State University of New York – New Paltz
ENG160-22 / Composition I - GE III
OM 232 MR 3:05-4:20
Fall 2012
Instructor: Jeffrey Canino
Telephone: 845-257-2752
E-mail: caninoj@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu
Office: JFT 716
Office Hours: M 1:00-3:00
Required Texts (Available at Campus Bookstore, SUB Basement)
Blakesley, David, and Jeffrey L. Hoogeveen. Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age. 2nd Ed. Boston: Wadsworth
Cengage, 2011. Print.
Composition Program Handbook: 2011-2012. Web.
Rigolino, Rachel, James Sherwood, and Joann Deiudicibus, ed. New Voices, New Visions: Composition at the State
University of New York at New Paltz. Mason: Cengage, 2012. Print.
Thelin, William H. Writing Without Formulas. Boston: Wadsworth, 2008. Print.
Additional readings will be available on Blackboard under “Content.” (Bb)
Course Description
Training in critical reading, the process of composing, academic forms of writing, and computer literacy. Movement from
expressive to expository writing. Papers assigned to develop particular writing techniques. A first-semester English course
Course Objectives
By semester’s end, students will demonstrate the ability to:
1. Write well in different rhetorical situations and modes, i.e., for different purposes, occasions, and audiences.
2. Understand and reflect on key concepts about writing and rhetoric (style, exigence, voice, invention, etc.).
3. Craft well-developed, well-organized, clear, and grammatical sentences, paragraphs, and essays.
4. Think and write as college students (reflecting, observing, explaining, comparing, summarizing, synthesizing,
analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting).
5. Approach writing as a process (planning, shaping, drafting, revising, and editing).
6. Critique one’s own writing and the writing of others through reflection on important concepts and issues in
composition studies.
7. Evaluate sources of information using criteria such as currency, authority, objectivity, accuracy, specificity, and
relevance.
8. Use information ethically and legally.
9. Develop oral presentation skills.
10. Develop computer and library information literacy skills.
Schedule of Assignments
Readings listed on a given day are expected to be read before the class period begins. Please come to class prepared for reading
discussion and written response. Also note that the syllabus may change to reflect the needs of the class.
WWF = Thelin’s Writing Without Formulas; (Bb) = Blackboard .pdf under “Content”
Week 1
M 8/27
R 8/30
Week 2
M 9/3
In-Class Diagnostic Essay
Introductions/Review of Syllabus
Deborah Brandt “Sponsors of Literacy” (Bb)
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 1 – Writing & Rhetoric in Context
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 2 – Inventing & Developing Content
Mode Essay Assigned
LABOR DAY – NO CLASSES
R 9/6
Week 3
M 9/10
R 9/13
Week 4
M 9/17
R 9/20
Week 5
M 9/24
R 9/27
Week 6
M 10/1
R 10/4
Week 7
M 10/8
Anne Lamott “Shitty First Drafts (Bb)
WWF: Writing in College (pg. 18-19)
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 3 – Revising, Editing, Proofreading
Mode Essay First Draft Due (e-mail + paper copy)
Keith Grant-Davie “Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents” (Bb)
Herman Melville “The Pulpit & The Sermon” (Bb)
IN-CLASS SCREENING: High School (1968) dir. Frederick Wiseman
Mode Essay Final Draft Due
ROSH HASHANAH – NO CLASSES
Maria P. Rey “Letter to the West Port High School’s English Department” (Bb)
Kelsey Diaz “Seven Ways High School Prepares You for Failure” (Bb)
WWF: Critical Analysis for Writing (Robinson) (pg. 23-27)
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 4 – Reading Critically
Genre Essay Assigned
WWF: Interrogating the Obvious (Luciano & Hertz) (pg. 28-38)
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 6 – Reading Images Critically
WWF: Investigating Assumptions (Kinsley) (pg. 39-42)
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 7 – Writing Arguments
Genre Essay First Draft Due (e-mail + paper copy)
WWF: Awareness of Audience (Banks, Blake, & Quindlen) (pg. 54-67)
WWF: The Supernatural (pg. 367-370)
WWF: Responding to Possible Objections (pg. 76-82)
Genre Essay Final Draft Due
COLUMBUS DAY – NO CLASSES – WE MEET ON TUESDAY INSTEAD
T 10/9
MIDTERM
Situation Essay Assigned
R 10/11
Library Skills Workshop (Class meets in STL 18)
WWF: Locating Critical Knowledge, Writers and Research (pg. 261-266)
WWF: Evaluating Online Sources, When Sources Collide (pg. 276-280)
Week 8
M 10/15
R 10/18
Week 9
M 10/22
WWF: Robert Ellis Cahill, “Whitman’s Haunted Bed” (pg. 371-373)
WWF: Associated Press, “Courtroom Camera Captures Ghost” & “Courthouse Ghost…” (pg. 392-394)
Situation Essay Thesis Paragraph + Annotated Bib Due (2 paper copies in class)
WWF: Susan McClelland & John Betts “UFOs, Skepticism, and Belief” (pg. 373-379)
WWF: Writing with Evidence (Springfield & Turner) (pg. 237-249)
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 12 – Using Sources Ethically
WWF: Jeff Parker, “Four Stops on a Bigfoot Hunt” (pg. 379-385)
WWF: Examining Evidence (O’Rourke) (pg. 243-249)
R 10/25
Week 10
M 10/29
R 11/1
Week 11
M 11/5
R 11/8
Week 12
M 11/12
R 11/15
Week 13
M 11/19
R 11/22
Week 14
M 11/26
WWF: Matt Nisbet, “Talking to Heaven Through Television” (pg. 394-404)
Situation Essay First Draft Due (e-mail + paper copy)
Ann M. Penrose and Cheryl Geisler “Reading and Writing without Authority” (Bb)
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 4 – MLA Documentation
IN-CLASS SCREENING: The Amazing World of Ghosts (1978) dir. Wheeler Dixon
IN-CLASS SCREENING: The Amazing World of Ghosts (1978) dir. Wheeler Dixon
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 24 – Sentences in Context
Situation Essay Final Draft Due
Web Essay Assigned
Geoffrey Nunberg “Blogging in the Global Lunchroom” (Bb)
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 29 – Language & Diverse Audiences
Web Essay First Draft Due (e-mail + paper copy)
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 25 – Parallelism
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 26 Coordination & Subordination
Jonathan Swift “A Modest Proposal” (Bb)
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 27 – Conciseness, Variety, Emphasis
Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age: Ch. 28 – Effective Word Use
MOCK TRIAL
Web Essay Final Draft Due
THANKSGIVING RECESS – NO CLASSES
Strategies for Oral Presentations
Web Essay - 3 Responses Due (on blog)
R 11/29
Oral Presentations Round 1
Week 15
M 12/3
Oral Presentations Round 2
R 12/6
Oral Presentations Round 3
Week 16
M 12/10
Portfolio Review & Round-up
FINAL EXAM MEETING: Monday, 12/14/12, 8:30-10:30 am
Assignments and Grade Distribution
Four take-home essays
In-class midterm essay
In-class discussion leader & handout
Bb response journal
In-class oral presentation
Class participation and attendance
Final in-class writing
Library Skills Workshop
Portfolio
• Students must complete all assignments listed above in order to pass this course.
