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52-1101-72 English Composition
I CAI, fall 1999, W 2:00-4:50 p.m. Osborne
This class is part of a Television Learning
Community linking Aesthetics of Television, Television and New Media,
and English Composition I
COURSE POLICIES
This online syllabus is a version of
a handout that is required reading. You are responsible for all information
on it.
Study it carefully and refer to it
frequently. If anything is unclear, don't hesitate to ask questions.
Required Texts and Supplies&
Diana Hacker, A Writer’s Reference, 4th edition (referred to as
REF in this syllabus)
Jan M. Youga, Mark H. Withrow, and
Janis Flint-Ferguson, Readings Are Writings: A
Guide to Reading and Writing Well
(referred to as RAW in this
syllabus)
A dictionary (American Heritage or
Random House preferred)
a stapler and staples or a small box
of paper clips (do not keep clips near disk)
I will give each student one formatted
disk, but only one. You may wish to buy a second
one for backup purposes.
You may also need to buy a print card
to print in most labs.
An email account (netscape, yahoo,
xoom, hotmail, etc. provide free accounts)
Your Instructor: Karen
Osborne, Ph.D. You may call me Karen.
Office: 300-Y, 33 E. Congress
Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:00-4:00, Wednesdays
1:30-1:50, and by appt.
(I have other office hours, but they
are when you are in your other classes)
These hours may change. I’ll let you
know if they do.
( You
may call me at 312-344-8123. If you call at times other than my office
hours, you can still leave a message 24 hours a day.
I hope to talk with each of you during
workshops or breaks every week. Tell me what's going on when you
first suspect you have any problems
keeping up. If you don’t tell me, I can’t help you!
: You
may send me email at kosborne@popmail.colum.edu
Drop things off in
my mailbox in suite 300, the English Dept. If you need to pick
something up, come to my office and look in my plastic out box outside
my office door.
Course Description:
þ
from the1997-1999 Columbia College
Catalog: "Based on theories of new rhetoric and problem-solving sciences,
[English Composition I] addresses
techniques for idea generation, planning, drafting, revising, editing and
proofreading. [The] emphasis [is] on moving from expressive to persuasive
writing while improving reading skills, [using] one-on-one conferences,
small-group workshops, [and a] multidraft approach to writing assignments.
Students keep [an] informal journal."
This section of EC I is special because
it is also part of a Television learning community. We will follow the
course description and will also make some links to your Television courses
this term.
Course
Rationale and Objectives:
þ
English Composition I and II are part
of the General Education Program at Columbia College. The General Education
Program seeks to ensure that graduates of the college are individuals,
citizens, and artists who can, in the words of the college’s mission statement,
"author the culture of their time" in an enlightened, humane, and reflective
way. All sections
of a given General Education class
share at least one intended student learning outcome—that is, what we want
you to know, be able to do, or feel as a result of taking this and/or related
classes.
One of the General Education Student
Learning Outcomes reads "Students should be able to write clearly and
effectively." EC I and II are the courses most responsible for addressing
this outcome. They also reinforce at least
three other General Education learning
outcomes stating that students should:
be able to use elements of critical thinking
including analysis, synthesis, and informal logic;
-
be able to think imaginatively, to understand
the nature of the creative process, and to develop creative problem-solving
skills;
-
be able to read at the college level
Course Objectives (Karen’s version):
þ
When we write, we compose. The word
"compose" comes from the Latin compoñere, meaning "to put
together," according to the American Heritage dictionary. This semester,
we will notice how composing an essay is in some ways similar to composing
(or "putting together") visual shots for an aesthetic effect. The aesthetic
principles of composition in visual media and in text can often inform
each other. To become successful in the television industry, you will need
to be skilled at composing in both words and images. Picture composition
is defined as "arranging all the visual elements in the frame in a way
that makes the image a
satisfactory and a complete whole"
(Ward, Picture Composition 1).
In this class we will also emphasize
writing as a process that can help you discover both what you think
and what you
want to say. Try to discover your
own voice; write from both the heart and the mind. Study the reading selections
and see
what makes good writing work.
Becoming a writer--and all students are writers--means becoming a person
who is willing
to look at both herself and the world,
a person who examines issues carefully, draws reasonable conclusions, and
presents those conclusions with clarity,
insight, and passion. Writing, like thinking and feeling, can be an act
of liberation,
both for the writer and the reader.
