Expository Writing, Fall 2000
Instructor: Mr. Walpert
Section 23 (T/Th 9-10:30)
Room: SH 411
My Website:www.du.edu/~bwalpert
FE Website:www.du.edu/english/fe
Office Hours: T/W/TH, 1:30-2:30
Office: SH 489
Office Phone: TBA
Voice Mail: 303/871-4395
email:bwalpert@du.edu (best contact)
Required texts:
Seeing Writing. Donald McQuade and Christine McQuade, Bedford-St. Martin’s, 2000.
Breaking Ground: Guide for First-Year English, 12th ed.
A recent dictionary
Additional Course materials:
2 Pocket Folders.
1. All the writing you turn in must be kept in a sturdy folder with pockets. Please write
your name clearly on the outside front of the folder. Every time you turn in the folder, it
should contain the most recent assignment as well as ALL previous assignments unless
you are otherwise instructed.
2. All materials handed out in class must be kept in a pocket folder and brought to class
each day. This is important because we will be referring back to materials throughout the
course.
Purpose:
Expository Writing is the first course in the First-Year English sequence. We will be
working on the skills required to write an interesting, unified, organized, coherent essay
of substance. Because correct usage of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics of English
are essential to effective writing, we will spend time reviewing these skills—and you will
be tested on them..
We will also pay close attention to audience, purpose and exigence. The theme for this
course is “The Individual and the Making of Meaning.” Keep that theme in mind as you
write your essays.
Expository writing is a chance to work on the fundamentals. Like any activity that
requires skill—baseball, dancing, carpentry, skiing, flyfishing—you have to master the
parts to master the whole. Once you do, writing becomes fun!
Requirements:
 Rough Drafts. You will write at least one rough draft for each assigned essay. In
addition, you will be asked to come to class with pieces of a rough draft—
introductions, outlines, paragraphs. Each of these assignments will count as a quiz
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grade. Failure to bring the assignment or absence from class when these assignments
are due without a legitimate excuse will result in a zero for that quiz grade. Failure to
bring a complete rough draft will result in a low grade.
Draft Workshops. You will be asked for each essay to read and critique another
student’s rough draft. Your participation will be measured both by the extent of your
in-class work (the time you spend and the discussions you have with your partner) as
well as the quality of your completed draft worksheets.
Quizzes. We will periodically have grammar quizzes to prepare you for the midterm
and for the Exit Exam. I might randomly—often without warning—give quizzes on
the essays you are assigned to read. These quizzes will be more frequent if it becomes
clear members of the class are not reading the material.
Reading assignments. You will be asked to read essays outside of class. It is expected
that you will have read them and be familiar with them when you come to class.
Reading is critical to writing.
Other external assignments. You will be required to write paragraphs or do other
exercises outside of class. Each external assignment that I check will count as a quiz.
Essays. Your main work in this class will consist in two 5-page essays and a 10-page
Special Focus project. These will be explained later in more detail.
Exam: There will be a midterm and an Exit Exam, both mainly focused on grammar,
punctuation and mechanics. YOU MUST PASS THE EXIT EXAM TO PASS THE
COURSE.
Format for assignments:
All essays must be written on a computer or word processor.
Papers must be submitted with a title page identifying the assignment, the date, your
name and my name. Use a plain font, preferably Times. Use 10-12 point. Leave one-inch
margins on the top, bottom and right borders of your text and a 1.5 inch margin on the
left. Papers must be double-spaced. Do not add extra spaces between paragraphs.
Save frequently. Always make a back-up copy on disk of every paper you write. Print a
copy for yourself and keep it when you hand in a copy to me. TO AVOID PRINTER
PROBLEMS, DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE HOUR BEFORE A PAPER IS DUE TO
PRINT. PRINTER PROBLEMS ARE NOT AN EXCUSE FOR LATENESS.
Late Assignments:
An essay’s grade will drop by one-third for every day it is late. (An A, for example, will
drop to an A- after one day, then to a B+ on the next day, etc.).
Attendance:
Required. If you miss a class, you miss the explanation of an assignment, a writing
strategy, an in-class exercise, a chance to have your draft critiqued by another student or
a chance to help someone else improve. If you are absent ASK ANOTHER STUDENT
OR ASK ME FOR AN EXPLANATION OF WHAT WAS COVERED AND WHAT IS
DUE THE NEXT CLASS. THE SYLLABUS WILL CHANGE; DO NOT COUNT ON
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IT. ALWAYS CHECK WITH ANOTHER STUDENT TO DETERMINE WHAT IS
DUE ON THE NEXT CLASS DAY.
You may miss two classes and still get an A in attendance; use these wisely (I don’t care
if they’re excused or not). After that, your attendance grade will drop by 5 points per
missed class. This means that if you miss five classes, the attendance portion of your final
participation grade will be an 85 percent—or a B. If you miss seven classes, your
participation grade will be 75 percent or a C, etc. Please note that attendance is worth 10
percent of your grade.
If you miss a rough draft workshop or a quiz, you may only make it up with an excused
absence. You must make it up immediately.
Lateness is not tolerated. You are late one minute after class starts. Three late arrivals
equal one absence. If you cannot get to my class on time because your are coming from
the opposite side of campus, please change sections IMMEDIATELY.
