EN 101: English Composition
Fall 2007
Sections 66 and 99
Provisional Syllabus
Theme: Writing in Context
Instructor: Adam Weinstein
Email: amweinstein@bama.ua.edu
TTH 1230-145 and 2-315
Office Hours: TTH 11-1230
Office: Café in Gorgas Library
The purpose of EN 101 is to help you develop confidence and expertise in writing clear, organized essays acceptable in both content and language in the university community Thus, this course should help you to:
1. Develop or improve strategies for process writing
2. Organize effectively
3. Express thoughts and ideas precisely
4. Support arguments with appropriate and accurate evidence
5. Read and Think Critically
What Books Do You Need?
• The Norton Field Guide to Writing, by Richard Bullock
• The Norton Sampler, Sixth Ed, by Thomas Cooley
• A Writer’s Reference, Fifth Ed., by Diana Hacker.
How Will Your Grade Be Determined?
Daily Participation: 10%
Essay 1: 10%
Essay 2: 10%
Essay 3: 10%
Essay 4: 10%
Essay 5: 10%
Essay 6: 10%
Final Exam: 10%
Journal:10%
Online Work: 10%
How Will Your Essays Be Graded?
*****Each student will receive a comment sheet that lists each of these headings and a number of earned points. Following each heading will be my comments on that particular aspect of the essay. You should refer back to this syllabus if you want specifics on what each header means.*****
Content /10
• essay meets the requirements of the assignment
• offers fresh insights, grappling with topic in something other than surface matter
Focus/Thesis /10
• unifying essay around a clearly defined purpose; clearly stating argument in thesis form and in clear topic sentences
Development/Organization /10
• analyzing evidence in a way that supports topic sentences and overall thesis
• main points are supported by detail, examples and explanation
• uses an orderly structure that facilitates reading, sustaining the reader’s interest through effective paragraph development and use of proper transitions, presenting a logical flow of ideas
Creativity/Risk /10
• conceiving of assignment in creative and challenging ways, developing main points based on self-initiated criteria independent of teacher’s discussion comments, avoiding summary unless necessary
Mechanics /10
• spelling, grammar, punctuation, careful proofreading, subject-verb agreement, no run-on sentences or sentence fragments, clear pronoun usage
Revisions:
It is my goal to see any student who wants to succeed, succeed. Therefore, you are allowed to revise any paper once. You must schedule a conference with me before you revise. This is a fairly liberal policy so there will be no exceptions to the meeting, so schedule them early on. If it comes down to the wire and I can’t meet with you then you’re out of luck. A better grade is not guaranteed. Your personal satisfaction is.
ABC – No Credit Policy
All first-year English courses are graded A, B, C, No Credit (with pluses and minuses). NC is a non-punitive grade; it does not affect your GPA. It simply means that you need to repeat the course to get further help in improving your writing skills. The A-F scale will be used in class only; midterm and final grades will reflect the ABC-NC policy.
First-year Writing Program Attendance Policy:
• Successful students attend class regularly and on time.
• Major graded work (such as tests or papers) missed due to legitimate circumstances beyond the student’s control may be made up if arrangements are made with the instructor in advance, or in a timely fashion upon the student’s return to class.
• The lectures, class discussion, group work, and other daily exercises in a writing class cannot be reconstructed for a student who has been absent; therefore, daily work missed due to tardiness or an absence (for any reason) cannot be made up.
• Students who miss more than 20% of class meetings may receive a grade of NC; such cases, and those of disputed multiple or extended absences, will be referred to the Department Chair for review. Especially difficult cases may be forwarded to the Dean of Arts and Sciences for adjudication. This should not be understood as the number of classes you are allowed to miss; rather, it sets the outside limit after which the administration of the University may become involved in the grading process.
About the work:
This course is unique in that it’s paperless. You will be posting all of your essays to an online class blog. I think that allowing others to see your work creates certain demands on how you approach writing (voice, tone, content, etc). I do not want to be your only audience member—therefore, the blog will be public. Essays will need to be posted to the blog by midnight on the day that the essay is due. You will be asked to periodically make comments on other student’s work. The comments should be restricted to constructive criticism, thoughts on the topic, etc. You will be required to comment a certain number of times, but feel free to go above and beyond that benchmark. Early on in the semester you will be invited to join the class blog. This is your first assignment, and you must complete it on time. All sources must be properly cited using MLA formatting, which can be found in A Writer’s Reference.
Disabilities: If you are registered with the Office of Disabilities Services, please see me as soon as possible to discuss any course accommodations that may be necessary. If you have a disability, but have not contacted ODS, call 348.4285 or visit 133B Martha Parham E. to register. Students with disabilities must be registered before receiving academic adjustments.
