English 104, The Art of Effective Writing, Fall 2000

Dr. Judy Arzt, Saint Joseph College, West Hartford, CT

Telephone: (860) 231-5514 or 231-5353

Email: jarzt@sjc.edu

Office Hours: Tues.: 1 - 2 PM and by appt.

Office: Mercy Hall, Room 250

Class: Tues. and Thurs. 11:00 - 12:15

McDonough Hall, Room NC 4

 

Course Description: As stated in the Saint Joseph College Catalog, this course involves "practice in exposition, argumentation, and the methods of research based on the study and discussion of creative, critical, and factual works of the 20th century" (65).

Course Format and Philosophy: The class meets in a computer lab and is conducted as a workshop where students write often, following the premise that the more one writes, the better one becomes as a writer. Journal writing, prewriting, drafting, revising, peer reviews, and professor conferences are among the strategies used. The course emphasizes writing for a purpose and audience. To that end, students produce a book of class writings for distribution, develop a web site of writings for the Internet, and participate in online discussion groups.

  Course Textbooks and Materials

 Trimbur, John. The Call to Write. New York: Longman, 1999.

 Raimes, Ann. Keys for Writers. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.

 College dictionary and thesaurus or synonym finder

 Several PC disks, disk labels, and disk storage container

 Notebook or loose-leaf binder for taking notes

 Folders for collecting handouts and articles related to research projects

 Index cards for research paper project

  Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will successfully:

 develop a web site containing several pieces of writing

 write a variety of essays and a research paper

 apply the Modern Language Association and American Psychological Association documentation styles

 use the Internet, online databases and the College Library to locate resources

 use note cards to organize a research project

 participate in conferencing techniques with peers, the instructor, and writing tutors¾while revising and editing papers

 incorporate handbooks, computer style checkers, and online resources when editing papers

 develop a PowerPoint presentation and deliver it to the class

 produce a journal containing at least 1,000 words (roughly 700 words a week)

 participate in online discussion groups

 Major Course Assignments

Click on links for more details about each assignment.

Assignments

% Points

Due Dates

 Letter

5%

Tues., Sept. 12

 Memoir

10%

Thurs., Sept. 21

 Profile

10%

Thurs., Oct. 5

 Commentary

10%

Thurs., Oct. 19

  Review

10%

Tues., Nov. 9

  Research project

15%

Nov., Nov. 30

  Journal and Online Discussions (IEDP)

20%

Ongoing (collected monthly)

  Web Site and PowerPoint

20%

Ongoing (completed first week of Dec.)

 College Policy on Academic Integrity: In accord with the College policy on "Academic Integrity," students are reminded to document the source of all information used in their papers. (See the Saint Joseph College Catalog, page 27, "Academic Integrity.") All words quoted from a source must be placed in quotation marks, and paraphrases and summaries of the ideas of others must be acknowledged. Any student suspected of submitting work that is not her own will be notified and have the opportunity to defend herself or rectify the matter. For this reason, it is important to submit drafts at midway points and retain copies of references. Any assignment containing plagiarism will receive a zero.

Late Papers and Related Policies: As first-year students, it is an excellent idea to develop the habit of submitting work on time. I encourage students to submit work in advance of the due date if they would like to have a paper graded and rework it for a higher grade. In fairness to all, once a paper is submitted on the due date, the grade for that specific project will be finalized. If a paper is submitted late, one point will be subtracted for each day. No papers will be accepted five calendar days after a due date.

Attendance and Tardiness: When students attend class regularly, they are apt to receive good grades. They are motivated, understand course assignments, and benefit from assistance provided during class time. As an incentive, three points are added to the final course average of all students who attend every class, and two points are added to the average of those who miss only one class. Conversely, points will be subtracted for missing more than two classes, with one point subtracted for each absence beyond two. Please refer to the Saint Joseph College Catalog, page 30, for information regarding extended absences.

Computer Etiquette: It is not acceptable to use computers during class time for non-course work. Please do not read and respond to email or surf the web during class--unless such is related to a class assignment.

Online Resources: Click for a list of online writing resources.

Academic Resources Center: Click for information about ARC services.

Course Schedule

This is a tentative schedule that is subject to change based on needs that emerge. Advanced notice will be given of any changes. CTW refers to The Call to Write, and KFW refers to Keys for Writers. Please bring both texts to all classes for reference. Assignments are due for the next class. For example, an assignment listed for Sept. 5 is due Sept. 7.  For information about a particular assignment, click on the link. Additional links will be ended during the semester.

