Introduction to Composition
Three lawsThe more you know, the more you CAN know.
Half the secret of success is simply showing up.
Luck favors the prepared mind.
WELCOME!!This course is designed to introduce you to academic writing and the skills necessary to succeed as a college-level writer. We will achieve these skills by emphasizing critical thinking, reading, and the writing of thoughtful, well-constructed, unified, coherent paragraphs to form essays that support and develop a main idea. Each writing assignment will be based upon a process involving revision, focusing first on content and later on writing conventions. As a result, we will begin to learn general writing and sentence-related terminology that be valuable for other courses you may be taking that require writing. Also, we will have the opportunity to model the effective writing of others, enhance vocabulary, and increase the ability to read for information, understanding, and, of course, pleasure. We will all develop these proficiencies in the context of our own and others’ writings, both in paragraphs and in essays. The goal is to give us an opportunity to be heard and read, in an academic setting, using the words and format expected of college-level writers.
Everyone will compose a range of writings from informal writing, and reflections to more formal writing from contemporary sources. The format of these writings will include journals and graded assignments. The major writing assignments will each go through stages of revision so that you will never turn in a final draft that has been written only once.
In this class we will view writing not only as a means of expression but as a means of discovery. As we write and rewrite, we sometimes find out what it is we really mean to say. And once the meaning is clear, writing is more effective. Writing is a tool to make you heard and understood; it becomes a tool to influence particular audiences. With increased skill as a writer you will be more effective and powerful in communicating your ideas.
Intstructor Contact Information
Dr. Roger Sauer
e-mail: rsauer@cp.chemeketa.eduRequired Texts and Materials
THERE IS NO REQUIRED TEXT FOR THIS CLASS. You will be expected to read materials handed out to you or available in current media (newspapers, magazines, online sources, etc.) You will also be responsible for finding writing of interest to you that you will present to the class as a writing prompt.
By the second class please have with you the following items:
A 3-ring binder with clean sheets of lined paper for journaling during the term. This binder will also be used for you to keep all of your assignments, in other words, a Portfolio. When we meet in conference, you will need to bring this binder with you.
Pick up a dictionary and a thesaurus for your use in the class.
A flash drive for you to carry your documents electronically and to transfer documents from computer to computer. These can be purchased for $10 to $20 depending on device memory size. You need no more than a 256MB drive for this class.
Please note that the dates for readings are the dates that readings and written assignments are due. It is important that you have all the reading done for the day it is assigned.
How I Can Help You
It is my role to help you become a better writer so you to do well in your college studies. All activities in the class are designed to help you achieve this goal. The only way to improve your writing is to write and write often in a variety of modes. My task will be to correct, to praise, to suggest alternatives, and to model writing in a way that HELPS YOU meet the goals of this class. These goals are described later.
My Expectations for YouAttendance and Participation: Woody Allen once said, “Half the secret of success is simply showing up.” In other words, you need to be in class. This is not an online or hybrid course. If attendance could be a problem, you should consider other enrollment options. We can improve our writing by sharing our work and discussing it with a community of learners. We have a limited number of classes in ten weeks so each one will be valuable. More than three absences may be a cause for you to fail the course or receive a lower grade.
Be prepared each day with readings completed and ready to discuss a reading or your own completed piece of writing. Your participation is vital for the class and your fellow students. Together we can to develop the skills and writing level outlines in WR 115’s learner outcomes. Check e-mail regularly as that is my primary communication method outside class time.
Assignments: All written assignments should be turned in or prepared on the due date specified in this syllabus. Some will be collected at the start of class while others will form the basis of that day’s work group or individual activity. Be prepared and on time. Late assignments are not accepted. If there are extenuating circumstances that may cause your work to be late, you need to contact me. Similarly, if you are unprepared to discuss reading, your final evaluation may suffer.
Conferences: You are required to meet with me once during the term to go over your work or to focus on a specific issue. As a professional who publishes occasionally, I find it not only helpful but necessary to get someone else’s feedback on my work. I am also available for drop-in visits.
Online Tutorial: Every week you will work on an online writing tutorial Allwrite 2.0. This resource is available to you off campus on your own computer, computers in the computer lab, or in the tutoring and Writing Center at the main campus. The tutorial will allow you to work on skill development individually whether the skill be sentence structure or essay development. Its website URL is
http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/allwrite2/content/toc.html. There is an online guide to the program with detailed instructions on navigation on the site. You may consider printing this and putting it in your portfolio.
Writing Assignments:Journal: A variety of class and out-of-class writing assignments will comprise your journal. All entries must be in your binder. You will receive prompts and instructions concerning specific journal entries. You will be expected to write in the journal weekly. Bring your journal to class every class period.
Formal Assignments: You will also be responsible for a number of formal writing assignments including paragraphs and essays. Each assignment will help you develop your writing skills and explore different writing modes. All assignments will assist you to better understand and use your writing skills.
Assignment #1: What I Wish I Had Learned Earlier
Assignment #2: Description
Assignment #3: Narration
Assignment #4: Illustration
Assignment #5 A Letter
Assignment #5 Comparison/Contrast
Assignment #6 Argumentation
Each assignment will go through multiple stages of drafting and revision. You may, at your discretion, rewrite any two assignments and hand them in for a new (hopefully improved) grade. This must be completed within one week of the original due date. No revisions are accepted after Thanksgiving break.
