THOMAS NELSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
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English 210, Spring 2007 |
Advanced Composition |
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Professor: Michael Weiser |
Office: 867 Templin Hall |
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Phone: 825-3802 E-mail: weiserm@tncc.edu |
Office Hours: MW 9-10, TR 9-11, 6:15-7:15 & by appt. |
This course is designed to help you improve your writing of nonfiction prose beyond the skills you've acquired up to this point, and to improve your attitude toward writing in general. We'll work together toward this goal in five ways:
by (re)learning that writing, like most tasks, is easier when broken down into manageable steps;
by doing 3, 2 or 1 extended pieces of writing on topics and in forms of your choice, in addition to two shorter common ones;
by learning techniques from writers who publish in one of the most
selective, high-quality literary magazines (the Holy Grail for most writers of nonfiction, as well as of poetry and fiction.)
by sharing your writing and thoughts about writing with one another throughout the course; and
by helping each other and others as well to change the ways you and they go about writing.
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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).] Please provide me with a copy of a letter indicating needed accommodations. |
II. TEXTS AND MATERIALS
Bullock, Richard. The Norton Field Guide to Writing. New York: Norton, 2006.
Ryan, Leigh. The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors. (4th edition). Boston:
Bedford Books, 2006.
A subscription to The New Yorker magazine, on your own for a year for around $29.95, or through me for the semester at around $10.00.
A subscription to Writersmarket.com for the semester (at $3.99/month) or AT LEAST for the month of April.
I also recommend a good dictionary, the best (in ANY language) being The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which is available in a two-volume edition with a magnifying glass. If you can't afford this (or don't have it), you can consult the full-size, 20-volume version in the TNCC Library, as well as at most public libraries. You can also access the OED online version through the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA), which you can access from any computer on campus, and even from home. If you haven't yet tried it, VIVA is also an excellent source for material on most subjects. Back to dictionaries, a Webster's Collegiate should be fine for most of your definition and spelling needs.
You should also have plenty of loose-leaf paper several pocket folders, and one or more rewritable computer storage devices (e.g., floppy disks, flash drive).
III. READINGS AND WRITINGS
Most of our shared readings will come from the two texts, supplemented by material in The New Yorker. Shared readings appear on the Assignment Schedule. Individually, you will do what outside reading is necessary to producing your writing assignments.
As for writing, we will be doing a LOT of it (I in response to YOUR writing).
All of you will do the first and last assignments: a narrative account of your own experiences with writing, and another narrative account of your experience as a tutor. All of you will also be keeping Tutoring Journals, in which you will record and reflect upon your tutoring experiences. Explained in more detail in the Assignment Schedule, these will be crucial to the last common assignment.
For the rest of the course, you have three choices, with all pieces being on topics and in forms of your choice, based upon the strategies presented in The Norton Field Guide and the models in The New Yorker:
1) Three essays, 4-6 pages each.
2) Two essays 8-12 pages each.
3) One extended piece (16-? pages).
In any case, I require that you submit a proposal for each piece you plan to write, covering:
a) the topic (limited, rather than general--on what ASPECT(S) of
this topic do you plan to focus?),
b) the purpose (what you hope to learn from this and what you hope the finished product will do to/for readers),
c) the approach (expository, argumentative/persuasive, etc.),
d) and the resources needed (books, websites, interviews, etc.).
If you choose the single, extended Project, I also require that you submit a timetable for progress and completion.
All your Projects will go through multiple stages, including prewriting, drafting, revising and editing. You will use most of your writing to role-play tutoring, giving and receiving feedback to/from each other.
All complete drafts (including first drafts) should be typed, double-spaced and in a 12-point font, titled, and with your name, the date and the course in the upper left corner of the first page.
My hope is that all of you will come up with at least one publishable piece of writing, in addition to your "Tutor Story" (see below). In fact, we will ALL be submitting one piece for publication (see April 12-21 below); for this purpose, I require you to subscribe to WritersMarket.com, at least for the month of April. I will automatically award an A, even up to the end of next Fall, to any piece that you publish which is written for this course.
IV. TUTORING
After several weeks of training and practice (through role-playing), you will each be tutoring one or more students from one or more of our Developmental Writing classes. It is very important that you not miss any of these sessions, which will take place during our class time on Tuesdays, especially after several sessions, by which time your tutee(s) will have come to rely on your help.
These tutoring sessions will also provide material for our final essay, a "Tutor Story.”
V. ATTENDANCE, PARTICIPATION AND GRADING
You are expected to attend EVERY class meeting, as well as (again) every tutoring session. If you must miss one or the other, contact me (preferably ahead of time) to let me know. I excuse absences only for family, personal or medical EMERGENCIES. Three (unexcused) absences will result in a warning, and four in failure.
You are, of course, expected to participate in class activities, not to mention tutoring sessions, so participation will only account for 10% of your overall grade.
Your writing will account for 90%, with the two common assignments counting 30% and the other Project(s) 60%. I'll not grade your writing during the semester, since I only grade finished (or, in the case of ALL writing, abandoned) work; however, I will give you more than sufficient feedback on your writing to let you know how you're doing.