60%
5%
10%
15%
5%
5%
pass/fail
pass/fail
pass/fail
• Take-home essays (approximately three to four pages each) must be typed (in the traditional 12-point Times New Roman font) and
double-spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides. Students will have an opportunity to revise graded final drafts (see individual
assignment sheets for eligibility).
• Participation includes class discussions, group activities, peer review sessions, daily in-class writing assignments, and two
mandatory teacher conferences.
• Students are required to conference with me twice during my office hours this semester. We will discuss written assignments, course
progress, and individual expectations. This is part of your participation grade.
• You must keep an electronic Reading Response Journal, available under “Content” on the course’s Bb page. You are asked to
complete a brief one paragraph response before every class meeting, commenting upon the content of that day’s readings. Entries
posted after the start of class will not be counted—I want to see your engagement with the text before we discuss it in class. More
instructions are available on Bb. This Reading Response Journal counts for 15% of your grade.
• 10% of your final grade will be dependent upon your participation as the class’s discussion leader for one of the assigned readings.
You will be responsible for leading the discussion of the day’s reading by providing an overview and analysis of the work along with
the questions for class discussion. You must also provide your instructor and classmates with a 1-page handout including all of the
information you are to present. More information on this assignment will be given in class, as well as a sign-up sheet for the readings.
• Oral presentations will be assigned for the final weeks of class. These presentations will consist of oral versions of the students’
Situation Essays. Your grade will be calculated in consideration of your individual presentation as well as your critiques of your peers.
The oral presentation accounts for 5% of your grade.
The Portfolio
No student passes Composition I without submitting a satisfactory portfolio. No student who has exceeded the number of absences
permitted in the course, or who has not completed all the work required in the course, or who has not earned a passing grade (D or
better) as of the day of the final-exit assessment will be allowed to submit a portfolio. Additional information and forms will be
distributed late in the semester. KEEP ALL GRADED DRAFTS OF ALL ESSAYS. The final portfolio consists of the following:
• The diagnostic essay (a clean copy).
• Two revised essays (clean copies with drafts), one of which demonstrates argumentative writing, basic research, and
proficiency in basic MLA documentation methods.
• Mid-semester in-class timed essay.
• Final exam in-class timed writing (i.e., final-exit essay).
• A cover letter—a final reflective statement in which the student articulates his or her writing processes and progress in the
course.
• (Optional) An additional paper or writing-based project.
Grading Scale
A (90-100%) Outstanding scholarship and an unusual degree of intellectual initiative; B (80-89%) Superior work done in a sustained
and intelligent manner; C (70-79%) Basic quality work; D (60-69%) Work of the lowest passing quality, the student having mastered
the bare minimum of subject matter content; F Unsatisfactory (a failing grade).
Policy on Late Assignments
All writing assignments are due at the beginning of class on their assigned due date. Assignments will decrease by a full letter grade
for each day that they are late. Extensions will be granted at my discretion and only under the most extreme circumstances.
Attendance Policy
More than three unexcused absences will result in failure of the course. Any legitimate excuses must be brought to my attention
beforehand, and must be provided for with all proper documentation. This is official SUNY New Paltz policy. Three instances of
tardiness will constitute as one unexcused absence. Students may not drop Composition I.
Statement on Academic Integrity
“Students are expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty in their academic work. Cheating, forgery, and plagiarism are
serious offences, and students found guilty of any form of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary action” (Faculty Handbook,
p. 33). Plagiarism is the unacknowledged (intentional or unintentional) use of summary, paraphrase, direct quotation, language,
statistics, or ideas from articles or other information sources including the Internet. A student must cite according to the Modern
Language Association (MLA) format outlined in the Simon and Schuster Handbook.
Statement on Americans with Disabilities Act
“Students with disabilities are entitled to the right to accommodation under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Ace and ADA of 1990.
ADA students are responsible for self-identifying to the Disability Resource Center, who will inform me of your needs of
accommodation related to the structure of the course”(Faculty Handbook, p. 30).