ENG 302--Advanced Composition
for Humanities
Dennis Young
"How do I know what
I think until I see what I say." --E. M. Forster
"Clarity, clarity, surely
clarity is the most beautiful thing in the world." --George Oppen
THE
NATURE OF THIS COMPOSITION COURSE
This class is about you: you as a writer, you as a thinker, you as a questioner,
you as a collaborator with fellow students, you as a learner. By writing and
speaking you discover what you think. By putting thoughts, ideas, images on
the page, and revising (that is, re-seeing) them, you come to terms with self-understanding,
clarifying parts of youself to yourself.; you create a kind of world in your
work. Since one can never have enough clarity about what one thinks, there
is value in working at writing. This class, then, is what you make it.
No matter your areas of academic and personal interest, you are--and always
will be--a writer. This course is designed to help to make you a better one:
more thoughtful, more persuasive, more clear. This is a course in seeing and
reseeing, writing and rewriting, reading and rereading, claiming and reclaiming.
We'll start with a premise: A writer is an individual who uses language to
discover meaning in experience and communicate it. And we'll consider another
premise: Careful attention to language and its persuasive capabilities is central
to success in college and beyond.
Writing, as the word is used in this class, is intimately related to critical
thinking, but what is meant by that often used phrase? The critical faculties
are logic and imagination, linguistic precision, historical awareness, and
a capacity for long, intense absorption. These--and not the abilities to compute,
apply or memorize--are the true desiderata of any higher education, and it
is critical thinking that can best realize them.
Together, we will try to develop a sensitivity to language and ideas by responding
to each others' writing and speaking. We will also discuss essays, student
writing, and the many issues that will no doubt arise during the course of
the term. Your main job as a student is to actively engage in class activities.
Since the class is run primarily as a collaborative workshop, we will spend
a great deal of time talking about your writing and essays stories, and poems
to serve as a springboard for class discussions. Our emphasis is on writing
to learn (and reading to learn) as much as it is on learning to write.
THE
GOALS OF THE COURSE
This class will attend to writing, language, and thinking. Following are some
of the goals I see as important, fundamental in a composition course.
- To allow you to explore and express your thoughts, feelings, experiences,
and opinions through writing in a variety of writing styles and situations.
- To sharpen your perception as a reader. This includes: understanding
the structure of an argument; responding to your classmates' writings; developing
a sense of what goes into clear, interesting, and purposeful writing; seeing
an issue from points of view other than your own.
- To more fully
develop a writing style that is uniquely "you"--a
style that reflects your opinions, your values. To become more aware
of the fact that no one can express things in quite the same way
as you
can. To make
your
use of language a way of asserting your individuality.
- To know what it means to communicate effectively: to adjust your words
to reach different audiences; to see that writing and speaking must have
a purpose and that they don't exist in a vacuum; to learn to focus a topic,
keeping it
manageable and thereby maintaining your reader's (or listener's) interest;
to become familiar with various techniques of persuasion and argument; to
work on
revising what you produce, refining your ideas and sharpening your prose.
- To write and
speak on subjects you care about. We'll begin by writing resumes,
letters and explanatory
essays, then branch out to topics which
involve your doing some "digging" for more detailed information.
We'll talk about how you go about searching for this information, how
to adapt it to your
purpose, how to organize it, how to acknowledge your sources, etc.
THE
WRITING
Always follow this basic, extremely simple format for all papers:
Leave a 1 inch margin on both sides of the page, number pages (top,
right-hand corner,
starting with page two--please do not hand write the numbers, it's easy to
format on any computer), left justification only, and double space. Use a 12-point
font (New Times Roman is fine). "Spell and grammar check" take about
a minute per page, and will likely be beneficial. (Failure to format properly
or to "spell/grammar check" before you turn in a draft for evaluation
will result in a reduction of one letter grade on papers.)
Some of the writing will be informal. Some of it will require you to reconsider,
evaluate and investigate the ideas that develop over the course of the semester.
Some of it will require that you respond to selections that we read. What I
ask you for--in your work--is a good effort, a thoughtful effort, an honest
effort. Plagiarism--using the words or ideas of anyone (writers, friend, parent,
significant other, etc.) other than yourself, and pretending those words are
your own--constitutes serious academic dishonesty and will not be tolerated.
