirements
(1)
Four
Formal Essays
(2)
Weekly
Journal Entries.
(3)
Daily
free-write.
(4)
Mid-term
Portfolio; approximately ten pages of polished writing
(5)
Final
Portfolio; approximately twenty pages of polished writing.
Grading: Class participation: 25 %;
Mid-term Portfolio: 15%; Final Portfolio: 60%
Class
Etiquette
Attendance:
For every
unexcused absence beyond two your grade will plummet.
Tardiness:
One tardy equals half an absence. Be on time.
Deadlines:
Late papers are not acceptable. All essays are due at the beginning of class on
the designated date.
Plagiarism:
Don't steal. Minimum
punishment is an F in the class. Maximum punishment: expulsion from
UNCG. See pg. 102 in Writing Matters for further explanation.
Course
Schedule
Aug.
20—Course Introduction
Aug.
22—Writing Matters, pp. 7-37
Aug.
27—Seagull, Joan Didion, On Keeping a Notebook. *First Journal Entry
Due.
Aug.
29—Seagull, Eudora Welty, Listening.
Sept.
3—Writing Matters Supplement.
Sept.
5—*Draft of Essay One Due; Bring copies to class for group discussion.
Sept.
10—Essay Workshops. *Journal.
Sept. 12—Conferences in my office; class cancelled.
Sept.
17—*Essay One Due, beginning of class; MOVIE DAY.
Sept.
19—Seagull, Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal
Sept.
24—E-reserve, Edgar Allan Poe, Philosophy of Composition, Great Balloon Hoax;
*Journal
Sept.
26—Seagull, Plato, Crito
Oct.
1—*Draft of Essay Two Due; bring copies for group.
Oct.
3—Essay Workshops.
Oct.
7—Seagull, Virginia Woolf, In Search of a Room of One's Own
Oct.
9—*Midterm Portfolio including Second Essay Due.
Oct.
17—Seagull, Maxine Hong Kingston, No Name Woman. *Journal.
Oct.
22—A Lesson Before Dying; *Journal
Oct.
24—A Lesson Before Dying.
Oct.
29—*Essay Three, Part I Due.
Oct.
31—Halloween! No Homework Due.
Nov.
5—Seagull, S.I. Hayakawa, How Dictionaries are Made; Malcolm X, A
Homemade Education; *Journal
Nov.
7—Library Class; *Bring Written Research Queries
Nov.
12—*Essay Three Outline Due. Work Day.
Nov.
14—Gaines Reading; class cancelled.
Nov.
19—*Essay Three Due beginning of class; MOVIE DAY
Nov.
21—Finish Film; Final Essay Assignment Discussed
Nov.
26—*Last Journal Due; Work Day
Nov.
28—Thanksgiving Break
Dec.
3—*Final Essay Due; Class Readings
Dec.
5—*Final Portfolio Due; Class Readings.