Spring 2009 Course Syllabus English 131.71 Writing Experience Monday and Wednesday 11am- 12:56pm Room 131 INSTRUCTOR: Dannielle M. Cattell EMAIL: [email protected] COURSE TEXT: 1. Faigley, Lester. Writing: A Guide for College and Beyond, Brief Edition. 2. Faigley, Lester. The Brief Penguin Handbook, 3rd edition. COURSE MATERIALS: Two-Pocket Folder for the final portfolio. USB Plug-in Flash Drive for storing & transporting computer files (Pens/pencil and paper, and other supplies may be needed as the schedule evolves.) ONLINE CLASS and EMAIL INFO: Click the “Online Classes” link on the JCC homepage for online class site. Students should regularly check student email account (access from the JCC homepage) for messages. COURSE DESCRIPTION The primary business of this class is to improve your writing skills and to find and develop your writing voice. Writing is thought on paper (or screen), a complex intellectual exercise requiring you to stretch your thinking, to think critically and make valid and accurate choices, distinctions and decisions. Like all skills, effective writing requires practice and effort. In this class, we will practice and write narrative, descriptive, informative, analytical and persuasive styles to help develop various writing skills. Although writing is more than grammar and punctuation, mastering these conventions is crucial to clear communication and we will work on them as needed. What do we learn from writing and how does it influence our lives? Writing helps change the world and enlighten the human condition (e.g. the words of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson or Martin Luther King). In our communities, state, and country, writing influences political decisions.2 Writing is fundamental to popular culture – books, comics, movies, plays, the Internet, advertising, lyrics and recordings. Writing skills are essential in the workplace. New technology and a fast-paced, fast-changing environment demand competent writing skills. The ability to write well is a basic consideration for hiring and promotion in most businesses and careers. Many Americans’ jobs are dependent on writing and clear communication. College-level skills are the key to secure employment. Writing is essential to academics. Most classes require written assignments, essays and tests to demonstrate the learner understands the course concepts and material. Writing is learning. Writing helps learners understand and remember concepts. It allows us to express our own ideas and communicate those ideas to others. Through writing, we convey who we are, what we stand for, how we think, what we believe, and what we know. We do this through creative writing, essay writing, personal-business writing, civic and political writing, speech writing, and writing in our workplaces. Language forms who you are and how you function in and view the world. By writing and sharing your writing you may discover and/or reveal things about yourself to others. This process can be intimidating and sometimes frightening. It can also be rewarding and sometimes exciting. Risk-taking is part of the process of improving your writing and of learning. Each class period we discuss a topic, analyze a reading assignment, or talk about strategies and methods used in written communication. We also explore ways to stimulate ideas, edit, respond to peer writing, and eliminate common grammatical errors. Although there are firm deadlines, the atmosphere of this class is loosely structured and informal, a workshop style class, allowing you to progress at your own individual pace. This also allows me to observe you in the writing process and offer suggestions or help you with specific problems. ASSOCIATE DEGREE OUTCOMES (ADOs) and COURSE OBJECTIVES The Board of Trustees has determined that all JCC graduates should develop or enhance certain essential skills while enrolled in the college. Several of these ADOs are addressed in this class and aligned with specific course objectives below: - ADOs (ADO 1) Working Clearly, Concisely, and Intelligibly (Developing Level) (ADO 9) Working in Small Groups (Developing Level)3 YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES Your primary task is to improve your writing skills. This means that you must practice, experiment, discover and create your various voices, learn to understand how you write (the process), determine your strengths and weaknesses as a writer and learn how to overcome the problem areas. You are expected to attend every class, prepare for class -- read the text and other assigned readings, hand in daily work and drafts on time, share your writing with others, respond to your classmates’ writing, actively participate in group, class, and electronic discussions, work with me individually, and most importantly, write and revise both in and out of class. MY RESPONSIBILITIES I will do everything I can to assist you in your task. I’ll read and respond to as much of your writing, rewriting, editing and as many of your ideas that I possibly can. I will introduce concepts that may help you become a better writer, lead class discussions, form peer groups, share readings and writings, help you individually and encourage you. GRADING Your final grade will be out of a possible 1,000 points as follows: Essays -400 points There will be four essays assigned throughout the semester. Each essay will be worth a total of 100 points. The breakdown is as such: - Prewrite-20 points - Peer review -10 points - Rough draft - 20 points Total-50 points - Final draft -50 points Workshops (The 16 GPAW Hours) -100 points 16 = 100 15 = 95 14 = 90 13 = 85…and so on Participation -200 points This will include all daily assignments and attendance. Portfolio -300 points4 (I will explain this more as the semester progresses) Final Grade- Grades are totaled proportionately. I use the percentage scale below to assign the final four-point scale grade. Grading Scale 100 -95% = 4.0 94 – 90% = 3.5 89 - 85% = 3.0 84 – 80% = 2.5 79 - 75% = 2.0 74 – 70% = 1.5 69 – 65% = 1.0 Daily Writing Assignments & Class Activities Each assignment is due the day it is assigned unless I extend the time and assign it as homework. See Course Outline for essay due dates. See below for late work policies. The daily assignments and activities have several purposes. They are practice pieces and ways of generating ideas and
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