Writing Center J1st
floor, 506 S. Wabash/33 E. Congress
Anyone who has writing anxiety should
enroll for tutoring in the Writing Center. You can register for credit
or noncredit tutoring this semester. You may also use the center on a drop-in
basis. Bring a paper with a specific problem area I have pointed out. Show
the Writing Consultant (tutor) the areas I've asked you to address; also
have your syllabus and other relevant handouts ready to show the consultant.
He or she depends on you for specific information regarding your assignments.
Attendance
þ
This class meets once a week for three
hours—that’s a full week of classes. Missing three classes means
you’ve missed
three weeks, one fifth of the semester
The English Department official absence policy states that missing more
than two classes can lower your grade and may result in failure.Three
absences in my class means your final grade will be
reduced at least one lettergrade.
Four absences or more means automatic failure.
You must come to class PREPARED. Learning
to improve your writing skills requires that you participate fully in the
writing
and revision process with fellow writers.
You MUST bring your double-spaced rough draft in on the day it is due for
our peer review workshops. Other class days are important, but you are
allowed to miss a maximum of two of them. SAVE THESE TWO DAYS FOR
ILLNESS OR EMERGENCIES: YOU GET NO OTHER "FREE" DAYS FOR ANY REASON.
When you do miss class, you still need
to keep up and turn in work by the deadline. Follow the syllabus. Call
or email a classmate.
Tardiness or Leaving Early ¸
Every time you arrive late by fifteen
minutes or more or leave early by fifteen minutes or more, you will marked
one-half
absence. Two tardies count as one
full absence. In the "real" world of work, you have to show up on time,
or you’ll be fired. School is your work too.
Deadlines
Drafts, revised papers and reading
assignments are to be completed on time. You can do extra
revisions of papers after you've turned them in on time. ALWAYS SAVE ALL
YOUR DRAFTS OF EVERY PAPER, with my comments, until the semester ends.
ALWAYS BRING your textbook, your disk with all saved drafts and papers,
PRINTOUTS of your drafts or papers, and anything else you might need in
class. I will deduct points for late work.
Papers: rules
for presentation 3
(Also See the sample paper on pp. 351-360
in A Writer’s Reference)
-
All drafts and papers must be 500 words
minimum or longer, font size 10-12.
-
Must be double-spaced (highlight the entire
text, click on "format," then "paragraph" and select spacing, "double";
the only exception is for drafts posted to the forum
-
Must have numbered pages (click on "insert,"
then "page numbers")
-
Must be printed out (or posted to the
forum) BEFORE you come to class. We will not spend class time waiting for
you to print. If you show up without a printed or posted copy of your paper,
it’s late. Always have the file on disk with you.
-
must have COVER SHEETS if I assign one.
I’ll assign different items to the cover sheets. These might include descriptions
of your essay’s PURPOSE, THESIS, AUDIENCE, OCCASION, and PERSONA (the person
the reader imagines you are in the essay).
-
Second and subsequent drafts must have
been proofread and corrected by you (run spellcheck and then check it yourself
for the stuff spellcheck misses; I will not read papers that have not been
proofread by you (L
)
-
No "fake" revisions. You MUST make SIGNIFICANT
changes to your drafts before asking me to read a revised draft. Each revision
must contain at least 1/4 new material and more than simply "corrections"
to the remaining material. I don’t need to read a draft just because you
decided to run spellcheck on it and clean up the grammar. You need to be
willing to revise, that is "re-see" your paper and to make courageous and
creative changes, before asking others to read the whole thing again. Always
save your original draft under a different name, like "titledraft1" and
the revision under a new name (titledraft2).
.
Characteristics
of Good Writing, and How I Grade Papers
Just as in visual composition, you want
to "arrange all the visual elements in the frame in a way that makes the
image a satisfactory and a complete whole," so in an essay, you want to
arrange all the elements of your essay into a complete whole.
The characteristics of good writing
include
-
interesting content
-
a clear focus and purpose
-
audience awareness
-
effective and relevant specific details
and examples
-
fully developed paragraphs (no two-sentence
wonders!)
-
smooth transitions between paragraphs
(like transitions between visual shots)
-
logical structure (know what to include,
what to exclude, and what organization to use)
-
clarity of expression
In addition, papers with a thesis
(persuasive, informative, and affirming) should have:
-
a well-reasoned argument (not required
in expressive essays).
-
a clearly stated thesis at the end of
the first paragraph
-
thorough support for that thesis in a
series of well developed and clearly written paragraphs
-
a strong conclusion that does more than
simply restate the thesis
Portfolios 1
I will grade each paper you turn in
this semester, and at the end, I will evaluate your entire portfolio. Therefore,
it is important that you keep all of your drafts, papers, and assignments
together in a portfolio. Ideally, you will learn to trust your own
voice, to write as naturally and clearly as you can and to say what you
think effectively. To some degree you will be evaluated on your writing
process:
how successfully you revised your papers and how much your writing improved
throughout the semester.
