English 1001: Composition
Section 060 - MWF 10:30-11:30 #221 Tureaud Hall
Instructor: Mr. Jordan Soyka
Office Hours: My office hours are Monday11:30-12:45, Thursday 12:00-1:15, and by
appointment in office #2, Allen Hall (in the basement).
Contact: majorbrit@gmail.com You must email me immediately after the first class in order to
be placed on the class email list. In addition, you must also purchase your e-book and register for
Catalyst immediately.
Course Rationale: This class is the foundation for the rest of your time here at LSU. Whether
you end up pursuing literary analysis or engineering, good writing skills will be necessary to
convey your ideas to professors and classmates. Besides your coursework, eloquence in writing
will give you the edge in the job market, enhance your relationships with others, and make you a
more intelligent citizen. Communication is the backbone of society – the skills learned in this
class will enable you to stand tall in a competitive and confusing world.
Course Strategy: English 1001, the first of the two required courses, will focus on strategies for
generating ideas, organizing them, getting them down, getting feedback from others, and revising
and editing on the basis of that feedback. We will focus on three genres of writing that begin
with writing about a person you have known well and move toward explaining issues to readers
who do not know very much about them. We need to understand how different genres of writing
have different features, different audiences, and different purposes. We will also work to
understand how these different genres are related according to the different ways in which the
writer gathers and communicates information, moving from our own memories of someone,
through primary, and toward secondary research. We will also be writing in class. I will give
daily assignments —they will generally concern the reading we are doing and your progress with
your writing. This writing will be the place for you to use writing as a method of reflecting as
well as a place for you to communicate with me about what you are learning in the course.
Finally, we will focus on conventions—the general rules for writing observed in academic and
workplace environments.
Course Objectives
 Develop strategies of invention, drafting, and revising in three genres of writing
(Firsthand Portrait, Profile, and Explaining Issues).
 Learn about different processes of selecting and arranging information that are
appropriate to different genres.
 Develop our skills in responding to others’ writing—and in receiving others’ responses to
our own.
 Develop our sense of style: improve word choice, coherence, rhythm, and organization.
 Refine our sense of conventions—learn about “errors” and what makes them errors—I
call this the sociology of grammar.
Course Materials:
1.We will be using an on-line electronic book, published by McGraw-Hill for LSU. You can
purchase an access code for the book from the LSU Bookstore. You can do this in the bookstore
or online To order your access code on-line, you must have a credit card, go to:
www.mhhe.com/lsu to purchase the book online. You will also be asked to enter your student
section code: 8B4-7D-D84
2. You will also need the University Writing Program Guide, available at the LSU Bookstore.
Both of these are also available at Co-op Bookstore.
Suggested Reference: The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E. B. White. There are many
versions of the book (including an illustrated one). Used copies can be purchased for $1 at
abebooks.com.
Course Requirements and Grading:
Your final grade will be calculated as follows:
20% Firsthand Portrait
20% Profile
20% Explaining Issues
20%) Daily Assignments, Quizzes,
Drafts, Reviews/Participation, Attendance
(and 1-2 mandatory writing conferences)
20% Final Assessment
90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
0-59% F
All work must be completed on time. Any exceptions should be cleared with me at least twentyfour hours beforehand, not after-the-fact. Our final assessment will be a writing project that will
be done entirely on-line and will be our department’s way of assessing your writing ability at the
end of this course. Your final essay will be scored by two readers in the department.
Dates: No class: 9/1 (Labor Day), 10/10 (Fall Break), 11/28 (Thanksgiving) 12/1, 12/3, 12/5
(Semester Assessment preparation)
NOTE: SEP. 2ND IS THE LAST DAY TO DROP CLASSES
September 19
September 26
October 13
October 20
November 12
November 26
December 4
December 23
Draft-Firsthand Portrait due
Final-Firsthand Portrait due
Draft-Profile due
Final-Profile due
Draft-Explaining Issues due
Final-Explaining Issues due
*No Class- Semester Assessment due at noon
*Final grades posted
Attendance: “No man is an island” – particularly in this class. Because this class is workshop
based, you not only hurt yourself when you miss class, but your classmates as well. Missing
class, therefore, will severely affect your final grade. If, according to official LSU guidelines
(document PS -22), you have a valid excuse for missing class, you must give me the paperwork
before class. This includes athletes, bands, university organizations, etc. It does not include Rush
Week for fraternities/sororities. Furthermore, even an excused absence does not excuse the
student from turning in assignments on time.
Papers: Turn your essays in using Microsoft Word format. Microsoft Word is available in all
computer labs. If you cannot save or convert to Word, please convert to .rtf (rich text file) format.
Use MLA style (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/) formatting your papers, as
well as for any necessary citations. Furthermore, all papers must be double-spaced, in Times New
Roman font, with one-inch margins. Please put your name, the course, my name, and the
assignment name in the upper left corner. Skip two lines and center your title above the essay
proper.
When you turn in draft papers, bring in one hard copy. When you turn in final drafts, bring in a
hard copy and also email me the paper: majorbrit@gmail.com. When we are using papers for
peer review, you must print your own paper and bring it to class, in addition to any other
materials I ask you to print.
Any papers not turned in during class on the appropriate date are considered late. Papers will lose
one letter grade for each day they are late (including weekends and holidays). REMEMBER,
FAILING ANY PAPER IN THIS COURSE WILL REQUIRE YOU TO RE-TAKE THE
COURSE.
NOTE: If, for some reason, you cannot turn in a paper on time, it is acceptable to email me a
copy to prove it was done by a certain day/time, and get me a hard copy afterwards.
Services and Resources: The LSU Writing Center offers free, individual peer-writing tutorials
for all LSU students. The Center is located in B-31 Coates Hall and can be reached by phone:
388-4439. I encourage you to take advantage of their services.
“Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying
academic records, and any act designed to give an unfair academic advantage to the student”
(LSU Code of Conduct). For more information on plagiarism see
www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/plagiarism/main.html. Academic civility will be required as students must
show respect for their classmates during discussions.
The University and I are dedicated to making reasonable accommodations for persons with
documented disabilities. Students should notify the Office of Disability Services located in 112
Johnson Hall and their instructors of any special needs. Instructors should be notified during the
first two weeks of class.
Ettiquette: 1) Remain respectful to one another in class. 2) All emails sent to me must have a
subject heading. Also, please begin all emails with some sort of greeting before launching into
your question. 3) Cell phones, laptops, newspapers, magazines, etc. are not allowed in class.
FINAL NOTE: THIS SYLLABUS (INCLUDING DUE DATES) IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR NOTING ANY SUCH CHANGES.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I have read this syllabus. I understand and agree to its terms
Student Signature:
Date: