Instructor: Dorothy Kuykendal
Office: Petty 01G
Email: dlkuyken@uncg.edu
Office phone: 334-3294
Office Hours: MW 10-11, Bryan Bldg, or by appointment
Course Objectives
Welcome to Composition 101! For many of you this will be "the English class I have to take at UNC-G." Here's news for you: it may well be the most important class you ever take at UNC-G, or anywhere else. In this course we will explore a variety of approaches to composition and writing, and you will develop skills you can use in all areas of your life -- whether you already love English, or if biology is more your thing, or if you plan to go into business or nursing. Learning how to write never hurt anybody. Learning to communicate your ideas, thoughts, and opinions clearly and intelligently is one of the most valuable skills you will ever learn, and this course will be a stepping-stone toward that all-important goal.
As you might expect, this course will be writing-intensive. You will write for yourself, for your classmates, and naturally, for your instructor! You will work in small groups with your peers, sharing ideas, rough drafts of papers, etc.; you will write journal entries; you will have in-class writing assignments, and assignments that you are expected to complete out of class; you will even begin to do some research. Whether you know it or not, you are already a writer! You have plenty to say, and this class will help you develop the confidence and skills to say it.
Learning goals for Composition 101 include:
•
Communicating clearly and effectively: this is Number One!
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Writing and evaluating arguments
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Evaluating and using relevant information
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Understanding aims and methods of intellectual discourse
•
Considering different points of view
Required texts for this course:
• Writing Matters
• Inquiry
• A Pocket Style Manual
• Dictionary
• The Middle of Everywhere
Class requirements:
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3-4 essays (about 20 pages of polished, revised writing)
•
Reflective journal
•
In-class writing
•
Group presentations and activities
•
3 conferences with me
•
Final portfolio
Materials you will need:
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Loose-leaf notebook paper for in-class writing assignments (no spiral notebooks
please!)
•
A sturdy folder to hold all (yes, ALL) of your writing for this class
•
A 1.5" three-ring binder with dividers to act as your portfolio at the
midterm and the end of the semester (no huge 3" binders, please!)
•
Disks for saving your typed writing
o Please note: All typed writing, including journal entries and paper drafts,
must be double-spaced, in black ink, in either 12-point Arial or Times New
Roman font. Use standard 1-inch margins on your paper.
•
Access to a computer (if you don't have one, go to the Library Superlab or
one of the other labs on campus; you can find information on computer labs
at the library website [http://library.uncg.edu]). Be sure to activate your
UNC-G computer account ASAP!
•
An email account (you have free UNC-G email)
•
Blackboard account (http://blackboard.uncg.edu) -- use your Novell i.d. and
password to access this
Class policies
Participation in this class is a key part of your grade. Repeated absences
and late assignments are not acceptable. I also do not look kindly on frequent
tardies. Please note:
•
More than 3 absences (one week's worth of class) will bring down your grade.
•
If you miss more than 5 classes, you will fail the course.
•
Three tardies = 1 absence! (5 minutes late = tardy)
If you have not done the reading/your assignment for a particular day, please do not bother coming to class that day and wasting my time.
I do not accept late work. Please see me personally if you are worried about meeting a deadline or missing a class. If you have schedule conflicts, it is better to work them out now, or as soon as you can.
I will not grade you on your journal entries or the rough drafts of the papers and assignments you submit to me, although I will comment on all of them. At the time of our midterm conferences in October, I will give you your "grade-so-far" as I judge it. You should be able to gauge your performance in this class by the comments I and your peers make on your work as you share it with them and with me.
A valuable resource for you, as you progress in your work, is the Writing Center, located in McIver 101. The Writing Center is set up to help you at all stages of your writing -- not just to proofread your final draft ten minutes before it's due! Please go to the Writing Center if you are having difficulties with an assignment. They are happy to help, and the resource is free. Why not use it? I strongly encourage all students to go to the Writing Center at least once, preferably early in the semester, to get a feel for the kind of work you can accomplish there.
The Writing Center: 334-3125, or see www.uncg.edu/eng/writingcenter. Make an appointment!
Grade breakdown:
Writing portfolio: 50%
Journal: 20%
Group work, including presentations and workshops: 10%
Grammar/foreign phrase presentation: 5%
Participation and conduct: 5%
Passion Project: 10%
A note about the journals: every week, you will complete 2 journal entries: one private one, about whatever you like, and one public one, about one of the readings we have done that week. You are expected to spend no less than fifteen minutes on each entry. Your public journal should also include, at the end of the entry, dictionary definitions of at least two unfamiliar words from your reading. Be sure to include the word (correctly spelled!), its part of speech, and the complete definition.
Since this is an election year, we will also be incorporating an element of that into our class. Every Monday, when possible, we will discuss current events. Bring a newspaper article from a reputable periodical (it can be online or in print) discussing American politics and be prepared to explain it to your small group and give your thoughts on it.
Conduct
The environment of this classroom will be based on RESPECT: respect for your
peers, for me, and for yourself. The class should be a place where everyone
feels safe and welcome. Basic courtesy is expected. Listen to what other
people are saying. Don't interrupt. Take notes. Turn off your cell phone
(if it rings in class, I get to answer it for you!). Don't sleep. You get
the idea.
Plagiarism
…
is always a bad idea and will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is the deliberate
attempt to pass off another person's ideas or writing as your own. It is a
very serious offense, and can even result in your being expelled from UNC-G.
It is easy for instructors to catch plagiarists, and it is never worth the
risk you take. Just do your own work. It's much easier for both of us in the
long run. For details, see: www.uncg.edu/saf/studiscp/Honor.html.
Students With Disabilities
If you have a disability which will impair your ability to function in this
class, please see me personally about it, or contact the Office of Disability
Services at 334-5440.
Important Dates
Last day to add classes without special permission: August 20 (Friday)
Last day to drop classes for a refund: August 20
Last day to drop classes without academic penalty: October 8
Last day of class: December 6
Our schedule, up through the midterm (subject to revision):
August
16: First day of class; introduction to Composition 101, introduction to each
other
18: First in-class writing assignment ("Say My Name"); group work
20: "Identity" intro section in Inquiry
23: "How Do I Know Who I Am?" paper due; discuss in groups; begin
grammar/phrase presentations
25: Writing Matters Part One
27: No class; brief (no more than 10 min.) "getting to know you" conference;
journals due
30: No class; brief (no more than 10 min.) "getting to know you" conference;
journals due
September
1: Rose, "I Just Wanna Be Average," in Inquiry
3: Writing Matters, pp. 18-20, 28-31, 38-9
6: Labor Day; no class
8: Essay One due for workshopping
10: Workshops, cont.
13: Essay One due to me; Hong Kingston, "On Discovery," Inquiry
15: The Middle of Everywhere, Foreword, Prelude
17: TMOE, 1-23
20: TMOE, 24-41
22: TMOE, 41-63
24: TMOE, 64-77
27: Essay Two due for workshopping
29: Workshops, cont.
Octobter
1: Steele, "The Age of White Guilt," Inquiry
4: Midterm conferences, no class; Essay Two due to me
6: Midterm conferences, no class; Essay Two due to me
8: Douglass, "Resurrection," Inquiry
11: Fall Break, no class
13: FIELD TRIP!
Important (estimated) dates post-midterm:
October 25th: Essay Three due to me
November 15: Passion Project due
December 3, 6: Portfolios due