Weeks 1 and 2: Topics--Letter Writing and Memoir

Date

In-Class

Assignment

Thurs. Aug. 31

Introductions, Computer Network, Letter Writing Unit

Journal 1

 CTW, Chapter 4, pp. 117-138.

 Journal 2

 Send me an email. Let me know if you have any questions about the Letter Writing Assignment or the course in general.

Tues. Sept. 5

Discussion: Letter writing assignment

Journal 3

Introduction to Electronic Democracy Online Project and Class Online Discussion Folder

 CTW, bottom of pp. 139-140. Select one of the topics and draft a letter. See pages 141 to 147 for additional tips.

Thurs. Sept. 7

Peer commentary on letter. Revise letter. Consult KFW. Leave me draft to review.

Journal 4

Introduction to Memoir assignment

 Final copy of Letter is due next class.

 CTW, Chapter 5, pp. 155-180.

 Journal 5

 Post message to class folder re: your ideas for a time capsule: What would you put in the capsule to represent the year 2000?

 

Weeks 3 and 5: Topics--Memoir and Profile

Date

In-Class

Assignment

Tues. Sept. 12

Plan Time Capsule. Review of Memoir Assignment

Journal 6

 Journal 7

 Begin drafting a memoir. Look through your journal entries, and see CTW pp. 181-189: Invention, Planning, and Working Draft stages.

  Click for tips on Memoir.

Thurs. Sept. 14

Memoir and Time Capsule continued.

Introduction to Web Site Project.

 Continue Memoir. Bring 2 copies of the draft to class for a peer review.

 Journal 8

Tues. Sept. 19

Peer review of Memoir. See CTW, p. 189, #2.

Leave me a copy of your Memoir to review and pick up the copy or check email.

 Revise Memoir. See CTW, p. 190 and ff. for suggestions. Use KFW for help with editing paper.

 Final copy of Memoir is due next class.

Thurs. Sept. 21

Introduction to Profile

Journal 9

Continue Time Capsule and Web Site project.

 CTW, pp. 232-251. Write me an email or post on the class public folder an entry about one of three profiles in this section.

 Journal 10

Tues.

Sept. 26

Planning the Profile paper.

Electronic Democracy Project (IEDP)

 Set up interviews and take notes for Profile paper. See CTW for interviewing and organization tips, pp. 260-267.

 Journal (approximately 500 words) is due next class.

Thurs.

Sept. 28

 

Tues.

Oct. 3

Arrange for interviews in lieu of class meeting.

Draft the profile.

 

Peer review session.

Leave me copy to review.

 Complete a full draft of the Profile.

 Be prepared for a peer review. Bring two copies.

 

Weeks 6 and 10: Topics--Commentary and Introduction to Review

Date

In-Class

Assignment

Tues. Oct. 3 cont'd.

Peer review of Profile

Leave me copy or email it to me to review. Set up appts.

Copy Journals 1-10 to Disk

Post 1 (IEDP)

  Revise and edit Profile: Final copy is due Oct. 5

  Set up appts. and use ARC.

 

 

Thurs. Oct. 5

Introduction to Commentary

Post 2 (IEDP)

 CTW, Review Chapter 3

 Journal 11

 Bring disk copies of papers to class for Web site project

Tues. Oct. 10

 Review CTW, Chapter 3

Web Site

Web Site Tips

 CTW, Chapter 7

Journal 12

Thurs. Oct. 12

Topic Proposals

Post 3 (IEDP)

Web site

 Begin drafting Commentary

 Bring draft to class

Tues.

Oct. 17

Peer Reviews

 Revise Commentary

 Final copy is due next class.

Thurs.

Oct. 19

Post 4 (IEDP))

 Discussion of Review Assignment and Schedule

Web site

 CTW, Chapter 11

 Journal 13

 Journal 14

 Select articles for Review

 Tues.

Oct. 24

Post 5 (IEDP)

Web site

 Journal 15

Thurs.

Oct. 26

Continue review

Set up feedback sessions on reviews

Introduction to Library Research

 Peer Reviews: Nov. 7 (Oct. 31: Faculty Development Day: no class)

 Complete Library Research. Attend the Library Class Workshop on either Nov. 1 or 2. (No formal class meeting on Nov.2)

 Schedule ARC appointment for assistance with Review

 

Topic--Research Paper

Click for assignment and schedule.

Weeks 14 and 15: Topic--Web Site Portfolio and PowerPoint Presentations

These two final weeks will be used to conclude web sites and do PowerPoint presentations. Instructions will be provided in class. Final details about course web site and portfolio are available by using this link:

To view other students' web sites, go to the table of contents using this link:

Last revised December 5, 2000

J. Arzt