Writing 115: Introduction to College Writing

Instructor: David Bockoven Fall 2009

(541) 543-3429 or (541) 683-7891 CRN 21428

email: Tues 6:00-8:50

Office: BC 102C and NSH-112 (541-917-4548) BC 104

Hours: Tu/Th 2:30-3:30 (NSH) and by appointment (BC)

Course Objectives

Writing 115 introduces college level critical inquiry in academic and professional reading and writing. Students critically read, summarize, and respond in paragraph format. Students develop expository essay writing skills, review conventions, and use individual and collaborative processes. Note: This course does not satisfy institutional writing requirements for the degree seeking or transfer student. Class operates by the model of active learning—exercising one's critical reading skills and asking independent questions. Class format is primarily group discussion and group workshops.

Requirements
Text: Models for Writers, Tenth Edition. Rosa and Eschholz, eds.

Also strongly recommended: portable dictionary and grammar handbook

Assignments: Two Sets of Summary/Response Paragraphs; Two Medium-Length Essays (2-3 pages each); In-class / Homework Assignments (including Practice Final Exam; Peer Reviews; Quizzes; In-Class Writing; Reading Summaries; Reading Journals; etc.); Final Exam

Prerequisite: Placement based on pre-enrollment testing (CPT) or by passing WR 095 with a grade of C or better. Students may challenge their mandatory placement, with an advisor's approval, by signing a self-placement form through their counselor.

Policies and Procedures
Grades: w 20% Two Summary/Response Paragraph Sets (10% per Set)

w 30% Two Medium-Length Essays (15% per Essay)

w 30% Departmental Final Exam

w 15% Homework / In-class Work (Peer Reviews, Quizzes, Etc.)

w 5% Participation (Attendance, Contribution to Class Discussions)

Attendance and Class Format: Class format is primarily discussion, rather than lecture; therefore, much of what goes on in class cannot be made up. More than three absences will likely cause you to fail the class because you will have missed in-class activities and essential material difficult to catch up with. Solid preparation work on your part by reading and being prepared to discuss assigned essays from the textbook will ensure livelier discussions and a more productive use of class time.

Papers: Essays and paragraphs are due at the beginning of class on the assigned day. Late papers and paragraphs will not be accepted if turned in more than a week after original due date. Papers and paragraphs should be typed, double-spaced, carefully proofread, and include your name, date, class name, essay description, and my name. Save all work you do for this class. Subsequent versions of essays and paragraphs submitted should include previous versions turned in along with my comments and peer reviews. Revisions are almost always appreciated and encouraged, but they should be completed no later than two weeks after being returned. Work may be turned in for me between classes at the Benton Center or e-mailed to me as an attachment. I can only download attachments if the file was created using MicroSoft Word program (only *.doc format, not *.docx format) or in “rich text format.”

Grading Criteria: When I read student work, I look for a number of qualities including unity of purpose, specificity of detail, and coherence of progression. Essays are given a holistic letter grade based on five criteria: argument, critical reading, organization, audience, and sentence-level writing. “Argument” includes how effectively the paper presents a thesis and supports it through relevant examples. Students can demonstrate their critical reading skills by how they use details from sources to offer a fresh perspective on the topic that goes beyond a bland summary. The paper’s organization into paragraphs should follow from the paper’s main purpose (form follows function). Good papers are often an implicit dialogue between an author and reader—a good writer will anticipate how a potential audience will relate to the paper. Students should write in complete sentences that avoid grammatical errors (especially comma splices!), awkward phrasings, and mistakes in punctuation, but beyond that students should cultivate a personal writing style with an interesting variety of sentence and phrase structures.

College Resources: Computer Lab in Benton Center BC-222; Computer Lab in Albany (Forum 204) and Learning Resource Center (WH-212); Writing Desk at Albany's Learning Resource Center in WH-212; Writing Desk in Benton Center’s Learning and Career Center; On-Line Writing Lab (OWL) http://lbcc.writingcenteronline.net/WCenterWebTools/OWL/owl.php

Etiquette: One of the goals of this course is to construct a "discourse community," a space in which students feel comfortable expressing their ideas openly. This means that in class discussions and peer reviews some basic rules of etiquette should be followed. No personal attacks will be tolerated. Also, avoid talking while someone else is speaking or frequent use of cell phones/pagers.