Paper Format: Please hand in all essays word-processed and double-spaced with one-inch margins stapled in the upper left-hand corner. Each piece of writing is to have a title. In the upper right hand-hand corner, please put your name, the course and number, my name, and the date.
Exams: There will be a final examination paper that will be timed. You will be provided a series of topics from which you will select your own. All pre-writing, outlines, and rough drafts will be submitted with the final.
All reading and writing assignments are listed on their due dates. Bring your WR 115 binder including journal entries and other assignments every day.
Class Schedule: This schedule may change depending on class needs
September 24-28
Course Introduction
Personal Interest Inventory
Writing Sample
Computer Lab Orientation, RM 6/217
Writing Center, Tutoring Center
October 1-5
Reading: Schools, Skills, Success articles
Journal #1: Value of School
Writing Process Lecture
Assignment #1: What I Wish I Had Learned Earlier
Computer Lab 6/217
Paper Format
Writing Tutorial
Emailing Attachments
October 8-12
Assignment #1 Due
Peer Review
Reading: Personal Reflections articles
Journal #2: Reading Response
Assignment #2: Descriptive Essay
Computer Lab 6/217
Class Blog
Writing Tutorial
October 15-19
Assignment #2 Due
Reading: Science and Technology articles
Journal #3: Reading Response
Assignment #3: Narrative Paper
Computer Lab 6/217
October 22-26
Assignment #3 Due
Reading: Lifestyles articles
Journal #4: Reading Response
Assignment #4: A Letter
Computer Lab 6/217
October 29-November 2
Assignment #4 Due
Reading: Arts and Entertainment articles
Journal #5: Reading Response
Assignment #5: Illustration and Example Paper
Computer Lab 6/217
November 5-9
Assignment #5 Due
Reading: World Views articles
Journal #6: Reading Response
Assignment # 6: Comparison and Contrast
Computer Lab 6/217
November 12-16Veterans’ Day November 12
Conferences TBA
Assignment #6 Due
Conferences TBA
Assignment #6 Due
November 19-23
Reading: National Views articles
Journal #7: Reading Response
Assignment #7 Argumentation Paper
Thanksgiving Holiday No School
November 26-30
Assignment # 7 Due
Peer Review
Taking Tests in College
Computer Lab 6/217
Final Exam Review
December 3-6
Final Exam is 12 Noon on Tuesday, December 4
PLEASE NOTE: Many assignments change hands during the term. Papers can get lost (fewer are eaten by family pets.) It is not only wise, but necessary, for you to keep archived copies of your major assignments. Keep drafts as separate documents (e.g. "Assignment 1 draft", "Assignment 1 final"). Keep documents in multiple formats (floppy, zip drive, hard copy).
HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED
IN OUR COURSE
Activity: Percent of your overall grade:
Attendance and Participation 10% Journals 10%
Assignment #1-#7 70%
Final Exam 10%
Academic Honesty in our Class
Chemeketa Community College English Program Policy
Academic honest is an indispensable value as students acquire knowledge and develop skills in college. Students at Chemeketa Community College are expected to practice academic honest by not cheating, plagiarizing, or misrepresenting their coursework in any way. Students are ultimately responsible for understanding and avoiding academic dishonesty whether such incidences are intentional or unintentional. Violations may result in failure of an assignment or failure of the course.
Plagiarism, collusion, and other forms of misrepresentation hurt the student and run counter to the goals of education. The English faculty at Chemeketa is committed to educating students regarding academic honesty. If at any time you are not sure about the legitimacy of your writing in this course, ask your instructor for clarification.
Chemeketa Statement of Special Needs: If you feel you may need an accommodation for any type of disability, please call or stop by to see me at the beginning of the term. Contact the office of Services for Students with Disabilities (399-5192) in Bldg. 2.
Chemeketa Diversity Statement: We are a college community enriched by the diversity of our students and staff. Each individual and group has the potential to contribute to our learning environment. Each has dignity. To diminish the dignity of one is to diminish the dignity of us all.
Learner Outcomes for Writing 115
Use variations of the writing process (free-writing, drafting, revising, proofreading, and editing) to create essays with fully developed paragraphs that support a controlling idea and engage a reader (producing at least 3,000 words per term, including three graded essays of at least 750 words).
Understand the similarities and differences between a paragraph and an essay
Demonstrate developing skills using writing strategies and modes appropriate to rhetorical situations common in academic contexts, including response to others’ ideas
Choose and focus a topic appropriate for a specific audience and purpose
Begin to use transitions to show the relationships between thoughts/ideas
Use an appropriate organizational structure that logically and effectively presents information
Recognize when a paragraph or essay is developed
Demonstrate ability to paraphrase, summarize, and quote college-level texts
Read and respond to college-level texts to demonstrate understanding of others’ ideas and as models of effective writing
Demonstrate college-level proficiency in written language conventions
Use accurate sentence construction in order to achieve clarity of meaning, emphasis, variety, flow, and rhythm
Use strategies for essay tests
