English 100: Writing I

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Dr. Sylvia Henneberg      email: s.henneberg@morehead-st.edu
office: 421D                                 classroom: CB 407/105
office hours: M-F1 10:20-11:20 a.m.                           period: MWF1 9:10-10:10/11:30-12:30
phone: 783-5288 (o)                                                   credit hours: 3

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COURSE POLICIES

course description and objectives:
· English 100 covers various modes of writing such as the personal response, the summary, the synthesis, the critical analysis, and the research paper. One of the best ways to learn writing is by writing, and for that reason students in this course will be asked to do a lot of drafting, editing, and revising.
· We will frequently share work with one another, either in peer-response sessions or other collaborative efforts, thereby enhancing our writing by collecting responses from fellow writers.
· As we conduct various discussion, language, writing, research, and peer-response workshops, our goals are to learn to communicate accurately and effectively within different modes of written expression, to locate, select, organize, and present information efficiently, to think and reason analytically, to make informed and ethical value decisions, and to analyze and critically evaluate a wide range of ideas, arguments, and points of view. We will moreover seek to develop creative capacities and acquire skills in working with others as a member of a team.
· English 100 stresses academic writing, a kind of writing that will be essential to success in the academic and professional world. Accordingly, students' writing must follow the conventions of Standard American English and Grammar.

An essential objective of this course is:
· Developing skill in oral and written expression.

An important objective is:
· Learning to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view.

required texts:
· Amy Tan. The Joy Luck Club. New York: Ivy Books, 1989.
· Erich Maria Remarque. All Quiet on the Western Front. 1928. Trans. A.W. Wheen. New York: Fawcett Crest, 1994.
· Art Spiegelman. Maus: A Survivor's Tale. Vol. 2. New York: Pantheon Books, 1991.
· Christina A. Hunt and Thomas N. Huckin. The New Century Handbook. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.
· A college-level dictionary.

further requirements:
· Regular class attendance with all required course materials. After six absences, no matter what the reasons may be, your final grade will be lowered one half grade for each additional absence. The class dynamic depends on your presence. Save your absences for illness and emergencies as it is always difficult and often impossible to make exceptions for individuals while remaining fair to the whole class.
· Punctuality. Late arrivals cause class interruptions. For every two late arrivals you will be assessed one absence. I consider you late if you arrive after I have called roll.
· Careful reading and preparation of all assignments. For every two times that you are obviously not fully prepared for class your oral participation grade will be lowered by one half grade. You may make up for your failure to prepare and participate by visibly working harder than average during the following days.
· All assignments must be handed in on time to receive full credit. Under extraordinary circumstances an assignment may be handed in late if you obtain permission beforehand. For every late day grades will be lowered by one letter grade.
· Access to a computer with WWW browsing capabilities.

recommended materials:
· notebook or section of a notebook to be used as a grammar log
· notebook or section of a notebook for general notes
· folder for all drafts, papers, and in-class essays
· floppy disk
· e-mail account
· CD-ROM drive

evaluation:  
summary: 5%                        
personal response: 5%
critical analysis: 10%                                                    
argumentative essay: 20%
grammar test: 10%
synthesis/annotated bibliography: 10%
research paper: 20%
oral participation: 10%
in-class essays: 10%

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summary (5%):
The first assignment consists of a 2-page typed summary.

personal response 2 (5%):
This assignment consists of a 2-page typed personal response about the summarized text. A sincere attempt at MLA-style is required.

critical analysis (10%):
Students will write a 3-page typed critical analysis in the form of a book review. Students will summarize the text they are critiquing and then attempt to give persuasive, objective reasons for their evaluation. Good MLA-style required.

argumentative essay (20%):
Students will write a 4-5-page paper in which they will make a case for one artistic treatment of a topic, in this case of the Holocaust, over all others discussed. Arguments may incorporate a rhetorical analysis. Excellent MLA-style required.

