Notre Dame College, a Catholic institution in the tradition of the Sisters of Notre Dame, educates a
diverse population in the liberal arts for personal, professional, and global responsibility.
EN100: College Composition I
Fall 2015 • Section E: Mon / Wed / Fri • 12:00 – 12:50p • 126 Regina
Professor: Michele Polak
Office: 419 Admin Building
email: mpolak@ndc.edu
Office Hours: MR: 1-2p; TW: 1-3p
Required Materials
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The Norton Field Guide to Writing, Third Edition, by Bullock, Daly Goggin and Weinberg
A Pocket Style Manual by Hacker and Sommers
digital back-up source: USB key / memory stick / jump drive
ear buds or headphones
Supplemental readings and assignments accessed through the Course Website:
http://michelepolak.com/100fall15/Syllabus.html
Course Goals, Description and Expectations
Course description. English 100 is the first of a two-course sequence providing students with
an intensive treatment of fundamental forms of composition, principles of grammar usage and
sentence structure, culminating with a research paper in EN 101. In order to fulfill Notre Dame
College’s General Education Requirement in written composition, a student must complete both
English 100 and English 101.
In this course, writing instruction will begin at the paragraph level. You will learn several forms of
the writing process such as pre-writing, outlining, summarizing, paraphrasing, and revising. You
will enhance your critical thinking skills by studying and practicing the modes of exposition:
narrative, description, comparison and contrast, and cause and effect. You will learn how to
employ lively and varied language to clearly, accurately and concisely express your ideas.
My objective in EN100 is to help you learn the tools that will enable you to interact within college
discourse. You will learn how to effectively communicate in this course, not only through the
written form but also by recognizing the staples of critical inquiry so that when you are asked to
add your own opinions to the arguments that rise within the academic environment, you will do
so, confidently. We will often engage with other learners and share different points of view
throughout the semester as we seek to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and of the
world around us. I expect that you will be prepared to discuss what you’ve learned, observed
and loved in the texts we are reading and the conversation that take place in our classroom.
Likewise, I offer you the space to disagree with any of the issues we discuss this semester as
you explore your own subjectivity in relation to the issues we will be considering. Finding your
voice and gaining the confidence to use it will be stressed in this class.
Core Objectives
Through the work of this course, students should enhance these Notre Dame College values
and skills:
• thinking logically, analytically, and creatively
• communicating effectively in speech and writing
• appreciating the fine arts
• integrating Judeo-Christian values into their lives
• demonstrating mastery of the English language
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sharing talents in friendship and compassion
engaging in the lifelong search for truth, beauty, and justice
Course Requirements
Grading Policy. You are eligible for 1000 points for this course:
Informal Writing:
100 points
Diagnostic Essay:
150 points
Strategy Paper:
150 points
Rhetorical Analysis:
150 points
Single Source Assignment:
200 points
Reflection Essay and Portfolio Assignment:
250 points
Grading scale. Grades will be assigned according to the scale indicated in the College catalog:
A: 100-93; A-: 92-90; B+: 89-87; B: 86-83; B-: 82-80; C+: 79-77; C: 76-73; C-: 72-70; D: 69-65;
F: 64-0. (A grade of “A” or “A-“ represents excellence, extraordinary achievement.)
Participation and Preparation. Not only is it important for you to be present in class, it is also
crucial that you have a voice in discussions, group work, and in-class writing. Active, engaged
participation is therefore required on your part. You should come to class prepared to
participate every day. This means completing all reading and writing assignments, as well as
being prepared to discuss what you’ve learned, observed, loved, and even hated. Know that I
have a tendency to call on people at random to get a sense of what is on everyone’s mind. I
don’t do this to make anyone feel awkward or uncomfortable—I do it because some people tend
to talk more in class, some less. I do not think that being quiet in class necessarily means you
are unprepared. By calling on people, I want to create a space in which we can all engage with
one another equally and openly; I want to hear what you have to say, and so will your
classmates. This classroom is a safe haven for all ideas. This means that we will respect each
other as equal participants in our learning.
Course Policies
Drafts. You are welcome to bring any assignment at any stage of progress to my office for me
to look at; there are no limitations on how many drafts I will read. I will be glad to comment and
help you make revisions. Taking advantage of this opportunity will assure you the grade you
desire for this course. Please note that I will only be able to help you properly revise if you meet
with me in person. I will accept no draft up for discussion through email.
