Office Hours: 9:30-12:20 TR, and by Appointment

English 305: Modes of Writing

Dr. Steven Frye

On-Line (WebCT) Course

Winter 2010

Office Hours: 9:30-12:20 TR, and by appointment

Office: Faculty Office 315

Phone: (661) 952-5095

E-mail: nly if necessary. Please Use WebCT email for this course.

Course Description and Objectives

This is a course designed to introduce students to the writing skills necessary to produce expository, narrative, and academic essays. The course will focus on the rhetorical strategies, structures, and forms used in effective expository writing. Students will develop reading and research skills and they will learn how to make logical and persuasive arguments in writing. They will develop the ability to read arguments, understand them, communicate them to others, and incorporate them into their own.

This is an online course using WebCT. We will meet two days a week using the discussion board. The discussion board is not a chat room. It is not live. We will not meet in real time, but you will be required to have postings and posted assignments completed in the discussion board by 8:00 A.M. on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the course. You will post and respond to postings on topics in both Mosaics and The Prose Reader. You will meet in assigned groups online through the discussion board. On those days, you will read the essays and assignments written by all members of your group and make extensive written comments. I will review all these comments, and I may occasionally comment on the quality and substance of your feedback. So please be thorough and enthusiastic in your discussion groups.

Please understand, in this online course prompt attention to schedule is important and will be a significant aspect of your grade. YOU MUST POST RESPONSES TO THE READINGS AND TO OTHER STUDENTS’ WORK BY 8:00 A.M. ON THE DATES IDENTIFIED. I WILL RESPOND REGULARLY TO YOUR POSTINGS.

I WILL READ ALL YOUR POSTINGS AND EVALUATE YOUR THOROUGHNESS AND ENTHUSIASM. ON THAT BASIS, I WILL ASSIGN YOUR CLASS PARTICIPATION GRADE.

DRAFTS OF YOUR ESSAYS SUBMITTED TO YOUR GROUPS FOR CRITIQUE SHOULD BE SUBMITTED IN THE DISCUSSION BOARD ROOM DESIGNATED FOR THAT GROUP. ALL OTHER POSTINGS SHOULD OCCUR IN THE MAIN DISCUSSION BOARD.

Course Requirements

This course will be portfolio based. You will write a series of essays and other writing assignments, revise them based upon feedback from other students and the instructor and submit them in a portfolio. The portfolio will contain one draftand one final revision for four writing projects. Thus the portfolio will contain eight items. The portfolio will then be graded holistically, receiving a single grade.

I will not make written comments on individual drafts throughout the term. I will read each draft and make a general comment to the class on the issues and problems I think need to be addressed in revision for the portfolio. I will be available to meet with you for any reason in my normal office hours, and I will be pleased and ready to read and comment on your drafts in my office at any time. The portfolio will contain the following assignments.

Personal Narrative
Print Media Analysis
Dramatic Analysis
Essay on a Contemporary Social Issue
Portfolio Grade: 50% Portfolio Due the Day of the Final Examination
Group Participation on WebCT Discussion Board: 20%
Final Examination: An in-class essay modeled on the GWAR Exam: 30%. This exam will be given on-campus at a location I will identify during the final examination period.

Required Texts

Flachmann, Kim, The Prose Reader: Essays for Thinking, Reading, and Writing. Eighth Edition.

Flachmann, Kim and Michael Flachmann. Mosaics: Focusing on Essays. Fourth Edition.

Schedule

Week One:

1/7

Discussion Board: Introductions:

State your name, major, and anything about yourself that you are comfortable providing. Do include professional and educational goals.
Write a brief (at least one substantial paragraph) account of your writing experience: courses you have taken, when you took them, other writing you have done. This can include anything from essays and short stories, to poems, to letters. When do you write and why?
Write a brief statement (at least one substantial paragraph) about what you expect to learn in this course. Please move beyond completing the GWAR requirement.

Week Two

1/12

Readings: Mosaics, Part One

Discussion Board: Response to Part One of Mosaics,The Writing Process:

What does “writing as a process” mean and why is it important?
What does it mean to read critically and what practical tactics might we employ to read critically?
What does writing critically mean and how might critical writing be different in various writing genre such as personal narrative, academic writing, or social commentary?
How might you distinguish between revising and editing?

Post an account of your writing process. Provide a narrative description of how you go about writing an essay. Be honest about those areas where you think you cut corners and don’t do as you should. Consider the productive and valuable aspects of your process and the characteristics of your process you think could use improvement.
Post a general response to other students’ accounts. What might they improve or modify? What might you now borrow from their processes and use in your own?

