English 1010: Expository Writing
Theme this semester: journeys, quests, and obsessions
Dr. Allison Smith/Fall 2003Office: PH 328B Office phone: 904-8266
Office hours: MWF: 9-11 and 1-3; T: 9-11; Th: by appt.
Email: (answered only during office hours)
Course Objectives: English 1010 is the first course in your two-semester freshman writing sequence. We will be concerned with both the process of writing and the actual text that you will produce. This means that you will not only be graded on the paper assignments themselves but also on the process you use in order to complete your assignments. We will focus on improving your knowledge of what makes an effective college-level essay and will spend time looking at strategies that will improve your papers on the levels of content, organization, word choice, grammar, and mechanics. We will be treating revision and editing as two separate processes, using peer review workshops for both revision and editing, and preparing a final portfolio that showcases writing improvement across the semester. In order to generate ideas for our class discussions and writing assignments, we will view films, read models of non-fiction writing in The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, and do supplemental reading as needed.
Required Textbooks:
USE THE CURRENT REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS HERE!
Required Materials:
Dictionary (for personal use and to bring to in-class workshops)
File folders: to hold journal entries, to hold papers to turn in, to be organized
E-mail address (note: you must e-mail me your address by the second day of class)
Access to the internet and word processing software (MS Word preferred)
Two floppy disks (one for you to save all your work and one to turn in to me with assignments)
Evaluation and Grading Scale:
To pass the course and earn three credit hours, you must achieve an overall class average of C- or better. Although I will use the grade of D in grading papers and assignments, anyone receiving an overall D grade will not pass the class.
Essay One (in-class diagnostic)0%
Essay Two (revised and edited draft)10%
Essay Three (revised and edited draft)15%
Essay Four (revised and edited draft)15%
Essay Five (revised and edited draft)15%
Essay Six (revised and edited draft)15%
Final Portfolio (all completed essays with 2 presented as best work)20%
Class Participation: attendance, homework, class work, workshops,
quizzes, tests, journals10%
Note: I will use an evaluation form when I grade your papers. Each essay’s evaluation form will focus particularly on writing strategies discussed in class prior to the writing assignment. When calculating your grade, I will take the percentage of the points you earn on the essay to the total possible points on the evaluation form. Use the following scale to convert these percentage grades to letter grades: 100%=A+, 95%=A, 92%=A-, 88%=B+, 85%=B, 82%=B-, 78%=C+, 75%=C, 72%=C-, 68%=D+, 65%=D, 62%=D-, 59.45% and below=F.
General guidelines:
*Be sure to visit the English Department’s website at for more information on MTSU’s policies on civility in the classroom, academic dishonesty, disabled services, and absences/tardies. Also available are the English Department’s standards, goals, writing requirements and grading procedures for English 1010.
*Tutoring services: The Writing Center is located in PH 325 for students to receive valuable one-on-one assistance with their writing. Tutoring is available by appointment only; don’t wait for the last minute to seek our help!
Paper guidelines:
*The theme for this semester’s writing assignments is journeys, quests, and obsessions. Per the English Department guidelines, you will be writing at least five essays of at least 550-750 words each. All essays must be turned in to me in a packet that includes all invention exercises, all drafts of the essay, all revision workshop copies and materials, and all editing workshop copies and materials. Forgetting to include any of these parts of the essay packets will reduce your essay grade by 5% for each missing component of the essay packet.
*All papers and assignments are due when they are due. However, life happens! You have one and only one exception to this late paper policy; you can turn one paper in up to 24 hours late (but absolutely not the final portfolio) without a grade penalty. Any other late papers after that will not be accepted.
*All papers (in-class and out-of-class) will be typed, double-spaced, and printed in dark readable print. In addition, all papers will use a 10 or 12-point font size and will have a title and the appropriate assignment block in the right-hand top corner of the first page. You need to follow these presentation guidelines whenever you turn in a paper to me; not following them will reduce your essay grade.