Late Work. All assignments are due at the beginning of the class on the assigned due date. If
you are absent the day that something is due, you are still required to email your assignments to
me by the beginning of class time. Late assignments are NOT ACCEPTED except under
extraordinary circumstances and only after prearranged negotiations with me. If you do
not email me the assignment by the due date indicated, you will receive an F for that
assignment.
Attendance. We cannot form a community of voices if the members of the community do not
show up. Attendance for this course is mandatory. You are considered absent if you are more
than five minutes late, unprepared for class (no book), or not in class at all. Any extenuating
circumstances must have documentation; if you are absent due to any college-sponsored
organization, proper documentation must be provided.
EN100: College Composition I 2
You will be allowed three absences over the course of the semester. Each subsequent
absence will drop your final grade by a full letter grade. If you are absent, you are responsible
for what you missed. Get to know your classmates early in the semester so that you have a
contact to turn to.
Academic Dishonesty
Academic Dishonesty includes but is not limited to the following:
1) the completion or attempted completion of any academic work by means other than those
permitted; and 2) the alteration of a document relating to the grading process, including –
changing an instructor’s grade book, or changing answers on a test after the time to complete
the test is over.
Examples of Academic Dishonesty include but are not limited to:
unauthorized collaboration, copying another student’s answers, unauthorized aids on a test,
using purchased or pre-made term papers, plagiarism, and destroying another student’s work.
Plagiarism occurs when an individual presents the ideas, thoughts, or words of another as his or
her own. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:
using phrases, sentences, or ideas from a published source, including the internet, without citing
that source, representing another’s unpublished work as your own, rewriting or paraphrasing the
work of another without giving credit to that person by citation, submitting a paper as one’s own
work that has been copied, in whole or in part, from another’s work.
Academic Dishonesty may carry specific penalties including but not limited to:
failure on the specific assignment, failure of the course, and/or a letter detailing the offense,
which is kept in the Office of Academic Affairs.
Disability Accommodations
A student with a documented disability who wants to receive academic accommodations must
meet with Jeanne Christian, Director of the Dwyer Learning Center, by September 1 in order to
determine the accommodations and services which can contribute to academic progress. Only
students who have made such arrangements can request academic accommodations. All such
arrangements are confidential. Additional information can be found in the Notre Dame College
Student Handbook.
Policy on Instructional Modification. Students with disabilities, who need reasonable
modifications to complete assignments successfully and otherwise satisfy course criteria, are
encouraged to discuss services needed with the instructor as early in the course as possible to
identify and plan specific accommodations. Students may be asked to supply a letter from their
doctor or other documentation, which will assist in planning modification.
The Digital Classroom
Technology. In this section of EN100, we will be paperless, utilizing the digital technologies
that are available to us on our campus. I advise you to save all your work and back up your files
often on whatever digital back up source you have purchased for this class (required for this
course). As technology is not always 100% reliable, having a copy of a completed assignment
will save you the risk of receiving an F on an assignment that is not handed in on time due to
technological errors. I will not change my Late Policy if you have problems with lost files on
your computer—this will get you into the habit of backing up your electronic work! For this
class, you should frequently check your Notre Dame email account, as I will notify you of any
important class changes through your Notre Dame email address.
EN100: College Composition I 3
Course Website. All of the assignments for this course can be found on the course website.
Criteria for each assignment is listed in the website with a link to the .pdf file, downloadable for
printing or archiving on your own computer. You can also find the Student Center on this
website, which contains links to general writing documents and other general course
information.
Course Moodle Site. While the course website will be where you will find all of the information
for this course, I will activate our course Moodle site so that we may access group class emails,
if needed. You have been automatically added to Moodle. I will be using Moodle to update the
class on any assignment changes or late-breaking news; if you have not activated your Notre
Dame email, please do so as it is the only email account that can be used through Moodle.
Handing in Work
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All assignments are due at the start of class, emailed directly to me, unless otherwise
indicated.
All writing is to be formatted in with 1” margins all around, double-spaced, and using an
academic or professional font such as Times or Times New Roman, 12pt. unless otherwise
specified. (Make sure you check this info in whatever word processing program you use as
Microsoft Word and WordPerfect often defaults to 1.5” margins.)
A page of text must fill at least 3/4 of the page to be considered a full page.
The Drafting Process
The first element of the drafting process is a Peer Draft that will have gone through a peer
response process. This involves an exchange of writing and responding to each other’s writing.
You must come to class that day with a hard copy of a full working draft ready to exchange with
your peers—having only notes, or only an outline is not acceptable and will affect your overall
project grade. You will be receiving credit for not only having a proper draft for peer response
but also for the response you give to your peers. Should you miss class the day peer
responses are scheduled, you are still required to take part in the peer response process; I will
not accept any project that has not been through two peer readings.
