Instructor: Dr. Elizabeth Petrino
Office: DMH 109
Office Hours: MR 1:00-2:00, W 11:00-12:00
Office Phone: -3014
and by appointment
E-mail: epetrino@mail.fairfield.edu
Website: http://faculty.fairfield.edu/epetrino
Required Texts
The Prentice Hall Reader, 7th edition,
ed. Miller
The Little, Brown Compact Handbook,
5th edition, ed. Aaron
Strunk and White, The Elements of Style
Description and Goals
English 11 is the first course in a two-quarter sequence of freshman writing classes. We will focus both on the process of writing and developing the individual writing abilities of each student. You will be graded on paper assignments as well as on the diligence, self-criticism, and improvement you show in completing each assignment. We will discuss strategies for improving your writing and awareness of what is expected in college essays. We will also learn from each other by criticizing constructively papers in writing workshops, which will take place before every assignment is due. In order to develop ideas for class discussions and writing assignments, we will read essays in The Prentice Hall Reader and occasional pieces of journalism. Occasional reading quizzes designed to check comprehension and increase vocabulary will also be given. In addition, I will be available to counsel each student individually in conference. I will act as mentor, guide, and coach, facilitating your discussions and providing direction throughout the quarter.
Requirements
You will be expected to write one in-class essay and five final drafts of essays for this course. Please do not discard your essays after you have written them; all graded essays, drafts, writing exercises, revisions and preliminary notes should be submitted in a folder or portfolio at the semester’s end. All papers will be typed, double-spaced, titled, paginated, and list the course, section number, date, and assignment number in the upper-right-hand corner. Papers should be joined with a paper clip; do not turn in a sheaf of loose papers, and do not staple them together. Please do not turn in papers with binders, plastic covers, or cover sheets—they will be turned back. The grading for each assignment will be as follows:
Essay #1
(narrative/descriptive essay)
15%
#2
(comparison/contrast essay)
15%
#3
(division/classification essay)
15%
#4
(cause/effect essay)
15%
#5
(argumentative essay)
15%
#6
(in-class response essay)
15%
Attendance, participation, workshop 10%
preparation, and short writing assignments
Revision
Any paper can be revised for a new grade. The final grade for a revised essay will be an average of the original grade and the new paper grade. If you choose to revise, please select your essay carefully after consulting with me. Be sure to revise papers in substance rather than making small editorial changes. Essays without substantive, structural and conceptual changes are unlikely to receive a higher grade.
Attendance and Make-ups
Attendance is mandatory and will dramatically affect a student’s overall course grade. If you miss class for any reason, you are responsible for finding out what you missed, by contacting me or another student in the course. In accordance with University policy, however, students participating in University-sponsored events (i.e. Glee Club, orchestra, & theater performances, varsity & club sports) are excused without penalty. For student athletes or performers, a schedule of such events should be submitted at the beginning of the semester. Three classes may be missed without penalty. Each missed class thereafter without a medical or university excuse will mean a deduction from the course grade. Students are advised that missing more than six classes will result in failing the course.
Plagiarism
Using someone else’s words as your own is
a serious act. Words and ideas are intellectual property, and taking
another’s ideas or sentences without attributing them is a form of thievery.
A plagiarized paper will receive a grade of F. Beyond this, further
action may be taken at the University level and may put the student’s academic
career in jeopardy.
Assignments (Subject to revision) Course 10045
MR 11:00-11:50, W 10:00-10:50 CNS 303
Sep 3 Introduction to class; introduction to the writing process; assign Diagnostic Essay
4
Strategies for reading the text, developing ideas, and writing papers;
read PHR 1-
6, 16-38-60; Diagnostic Essay due
8 Exemplification: discussion of readings; read PHR, Greene, “Cut,” 57-64; write precis
10
Narrative/Descriptive Writing: read McNally, “Waiting,” 87-100; Description,
135-144; Grice,
“Caught in the Widow’s Web,” 544-549; Paper
#1 Assignment given
11
Narrative/ Descriptive Writing: continue Grice, “Caught in the Widow’s
Web,” 544-549; Descriptive
exercise
15 Peer Review Workshop (bring in four copies of draft)
17
Comparison/Contrast Writing; read PHR, 253-267; Zinsser, “The Transaction:
Two Writing Processes,” 275-278
18
Discussion of comparison/contrast approaches; read Daum, “Virtual Love,”
296-307; Paper #1 Due; Paper #2 Assignment
given
22 Introduction to computer lab; draft outline in class; pre-writing exercise
24 Library Session (meet in the library foyer)
25 Peer Review Workshop
29
Division and Classification, 191-203; read Ehrenreich, “In Defense of Talk
Shows,” 209-213; Paper #3 Assigned
Oct 1 Division and Classification (xerox); Paper #2 due
2 Division and Classification continues; Paragraph Development and Editing
6 Peer Review Workshop
8 Sentence Development and Editing I: Coordination/Subordination
9 Sentence Development and Editing II: Balance and Parallelism; Paper #3 Due
FALL BREAK – NO CLASS (Oct. 11-13)
15 Cause and Effect Writing; Paper #4 Assignment given; read PHR, 367-380
16 Continue discussion of cause/effect writing; read Forster, “My Wood,” 381-386
20
Continue discussion of cause/effect writing; read Butterfield, “Why They
Excel,”
405-411
22 Peer Review Workshop
23 Discussion of style and clarity
27
Revising Prose: read PHR, 533-543; Ephron, “Revision and Life: Take It
From
the Top—Again,” 327-332; Paper #4 due
29
Revising Prose Workshop: bring in paper to revise; read Grice, “Journal
Entries:
The Black Widow,” 550-554, 555-556
30 Workshop on grading
Nov 3 Peer Review Workshop of revision
5 Argumentative/Persuasive
Writing: read PHR, 482-485, Owen, “Dulce et
Decorum Est,”486-489; Paper #4 due
6 Argumentative/Persuasive
Writing: read King, “I Have a Dream,” 490-496; Paper
#5 Assignment given
9 Continue discussion of argumentative/persuasive writing (xerox)
12 Continue discussion
of argumentative/persuasive writing; discuss logical
fallacies; read PHR, 478-479
13 Researching a topic
and using sources; read “Finding, Using, and Documenting
Sources,” 557-584
17 Individual Conferences; Evaluating Sources: workshop
19 Class presentations (meet with me outside of class)
20 Class presentations
24 Class presentations
THANKSGIVING RECESS (Nov. 26-30)
Dec 1 Peer Review Workshop
3 Discussion of in-class essay; Paper #6 assigned
4 In-class writing (final paper)
8 Last day of class (conclusion
and evaluations); FINAL ARGUMENTATIVE
ESSAY DUE (Essay #5)