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English 101 Composition Fall 2012

Contact Information Instructor: e-mail: Office: Office Hours: Simone Savannah [email protected] 3127 Wescoe 12:30-2:00pm Mondays & Wednesdays and by appointment

If youre comfortable, youre not growing.

Course Description Course Goals: English 101, Composition, is designed to increase your range of writing abilities and to give you more conscious knowledge and control of the writing choices you can make. Although you already know how to write, we will work to understand writing better so that you can make more knowledgeable choices when you write. You will also practice a method for learning how to write in new situations. Based on national standards, the writing program at KU has established a set of objectives for students in English 101 (elaborated in the Composition and Literature pamphlet). By the end of English 101, you should be able to: Develop your own rhetorical flexibility within and beyond academic writing tasks Analyze how language and rhetorical choices vary across texts and different institutional, historical, or public contexts; Revise to improve your own writing;

The approach we are taking in this class focuses on the kinds of writing, called genres, that people do in different settings for different purposes. Genres include everyday kinds of writing like blogs, horoscopes, and job application forms as well as academic genres and the literary genres people usually think of when they think of genres. You will develop your rhetorical flexibility through writing consciously in a variety of genres, including but not limited to academic genres. You will learn how to analyze any kind of writing that you want (or are required) to read or write, to see the patterns of those genres, and to understand how their institutional, historical, and public contexts influence the ways they work and the ways individual writers make choices. Then you can write these genres with greater understanding and effectiveness, including revising your drafts with more conscious awareness and deliberate choice. Becoming more consciously aware of genres can also help you make deliberate choices about how much to follow the expectations of a genre and how you might change a genre to serve your own purposes or those of other groups.

Required Materials: You will need to have all of these materials by the second day of class. Devitt, Amy, Mary Jo Reiff, and Anis Bawarshi. Scenes of Writing: Strategies for Composing with Genres. New York: Longman 2003. Faigley, Lester. The Brief Penguin Handbook. 4th ed. New York: Pearson, 2012. Department of English. Composition & Literature. Lawrence: University of Kansas, 2012.

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Written Work You should expect to be writing constantly in this class. In addition to the three formal papers and final project listed on the schedule of assignments, you will be writing in-class brief writings, a journal, group writings, and homework assignments. Writing Projects: You will write four formal projects in this course in addition to daily informal writing. Each project will build on skills and understandings you have gained in previous assignments. Writing Project #1 Literacy Autobiography Essaylocate your own writing practices within multiple contextual/institutional/personal/cultural influences and try writing a literary essay Writing Project #2 Academic Genre Analysis Paperlocate texts and genres within varied contextual/cultural influences and practice writing an academic analysis paper Writing Project #3 Joining a Conversationlocate an issue within a context/culture and practice choosing and using a genre in response Writing Project #4 Revision of #1 or #2, with supporting materialsdemonstrate how your writing and understanding of your writing have developed and try strategies for revising your style Details on all these projects will be provided as the semester progresses. Other Writings and Class Activities: As we work toward each of the major projects, I will ask you to read, write, and talk your way through a series of daily assignments designed to help you succeed in the major projects and achieve other course goals. During class time, you might be experimenting with a new writing task in your journal, commenting on or applying some topic from the day's assigned reading, responding to other students' writing, conferring with me, or working in teams to achieve smaller goals. Out-of-class work will range widely as well, from making lists in preparation for a project to writing summaries of readings, from completing a paper draft to reviewing someone elses draft posted on Blackboard. These writings and activities will be graded with credit for having completed them successfully (checkmarks), rather than with letter grades. Your grade on Other Writings and Class Activities will reflect the percentage of these assignments successfully completed. See the percentage scale below to translate the percentage you completed successfully (for example, 85% of activities successfully completed) into a letter grade (85% = B on Other Writings and Class Activities portion of final grade). Grading: Your final grade for the course will be based on the following weightings for your graded work. Project #1 Project #2 Project #3 Project #4 Blackboard Posts, Other Writings and Class Activities 20% 20% 20% 20% 20%

I will grade using a +/- letter grading system, both on individual projects and your final grade. To calculate your final grade, your letter grades will translate into numbers according to the following scale:
A+ = 98.5 B+ = 88.5 A = 95 A- = 91.5 B = 85 B- = 81.5 C += 78.5 D+ = 68.5 C = 75 C- = 71.5 D = 65 D- = 61.5 F+ = 58.5 F = 55

