Amanda Canupp
(“Ms. Canupp” or “Professor Canupp”)
Fall 2014, MWF 10:30-11:20am
Office: Robinson 412A
Office Hours: W 11:30am-12:30pm & by appt.
Email: acanupp2@gmu.edu
ENGLISH 101.019 — COMPOSITION
TEXTBOOK & MATERIALS
Books/readings: (Available at the Campus Bookstore)
 Lundsford, A., Brody, M., Ede, L., Moss, B.J., Papper, C.C., & Walters, K. (2013). Everyone’s an
author: With readings. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
ISBN-13: 978-0393-91201-2
 PDFs and hand-outs available on Blackboard
 (Optional) Bullock, R., Brody, M., & Weinberg, F. (2014). The little seagull handbook: With
exercises (2nd ed). New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
ISBN-13: 978-0-393-93581-3
Technology:
 A subscription to Tophat.com software (tophat.com) ($20) (see “Class Participation & Top Hat”
below)
 Portable device (i.e. flash drive) or online/cloud data storage containing current work for the
course
 An active Mason email account that you check regularly. Per university policy, I will only send
email to or respond to your Mason email account.
 A laptop or tablet with word processing software for every class session. If you do not have one
or don’t want to bring yours to class, please contact me for a Netbook Check Out Card during
the first week of the semester.
COURSE DESCRIPTION & GOALS
Welcome to English 101. Together we will develop your skills as an author. We’ll do this by using
the skills you already have and trying new ways of writing and new ways to think about writing.
The concept of writing in itself can feel slippery and strange, but my goal is to equip you with a
toolbox of skills so that you can overcome any writing problem, either in this class or in the future.
Composition is also about empowering you with knowledge and skills so that you come away from
this class with the understanding that what you have to say matters. I also hope you come to
understand that your writing skills aren’t just for writing essays, but for using your voice to engage
in the conversation and open new doors.
As a theme, we’ll delve into not only what is, but what it is not. We’ll fail, we’ll write badly, and
we’ll study how writing badly and failing can help us to write well. We’ll also consider how effective
writing is the result of revision and multiple drafts—of persistence and of not getting it right the
first time. As you write, we’ll focus on the process—not just your final product.
I encourage you to attempt and achieve the following goals to aid you not only in this classroom,
but in the world at large:
 Read like a writer: Read carefully and thoughtfully, recognizing the choices writers make to
serve their audiences;
 Write with purpose: Produce well-crafted, rhetorically aware writing (aware of purpose,
audience and context);
 Use proper sources: Conduct and effectively use college-level research;
 Take risks: Synthesize information to create new ideas;
 Become your own editor: Critique your own and others’ writing, and use feedback to
meaningfully revise your writing.
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This course is part of Mason’s General Education Program, which is designed to help students
prepare for advanced work in their major field and for a lifetime of learning. For more information
on the mission of the General Education Program, consult the University Catalog or visit
http://provost.gmu.edu/gened/
CLASS PARTICIPATION & TOP HAT
We will be using Top Hat to boost your participation score in class. This software allows you to use
a laptop, a cell phone, or a tablet to answer questions, submit answers, take part in class polls,
and submit short writings for the class to see on the projector.
Top Hat requires a $20 subscription fee. You can sign up by:
 Accepting my email invitation to Top Hat, then registering via the link in the email;
 Going to http://tophat.com/e/142056, where you can register and enroll.
We will work together to use this new technology as a class so that you get points for your active
participation. In Week 2, we’ll go through the demonstration and practice using this software, so
you’ll need to sign up before Week 2.
Disclaimer: Use of this software is privilege. Any use of cell phones in class that does not promote
learning or distracts from learning will result in the ban of technology in our classroom.
READINGS, ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSIONS, & BLACKBOARD
Readings outside the textbook will be posted on Blackboard. They can be found on the Readings
page.
We will also be using Blackboard for major assignment submissions. Instructions for assignments
can be found on both the class website and on Blackboard, but I will be looking for your final
submissions via Blackboard.
We will use Blackboard for readings and assignments. To access Blackboard:
 Go to http://mymasonportal.gmu.edu
 Enter your Mason user-id and password
 Click on the “Courses” tab at the top right
 Click on our course number in your “Course List”
o If this course does not appear in your “Course List” menu, let me know
Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date. Unless otherwise noted, all formal
assignments should be typed using a standard font and size and double-spaced. You should keep
all of your assignments as they are handed back to you.
