ENG 101 :
Composition SPRING
2007 MxCC
Professor J. Donati
Contact Information
Email through WebCT Vista Email only if WebCT is
down: jdonati@mxcc.commnet.edu
Voice
Mail:
860-343-5805 (not best way to reach
me; leave a message)
Office
Location on Campus: Snow 520
On
Campus Office Hours: tba
Item # 1164
Online
Course
3 credit hours
Course Prerequisite: placement scores or successful completion
of English 063 with grade C- or better
Note: You must
have met the prerequisite in order to take this course; any questions, contact
me before classes start
Required Texts: handbook: Harris. Prentice
Hall Reference Guide
reader:
Presence of Others
Scope of Course: English 101
focuses on non-fiction writing techniques needed for college: organized thinking and writing; the writing
process; correct grammar and mechanics; the power of language; critical
reading; evaluating and using sources. As you write about issues, themes, and
writing styles encountered in the readings, ultimately you will gain fuller
knowledge of your world and €”ideally €”of yourself.
This is a writing course; therefore, you
will be spending a lot of time on some aspect of the writing process. There
will be assigned readings that we will use to discover ideas and to examine
techniques. I will be working with you individually as you go through the
drafting of your papers.
Evaluation: Required
are weekly short essay responses (300-400 words) to the readings in the essay books,
longer essays (most @ 600-800 words; one @ 1700-2500 words), miscellaneous
exercises, and responses to Discussion postings. The major essays will be expository or
argumentative, not narrative. Some of
the essays will require use of sources (from your essay text) and
documentation; one will require library/internet research. The shorter writings
(a little more informal, often more personal) will allow you to explore
different patterns of writing and help you find your voice.
points
10-14
400-500
word short essay responses to readings
25
4 600-800
word essays 45
1 1700-2500 word essay 15
weekly discussions, miscellaneous
exercises (drop 1
grade) 15
A
and B papers are well above average in
critical analysis, style, and mechanics.
C papers are average, with grammar,
organizational, or development problems that distract from the easy flow of the
essay.
D or F papers are
those that do not meet the assignment, contain numerous errors, are not
organized logically, or have repetition and generalities rather than
development.
Reading
response essays and discussions will
be graded on critical thinking about the topic, level of participation, and
willingness to work with peers in an ethical and professional manner. These
writings will not be judged by the same standards as your formal papers and I
will not be making as many corrections and comments on them as I do on longer
essays; but language and grammar are expected to be appropriate for a college
English course.
Grading for Response Essays
√+
well above average A/A-
range
√+/√
above average B+/B range
√ average C+/C
range
√/√- below
average low C- range
√-
well below average D range
Note: In my midterm and end-of-semester assessment of your work, I will
consider additional criteria such as completeness, effort, growth, creativity,
and variety.
Expected Outcomes
The English faculty have agreed that students in English 101 will
§
learn to focus on
exposition as the main technique in essay writing learn to focus on ideas of
substance and merit
§
learn to expand germinal
ideas, developing depth and breadth
learn the relative value of ideas through practice in subordination
§
learn various
ways of working with ideas by reading professional essays learn to place their
ideas in effective sentences
§
learn to create
smooth, informative connections between thoughts and paragraphs learn to use
correct grammar, sentence structures, punctuation, and spelling
§
learn to use
correct forms of citation in research writing learn to compose a variety of
essays €”expository, personal, and research
§
learn to employ
various rhetorical formats (exemplification, cause and effect, description,
etc.) within the larger forms
§
learn to vary
sentence structures to create a pleasing flow
§
learn to use
appropriate vocabulary to insure clarity
§
learn to improve
their essays by means of repeated revision
§
learn to identify
what is an appropriate topic and scope of inquiry for research
§
learn to use a
variety of research methods competently
§
learn to use the
library and other information sources effectively
Overview of SCHEDULE OF DUE
DATES
See Assignments for Specific
Dates
Specific requirements will
be posted for every writing assignment: topics, type, length, due dates, etc.
Check “Assignments”
on Home Page.
(Exercises will be due
throughout the semester; check “Assignments”
on Home Page.)
Weekly Short Response Essays:
Each essay is to be
posted as an attachment to Discussion. In order to receive credit, you must post
your essay to the proper topic (see Discussions Directions on Home Page) no
later than
Weekly Discussion Comments on Peers’
Response Essays:
You are to read a
minimum of two of your peers’ short essay responses. (Try to read and comment
on the essays of different students each week.) You then will post a short
(minimum one paragraph) reaction to each of the essays. You might comment on
the content--agree or disagree or on the style. You are not critiquing the
writing. These comments are for all of us to read and are not to be sent as
attachments. (See Discussion Directions for information on how to respond to
postings.) These replies are not formal essays.
Note: Although these
are more informal, writing still should be correct. This is not Chat Room.
If you do not respond or
your responses are not acceptable-- in any one week, you will lose the peer
discussion points for that week.
v Due
Dates: Short
Response Essays / Peer Comments (See “Assignments”
for specific details.)
Short Response Essays Peer Comments
Wednesdays
Sundays
#1 Introductions
1/24 1/28
#2 1/31
2//4
#3 2/7
2/11
#4 2/14
2/18
#5 2/21
2/25
#6 3/7
3/11
#7 3/14
3/17
(Sat because of start of Spring Break)
#8 3/28
4/1
#9 4/4
4/8
#10 4/11
4/15
#11 <