THOMAS NELSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

COURSE SYLLABUS

I. GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION  

            This course is designed to increase your skills as writers and readers, in three ways:

            First, you will be doing a lot and many different kinds of writing, including, but not limited to, the following: essays meant to be read by others; personal responses to and analyses of reading materials; and critical reflection on your own and others' writing.

            Second, you will learn about your writing process--from the initial stage of invention (choosing and focussing topics; generating ideas), to drafting (writing a complete essay), to revision (rearranging, adding and deleting) and, finally, editing (finding and correcting grammatical and mechanical errors).

            Third, by reading, analyzing and discussing their writing, we will examine and learn from the ways in which professional and student writers, for a wide array of purposes, generate, arrange and present their ideas on many topics to a variety of audiences.

NOTE: An interesting aspect of this course is that your multi-draft essays will be SEQUENCED, meaning they will all involve different approaches to and perspectives on the same topic. See READING AND WRITING ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE (X.) below.

            The course will help you to build confidence in yourselves as writers; it will help you to develop skills essential for effective writing in your college coursework and beyond. You will learn to see more clearly how your writing works, how it doesn't, and how you can make it work better.

            Also, by collaborating closely with your peers, you will experience writing the way it is most often done in the working world. This class will create for you a community of writers--you and your classmates--who will help each other master the craft of writing.

[NOTE: Students with disabilities who will be taking this course and MAY need disability-related classroom accommodations are encouraged to make an appointment with the office of Services for Students with Disabilities to register for support services if you have not already done so (Room #323 Hastings Hall; 825-2833 [V] 825-2853 [TDD])

II. TEXTBOOK AND MATERIALS

Axelrod, Rise B. and Charles R. Cooper. Concise Guide to Writing.  3rd ed. New York:        Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002.

Harris, Muriel. The Writer’s FAQs. 2^nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2004.

I also recommend a portable dictionary.

3 pocket folders with lots of loose-leaf paper

2 three-and-a-half-inch floppy disks or cd-rs 

III. READINGS  

            Reading selections will come from the text (though I will supplement them with a few handouts and websites during the semester, and I encourage you who are taking a reading course to find topics for some essays in response to your readings in that course as well). The ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE indicates specific reading selections and days on which we'll be discussing them in class. I expect you to have readings done, and Journal entries (see below) on these readings written, before you come to class on those days.
 

IV. JOURNALS

            You will be keeping a Journal during the semester, in which I'll ask you to write regular entries, both in and out of class. They will consist of the following:
 

A. The writing assignments, designed to help you through each essay, in each chapter of our textbook.

B. Responses to the questions following each of the reading selections.

C. Notes and plans for your essays.

            YOU MUST BRING YOUR JOURNAL ENTRIES TO EVERY CLASS MEETING. You will be using them mainly as a basis for planning and drafting your essays, but you'll also be sharing them during class discussions and group workshops. I will collect them several times during the semester to offer suggestions and comments.

            Your Journal will help you to generate material for your essays, to practice writing techniques, and to develop critical thinking skills--but ONLY if you write your entries thoughtfully and thoroughly. They are NOT something you can dash off at the last minute, nor can you afford to get behind on them. Your Journal is an extremely important part of your coursework, and I expect you to take it seriously.
 

V. ESSAYS: DRAFTS AND WORKSHOPS

            I will assign each of you to a small writing group, with whom you will share and discuss your writing. Your full PARTICIPATION in group WORKSHOPS is REQUIRED.

            In addition to the Journal, you will write 4 multi-draft and 4 in-class essays, for a total of 8 essays during the semester. Since the goal of this course is to help you learn about writing as a process, revision and editing are REQUIRED for the 4 multi-draft essays (though I encourage and expect you also to leave time to revise and edit the 4 in-class essays you will write). You will write at least 2 drafts (A First Draft and a revised Second Draft) and one edited version (Edited Second Draft) of each essay.

            First Drafts are not to be confused with "rough" drafts: they should be your best shots at finished, polished papers. They must be typed, (ALL MULTIPLE DRAFT ESSAYS MUST BE WRITTEN AND TYPED OUTSIDE OF CLASS: we need class time to go over our writing and for class discussion) preferably on a computer, using a word-processing program. Double-space, use a 12-point font, and leave enough margin (1" on each side) to allow room for marginal comments. (If you don't yet know how to use a computer, don’t worry; this is a computer-assisted course, and we’ll have plenty of time in class to work on learning how to use computers.)

            In First Draft WORKSHOPS, each writer will read his/her essay aloud, while the group reads along silently, making notes on the draft copies. The group will then make suggestions for revision (additions, deletions, rearrangements).