VI. ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE
This schedule is subject to change, especially with regard to shared readings from The New Yorker and Wrtersmarket.com, which is why it's important to attend every class, and, if you miss one, to contact me or a classmate to find out what's due at the next meeting.
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JANUARY 9
Introduction to course and each other. In-class writing.
Assignments: Do Writing Attitude Scale (we'll score these in the next class). Preview the Norton Field Guide. Begin to think about the type(s) of writing you’d like to do. |
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JANUARY 11
Initial questions about the syllabus and course. Share and discuss Writing Attitude Score Results. Discuss The Norton Field Guide (hereafter NFG and how to use it.
Assignments: Read pp. ix-x and 7-12 in The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors (hereafter BG) and handout on The Composing Process. Write a page or so comparing these descriptions of the process to each other, and then to your own (the stages you generally go through in producing a piece of writing). |
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JANUARY 16
Share and discuss writing on "The Writing Process." Lecture/Discussion on writing processes.
Assignments: a 2-3 page (preferably typed and double-spaced) essay (Essay 1) on your approach to and attitude toward writing, making sure to include at least one fully-developed remembered event from your previous experiences with writing. (Use the chapter on Memoirs in NFG for this.) Then read Chapter 3 in BG. |
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JANUARY 18
Lecture/Discussion on tutoring strategies and on Higher and Lower Order Concerns (HOCs and LOCs). First role-playing session, focusing on HOCs using Essay 1. Take notes on what went on in this role-playing session.
Assignments: Looking back over Chapter 3 in BG, do critiques of your "tutor," and yourself as "tutor" focusing on the roles s/he and you played and the hats s/he and you wore in tutoring Hock’s. How might s/he and you improve as HOC tutors? Revise |
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JANUARY 23
Share and discuss tutor critiques. Lecture/Discussion on LOCs. Second role-playing session, focusing on LOCs and using Revised draft of Essay 1. Take notes on what went on in this role-playing session.
Assignments: Do critiques of your "tutor," and yourself as "tutor" focusing on the strategies sh/e and you used to tutor LOCs. How might s/he and you improve as LOC tutors? Edit Essay 1 based on what you learned from role-playing session. (You should also revise, if you think of ways to make it better in terms of HOCs, but only before you edit). |
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JANUARY 25
Essay 1 DUE. Share and discuss tutor critiques. Video/Lecture/Discussion on tutoring basic writers. Visit to class in which you'll be tutoring.
Assignments: Read Chapters 1, 3 and 4 in BG, and start your Tutoring Journal (hereafter, TJ) by jotting down your hopes and fears about your first tutoring session. Also begin thinking about the writing Project(s) you want to do for the remainder of the semester. |
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JANUARY 30
Share and discuss first Tutoring Journal entry and ideas for writing Projects.
Assignments: Review Chapters 1, 3 and 4 in BG and tutor critiques to prepare for first tutoring session. |
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FEBRUARY 1
First tutoring session! Limit time to 30 minutes, and be back in class by 5:45. Share hopes, fears and actual experiences.
Assignments: Do TJ entry on first tutoring session. Jot down plans for writing Project(s): type(s) of writing, topic(s), approach(es), purposes, and resources needed. |
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FEBRUARY 6
Share further thoughts (in TJ) on first tutoring session. Share plans for writing Project(s). If time allows, role-playing session focusing on prewriting for the Project(s).
Assignments: In TJ, jot down some thoughts on next tutoring session (activities, approaches, "hats" to wear). Write a proposal for each writing Project you plan to do. |
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FEBRUARY 8
Second tutoring session with follow-up discussion.
Assignments: Do TJ entry on second tutoring session. Finish proposal(s) for Project(s). |
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FEBRUARY 13
Share further thoughts (in TJ) on second tutoring session. Share proposal(s) for Project(s) (possibly by role-playing).
Assignments: In TJ, jot down some thoughts on next tutoring session (activities, approaches, "hats" to wear). Begin Project (or first Project)--if one large one, begin to gather and take notes on sources, and prepare a timetable (for me) on progress and completion; if first of two or 3, write a "discovery" draft (one in which you begin to explore what you want it to say and do). |
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FEBRUARY 15
Third tutoring session with follow-up discussion.
Assignments: Do TJ entry on third tutoring session. Continue to work on Project(s). |
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FEBRUARY 20
Share further thoughts (in TJ) on third tutoring session. Go over work in progress on Project(s) in role-playing session.
Assignments: In TJ, jot down some thoughts on next tutoring session (activities, approaches, "hats" to wear). Continue to work on Project(s)--if first of two or 3, write a first draft; if single Project, continue adding/drafting. |
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FEBRUARY 22
Fourth tutoring session, with follow-up discussion.
Assignments: Do TJ entry on fourth tutoring session. Continue to work on Project(s). |
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FEBRUARY 27
Share further thoughts (in TJ) on fourth tutoring session. Go over Project (first draft or current state) in role-playing session.
In TJ, jot down some thoughts on next tutoring session (activities, approaches, "hats" to wear). Continue to work on Project--if first of two or three, write a second (revised) draft; if single Project, continue adding/drafting. |
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MARCH 1
Fifth tutoring session, with follow-up discussion.