The second element is an Instructor’s Draft which is a revised draft based on the comments
offered by your peers and continued class discussion. This draft will be handed back to you
with a grade and suggestions for revision should you care to take advantage of the revision
option for this draft.
The third or Revised Draft is an optional draft based on my feedback. You have the option of
revising any Instructor’s Draft with a grade of B or lower if you feel you would like to revise for
more feedback on your writing or for a grade change. While all Revised Drafts are due with
your Portfolio at the end of the semester, you are welcome to submit a revision at any point in
the semester.
EN100: College Composition I 4
Weekly Schedule, Fall 2015
(Subject to Change)
All projects DUE at the start of class unless otherwise indicated.
WEEK 1
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Aug 31
Course Syllabus
Shadow Syllabus
• Introductions
Wed, Sept 2
Adding elements to your posts in WordPress
Tips on a Good Blog Entry
Diagnostic Essay
• Intro to blogging
• begin building blogs
• Intro Diagnostic Essay
Fri, Sept 4
Ch 22: “Writing as Inquiry” 251
• Discussion: The Writing
Process
• Text Discussion: Ch 22
WEEK 2
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Sept 7
No class: Labor Day
Wed, Sept 9
Ch 41: “Reading Strategies” 396
Reading Strategies
Reading Rhetorically
• Discussion: The Writing
Process
• Discussion: Reading
Strategies
• Text Discussion: Ch 41
Fri, Sept 11
Part 1: “Rhetorical Situations” 1
Ch 23: “Collaborating” 255
Ch 25: “Drafting” 266
Ramsey, “I Will Forever Remain Faithful …” 944
• Discussion: The Rhetorical
Situation
• Text Discussion: Part 1
• Text Discussion: Chs 23, 25
• Text Discussion: Ramsey
WEEK 3
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Sept 14
Hjortshoj, “Rules and Errors”
McWhorter, “A Matter of Fashion”
Wiens, “I Won’t Hire People…”
• Text Discussion: Hjortshoj
• Text Discussion: McWhorter
• Text Discussion: Wiens
Wed, Sept 16
DUE: a digital draft of your Diagnostic Essay,
ready to email in class
• in-class Peer Response
workshop
• Text Discussion: Lamott
Lamott, “Shitty First Drafts”
Responding to papers: what to look for
Writing Rubric
IN CLASS TODAY
IN CLASS TODAY
IN CLASS TODAY
EN100: College Composition I 5
Fri, Sept 18
Ch 26: “Assessing Your Own Writing” 269
Ch 27: “Getting Response and Revising” 275
Ch 28: “Editing and Proofreading” 282
Ch 29: “Compiling a Portfolio” 287-294
Portfolio Assignment
Revision Suggestions
WEEK 4
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Sept 21
DUE: Diagnostic Essay
Ch 24: “Generating Ideas and Text” 259
• Intro Portfolio Assignment
• in-class writing workshop: The
Revision Process
• Text Discussion: Chs 26-29
IN CLASS TODAY
• Discussion: The Writing
Process, Pre-writing
• Text Discussion: Ch 24
Wed, Sept 23
Ch 31: “Guiding Your Reader” 312
• Discussion: The Writing
Process, Paragraphs
• Text discussion: Ch 31
Fri, Sept 25
Ch 30: “Beginning and Ending” 299
• Discussion: The Writing
Process, Introductions and
Conclusions
• Text discussion: Ch 30
WEEK 5
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Sept 28
Ch 40: “Narrating” 387
Felsenfeld, “Rebel Music” 624
Malcolm X, “Literacy Behind Bars” 640
• Discussion: The Writing
Process, The Narrative Essay
• Intro Strategy Paper
• Text discussion: Ch 40
• Text discussion: Felsenfeld
• Text discussion: Malcolm X
Wed, Sept 30
Ch 37: “Describing” 367
Cofer, “The Myth of the Latin Woman” 806
• Discussion: The Writing
Process, The Descriptive
Essay
• Text discussion: Ch 37
• Text discussion: Cofer
Fri, Oct 2
IN CLASS TODAY
• Discussion: The Writing
Process, The Descriptive
Essay
EN100: College Composition I 6
WEEK 6
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Oct 5
Ch 35: “Comparing and Contrasting” 348
Berry, “Guys vs. Men” 915
• Discussion: The Writing
Process, The Comparison /
Contrast Essay
• Text discussion: Ch 35
• Text discussion: Berry
Wed, Oct 7
Ch 32: “Analyzing Cause and Effects” 318
Singer, “The Singer Solution to World…” 902
• Discussion: The Writing
Process, The Cause and
Effect Essay
• Text discussion: Ch 32
• Text discussion: Singer
Fri, Oct 9
IN CLASS TODAY
• Review Day: Narrative,
Description, Comparison/
Contrast, Cause and Effect
WEEK 7
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Oct 12
Be prepared to work in class: bring all files for your
Strategy Paper to class.
