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One of several battles that changed the English language: How we communicate constantly evolves.
October 14, 1066. King Harold (English) is shot in the eye with an arrow and dies at the Battle of Hastings.
William the Conqueror, a Norman (French), becomes king, thus ushering in more drastic changes for the future of
the English language. This scene is from the Bayeux Tapestry, woven a year after the battle. It is 224 feet long, and
you can see it today in Bayeux, Normandy.

The pen is mightier than the sword. -Alexander Pope

University of the Incarnate Word -- ENG 1311 Composition FALL 2020 Online
Building Confidence and Securing Success

Instructor: Nadine Cooper Office: Zoom Study

Email: [email protected] Office hours: email me any time for
Phone: (717) 706-5116 appt. /zoom study drop-in Tues 10-
11:30
Books and Materials Required: 1. The College Writer 6th Ed; 2. Models for Writers 13th ed.
(note: these may be either hard copy or ebook) 3. Other materials on Blackboard as posted.
Recommended: a grammar handbook

Catalogue Description: Part of the UIW Core Curriculum, this is a writing-intensive course focusing on
numerous rhetorical modes to develop main ideas. This course introduces students to creative,
academic, and business writing and communication, emphasizing grammar and syntax, with a view to
increasing expository writing skills and critical thinking ability. This course must be completed with a
minimum grade of C.
*Context: Prerequisite is admission to the university. This course is required for all majors. This course is offered
in a face-to-face format as it draws from class discussion and collaboration. This course may not be repeated for
credit. Grade mode: normal.

Course Overview:
Composition I is, as its title implies, a writing-intensive course intended to help you prepare yourself to
be a successful academic writer. As the adage goes, “practice makes perfect”: you will be writing a
variety of informal journals, expository pieces, and academic essays in order to inspire confidence in
your writing process. This class is also reading intensive: Samuel Johnson, one of the great British 18th-
century writers, notes, “I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read.”
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Learning how to critically read a text helps you develop critical-thinking skills required in academic
writing and collaborative editing, as well as furthering your ability to intellectually discourse with others
from a diversity of religious, political, social, and cultural backgrounds – one reason why “the pen is
mightier than the sword.” Writing skills and critical-reading skills influence how you express your ideas
with others and benefit you in all your classes throughout your academic career, whether you are a
microbiologist, economist, nuclear physicist, fashion historian, political theorist, or 1st chair violinist. In
short, writing skills really do help you build confidence and secure success!

Topics in this course will include, but are not limited to: Grammar and syntax, the writing process, rhetorical
modes, audience analysis, information literacy, critical reading, documenting sources, and oral presentation skills.

Learning Outcomes and Assessments: By the end of this course you should be able to:
Outcomes Assessments
Closely and purposefully read an academic text and take notes; Interact in a Informal journaling and
thought-provoking discussion with classmates who may hold differing class participation
viewpoints.
Formulate a thesis-driven argument with supporting evidence; Place sources into Informed opinion/analysis
conversation with each other; Summarize, paraphrase, and quote sources in essay
order avoid plagiarism; cite and document sources in MLA style
Create writing you are proud of – writing relatively free from structural and Review of journals;
grammatical errors. grammar exercises
Demonstrate your ability to discourse with others on a viewpoint both verbally Comparison/contrast
and in writing exercise
Understand your writing process through drafting, editing, and peer review. Rough drafts, peer editing,
Construct clear and coherent essays pertinent to an assignment final essays

How to Be Successful in this Class!

TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS CLASS, YOU MUST:
! Come to class and be prepared – read assignments before class!!
! Turn in assignments, to include rough drafts, on time!
• Come
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! Follow assignment directions.
• Watch out for the alligators – don’t fall behind in reading
! Ask for help when you need it. We have a Writing Center in the
or your journals. Eventually it becomes impossible to
Student Engagement Center. Come to my office hours! Call me!
catch up!
! Plan ahead; don’t procrastinate.

Sign posted outside a popular tourist location in Charleston, South Carolina!

Attendance Matters in this class because we depend upon one another for discussion and other class
participation events as well as peer reviews of drafts. Consider the university your workplace. Let me
know or your teammates know if you cannot attend class meetings or small team collaborative
sessions. It is the right thing to do.
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! This course complies with all UIW academic policies and federal guidelines, including but not limited to: academic
integrity, disability accommodations, pregnancy accommodations, Title IX non-discrimination, and class absences
for religious observances. Current policy statements will be provided to all students through the learning
management system and in information provided on the first day of class.