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Policies and Expectations Late Work: It is important to complete the assigned work on time in order to gain the fullest benefits from doing the work, especially true for the daily work that helps you prepare or make use of material for each class period. I will not accept late work unless we have made arrangements in advance. According to Department of English policy, you must turn in all four major projects to pass the course. I will not accept late or give make-up work for other writings and class activities (excepting religious holidays and university-sanctioned events, of course). Check your schedule for potential conflicts well ahead of due dates, and speak with me ahead of time if you will have trouble meeting a deadline. Attendance: What we do in class is important for meeting the goals I listed above, and most of our class sessions will depend on your participation in some activities. Therefore, good attendance is expected. To attend a class well means not only being physically present but also being prepared--having read the assignment well enough to be able to talk about it and having completed any preparatory writing assignments--and participating in whatever activity class entails. Since homework and in-class activities account for 20% of your final grade, your grade will suffer from any absences by missing in-class work. Of course, speak with me if you have a medical or other crisis that will make you miss several classes. After 4 absences, I will mark down your overall grade by one-third of a letter grade. Conference: You and I will meet twice this semester. Come with your questions and concerns. These conferences are mandatory. Missing these conferences is equivalent to one week worth of absences since each conference substitutes a week of classes. Cell Phones/Smart Phones Policy: [Me: k]

No text is worth losing participation points. Texting while writingIt can wait. Civility Statement: Comments, questions, and opinions about the topics covered in class are encouraged; however, they should be expressed in respectful and appropriate language. It is essential that we maintain a constructive learning environment. This means that no one is permitted to make offensive, intimidating, or malicious comments or behave in a disruptive manner. Disabilities: The Academic Achievement & Access Center (AAAC) coordinates accommodations and services for all KU students who are eligible. If you have a disability for which you wish to request accommodations and have not contacted the AAAC, please do so as soon as possible. Their office is located in 22 Strong Hall; their phone number is 785-864-4064 (V/TTY).

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Information about their services can be found at http://disability.ku.edu. Please contact me privately in regard to your needs in this course. Academic Honesty: Intellectual property and integrity are important values for the university community, so cheating in any form, including plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Any time a writer uses someone else's idea, words, or work without explicitly citing the source, the writer has been academically dishonest. Some specific examples of actions that constitute plagiarism include pasting together uncredited information or ideas from the Internet or published sources, submitting an entire paper written by someone else, submitting a paper written for another class (and thus not original work), and copying another students work (even with the students permission). In order to avoid unintentional plagiarism and to represent your work honestly, you will need to be meticulous about giving credit to any and all sources, whether directly quoted (even a few words) or paraphrased. Please study the University's description of and rules concerning academic dishonesty in the Student Handbook as well as the English Department's description in Composition & Literature. All incidents of plagiarism will be penalized, reported, and kept on file in the English Department, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the University Provosts Office. Policy on Student Academic Creations: Since one of the aims of this course is to teach students to write for specific audiences, ungraded student-authored work will be shared with other class members during the semester in which you are enrolled in the class. Please do not submit materials on sensitive subjects that you would not want your classmates to see or read, unless you inform the instructor in advance that you do not want your work shared with others. Other Policies: Be sure to read Composition & Literature thoroughly for all other Departmental policies. Writing Center: For help with your writing, I strongly encourage you to contact the KU Writing Center. At the Writing Center you can talk about your writing with trained tutors or consult reference materials in a comfortable working environment. You may ask for feedback on your papers, advice and tips on writing (for all your courses), or for guidance on special writing tasks. Please check the website at <http://www.writing.ku.edu/students/> for current locations and hours. The Writing Center welcomes both drop-ins and appointments, and there is no charge for their services. For more information, please call (785) 864-2399 or send an e-mail to <[email protected]>. The website is loaded with helpful information about writing of all sorts. Schedule of Goals and Major Assignments This schedule is partial and tentative. Since I want to adjust the course as I discover your abilities and goals, I reserve the right to change this schedule with oral notice in class. If you anticipate a problem with due dates, please speak with me. Page numbers refer to Scenes of Writing unless otherwise specified. Homework and in-class activities will be added and will be announced in class.

