Principles of Writing
page index:
Famous Devotionals, Speeches, Hymns, and Essays:
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| "The Mighty Scourge of War" (Re: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address) |
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Houghton
College
English
101-A, -C, and -F: Principles of Writing (P.O.W.)
MWF
8:00-8:50 a.m. (Academic Building 123), 9:00-9:50 a.m. (Academic Building 123),
and 11:50 a.m.-12:40 p.m. (Academic Building 327)
Spring 2003
And whatever you do, whether in word or in
deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…
BASIC
INFORMATION:
Instructor: Dr. Laurie A. Dashnau
Office: Academic Building 100-B
Office Hours: MWF 10:00-10:45 a.m.
and 3:15-4:00 p.m., T 9:00-10:45 a.m.
and
by appointment
Campus Phone: x5140 (off campus: 585-567-9514)
Home Phone: 567-8995
REQUIRED
TEXTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS:
Ellsworth,
Blanche, and John A. Higgins. English
Simplified. 9th ed.
New York: Addison-Wesley, 2001.
Eschholz,
Paul, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark, eds. Language Awareness. 8th ed.
New York: St. Martin’s
A
binder in which to keep handouts. You very well may want to date these, keeping
them in order.
A
regular pocket folder for journal entries, which may be word-processed or hand
written on standard size paper.
A
portfolio: i.e., a folder or large envelope for submitting essays and their
accompanying materials (drafts, reader response logs/letters, revisions, etc.).
Ready
access to your laptop computer, computer printer, computer paper, and fresh ink
cartridges.
Several
class readings will be placed in our class folder (see handout).
In order for you to engage actively in the discussion and marking up of
these readings, it is absolutely imperative for you, when asked, to run off and
bring with you to class individual hard copies.
A
blank cassette tape and a cassette player.
Your instructor will be commenting on your major drafts and revisions,
beginning with Essay #1, via this method. Responses
via cassette tapes 1.) truly allow you to retain control over your essay’s
direction by springing off of encouragements and questions as much as if not
more than actual or perceived mistakes, complimenting the idea that writing is
an ongoing, recursive process; 2.) challenge you to listen carefully for matters
of voice and look for patterns of error that
A
college-level dictionary and a thesaurus are highly recommended.
A
backup disk. (Be sure to keep copies of your various drafts and revisions
throughout the entire term).
COURSE
PHILOSOPHY:
The
Department of English and Communication, in support of that part of the Houghton
College mission which states that Houghton graduates should "be competent
in the
Each
student will be challenged to understand writing as a valuable, stimulating,
challenging, and enjoyable means of thinking and communicating.
As
Professor Newman of Towson University writes,
Etymologically speaking, an essay is a “try,” an
“attempt,” an “experiment,” and yes, an “effort.”
Sixteenth-century French author Michel de Montaigne
used the term not to suggest that his writings were unfocused or unfinished, but
to signify their departure from the rigid genres that had
existed previously.
Today’s definition of the essay, “a short literary composition on a
single subject, usually presenting the personal views of the author,” retains
this sense of freedom and flexibility. Although
an essay may begin as a means of inquiry (Flannery O’Connor observed, “I
write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say”), a
successful essay communicates the writer’s personal perspective and experience
to the reader. The essay’s
relatively brief quality calls for qualitiescharacteristic of any good
writing—unity, clarity, grace, and impact.
In this class, you will improve your writing style and strengthen your
individual voice as a writer by studying some of the best...essayists, by
reading and practicing the principles of effective style, and by writing essays
of your own.
COURSE
OBJECTIVES:
-To
understand and use an effective writing process (of generating ideas, of
selecting and arranging them, and revising and evaluating them) to produce
clear, competent, and coherent writing that is appropriate in tone and style to
the writer’s audience and purpose;
-to
recognize and use the conventions, principles, and standards of academic and
expressive writing;
-to
understand and use the specialized terminology used in discussions of the
writing process (including the author’s point of view, audience
considerations, and the connotations and denotations of language);
-to
organize essays logically, with smooth transitions between and within
paragraphs, around a clear thesis and via easily recognized topic sentences;
-to
choose an appropriate method to propose, develop, and refine an idea in writing;
-to
summarize, paraphrase, quote, and critically respond to research materials used
to support one’s claims;
-to
be constructively critical and encouraging of one’s own and one’s
classmates’ writing;
-to
appreciate the way words shape and reflect one's reality of the world and to be
able to use vivid, engaging language towards that end;
-to
review and apply grammar conventions re: sentence and clause types, parts of
speech, active v. passive voice, etc. in such a way as to add energy and
stylistically vary one's writing;
-to
begin to use library and information technology resources;
-to
become acquainted with the basics of Modern Language Association (MLA)
documentation; and
-to
challenge you to explore and discuss how one's and one's classmates’ writings
address international, national, local, spiritual, and personal values and
concerns.
NATURE
OF THE COURSE:
1. Class attendance and
active participation are expected. A
course in the principles of writing is a great occasion for asking questions,
testing thoughts, and sharing insights. Each student has something unique to
contribute to the class, and it is my sincerest hope that everyone will
contribute on a daily basis. Furthermore, the amount of in-class writing, group
work, and peer editing this course entails makes each student’s attendance and
participation essential to the integrity of the community of learners as a
whole--in short, an ethical responsibility as well as a personal and academic
opportunity.
Unfortunately,
there is no way to make up in-class work fully, but if someone cannot avoid
missing a class, he or she is responsible for all material covered and any
announcements made. Coming to class
or conferences late or leaving early will make it hard for everyone to follow
along. Therefore, each lateness or early dismissal will count as one-half of an
absence. The good news: students who miss no more than one class will have an
extra percentage point added on to their final grades.
