College Composition I - 1
College Composition I Syllabus; Instructor – Neil B. Witikko
Note: Assignments are due at the start of class on the day they are listed on the syllabus. The
following abbreviations will be used for our texts:
NWR – The New World Reader
KFW – Keys for Writers
Week 1 (Sept. 7-10)
T
Introduction to the course: course expectations, content, procedures and evaluation.
*Response to Tears of the Desert by Halima Bashir due
W
Discuss Chapter 1 – “Thinking, Reading, and Writing about the New Global Era”
*Reading Assignment – NWR, Chapter 1 (1-28)
TH
Review of 6-Traits Writing Process
Assign and begin Essay 1 – Tears of the Desert – LAB 228
F
Essay 1 – Tears of the Desert – LAB 228
Week 2 (Sept. 13-17)
M
“Day Book” entry
Peer response group instruction
*Essay #1 due at the start of the hour
T
Division and Classification as an organization mode:
Discussion of selected essays
*Reading Assignment – Selected essays
“Not Ignorant, Not Helpless,” by Lorraine Ali (p. 26)
“Arabs in Foreign Lands,” by Moises Naim (p. 63)
“Waking Up from the American Dream,” by Sasha Abramsky (p. 109)
“Mother Tongue,” by Amy Tan (p.120)
“Prologue: The Super-Story,” by Thomas Friedman (p. 218)
“A World Not Neatly Divided,” by Amartya Sen (p. 345)
“If You Can’t Master English, Try Globish,” by Mary Blume (p. 130)
W
“Day Book” entry
Discussion of selected essays
TH
“Day Book” entry
Peer response group instruction
F
“Day Book” entry
Peer response group instruction
College Composition I - 2
Week 3 (Sept. 20-24)
M
Assign and begin drafting Essay #2 (Division and classification essay) – LAB 228
T
Continue drafting Essay #2 – LAB 228
W
Continue drafting Essay #2 – LAB 228
TH
Peer Response Groups – response for Essay #2
*Writing Assignment – first draft of Essay #2 due
F
Peer Response Groups – response for Essay #2
Week 4 (Sept. 27-Oct. 1)
M
*Writing Assignment – Essay #2 due
In-class language/usage activity
Process journal entry in class: discussion of Essay #2 process/experience
T
Discussion of selected essays that use “comparison and contrast”
*Reading Assignment – Selected essays
“American Dreamer,” by Bharati Mukherjee (p. 52)
“Stranger in the Arab-Muslim World,” by Fouad Ajami (p. 70)
“The Globalization of Eating Disorders,” by Susan Bordo (p. 18)
“Fear Not Globalization,” by Joseph S. Nye Jr. (p. 231)
“Besieged by ‘Friends,’” by Heather Havrilesky (p. 292)
“On Seeing England for the First Time,” Jamaica Kincaid (p. 304)
“Digging Up Roots,” by Jane Goodall (p. 469)
W
“Day Book” entry
Discussion of selected essays that use “comparison and contrast”
TH
“Day Book” entry
Discussion of selected essays that use “comparison and contrast”
F
Assign and begin drafting Essay #3 (Comparison and contrast essay) – LAB 228
Week 5 (Oct. 4-8)
M
Drafting Essay #3 (Comparison and contrast essay) – LAB 228
T
Drafting Essay #3 (Comparison and contrast essay) – LAB 228
W
Peer response groups – Essay #3
*Writing Assignment – first draft of comparison and contrast essay due
College Composition I - 3
TH
Peer response groups – Essay #3
F
Revise comparison and contrast essay – LAB 228
Week 6 (Oct. 11-15)
M
*Writing Assignment –Essay #3 due (at start of hour)
Process entry in class: discussion of Essay #3 process/experience
Mini-Lesson or Language Activity
T
“Day Book” entry
Discussion of selected essays that use “cause and effect”
*Reading Assignment –Selected essays
“Love and Race,” by Nicholas B. Kristof (p. 11)
“Arranged Marriages Get a Little Reshuffling,” by Lizette Alvarez (p. 161)
“In Africa, AIDS Has a Woman’s Face,” by Kofi A. Annan (p. 166)
“Life on the Global Assembly Line,” by B. Ehrenreich and A. Fuentes (p. 205)
“Reading the History of the World,” by Isabel Allende (p. 254)
“It’s the Women, Stupid,” by Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart (p. 340)
“Bad Luck: Why Americans Exaggerate the Terrorist Threat,” by J. Rosen (391)
“Cities Without Slums,” by Namrita Talwar (p. 413)