Plagiarism 4
Any student found using the work (ideas
or language) or another writer (including, but not limited to, other students)
without giving credit to the source will receive an 'F' in the course.
If, after reading this statement, you are still unsure as to what, exactly,
constitutes plagiarism, do not hesitate to ask. Learn to summarize and
synthesize information properly--credit the authors, and engage in dialogue
with them in your own writing. Acknowledging authors will become easy and
natural.
What to Expect:
Record-keeping and grading 1
You will always know where you stand
because in your portfolio you will be keeping a record of your own progress.
SAVE EVERYTHING. There will be a total of five (5) papers that will be
written out-of-class, taken through an editing workshop or two in-class,
and rewritten for final presentation.
-
The 1st three essays—expressive, reflective
expressive, and affirming—will be worth 15 points each. On each of these,
13.5 points = A, 12 = B, and 10.5 = C.
-
The 4th & 5th essays, informative
and persuasive, will be worth 20 points each. On each of these essays,
18 = A, 16 = B, and 14 = C.
We will have 5 papers, then, for 85 points
possible. This will be the most important part of your final grade. ALWAYS
BACKUP, print hard copies, etc. "I lost the disk" or "files were erased"
is no excuse.
-
Informal journals, forum assignments,
textbook exercises and other assignments will count approximately 1-4 points
each. Group exercises in class may count 2-4 points each.
-
In addition to evaluating your entire
portfolio and your general improvement at the end of the semester, I will
award up to 10 points for outstanding editing workshop participation--that
is, helping your classmates--throughout the semester.
Creating a Positive Learning
Environment
[
I will need your
help in creating a positive learning environment. Some of you will be very
comfortable in speaking up in class; others may be a bit shy. I want everyone
to respect everyone else and to help us achieve a sense of community. I
want the shy people to risk speaking up a bit more. I want the talkative
students to help by occasionally waiting to respond and giving quieter
students a chance. In peer review or small group work, make an effort to
draw out your fellow students and to help them participate.
By giving other
students useful, serious feedback on their drafts, you will improve your
own grade. Helping others to develop as writers also helps you clarify
your own understanding of writing. Notice above: I will award up to 10
points extra at the end of the semester to any students who have made consistent
contributions to the class’s learning.
Of course, everyone
will be nice! Any student who is discourteous to another student or to
the instructor, or who in any way tries to usurp the classroom for purposes
other than learning, will be given an 'F' in the course. This is the only
warning that will be given.
Online Forum
You are required to post one message, draft, or reply per week on
our Television-English Comp I Learning Community Forum I have created at
http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/32290.
: 4 : & 3 4 1 < 4
Calendar (Complete
all assignments BEFORE coming to class on the date listed):
Abbreviations: RAW (Readings Are Writings);
CHECK (Checking Your Understanding); RHET (Understanding Rhetorical Strategies).
week 3: Oct. 13
week 6: Nov. 3
week 9: Nov. 24
week 12: Dec. 15
week 4: Oct. 20
week 7: Nov. 10
week 10: Dec. 1
week 13: Jan. 5
week 5: Oct. 27
week 8: Nov. 17
week 11: Dec. 8
weeks 14 & 15: Jan. 12 and 19
Week 1: Sept. 29
Introduction to the course, the teacher,
and each other. (We may just "recap" the interviews and introductions you
did this morning in Aesthetics.) Computer matters. Writing in the PC labs,
saving to the A drive, etc. In-class writing (possibly from p. 7 or p.
55). Review of policies handout, discussion of purpose and audience, abstract
and concrete, and illustrating with specificdetails.
Introduction to Expressive Discourse. Possible tour of Writing Center.
Possible visit to online forum. Visit the forum later at http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/32290.
Assignments for next week:
-
Post a reply to assignment
#1 on the Forum.
-
Then write an Expressive
essay. Use the handout for this assignment. If you want to, go ahead and
copy and paste the text of your draft and post it as a message to the forum.
Remember, nobody expects this first draft to be perfect. But try to write
at least 500 words or at least 3-5 solid paragraphs.
-
Also complete all assignments listed under
Oct. 7 BEFORE coming to class next week!
Week 2: Oct. 6
-
Read pp. 54-55 and write a response to
the pre-reading journal on p. 55 if we didn’t do this in class the first
day. If you like, you can use this as a springboard into your expressive
essay.
