Lincoln University
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE: Written Communication I
Department and number: English 82A
Semester: Spring 2011 – Thursdays, 9:00-10:15, 10:30-11:45
Credit: 3 units
Instructor: Dr. Sylvia Y. Schoemaker Rippel
Office hours and location: T, Th 11:45-12:30 and by arrangement, room 307
Phone: 510-628-8036
Email: syrs@lincolnuca.edu
Course-related email for the semester: profsylvia@gmail.com
Instructional Materials and References:
Required Text:
VanderMey et al. The College Writer. 2nd Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007. ISBN: 0-618-74253-0
Student text site: http://college.cengage.com/english/vandermey/college_writer/1e/students/index.html
Instructor's site: http://college.cengage.com/english/vandermey/college_writer/2e/instructor_home.html
Description
ENG 82A & 82B - WRITTEN COMMUNICATION I & II
First term: A thorough study of grammar and the fundamentals of composition. Practice in writing themes, book reviews and other short papers is given. Particular attention is directed toward sentence structure, syntax, and general rhetorical principles. Second term: Critical reading and evaluation of selected texts and writings; composition of well-organized expository papers; a careful consideration of methods of research, organization in a clear, logical manner and other elements involved in writing research papers. (3 + 3 units)
Course Objectives
Students will develop their writing skills for academic, professional, and socio-cultural purposes, in mode-centered essay writing. Students will learn editing, documentation skills, use of pre, during, and post writing strategies, topic outlines and other resources
Students will demonstrate written communication skills in writing and presenting their essays for personal, peer and instructor evaluation based on established rubrics, including competencies in planning, drafting, editing, and documentation skills.
Topical Outline
English 82A covers the aspects of composing well-organized written communications. The core of the course will emphasize practice in organizing ideas in a clear, logical manner and other elements involved in writing papers in descriptive, narrative, analytical, and persuasive rhetorical contexts. Student and professional writing models will be used throughout the units.
Format
Assignments Overview
Students will complete the following: Essays for 3 Units, 2 to 3 weeks each, midterm and final exams, ePortfolios/blogs/wikis, due weeks 8 and 15, notes and outlines for each unit and text assignment, including reference data, in-class presentations, readings and exercises.
Assignments are due on the dates indicated in the schedule below. Additions/revisions to the schedule will be announced in class as needed. Class attendance is mandatory for content, interactions, and presentations. Appropriate classroom decorum is expected; arriving late, leaving early, or leaving the classroom at times other than the scheduled breaks is inappropriate and, if unavoidable, should be explained and kept to a minimum. Researched materials must be documented using a consistent style for both in-text and end-text citations of sources using the published standards of the most recent subject-appropriate style guide, such as APA (social sciences) or MLA (humanities), for example.
For each of the units (as well as additional assignments given in class), students will do the following:
· Read assigned materials with care and understanding,
· Create a personalized, three-level outline for assigned readings, turning text headings into questions for the first level of the outline, and developing the second and third level with your main and more detailed answers to your formulated questions.
· Reflect on the assignments in writing (a brief paragraph or two), discussing your thoughts on the primary content; include points of personal interest.
· Email your assignments to me at profsylvia@gmail.com, with your outline and reflections written (or copied and pasted) in the body of your email. Be sure to keep a copy of the email for yourself and add it to your ePortfolios/PowerPoint presentations for midterm and final submission and sharing.
SCHEDULE
Date | Session | Unit | Assignments: (The College Reader -- Each chapter contains an Intro, an Overview, Guidelines, Example Readings, and Writing Checklist/Activities) | ||
20-Jan-2011 | 1 | 1 Intro | I. A Rhetoric: College Student's Guide to Writing | ||
27-Jan-2011 | 2 | Brief Overview Chapters | I. A Rhetoric: College Student's Guide to Writing Reading, Thinking, Viewing, and Writing | ||
1. Critical Thinking Through Reading, Viewing, and Writing | |||||
The Writing Process | |||||
2. Beginning the Writing Process | |||||
3. Planning | |||||
4. Drafting | |||||
5. Revising | |||||
6. Editing and Proofreading | |||||
7. Submitting, Writing, and Creating Portfolios | |||||
