Instructor: Matthew Pangborn
E-mail: pangborn.matthew@briarcliff.edu
Office Hours: M 12-1, T 12-2, F 12-1
Room: HH 119
Class Times: MWF 11:00-11:50
Office: HH 309
Introduction to College Writing
This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to college writing.
Students will
 learn to write clearly and effectively
 learn to write with greater vividness, concretion, and specificity
 gain confidence in the techniques of prewriting, writing, revising, and editing
 gain practice in the basic modes of exposition: description, narration,
comparison/contrast, definition, cause and effect, classification, illustration, and
argumentation
 produce coherent, unified, purposeful writing
 learn strategies for beginning and ending a piece of writing
 learn to integrate smoothly information from outside sources
 learn to document the use of outside sources
 learn to write more varied, rhythmic sentences
 improve sentence structure
 learn to say more in fewer words
 improve vocabulary
 practice alert, critical reading
 participate in a learning community in which writing is openly shared and
discussed
Required texts:
Jeff Rackham and Olivia Bertagnolli, From Sight to Insight (7th edition)
Sandi Buscemi and Charlotte Smith, 75 Readings (11th edition)
Jane Aaron, The Little, Brown Essential Handbook (7th edition)
In addition to the required texts listed above, students should bring to class a wire-bound
notebook they can use as a journal. From time to time, we will begin class with writing
exercises students will be expected to share with the class. Having all of their writing
exercises in one place will help students keep track of their in-class writing.
Much of the writing you do in this class will be made available to other class members,
either through peer-revision or reading aloud. Occasionally, you may wish to mark a
piece of writing “confidential,” but this should be the exception rather than the rule.
Pangborn/WRTG 109 Fall 2011/page 2
Attendance and Participation Policy
Attendance is mandatory. You are allowed a maximum of three (3) absences; for each
absence after the third, I will deduct 10 points from your final grade. If you have an
emergency, come see me or email me. If you are late, you are absent. If you do not have
with you the book we are discussing on that day, you are absent. In addition, when you
are in class you will be expected to be participating in class, either taking part in a
respectful manner in class discussion or actively listening. Disruptive or disrespectful
behavior to anyone in the class will not be tolerated. This includes cell phones and
other electronic devices. Turn them off and put them away when you come to class.
Failure to meet these guidelines will result in an absence or a failing grade.
Academic Integrity:
All students are responsible for knowing and understanding the meanings of the words
“plagiarism” and “collusion.” The first refers to putting forth someone else’s writing or
professional work as your own, and the second refers to the act of close and unauthorized
collaboration (to the extent that your work is not really your own, but “co-authored,” so
to speak). Plagiarism and collusion are serious academic offenses and will not be
tolerated in this class. A student who is dishonest in any work will receive an F for the
course. Withdrawal from a course is not allowed when an F in the course for academic
dishonesty has been imposed. If you have any questions, please talk to me and/or consult
the Student Handbook.
Statement of Compliance with ADA:
Student Support Services provides accommodation for students with disabilities. To
obtain this service, students must make an appointment with the director to submit
documentation, talk about the disability, and discuss the accommodations needed.
Students should contact the office as soon as possible if such arrangements are required.
See the student disability handbook for more information. You may also contact Brenda
Parkhill by phone at 712-279-5531 or by email at Brenda.parkhill@briarcliff.edu.
Writing Center:
The Writing Center, located in 050 Heelan Hall, is available to all Briar Cliff students for
strengthening their academic development. The Center provides one-on-one peer
mentoring, workshops, and computer-based tutorials. As part of your development as a
writer in this course, some of you may be asked to set up an appointment with the
Writing Center to address a specific issue regarding your writing. Failure to complete
this task may result in a lowered grade for the course. You may contact the Writing
Center by phone at 712-279-5520 or by email at writing.center@briarcliff.edu.
Evaluation:
Grades will be awarded on the A-F scale and will be weighted as follows:
In-class participation and preparedness:
30%
Essays:
55%
Final:
15%
Pangborn/WRTG 109 Fall 2011/page 3
In-class Participation and Preparedness: Students should bring their books to class and be
prepared to discuss the reading assigned for that day. There will be frequent quizzes.
Although the instructor will have occasion to present short lectures, this is a course that
depends upon your contributions to the discussion. The more you contribute, the better
the course—and the higher your participation grade.
Essays: Students will write four essays for the class. One will be an in-class essay; the
other three will be typewritten papers with due dates. Each essay will be written in
response to a prompt given by the instructor. Grades for the essays will be weighted as
follows:
Essay #1: 10%
Essay #2: 15%
Essay #3: 10%
Essay #4: 20%
Late Work: Ten points will be deducted per day for late work. For example, an essay
turned in two days late will be penalized 20 points.
Final: The final will require students to compose a literary analysis essay. It will take
place on the exam day and during the exam time assigned for the class.