-
WRITE and bring to class your printed
hard copy AND your MS. Word IBM-compatible file on disk (DOUBLE-SPACED!)
rough draft of your expressive essay, narrating
any story of an important event, or person in your life for a peer reading
and revision workshop.
Be sure to include at least two specific details
in your narration of the event. Use principles of effective storytelling:
scene, dialogue, image, etc.
-
READ pp. 1-26 (up to "Affirming Purpose")
and pp. 35-48 in Readings Are Writings (RAW). Notice
especially the summary of reading strategies, p. 21, and writing strategies,
p. 43. Be prepared to discuss the items in "Checking Your Understanding,"
(CHECK) pp. 19-20 and the rhetorical strategies (RHET), also on p. 20,
in class.
-
In the essay "Two" (35-43), notice how
Adams discovered his purpose as a result of writing his drafts.
Writing helps us to discover what we really think, and writing drafts helps
us to discover the focus of our papers. As you read his final draft, underline
or circle any vivid details or images Adams used and be prepared to
discuss them.
-
Read pp. 56-60 in RAW. Be prepared to
discuss CHECK and RHET, p. 60. Underline or circle any specific or concrete
details or images Wright uses.
In class:
TOUR of Writing Center if we didn’t
have one last week.
Peer Review/Workshop
on First Expressive Essay.
Homework:
-
Post one
reply to assignments #1 and #2 on the forum if you haven’t already.
-
Write a draft of your Essay #2, the Reflective
Essay.
-
Revise your first expressive essay (#1).
Add more specific details and images. Condense any wordy passages.
-
Complete all other assignments listed
under Oct. 13.
-
Week 3: Oct.
13
-
Turn in a draft of your Reflective
Essay (Essay #2) (or post to Forum before class). No cover sheet necessary
on this draft.
-
TURN IN A REVISED DRAFT OF EXPRESSIVE
ESSAY #1 narrating an event in your life using specific details, with your
completed cover sheet.
-
For both essays, follow the RULES for
Papers. (See pp. 50-51 of RAW to see how a paper should look.) As
you revise the essay, consider assignment #3 below
-
Read in A Writer’s Reference (REF)
C3d-e and C4a-c and C5. Be sure you have carefully edited and proofread
your work. Try to eliminate any run-on sentences, sentence fragments, grammatical
mistakes, punctuation inaccuracies, or typos.
-
Read pp. 61-62 in Readings Are Writings
(RAW).
-
Read pp. 89-93 in RAW. ("Not Poor,
Just Broke.")
-
Read pp. 26-29 (Determining Your Purpose,
through "Affirming" Purpose) in RAW. Notice the importance of knowing your
purpose: each Eckert essay is quite different despite the similar information;
what has changed is the purpose. Also notice how each paragraph in an essay
must further illustrate its topic.
In class:
Peer Review
workshop on Reflective Essay.
Discussion of Reflective Expressive
Essays and Affirming Essays. What is an Affirming
Essay, and How Do I Write One? Brainstorming on topics, purpose, audience.
Week 4:
Oct. 20
-
Read pp. 62-65 in RAW.
-
Jot down brief responses to #1 only under
both CHECK and RHET," p. 64. If you have time or interest enough, In addition
to rewriting paragraph 11, continue your version by rewriting paragraphs
12 and 13!
-
Read 151-157 in RAW. Go back and review
the Eckert essays (pp. 24-29) to see how an affirming
essay is different from an expressive essay.
-
Read in REF: G5 (fragments)
In class:
Drafts of 2nd Esays
(Reflective) returned.
In class drafting of affirming
essay.
Homework: Continue working on your
affirming
essay and the reading assignments for next week.
Week 5: Oct.
27
-
Finish writing and bring to class both
your saved file and a printout of a 500-word minimum DOUBLE-SPACED rough
draft of your affirming essay (also post to forum
before class).
-
Read C-1-C-3c and D2a in A Writer’s
Reference (REF).
-
Read pp. 173-179 in RAW. Be prepared to
discuss the items in Checking Your Understanding (CHECK) and Understanding
Rhetorical Strategies (RHET).
-
Read in REF: G5 (fragments), G6 (comma-splices).
In class: Peer review workshop.
Week 6: Nov.
3
-
Bring to class a revised draft of your
affirming
essay, with cover sheet attached.
-
Read "Informative Purpose" and the Informative
Version of Eckert’s essay, pp. 31-34.
-
Read the student essays, pp. 369-379 in
RAW.