Accommodation: If you have a physical or learning disability that may affect your performance in this class, please see me the first week of the term so we can discuss whatever accommodations may be necessary. Disability documentation must be completed through the Office of Disability Services (ODS).

Plagiarism: This college punishes incidents of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism is subject to disciplinary action as described in Student Rights and Responsibilities. All work submitted in this course must be your own and be written exclusively for this course. Students may only seek assistance in writing their papers from authorized sources (me, members of class peer review group, or university-approved tutorial service). The use of sources (ideas, quotations, paraphrases) must be properly documented. See me if you have any questions about your use of sources.

Tentative Schedule

(Please complete readings and writing assignments before coming to class; page numbers refer to textbook Models for Writers)

Date / Reading / Writing Assignment
9/29 / Week One: Welcome!
Introductions; Syllabus; Keller (76-80), Sedaris (290-297)
10/06 / Week Two: From Reading to Writing
“From Reading to Writing” (43-70); Brody (152-157), Sherry (552-556)
10/13 / Week Three: The Writing Process
“The Writing Process” (7-42); King (504-509), Weeks (340-345) / Summary/Response Paragraphs #1.1
10/20 / Week Four: Thesis
“Thesis” (73-75), “Unity” (94-97); Collier (82-87), Gladwell (101-107) / Essay #1.1 (2-3 pages); Peer Review in class.
10/27 / Week Five: Organization
“Organization” (114-118), “Beginnings and Endings” (137-145); Mukherjee (126-131), King (132-136) / Summary/Response Paragraphs #1.2
11/03 / Week Six: Paragraph Transitions
“Paragraphs” (169-172), “Transitions” (192-195); Whaley (180-184), Gibbs (208-216) / Essay #1.2 (2-3 pages)
11/10 / Week Seven: Language of the Essay
“Effective Sentences” (217-221) “Diction and Tone” (273-277); “Figurative Language” (303-304); Walker (222-227), Vowell (298-302), Ackerman (318-322)
Date / Reading / Writing Assignment
11/17 / Week Eight: Illustration
“Illustration” (325-328); Goldberg (258-261), Pinker (346-356) / Summary/Response Paragraphs #2.1; Practice Final Essay Exam (In-Class)
11/24 / Week Nine: Comparison and Contrast
“Comparison/Contrast” (474-478); Twain (479-482), Braaksma (484-488) / Essay #2.1 (2-3 pages); Peer Review in class
12/01 / Week Ten: Definition and Classification
“Definition” (432-434), “Division and Classification” (448-451); Friedman (435-438), Lutz (467-473) / Summary/Response Paragraphs #2.2
12/08 / Final’s Week
Final Exam (in class) / Essay #2.2 (2-3 pages)

E-mail all final revisions to me by noon, Thursday, Dec. 10th as an attachment.

“Did I Miss Anything”?: Question frequently asked by students

after missing a class (a poem written by Tom Wayman, a Canadian poet)

Nothing. When we realized you weren’t here we sat with our hands folded on our desks in silence, for the full two hours

Everything. I gave an exam worth 40 percent of the grade for this term and assigned some reading due today on which I’m about to hand out a quiz worth 50 percent

Nothing. None of the content of this course has value or meaning. Take as many days off as you like: any activities we undertake as a class I assure you will not matter to you or me and are without purpose

Everything. A few minutes after we began last time a shaft of light suddenly descended and an angel or other heavenly being appeared and revealed to us what each woman or man must do to attain divine wisdom in this life and the hereafter. This is the last time the class will meet before we disperse to bring the good news to all people on earth

Nothing. When you are not present how could something significant occur?

Everything. Contained in this classroom is a microcosm of human experience assembled for you to query and examine and ponder.

This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered

but it was one place

And you weren’t here

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