English 1011 Course Syllabus
Early College Experience
Seminar in Academic Writing through Nonfiction
Fall 2011
Instructor: Theresa Vara-Dannen
University High School of Science & Engineering
351 Mark Twain Drive
Hartford, CT 06112
Office: Room 327 UHSSE
Office hours: daily 7-8:15, and by appointment
Email:
Required Texts:
Diana Hacker, Pocket Style Manual.
The Art of the Personal Essay edited by Philip Lopate
*Additional materials and handouts will be required, as well as film viewings.
Course Overview
Many students sign up for college level English courses fearing the workload. From the first day of class, I advise students to let go of their preconceptions about both the burdens of the class and the challenges of deep reading. Books, in general, were written not to torture us, but to make our lives fuller and more thoughtful. We will not be discussing the insignificant in class: this is the stuff of life itself- love, death, passion, lies, good and evil.
Our class will be a workshop in which to analyze prose, read great writing closely, debate meaning and significance. Students must be educated to read deeply, widely, constantly. They must not accept the literal, shallow meaning of the words they read; they must see through a text and hear the author’s voice in their ears and understandthe work’s meaning on the deepest level.
One way to appreciate the beauty of the works is to have students choose their favorite passages in the works assigned. They will be asked to copy these passages into their notebooks so they become more attentive to how these pieces were put together. In so doing, they will form a collection of extracts of particular meaning and beauty to the students, and they may become, with any luck, a source of comfort and wisdom.
In addition, on a daily basis, we will take passages from the texts we are reading to examine their significance in light of the work as a whole or to determine what these passages elucidate on their own. This practice, though it takes only 15 minutes or so per day, eases the way for students when they must write analytical essays. After completing each book, students are given a writing prompt so they can practice applying their analytical skills and argumentation. Furthermore, each essay students read will accrete to form a cumulative impression, and students will be required to allude to these many essay strands as their reading and essay-writing progress.
The work of the course will be exactly as described in the University of Connecticut course catalog: “Instruction in academic writing through non-fiction reading. Assignments emphasize interpretation, argumentation, and reflection. Revision of formal assignments and instruction ongrammar, mechanics and style.”
Course Goals
This course is designed to hone student skills in academic writing, which will be necessary across the curriculum and in professional life. Students will learn to think critically and write analytically about difficult readings, and to converse insightfully about those readings. The goal is to learn to write essays that present a cohesive argument, supported by critical textual evidence. In close reading, rereading, expansion and revising, your essay response to the literature will be focused and fluent. By the end of the semester, students will have a portfolio of writing documenting their advancement, and creating a body of analytical writing written in their unique critical voice. Most importantly, students should come to understand this process as a dialogue with the best minds of literature.
Implicit in the course goals are those listed by the English Department under the headings of Critical Literacy, Rhetorical Knowledge, Logic and Use of Academic Conventions and Reading and Writing Processes. Well-written though they are, they are known to the members of the English Department and need not be reiterated here.
Grading Rationale
Essays and tests: 80% Most essays will be begun in class; rough drafts will then be peer-edited before students revise essays for tutorial workshops. The student will then self-edit, proofread and type the final product. The research paper will be weighted more heavily than essays. Tests will be given frequently to encourage compliance with reading assignments and to assess student comprehension. Vocabulary, grammar and literary devicestests will also be given regularly.
Participation 20% Participation includes all homework;active discussion;preparation and feedback in peer conferencing; in-class assignments; your response to instructor-conferencing;
vocabulary exercises; note-taking on texts; and the phases of going from rough draft to final paper, all of which depend upon punctuality and class attendance.
Assessments
In each unit, students will be tested on reading content, vocabulary, grammar, and literary devices. Writing assignments will include college essays, persuasive and argumentative essays, compare/contrast, synthesis and analytical essays, along with letter-writing.
Course Requirements:
*In order to pass this class, the UConn English Department requires a minimum of 45 pages of polished writing, including three 5-7 page papers and one 8-10 page research paper relating to our readings. In addition to the four papers, other response writing will make up the balance of the page requirements. Proof-read and double-space your essays, following an MLA format.These essays will be the focus of much of our in-class and out-of-class work. They are central to your final grade.
