Syllabus Fall 2005
"An essayist is a
lucky person who has found a way
to discourse without being interrupted." -Charles Poore
"I never desire to
converse with a man who has written
more than he has read." -Samuel Johnson
"The tools I need
for my trade are paper, tobacco, food,
and a little whiskey." -William Faulkner
"The most essential
gift for a good writer is a built-in,
shock-proof shit detector." -Ernest Hemingway
"Good writing is a
kind of skating which carries off the
performer where he would not go." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Course Description: English 101 is designed to help students develop writing
skills through the process of reading, thinking, discussing, researching,
drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading. Effective reading and writing
skills will not only help you excel at the university level and your careers
but also help you grow as a more confident observer, reader, writer, and
listener. Since you can enhance your reading and writing skills only by practice,
this course requires your full participation and often resembles a workshop
rather than a traditional lecture class. Your work in your discussion group
is important to your success. In this particular course we will be analyzing
the role of myth and the “hero” in society through various literary
works.
Course Objectives/ learning goals: Successful completion of this course should enable you to become a more critical reader, a more independent thinker, and a more skillful writer. By the end of this class, you should be able to 1) write and evaluate arguments 2) communicate clearly and effectively 3) evaluate and use relevant information 4) understand aims and methods of intellectual discourse and 5) evaluate different viewpoints.
Texts:
The King Must Die Mary Renault
The Once and Future King T.H. White
Frankenstein Mary Shelley
Othello Shakespeare
Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe
Recommended: A Writer’s Resource (handbook) or other grammar handbook
** You will also need a folder for your Writing Portfolio
Assignments
Attendance/class participation/quizzes 10%
Reading Journal 20%
Portfolio 60%
(Essays: Personal Narrative, 10%; Response Paper 15%; Literature Paper 15%)
Cultural Research/ Creative Project 10%
(The portfolio consists of most of your written work, including essays, revisions,
final drafts, group commentary, in-class writings, and whatever else you want
to put in there – see “portfolio” below)
!!!!!
The successful student will be the one who comes to class and keeps up with
the reading assignments and writing assignments.
Course Requirements
Class Participation/Attendance:
-Obviously, you need to come to class and read the assignments to participate.
Class discussion and workshopping are a vital part of our classroom setting.
I reserve the right to lower your grade for the course if you miss more than
3 classes. Coming to class late doesn't count as being present, nor does
leaving early.
Classroom Community:
Please be responsible and respect the rights of your fellow classmates to be
able to pay attention. Turn the cell phones or on silent. Please do not talk
over me or sleep during class. I consider these behaviors as a sign of disrespect.
-I want all of you to view this class as a safe environment where we all respect
each other’s opinions. We can agree to disagree without slinging the
mud.
-Please call me or see me during my office hours if you have questions or concerns.
We will have at least one conference around mid-term during which time we can
talk about your papers, grade, etc.
Journals
Beginning the second week of class you will write a response of about a page
(typed, double-spaced) to be turned in NLT 5 pm every Thursday, either in
class to me or in my mailbox. This response should address the readings for
the week. I will give you several questions to get you started, so don’t
worry about not having anything to say. This is supposed to be more informal
than a regular essay. I really just want to know your viewpoints. You are
welcome to include extra writing in your weekly journal on other topics if
you like – they don’t have to be related to the book. These journal
entries should start you thinking about the issues in cultures both presented
in the novels and our own contemporary culture – issues that will hopefully
culminate in a well-thought out cultural research topic for you.
Read-arounds
I will ask you to sign up for one day to run a discussion on a brief essay
question for the first 10 minutes of class. One this day, you will bring
in a topic that interests you (kind of like show and tell). Can be music,
video clips, a favorite quote etc. for the class to respond in writing and
discussion. You will be responsible for timing the writing (about 5 min)
and running the discussion. You will include at least 5 of your favorite
responses, revised, in your final portfolio.
The Portfolio
-At the end of the semester you will be turning in your portfolio, which is
a compilation of most of your work in this class – work that shows your
growth and improvement as a writer. At a minimum it will have three or four
essays (I will give you more specific instructions on these later) with revisions
(yes! You get to improve your grade!!), your classmates’ comments, your
in-class writings, and a couple of letters. BUT, you can certainly add to this.
You can dress up your portfolio. This is really for you to keep – something
to be proud of.
Essays
-Your essays and research project must be typed, double-spaced at Times New
Roman font size 12. They should be about 3-5 pages long (research topic about
5 pages), standard margins. Papers must be typed and in accordance with MLA
format when applicable. You will turn in your rough draft with your classmates’ comments
with final draft of paper. Failure to have a draft of your paper on peer
evaluation day may result in a reduction of your grade for that essay. On
the other hand, because this class is learning about the writing process,
you will be able to gain extra points through revising papers. You create
your own destiny in this class.
-I reserve the right to lower the grade on late papers.
Just a Reminder!!
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is theft. Presenting someone else's words or ideas as
if they were your own is a serious academic offense.
Plagiarism results in an F for the assignment or for the course, and may result
in expulsion from the university. I consider plagiarism a serious breach of
honesty.
Tentative Course Schedule
All reading assignments should be read before you come to class!
Date - Assignment
August 16 - Tuesday, Course introduction
August 18 - Thursday, Start reading The King Must Die pp. 1-60 Book 1
August 23 - Tuesday, TKMD 63-110 Book II "Eleusis"
August 25 - Thursday, Writing a Personal Narrative
August 30 - Tuesday, TKMD 113-166
Sept 1 - Thursday, Writing Workshop - Personal Narrative (Bring rough draft)
Sept 6 - Tuesday, TKMD 169-235 Personal Narrative Due Paper 1
Sept 8 - Thursday, Finish TKMD Response Paper Assigned
Sept 13 - Tuesday, Conferences (Start reading The Once and Future King)
Sept 15 - Thursday, Conferences
Sept 20 - Tuesday, OFK 177-384 The Legend of King Arthur
Sept 22 - Thursday, OFK 385-430 Discuss Response Paper
Sept 27 - Tuesday, OFK 431-481 Constructing Your Portfolio
Sept 29 - Thursday, OFK 481-528
Oct 4 - Tuesday, OFK 529 - 587 Writing Workshop and What is the Creative Project?
Oct 6 - Thursday, Finish OFK Writing About Literature
Oct 11 - Tuesday, Fall Break -- NO CLASS !!
Oct 13 - Thursday, Frankenstein Response To OFK Due Paper 2
Oct 18 - Tuesday, Frankenstein
Oct 20 - Thursday, Library Visit
Oct 25 - Tuesday, Finish Frankenstein
Oct 27 - Thursday, Conferences
Nov 1 - Tuesday, Othello Act I-2
Nov 3 - Thursday, Othello Act 3
Nov 8 - Tuesday, Othello Act 4-5
Nov 10 - Thursday, Things Fall Apart
Nov 15 - Tuesday, Things Fall Apart
Nov 17 - Thursday, Things Fall Apart
Nov 22 - Tuesday, Presentations Literary Analysis Due Paper 3
Nov 24 - Thursday, Thanksgiving Holiday NO CLASS !!
Nov 29 - Tuesday, Presentations
Dec 1 - Thursday, Presentations Portfolios Due
Remember to keep up with your weekly reading journal!