• in-class writing workshop:
Strategy Paper
Wed, Oct 14
DUE: a digital draft of your Strategy Paper ready to
email in class
• in-class Peer Response
workshop
Fri, Oct 16
No Class: Fall Break
WEEK 8
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Oct 19
DUE: Strategy Paper
• Discussion: Critical thinking
Wed, Oct 21
Rhetorical Analysis
The Rhetorical Appeals
• Intro Rhetorical Analysis
• Discussion: The Rhetorical
Appeals
Fri, Oct 23
IN CLASS TODAY
IN CLASS TODAY
• Discussion: The Rhetorical
Appeals
EN100: College Composition I 7
WEEK 9
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Oct 26
Wed, Oct 28
IN CLASS TODAY
• Discussion: Rhetorical
analysis
Mid-Term Conferences: Class does not meet. A sign-up sheet will be circulated the
week before. All conferences will be held in my office, 419 Admin Building.
Fri, Oct 30
WEEK 10
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Nov 2
Clark, “’A More Perfect Union: Why…” 684
Bosch, “First, Eat All the Lawyers” 651
• Discussion: Rhetorical
analysis
• Text discussion: Clark
• Text discussion: Bosch
Wed, Nov 4
Ulrich, “Well-Behaved Women…” 656
Stelter, “’We Are the 99 Percent…” 679
• Discussion: Rhetorical
analysis
• Text discussion: Ulrich
• Text discussion: Stetler
Fri, Nov 6
Be prepared to work in class: bring all files for your
Rhetorical Analysis to class.
• In-class writing workshop:
Rhetorical Analysis
WEEK 11
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Nov 9
DUE: a digital draft of your Rhetorical Analysis
ready to email in class
• in-class Peer Response
workshop
Wed, Nov 11
DUE: Rhetorical Analysis
• Doing Research
• Text discussion: Chs 43-45
Ch 43: “Developing a Research Plan” 421
Ch 44: “Finding Sources” 432
Ch 45: “Evaluating Sources” 453
Fri, Nov 13
Ch 46: “Synthesizing Ideas” 457
Ch 48: “Acknowledging Sources…” 475
IN CLASS TODAY
IN CLASS TODAY
• Doing Research
• Text discussion: Chs 46, 48
EN100: College Composition I 8
WEEK 12
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
IN CLASS TODAY
Mon, Nov 16
Ch 49: “Documentation” 480
Wed, Nov 18
Library Exercise: Class meets in the front foyer of the Clara Fritzsche library
• Intro Text Citation
• Text discussion: Ch 49
Fri, Nov 20
WEEK 13
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Nov 23
Ch 11: “Abstracts” 150
Ch 47: “Quoting, Paraphrasing…” 462
Single Source Assignment
Wed, Nov 25
- Fri, Nov 27
No Class: Thanksgiving holiday
WEEK 14
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
Mon, Nov 30
Ch 13: “Evaluations” 164
Barrientos, “Se Habla Espanol” 629
IN CLASS TODAY
• Intro Single Source
Assignment
• Text Discussion: Chs 11, 47
IN CLASS TODAY
• Text Discussion: Ch 13
• Text Discussion: Barrientos
Wed, Dec 2
• Doing Database Research
Fri, Dec 4
• In-class writing workshop:
drafting a summary
WEEK 15
DUE / READ FOR TODAY
IN CLASS TODAY
Mon, Dec 7
DUE: a digital draft of your Single Source
Assignment ready to email in class
• in-class Peer Response
workshop
• revisit Portfolio Assignment
• In-class writing workshop:
Reflection Essay
Wed, Dec 9
Reflection Essay
• Intro Reflection Essay
Fri, Dec 11
Be prepared to work in class: bring all files for your
Reflection Essay and Portfolio Assignment to
class.
• In-class writing workshop:
Reflection Essay and Portfolio
Assignment
EN100: College Composition I 9
FINAL CLASS / EXAM WEEK
Mon, Dec 14
DUE: email Single Source Assignment, Reflection Essay and full Portfolio Assignment
by end of class time.
EN100: College Composition I 10