*Be sure to keep all materials in an organized folder. At the end of the semester, you will be turning in all class work, homework, journals, invention exercises, all drafts of essays, and graded essays.
Class guidelines:
*Attendance and class participation are both mandatory if you want to pass this course. At MTSU, the instructor sets the policy for attendance; be sure to understand my attendance policy before deciding to stay in this class. All absences negatively impact your grade in one way or another because each day of class prepares you for the next. In my class, absences are neither excused nor unexcused; you are allowed four absences for the semester. For each absence after the fourth, your final grade for the class will drop one full letter grade (10 points). The only exception to this rule is for university-sanctioned absences—if you will be missing class for university games, speech trips, livestock judging or some official university activity, please provide your absence schedule to me by the second week of classes. Only by giving me this notification prior to your absence will you be allowed to make up assignments.
*If you miss class and do not turn in assigned work before the missed class, you will not receive credit for the work. No exceptions. You will not receive credit for any in-class work that you miss; this is the price of being absent. Even so, missing a few in-class exercises (other than writing workshops) will not lower your grade significantly, unless you miss writing workshops or more than four days of class.
*Do not be late to class. If you arrive after I take roll (around five minutes into class), you are automatically considered absent. If you arrive after class starts but before I take roll, you will be marked tardy; two times tardy equals an absence for grading purposes.
*Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class. At minimum, you will receive a ZERO for a plagiarized paper. MTSU policy requires that I notify Judicial Affairs in any plagiarism case. This is a serious matter equivalent to criminal fraud or theft. It is my expectation and should be yours as well that as a university student you can do any assignment in this class without cheating. Please do all your own work; it is the only way you will improve your writing and critical thinking abilities.
*You will do informal journal writing both in and out of class on loose-leaf notebook paper and will organize these pages in a folder that will be collected at various times in the semester. Your journal grade will be based on the ratio of journal entries you complete to the total journal entries assigned. Journal entries should be around one page of a sheet of notebook paper (both sides) in length and must have the date and topic written at the top of the page for you to receive full credit. Expect about one or two journal entries per week as assignments. These entries are for your own benefit to help you gather ideas and practice things we go over in class. They will not be graded for grammar or spelling; however, the more you practice editing your writing, the better your writing will be.
*You will receive points for all in-class work, homework, and quizzes given. In addition to regular grades for homework and quizzes, you will receive points for completing in-class work, and contributing to the class through discussions about your work. When we have writing workshops in class, you must bring the appropriate number of papers and evaluate the required number of papers to receive full credit. At the end of the semester, I will calculate your grade for these activities based on the ratio of your earned points to the total points possible.
*Please Note: If you need special accommodations due to a disability, please provide a letter from Disabled Student Services to me at the beginning of the semester. I am happy to provide special accommodations but need to know in advance; please do not wait to give me your letter.
THIS IS A CONTRACT! This syllabus is a contract between you (as the student) and me (as the instructor). By staying in this class, you are agreeing to follow all the guidelines given above and to be responsible for your own actions.
****NOTE: THIS IS A SAMPLE SCHEDULE ONLY—CHANGE YOUR DATES!!!
General Schedule for the semester (subject to change, so keep it updated!):
**Note: Always bring your syllabus, texts, notebook, and folders to class.
Week One:
MTopic: Introduction to the course. Hwk: “Intro” Journal #1
WTopic: Meet the Class. Hwk Due: Journal #1.
FDiagnostic Essay (in class).
Week Two:
MTopic: The Writing Process. Have read SMG, chs. 1 and 11 and HHH, chs. 32 and 33.
WTopic: Essay Evaluation. Diagnostic Essay returned
FTopic: Remembering Events/Narration. Have read SMG, chs. 2 and 14.
Week Three:
MLABOR DAY HOLIDAY—NO CLASS
WTopic: Essay Two Discussion. Hwk Due: Invention Strategies and Journal for Essay Two.
