Required Texts:
This course is intended to help you improve your skills in communication of all sorts, but especially in writing. Toward this end, we will read a combination of essays from the reader and current news material from a list of sources I provide below. The idea behind this is that to communicate, you need someTHING to communicate; hence, I have chosen material that will open up discussions interesting in their own right, not just useful as writing exercises. Since writing normally occurs in a broader context of purposeful communication, the class discussions and the practice gained in critical reading are as important as the writing assignments. The key word here for both reading and writing is critical--we will be not just reading and writing, but also thinking about how we do these things, and writing about that as well. The reading assignments should be thought of not as models for your own writing, but as examples of real people solving real problems of thought and communication.
Grading:
The final grade will be composed of grades for essays, participation in classroom discussions, and the final examination. The proportions are as follows:
| Graded essays.............. | 50% |
| Participation................. | 25% |
| Final.............................. | 25% |
| 100% |
There will be several essays of 300-500 words (2-3 typed, double-spaced pages). An essay will be due every other week; on the off-weeks, a summary/analysis of the previous two weeks' news will be due. The topics for the essays will attempt to relate the reading assignments to the current news events. Here is a partial list of acceptable sources for news, out of which you must choose one:
Any general-content daily newspaper. (Special recommendation: The New York Times, available cheap at Books Plus in the Union.)
One of the weekly news magazines: Time, Newsweek, or U.S. News and World Report.
If you think of something else, clear it with me first. To prepare for your news summaries, at least three days each week you must take notes while reading the newspaper. People using news magazines must read every issue for the duration of the quarter. Every two weeks you will be required to analyze the most important recent news events; your daily news notes will be the source for this summary. For further information about the news analyses, see the handout describing the format I require.
The news analyses will be ungraded. At the end of the quarter, you will revise and expand one of them for a grade equivalent to two regular essay grades.
The final examination will be identical to a regular essay, with the topic given in advance. Preliminary drafts may not be brought in at the exam time, but books and articles may.
Participation:
The participation grade is determined on the basis of daily attendance and daily involvement in the discussions and activities of the class. Attendance will be kept, and a pattern of frequent absence (more than six in the quarter after the first week) will result in an automatic zero for participation.
Miscellaneous:
All assignments must be handed in on or before the due date--late assignments will not be accepted. In the event of a foreseeable absence, it is the responsibility of the student to see to it that all assignments are turned in beforehand. Students should be aware that under University policy, there is no such thing as an "excused absence."
All of the writing will be done in the computer writing lab.
If a grade lower than "C" is received for an essay, the student is advised to visit the tutors provided by the Department of Writing in the Humanities Building. (There is a sign-up sheet there for appointments.) All the essays so far written should be brought along when visiting the tutors or my office.
Selected student papers will be used each week for discussion by the entire class. Before reproducing them, I will remove the students' names.
About the information packet, English Composition for Students in English 151 & English 152: This booklet contains documents describing departmental requirements for the composition courses, grading criteria, policy regarding plagiarism, instructions concerning the computer labs, and many other useful things. It is assumed that you will familiarize yourself with the information in this booklet.