Course Overview

This course, ENGL111: English Composition, the first of three quarters of the required general education writing courses, is designed to introduce you to the writing process.  During the quarter, you will have an opportunity to use the stages of this process--pre-writing, drafting, revising, and editing to produce several examples of your own writing.  Properly understood, this process will facilitate your writing not only in this class but in any of your future classes which requires writing, or in any future situation where you are called upon to write.

General Information

Bruce Closser, Instructor
Nethery Hall 116
Office hours as posted.
471-3172 (campus); 473-5480 (home).  No calls after 10 please.
closserb@andrews.edu

Course Objectives

By the end of the quarter, you will:

• Understand that successful writers may occasionally enjoy moments of inspiration, but generally accept that writing is hard work which requires the comprehension of, and use of tested problem-solving strategies.
• Employ the stages of the problem-solving process to solve your own writing problems.
• Explore the nature of the writing process and the ways that it helps you understand how you write.  These include pre-writing, writing, revision, and editing strategies.
• Produce at least four significant pieces of writing representing different styles and modes.
• Publish at least four pieces of your own writing on a web page

Written Assignments

You will write four pieces during the quarter:

• Who am I   This piece will be an introduction to you.  The purpose of this piece is two-fold.  First, you will eventually revise this piece and publish it as an your introduction on your web page.  Second, it will serve as your introduction to the writing process.  You will write at least three versions of this piece which will help you to understand the value of writing multiple drafts and the role that audience plays in how your writing evolves.
• Web Page Analysis.  This piece will introduce you to the expository style which is typical of "school-like essays.  Although you will meet countless examples of expository essays, this one will employ the five-paragraph structure which features an introduction with thesis statement, three supporting points, and a conclusion.
• Two additional pieces of your choice.  In consultation with the instructor, identify and complete two additional writing tasks of your choice.  These may be pieces you are writing for another class but would like assistance with, or pieces you have wanted to write on your own.  In these pieces youll refine your writing process, meeting new pre-writing strategies, improving your writing style and your ability to assess and revise your writing to meet your intended objectives.

Grading

Your written work will be graded according to the attached evaluation form.  Take time to review the form before submitting your first writing since it will give you a general idea of what qualities and traits I look for in successful writing.

Each of the four written assignments you complete will be worth up to 100 points.  Class, conference, and required writing center attendance will be worth100 points.  Your grade for the quarter will be based on the total number of points you receive (450-500=A;  400-449=B;  350-399=C; 300-349=D)

Policies

These policies will be in force during the quarter:

• Attendance is assumed.  If you must miss class, please make prior arrangements when possible.
• Plagiarism will not be tolerated.  Evidence of plagiarism will result in your early dismissal from, or failure of the class.
• If you do not already have one, please acquire an e-mail account to facilitate communication.
• Written work may be submitted on floppy diskette or as an attachment to an e-mail message.
• Make back-up or hard copies of all your work.  You are responsible for lost or missing work.

Tentative Schedule of Activities

Watch the space below for a review of past activities and assignments as well as announcements of upcoming lecture and discussion topics, conference appointments, and writing due dates.  Future lecture and discussion topics are subject to change depending on the progress we are making and/or the availability of computer labs.