Unit #1 Understanding Writing Practices in Contexts M Aug 20 Introduction to Course Read Syllabus and Schedule Write writing sample (written in class)

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W Aug 22 Introducing Scene, Situation, and Genre Read (before todays class) 3-14, 21-25 Post (before class) your response to Writing Activities 1.1 and 1.2 on Blackboard. F Aug 24 Writing Processes in Scenes, Situations, Genres Read 99-105; and on Blackboard George Orwell, Why I Write Post your response to Writing Activity 3.1 on Blackboard. Write in journal a one-page description of why you write. M Aug 27 Literacy Autobiographies Reread George Orwell, Why I Write and Eula Biss, Three Songs of Salvage Read on Bb Gloria Anzaldua, How to Tame a Wild Tongue Read Sylvia, Anne DiPardo, pages 201-208 Post your response to question, Which three are literary essays? What makes them similar to each other and different from the other one? on Blackboard. W Aug 29 Finding a Theme and Choosing Details for Your Literacy Autobiography What do you believe is the theme of your literacy autobiography? How will you choose to build your theme? Be specific and provide examples. Post your response to the Blackboard discussion board. Also, respond to at least one your classmates posts and provide suggestions. (Create your own thread) F Aug 31 Conferences and Drafting Literacy Autobiography (meet individually, no class meetings)

M Sept 3 Labor DayNo classes W Sept 5 F Sept 7 Conferences and Drafting Literacy Autobiography (meet individually, no class meetings) Conferences and Drafting Literacy Autobiography (meet individually, no class meetings)

M Sept 10 Writers Workshop Bring 3 copies of complete draft of your literacy autobiography W Sept 12 Revising Literacy Autobiographies Bring current version of your literacy autobiography, responses from workshop, and assignment sheet F Sept 14 Reflecting on Writing in Contexts Bring journal and final version of your literacy autobiography Literacy Autobiography Due Unit #2 Analyzing Differences across Texts M Sept 17 Reviewing Scene, Situation, & Genre Scenes p. 41-45 (bookmark Box 1.2 on p. 44), p. 48-57 Journal Entry: Respond to Writing Activity 2.4 on page 57 W Sept 19 Analyzing Genres: So What? Who Cares?, Sample Genre Analysis Penguin Handbook p. 45-48 Scenes Sample Genre Analysis p. 73-90 Journal Entry: Respond to Writing Activity 2.8 on p. 91 (the box on page 93 will be very helpful and should be bookmarked for future use.) Print out and bring to class the document on Blackboard entitled They Say, I SaySo What? Who Cares?

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F Sept 21 Analyzing the Academic Analysis Genre Paper: Genre Features Scenes p. 150-158 p. 231-244 p. 271- 282 Journal Entry: Come up with your own list that of features you believe all of these Academic Analysis papers entail. In other words, what are the features of this genre that all of the writers have used in one way or another? Cite specific examples. Write mini analysis paper on fb M Sept 24 Analyzing Genres: Beginning Our Own Analysis Penguin Handbook p. 48-57 Bring to class three examples of a text that are all within the same genre, but contain significant differences in rhetorical appeal, audience, writer, or form. Choose something you are interested in! Youre going to be working with these examples for quite some time. Journal Entry: Take one aspect of that genre and begin the analysis of it across the three examples. W Sept 26 Writing Academic Analysis Papers: claims, subclaims, and analysis They Say, I Say, As A Result on Blackboard Scenes p. 245-269 Journal Entry: Choose specific areas of the analysis paper from Scenes where the author does a good job moving from claim into subclaim. What makes this transition so effective? F Sept 28 Writing Genre Analysis Bring to class the two genre that you plan to analyze in your Academic Genre Analysis Paper. Come up with a preliminary outline of what claims and subclaims you can make about them and bring to class. Writing Academic Analysis PapersThe Controlling/Idea Purpose Come to class with a printed copy of the Controlling Purpose Assignment Example, found under Course Documents on Blackboard. Writing Academic Genre Analysis Papers Penguin Handbook p. 15-27 Journal Entry: How will your controlling purpose help you to organize your essays claims and subclaim? Make an outline that involves your controlling purpose as well as your claims and subclaims. Organizing around Complex Controlling Ideas Re-read Penguin Handbook p. 45-57 Journal: Answer the questions on p. 47-48 in the Penguin Handbook in relation to your genre examples. Fall Break, No Class Writers Workshop Come to class with three copies of your completed draft. Writers Workshop Come to class with peer review sheets, your draft (with or without revisions). How to Revise to Improve Penguin Handbook p. 28-35