How this is going to work:

I know that we were all hoping for a face-to-face class, and you may be disappointed that you are not
getting this experience this semester. Two things: 1) Don’t give up hope. This is not a permanent
situation and one day you will have that in-class college experience, and 2) I am going to try to give you
that in-class experience as much as I can, through setting up my “classroom” in my study, complete with
a whiteboard! You will be able to access my Zoom study directly through Blackboard. You don’t need an
invitation – just go to the Zoom link on your Blackboard and Bam! You are in the same room as me. I
will get to know you personally, and you me, through your journals. These are low-stakes writing where
you have the freedom and safety to express your opinions without fear of a grade. You get credit for
doing them, which will bolster your final grade if you complete them all. I write comments back to you
so you can get to know me better as well. On occasion, instead of meeting as an entire class, you will be
meeting in small groups of 4 with me. This is your writing team that you will be using for collaborative
activities. I will tell you how to access these groups.

Writing Journals:
Throughout the class you will turn in a writing journal, like a writing diary. This is a 2-3 page informal
writing assignment. At least one page should be devoted to your response to that week’s reading
assignments. I may ask you some questions to consider (suggestions are on the schedule), or you may
write your own response: What is your viewpoint? What were some important points the author
brought up? Can you relate to the assignment through experience? Do you disagree with the author?
Why? You may continue to respond to the assignment on the successive pages, or you can write about
anything else you choose to – your college experience so far, weird things you notice about America
lately (news stories, culture), really anything. Just know that on occasion we may share these in class so
if you don’t want your writing shared, write “confidential” on the top. These don’t have to be perfect
so don’t worry about perfect grammar. I want you to feel comfortable putting thoughts down on paper.
I will not give you a letter grade for journals but I will comment and annotate that you turned it in. You
may skip 2 of these assignments. If you do not hand in 40% or more of the writing journal, you will
receive an F for this requirement. You may either type these or handwrite them and turn into a PDF to
upload. Look for the journal link in assignments on Blackboard, or you can email them to me.

Formal Essay Assignments.

Collaborative Peer Reviews – small writing teams
For each paper, you will prewrite, draft, give and receive feedback, revise, and edit. For each paper, you
will write a complete and thoughtful first version and then revise after receiving peer review feedback.
This is not intended to be scary. You may not be an English grammar expert, but you can let your
classmates know if you understand their thesis, if their argument needs more support, etc. I will provide
guidelines; your job is to show up with a complete draft. If you are completely stuck, then we can also
help brainstorm. The point is you need to show up to get help. You will be meeting with me over Zoom
with your team at a scheduled time.
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Essays.
You will write 4 formal essays during this class and give one class presentation. The “capstone” essay is
an “informed opinion” cause and effect essay in which you use support from sources to argue your
viewpoint or thesis about a social justice issue or environmental issue the world faces today. You will
also use this research for your oral presentation. I will give specific instructions for each. In general,
essays will be typed, Times New Roman font double-spaced, with a title and numbered pages. Any
outside source you use must be documented in order to prevent plagiarism. I reserve the right to lower
your grade for late papers. Please see me if you have an issue that makes it difficult for you to turn in
your assignment on time. Late papers, otherwise, are not fair to the other students in the class who did
meet the requirement.

Grades.
Essay 1 Descriptive 10%
Essay 2 Comparison/Contrast 10%
Essay 3 Explanation/Exploration (Information 20%
Literacy Part I and 2)
Essay 4 Cause and Effect Informed Opinion 20%
(Information Literacy Part 3)
Project/Presentation 10%
(Information Literacy Part 4)
Writing Journals/ “low stakes” writing 20%
Class Participation/Grammar exercises/other events 10%

A Note About Plagiarism.

Plagiarism is academic theft and is considered academic misconduct. Plagiarism is when you use
someone else’s work without proper citations or acknowledgment of the words, ideas, or work. Don’t
risk it. At some point, someone will find you out. Consider, too, how you would feel if someone just
took a paper that you spent days or even weeks working on. I have seen plagiarism both in the
classroom and at the professional levels. Many websites and other “help” exist on the internet that
even encourage students to cheat. Have confidence in your own voice. If you are not sure if you have
plagiarized a source, please ask me, or the Writing Center, or a librarian. We are here to help you cite
correctly for future academic success.
“we consider a book as the author’s offspring, and indeed as the child of his brain.”
Henry Fielding – Tom Jones
Where to go for help.
ME: Come and see me in my office or make an appointment. I want to see all of you at least once individually to
talk about your assignments. “Don’t be a stranger,” as they say.
The Writing and Learning Center at the Student Engagement Center: Whether you are brainstorming an idea,
stuck in the writing process, or want a final eye toward polishing your essay, they can help with all stages of
writing. Don’t be afraid to make an appointment.
Reference Librarians: These are trained professionals who help library users find information. They are here to
assist you throughout your time at UIW. Research can be time-consuming and frustrating. Let the reference
librarians help you find information, choose the most relevant databases, evaluate information, cite and organize
sources, and more! Don’t be afraid to ask them. You will have access to library literacy workshops to help you
navigate the library databases. Check out the databases on your own as well. They will be a necessary and
invaluable resource throughout your college career.