Shook 1
EN 101-18: English Composition I
MWF 10:00-10:50
Sullivan 355
Instructor: Ms. L. Shook
Email: lbshook@uncg.edu; Office: MHRA 3112 E; Office Hours: MWF 8:00-10:00
English 101 satisfies the Reasoning and Discourse (GRD) requirement at UNCG, which asserts
that students “gain skills in intellectual discourse, including constructing cogent arguments,
locating, synthesizing and analyzing documents, and writing and speaking clearly, coherently,
and effectively” (http://www.uncg.edu/reg/Catalog/current/UnivReq/GECDescription.html).
In addition, English 101 is designed to address three of the proficiencies listed under Student
Learning Goals in the UNCG General Education Program. These proficiencies are:
 Ability to write and speak clearly, coherently, and effectively as well as to adapt modes
of communication to one’s audience;
 Ability to interpret academic writing and discourse in a variety of disciplines
 Ability to locate, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information
(2007-2008 UNCG Undergraduate Bulletin 53)
In EN 101, I will work with you to help you cultivate your skills in the areas of stylistics, logic,
critical analysis, and argumentative writing. The primary emphasis in this course will show how
reading and writing are dependent upon one another in that active reading aids your writing skills
(i.e. good readers make good writers). The assigned readings, then, will also serve as source
material for writing assignments. The course will focus on aspects of literacy—academic and
cultural—and also the importance of being literate in certain current “conversations,” specifically
the American identity. The ultimate goal of EN 101 will be for you to understand the acts of
reading and writing as public discourses, both academic and cultural, that extend beyond the
classroom.
EN 101 Course Objectives:
1. To help students develop the ability to analyze texts, construct cogent arguments, and
provide evidence for their ideas in writing;
2. To provide students with multiple examples of argumentative and analytical discourse as
illustrated via student and professional/published texts;
3. To introduce students to rhetorical concepts of audience, writer, message and context,
and how to employ these in both formal and informal writing situations;
4. To help students develop the ability to summarize, paraphrase, and use direct quotations
in writing;
5. To promote to student writers the value of writing-to-learn through sequenced
assignments rooted in a common theme or focus;
6. To introduce students to the act of writing as a public and community-based process
through the activities of drafting, peer review, and revision.
Required Texts:
Shook 2
Graff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. They Say I Say With Readings. New York:
Norton, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-393-931747
Dodson, Will, Alan Benson, and Jacob Babb, Eds. Techne Rhetorike: Techniques of Discourse
for Writers and Speakers. Southland, TX: Fountainhead Press, 2010. 978-1-59871-385-5
Eggers, Dave. Zeitoun. New York: Random House, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-307-38794-3
Note: Readings will be posted also on Blackboard (BB). You should print these off and bring
them to class.
Evaluation:
Portfolio
Essay Drafts
Informal Writing / RR
Peer Review / Group Work
Participation / RQ / HW
Grading Scale:
30%
30%
20%
10%
10%
A = 90-100
B = 80-89
C = 70-79
D = 60-69
F = 0-59
I recommend that you keep a list of your grades as you receive graded assignments from me so
that you may be able to evaluate your class progress. This should eliminate “surprise grades”
(for example: At the end of the semester, you see your final grade and are surprised that you
received a D).
Course Work: Over the semester, you will complete three formal essays of increasing lengths
(length: 3-4 pgs; 4-6 pgs; 5-8 pgs), and each will require a first draft to be peer reviwed; four
reading responses (1-2 pgs); various informal writing assignments and group work; and a final
portfolio, consisting of a self-reflexive letter, two reading responses, and all revised essays,
along with all accompanying drafts (more information to follow).
Classroom Policies:
1. Attend Class. Come to every class meeting. You may not make up class activities such as
peer review, in-class writings or exercises, and reading quizzes for any reason.**If you
miss six classes, you will automatically fail the course.
2. Come to class on time. All homework (including essay drafts) is due within the first ten
minutes of class. You will not receive any credit for assignments turned in after the first
ten minutes of class. Likewise, all reading quizzes will be given within the first ten
minutes of class; failure to be on time results in a zero. You cannot make up these grades.
3. Late essays will be penalized half a letter grade for every day they are late (weekends
included). I do not accept “printer” excuses for late essays.
4. All essays must be in MLA format: handout to be posted on Blackboard.
5. Read and Engage in Class Discussion: For each class meeting, consult the syllabus for
that day’s assignment(s). I expect you to read the assigned reading(s) and be prepared to
discuss the reading(s). Sometimes I give reading quizzes to ensure that you have read.
Additionally, you should bring the readings with you to class.
