寫作與閱讀（一） / Writing and Reading (I)
501041041
Dr. John Michael Corrigan
Email: johnmcorrigan@gmail.com
corrigan@nccu.edu.tw
Classroom: 季陶340406 | Time: Thursday 9-12 | Office: Research 704
Syllabus is subject to change
Course Description
In this course, we will focus on reading comprehension and the process of writing at the
university level: brainstorming new ideas, organizing those ideas, conducting research, using
quotations and citations, writing drafts and revising, and peer reviewing. We will develop
these skills by preparing to write across several different genres of academic essay: we will
begin with sentence structure and paragraph development and proceed to the example essay.
The goals of the course include strengthening your critical thinking and reading skills, your
ability to analyze and synthesize information, and your skills at researching, organizing, and
presenting written text.
Required Texts
First Semester:
Zemach, Dorothy E. and Lisa A. Ghulldu. Writing Essays: From Paragraph to Essay
(Macmillan)
Writing Lab Manual (posted online)
Online sources, music, poetry, news media, and short stories.
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Grading Percentages
Journal and in-class work:
Reading presentation:
Essay 1:
Essay 2:
Midterm:
Final Exam:
20%
10%
15%
15%
20%
20%
In-class Work
In-class work includes both attendance and participation. Students are expected to attend all
classes and be punctual; absences and lates will lower this portion of your grade. In addition,
students are expected to work diligently on that day’s in-class work, whether from the
textbook or in-class activities such as brainstorming and peer review.
Journal
This semester we will use our journals to respond and interpret a variety of different media:
songs, poetry, articles, short stories, documentaries etc. I will post various reading material
for you as well as questions, prompts, and topics and give you time in class to free-write and
organize your ideas. In many cases, your weekly journals will serve as the material upon
which you draw for your essays. You will hand in your journal twice a semester.
Reading Presentation
Each of you will present on one of the reading assignments assigned this semester. I
encourage you to strengthen your critical skills not simply through summary, but by engaging
in analysis and interpretation.
Essays
Each essay is made up of six parts: 1.Brainstorming, 2.Research and Quoting, 3.Outline,
4.Rough Draft, 5.Peer Review, 6.Final Draft. When you have finished all six parts, you will
put all the parts into a folder and submit it to me for a final grade. I will grade each of the six
parts, and your final grade on the essay will be the sum of all six grades divided by six. Note:
for the peer review portion of your grade, you will be graded on other students’ comments!
So you should encourage them to write more.
Midterm
The midterm exam will test your knowledge of basic elements and techniques of writing at
the university level – knowledge that you will learn in class and from the textbook. It may
include multiple-choice or questions regarding the readings we have done in class.
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Final Exam
On the final exam, you will be given writing prompts or topics. You must choose one of these
prompts and respond to it by showing your brainstorming and organizing (50%) and a rough
draft of your essay (50%). Because this is a timed exam, your rough draft may be incomplete,
and that’s ok. Finish as much as you can as thoroughly as you can: an incomplete essay of
three well-developed paragraphs is much better than a complete essay of five very short,
incomplete paragraphs.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism means copying the sentences, phrases, arguments, and/or ideas of someone else
without quoting and citing them properly. It doesn’t matter if you take someone else’s
sentence and rearrange or change a few words: it’s still plagiarism. If there is any plagiarism
on any assignment, you will receive a 0 on the entire essay unit and I may fail you out of
the class.
Course Schedule
Week 1:
Week 2:
Week 3:
Week 4:
Week 5:
Week 6:
Week 7:
Week 8:
Week 9:
Week 10:
Week 11:
Week 12:
Week 13:
Week 14:
Week 15:
Week 16:
Week 17:
Introduction and Syllabus Review
Sentence structure and pre-writing (brainstorming and editing)
(Writing Essays: 5-10); Writing lab for grammar.
Paragraph structure and development (WE: 11-16, 17-24); writing lab
Chapters 4 and 5: Descriptive and Opinion Paragraphs (We: 25-39)
Example Essay; Chapters 8 and 10: Structure of the essay (WE: 56-62;
71-88); student presentations begin.
Example Essay; Chapter 9: Outlining an essay; student presentations
Example Essay: Researching and Quoting; MLA and APA formats
Example Essay: Peer-editing; student presentations
Example Essay due; student presentations and review
Midterm Exam
Introduction to Essay 2 (Compare/Contrast Essay); WE: p. 40-49
Compare/Contrast Essay: Brainstorming
Compare/Contrast Essay: Researching and Quoting
Compare/Contrast Essay: Organizing (WE: 71-77)
Compare/Contrast Essay: Peer Review (78-87, 107)
Review
Final Exam
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