            Second Drafts are not simply "corrected" versions of First Drafts, but versions in which you've added and taken out material and reorganized in response to your group's (and my) suggestions and your own thoughts on how to make each essay better. Second Drafts (revisions) will go through an Editing WORKSHOP, where you and your writing group will focus on identifying and correcting grammatical and mechanical errors. For this, we will be using The Writer’s FAQs and several online aids (The Guide to Grammar and Writing, Perfect Copy). The same rules about typing apply to Second Drafts as to First Drafts.

EVERYONE MUST COME TO WORKSHOPS EITHER WITH, OR READY TO PRINT OUT, ENOUGH COPIES FOR HIS/HER GROUP.

            Edited Second Drafts are those you will go over, at first with my input and then on your own, to locate and correct errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling.  Edited Second Drafts will be turned in to me, along with all preliminary work on that essay, all written feedback you've received from the group, and the REFLECTING ON YOUR WRITING section at the end of each chapter we cover.

ALL EDITED SECOND DRAFTS ARE DUE ON TIME. I WILL NOT RESPOND TO LATE DRAFTS FOR ANY REASON, THOUGH YOU'LL STILL BE REQUIRED TO TURN THEM IN WITH YOUR FINAL PORTFOLIO.

NOTE: With any drafts you turn into me, ask me up to three SPECIFIC questions about the essay in writing on a separate sheet of paper.

The assignments will give you the opportunity to practice several different types of writing. For all of these assignments, you will, again, be writing about the same topic from different perspectives. Some light research will be required.

VI. PORTFOLIOS 

            You should keep ALL of your work for the course in one notebook or folder. When you turn in an essay or essays to me, you will do so in one of the pocket folders I've asked you to purchase.  Toward the end of the course (December 2), you will turn in your final drafts (which should only indicate your name, social security number and the date each piece was last revised--NOT that you were in ENG 01) in one folder: this will be your PORTFOLIO, which I, along with two other English professors, will score.

VII. ATTENDANCE, PREPARATION AND PARTICIPATION

            You are required to attend EVERY class meeting. After 3 absences you'll receive a warning; five absences will result in failure. If you come to class unprepared--that is, without having done the required reading and/or writing assignment, you will be asked to leave. If this happens, you will be counted absent.

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT ATTENDANCE ON GROUP WORKSHOP DAYS: Your attendance on WORKSHOP days is EXTREMELY important. You have a responsibility to your classmates as well as to yourselves; when you miss a workshop, or come unprepared, you make it impossible for the group to function as a whole. Therefore, if you come to a workshop meeting unprepared (i.e., without a draft or without copies), you will be counted absent for that day. TWO ABSENCES FROM OR UNPREPARED SHOWINGS AT GROUP WORKSHOP WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATIC FAILURE.

            If you must miss class in case of emergency, I expect you to contact me--preferably BEFOREHAND--either in person or by phone or e-mail. You are responsible for making up all missed in-class work. I do not excuse any absences except for a) family emergencies, or b) medical emergencies or hospitalization. You must give me written notice of such events.

            Since the course is cooperative by nature, your individual participation in class discussions and in group WORKSHOPS is required--I expect you to share your ideas and your work with your classmates. Much of what you gain from this course depends on your willingness to get involved, and to take responsibility for your own development as writers, readers and thinkers.

VIII. CONFERENCES

            I will be meeting with each of you individually several times during the semester, either in class or during my office hours. In these conferences (which you must attend), I'll go over with you the essays you’ve written up to that point, assist you with any writing problems, answer any questions you have about your progress in the course and, in our last meeting, discuss your PORTFOLIO score and next semester's placement. You must bring all your writing (essays and journals) to these conferences.
 

IX. GRADING POLICY

            Your grade in this course will be either S (satisfactory), R (retake) or U (unsatisfactory). An S means you move up to the next level (English 03), though if you work very hard, there's a small chance that you will skip 03 and be placed in 111 or 101. I usually only give R's and U's to students who do not put their best efforts into the coursework.

            I will collect your Edited Second Drafts and give you written feedback and/or holistic grades (I'll provide you with a sample holistic grading grid) on them during the semester. Toward the end of the semester, you'll revise and edit the 4 multi-draft essays once (or several times) more. You'll put these papers in a PORTFOLIO, to which I will add your diagnostic and final essays. Again, two other English professors and myself will evaluate your PORTFOLIO, and you and I will meet finals week to discuss the results of this evaluation and your placement.

X. READING AND WRITING ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE

            The following schedule is subject to change. Therefore, you should exchange phone numbers with your class- and groupmates; that way, if you MUST miss a class, you can get the assignments for the next class from them, if you can’t get in touch with me.

All Homework listed here must be done before the next class.

            As the semester progresses, I also expect you to apply what you’ve learned from each assignment and exercise to the previous essays—that is, I expect you to continually revise and edit every essay.