FTopic: Paper Format Strategies (thesis, organization, …). Have read SMG, ch. 13.
Week Four:
MTopic: The Revising Process and Workshop. Bring two copies of Essay 2 to class. Hwk: Revise 1 paper.
WTopic: How to Revise Using Peer Comments. Hwk Due: Revised student paper to return to writer.
FTopic: The Editing Process and Workshop. Bring two copies of revised Essay 2 to class.
Week Five:
MDUE: Essay 2 packet.
WTopic: Remembering People/Description. Have read SMG, chs. 3 and 15.
FTopic: Essay Three Discussion. Hwk Due: Invention Strategies and Journal for Essay Three.
**NOTE: 9/16 is the last day to drop a course without a grade being posted to your transcript.
Week Six:
MTopic: Share Essay Three Topics/Outlines. Hwk Due: Rough Outline/Draft of Essay Three.
WTopic: Revision Workshop. Bring two copies of Essay 3 to class. Hwk: Revise 1 paper.
FTopic: Sentence Editing and the BIG RULE (Fragments, Comma Splices, Fused Sentences, Coordination,
Subordination). Have read: HHH, chs. 2, 3, and 24. Hwk Due: Revised student paper to return to writer.
Week Seven:
MTopic: Sentence Editing (continued). Hwk Due: Sentence Editing exercises.
WTopic: Editing Workshop. Bring two copies of revised Essay 3 to class.
FQuestions to me/from me about revising and editing your paper
Week Eight—Midterm Week:
MDUE: Essay 3 packet.
WTopic: Explaining a Concept/Defining/Classifying. Have read SMG, chs. 5, 16, and 17.
FTopic: Essay Four Discussion. Hwk Due: Invention Strategies and Journal for Essay Four.
Week Nine:
MTopic: Share Essay Three Topics/Rough Outlines. Hwk Due: Rough Outline for Essay Four.
WTopic: Revision Workshop. Bring two copies of Essay 4 to class. Hwk: Revise 1 paper.
FFALL BREAK—NO CLASS
**Note: 10/14 is the last day to drop a course with a “W” posted to your transcript.
Week Ten:
MTopic: Sentence Editing (Modification and Variety). Have read: HHH, chs. 25 and 30.
Hwk Due: Revised student paper to return to writer.
WTopic: Sentence Editing (continued). Hwk Due: Sentence Editing exercises.
FTopic: Editing Workshop. Bring two copies of revised Essay 4 to class.
Week Eleven:
MQuestions to me/from me about revising and editing your paper
WDUE: Essay 4 packet.
FTopic: Proposing a Solution/Comparing & Contrasting. Have read SMG, chs. 7 and 18.
Week Twelve:
MTopic: Essay Five Discussion. Hwk Due: Invention Strategies and Journal for Essay Five.
WTopic: Share Essay Five Topics/Rough Outlines. Hwk Due: Rough Outline for Essay Five.
FTopic: Revision Workshop. Bring two copies of Essay 5 to class. Hwk: Revise 1 paper.
Week Thirteen:
MTopic: Using Words Effectively. Have read: HHH, chs. 19, 20, and 21.
Hwk Due: Return revised paper to writer.
WTopic: Editing Workshop. Bring two copies of Essay 5 to class.
FDUE: Essay 5 packet.
Week Fourteen:
MTopic: Arguing a Position/Arguing. Have read SMG, chs. 6 and 19.
WTopic: Essay Six Discussion. Hwk Due: Invention Strategies and Journal for Essay Six.
FTopic: Revision Workshop. Bring one copy of Essay 6 to class.
Week Fifteen:
MTopic: Editing Workshop. Bring two copies of revised Essay 6 to class.
WDUE: Essay 6 packet.
FT-DAY HOLIDAY—NO CLASS
Week Sixteen:
MTopic: Final Portfolio. Bring all papers and supporting materials to class.
WTopic: Work on Portfolio.
FTopic: Work on Portfolio.