“Tiffany Stephenson—An Apology,” by Bjorn Skogquist (handout)
“Black Men and Public Space,” by Brent Staples (handout)
“Still a Mystery,” by Edna Buchanan (handout)
W
“Day Book” entry
Discussion of selected essays
TH
“Day Book” entry
Discussion of selected essays
F
“Day Book” entry
Discussion of selected essays
Brainstorm cause and effect topics
Week 7 (Oct. 18-22)
M
Assign and begin drafting Essay #4 (Cause and effect essay) – LAB 228
T
Drafting Essay #4 – LAB 228
W
Drafting Essay #4 – LAB 228
TH
No School – Education Minnesota Convention
F
No School – Education Minnesota Convention
College Composition I - 4
Week 8 (Oct. 25-29)
M
Peer Response Groups – response for cause and effect essay
*Writing Assignment – First draft of cause and effect essay due
T
Peer Response Groups – response for cause and effect essay
W
Revise cause and effect essay – LAB 228
TH
*Writing Assignment –Essay #4 due
Mini-Lesson
Process Entry – discussion of Essay #4 process/experience
F
Discussion of selected essays that use argumentation
*Reading Assignment – Selected essays
“The Noble Feat of Nike,” by Johan Norberg (p. 227)
“Blood Diamonds,” by Greg Campbell (p. 371)
“To Any Would-Be Terrorists,” by Naomi Shihab Nye (p. 365)
“The Veiled Threat,” by Azar Nafisi (p. 182)
“Justice for Women” by Ellen Goodman (p. 179)
“The Obligation to Endure,” by Rachel Carlson (p. 445)
“Talking Trash,” by Andy Rooney (handout)
“A Hole in the World,” by Jonathon Schell (handout)
“But is It Art?” by Daniel Slate (handout)
“America Needs Its Nerds,” by Leonid Fridman (handout)
“Response to Fridman,” by David Lessing, David Herne, and Keith W. Frome
(handout)
(For the weekend: Let’s be clear: knocking down a 2nd grader and taking his “Trick or
Treat” candy is bad behavior, and you should avoid it.)
Week 9 (Nov. 1-5)
M
“Day Book” entry
Discussion of selected “argumentative” essays
Building an argument
T
Discussion of selected “argumentative” essays
In-class activity
W
Mini-Lesson
Discussion of selected “argumentative” essays
TH
Assign Essay #5
Topics for Essay #5 – Argumentative Essay
Review of M.L.A. research methods
F
Drafting Essay #5 – LAB 228
End of H.H.S. Quarter 1 (which means nothing to us for this course)
College Composition I - 5
Week 10 (Nov. 8-12)
M
No School
T
Drafting Essay #5 (Argumentative essay) – LAB 228
W
Drafting Essay #5 – (Argumentative essay) – LAB 228
TH
Peer response groups – response for argumentative essay
*Writing Assignment – First draft of argumentative essay due
F
Peer response groups – response for argumentative essay
Week 11 (Nov. 15-19)
M
Revise Essay #5 – LAB 228
T
*Writing Assignment – Essay #5 due (at start of hour)
Process Journal – discussion of Essay #5 process/experience
Discuss Essay #6 (Portfolio Evaluation Essay) – LAB 228
Revisions/corrections (as needed) for portfolio
Prepare for conference on Grammar/Usage Logs
W
Drafting Essay #6 (Portfolio Evaluation Essay) – LAB 228
Revisions/corrections (as needed) for portfolio
Prepare for conference on Grammar/Usage Logs
TH
Drafting Essay #6 (Portfolio Evaluation Essay) – LAB 228
Revisions/corrections (as needed) for portfolio
Prepare for conference on Grammar/Usage Logs
F
*Writing Assignment - Essay #6 due (at start of hour)
Prepare for Final Exam
Week 12 (Nov. 22-26)
M
Prepare for Final Exam
T
Prepare for Final Exam
W
Final Exam – 2nd – 4th hours – LAB 228
TH
College Composition I - 6
No School - Thanksgiving (Yes, do give thanks—for family, friends and for the fact that
the first of three CITS English courses is finished!)
F
No School
* Note: A great deal of planning has gone into this syllabus. However, things will come up
in our H.H.S. schedule (short-notice assemblies, for example) that may result in some
changes. You will note that I have allowed some time at the end of the term to make these
adjustments. I will rework this as needed through the course of the next twelve weeks. I
also reserve the right to add additional daily assignments that are not on this document.