LENG 111:  College Composition / Honors

Fall 2006

Tuesday / Thursday 12:00-1:20 and 1:30-2:50

 

 

Instructor:                     Berwyn Moore, Associate Professor

Office:             Palumbo 3240

Phone:                          871-7504

Email:                           moore001@gannon.edu

Office Hours:                MWF:   12:15 - 2:00

                                    TTH:      11:00 - 12:00

Come see me! I have a lovely view and candy to share. If my office hours don’t work for you, we can set up an appointment.

 

 

Text

Odell, Lee and Susan M. Katz. Writing in a Visual Age. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006.

 

I also recommend that you have (and use) a college-level dictionary and grammar handbook. These will come in handy during your entire college (and beyond) career.

 

 

Course Description

This course is designed to help you strengthen your writing and critical reading skills and strategies. You will learn how to “communicate effectively in a culture where visual rhetoric is as important as verbal rhetoric” (Odell and Katz v). You will compose genre-specific papers in a process that incorporates the best rhetorical strategy for each.

 

This course is based on several assumptions: 1) an effective writing process leads to an effective written piece; 2) an effective writer is aware of her own writing process and can monitor her strategies as she writes; 3) an effective writer can evaluate the writing of others; 4) each writing task involves a rhetorical situation; 5) writing is a linguistic, cognitive, and social activity; 6) reading, writing, speaking and listening are connected activities.

 

 

Outcomes

As a student in this course, you will:

• develop a writing process that suits your methods and abilities
• write for a rhetorical situation by developing content, persona, and a relationship with the audience that are appropriate to your purpose
• write in a variety of genres that focus on community
• organize an entire piece of writing, as well as its paragraphs, in orderly, readable pattern
• write clearly and coherently with a proper command of sentences and words
• revise your own writing
• discuss the effects of making particular revisions
• annotate and interpret others’ verbal and visual texts in terms of your experiences
• analyze writing rhetorically
• identify the claim, support and assumptions in arguments
• connect your learning in this class with your learning in other courses

 

 

Methods

The approach in this class will allow you to assume responsibility for your learning and ownership of your writing. Learning will also be collaborative as you work in small groups to discuss readings, to complete exercises, and to respond to each other’s writing.  You will complete several exercises and five papers; at the end of the term you will produce a portfolio of revised written work.

 

 

Assignments

You will complete three types of graded writing in this course:

 

Papers:            You will complete five papers that you will work on in a process from preliminary invention to polished product. I will give you specific instructions about each paper’s purpose, audience, and format on separate hand-outs.

Portfolio:        As a capstone assignment for this course, you will submit three revised and polished papers in a portfolio for a collective grade. You will also submit a self-reflective essay discussing your growth as a writer.  (See attached handout.)

Exercises:        You will work on several written and oral exercises based on class readings and discussion. Some if these may be done collaboratively with other students.

 

 

Attendance, Late Papers, and Missed Assignments

Attendance and participation in class activities are mandatory. Be prompt; if you are late, you will be counted as absent. If you must miss a class, you are responsible for finding out what discussion and activities you missed.  Poor attendance may result in an F for the course. The Student Handbook explains the attendance policy for freshmen; be sure to read it.

 

Papers not turned in on time will be reduced one letter grade for each day they are late. If you need an extension on an assignment, please discuss it with me before the due date.

 

You will receive a zero for missed exercises. There is no make-up for them.

 

 

Plagiarism / Cheating

Plagiarism will result in an F on the assignment and possibly an F for the course. Please refer to the “Code of Academic Integrity” in your Gannon handbook.

 

 

The Writing Center

You are encouraged to use the services at the Writing Center (first floor of Palumbo) throughout the semester. The Writing Center staff is helpful and courteous and trained to assist students with all aspects of the writing process – from generating ideas to drafting, revising, and editing. The Writing Center will notify me of your visit and inform me of what transpired in the session. In some cases, students may be required to visit the Writing Center regularly.

 

 

Grading

 

Paper #1:                                 10%

Paper #2:                                 15%

Paper #3:                                 15%

Paper #4:                                 15%

Paper #5:                                 15%

Portfolio:                                  15%

Exercises/Participation: 15%    

 

 

 

100 - 90           =          A

  89 - 88           =          B+

  87 - 80           =          B

  79 - 78           =          C+

  77 - 70           =          C

  69 - 60           =          D

  69 -   0           =          F

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Course Schedule

 

Pay attention in class for changes in assignments or schedule. Page numbers refer to Writing in a Visual Age.

 

Th        8/24                 Introduction to course / questionnaire

 

Tu        8/29                 Chapter 1, “Introduction,”

 

Th        8/31                 Continue discussion of Chapter 1

 

Tu        9/5                   Chapter 2, “Profiles,” 27-68

 

Th        9/7                   Continue discussion of Chapter 2

 

Tu        9/12                 Chapter 2, 69 - 101

                                    Workshop for paper #1: Profile

 

Th        9/14                 Video:  Conducting Peer Response Groups

 

Tu        9/19                 Peer response to profile

 

Th        9/21                 Profile Due

                                    Chapter 3, “Reports,” 103-119

 

Tu        9/26                 Chapter 3, 120-179

                                               

Th        9/28                 Continue discussion of Chapter 3

                                    Workshop for paper #2: Report

 

Tu        10/3                 Peer response to report

 

Th        10/5                 Report Due

                                    Chapter 4, “Position Papers,” 181-197

 

Tu        10/10               Chapter 4, 198-259

 

10/11-10/15     Midterm Break

 

Tu        10/17               Continue discussion of Chapter 4

 

Th        10/19               Continue discussion of Chapter 4, emphasizing argument

                                   

Tu        10/24               Workshop for position paper

 

Th        10/26               Peer response to position paper

 

Tu        10/31               Position paper due

                                    Chapter 5, “Evaluations,” 261-279

 

Th        11/2                 Chapter 5, 280-333

 

Tu        11/7                 Advising Day: No Class

 

Th        11/9                 Continue discussion of Chapter 5

                                    Workshop for paper #4: Evaluation

 

Tu        11/14               Peer response to evaluation

 

Th        11/16               Evaluation due

                                    Chapter 6, “Proposals,” 335-347

 

Tu        11/21               Chapter 6, 348-410

                                    Workshop for proposal

 

11/22-11/26     Thanksgiving Break

                                   

Tu        11/28               Peer response to proposal

                                   

Th        11/30               Proposal Due

 

Tu        12/5                 Chapter 15, “Writing Portfolios,”

 

Th        12/7                 Workshop for Portfolio and Self-Reflective Essay

 

Tu        12/12               Portfolio Due

                                    Deliver to Palumbo 3240 by 1:00