Also, you’ll benefit from subscribing to the Ask a Question discussion forum on Blackboard. That
is where you should ask ALL of your non-personal course questions. This lets everyone benefit from
a question that only one person may have the foresight or willingness to ask. Ask and answer
questions in this forum. You may see a question to which you have the answer before I do, or you
may be able to phrase an answer or explain a concept in a way that’s more accessible to your
peers.
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METHOD OF INSTRUCTION & CLASS PRINCIPLES
This is not a lecture class. Most of our class meetings will be interactive and involve a significant
amount of discussion, writing, and collaboration. Because this is a skills-building class in which we
operate as an interactive learning community to practice or apply the concepts that you’ve read
about, it is important that you are present and actively engaged. This means that you do the
readings and come to class prepared and on-time, bring the readings and any homework
assigned, have a draft of your current project(s) with you, participate meaningfully in
discussions and activities, ask questions, and remain open to new ideas and viewpoints.
Effective writing is usually a result of time, reflection, open-mindedness, persistence, and lots of
revision—rather than of natural talent. Students who succeed in this class are those who:
 attend regularly and actively participate during class,
 thoughtfully complete all assignments (large and small),
 and block off sufficient time each week for thinking, drafting, and revising.
Participation & Common Courtesies: Participation is 10 percent of your course grade. Your final
participation score will be calculated as the percentage earned of possible participation points.
Peer-review days will be worth more than the average day.
You earn full points for a class period only by being on time and actively engaged—not by
merely being present.
Because I recognize the complexities of your busy adult lives, you have two “free” absences to use
throughout the semester. All other absences, except those resulting from mandated government or
military service, result in a zero for participation.
Respect for Others: While you are free—even encouraged—to disagree with me or other students,
your comments should be intellectual rather than personal, conversational rather than
confrontational. I will not tolerate mean, closed-minded, or discriminatory talk or actions of any
kind.
Technology/Cell Phone Policy: Technology is an essential part of learning in today’s college
environment. Rather than force you to avoid it, technology will be part of our learning. You will use
your laptop, tablet, and/or cell phone (and the Top Hat software) to engage in and get points in
class.
However, this is a privilege. If any technology, particularly cell phones, is not being used for
learning and engagement in the classroom, it will be banned and any sighting when we are not
using those technologies for learning will lose you participation points.
When you’re not using your laptop or tablet for class work, shut the lid or turn it off. Drifting
around online, using social media, playing Guild Wars, working on other classes, and texting or
surfing on your phone aren’t effective classroom behaviors, and they will lower your participation
score if you engage in them.
CONTACT ME!
If you get stuck, ask questions! Ask your classmates first, but then ask me if you still don’t know.
Small problems now are easier to fix than big problems later. Many answers are in this syllabus.
 If your question might help, or be shared by, others, post it to the Ask a Question forum.
Tell me what you know and what you’ve tried to do to solve your problem.
 Email me at acanupp2@gmu.edu. Put “ENGH 101” as your title. Tell me what you know and
what you’ve tried to do to solve your problem. You can expect a response from me within
48 hours.
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
Visit me in my office hours or make an appointment. Bring your drafts, outlines, ideas,
thoughts, or questions to me and we’ll talk them through.
That said, don’t overlook the importance of personal responsibility and pre-planning. If you’re
struggling with something, ask for help right away. This class doesn’t lend itself to procrastination
or last minute work and, like most of your professors, I’m not available in the middle of the night
and you can’t rely on me being available right before an assignment is due.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
15%
15%
15%
15%
10%
20%
10%
Class Participation/Quizzes (including Top Hat)
In-class Assignments/Homework
Project 1: Rhetorical Letter to Friend Essay (850 words)
Project 2: “This Gets My Goat” Narrative Essay (850 words)
Project 3: Annotated Bibliography &
“Boring Object” Essay (1,300 words)
Final Portfolio (including final revision) (500 words)
Due:
Due:
Due:
Due:
Due:
9/19
10/10
11/17
11/17
12/1
Final course grades are assigned as follows:
A+ (100-97.5%); A (97.4 %-93%); A- (92.9-90%); B+ (89-87.5%); B (87.4-83%); B- (82.980%); C+ (79-77.5%); C (77.4-73%); C- (72.9 -70%); D (69-60%); F (59% and below).
Completing English 101: You must receive a C (73%) or higher to fulfill the ENGH 101
requirement. Students who do not earn at least a C grade must retake the course. Furthermore,
you must complete all major projects, and the required drafts, to earn a C.
Midterm Grades: I will file a midterm grade based on your work and participation during the first
six or seven weeks of the course. This grade is a rough snapshot of how you’re doing, but you
should not assume that it’s a prediction of your final grade. There’s still plenty of time and major
work to be completed to change your grade.