(We will discuss ways that you can avoid inadvertent plagiarism by using paraphrasing
and documentation.) The idea behind this course, after all, is to get you to
come to understand yourself and others better through language, interaction
and communication. To do well in this class, you will need to do a lot of writing.
I encourage you to find out what truly engages you and to make your authentic
interests the focus of your writing and speaking.
CLASS
INVOLVEMENT AND ITS RELATION TO EVALUATION
I am required to evaluate your work, and so I want to challenge you to do your
best work. You are taking a class not just writing papers. To take the class
is to become involved. Consistent and rigorous involvement in class discussions
is expected, vital, necessary. An infrequent cut is your business, but more
than one absence is a problem and prevents you from becoming an organic, functioning
part of the class. If you miss a class for any reason, you are responsible
for the material discussed in class, the class assignment and for the prompt
submission of any requirement due that period. What you say in class, ways
that you help energize the class with your presence and your participation,
seem to me to be as important a factor in arriving at a final grade as the
work you do on paper.
WRITING AND EVALUATION
I am interested in your individual pieces of work, but also in the entire work
you've done over the course of the semester, your development as a student
and your overall performance in class activities. The following is meant to
give you general criteria for evaluation.
If you have done competent work in the course, completing all assignments,
meeting all the minimum requirements in all areas, doing just what is asked
of you, then I assume that is average, competent
work--"C."
If your work meets
all those requirements, but goes beyond the minimum requirements in some
areas,
or shows a high degree of involvement on your part, or is
strong in some areas, I consider that above?average work--"B."
If your work shows
you to be an outstanding class member, if you push yourself, stretch
beyond what
is easy for you, if your writing and speaking show
a consistently high degree of involvement, and if you are an active and
constructive
member
of the class, I consider that superior work--"A."
If your semester's work falls
below the minimum requirements of the course that is below-average work--NC
(No Credit).
To do well in the class,
you will need to be active, and to initiate, and to push yourself, rather
than passively to receive information,
doing only
what
is "required," and expecting me to motivate you. The most
important requirement for this class is that you stretch yourself,
consistently
participate, test your capabilities, and that you are honest. I will
expect you to take
an active part in evaluating your own strengths and the areas where
you think that you need to grow. If you are unfamiliar with doing
this, come
talk to
me. Since this is a course in writing, it will take a lot of your
time, and the work cannot all be done at the end of the term.
Remember: it is your work that is being evaluated--not your potential or your
past performance in other English classes. I will spend a lot of time writing
comments on your papers or talking with you in conferences, and I will expect
you to take time to read what I have written. The best way to read my comments
is to start at the beginning of your essay, reread what you have written, and
stop to read my comments along the way. My marginal comments show my reactions/suggestions
at a given moment as I read your work. The final comment is where I will make
a summary statement about your essay. I will expect you to consistently and
successfully proofread all papers, including first drafts. I know my handwriting
can be a problem. I will not be embarrassed if you ask me to decipher what
I have written. I will, however, be heartbroken if you simply skip over what
is hard to read.
LATE
PAPERS, ABSENCES AND EVALUATION
Deadlines are a reality of life, something like death and taxes.
You cannot get around them. Because late drafts and papers are impediments
to your and
my progress and well-being in the course, only in the most extreme cases are
late papers accepted (a computer/printer malfunction, car/family/roommate trouble
and minor illnesses that do not require hospitalization are not extreme cases
and are not acceptable excuses). If the paper is not ready when I ask for papers
in class, it will be reduced by one letter grade. A paper that is more than
two days late cannot receive a grade higher than a "C." Papers must
be given to me in class at the beginning of the period the day on which they
are due. Self-evaluations are often required and a paper that does not have
the requisite self-evaluation is not complete. Papers placed in my mailbox
are considered one day late and will be reduced one letter grade. (I reserve
the right to grade late papers at my convenience, which may mean I may not
grade them until the very end of the semester.) Failure to submit a paper for
peer evaluation when preliminary drafts are due will be penalized a letter
grade and you will earn an "F" for the day's participation grade.
