ENG101 - English Composition I
Prof. Eileen Joy
FALL 2003

Personal History, Collective Culture & The Ethics of Remembering

"The need of truth is more sacred than any other need. Yet it is never mentioned." (Simone Weil, from The Need for Roots: Prelude to a Declaration of Duties Towards Mankind, 1949)

Fig. 1. House burning in Rosewood, Florida (1923); Fig. 2. Abercrombie Model

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat.--Dorothy Parker

The SIUE Department of English Language & Literature tells us that the first year writing sequence at SIUE is designed to help students build upon what they have learned about writing in high school in order to successfully navigate the complex endeavor of becoming college writers. To that end, it is the hope that students who complete the first part of the sequence, ENG101, will:

• gain an understanding of rhetorical strategies and processes of analyzing and composing a variety of print, visual, and digital media
• gain a meta-awareness of their own development as writers
• use writing as a way of thinking through topics and ideas
• understand and use writing strategies and processes to analyze and write about issues that are important to specific audiences and specific purposes
• analyze the conventions of and write effectively in the university discourse community
• gain opportunities to collaborate effectively

The professor would like to add that, in addition to learning how to use writing as a cognitive tool, and how to articulately communicate our ideas in writing, we will also work to understand how LANGUAGE = POWER. In an increasingly technological world where much money is to be made deciphering genetic codes, constructing chemical micro-robots, designing artificial forms of intelligence, engineering "smart" cars, and the like, the ability to communicate effectively with others has not lost its significance. One might even say that the ability to communicate well--to express ideas clearly and even beautifully--is a vital necessity for success, the importance of which it would be dangerous to overlook (unless, of course, you're perfectly happy skulking about at the bottom of the heap). You may possess any number of abilities and skills in areas other than writing, but without a firm grasp of your language and culture and the skillful means to express yourself, whether in a love letter, inter-office e-memo, technical prospectus, or court brief, you cannot command attention or regard for yourself or your ideas. The 21st century is being hailed as the Information Age, as well as the Age of Technology, and the global airwaves are already jammed with billions of voices. In order to succeed, you must aim to stand above the crowd and be heard. You will want to be smart, sleek, stylish, daring, and commanding. Believe it or not, that's exactly what this course is all about.

But there is one last thing, too (perhaps most important to me): the professor hopes to engage you in a debate over the ethics of ideas and expressive language.

COURSE OBJECTIVES (The more "concrete" version")

This is something slightly different, yet altogether connected to our “COURSE DESCRIPTION.” This is also a good example of an outline.

I. We are going to learn to read critically and think logically.

II. We are going to produce good writing by means of a process, and we are going to understand that the drafting process is a thinking process.

III. We are going to write to accomplish our own personal rhetorical goals while also being sensitive to the needs of our readers.

IV. We are going to analyze our writing processes and modify them when necessary to strengthen our ability to communicate.

V. We are going to learn how to focus on a central idea and how to develop and support a topic through sustained discourse.

VI. We are going to learn principles for organizing our writing and how to utilize formal conventions to strengthen our message.

VII. We are going to learn how to develop confidence in our own judgment.

VIII. We are going to learn how to locate, evaluate, and integrate primary and secondary source material into our writing.

IX. We are going to always be on the lookout for ways to increase the powers of our vocabulary, both verbal and cultural, in order to empower ourselves.

REQUIRED TEXTS (available through Textbook Rental Services)

A good, thick collegiate dictionary is highly recommended. In addition, be aware that the online Oxford English Dictionary is available on Lovejoy Library's website.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

3 MAJOR ESSAYS
(75%)
You will be required to write three major essays of varying lengths (ranging from shorter 3 to 4-page papers to 6 to 8-page papers), with multiple drafts. These essays will allow you to practice your hand at narrative, objective reporting, close critical analysis, and persuasive writing. Essays 2 & 3 will incorporate outside research.

SHORT PAPERS
(10%)
You will be given periodic short writing assignments related to readings and other subjects under discussion. Typically, you will be asked to write responses (1-2 typewritten pages in length) to questions framed by the professor that have been prompted by in-class discussions. Occasionally, I will also ask you to bring in portions of work-in-progress that will count as "short papers." You can expect to have one of these assigned each week, for a total somewhere between 10 and 12 by the end of the semester. The main emphasis in these papers is on "freewriting," and they will mainly be graded on the requisite effort (or lack thereof) put forth.