The College Essay | |||||
8. One Writer's Process | |||||
3-Feb-2011-17-Feb-2011 | 3-5 | Weeks 3-5 Unit I Narrative, Descriptive, and Reflective Writing | |||
3-Feb-2011 | 3 | Chapter 9. Forms of College Writing | |||
Chapter 10. Narration and Description | |||||
Selected Reading | "Mzee Owitti" by Jacqui Nyangi Owitti | ||||
Selected Reading | "That Morning on the Prairie" by James C. Schaap | ||||
Selected Reading | "A Hanging" by George Orwell | ||||
Selected Reading | "Sunday in the Park" by Bel Kaufman | ||||
10-Feb-2011 | 4 | Selected Reading | "Northing" by Annie Dillard | ||
Chapter 11. Description and Reflection | |||||
Selected Reading | "The Stream in the Ravine" by Nicole Suurdt | ||||
Selected Reading | "Call Me Crazy But I Have to Be Myself" by Mary Seymour | ||||
Selected Reading | "None of This Is Fair" by Richard Rodriguez | ||||
17-Feb-2011 | 5 | Selected Reading | "Who Shot Johnny?" by Debra Dickerson | ||
24-Feb-2011 | 6 | Unit I (Narrative, Descriptive, and Reflective Writing) Paper Due -- Presentations Chapter 12. Cause and Effect
| |||
24-Feb-2011- 31-Mar-2011 | Weeks 6-10 | Unit II -- Analytical Writing | |||
3-Mar-2011 | 7 | Chapter 13. Comparison and Contrast | |||
Selected Reading | "The Legacy of Generation N" by Christy Haubegger | ||||
Selected Reading | "Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids" by Anna Quindlen | ||||
10-Mar-2011 | 8 | MIDTERM | |||
Selected Reading | "A Fear Born of Sorrow" by Anita Brinkman | ||||
Selected Reading | "Two Views of the River" by Mark Twain | ||||
Selected Reading | "Shrouded in Contradiction" by Gelareh Asayesh | ||||
Selected Reading | "Like Mexicans" by Gary Soto | ||||
24-Mar-2011 | 9 | Chapter 14. Classification | |||
Selected Reading | "Three Family Cancers" by Kim Brouwer | ||||
Selected Reading | "Four Ways to Talk About Literature" by John Van Rys | ||||
Selected Reading | "No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch" by Ann Hodgman | ||||
31-Mar-2011 | 10 | Chapter | 15. Process Writing | ||
Selected Reading | "Wayward Cells" by Kerri Mertz | ||||
Selected Reading | "Downloading Photographs from the MC-150 Digital Camera" (from WFB) | ||||
Selected Reading | "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow" by Verne Meyer | ||||
Selected Reading | "Campus Racism 101" by Nikki Giovonni | ||||
7-Apr-2011 | 11 | Chapter 16. Definition | |||
Selected Reading | "The Gullible Family" by Mary Beth Bruins | ||||
Selected Reading | "Understanding Dementia" by Sarah Anne Morelos | ||||
14-Apr-2011 | 12 | Selected Reading | "Deft or Daft" by David Schelhaas | ||
Selected Reading | On Excellence by Cynthia Ozick | ||||
Unit II (Analytical Writing ) Paper Due –Presentations | |||||
Unit III Persuasive Writing | |||||
21-Apr-2011 | 13 | Chapter 17. Strategies for Argumentation and Persuasion | |||
Chapter 18. Taking a Position | |||||
Selected Reading | "An Apology for Ms. Barbie D. Doll" by Rita Isakson | ||||
Selected Reading | "In Defense of the Animals" by Meg Greenfield | ||||
Selected Reading | "Apostles of Hatred Find It Easy to Spread Their Message" by Leonard Pitts Jr. | ||||
Selected Reading | "Pornography" by Margaret Atwood | ||||
28-Apr-2011 | 14 | Chapter 19. Persuading Readers to Act | |||
Selected Reading | "Demystifying Multiculturalism" by Linda Chavez | ||||
Selected Reading | "To Drill or Not to Drill" by Rebecca Pasok | ||||
Selected Reading | "Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time" by Paul Rogat Loeb | ||||
Selected Reading | "I Have a Dream" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. | ||||
Chapter 20. Proposing a Solution | |||||
Selected Reading | "The Media's Image of Arabs" by Jack G. Shaheen | ||||
Selected Reading | "Preparing for Agroterror" by Brian Ley | ||||
Selected Reading | "Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha" by Anna Quindlen | ||||
Selected Reading | "The Media and the Ethics of Cloning" by Leigh Turner | ||||
Unit III (Persuasive Writing) Paper Due –Presentations | |||||
5-May-2011 | 15 | Final | |||
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA & METHOD OF EVALUATING STUDENTS
Students will demonstrate their level of proficiency and achievement through appropriate and accurate application of written communication theory and skills. Assessments of improved competence in writing descriptive, narrative, informative, and persuasive essays and personal and peer evaluations and reflections are fundamental to the grades attained.
| 100-95 | A |
94-90 | A- |
89-87 | B+ |
86-84 | B |
83-80 | B- |
79-77 | C+ |
76-74 | C |
73-70 | C- |
9-67 | D+6 |
66-64 | D |
63-60 | D- |
59 or less | F |
Class Work: oral and written exercises | 15% |
Quizzes, midterm | 15% |
Projects | 10% |
ePortfolios | 30% |
Presentations | 10% |
Final exam | 20% |
Total | 100% |
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