Students
who miss more than a week’s worth of classes (three meetings) not only will be
urged to drop the course, but also will forfeit a minimum of half (five
percentage points) of their class participation grade.
Only in the case of documented emergencies will any
exceptions/accommodations be considered.
See
me in advance if you know you will be missing a class, and let me know when you
are ill. Be sure, too, to pick up any handouts missed.
2.
Academic honesty is crucial. Please familiarize yourself with various
understandings of what constitutes plagiarism and other ethical violations, as
well as the ramifications of its discovery.
EVALUATION:
Essay #1: 8%
Essays #2, 3, and 4: 12%
Essay #5: 16%
Group Presentation on Essay #5: 3%
In the case of second+ revisions for any two essays
out of the first five, new grades will completely replace old grades provided
that drafts and first revisions truly reflected good faith efforts.
For second+ revisions of any essays beyond the two required revisions,
the old grade and the new grade will be averaged.
Quizzes on Writing, Rhetoric, Vocabulary, Grammar,
Style, Etc. (dates TBA): 5%
Shorter Assignments (with assignments given outside
of class weighing more heavily than those completed in class): 16%
Participation
(which presupposes attendance and includes reader response log groups and
student-instructor conferences as well as class discussions): 16%
DUE
DATES:
Essay
#1 (Comparison/Contrast Re: Writing Advice)
Essay
#2 (Reflective Narrative Essay)
Essay
#3 (Descriptive Profile/Slant)
Essay
#4 (Explanatory Paper Re: The Power of a Name, Word, or Phrase)
Essay
#5 (Analysis and Evaluation of an American Speech)
“Final Exam Period” (for
Group Presentations on Essay #5)
Section A (MWF 8:00-8:50
a.m.): Saturday, May 3, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Section C (MWF 9:00-9:50
a.m.): Saturday, May 3, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Section F (MWF 11:50
a.m.-12:40 p.m.): Tuesday, May 6, 4:00-6:00 p.m.
PROCEDURAL POLICIES:
All
copies of complete drafts are due on time, at the beginning of the class period,
for reader response log completion. The penalty for an incomplete or missing
draft and/or absence on a draft workshop day is a full letter grade.
Revisions
are due at the beginning of the class period on the day specified. However, once
a semester a student may hand in a revision (not a draft, as drafts always are
due on time) up to one class period late with no penalty. This policy is
referred to as "taking one’s grace period."
Shorter
assignments given outside of class also are due at the beginning of the class
period specified. Since I do, however, realize that emergencies may arise, your
lowest shorter assignment grade will be dropped provided that you have had
regular attendance (no more than two classes missed).
Moreover,
in order to pass the course, students must turn in all major essays and receive
a grade of at least 50% on each one of them.
Remember
that there are many ways to participate: making comments, posing questions,
reading aloud, bringing in supplementary materials to share with the instructor
and the class, etc. Please, do not be bashful! The more you contribute, the more
informative and spirited class will be.
EXTRA
CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES (up to 3%):
In
addition to the attendance incentive bonus addressed above, other possibilities
will be announced.
GENERAL
GRADING CRITERIA:
The
following criteria are ranked in order of importance and will be referred to
throughout the term:
1.)
development of ideas and fulfillment of the nature and purposes of each
particular essay;
2.)
insight and originality;
3.)
organization, coherence, and unity;
4.)
stylistics (inc. varied sentence and paragraph lengths and lead-ins);
5.)
MLA documentation;
6.)
mechanics (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.).
"A"
Paper: The ideas in the paper are original, creative, and thought provoking. The
paper is well organized and the thesis or dominant impression is clear
throughout the piece. The writer has a thorough understanding not only of the
subject matter, but also of his or her own relation to it, of his or her
audience’s needs and desires, and of his or her specific purposes for/goals in
writing the piece. He or she uses an appropriate tone, level of diction, and a
mature style. The paper is free of mechanical errors and is presented
professionally.
"B"
Paper: The ideas are sound and the paper is structured effectively. The thesis
is clear and the writer shows an overall awareness of audience and purpose. The
paper is
"C"
Paper: This is an average, competent paper. There will be sections that will be
written quite well, but other parts of it may be problematic or seem
distracting/less purposeful. There may be problems in one or more of the
following areas: organization,
"D"
Paper: This paper indicates the writer’s lack of mastery of the assignment.
For example, a student might write a basic summary/report instead of a
narrative/descriptive essay or turn in a "research paper" based only
on materials found in general dictionaries
"F"
Paper: This paper shows no sustained efforts over the course of the semester. It
is thin in content and lacks purpose, focus, strategy of development and
organization, and/or writer commitment and audience awareness. Any paper that is
plagiarized--i.e., one that is not the writer’s own work or one in which the
writer makes glaring omissions in terms of citing fully his or her source--will,
of course, receive a grade of zero. In addition, a plagiarist, being guilty of
an ethical breach of conduct, will be subject to academic discipline.
These
grading policies have been adapted from the portfolio grading system used at
Miami University of Ohio, with special thanks being given to Dr. Don Daiker.
More specific features will be attended to in relation to the assignment
at hand.
STANDARD
PAPER POLICIES:
All
written work, including drafts, must be completely legible. Formal essays must
be word processed. Shorter assignments may be hand written.
Separate
title pages are not necessary for either formal essays or for shorter
assignments. Instead, in the upper left-hand corner of the first page of the
essay or assignment, simply
(under construction - use handout)