RESEARCH GROUP ASSIGNMENTS
(10%)
You will be assigned to a research group early in the semester, and for essays 2 & 3 there will be various group assignments that involve spending some time outside of class undertaking research and/or analysis of sources related to topics under discussion, and each group will also be responsible for making in-class presentations of the results of their outside work. Your grade for this portion of the course will be based upon the requisite effort being put forth, and NOT upon whether or not the professor feels that the group has come up with the "right" or "wrong" results.

Group Assignment #1

Group Assignment #2

Group Assignment #3

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
(5%)
In this course, you will learn that writing is an inherently social act, and the best writing is produced through collaboration with other writers--in this case, your fellow students and the professor. And because one of the emphases in this class is also on the development of critical and analytical thinking and reading skills, you will also learn that one does not think well in a vacuum. Our ideas benefit immeasurably when exchanged with others in a series of critical dialogues. Preparing for and participating in class are vitally important to your success in this class, and therefore, your contribution to in-class discussions and draft workshops, as well as your attendance record, will be factored into your final grade.

SPECIAL NOTE: Because one of the main emphases in this course is on learning how excellent writing emerges out of a serious commitment to the drafting process (which is also a critical thinking process), not showing up on the days when draft workshops and draft conferences are scheduled will result in the lowering of your final paper grades, and in some cases, can result in the professor not accepting an essay at all. If there are legitimate reasons for not being able to attend a draft workshop or for missing a scheduled draft conference, the professor will help you to make other arrangements for making up the work in a timely fashion.

PAPER FORMAT

Follow these guidelines for submitting final work:

• use 8½" x 11" white paper printed on one side only
• double-space the text
• use 1"-margins all the way around
• use a 12-point Times New Roman font
• staple paper in the upper, left-hand corner
• number each page of the paper
• include a heading on first page (upper left-hand corner) that includes: your name/date/English 101/Prof. Joy
• ALWAYS have a creative title (that is centered on the first page below heading)

For an example of what a paper should look like, format-wise, in its final form, consult The Holt Handbook, pp. 65-68.

REVISION POLICY

The professor is happy to consider revisions of major essays you would like to rewrite for a higher grade (with the exception of the final essay), with the following provisions:

• you meet with me first to formulate and discuss your plans for revision
• the revision must represent SUBSTANTIAL change of the original paper; in other words, it must demonstrate significant improvement in global issues such as focus (is the paper focused on a clearly-defined topic, and is the writer's purpose clear?), or arrangement (is the order of the content logical and easy to follow?), or development (is there enough detail and support for the reader to clearly understand the ultimate issue?), or tone (is the writer addressing the audience appropriately for the purpose and occasion?)
• only one revision allowed per paper
• the revision must be submitted within two weeks of the original paper's return to the student

WRITING CENTER

This support service resides in Peck Hall #1419 (Chad Verbais, Coordinator). Writing consultants are available there to work with you by appointment on ANY writing assignment, at any point in the drafting process. Smart students, no matter how advanced or limited their writing skills, understand the benefit of such a service and regularly seek it out.

DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS

If you feel that you are entitled to special accommodations (for example, a volunteer note-taker, interpreter, special desk, or extra time on tests), please contact the Disability Support Services office in Rendleman Hall #1218 (Jane A. Floyd-Hendey, Director), and they will help you fill out the necessary paperwork.

LATE PAPER POLICY

The professor does not accept late papers. Period. If there is an extraordinarily good reason for needing an extension on a paper due date, let the professor know in advance, and she will be kind.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Attendance, promptness, and participation are essential to success in college courses. Faculty members recognize that unexpected occasions may arise when a student must be absent from class, but the general attendance policy of this professor states that if a student is absent more than the number of required class sessions per week (in this case, that would be more than 2 sessions), the professor has the option of lowering the student’s final course grade by one letter grade for each additional session missed.  Furthermore, if absences become excessive (more than two weeks' worth of sessions), the SIUE Registrar, at the professor's request, reserves the right to withdraw the student administratively. For more information on this, please consult the following: SIUE Class Attendance Policy. Failure to attend class in a responsible and committed manner may thus be grounds for failure in or administrative withdrawal from the course.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Any student found engaging in an act of academic dishonesty will be promptly dismissed from the course with a grade of "F." By "academic dishonesty," I mean PLAGIARISM (the act of representing the work of another as one's own), which the University considers a grave breach of intellectual integrity. All definitions, terminology, concepts, and patterns of organization taken from an outside source must be identified and given credit in any essay or exam you write--whether it be for the English department or any other department. For more detailed information on this, please consult the following: SIUE Plagiarism Policy.

GRADING SCALE

Grading Guidelines

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

EL=Exploring Language; SW=Seeing & Writing