M Oct 1

W Oct 3

F Oct 5

M Oct 8

W Oct 10

F Oct 12

M Oct 15

W Oct 17

Reflecting on Analyzing Texts in Contexts

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Bring journal, final version of academic genre analysis paper, and copies of texts analyzed Academic Genre Analysis Paper due

Unit #3 Joining a Conversation All Journal assignments must be posted to Blackboard by 8:00am. You are also required to bring a copy to class. F Oct 19 Joining A Conversation In class: Silent Discussion ActivityAdding Your Two Cents in Bathroom Graffiti Everyday Conversations: The First-Year Experience at KU Read: They Say, I Say: Yes/No/Okay, but Journal (post on Blackboard by 8:00am): Locate the pictures of the Graffiti conversations on Blackboard. Choose one discussion, and identify a response in which a participant agreed, one where another disagreed, and a third where the participant agreed but with stipulation. In-class: Twitter, activity (Scene, Situation, Genre, & Discourse Communities) Assignment details and group assignments Academic Genre Analysis Paper due Verbal Engagement Read: Scenes, pp. 521-534 Journal (post on Blackboard by 8:00am): Have you ever been in a heated argument in which you vehemently defended your position? Describe it. Be specific. In-class: Discussion Activity Transcending Genres Bring to class a discussion that occurred on a blog in which a debated on an issue took place. Journal (post on Blackboard by 8:00am): Take notes on what strategies the participants usedwhat worked? What didnt? Were you swayed in your position? Keep in mind genre expectations. Unit 3 Assignment: Joining a . Bring your laptops and tablets to class. [If you do not have access to a laptop, please let me know so I can arrangements before class.] Group discussions on communities, topics, and genres BB Blog Tool Mechanics Topics proposals due at the end of class, so you must be in attendance) We will post these to the Blackboard Discussion Board. They Say, I Say: And Yet Read: They Say, I Say: And Yet Journal: (post on Blackboard by 8:00am) Activity 1 provided in They Say, I Say reading Free Writing Day You must be in attendance. Bring in your laptops or tablets for class. [If you do not have access to a laptop, please let me know so I can make arrangements before class.] Writing Reflections Read: Penguin Handbook, pp 57-59 Projects are due at the beginning of class. If you choose to blog, blogging must be done by 11:59pm Sunday, November 4th. Outlining and Invention Grading Criteria/Rubric

M Oct 22

W Oct 24

F Oct 26

M Oct 29

W Oct 31

F Nov 2

M Nov 5

W Nov 7 F Nov 9

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Reflection Rough Drafts due Troubleshooting Grading Criteria/Rubric Creation M Nov 12 W Nov 14 F Nov 16 Group ConferencesNo Class Group ConferencesNo Class Group ConferencesNo Class

M Nov. 19 Reflecting on Joining a Conversation Bring journal and final portfolio for Joining a Conversation Joining a Conversation Portfolio and Assignment Reflection due W Nov. 21 F Nov. 23 Thanksgiving break, no classes

Unit #4

Revision and Style

M Nov. 26 Defining Revision In class: Revising our definitions of revision Group Activities Unit 4 assignment details W Nov. 28 On the Road to Revision Read: Penguin Handbook, pp. 28-36 Create a two-page Action Plan for Revision using Revising Drafts and the Penguin Handbook Upload the final copy of your Literacy Autobiography to Blackboard under assignments Bring graded copy (with end comments) of your graded Literacy Autobiography. In class: Important revision concepts to consider and how they relate to the Literacy Autobiography genre Revising (again) definitions Literacy Autobiography Revision Revision Process Revision Writing Activity Video Clip F Nov. 30 On the Road to Revision: Recreation Revise the meaning of your name using your literacy experiences. Use words, pictures, and other rhetorical strategies to present the new meaning. You should also include the old meaning. Bring a hard copy to class. Bring your laptops or tablets to class. In class: Visual Revision: Videos on revision Recreation of My Name Presentations Recreating your Literacy Autobiography (Workshop) Video Clip M Dec. 3 In class: Activity on Revision: Speed Dating (Theme and Controlling Idea) Video Clip W Dec. 5 Evaluations

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Reflections on revision Reflections on English 101 Experience Revised Literacy Autobiography and Two-Page Rhetorical Analysis due Wednesday, December 12th at 11:59pm