Bob Lyman
lymanb@arc.losrios.edu
College Composition
EngWr 300—Spring 2012—19982
Introduction Writing is thinking made visible for others, a conscious attempt to
anticipate and accommodate the reader. Writing is a dialogue with
yourself and with others—but then so is reading. In fact, these processes
have much in common; the process of making meaning as we read is
very similar to the process we use to make meaning when we write, and
writing is an attempt on our part to make meaning of the worlds—internal
and external—within which we find ourselves.
Good writing creates order out of chaos, transforms the relationship
between a reader and a text. The problem, however, is that our reader
never knows what we know, or doesn't know it in precisely the same way
we do; examples, images and ideas don't mean quite the same thing to
another as they do to us. Explaining what we understand to another IS
the problem, especially when we write. To some extent, learning to write
well involves learning to think like someone else: someone who reads
critically, questioning both what the author of the assigned text writes as
well as what we, as the reader and writer, might have to say in response.
Good writing, in or out of college, is much more than having enough
paragraphs or getting the commas in the right places. Too often,
academic writing has become, as David Bartholomae describes it, "more
a matter of imitation or parody than a matter of invention and discovery."
A college education SHOULD be a chance to discover the unimagined
depths of the worlds in which we live and SHOULD be an opportunity to
reinvent ourselves within those newly discovered worlds, trying the
various languages of the academy on for size and learning to read, think,
and write in new and different ways.
Expectations
I expect a willingness on your part to participate in this exploration
and hope you will experiment with your reading and writing. But your
willingness to question the familiar as well as the unfamiliar will be the
key to your success in this course.
Course There are three required texts for this course:
Texts
Auster, Paul. The Invention of Solitude. New York: Penguin, 1982.
Print.
Bartholomae, David, and Anthony Petrosky. Ways of Reading: An
Anthology for Writers. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2011. Print.
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: MLA,
2009. Print.
Here’s how the course is organized—
Grades
This is a portfolio course, so individual essays will not receive
grades; I'm much more interested in your development of writing,
reading, and thinking skills than how you perform on any given
assignment. However, this does not mean that the papers are not
EngWr 300—1
important.
The portfolios accounts for 65 percent of your course grade; the
other 35 percent of your course grade comes from points accumulated
through daily assignments, short in-class writing exercises, quizzes and
the effort expended on peer critiques. The course has a mandatory 6500
minimum word requirement; you will exceed that minimum.
The course is designed to encourage a writing process—keep up
with class assignments, follow the prescribed process and you will
accumulate points and develop an understanding of a writing process
that works for you and will prepare you to compose your portfolio. If you
do not participate in the process, you will probably not pass the
course. So discipline yourself to do the work on time and stay focused.
This is web-enhanced class, utilizing a Los Rios D2L website; it
D2L and
incorporates
a webbed discussion group, an online bulletin board for
Online Discussions
threaded discussions, and separate areas for your peer critique groups.
You will post responses to each reading assignment prior to class
discussion; in addition, I encourage you to revise, reply, or repost after
class discussion. The discussion web is an excellent way to extend the
spatial and temporal boundaries of our classroom, AND an excellent way
to practice those analytical writing skills. A link to the D2L website can be
found on the class website, but the login address for Los Rios’ D2L
server is:
https://d2l.losrios.edu
The bulk of your course assignment points will come from
participation in the online group discussion. I consider discussion group
work just as important as our f2f classroom discussions. Preparation is
necessary in both situations if you are to participate effectively. In
addition, you will find that the discussion web prepares you for the essay
assignments. PLEASE do not neglect these posting; points accumulate
very quickly, and I do NOT give extra-credit points—I expect you to keep
up with the assignments.
Email
You must have an active email address to participate in this class.
If you don’t already have an email address, you can activate your FREE
Los Rios iMail account at the following URL:
https://imail.losrios.edu/
You can also set up a special email account for the class using
one of the many free services available on the web, but you may find that
the imail account integrates more easily with the D2L site. Your first
assignment is to activate your imail email account, log in to D2L, and
begin to familiarize yourself with the site.
Drafts
Your formal writing will begin with drafts, which will be
critiqued by other students; using the critiques, you will revise the drafts
and turn in the revision for my comments and feedback (not a grade).
EngWr 300—2
You MUST submit all assigned drafts AND revisions to pass the
course. Please understand that if you fail to submit any draft or
revision, you will automatically—and immediately—fail the class.
You will form writing groups by the third week of class. Members
in each of these groups will be expected to critique each others' drafts—
and we will explore appropriate ways of doing this in class. Although you
will send a copy of your draft to me by email attachment prior to the
workshop, I also require you to bring copies of your drafts with you to
class for workshop. You are expected to arrive WITH two copies of the
draft, printed and ready to workshop. Do NOT come expecting to print
a copy during our class period. I assign critiques because learning to
respond to others’ papers is the best way to objectively learn to read our
own drafts.
There are four essay assignments for the course, and most of
Writing
Assignments them include a research component. Each of your writing assignments
will require you to react to and incorporate ideas from the reading
assignments. You will be expected to become increasingly familiar with
MLA format, demonstrating that familiarity in your papers, short quizzes
and other assignments. Although you must include the final writing
assignment in your portfolio, you are free to choose from the first three
assignments in constructing your portfolio. Portfolio information is
available online.
Please note that because of our use of the web, assignment
dates are not necessarily tied to scheduled classes. But assignments
will always be due on the time and day specified. Readings will be
discussed in class on the day they are listed (see the assignment
schedule), and postings are always due before class discussion unless I
specifically tell you otherwise.