*Homework- Homework is part of your class participation grade. Do it all!
*Conferences - You are required to have a peer conference and an individual conference with me for the first three papers. For the peer conference, you will need to have thought carefully about each group member’s essay and prepared a constructive written response to it. There is also a mandatory midterm conference, which will help you to set goals for the remainder of your semester.
*Final exams are required by the department.
Policies and Procedures:
Grading:
Papers, Peer Responses, and Written Assignments: 60%
Homework: 20%
Final Exam: 20%
Attendance Policy: This courserequires you to be in classand on task in order to succeed. Tardiness or absences make it impossible to keep up with the peer-editing, conferencing and assignments, and thus will seriously damage your grade.
Late Papers: Assignments will lose 20 points per school day late, even if you are absent.
Plagiarism: Academic dishonesty of any kind will earn you a zero in the assignment. University High School is committed to the school Honor Code Constitution in the Student Handbook. Please consult it, or a member of the Honor Board, if you have any questions.
Revisions: You will turn in one formal revision of each of the first three papers as part of the workshop process. You are also allowed one “bonus” revision on any of the first three papers after the grade is given; this revision would be due a week after you receive the grade. The grade for this revision will replace the original paper grade.
Tests: Expect reading tests almost daily. You must keep up with your reading and take useful notes.
Tentative Course Schedule:
Short essays will be added as we go along.
August
30 TIntroduction and Summer Reading Test; college essays due Sept. 6
September:
1 Th“Of Greatness” by Abraham Cowley and college essay discussion.
6 T through 15 T College essay conferences and “Some Blind Alleys: A Letter” by E. M. Cioran; “The Crack-up” by F. Scott Fitzgerald; “For My Brothers and Sisters in the Failure Business” by Seymour Krim.
20 T Reading #1 - review and take notes. *1-2 page response paper due.
22 Th Reading #2 “An Hour or Two Sacred to Sorrow” by Richard Steele.
27 T“Aunt Harriet” by Hubert Butler
29 Th “Meatless Days” by Sara Suleri
October:
4T *Drafts of Paper #1 due (5 copies in class)
“Once More to the Lake” by E. B. White
6Th Peer Conferencing: Groups 1,2,3
“Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin
11 T “Split at the Root” by Adrienne Rich
13 Th “Under the Influence” by Scott Russell Sanders
18 T Peer Conferencing: Groups 4,5
“Such, Such Were the Joys” by George Orwell
20 Th *Paper #1 DUE; sign up for individual conferences
“My Confession” by “Mary McCarthy
25 T “Hateful Things” by Sei Shonagon
27 Th “On Some Verses of Virgil” by Michel de Montaigne
November:
1 T “Love Letters” by Richard Steele
3 Th *Drafts of Paper #2 due (5 copies in class)
“The Threshold and the Jolt of Pain” by Edward Hoagland
8 T Peer Conferencing: Groups 1,2,3
10 Th Peer Conferencing: Groups 4,5
“Late Victorians” by Richard Rodriguez
15 T *Paper #2 DUE; sign up for individual conferences
17 Th *Presentations
“An Essay on the Noble Science of Self-Justification” by Maria Edgeworth
22 T *Presentations. “Dream Children” by Charles Lamb
29 Th *Presentations. “On Marriage” by Robert Louis Stevenson
December:
1 T “He and I” by Natalia Ginzburg
6 Th “Street Haunting” by Virginia Woolf
8 T “Blindness” by Jorge Luis Borges
13 Th *Drafts of Paper #3 due (5 copies in class)
15 T Peer Conferencing: Groups 1,2,3
20 Th Peer Conferencing: Groups 4,5
22 “Leaving the Movie Theatre” by Roland Barthes
January:
3 T *Paper #3 DUE; sign up for individual conferences
5 Th “Seeing” by Annie Dillard
13 Th“On Being an American” by H.L. Mencken
18 Th *Paper #4 DUE
20 Last Class - Review for Final Exam
Other Considerations:
*Keeping a writing portfolio will make writing conferences more productive, and will keep you aware of your progress through the semester. It will also make it easier for you to prepare for the final exam.