1/14

Readings: Mosaics, Chapters 8 and 9

Personal Narrative: Discussion Postings

Describe five minutes of any day is as much detail as possible. Try to use all five senses, or at least four, and make sure there is a narrative, a sequence of events. Try to make this description/narrative compelling and interesting to read.
Read at least four narratives written by other students. Comment on them in a response sent to all of us. Was the writing sufficiently detailed? Did you feel motivated to read further? Did the writing seem to have a purpose?

Week Three

1/19

Discussion Board: Assignment #1, Personal Narrative

By 8:00 A.M. post the draft version of your personal narrative for group critique, in the discussion board room designated for your group.Compose them in a word processing document, then COPY them into the discussion board posting. DO NOT write them into the posting, and DO NOT attempt to attach the word processing document. Others may have difficulty opening it.
By 10:00 P.M. post your critiques of the personal narrative essays in the discussion board room designated for your group. Does the essay seem to have a purpose and a main idea? Is there sufficient detail to support the purpose and idea? Is there a narrative line that makes you want to read to the conclusion? Does the personal aspect of the story imply ideas and issues that concern us all that make it more than a journal entry but a work of literary non-fiction?
The answer to all of the above questions is a provisional “No.” At this stage in the writing process, there will always be room for improvement. Be polite, but critical.

1/21

Reading: The Prose Reader, Ray Bradbury, “Summer Rituals”

Discussion Board:

Post one paragraph responses to questions 1-4, which are at the end of the Bradbury essay.

Week Four

1/26

Readings: Mosaics, Chapters 11 and 12; The Prose Reader, Jay Weiner, “Sports Centered”

Discussion Board:

Respond to the reading in Mosaics. What are the characteristics of an effective thesis? What does it mean to analyze an issue or a topic? Why is audience important? What is the purpose of comparison and contrast? How might this method make for an effective argumentative essay?
Post one paragraph responses to questions 1-4, which are at the end of the Weiner essay.

1/28

Discussion Board:Assignment #2, Print Media Analysis

By 8:00 A.M. post your minimum five page drafts of your print media analyses, in the discussion board room designated for your group. Compose them in a word processing document, then COPY them into the discussion board posting. DO NOT write them into the posting, and DO NOT attempt to attach the word processing document. Others might not be able to open it.
By 10:00P.M. post your peer-critique responses to each essay in your group, based upon the following questions: 1) Is the thesis statement argumentative, specific, clear, and concise? 2) Are the body paragraphs analytical rather than summary, containing specific details that support the thesis? 3) Are there transitions between paragraphs that refer back to the thesis and bind the essay together as one complete whole? 4) Is the essay sufficiently proofread, with little or no grammar or punctuation errors? 5) Is the essay convincing and valid, whether you agree or not? Why or why not?
The answer to all of the above questions is a provisional “No.” At this stage in the writing process, there will always be room for improvement. Be polite, but critical.

Week Five

2/2

Readings: Mosaics, Chapters 13 and 15

Discussion Board:

Respond to the reading in Mosaics. What is the purpose of dividing and classifying? What might a thesis statement look like in an essay that involves dividing and classifying? What is the purpose of an essay that deals with cause and effect? What is the purpose of this kind of analysis? How you distinguish between cause, effect, and coincidence? What might a thesis statement look like that involves cause and effect? Compose one.

2/4

Reading:The Prose Reader, Bruce Catton, “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts”

Discussion Board:

Post one paragraph responses to questions 1-4, which are at the end of the Catton essay.

Week Six

2/9

Readings: Mosaics, Chapter 16; The Prose Reader, Barbara Ehrenreich, “The Ecstasy of War”

Discussion Board:

Respond to the reading in Mosaics. What kinds of support are often used in the argumentative essay? What are a few of the proper ways to handle evidence and support for your argument? What are some of the ethical pitfalls in handling evidence? What strategies might you employ to convince an uncommitted audience? What are the primary features of a thesis statement in an argumentative essay? Compose a thesis.
Post one paragraph responses to questions 1-4, which are at the end Ehrenreich.

2/11

View any modern film version of any Shakespeare play. There are many. Consider Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V or hisMuch Ado About Nothing, his recent As You Like It,or Oliver Parker’s Othello. But the choice is up to you, as long as the film is less than forty years old.

Week Seven

2/16

Discussion Board:Assignment #3, Dramatic Analysis

By 8:00 A.M. post your minimum five page drafts of your dramatic analysis,in the discussion board room designated for your group. Compose them in a word processing document, then COPY them into the discussion board posting. DO NOT write them into the posting, and DO NOT attempt to attach the word processing document. Others may not be able to open it.
By 10:00 P.M. post your peer-critique responses to each essay in your group, based upon the following questions: 1) Is the thesis statement argumentative, specific, clear, and concise? 2) Are the body paragraphs analytical rather than summary, containing specific details that support the thesis? 3) Are there transitions between paragraphs that refer back to the thesis and bind the essay together as one complete whole? 4) Is the essay sufficiently proofread, with little or no grammar or punctuation errors? 5) Is the essay convincing, whether you agree or not? Why or why not?
The answer to all of the above questions is a provisional “No.” At this stage in the writing process there will always be room for improvement. Be polite, but critical.