In class:
Possible Library tour today or next
week. Discussion of Informative Essay Assignment.
When you go to the Art Institute next
week, you will notice many paintings. Select one painting or painter that
you are especially interested in, and this painter or painting will become
the subject of your informative essay.
More in class, today or next week:
Early registration for spring semester.
Where do you go from here? You should register for EC II. Let’s discuss.
Ask me about community service sections of EC II for the spring. Ask me
about literature courses. Be sure to ask Profs. Beaudoin and Palermo about
television courses for the spring.
Week 7: Nov.
10
-
Read chapter M in REF for guidance on
MLA style for citations.
-
If you need further help with documentation,
see pp. 449-460 in RAW
-
. READ: "Informative Discourse," pp. 289-291,
and chapter 12, pp. 291-301 only, in RAW.
-
WRITE: prereading journal, p. 295.
-
Also WRITE: CHECK 1-3, & RHET #2 only,
pp. 300-301.
In class:
Possible library tour today. You
need to find at least two print sources (magazine, journal, or newspaper)
for your informative essay on the painter or
painting you have selected this morning. Use the Art Index to get started.
That should lead you to good journal articles.
Affirming essays returned.
Begin midterm miniconferences.
Week 8:
Nov. 17
-
Bring a rough draft of your informative
essay complete with at least two sources from print media (journal
articles and newspaper articles recommended). Attach to the draft a thorough
description of your thesis, your purpose, your audience, your persona and
the occasion for your informative essay. More work with audience feedback
and clarification of purpose.
-
Read pp. 414-418 in RAW. Possible readings
in REF may also be assigned.
In class:
More midterm miniconferences.
We may start building your class web
page today. Select at least one of your first three essays to post in your
web page.
Week 9: Nov. 24 no class (or
you can use class time as research or writing time); Thanksgiving Holiday
Week 10: Dec.
1
-
Bring revised rough draft of informative
essay to class and post
to forum before class. Attach a revised cover sheet.
-
Possible readings in REF or RAW to be
assigned, depending on need.
In class:
Continued work with peer review. Further work with documentation, and smooth
introduction of quotations.
Week 11: Dec.
8
-
Turn in revised final draft of your informative
essay, with proper documentation and a Works Cited page following MLA
style.
-
Read: pp. 29-31 in RAW (Persuasive purpose
and Persuasive version)
-
Read pp. 205-213 (Persuasive Discourse
and Vaucher essay). Be prepared to discuss.
-
We may begin building your class web page
today. Be sure to select the best versions of your essays that you might
want to post in your web page.
.
Week 12: Dec.
15
-
Bring complete rough draft of persuasive
essay to class and post
to forum before class. Your draft must include anticipation of and
response to at least one major objection to your thesis. Peer review workshop
with close attention to audience.
-
Read in RAW: the student essays by Martin
and Bombard, pp. 280-287
-
Informative essays returned.
-
We may do more with your web pages today.
Week 13: Jan.
5
-
Bring revised draft of persuasive essay
to class and post to forum
before class. Your revised draft should anticipate and refute at least
two objections to your argument, and you should concede at least two other
things to your opponent. Establish common ground. Further work with audience,
evidence, and reasoning.. Attach to your draft a thorough written description
of your purpose (your persuasive imperative), your audience, and the occasion
-
Read: in RAW, pp. pp. 401-403
-
Bring to class any of your prior essays
for an in class revision workshop.
-
Read in REF, E1, E6, and E7 if we did
not cover them earlier. Other REF readings may be assigned.
In class: peer review workshop.
Discussion of style issues
Week 14: Jan.12
-
Turn in your revised final draft of your
persuasive essay, with rough draft and revised cover sheet attached.
-
Readings in REF to be assigned.
-
ALL PORTFOLIOS DUE TODAY. (Include all
your drafts, final papers, exercises, etc. this semester, and any revisions
you’ve done recently. This is the very last day to turn in revisions
of any previous papers
In class: Persuasive essays
returned. Discussion of style issues in REF.
Week 15: Jan. 19
-
Turn in one final (short) essay today:
write me a persuasive letter telling me what grade you believe you have
earned in this class this semester. You will have to account for the evidence
of your essays and grades, your participation in the drafting and peer
review process, etc., your improvement, your writing style (are you still
writing sentence fragments, comma splices, and sentences with verb problems?)
and anything else that is relevant.
-
Portfolios returned. (I won’t keep them
for you, so you have to show up today!).
-
If necessary, you may be taking your final
for Television and New Media during our class time today. Good luck!
-
Have a great semester break! J
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