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Composition 101
Fall 2014
William Krieger, PhD
Syllabus
I.
Texts:
A.
Graff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. They Say I Say [TSIS]. New York:
Norton, 2009.
B. Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves [ESL] . New York: Gotham, 2006.
II.
Intended Learning Outcomes:
A. Create organized, unified, coherent, and well-developed essays;
B. Apply strategies to succeed at timed, in-class writing;
C. Achieve clarity in writing through appropriate grammar, punctuation, spelling, and
manuscript skills;
D. Interpret texts for key ideas and by considering the validity of these ideas in distinct
contexts;
E. Demonstrate an improved writing style, with emphasis on any of the following: the
writer’s voice, wording (i.e., word choice and syntax), sentence construction, and figures
of speech;
F. Employ techniques to improve writing style in voice, wording, sentence construction,
and figures of speech;
G. Practice research skills, including summaries, citations, and avoidance of plagiarism.
III.
Assignment schedule (topics, assignments, deadlines, exercises, etc.)
Timed In-class essays (50 pts. each): Oct. 7, Oct. 23, November 11, and December 4.
Out-of-class essays due (100 pts. each): October 16, November 4, and November 20.
Exercises—once a week (variable pts., usually ranging 10 – 20 pts. each)
Half-sheets—once a week (10 pts. each)
Quizzes--occasional (variable pts., usually ranging 10 – 20 pts. each)
Readings—weekly
***There may also be a “final” in-class essay; if so, it will be worth 100 pts.
TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS: 900-1300 (THIS IS SUBJECT TO VARIATION DEPENDING ON
CLASS AND INDIVIDUAL PROGRESS)
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IV.
Essay guidelines
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All essays must be titled;
All essays must be appropriately documented;
All essays must be identified with the writer’s name, the course [English 101], and
the date of submission;
All essays must stay within the prescribed length limits (+/- 35 wds.);
All essays must be legibly handwritten;
All essays must be paginated (after the first page, the writer’s name and the page
number should appear in the upper right-hand corner of each successive page);
All essays must be turned in on time;
All essays, except those written in the final two weeks of the course, may be rewritten with the permission of the instructor;
All essays will be evaluated on the basis of the following (in addition to specific
requirements of each assignment—adherence to topic, maintenance of proscribed
voice or point of view, etc.):
1. Unity—the essay has and sticks to a focused topic
2. Coherence—the essay moves from point to point in a way that seems
logical, association, spatial, etc.
3. Clarity—grammar, usage, punctuation, and mechanics are appropriate
4. Development—generalizations are supported with explanation and
evidence
5. Documentation (note that sometimes essays need no documentation)
V.
Plagiarism and other forms of dishonesty: If a person steals and uses the ideas or writings
of another, whether living or dead, as one’s own, that person has plagiarized. The word
comes from a Latin word that refers to “kidnapping” and is considered to be one of the
worst offenses in the academic world. It is also regarded as a serious offense in the
worlds of business, the arts, the sciences and technology, and effectively every area of
human interaction because it amounts to LYING. On the job plagiarism can result in
dismissal. On a job application it can result in rejection and sometimes legal action. There
is no justifiable excuse or other justification for plagiarism.
DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!
Learn and scrupulously practice the methods for using source material and for
appropriately documenting all work—essays, half-sheets, term papers, etc.—whether inclass or out-of-class.
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In this course, the penalties for plagiarism or other dishonesty may include failure on an
assignment or failure in the entire course at the discretion of the instructor.
VI.
Grading: I will use the following percentages to determine grades on all assignments:
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
VII.
100 – 97%
96 - 94%
93 - 90%
89 - 85%
84 - 82%
81 - 79%
78 - 74%
73 - 71%
70 - 68%
67 - 63%
62 - 60%
59% and below
Final Grade scale:
Outstanding Achievement
A 4.0 points per credit hour
A- 3.7 points per credit hour
High Achievement
B+ 3.3 points per credit hour
B 3.0 points per credit hour
B- 2.7 points per credit hour
Average Achievement
C+ 2.3 points per credit hour
C 2.0 points per credit hour
C- 1.7 points per credit hour
Minimum Achievement
D+ 1.3 points per credit hour
D 1.0 points per credit hour
Unsatisfactory Achievement
F 0.0 points per credit hour
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VIII.
First day, September 23:
Overview and discussion of the content and intended outcomes of the course as well as
assignment types and the grading scale; timed writing exercise; review of timed writings;
gathering, selecting, arranging, editing, proofreading; guided scan of TSIS for bibliographical
information with demonstration practice for notation for books and other materials;
assignments for September 25: Read “Introduction” (TSIS); “State Your Own Ideas as a
Response to Others” (TSIS, pp. 3-14); do exercise 2 (p. 14); review the apparatus in ESL;
write a bibliographic notation for the text, and select a quotation from any part of the text
to copy (hand-write this; use at least twenty-five words but no more than fifty words).
******The remainder of the course schedule will be provided separately.******