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COURSE SYLLABUS
PREFIX, NUMBER, AND TITLE: COMP101, Composition I
CREDIT HOURS: 3
APPROVED COURSE DESCRIPTION: Catalogue Copy Description of Course
PREREQUISITES:
ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION: This course will focus upon writing short
academic essays for a variety of audiences and purposes so you will learn to write clear,
concise, and coherent college-level papers in standard written English using current academic
citation practices. You will be assigned readings (from the textbook as well as sample essays),
exercises, written drafts, and finished essays. You will submit five finished essays (including
a researched proposal argument) in a portfolio, and you will make one oral report of your
research as you near the completion of your researched proposal argument.
COURSE GOAL: So that you will have authentic, relevant, cognitive, and practical
skills, this course will engage you in the production and metacognitive analysis of
effective academic writing.
ADA: Anyone requiring special adaptations or accommodations will benefit from
contacting ______________ in the Office of Differing Abilities (Ext: _____).
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:
POLICY REGARDING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: The submission of written work that
includes the words or ideas of another without properly citing or attributing them possibly
constitutes plagiarism. You will be given instruction in how to identify and avoid plagiarism.
Papers that are plagiarized will be given a failing grade, and their authors treated in
accordance with the "Academic Integrity Policy" as stated in your Student Handbook.
LATE PAPER POLICY: Assignments are due at the beginning of the class period. Most
of your essays will begin as ungraded daily homework exercises that you submit on a
credit/no-credit basis. You will submit your portfolios of finished essays twice: once at
midterm and once at the end of the term. Late finished essays will result in lower
grades—1/3 of a letter grade for each class period. Any change in this policy must be
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arranged before the assigned due date and be accompanied by a written explanation for
your need to make any adjustment to the schedule of due dates.
ESSAY SPECIFICATIONS: All essays should be submitted in hard copy, printed doublespaced on one side only of 8.5"x11" white paper, using 1" margins left and right (aligned left
and ragged right), and 1" margins top and bottom. You should use a font that is easy to read in
a size that results in approximately 300 words per page (e.g. Times New Roman 12 pt. yields
about 300 wpp., whereas Courier 12 pt. yields 200 wpp.), and you must number your pages.
You should keep an electronic copy of all work (essays and homework) you submit in the
event that anything gets lost. You are also to keep all graded essays for resubmission in your
portfolio, which builds throughout the semester.
HOMEWORK SPECIFICATIONS: Most homework assignments will be submitted
electronically via e-mail, NOT as attached files but as text files composed in or copied into the
mailer. Attached files put a burden upon the recipient; therefore, the only files you should
attach are ones that cannot survive the reduction to ASCII text (e.g. Excel or graphics files). In
general, I do not accept or open attached text files. You are expected to read your e-mail daily.
ESSAY TOPICS: The essays will concern topics related to the readings. Your freedom of
choice of topic will increase as the semester progresses.
TEXTBOOK AND OTHER REFERENCES:
Ramage, John D., and John C. Bean. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing. 3rd ed. New
York: Longman, 2003.
A good desk dictionary, e.g., Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS:
A 3.5" High Density computer diskette (labeled with your name, phone number and email address) to be used for this class only, a two-pocket folder (with your name printed
clearly in the upper right corner of the front cover) for submitting your portfolio of
writings in hard (printed) copies, and an e-mail account. To pass this course, you must
submit printed copies of all assigned essays. In addition, you must be able to submit an
electronic copy of all assigned essays in a form that is readable by the campus standard
word processor if the instructor should request it.
COMPUTER SKILLS USED: Word processing, electronic mail, and accessing Internet
and online library resources.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. You will understand and practice writing as a process that will include prewriting, drafting,
writing, rewriting, peer review, and editing.
2. You will use writing as a way for discovering, clarifying, explaining, and advocating ideas
as you join a discourse community that embodies the ideals of collaboration, shared
ownership, and shared authority.
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3. You will develop a portfolio of writings for different occasions and diverse audiences.
4. You will read and respond analytically to a variety of texts, including published documents
and classmates' works.
5. You will support your researched arguments with quotations, paraphrases, and summaries
accurately using current MLA and/or APA citation practices.
ACTUALIZING the OBJECTIVES: In order to realize the aforementioned objectives,
the following activities will be undertaken:
WRITING ACTIVITIES: To complete this class, you will submit five finished essays, four of
which should be 600-900 words in length, and your researched proposal argument, which will be
8-10 pp., plus at least one page of written homework for each class meeting. All text for this
class should be composed on a word processor. You must submit all of the finished essays to
pass the course.