Course Schedule
Week One: INTRODUCTION and THE WRITING PROCESS
Aug. 29
Course Introduction and Writing Practice
Aug. 31
Sight, Introduction and Chapters 1-2: “The Senses” and “Perception,
Language, and Honesty”
Malcolm X, “Coming to an Awareness of Language,” 75 (16-19)
Sep. 2
Sight, Chapters 3, 4, and 5: “The Appropriate Voice,” “Facing the Blank
Page,” and “Precision and Feeling”
N. Scott Momaday, “Revisiting Sacred Ground,” 75 (57-62)
Week Two: THE PERSONAL ESSAY
Sep. 5
NO CLASS
Sep. 7
Sight, Chapter 7: “Focusing on People” and “Manuscript Form” (462-63)
Maya Angelou, “Grandmother’s Victory,” 75 (11-16)
Sep. 9
Sight, Chapters 8 and 9: “Focusing on Place” and “The Scene”
Sight, Readings: “A Student Example from Drafting to Revision: ‘The
Match’” (59-63)
Rough draft of personal essay due
Week Three: THE FORMAL ESSAY
Sep. 12
Essay #1: Personal Essay DUE
Proofreading practice/Reading and Discussion
Sep. 14
Sight, Chapter 23: “Shaping the Formal Essay”
Outlining Practice
Pangborn/WRTG 109 Fall 2011/page 4
Sep. 16
Sight, Chapter 24: “The Challenge of Simplicity”
Plato, “The Myth of the Cave,” 75 (279-83)
Week Four: THE INVESTIGATIVE ESSAY
Sep. 19
Sight, Chapters 11 and 12, “The Objective Eye” and “Finding and
Selecting Facts”
Lars Eighner, “On Dumpster Diving,” 75 (391-403)
Sep. 21
Sight, Chapter 13: “Basic Forms in Factual Reporting”
Edward T. Hall, “The Anthropology of Manners,” 75 (185-93)
Sep. 23
Sight, Chapter 14: “Context, Purpose, and Voice”
Philip Meyer, “If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a Stranger, Would
You? Probably,” 75 (229-37)
Week Five: REVISING AND IMPROVING THE INVESTIGATIVE ESSAY
Sep. 26
Sight, Chapter 15: “Reshaping, Rearranging, Integrating”
Deborah Tannen, “Talk in the Intimate Relationship: His and Hers,” 75
(155-66)
Sep. 28
Sight, Chapters 16 and 17: “Seeing Beyond the Surface” and “Primary and
Secondary Sources”
Richard Wiseman, “The Search for the World’s Funniest Joke,” 75 (20712)
Sep. 30
Sight, Chapters 18 and 19: “Imaginative Leads” and “Visual Forms”
Sight, Readings: “Student Power” (168-70)
Rough draft of investigative essay due
Week Six: ENERGIZING YOUR WRITING
Oct. 3
Essay #2: Investigative Essay DUE
Proofreading practice/Reading and Discussion
Oct. 5
Sight, Chapters 6 and 10: “Cutting Unnecessary Words” and “Using
Strong Verbs”
Mark Twain, “Two Views of the Mississippi,” 75 (167-68)
Oct. 7
NO CLASS
Week Seven: THE COMPARISON-CONTRAST ESSAY
Oct. 10
Sight, Chapters 21 and 22: “Classical Patterns of Thought” and “The
Analytical Mind”
Bruce Catton, “Grant and Lee,” 75 (151-54)
Oct. 12
Sight, Chapters 25 and 26: “Critical Thinking” and “Critical Reading”
Suzanne Britt, “Neat People vs. Sloppy People,” 75 (173-75)
Oct. 14
Sight, Readings: “The Fear of Losing a Culture” (307-09)
In-class comparison-contrast practice
Week Eight: THE CLASSIFICATION OR DEFINITION ESSAY
Oct. 17
Sight, Chapter 27: “The Structure of Analysis and Argumentation”
Judith Viorst, “The Truth about Lying,” 75 (130-35)
Oct. 19
Jo Goodwin Parker, “What Is Poverty?” 75 (95-99)
Pangborn/WRTG 109 Fall 2011/page 5
Oct. 21
Sight, Readings: Jonathan Kozol, “Are the Homeless Crazy?”
Essay #3: Comparison-Contrast/Classification/Definition (In-class)
Week Nine: RESEARCH STRATEGIES
Oct. 24
Sight, Chapter 31: “The Preliminary Stages of Research”
Oct. 26
Sight, Chapter 32: “Thoughtful Note Taking”
Oct. 28
Susan Casey, “Our Oceans Are Turning into Plastic…,” 75 (267-78)
Week Ten: ORGANIZATION
Oct. 31
In-class narrative writing: the horror tale
Nov. 2
Sight, Chapter 33: “Organizing Complex Material”
Stephen Jay Gould, “Sex, Drugs, Disasters…,” 75 (376-84)
Nov. 4
Sight, Student Research Paper: “Call Me My Name” (464-73)
Week Eleven: DRAFTING THE RESEARCH PAPER
Nov. 7
Sight, Chapter 34: “Drafting and Documenting”
Sight, Student Research Paper: “Chief Seattle’s 1854 Oration” (473-80)
Nov. 9
Sight, Chapter 35: “Self-Criticism”
William Zinsser, “Clutter,” 75 (197-201)
Nov. 11
Research Day: NO CLASS
Week Twelve: REVISING AND PROOFREADING THE RESEARCH PAPER
Nov. 14
Student Conferences: Research Paper Rough drafts due; NO CLASS
Nov. 16
Student Conferences: Research Paper Rough drafts due; NO CLASS
Nov. 18
Proofreading Workshop: Bring to class your rough draft
Week Thirteen: THANKSGIVING
Nov. 21
Essay #4: Research Paper DUE
Reading and discussion
Nov. 23, 25 NO CLASS
Week Fourteen: LITERARY ANALYSIS
Nov. 28
Sight, Chapter 28: “Awareness of the Arts”
Sight, Readings: “Three Thousand Dollar Death Song” (400), “Love
Poem” (402-03)
Nov. 30
Sight, Chapter 29: “Literary Significance”
Dec. 2
Sight, Chapter 30: “The Formal Critique”
Sight, Readings: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (403-07)
Week Fifteen: LITERARY ANALYSIS
Dec. 5
Reading TBA (Handout)
Dec. 7
Course evaluation and discussion
Dec. 9
In-class pre-writing practice and exam preparation
Final Exam: Friday, December 16, 10:00-11:50 a.m.