grammar test (10%):
Students will demonstrate their mastery of subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, and apostrophes. They will identify and correct comma splices, sentence fragments, and fused sentences as well as other commonly made errors.

synthesis or annotated bibliography (10%):
In preparation for the research paper, this project consists of a 2-page annotated bibliography (5-6 sources) or a 2-page typed synthesis of the sources you plan to use.

research paper (20%):
This assignment draws on all previously acquired skills and builds directly on the synthesis. Students will write a 6-page typed research paper demonstrating familiarity with library research methods as well as internet and/or field research techniques. Excellent MLA-style required.

oral participation (10%):
Oral participation consists of responding to my and fellow students' comments, asking and answering questions, volunteering information, suggesting new aspects and topics, and generally taking an active part in the discussions we conduct. Simple presence does not merit credit but is instead considered a given.

in-class essays (10%):
Every student will be responsible for administering one handwritten in-class assignment. Your duties will be to 1) devise a topic related to the readings of the week, 2) show me the topic you have chosen before class, 3) come to class a few minutes early and write the topic on the board, 4) time your fellow classmates as they write a ten-minute essay, 5) grade and comment on the essays and return them to me within one week, 6) provide me with a cover sheet indicating the grader's name, the topic s/he selected, and the date the essay was administered. The topic you create should reflect what you find to be the most interesting, important, or even confusing element of the text. Your topic may be thematic (focusing on race relations, family dynamics, alienation, etc.) or technical (concentrating on stylistic choices such as setting, point of view, characterization, use of irony, etc.). Your topic should have a very narrow focus and include key words (like analyze, summarize, compare, define) that will enable your classmates to quickly devise a writing strategy. Grading will be conducted holistically on a scale from zero to ten. Your focus as a grader should be on content and structure. You should mark spelling, grammar, and mechanical errors but not penalize the student for them unless you no longer understand his/her ideas. Please pay careful attention to how words are used, the depth of insight, and the clarity, grace, and coherence of sentences, paragraphs, and the essay as a whole. Be sure to comment on the essays so that your peers understand why they received the score you gave them. As the instructor, I will double-check all grades and take the liberty to make changes if necessary. The following is a loose guide to grading:

10 Excellent. Perfect. Very detailed. You can find no room for improvement.
7-9 Very good. Though not perfect, the ideas and insights are persuasive, and the argument, paragraphs, and sentences are clear, coherent, and interesting.
4-6 The essay is flawed to the extent that you find yourself filling in gaps and details in the argument. Or the argument seems fine, but poor diction, sentence structure, or paragraph organization makes the essay awkward and confusing.
1-3 Incoherent essay. The writer does not seem to grasp the topic. You find yourself working extremely hard trying to make sense of the paper.
0 The writer of the essay has not done the reading or has failed to write anything of acceptable length.

You may drop your three lowest grades and not have them count toward the 10% of your final grade. This assignment cannot be made up, so any missing essays caused by either excused or unexcused absences will have to figure into the number of scores you may drop.

student partners:
In the first week, I will set up permanent student partnerships for the entire semester. Partners will be responsible for each other in the event of absence (i.e., sharing lecture notes, reminding each other of deadlines, exchanging information about syllabus changes, etc.). You may also want to study together and exchange and edit papers before you turn them in. You and your partner are responsible for the success of your learning experience.

academic honesty:
The Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Philosophy is strongly committed to academic honesty. For your information, here is the definition of plagiarism:

                             Using another author's words, sentences, or even ideas without explicit acknowledgment is plagiarism. If you quote directly from a source, put the sentence(s) or portion(s) of the sentence(s) you use in quotation marks. Then indicate your debt with a footnote or a parenthetical annotation.

The consequences of plagiarism range from failing the class to being expelled from the university. Plagiarism will most certainly have serious repercussions on your academic as well as professional future. For further information on plagiarism and on how to use sources responsibly, see The New Century Handbook, pages 201-10.

American with Disabilities Act (ADA):
In compliance with the American with Disabilities Act, all qualified students enrolled in this course are entitled to "reasonable accommodations." It is the student's responsibility to inform me of any special needs before the end of the second week of classes.