6. Classroom Behavior: In addition to being prepared for class discussion, I also ask that
you
Shook 3
a. Silence your cell phones and put them away, along with any other electronic
devices (Ipods / mp3 players, etc.). Texting is not permitted. If I have to ask you
to put away your phone or other devices more than once in a class meeting, you
will be asked to leave the classroom; consequently, you will not be able to make
up any of that meeting’s class work.
b. Laptops may be used in class only to take notes pertaining to our class or to view
documents on our Blackboard website. Any student who uses a laptop for any
non-classroom activity during class time will not be allowed to use a laptop in
class again. To be perfectly clear: one violation means no laptop use.
c. Be respectful of others in the class. At times, we may enter into lively,
controversial discussions, but “personal shots” at other students’ views will not be
tolerated.
7. Emailing and Conferencing: At mid-semester and in the final week, I will hold
mandatory student-teacher conferences, during which we will discuss a particular
assignment, along with any additional concerns that you may have about the class. Also,
please feel free to meet with me during regular office hours; if your schedule should
conflict with my office hours, you may set up an appointment with me through email or
just email me your concerns. For emails, I will be available from 7:00am to 7pm, and I
should respond within 24 hours. If after 24 hours, I should fail to respond, please resend
your email.
Academic Integrity
“Academic integrity is founded upon and encompasses the following five values: honesty, trust,
fairness, respect, and responsibility. Violations include, for example, cheating, plagiarism,
misuse of academic resources, falsification, and facilitating academic dishonesty. If knowledge is
to be gained and properly evaluated, it must be pursued under conditions free from dishonesty.
Deceit and misrepresentations are incompatible with the fundamental activity of this academic
institution and shall not be tolerated”—UNCG’s Academic Integrity Policy. To ensure that you
understand the university’s policy on academic integrity, review the guidelines and list of
violations at <http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu>. I expect you to abide by the Academic
Integrity Policy.
The Office of Disability Services
Students with documentation of special needs should arrange to see me about accommodations
as soon as possible. If you believe you could benefit from such accommodations, you must first
register with the Office of Disability Services on campus before such accommodations can be
made. The office is located on the second floor of the Elliott University Center (EUC) in Suite
215, and the office is open 8am to 5pm, Monday-Friday. Telephone: 334-5440; email:
ods@uncg.edu.
The Writing Center
The purpose of the Writing Center is to enhance the confidence and competence of student
writers by providing free, individual assistance at any stage of any writing project. Staff
consultations are experienced writers and alert readers, prepared to offer feedback and
suggestions on drafts of papers, help students find answers to their questions about writing, and
Shook 4
provide one-on-one instruction as needed. Location: Moore Humanities and Research Building,
3211.
The Learning Center
The Learning Assistance Center offers free services to the entire UNCG undergraduate
community and is located in McIver Hall, rooms 101-104, and 150. For help with study skills,
contact Erin Farrior, Academic Skills specialist. Telephone: 334-3878; email: lac@uncg.edu.
Course Schedule
Key: TR—Techne Rhetorike; TSIS—They Say / I Say; BB—Blackboard
Date
Week 1
8/23, M
Topics
8/25, W
Intro to Rhetoric
8/27, F
Understanding
Rhetorical
Situations
Week 2
8/30, M
9/1, W
Readings
Intro to Class
Assignments
In-Class Writing
TR: “Introduction to
Rhetorical Concepts,”
Dodson (12-20)
TSIS: “Entering Class
Discussion” (135-37)
TR: “Rhetorical
Concepts,” Dodson (2023)
TR: “The Response
Essay,” Bowman (17075)
TR: “Textual Analysis”
(192-219)
TSIS: “Introduction:
Entering the
