LG 368: ADVANCED GERMAN COMPOSITION
Course Goals and Objectives
This course focuses on developing compositional strategies and skills in German.
The emphasis is on writing as a process, the development of writing strategies, the
communicative purposes of writing, and the enhancement of analytical skills.
Students will engage in writing activities designed to help them develop the
rhetorical, evaluative and analytical skills necessary for sophisticated writing.
Students will also develop greater editorial skills through proofreading and
revisions. Linguistic breadth and sophistication should reflect greater competence
and confidence on the part of students throughout the semester.
Prerequisite: LG 252 or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Required Texts:
 Dykstra-Pruim and Redmann, Schreiben Lernen: A Writing Guide for Learners
of German
 Rankin, Handbuch zur deutschen Grammatik, 6th edition (2014)
 A quality English-German, German-English dictionary with more than
100,000 entries (Wahrig, Collins, Langenscheidt, Pons, etc.). Even if you use a
reputable online dictionary for your assignments, you will want to bring a
dictionary with you for in-class writing assignments.
 Other reading materials and exercises will be made available via the USA
Online website for the course (ecampus.southalabama.edu).
Evaluation: 90+% = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D, <60% = F.
Homework: 10%. Reading assignments and exercises from the textbooks and other
sources.
Class Participation: 10%. Participation grade will be based on class attendance,
effort made in class to participate, working in partner/group work and, most
important, effort made to speak German in class.
Aufsätze: 60%. Each student is expected to complete six compositions (topics are
outlined below). For each composition, there will be a 30-minute in-class free
writing session (freies Schreiben). You are then expected to take that home and
type it up, cleaning up your grammar and vocabulary usage, and possibly
expanding. There will also be an in-class peer-editing session for each
assignment. The final essay is then due before the next class period. You must
submit your essay via the “Assignment” feature of Sakai and also bring a printed
copy to class. Failure to show up for class for any of these sessions will have a
negative effect on your grade.
Midterm exam: 10%. The midterm exam will consist of an in-class writing
assignment on one of the topics discussed during the first half of the semester.
Students are expected to use the grammar and vocabulary introduced in class,
and may use a dictionary.
Final exam: 10%. The final exam will consist of an in-class writing assignment on
one of the topics discussed during the first half of the semester. Students are
expected to use the grammar and vocabulary introduced in class, and may use a
dictionary.
Aufsatzthemen
Thema 1: Lebenslauf
Thema 2: Bewerbungsbrief
Thema 3: Autobiografisches Schreiben oder Bericht
Thema 4: Meinungen äußern
Thema 5: Kreatives Schreiben oder Literatur interpretieren
Thema 6: Filme interpretieren
Attendance/There is no such thing in this class as an “excused absence.” Failure to
attend class will result your being marked absent for that day. (An exception to this
policy will be made for students who have necessary absences due to officially
sanctioned university activities; speak to instructor at the beginning of the
semester.) Missed classes will have a negative effect on your participation grade.
Missed in-class work policy/If a student misses an in-class writing or editing
session, the student is expected to make up the work outside of class and to submit
it to the instructor immediately. This work will not be penalized for having been
done outside of class only if the two conditions below have also been met:
1.) student has sent the instructor an e-mail detailing the emergency or spoken with
the instructor on the phone before the class period in which the writing or editing
session takes place; and 2.) student can provide written and verifiable justification
for absence.
Cell phones/Cell phones should be stored out of sight during class. Students who
use them during class will be marked absent for the period.
Free help is available! Students encountering difficulties with the course and
those who are looking for extra practice are encouraged to come to my office hours
or to seek free tutorial help in the Language Resource Center (LRC, HUMB 337). The
LRC also provides additional resources (multimedia, audio-visual, textual) for
language learning..
Academic Integrity/The Academic Integrity Policy of the University of South
Alabama (http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/instruction/antiplagiarism/) and
the Department of Foreign Languages
(http://www.southalabama.edu/languages/documents/Academic_Integrity_Policy_
FLL.pdf) will be observed and enforced in this course.
Students are encouraged to use online dictionaries and translators for single
questions of usage, such as a word or phrase, but inputting entire sentences is not
permitted. Students who input entire sentences will receive a “0” for the writing
assignment.
Academic Disruption:
This course will adhere to the Academic Disruption Policy as described in The
Lowdown
(http://wwwdev.southalabama.edu/lowdown/academicdisruption.shtml).
Special Needs:
If you have a specific disability and are qualified for academic accommodations,
please notify me and provide certification from Special Student Services (460-7212).
Unforeseen Changes/Written notice will be given for any necessary changes to the
syllabus.