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DAILY SCHEDULE

week 1   |   week 2   |   week 3   |   week 4   |   week 5   |   week 6
week 7   |   week 8   |   week 9   |   week 10   |   week 11
week 12   |   week 13   |   week 14
week 15   |   week 16
week 17

Week 1: Introduction
· M 8/23: Introduction to the course.
· W 8/25: Interviews, organization, first impressions. Writing workshop #1: Introduction to MLA-style: Formatting your papers.
· F1 8/27: Organization of student partners. Discussion of Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club, 5-33.

Week 2:
· M 8/30: In-class essay #1. Discussion of The Joy Luck Club, 42-63. Writing workshop #2: New Century, 198-210, 11a-c: "Using sources." Suggested browsing: http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/QuoSuccessfulSummary.html.
· W 9/1: Discussion of The Joy Luck Club, 241-73. Writing workshop #3: New Century, 210-14, 11d: "Using sources" continued.

Week 3:
· M 9/7: Labor Day: No class.
· W 9/8: Class meets in CB 105. Discussion of The Joy Luck Club, 274-87. Writing workshop #4: New Century, 248-56, 13a: "Document by using MLA system." Suggested browsing: http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/mlamenu.htm.
· F1 9/10: No class.

Week 4:
· M 9/13: In-class essay #2. Language workshop #1: New Century, 501-21, 24a-d: "Sentence structure." Suggested browsing: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/writers/by-topic.html and http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/bldsent.html.
· W 9/15: Class meets in CB 105. Full-length draft of summary and personal response due. Peer-editing workshop #1.

Week 5:
· M 9/20: Summary & personal response due. Screening of The Joy Luck Club. Language workshop #2: New Century, 522-29, 25a-f: "Pronoun case." Suggested browsing: http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/pronouns.html, http://www.edunet.com/english/grammar/pronoun.html, and http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Files/80.html.
· W 9/22: Screening of The Joy Luck Club continued. Writing workshop #5: New Century, 111-20, 7a-c: "Formulating arguments." Suggested browsing: http://www.eslplanet.com/teachertools/argueweb/frntpage.htm and http://cspnt4.pinc.com/ddgram/index.html. Begin reading Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, 1-33.
· F1 9/24: In-class essay #3. Screening of The Joy Luck Club continued. Continue reading All Quiet, 35-74.

Week 6:
· M 9/27: In-class essay #4. Discussion of All Quiet, 1-97.
· W 9/29: Discussion of All Quiet, 97-124. Language workshop #3: New Century, 530-49, 26a-h: "Verbs." Suggested browsing: http://webster.commnet.edu/hp/pages/darling/grammar/verbs.htm and http://owl.english.purdue.edu/writers/by-topic.html#parts.

Week 7:
· M 10/4: In-class essay #5. Discussion of All Quiet, 124-164.
· W 10/6: Discussion of All Quiet, 164-98. Language workshop #4: New Century, 550-57, 27a-b: "Agreement." Suggested browsing: http://webster.commnet.edu/hp/pages/darling/grammar/sv_agr.htm, http://webster.commnet.edu/hp/pages/darling/grammar/pronouns.htm, and http://www.wisc.edu/writetest/Handbook/SubjectVerb.html.
· F1 10/8: In-class essay #6. Discussion of All Quiet, 199-239. Writing workshop #6: New Century, 124-27, 7e: "Formulating arguments." Suggested browsing: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Files/123.html.

Week 8:
· M 10/11: Discussion of All Quiet, 239-97. Writing workshop #7: New Century, 131-34, 7g: "Formulating arguments" continued.
· W 10/13: Class meets in CB 105. Full-length draft of critical analysis due. Peer-editing workshop #2. Writing workshop #8: New Century, 257-78, 13a: "Document by using the MLA system." Suggested browsing: http://www.mla.org/main_stl.htm#sources.