Assignments: Do TJ entry on fifth tutoring session. Continue to work on Project(s). |
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MARCH 5-11
SPRING BREAK
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MARCH 13
Share further thoughts (in TJ) on fifth tutoring session. Go over Project (second draft--in which case, focus on LOCs after one more check of HOC's--or current state) in role-playing session.
Assignments: In TJ, jot down some thoughts on next tutoring session (activities, approaches, "hats" to wear). Continue to work on Project--if first of three, write a ""final"" (revised and edited) draft; if first of two, write a revised draft; if single Project, continue drafting |
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MARCH 15
Sixth tutoring session, with follow-up discussion.
Assignments: Do TJ entry on sixth tutoring session. For those working on three Projects, finish "final" draft, and do prewriting for second Project. For those working on two, finish revising Project 1. For those working on single Projects, continue drafting. |
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MARCH 20
Project 1 DUE for those working on 3 Projects. Share further thoughts (in TJ) on sixth tutoring session. Role-playing with current state of longer Projects and prewriting of second shorter ones. . Assignments: In TJ, jot down some thoughts on next tutoring session (activities, approaches, "hats" to wear). Continue to work on Project--if second of three, write a discovery draft, if first of two, edit; if single, continue drafting |
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MARCH 22
Seventh tutoring session, with follow-up discussion.
Assignments: Do TJ entry on seventh tutoring session. For those working on three Projects, write a first draft of Project 3; for those working on two, finalize Project 1, and write discovery draft of Project 2 |
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MARCH 27
Project 1 DUE for those working on 2 Projects. Share further thoughts (in TJ) on seventh tutoring session. Role-playing with current state of single longer Projects and first drafts of second shorter ones. . Assignments: In TJ, jot down some thoughts on next tutoring session (activities, approaches, "hats" to wear). Continue to work on Project (s)--if second of 3, write a second (revised) draft; if first of two, write a first draft; if single, continue drafting. |
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MARCH 29
Eighth tutoring session, with follow-up discussion.
Assignments: Do TJ entry on eighth tutoring session. For those working on three Projects, finish second draft of Project 2; if second of two, finish first draft of Project 2; if single, continue drafting |
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APRIL 3
Share further thoughts (in TJ) on eighth tutoring session. Role-playing with current state of single longer Projects, first drafts of Project 2, and second drafts of Project 3 . Assignments: In TJ, jot down some thoughts on next tutoring session (activities, approaches, "hats" to wear). Continue to work on Project--if second of three, write a "final" (revised and edited) draft, and do prewriting for third Project; if second of two, revise; if single, continue drafting. |
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APRIL 5
Ninth tutoring session, with follow-up discussion.
Assignments: Do TJ entry on ninth tutoring session. Continue to work on Project-- if second of three, finish "final" draft and discovery draft of Project 3; if second of two, finish revising. |
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APRIL 10
For those working on three Projects, Project 2 DUE. Share further thoughts (in TJ) on ninth tutoring session. Lecture/Discussion on tutoring for the Developmental Writing Exam. Role-playing with current state of single Projects, discovery draft of third of three, and revised draft of second of two. . Assignments: In TJ, jot down some thoughts on next tutoring session (activities, approaches, "hats" to wear). Continue to work on Project--if third of three, write a discovery draft; if second of two, edit; if single, continue drafting. |
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APRIL 12
Tenth (final) tutoring session, focusing on strategies for the Final, with follow-up discussion.
Assignments: Do TJ entry on final tutoring session. Continue to work on Project--if one Project, prepare a first draft; if third of three, write a first draft of Project 3; if second of two, finalize. Also begin to compose your "Tutor Story," and decide on which piece you will be submitting for publication. |
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APRIL 17
For those working on 2 Projects, Project 2 is DUE. Share further thoughts (in TJ) on final tutoring session and overall tutoring experience. Role-playing with first drafts of single Projects and first drafts of third of three. Discuss publication process.
Assignments: Those working on single Projects and those working on third of three, revise. Work on "Tutor Story." Select publication and compose query letter. |
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APRIL 19
Role-playing (LOCs/Editing) with single and third of three Projects. Share query letters.
Assignments: Those working on one or three Projects, prepare final draft. All do first draft of "Tutor Story." |
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APRIL 24
For those working on one Project, it's DUE. For those working of three, Project 3 is DUE. Also, ALL turn in query letters in stamped, addressed envelopes. Role-playing (HOCs) with Tutor Story.
Assignments: Revise Tutor Story. |
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APRIL 26
LAST CLASS. Role-playing (LOCs) with revised draft of "Tutor Story."
Assignments: Write a final (revised and edited) draft of "Tutor Story." |
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MAY 9 (5-6:45)
Final Portfolio DUE. Score and share Writing Attitude Scales. Course and self-evaluations. Final Exam. |
OTHER IMPORTANT DATES
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Last Day to Add or Make Schedule Changes (by noon) |
January 16 |
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Last Day to Drop for Refund (by noon) |
January 23 |
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Last Day to Withdraw with a grade of "W" |
March 22 |