ENGLISH 271 / Advance Expository Writing
Summer 2008
Karen Robertson kroberts@bcc.ctc.eduThis composition section is associated with ENGL &245, American Literature II. Although students can register for this section of Engl 271 as a stand-alone course, there are significant benefits in taking the two courses at the same time. Click here for more information.
Representative Readings from Literature:
Mark Twain
Kate Chopin
William Dean Howells
Edith Wharton
GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION
"Advanced Expository Writing" at Bellevue Community College can include a variety of writing modes. In this section of English 271 we will use A WRITER'S COMPANION, 4th edition, by Richard Marius. Students will also read selections from American Literature as the basis for the essays that they will write. Students will write mostly comparison and/or contrast essays. They will combine personal experience, description, and/or argument to develop ideas, though our emphasis throughout the quarter will be on argument. The same writing that fulfills course assignments in this section will also fulfill essay requirements in English 267, 268, or 269 American Literature, the literature section linked to this composition course.
What Kinds of Activities Should Students Expect in This Course?Submission of Essays
During the quarter, students will submit 4-5 essays based on readings in American Literature. We will use several of these essays for peer review. Students will earn a grade based upon the extent to which they have adequately fulfilled the requirements of each assignment.Completion of Quizzes Based on Reading Assignments
Students will answer multiple-choice quiz questions based on assigned readings. Quiz questions will come from material in A WRITER'S COMPANION, from information in the APPENDIX of this course site, and from assigned literature.Peer Review
Periodically during the quarter students will read the writing of other students in the class and prepare written comments about their reaction to what their classmates have written. I will evaluate peer responses based on students' comments to their peers: i.e. assessing the peer reader's understanding of assignment requirements and assessing the peer reader's ability to determine evidence of analysis and evaluation in the writing of their peers.Discussions about the Process of Writing and Revising, and about Literature
Students will post thoughts and reflections on the Discussion Board after reading chapters from A Writer's Companion and after reading each selection from assigned literature.
How Much Reading Should Students Expect in This Course?
I've organized reading assignments for this course on a Course Calendar. Students will read chapters from A Writer's Companion, as well as selections from literature. During a given quarter, students generally read the equivalent of 6-7 short stories and 1 novel.
How Will Students Earn a Grade in This Course?
Essay 1 10%
Essay 2 10%
Essay 3 10%
Essay 4 15%
Essay 5 15%
Quiz Average 10%
Discussion Postings 20%
Peer Review 10%
What are the Entrance and Exit Objectives?
1. Requirements for English 271 assume that students will have met the objectives for English 101. Students in English 271, therefore, are responsible for having mastered content in English 101. Students must be able to
1) Write clear and complete sentences.
2) Sustain a definite focus and point of view in a 200 - 500 word paper.
3) Link ideas in a progressive, flowing sequence.
4) Make accurate paragraph distinctions and correctly signal them.
5) Spell and punctuate accurately in revised work. Occasional errors should not interfere with the purpose and intent of the writer's writing.2. In order to exit English 101, students will demonstrate their ability to recognize and/or understand the following concepts in their writing:
1) The relationship of writer to writing to audience. [The "Rhetorical Triangle" in this course.]
2) The concept that writing almost always occurs after a process of steps: drafting, focusing, revising, editing. [Material in THE WRITER'S COMPANION.]
3) The difference between subjective and objective writing. [Material in WRITER'S COMPANION.]
4) Strategies for organizing written text. [Material in WRITER'S COMPANION.]
5) The terminology of composition: thesis statement, unity, coherence, etc. [Marius will tell you that this terminology occurs within a discourse community to which writers belong.]
6) The conventions of standard, written English. [Material in WRITER'S COMPANION.]
7) The power of control that language choice provides the writer. [Material in WRITER'S COMPANION.]
8) The relationship of analysis to the process of reading and writing. [Material in WRITER'S COMPANION. [Marius will tell you how writers finds fact patterns and interpret them for their readers.]3. In order to exit English 271, students will submit 5 essays that fulfill the requirements of each assignment.
4. In order to exit English 271, students will receive a passing grade of C or better as a final grade for the course.
§ What Behavior Do I Expect of You as a Student?
I expect students registered for this course to abide by all Arts and Humanities guidelines. Students can find a detailed statement of these expectations at http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/ArtsHum/policy.html. Students will obviously have to use common sense in interpreting the policies because they primarily speak to our students who commute to campus every day. In addition, I expect students to participate in all of the course activities. This will include, but is not limited to, checking the Calendar, VISTA Email, and the Bulletin Board frequently so that they will remain up-to-date in the course. In addition, students should--
Be responsible for saving and backing up files. Computers and networks often experience problems!!
Show respect for discussion group members by responding to peer comments with civility. That doesn't mean that students cannot disagree with their peers' ideas or with my ideas. In fact, students should always bring up opposing positions because this is the stuff of which literary analysis consists. Students should simply make sure that they disagree without being rude or offensive.
Submit papers on time. I will give students a lower grade points on late work.Do one's OWN work. I try to provide discussion topics and paper assignment choices that are too specific to this course to invite plagiarism, but I reserve the right to submit any paper I find suspicious to a plagiarism site.
What Texts Will You Use?
Marius, Richard. A WRITER'S COMPANION, 4th edition. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1999.
Any handbook of grammar and usage of your choice.
Selected novels and shorter readings that correspond to readings in the section of English 267, 268, or 269 associated with this course. These are quarter-specific paperbacks, usually for Winter Quarter and Spring Quarter sections of the course, that are readily available in most bookstores and/or online.
BENEFITS of Registering for Composition and Literature Simultaneously
1 - Students read the same literature for composition as they do in their literature classes. Compositions students, however, do not read ALL of the material assigned in the literature class.
2 - Students in a composition section linked to Engl &244,&245, or &246 write NO essays in their literature section. The cumulative "Essay Grade" in the composition section "counts" as the essay grade [40% of the final grade] in their literature section.
3 - Students registered for both composition and literature take literature quizzes twice, once in their literature section and once in their composition section. The highest of the two grades is the one which "counts" in both sections.
4 - Students post literature discussion messages in both classes. [Copy and paste from one class to the other.] And, they have the benefit of reading discussions in both classes -- a help in writing essays and in taking quizzes.
5 - Students registered for both composition and literature classes reinforce reading and writing skills, as well as critical thinking skills, simultaneously.