I do not accept any late assignments, nor will I reward late
postings: if you fail to post by the specified time, you will not receive
credit for the assignment. This is your responsibility, so do not ask; I will
not negotiate points.
I expect students to behave appropriately in a college classroom.
This means that we must at all times show respect for everyone in the
class, and at all times remember that we must earn that respect. Any
disruptive behavior in the classroom may result in suspension and the
possibility of being dropped from the course. For specific information
refer to the official “Student Rights and Responsibilities” as established
by the college.
Finally, a word about attendance: Don't miss scheduled class
meetings. Attendance is mandatory. Missing more than three classes
will dramatically affect your course grade, and will almost certainly result
in your being dropped from the class. Absences may only be excused
according to school policy; if you anticipate missing class, please speak
to me in advance to make arrangements for any assignments due that
day.
EngWr 300—3
I expect you to show up on time for class; coming to class late is
both rude and disruptive. I take roll at the beginning of each class; if you
are not present in the classroom when roll is taken, you will be marked
absent. If you miss a class, you—not I—are responsible for homework
due on that day and for material covered in class.
Instructor Bob Lyman:
Contact Email: lymanb@arc.losrios.edu
Information Office: Main Campus—Davies Hall, Room 384
Office Phone: 916-484-8628
Office Hours: TTh from 4:25 to 4:55 a.m. and by appointment.
Class http://www.boblyman.net/engwr300/
Websites and
https://d2l.losrios.edu
Portfolio
Due Date
Tuesday, May 15 before 5:00 p.m.
Assignment Schedule:
Week
Tuesday
1
2
3
4
Thursday
1-17
1-19
Class Intro
D2L and reading responses
Read “Making a Mark” (1 – 15)
Intro Writing due, posted on D2L
1-24
1-26
Read Freire (318 – 328)
Post to D2L
Read Kipnis (390)
Post to D2L
1-31
2-2
Discuss Essay Assignment #1
Thesis and map
Workshop—Norming book
Draft #1 due 2/4 in D2L Dropbox
2-7
2-9
Draft Workshop #1
Bring 2 clean copies of your draft to class
2-14
5
6
7
8
9
MLA format (bring MLA Handbook)
Subject/Verbs & Compound sentences
2-16
Essay #1 due today at beginning of class
Compound Sentence Quiz
2-21
Read Berger (141 – 160)
Post to D2L
2-23
Discuss Essay #2
Doing Library Research
Share research of photo
2-28
3-1
Thesis & Map
Complex sentences
Workshop—Norming book
Draft #2 due 3/10 in D2L Dropbox
3-6
3-8
Draft workshop #2
Bring 2 clean copies of your draft to class
3-13
3-15
Essay #2 due today at beginning of class
Complex Sentence Quiz
EngWr 300—4
Read Auster (3 – 69)
Post to D2L
Week
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Tuesday
Thursday
3-20
3-22
Read Griffin (335 – 382)
Discuss Essay #3
3-27
3-29
Discuss Essay #3
Thesis & Map
Compound-Complex sentences
4-3
4-5
Spring Break—No Classes
Spring Break—No Classes
4-10
4-12
Draft Workshop #3
Bring 2 clean copies of your draft to class
4-17
MLA textual referencing and work cited review
4-19
Essay #3 due today at beginning of class
Discuss portfolio requirements
4-24
Compound-Complex Sentence Quiz
4-26
Read Wideman (681 – 718)
Post to D2L
Read Baldwin (handout)
Discuss Wideman and Walker
5-1
5-3
Discuss Essay #4
Thesis & Map
Discuss Essay #4
Draft #4 due 5/5 in D2L Dropbox
5-8
5-10
Draft Workshop #4
Bring 2 clean copies of your draft to class
5-15
Portfolio Workshop—bring copies of files to class
Chance to workshop Letter of Introduction
5-17
Portfolio due today by 5:00 p.m.
Finals—No Classes
Please check the online assignment schedule for any updates. The URL for the online
schedule is:
http://www.boblyman.net/engwr300/assign.htm
You will find all the essay assignments and portfolio requirement online as well.
EngWr 300—5
Writing Assignment: “Making a Mark”
After reading (and hopefully after re-reading) the introduction of our text (1 – 15), your
assignment is to write a two page significance statement:
1. Choose one statement from the text that resonates for you in some way: perhaps
the essay’s focus as you see it; perhaps a sentence with which you strongly
agree or disagree; perhaps even a sentence that raises questions for you.
2. Type that statement (a single phrase or sentence—no more than one
sentence) at the top of your page, using quotation marks and, in parentheses at
the end of the sentence, giving the page number where the sentence occurs.
This is MLA documentation style, which we will review in more detail in class.
3. Discuss the statement as follows, until you have produced two complete pages
(double-spaced) of your own text.
a. give your reader some context: describe how or why you happened to select
this passage.
b. discuss the details of the statement itself—talk about (and perhaps define)
key words or terms, explaining for your reader what the statement means or
describing various possible meanings.
c. when you have said all you can about the statement itself, move on to discuss
what this statement means in the context of the whole introduction: how is the
statement important to the introduction? what other ideas in the introduction
does the statement point to?
d. finally, discuss how this statement relates to other texts you have read and/or
other texts in the broadest sense, including TV, video, and news. You might
also discuss how this statement relates to your personal experience. In other
words, discuss what this statement might be seen to mean in a larger, social
context.
Your response is not intended to be polished text; focus more on getting thoughts
and ideas down on paper than on presenting something that’s perfect. Feel free to
ask questions, to acknowledge confusion or concern. Compose this assignment on
computer and save it; after you have saved the file, post it to the D2L Discussion Forum
by copying and pasting it. Always save your work as you are writing!
EngWr 300—6