Roger
George
English 092
R230
D
Office
Hours: Monday-Friday,
Phone: (425) 564 2021
e-mail: rgeorge@bcc.ctc.edu
ENGLISH
092: THE BASICS OF COLLEGE WRITING
(LINKED WITH HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 120)
Welcome!
The goal of this course is to boost
your skills—mainly your writing skills, but also your reading and critical analysis skills. College classes demand a kind of disciplined
communication and a special set of skills that you might not have developed
fully; by the end of this course, you should be better prepared to succeed in all of your college classes.
The
“core” of the course will be four polished, revised essays of different types,
calling upon you to analyze and comment upon ideas, issues, and events. These will be similar to papers you might
write for other classes, and you’ll be given the opportunity to apply what
you’ve learned throughout the quarter to their revision. You may also have the chance to write shorter
papers in response to your reading and to improve your grade through a variety
of activities.
All
good writing comes from observation. You
have to see for yourself, to observe an event or object, or even consider an
idea, as it appears to you -- not as you think somebody else wants you to see
it. This means learning to observe
details, and then finding connections between them. It means finding the words to describe what
you've seen to someone else. It means
paying attention not just to what something is (nouns), but also to what it does (verbs). It means that you
have to learn to start with the basic unit of writing, a concrete noun and an
action verb (a simple declarative
sentence), and build upon it, adding more and more detail, focusing your
perceptions, and zeroing in on the point of it all until you produce a vivid,
interesting, and coherent essay.
So
we'll start with the basics: simple sentences.
We'll make those sentences more complex, and build them into
paragraphs. Then we'll build paragraphs. And, finally, we'll link paragraphs into
complete essays. By the end of the
quarter, you should be able to:
a) write clear and complete sentences,
b) sustain a definite focus and point of view in a 250-350 word
essay,
c) link ideas in a progressive, flowing sequence,
d) make accurate paragraph distinctions, and correctly signal
them,
e) spell and punctuate accurately.
Textbooks:
Writing in Context, by Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell
Study Skills Simplified, by Enid Leonard
Grading:
I use
a points system. Every aspect of the
class, including attendance, is worth a certain number of points. The more you
do, the more you'll earn. The points
will be based, of course, on quality
as well as quantity—and revised work will potentially earn many more points
than preliminary drafts.
Among
the things you will earn points for are:
1) Essays.
You will produce four finished, revised essays, which are to be
considered samples of the best work of which you are capable. All final drafts must be revised from at least
one earlier draft; if you do not submit a rough draft on an assigned topic you
will not be allowed to submit that paper for one of your final revisions, and
you cannot substitute another additional paper for one of the assigned
ones. The draft will be worth a small
number of points (usually 100); the revision will be worth much more (up to
1000).
All essays, rough drafts and revisions, shall be
submitted electronically, in either Word or Works (for PC) format. If you wish, you may email your papers to me,
but be sure to get confirmation that I received them. If I don’t confirm receipt, the paper may not
be graded.
Papers are due on the date assigned.
If you miss the deadline, they become worthless, as they would in the
real world. I may award a fraction of
the available points, but only if you discuss with me the reason the assignment
was late.
2) Writing Lab. On your own, you may go to the Writing Lab. The
lab offers tutoring, and help (both personal and computerized) on grammar and
basic skills.
3) Response Papers. In class,
we’ll be reading essays from Writing In
Context.. Class time will be devoted to discussing the
ideas within these essays. Many of these
essays also included suggested writing assignments, and I may assign one of
them for a “response paper.” These response papers are not reports; you are not
writing to summarize the essay or prove that you've read it. And they are not a judgment; you are not
writing to inform us whether you liked the essay or not. They must contain ideas and questions worth
discussing; they are a supplement to and a continuation of the essay you've
read. Later in the quarter, response
papers may be an opportunity for extra credit.
4) Class participation. You
will receive points for your contributions to class discussions. You will also earn
points for participating in writing groups.
YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BE A PARTICIPANT AND NOT A SPECTATOR IN
ALL OUR VENTURES.
One last note. Earn
as many points as you can. In order to
go on to English 101, you must earn at least a “C-“ in
English 092.
NOTE: ALL ESSAYS PRODUCED FOR THIS CLASS WILL BE
CONSIDERED TO BE PUBLIC WRITING, AND THEY MAY BE USED (ANONYMOUSLY, OF COURSE)
AS DEMONSTRATION PAPERS FOR FUTURE CLASSES, UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY REQUEST
OTHERWISE IN WRITING. ESSAYS MAY ALSO BE
SUBMITTED TO TURNITIN.COM FOR AN ANALYSIS OF THEIR ORIGINALITY.
READ THE
POLICIES OF THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES DIVISION AT THE FOLLOWING URL: http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/artshum/policy.html THESE ARE THE POLICIES OF THIS CLASS, AND YOU
WILL BE EXPECTED TO HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THEM.
CLASS
INFORMATION, THE SYLLABUS, ASSIGNMENTS, AND USEFUL WEB LINKS WILL BE POSTED
ONLINE AT: http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/artshum/materials/
Students with disabilities who have
accommodation needs are required to meet with the Director of Disability
Support Services, room B233-G (telephone 425-564-2490 or TTY 425-603-4110) to
establish their eligibility for accommodation.
In addition, students are encouraged to review their accommodation
requirements with each instructor during the first week of the quarter.