Professor Michael Gormley
mgormley@qcc.mass.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment
English 100-25 Summer 2 2012
6:00-9:20 Tues / Thurs
Room: ALF 104
Introduction to English Composition
Welcome to the class! This course is an introduction to college-level essay writing
emphasizing the writing process from planning and drafting through revising and editing.
Students refine their style of writing by focusing on sentence structure and language
usage and write essays displaying unity, support, and coherence. Students practice
expository writing using a variety of rhetorical strategies. The exploration of writing is
examined through reading and analyzing essay models. Students develop familiarity with
research tools.
Goals, Outcomes, and Instructional Objectives:
More specifically this course will:

Examine the drafting process.

Allow students to find their voice on the page.

Construct a foundation for researched writing.

Show students the link between reading and being a successful writer.

Give students access to an environment that encourages writing outside of the
classroom.

Will offer more nuanced goals as the class progresses.
Required Texts:
None!
The course website is qcceng100.wikispaces.com
Teaching Procedures:
This course functions primarily in the classroom. It is there that information on
becoming a better writer will be offered. That said, in order to make the classroom a
productive space, each student is expected to be fully prepared each day and ready to
discuss all the topics. This is how class participation is determined.
Further, I do not accept papers electronically; I only grade hard copies. If a paper
is not turned in during the class time it is due, the paper is late. I do not accept late
papers. This course is too short to fall behind.
Grading Policy:
This course is comprised of three papers and class participation:
Papers 1-3
60% (20% each)
Blog
20%
Class Participation 20%
Grading Scale:
100-93: A
92-90: A79-77: C+
76-73: C
89-87: B+
72-70: C-
86-83: B
69-60: D
82-80: B59 and below: F
Attendance Policy:
Attendance is mandatory. Each student receives 1 unexcused absence for sickness and
other instances with extenuating circumstances. Starting with the second unexcused
absence, the student’s overall letter grade will be lowered by 10 points for each absence.
Making me aware that you will be absent does not mean you are excused. I also mark
every time you are more than a few minutes late. For every two instances of tardiness,
you will be marked absent. I take attendance every class.
Assignment Schedule:
Please note that there is the potential for flexibility in this reading schedule. If there are
any changes to be made, I will let you know in class before hand.
July 10
Considering the Course
Syllabus - Considering the course - Introductions - Why write? - The most
important thing - Hooks
July 12
The Sense of Words
The tangible - Sensory isolation - Gripping Description - Abstract Lenses Phoenix moments
Due: Have followed my blog, Post Blog Entry 1, and read
Wilderness
July 17
Looking Inward
Knowing the self - Picking the moment - Insert dialogue - Reflection
Due: Follow ALL classmates' blogs, Read The Way of the Scout, Inside
Delta Force, Two Views of the Mississippi, and A Man Said to the
Universe
July 19
The Workshop
Round table editing - Where now?
Due: Paper 1 - First Draft and Post Blog Entry 2
July 24
Re-Vision
Imagining the story - Seeing the full world - The angled phoenix
Due: Paper 1 - FINAL DRAFT and Post Blog Entry 3
July 26
Writers and Readers
Few words, much meaning - "In a Station of the Metro" - "Two Figures"
Due: Read Super-frog Saves Tokyo and N.
July 31
Peer Edit
Editing outside of the classroom
Due: Post Blog Entry 4 and Comment on Two Other Blogs (the blog
you post on must have fewer than two comments)
August 2
Researched Writing
MLA format - Sources - Self-critic - Persuasion - Career change
Due: Paper 2 - FINAL DRAFT
August 7
Synthesis
Math, Mashups, and the Mississippi - Synthesizing ideas - Integrating sources
Due - Read Sex, Drugs, Disastors and the Extinction of Dinosaurs,
Born to Run and Post Blog Entry 5
August 9
The End
Debriefing - Why were you here?
Due: Paper 3 - FINAL DRAFT and Read Two Views of the Mississippi,
August 14
TBD
Topics will be decided based on class needs.
Assignments:
All papers are to be typed in size twelve Times New Roman font. They
must be stapled and double spaced. I will not accept them otherwise.
Paper 1 - Personal Narrative
20%
Length: 3-4 full pages
The personal narrative is an essay written in the first person and contains two parts: the
narrative and the reflection. The first part tells the story of a moment in your life that has
made you who you are today. The second piece looks at this moment in your life and
explains how it changed you. Your reflection should come at the end. Remember our
discussions about what makes a great piece of writing. This essay's primary focus is on
style and finding the voice of you, the writer.
Paper 2 - Alternate Narrative
20%
Length: 2-3 full pages
This paper affords you a new perspective on your first essay. You must choose a person
in the narrative other than yourself. You must write a first person narrative telling the
events of your chosen moment from their perspective. You must write as if you were that
individual. This requires you to get into the person's head and write as if you knew what
he or she was thinking. You may have to show what they were doing when not with you.
This narrative is almost exactly like the personal narrative, except it borders on fiction.
This essay's primary purpose is to engender an appreciation of the scope of writing and
produce critical thought on myriad topics.
Paper 3 - Research Paper
20%
Length: 3-4 full pages
For this essay you will choose at least three other essays to compare and contrast with
your own. You will focus on the three primary elements of a narrative this course
identified (Hooks, Style, Reflection). This process will result in an essay that identifies
how to write a successful personal narrative. You are showing what makes great writing.
Do not forget your thesis and the style you have developed. The primary goal of this
essay is to introduce the student to researched writing and demonstrate how the synthesis
of ideas produces insight.
Blog Entries
20%
5+ Paragraphs Each
You will compose 5 blog entries to be completed and posted by 5:00 pm on the day they
are due, as determined by the syllabus. There are two blog based assignments that do not
involve writing. The first is to follow my blog and the second is to follow your
classmates' blogs. Up to 10 points will be deducted for not complying.
Post 1 Topic:
Post 2 Topic:
Post 3 Topic:
Post 4 Topic:
Post 5 Topic:
Outside of school, how can writing be useful to you?
Outside of school, how can reading benefit you?
Free Write
Paper 2
Free Write