Conversation” (1-13)
BB: “The Declaration
of Independence,”
Jefferson
BB: “Declaration of
Sentiments and
Resolutions,” Stanton
BB: “Ain’t I a Woman,”
Truth
TR: “How to Read an
Assignment Sheet,”
Sparks (48-55)
BB: Print off Paper 1
Assignment (Ad
Brainstorming /
Groups: Rhetorical
Situations
Reading Response 1—
Analyze the Rhetorical
Situation of one of the
assigned reading
Group Work—
Analyzing
Advertisements
Shook 5
Analysis)
TR: “Revision is
Writing,” Mullins (7680)
BB: “The Maker’s Eye:
Revising Your Own
Manuscript,” Murray
9/ 3, F
Week 3
9/6, M
9/8, W
9/10, F
Week 4
9/13, M
9/15, W
9/17, F
Week 5
9/20, M
Labor Day Holiday
Peer Review
Challenges of
Academic Literacy
Bring in Draft 1 of
Paper 1 (PR)
TR: “The Genre of
Academic Discourse,”
Morehead (33-39)
BB: “Inventing the
University,”
Bartholomae
TSIS: “Ain’t So / Is
Not” (115-122)
BB: “How to Write with
Style,” Vonnegut
BB: “Mother Tongue,”
Tan
BB: “From Outside,
In,” Mellix
BB: “Teaching New
Worlds/New Words,”
hooks
BB: Print off Portfolio
Assignment
TR: “The Art of
Annotation,” Dodson
(124-30)
TR: “Using MLA”
(278-300)
TSIS: “Reading for the
Conversation” (138-48)
BB: Print Annotation
Assignment
BB: “From Freedom to
Manners,” Fox
BB: “Learning to Read
and Write,” Douglas
BB: “The Library
Paper 1 Due (Ad
Analysis)
Practice Annotation—
In class Writing (Bring
hooks’s “Teaching New
Worlds/New Words”)
Annotated Article Due
Shook 6
9/22, W
Nuts and Bolts of
Research
9/24, F
Week 6
9/27, M
9/29, W
American
Identities
10/1, F
Week 7
10/4, M
10/6, W
10/8, F
Week 8
10/11, M
10/13, W
10/15, F
Week 9
10/18, M
10/20, W
Card,” Wright
TR: “Researching
Rhetorically,” Benson
and Lyda (112-17)
TR: “Finding a
Conversation to Find
Research,” Wooten
(118-23)
BB: Bring to class
Paper 2 assignment
(Research Paper)
TSIS: “They Say” (1547)
TR: “Logical Fallacies”
(220-23)
TR: “Summarizing,
Paraphrasing, and
Quoting,” Ray
BB: “Confronting Class
in the Classroom,”
hooks
BB: “I Just Wanna be
Average,” Rose
BB: “The Man Who
Went to Chicago,”
Wright
BB: “My Two Lives,”
Lahiri
BB: Print off Zeitoun
assignment
Reading Response 2—
Diversity in America
Library Orientation
TR: “Conferencing
Rhetorically,”
Meriwether (180-83)
Conferences
Conferences
Katrina and the
American Identity
Fall Break—No Class
Zeitoun (3-81)
Zeitoun (85-170)
Zeitoun (173-202)
Zeitoun (205-290)
Group Presentations on
Zeitoun
Shook 7
10/22, F
Zeitoun (293-325)
Reading Response 3—
The implications of
Katrina for American
Identities
Week 10
10/25, M
Peer Review
Bring in Draft 1 of
Paper 2 (PR)
10/27, W
10/29, F
Peer Review
TSIS: “I Say” (49-73)
TR: “Theses, Claims,
and Arguments” (22452)
Week 11
11/1, M
TSIS: “I Say” (74-97)
BB: Bring in Paper 3
Assignment (Argument)
TSIS: “As a Result:
Connecting the Parts”
(101-14)
ACR Conference
TSIS: “In Other Words:
The Art of
Metacommentary”
(123-32)
11/3, W
11/5, F
Week 12
11/8, M
TR: “The Portfolio
Process,” Ray (184-89)
Bring Portfolio
Assignment
Peer Review
11/10, W
11/12, F
Week 13
11/15, M
11/17, W
Cultural Literacy
Paper 2 Due
(Research)
Bring in Draft 1 of
Paper 3 (PR)
TSIS: “Hidden
Intellectualism,” Graff
(297-304)
TSIS: “Watching TV
Makes You Smarter,”
Johnson (213-30)
TSIS: “Thinking
Outside the Idiot Box,”
Stevens (231-35)
BB: “Gangsta Rap and
American Culture,”
Dyson
BB: “Gangsta Culture,”
bell hooks
Reading Response 4—
Responding to the
Johnson / Stevens
Debate
Paper 3 Due
(Argument)
Shook 8
11/19, F
Week 14
11/22, M
11/24, W
11/26, F
Week 15
11/29, M
Group Presentations
12/1, W
12/3, F
Week 16
12/6, M (Last day of
classes)
Conferences
Conferences
Group Presentations
Thanksgiving Break
Thanksgiving Break
Portfolio Workshop
Evaluations
Bring Draft of SelfReflexive Letter
Submit Portfolio
Final Exam: Wednesday, Dec 8. 12:00 noon-3:00 pm. While there will be no final exam, class
will meet so that I can hand back your portfolios. I will not return portfolios earlier or later than
the exam day. You must be in class during the scheduled final exam time. Failure to show up for
class will count for an absence, which could affect your overall grade or determine if you will
pass the course, depending on your previous absences (see attendance policy).