English 102: Writing for a Liberal Education
Fall 2006
Dr. Barbara J. Bass
Li 218A / HH403A
410-704-4573
bbass@towson.edu
Texts and Supplies:
Esmeralda Santiago, When I was Puerto Rican
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage Books ed edition (October 11, 1994)
ISBN: 0679756760
Rebecca Rule, Susan Wheeler, True Stories: Guides for Writing from Your Life
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Heinemann (March 15, 2000)
ISBN: 0325000468
Ellsworth, Blanche, English Simplified, Latest Edition, Harper and Row
Paperback: 64 pages
Publisher: Longman; 10 edition (May 28, 2003)
ISBN: 0321104293
102 Reading Packet
1 - light-colored cardboard folder with pockets across the bottom, no center brads.
Course Conduct:
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All beepers and cell phones must be turned off before you enter class and
must be kept in your pocket or backpack. You may not send or receive calls
or text messages during class. If your cell phone vibrates, you may not leave
class to answer the phone.
No headphones are to be worn in class.
Any student who is disruptive to the class will be dismissed from the course.
Plagiarism will result in dismissal from the course with a grade of F.
Please take care of trips to the restroom and the water fountain before and
after class begins. Refrain from leaving in the middle of class except in
extreme emergencies.
Course Objectives:
Through this course, you should learn to be more comfortable with writing. You will have
the opportunity to explore the many individual approaches available for developing
essays, and you will work on improving the way you develop and organize your essays.
You each will also be able to work on improving your grammar, style, and use of
language in essay writing. This is a revision-based course, an approach that allows you
to work on your drafts over time, thinking about what you need to add, delete, or change
in order to improve your work. Because you will be submitting drafts rather than final
drafts, you will not receive a grade on them until your drafts are in final form at the end
of the semester.
Syllabus:
We will generally follow the syllabus, but be sure to check on Blackboard for changes if
you must miss a class. Additions and changes often occur. Finding out about such
changes is your responsibility.
Course Requirements:
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You are expected to attend every class.
If you do miss class, your grade will be adversely affected.
You must arrive on time. I take attendance at the beginning of each class.
You must submit all homework on the dates assigned. Homework is meant to
be a springboard to class discussion
All writing pieces must be typed on standard paper, double-spaced, 2-3 typed
pages, stapled in the upper left-hand corner. Each must be typed in Arial 14
point font. No unstapled essays will be accepted.
All Reading/Journal assignments must be typed in Arial 14.
You must bring the appropriate books to class with you each day.
Assignments:
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Reading/Journal entries
Class participation
Blackboard/Learnonline web-based work
Group work
Creative nonfiction essays
Final Portfolio:
Over the course of the semester, you will write five at-home creative nonfiction writing
pieces that you will have the opportunity to revise. At the end of the semester, you will
put these pieces into an autobiography with a beginning, middle, and end. You will
submit this autobiography on the last day of class. There will be no separate final exam.
General Goals of this Course:
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Improvement in writing, including grammar, mechanics, usage, and expression and
development of ideas in essay form.
Opportunities to work collaboratively.
Opportunities to reflect on improved skills.
Opportunities to learn through film, video, and Internet resources.
Computer Lab:
We will be holding some of our classes this semester in the Department of English
Computer Lab (Li 207). Paper and computer time will be provided free of charge. The
lab is equipped with IBM-compatible computers that use Microsoft Word. If you have
your own laptop, you may bring it to the lab and use it there as well as at home. If you
have a computer other than an IBM-compatible, you may use that computer for writing
your at-home essays, but you will have to use the lab computers for your in-class work.
If you do your work at home, on lab days you will need to bring another English
assignment with you to class.
Creative Nonfiction
All of your essays will be pieces of creative non-fiction. Below is a description of this
kind of writing, which is based upon your life experiences.
Creative non-fiction
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shares a good, narrative story that contains a defined setting, a solid plot, and
strong characters
has an apparent subject and a deeper subject
tells a timely story that is also timeless
offers a sense of reflection on behalf of the author
pays careful attention to the craft of writing
tells the truth
Revision and Your Final Portfolio
On Top
All this new stuff goes on top
turn it over. Turn it over
wait and water down.
From the dark bottom
turn it inside out
let it spread through, sift down,
even.
Watch it sprout.
A mind like compost.
Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder is describing what happens in a compost heap in this poem, but he is also
describing the thinking/writing process. Revising writing means turning our ideas over, waiting,
letting our ideas spread, sift down, and sprout. Revision is an integral part of the writing
process. It means "re-seeing." When we begin to write, we may envision our thoughts as
words for the first time. "Vision" means "to bring before the eye of the mind." It also implies
intelligent foresight. When we revise, we look again at what our imagination has produced.
When we see it again, we can try to come to a deeper understanding of what we mean.
Revision is an act of looking back, of seeing with fresh eyes, of entering an old text from a new
direction. When we revise, we turn inward to find truth, but we also turn outward for guidance.
Having a guide is an essential part of the process.
Your job as a writer this semester is to reflect thoughtfully about the essays that you write, to
ask deep questions about your meaning, and to make caring connections between what you
have read and what you will write. My job is to guide you through the process.
Over the course of the semester, you will be asked to write five at-home essays. You will have
the opportunity to revise those essays before submitting them in a final portfolio at the end of
the semester. The portfolio, which you may assemble both at home and in the computer lab,
will take the place of your final exam in this class.
You will also be submitting a minimum of two (2) revisions of your essays over the
course of the semester. The dates they are due are listed in your syllabus. Although
only a total of three revisions is required, you are encouraged to submit as many
revisions as you like.
Please make an appointment to see me if you have any questions or concerns.