Week	Date	Activity
One	M/1/10	Introductions.  Overview to the course.  Lecture topic:  Why write?  Time-line assignment
	W/1/12	The myth of inspiration, and three kinds of strategies all writers know how to use. Writing as essentially a problem-solving activity.
	T/1/13	Playing psychologist: Read drafts to each other. Listen for unspoken, un-emphasized themes or ideas. Do Looping exercise for Wednesday. DUE:  "Who am I"  Draft 1
Two	M/1/17	MARTIN LUTHER KING, Jr. HOLIDAY   NO CLASS
	W/1/19	MM exercise. Building Blocks: Organizational Strategies Introduce Rhetorical Modes. Discuss analysis (thesis) mode. Identify in your looping activities or in your first draft at least 3 points you could analyze about yourself and bring to class.
	T/1/20	Finding the Right Tool: Simple Pre-writing Strategies. In class use clustering activities to develop a plan for draft 2. Write second draft of "Who am I?" essay.
Three	M/1/24	Task Awareness: Meet in Writing Center to investigate personal web statements. Adapt your "Who am I?" drafts into a personal statement. Publish onto your web page this week. DUE: "Who am I?" drafts 1 and 2 on floppy disk.
	W/1/26	Putting up a Simple Web Page. Sign up to meet in the Writing Center (If you already have a web page, you do not need to come to this class period). Web page guidelines Instructions for setting up a web page Review of HTML code
	T/1/27	Putting up a Simple Web Page. Sign up to meet in the Writing Center (If you already have a web page, you do not need to come to this class period)
Four	M/1/31	Quick and Dirty: The Five Paragraph Essay, A Fast, Reliable, and Effective Organizational Scheme. Task awareness: Begin looking at web pages. What makes for good pages?. DUE:     Publish Personal Introduction on Web page
	W/2/2	Paving the Way: How Readers Read. Group work: share the results of your research. What qualities do you associate with good web page writing?
	T/2/3	More discussion of how writers accommodate their readers. Sign up for a conference with the instructor during the next week. During this conference, you and the instructor will look carefully at the "readability" of your writing so far. Bring to the conference your floppy diskette containing your two drafts so far. You will then have an opportunity to make any revisions you wish to one of your essays before you submit it for evaluation. At conference time you and the instructor will also examine your introductory paragraph on your web page, or put up a web page if you have not already done so.
Five	M/2/7	No Class. Sign up for a Conference in the instructor's office. Bring your floppy disk with your essays on it. Continue gathering ideas for what you think makes a great web page for the next essay. We'll talk more about that later.
	W/2/9	No Class. Sign up for a Conference in the instructor's office. Bring your floppy disk with your essays on it. Continue gathering ideas for what you think makes a great web page for the next essay. We'll talk more about that later.
	T/2/10	No Class. Sign up for a Conference in the instructor's office. Bring your floppy disk with your essays on it. Continue gathering ideas for what you think makes a great web page for the next essay. We'll talk more about that later.
Six	M/2/14	Building Blocks, Part I: The Square Ones First. Discussion of paragraphs with emphasis on and practice of content and transition paragraphs. Begin working on second project, the 5-paragraph essay on effective web pages. Due: Revision of long version of "Who am I" essay.
	W/2/16	Building Blocks, Part II: A discussion and practice of introduction paragraphs. Continue working on 5-paragraph essay.
	T/2/17	Building Blocks, Part III: A discussion and practice of conclusion paragraphs. Continue working on 5-paragraph essay.
Seven	M/2/21	Know Who You Are: Understanding Your Writing Process. (more)
	W/2/23	Project 3 Draft Conferences. No Class.
	T/2/24	Project 3 Draft Conferences. No Class.
Eight	M/2/28	Learn more about how readers read. Read drafts of third essay in class, applying reader response strategies. Begin revising third essay for evaluation. Remember to submit the web analysis essay for evaluation (on web, hard copy, or disk) as soon as possible. If you do not have a draft of essay 3 to share in class, use the time to decide on a topic for teh last essay, and then use any one of the invention or prewriting strategie that we've discussed to explore this submect. You may use free writing, clustering, listing, or looping.As soon as you have draft 3 ready for me to evaluate, turn it in on disk, hard copy, or on your web page.
	W/3/1	Pre-writing for the last essay. You'll need to know what you want to do on this last essay in order to make best use of your class time. I'll introduce you to a new pre-writing activity, track switching, which can be quite productive.
	T/3/2	More pre-writing for the last essay. We'll look at the last pre-writing activity, the classical invention strategy. This one can by quite demanding, but very productive.
Nine	M/3/6	Have a draft of the last essay ready to read in class today. Sign up for a writing center converence over your last essay during this last week. the Writing Center will not be open after Monday of test week, which is the last official class, so be sure to fit your appointment in before then. During test week, you'll sign up for a conference with me over the last essay.
	W/3/8	We'll review some revision strategies you can use to improve your writing. You'll need your draft of the last essay in class so have it finished and bring it with you, either on hard copy or disk.
	T/3/9	We'll review some editing strategies. You'll need your draft of the last essay in class, so bring it with you on disk or hard copy.
Ten	M/3/13	NO CLASS TODAY: Sign up for a conference with me over your last essay. I want to read it and make suggestions before you submit it for evaluation. Before you leave for Spring Break, submit the last essay along with any other work you wish to have evaluated. I will complete all reading by Wednesday evening. I prefer that you submit your work on your web page, but I will accept hard copy or disk.