People who
come regularly to class and do all required work on time invariably
do well
in this course. In order to be a functioning, aware and attentive
member
of the class, you should come to all classes. Because this is a "performance
course" (not a lecture class), everything we do "counts." If
you are not in class and we do peer-editing, collaborative work, in-class writing,
or some other group or individual activity, you will receive an "F" for
the day. This is a writing course, meaning it is a collaborative course,
so your participation is fundamental. Showing up prepared to engage in class
activities
is essential to your well-being in this course.
IS
THERE WRITING AFTER COLLEGE?
A recent study looked at a sample of 200 individuals which adequately fit the
U.S. Department of Labor statistics on the distribution of college-educated
people in the American work force. Over three-fourths (3/4) of college trained
people are employed in technical, professional and managerial occupations,
and fully half of all college-educated people are in technical and professional
occupations. For all the 200 respondents the average total work time spent
writing was over 23 percent, or over one day in a five-day week. Nearly three-fourths
(3/4) of the college-educated people sampled claimed to spend 10 percent or
more of their work time writing. Only four people claimed never to write while
on the job. All of the people in technical and professional occupations wrote
on the job, spending on the average 29 percent of total work time writing--a
figure higher than for any other occupational group. Writing is clearly an
important and frequently used skill across all major categories of occupations
that college graduates are trained to enter. (From Stephen Witte and Lester
Faigley, Evaluating College Writing Programs. Urbana: NCTE 1990, p. 72).
PERCENTAGES
I will adhere to the following percentages in determining your final grade:
- TWO REVISED PAPERS: 17% and 18% respectively;
- INFORMAL WRITING (which includes
in-class writing, rough drafts and daily writing): 15%;
- CONCERNS PAPER:
25%;
- FINAL, IN-CLASS WRITING: 5%;
- IN-CLASS PERFORMANCE: 20%
Everything counts. Broken
up as follows:
- Group work (including collaborative work and group presentations):
10%
- Contribution to and involvement in class discussions: 10%
The "IN-CLASS PERFORMANCE" category
involves the significant day to day activities of the course. Every
time we meet you will be asked to complete
some task, and you will be evaluated, in part, on how consistent you are in
completing assigned tasks. Almost every time we meet, you will be asked to
do some sort of writing--if you come to class and do the writing you get full
credit; if you don't do the writing you get no credit. Consistent involvement
is essential to your doing well in this course.
INDIVIDUAL
CONFERENCES
We will be using our Saturday sessions for individual conferences to talk about
the work-in-progress that you are doing. In addition, I would be happy to meet
with you to discuss your work and the class whenever you would like: we can
talk about what you're doing well, what you need to devote more attention to,
etc. I encourage you to approach me anytime you have questions--about assignments,
about my comments on your work, about the movement of the course, about anything.
Since this course is about communicating, I certainly want to keep all the
channels open between you and me. If at any point in the semester you do not
know what is expected of you, please let me know.
THINGS YOU'LL NEED
1) The Blair Reader (third edition), ed. Laurie Kriszner & Stephen Mandel
Since we will be looking carefully at essays we read, you should, of course,
bring your text to class
each time we have a reading assignment.
2) A notebook and pen, which you should always bring to class.
3) If you don't have a writers' handbook, get one. It will come in handy at
school and at work.
(NOTE: This is not a course in spelling, punctuation, or grammar. We will deal
with these elements of writing by asking the following kinds of questions: "How
are these conventions useful in the production of clear, meaningful writing.
Do lapses in these areas prevent the writer's message from being understood?" and
so on. "Mechanics," therefore, will be viewed within the entire rhetorical
context.)
EXPECTATIONS
AND GRADES
Following is a list of all the things I see as fundamental, basic, necessary
for you to do well in this course. These are some of the things I see as leading
to learning. If you do them all, you are likely to do well in the course.
- coming to class
- coming to class on time
- turning in work on time
- substantive revising on all major papers
- good copy editing on all final revisions (no more than a very few grammar,
usage, or typographical errors)
- good effort on peer feedback and collaborative work
- substantial effort and investment on each writing assignment
- reading every reading assignment carefully, marking passages and reflecting
on the main features of each piece
- thinking, attending, engaging, revising
Prerequisite
and Final Day to Withdraw
The prerequisite for this course is a minimum grade of "C" in
English 101 (or its equivalent), six credits of literature (or humanities),
and 45
credit hours.
The final day to withdraw with no tuition liability is Sept 8. The final day
to withdraw from the course without dean's permission is Oct. 1.