READING ACTIVITIES: This writing class includes regular reading assignments. The
readings will come primarily from three sources: the assigned text, handouts (or online
versions) of essays taken from current periodicals, and handouts (or online versions) of your
classmates' essays. The readings are intended to serve four main aims: to develop your skills
in the interpretation of texts, to teach critical thinking, to stimulate discussions of
controversial topics, and to serve as models for emulation.
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGIES: In addition to the traditional practices of
reading and writing academic essays, Composition I will incorporate current pedagogical
approaches, including process writing, collaboration, small-group activities, and portfolio
assessment. Some of the above approaches will be implemented through the writing and
communication software available on the campus computer network.
COURSE OUTLINE
(Time/Material Sequence)
COURSE OUTLINE: The following calendar includes approximate dates for reading and
writing assignments. All of the writing assignments will begin as ungraded exercises that you
submit on a credit/no-credit basis. (If you submit them on time, you receive full credit.) You
will then develop several of those exercises into finished essays that constitute the graded
portion of your portfolio. (Your portfolio will also include your Diagnostic essay and your
Reflective essay, both of which will be ungraded.) You will have some freedom of choice
about which exercise you revise into finished essays for your portfolio. The assignments in
bold are recommended ingredients for your portfolio, and the Research Paper is a required
ingredient. You will be free to choose almost any topic for your Research Paper, but you will
have little freedom of form, as it must be a researched problem-solution proposal argument
that you will develop during the final five weeks of the semester.
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Week/Day Reading
1/1 Introductions
1/2 Chapter 1
2/1 Chapter 2
2/2 Chapter 3
3/1 Chapter 4
3/2 Chapter 5
4/1 Chapter 6
4/2 Chapter 7
5/1 Chapter 8
5/2 Chapter 9
6/1 Chapter 10
6/2 Chapter 11
7/1 Chapter 12
7/2 Chapter 13
8/1 Chapter 14
8/2 Chapter 15
9/1 No Reading
9/2 Chapter 16
10/1 Chapter 17
10/2 Chapter 18
11/1 Chapter 19
11/2 Chapter 20
12/1 Chapter 21
12/2 Chapter 22
13/1 Chapter 23
13/2 Chapter 24
14/1 Chapter 25
14/2 Chapter 26
15/1 Chapter 27
15/2 Portfolio Due
Writing Assignment Due
Essay #1(In-class Diagnostic)
Posing a Question
Doubting/Believing Essay
Opposing Theses Essays
Text/Genre Analysis Essay
Angle of Vision Essays
Response to Text Essay
Narrative Essay
Exploratory Essay
Informative, Surprising Essay
Visual Analysis Essay
Quantitative Data Essay
Literary Analysis Essay
Synthesis Paper
Causal Argument
Classical Argument
Midcourse Portfolio Proposal
Evaluation Argument
Proposal Argument
Problem-Solution Essay
Revision (Closed Form)
Revision (Open Form)
Research Paper Proposal
Evaluating Sources
Incorporating Sources
Specialized Sources
Oral Presentation of Research
Oral Presentation of Research
Researched Problem-Solution
Proposal Argument
Reflective Essay
Approximate Length
300-500 words in 30 min.
300 wds.
300 wds.
600 wds.
300 wds.
600 wds.
300 wds.
300 wds.
300 wds.
300 wds.
300 wds.
2 pp. including chart/graph
300 wds.
600 wds.
300 wds
500 wds.
Conference
300 wds.
300 wds. (RP start)
300 wds. (RP continue)
2-3 pp.
2-3 pp.
1 p. for Conference
1-2 pp. (RP continue)
2 pp. (RP continue)
2 pp. (RP continue)
3-min. speech
3-min. speech
8-10 pp.
2 pp.
EVALUATION PROCEDURE: Your final portfolio will be composed of seven essays,
including your diagnostic essay and your comprehensive reflection essay, both of which
are ungraded. The other five will be letter graded or numerically scored (the criteria for
each grade or score will be developed in class previous to the due date), and will account
for 60% of your final grade. The remainder of your final grade will come from your oral
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report, homework, and participation (the percentages for each are displayed in the table
below). You are expected to attend every class meeting and arrive on time, having read
the assigned material. You will have written assignments due at the beginning of each
class meeting. These assignments will not be graded, but will be marked on a credit/nocredit basis. Late homework will not be awarded credit, and attendance is mandatory.
More than two absences will adversely affect your grade.
Portfolio of five finished
essays
Written homework
Participation
Oral Report
Grading Percentages
60%
20%
10%
10%
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Weighted according to length
Credit/No Credit
Based on attendance, group
work, and class discussion.
Negative points possible for
excessive absences.