Grading:
The percentages of contribution to your final grade are as follows:
Description Essay
Narrative Essay
Process Essay
Special Focus Project
Midterm
Exit Exam
Quizzes, Rough Drafts, Homework
Attendance
Participation
(draft workshops, volunteering, speaking in class,
coming to office hours with questions)
5 percent
10 percent
10 percent
20 percent
10 percent
20 percent
5 percent
10 percent
10 percent
You will be allowed to rewrite either the Narrative or Process essay for a fresh grade. It is
due the same day as your Special Focus Project, but I encourage you to hand it in earlier
as in the past many students decide at the last minute not to do it.
Grading Standards:
Please read carefully pp.41-46 in the Guide for an explanation of grading standards.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another’s ideas or expression—whether you
intend to do so or not. The applies to borrowing from books and articles and from the
work of other students. Whenever you take and use an idea or ideas, a sentence or phrase
from any other source, you must identify the source. The penalty for plagiarism is failure
for the assignment on first offense and failure of the course on second offense. However,
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the penalty for buying, borrowing or stealing a paper from any source and turning it in as
your own is failure of the course.
Please read p. 39 in the Guide for more details.
Conferences:
I am available during office hours stated at the top of the syllabus. You do not have to
make an appointment if you wish to see me during these times; simply drop by. If these
times are not convenient, please make an appointment for another time. You MUST
schedule at least one conference with me during the quarter. I may ask to meet with you
more frequently if I think a conference would be useful. Please come see me as often as
you like. You will find that working with me individually will help your writing—and
your grade—immensely.
Important Dates
Last day to drop without my signature: October 20
Last day to drop with my signature: November 3
Final Exam: Tuesday, November 21, 9 a.m. (same classroom).
If you plan to take the test at the LEP office, please make those arrangements with the
LEP at least seven days before. That office will alert me.
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Class Schedule
WARNING: THIS SCHEDULE WILL LIKELY CHANGE! It is only a guide; if
you miss a class, it is up to you to contact me or a classmate to find out what you
missed and what is due the next class. If you miss class, do not assume the
assignments listed on this schedule are correct.
All readings are in McQuade unless otherwise indicated. Please bring both this book and
the Guide to each class.
Week One: Sept. 11-15
T
Introduction to Course/Syllabus
Why Write?
Audience
TH
Writing Diagnostic Assigned
Grammar, Punctuation, Mechanics
Audience/Purpose/Exigence
Audience Analysis
Due: Alexander, Cool Like Me, p. 367
Bring both Guide and McQuade: IMPORTANT
Week Two: Sept. 18-22
T
Special Focus Project
Beginnings
Description
Due: Hirsch poem on Edward Hopper, p. 73; Lopate, “Portrait of My Body,” p.
202.
Audience Analysis
Writing/Grammar Diagnostic Due
TH
Grammar
Description continued
Assigned: Description Essay
Due: Guterson, “No Place Like Home,” p. 88
Week Three: Sept. 25-29
T
Narration
Revision
Beginnings
Due: Kusz, “Ring Leader,” p. 248; Scholinski, “The Last Time I wore a Dress”
One to two-page description essay
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TH
Exemplification
Endings
NARRATIVE ESSAY ASSIGNED
The Word
Due: Cofer, “The Story of My Body,” p.208; Allison, “This Is Our World,” p.
155; Williams, “Ethnic Hash,” p. 355
Week Four: Oct. 2-6
T
Grammar
Introductions/Thesis
Volunteers
Due: Introductory paragraphs/audience analysis for Narration essay
TH
Grammar
Rough Draft Workshop
Due: ROUGH DRAFT OF NARRATION ESSAY including
Audience/purpose/exigence analysis
Week Five: Oct. 9-13
T
Grammar
Process
Summary/Paraphrase
Due: Woiwode, “Ode to an Orange,” p. 12; Hara, “Carnival Queen,” p. 268
FINAL DRAFT OF NARRATION ESSAY
TH
Grammar/Midterm Review
PROCESS ESSAY ASSIGNED
Due: summary/paraphrase
Special Focus Subject
Week Six: Oct. 16-20: Conferences
T
Midterm
TH
Class Canceled for conferences
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Week Seven: Oct. 23-27
T
Rough Draft Workshop
Volunteers
Due: ROUGH DRAFT OF PROCESS ESSAY
Editing Sheet for Essay 1 (INCLUDE A COPY OF THE ESSAY WITH
MY MARGINAL NOTES]
TH
Grammar, Sentences
Due: FINAL DRAFT OF ESSAY 2
Week Eight: Oct. 30-Nov. 3
T
CLASS CANCELED FOR IN MY OWN VOICE
TH
Rough Draft Workshop
Due: Special Focus Project Introduction
Week Nine: Nov. 6-10
T
Rough Draft Workshop
Due: Rough draft of first half of Special Focus Project
TH
Rough Draft Workshop
Due: Rough Draft of second half Special Focus Project
Editing Sheet for Essay 2
Week Ten: Nov. 13-17
T
Review for Exit Exam
Due: Final Draft Special Focus Project (Bound!)
Rewrite of Narrative or Process essay
TH
Review for Exit Exam
Final Exam: Tuesday, Nov. 21, 9 a.m. (same classroom). Good luck!
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