2/18

Readings:Mosaics, Chapters 17

Discussion Board:

Respond to the reading in Mosaics. What is the purpose of the research based essay? How is it different from personal narratives or other forms of the argumentative essay? Why are these differences important? To what extent are research based essays argumentative? What is the proper manner of dealing with opposing points of view? Compose a mock thesis for research essay.

Week Eight

2/23

Readings: Mosaics, Chapters 19 and 20

Discussion Board:

Respond to the reading in Mosaics.What are the characteristics of a credible source in a research paper? How do you determine a credible online source? What role do sources play in your argument? In other words, must you always agree with a source and, if not, what grounds may you employ to disagree? What is the essential structure of the research essay? What are its essential features?

2/25

Readings: The Prose Reader, Barbara Kingsolver, “Life is Precious, or It’s Not”

Discussion Board:

Post one paragraph responses to questions 1-4, which are at the end of Kingsolver.

Week Nine

3/2

Discussion Board:Assignment #4, Essay on a Contemporary Social Issue

By 8:00 A. M. post your minimum five page drafts of your essay on a contemporary social issue,in the discussion board room designated for your group. Compose them in a word processing document, then COPY them into the discussion board posting. DO NOT write them into the posting, and DO NOT attempt to attach the word processing document. Others might not be able to open it.
By 10:00 P.M. post your peer-critique responses to each essay in your group, based upon the following questions: 1) Is the thesis statement argumentative, specific, clear, and concise? 2) Are the body paragraphs analytical rather than summary, containing specific details that support the thesis? 3) Are there transitions between paragraphs that refer back to the thesis and bind the essay together as one complete whole? 4) Is the essay sufficiently proofread, with little or no grammar or punctuation errors? 5) Is the essay convincing, whether you agree or not? Why or why not?
The answer to all of the above questions is a provisional “No.” At this stage in the writing process there will always be room for improvement. Be polite, but critical.

3/4

In class writing (preparation for the final exam): Assignment to be posted on WebCT.

Week Ten

3/9 and 3/11

Portfolio Revision

This is a period in which you should begin extensive revision of all the work in your portfolios.

I will hold extended office hours for students from 9:00 A.M. until 12:00 P.M. to review and discuss portfolios. No appointments. First come first serve. But I will spend time with anyone who wants to see me. This is your opportunity for my individual feedback.

Week Eleven

3/16

Portfolio Revision, continued

Final Examination per the final examination schedule. Portfolios Due with the Final Examination

Writing Assignments

Essay #1 – Personal Narrative – In this essay, you will tell a story taken from your own life. You may combine elements of expository writing and description. Select an event and tell your story. In essays of this sort, it is best to avoid the extraordinary. Don’t use a major event such as a wedding or a birth, but work with a common event that on reflection assumed a genuine significance—a day or a moment that proved meaningful for some reason you could not have anticipated. Be specific in terms of timeframe. Use no more than a few days to frame the events in your narrative. Avoid sentimentality. Be descriptive and critical and attempt to discover the significance in the everyday. Try to move us and teach us.

Essay #2 – Print Media Analysis – In this essay you will select a particular issue that has been covered in the last two years in the national print media. You should include at least three sources: newspapers from major cities such as The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Chicago Sun Times, or any other large paper. You may also usemagazines such as Harpers, Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, etc. Analyze (do not summarize) how effectively the issue is covered and treated. Is the information provided to the reader clear and accurate? Is the issue explored analytically--with intelligence and depth? Is the treatment of the topic fair and unbiased? It is sometimes very appropriate for these articles to take firm positions on issues. But when they do, do they support their points of view with rigorous analysis, argumentation, and data? Your purpose here is to evaluate the media, not to take a position on the issue yourself. You might conceivably agree with a position taken but conclude that the coverage was inadequate. You should make use of the library to acquire back issues of the sources if necessary. Five pages minimum.

Essay #3 – Film Analysis – In this essay you will analyze the film version of a Shakespeare play. See my recommendations in the schedule. You will formulate a thesis relating to the film’s themes as you see them. Your thesis should explore the relationship between form and content. What is the playwright trying to say and how effectively does he say it? You may explore any combination of dramatic elements: dialogue, acting style, art direction, set and costume design. etc. (You pick. You need not cover them all.) Do not summarize. Assume your reader has seen this particular adaptation of the play. Analyze and make a claim about the film’s value. Five pages minimum.