Week 9:
· M 10/18: Midpoint. Critical analysis due. Screening of Schindler's List.
· W 10/20: Screening of Schindler's List continued. Language workshop #5: New Century, 565-71, 29a-d: "Sentence Fragments." Suggested browsing: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Files/67.html and http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/fragments.htm.
· F1 10/22: In-class essay #7. Screening of Schindler's List continued.

Week 10:
· M 10/25: Screening of Schindler's List continued. Language workshop #6: New Century, 572-76, 30a-d: "Comma Splices and Run-on Sentences." Suggested browsing: http://webster.commnet.edu/hp/pages/darling/grammar/runons.htm and http://www.wisc.edu/writetest/Handbook/CommonErrors.html.
· W 10/27: In-class essay #8. Art Spiegelman, Maus II: A Survivor's Tale, 3-74.

Week 11:
· M 11/1: Class meets in CB 105. Maus II, 75-134. Research workshop #1: New Century, 167-84, 9a-d: "Using the Internet for Research." Suggested browsing: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html, http://magi.com/~mmelick/it96jan.htm, and http://www.onlineinc.com/onlinemag/MayOL/zorn5.html.
· W 11/3: Etty Hilleshum. "Letter from a Nazi Concentration Camp" (handout). Language workshop #7: New Century, 577-81, 31a-d: "Pronoun Reference." Suggested browsing: http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/pronref.html. Language workshop #8: New Century, 582-87, 32a-e: "Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers." Suggested browsing: http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/msplmod.html and http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Files/24.html.
· F1 11/5: In-class essay #9. György Kádár (slide presentation).

Week 12:
· M 11/8: Class meets in CB 105. Research workshop #2: New Century, 185-97,10a-b: "Evaluating Electronic and Print Sources." Suggested browsing: http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/webeval.htm and http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/skill26.htm.
· W 11/10: Class meets in CB 105. Full-length draft of argumentative essay due. Peer-editing workshop #3. Language workshop #9: New Century, 723-27,49a-d: "The Apostrophe." Suggested browsing: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Files/13.html.

Week 13:
· M 11/15: Argumentative essay due. Language workshop #10: New Century, 702-14, 46a-j: "The Comma." Suggested browsing: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/writers/by-topic.html#Punctuation and http://webster.commnet.edu/hp/pages/darling/grammar/commas.htm.
· W 11/17: Screening of Life is Beautiful. Language workshop #11: New Century, 715-18, 47a-e: "The Semicolon." Suggested browsing: http://www.wisc.edu/writetest/Handbook/Semicolons.html and http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/semicoln.html. Language workshop #12: New Century, 719-22, 48a-f: "The Colon." Suggested browsing: http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/colon.html.
· F1 11/19: Grammar test. Screening of Life is Beautiful continued.

Week 14: Mostly Thanksgiving
· M 11/22: In-class essay #10. Screening of Life is Beautiful continued.
· W 11/24: Thanksgiving break. No class.

Week 15:
· M 11/29: Synthesis or annotated bibliography due. Research workshop #3: New Century, 215-27, 12a-e: "Writing a Research Paper." Suggested browsing: http://www.researchpaper.com and http://www.ipl.org/teen/aplus.
· W 12/1: Research workshop #4 (on your own): New Century, 227-45, 12f: "Review an annotated student research paper." Conferences.
· F1 12/3: Class meets in CB 105. Full-length draft of research paper due. Workshop on research papers: Thesis check.

Week 16:
· M 12/6: Conferences.
· W 12/8: Research paper due. Student evaluations.

Week 17: Finishing up
· F 12/17: Receive synthesis or annotated bibliography and research papers back between 1-3 p.m.

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This syllabus provides a general plan and is subject to change.
Check the blackboard regularly for announcements.
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Writing Help:

Reference Materials:

Research Tools:

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Newspapers and Current Events:

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COURSE POLICIES | DAILY SCHEDULE | WRITERS' LINKS

CURRENT COURSES | HOME