Academic Misconduct/Plagiarism: The University of Alabama Honor Code and Codes of Academic Conduct regarding plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, and misrepresentation apply in this course. The may be found in the UA Undergraduate Catalog (URL: http://catalogs.ua.edu/undergraduate/10480.html). As a UA student you are responsible for knowing and abiding by them. In addition, you will be required to read and sign the First-year Writing Program Policy on Academic Misconduct/Plagiarism and the UA Academic Honor Pledge. If you have difficulties or questions regarding plagiarism, please see me
Unit 1:
“Consider the Donut”
—Narrative
Week One: August 20-24
Thurs: —Syllabus
—“Consider The Donut”
—First Paper Assignment
—Choosing A Topic
HW: FW 3-17 (Rhetorical Situations)
Week Two: August 27-31
Tues: —Diagnostic
HW: “If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I,” Kothari, NS 269
“Remembering My Childhood On The Continent Of Africa,”
Sedaris, NS 233
Thurs: —Personal Narrative
—Rhetorical Situations
HW: “The Death of a Moth,” Dillard, NS 4
“How I Wrote the Moth Essay And Why,” Dillard, NS 8
—Describe Yourself Assignment (250 words)
*Email Assignment To Your Bama Account
Week Three: September 3-7
Tues: Meet In Morgan Computer Lab
—Blogging/Essay Guidelines
—Post Describe Yourself Assignment
HW: “The Fine Art of Sighing,” Cooper, FW 168
“All Seven Deadly Sins Committed At Church Bake Sale,” Onion,
NS 101
Thurs: —Descriptive Language
—Humor
—Organization
—First Drafts
Due: Paper #1, By 12am
Unit 2:
“Art Is Art. Everything Else Is Everything Else.” —Ad Reinhart
—Description+Definition
Week Four: September 10-14
Tues: Meet At Student Art Gallery (Woods Hall)
—Overview Of Paper #2: Describe It
—Significant Detail
—Select Your Work
HW: “‘Stay Sweet As You Are’: An Analysis of Change and Continuity
in Advertising Aimed at Women,” Cooper, FW 44-50
—Also: Read after essay, pgs 50-59
—Post First Impressions by 12am (100 words)
Thurs: —Beginning Research
—Citations
—Asking The Important Questions
HW: “Defining,” FW 275-284
“Bop,” Hughes, NS 265
“The Spider And The Wasp,” Petrunkevitch, NS 179
Week Five: September 17-21
Tues: —Quiz: Defining
—Possible Panel Discussion/TBA
Thurs: Due: Paper #2, By 12am
HW: “Evaluations,” FW 120-126
Unit 3
"The cinema is truth 24 frames per second." -Jean-Luc Godard
Evaluation
Week Six: September 24-28
Tues: —Overview Of Paper #3: “Is It Relevant?”: Review It
—What Is A Review/Evaluation
—Taking Notes
HW: Read Article On Class Blog: “General Review of Invasion of the
Body Snatchers”
Thurs:
HW: Read Article On Class Blog: “Invasion of the
Body Snatchers: A Tale For Our Times”
Week Seven: October 1-5
Tues: Location TBA/Film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Part 1)
—Context
HW: Read Articles On Class Blog:
“Films that Time Forgot: Ring of Fear”
“Films that Time Forgot: The Werewolf of Washington”
Thurs: Location TBA/Film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Part 2)
—Interpretation
—Re-contextualization
—Audience
—Voice
—Strategies
HW: “Politics And The English Language,” Orwell, NS 373
Week Eight: October 8-12
Tues: —Interpretation
Due: Paper #3 by 12am
Thurs: Class Cancelled (Mid-semester study break)
Unit 4
“No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.” —Bob Dylan
Compare and Contrast
Week Nine: October 15-19
Tues: Midterm
HW: “Gender In The Classroom,” Tannen, NS 225
“Comparing and Contrasting,” FW 266-274
Thurs: —Overview of Paper 4: Compare and Contrast Two Musicians/Groups
—Compare and Contrast
—Context
HW: Look over lyrics for songs listed for Tuesday’s class (Toby Keith,
The Coup, 4th25)/1 paragraph initial response due in class (200 words)
Week Ten: October 22-26
Tues: —Toby Keith, “Courtsey Of The Red White And The Blue”
—The Coup, “My Favorite Mutiny”
—4th25, “Live From Iraq”
HW: Read Articles On Class Blog:
"Billie Holiday: Remixed and Reimagined,” Reviewed by Noel Murray
"Talib Kweli: Eardrum,” Reviewed by Nathan Rabin"
Thurs: —Language
—Purpose
—Analysis
HW: Read Story On Blog (Or print it from e-Reserve), “The Things
They Carried,” O’Brien
Week Eleven: October 29-November 2
Tues: —Style
—Voice
Due: Paper #4 by 12am
Unit 5
“I've had many a player tell me all through high school and right up until signing day that they were coming to Alabama, then they signed with somebody else.”—Bear Bryant
Process Analysis: How To Survive In Alabama
Thurs: —Overview of Paper #5: “Explain It”
HW: “How To Fend Off A Shark,” Piven/Borgenicht, NS 170
“How To Get Out Of A Locked Trunk,” Weiss NS 192
Week Twelve: November 5-9
Tues: —Layout/Design/Presentation
HW: Download/Print/Read Excerpts from “Zombie Survival Guide,” by Max Brooks (Available on e-Reserve)
Thurs: —Graphics/New Media
HW: Download/Print/Read Excerpts from “The Acme Novelty Library,”
by Chris Ware (Available on e-Reserve)
Week Thirteen: November 12-16
Tues: —Memoirs
—The “How” And The “To”
HW: Download/Print/Read Excerpts from “Persepolis,” by Marjane
Satrapi (Available on e-Reserve)
Thurs: —Design/Layout
HW: “Mother Tongue,” Tan, NS 132
“Homeward Bound,” Wu, NS 123
Week Fourteen: November 19-23
Tues: TBA
Due: Paper #5 by 12am
Thurs: Class Cancelled (Thanksgiving)
Unit 6
Formal Revision
Week Fifteen: November 26-30
Tues: Guidelines for Formal Revision
—Peer Workshop (Meet In Morgan 238)
Thurs: —Peer Workshop (Meet In Morgan 238)
Week Sixteen: December 3-7
Study Week
Tues: TBA
Thurs: TBA
Final Exam
Formal Revision Due: 12am