Project Grading Policy: While you will receive detailed grading criteria for each project, these are
my general grading standards:
A “C” level grade (70-79%) denotes competent college-level writing and achievement. The writer
responds to the specified rhetorical situation: he or she meets, to some degree, all the assignment
requirements, and employs some key strategies for communicating his/her ideas to his/her
targeted audience. The essay has a central focus, presents some support, and moves from point to
point in an orderly fashion; sentence-level errors do not significantly prevent comprehension.
Essays that do not meet these criteria will not earn a “C.”
A “B” level grade (80-89%) highlights a strong example of college writing and thinking. In addition
to meeting the “C” level requirements, the writer of such an essay goes further in some way(s): he
or she demonstrates some insight into the “gray areas” of the topic, provides original or very
thorough support that is tightly woven into the overall argument, and/or creates prose that reads
smoothly at both the sentence and paragraph levels. The essay has few sentence-level errors
and/or may demonstrate a lively voice or style.
An “A” level grade (90-100%) marks an essay that engages the reader in a provocative
conversation. Even more than in a “B” essay, the writer anticipates and responds to possible reader
questions, uses a wide range of supporting evidence, structures arguments and analyses to create
a fluid reading experience, provides unexpected insights, and/or uses language with care and
facility.
“D” and “F” level essays do not meet the basic expectations of the assignment.
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Homework Grading: Homework will receive a √ (full credit), a √-(partial credit) or a 0 (no
credit). In cases in which you have completed an assignment especially thoroughly and
thoughtfully, you may receive a √+, which will also factor into any decisions regarding a borderline
final grade.
Your average percentage determines this portion of your course grade, but I will drop your lowest
homework or quiz grade before calculating your final grade. In-class work and quizzes will be
scored with √ (full credit), √- (partial credit) or 0 (no credit).
Peer Review: You may have engaged in peer review in previous classes. In this class, we’ll use
peer review to share your writing with two of your peers to get feedback on your work and you’ll
provide feedback on the work of two of your peers. Peer review will take place three times during
the semester, once for each of your papers (see the schedule for exact dates). On these days, you
will need to bring a complete (but early) draft of your project. After all, you’ll find that it’s difficult
to provide feedback on a paper that isn’t complete. Because these days are very important to class
participation, they will be worth more points.
Class Participation:
Every class period is worth 3 points:
 1 point for attendance that day
 2 points for preparedness and participation in class (through Top Hat and/or through
discussion)
Peer review days are worth 6 points:
 2 points for preparedness (having a complete early draft)
 2 points for active engagement with peer papers
 2 points for active (on topic) discussion with peers
Stronger participation (preparation for class, participation in discussions, support for peers in group
work) will raise that grade; absences, frequent tardiness, or lack of engagement in class (including
reading non-class materials, checking email or cell-phone messages, holding private conversations,
or sleeping) will lower that grade. You may lose half or whole points for engaging in these
behaviors.
If you are frequently late, you may lose class-participation points. However, in an emergency I
would rather have you come late than not at all; if you get stuck in traffic but you can get here 20
minutes late, please try to come.
Extra Credit: Extra credit will be available throughout the semester to help boost some of your
lower scores, but it will not do the job of covering up for a semester of poor work and poor
participation. Extra credit opportunities will be announced in class, in addition to our semester-long
extra credit opportunity.
Because I’m interested in helping you see how writing is a continuous process of drafting and rewriting, this semester-long extra credit opportunity will give you credit for any sentence-level
mistakes (grammar or spelling) you can find in your textbook or in my own writing assignments.
To get credit for this, write the mistake, correct it, and then explain either the kind of error this
was or how you know that your change is correct. The goal of this is to get you to celebrate
mistakes in writing because they’re an opportunity to fix them and do better next time. You may
receive a .25% boost of your final grade up to 4 times in the semester. Because we will all be
reading the same materials, you’ll probably all be finding the same errors, so only the first person
(or people in the event of a tie) to bring me in class a write-up of the mistake and the error will get
credit for it. This means that you’ll need to look closely as you read to earn the extra credit. I will
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keep track of which errors have been found in the text on Blackboard, so check there before you do
the write-up of the error.
Another extra credit opportunity comes in taking part in workshops across campus from either the
Writing Center (http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/workshops), Academic Skills from Learning Services
(http://caps.gmu.edu/students/academic-skills-workshops/), or the library
(http://library.gmu.edu/workshops. You may receive a .5% boost of your final grade up to 3 times
per semester (1/2 of a point for each workshop you attend). To get credit for this:
1. After the workshop, write 2 paragraphs about what new skills you have and how you can
use those new skills in this class and in the future (whether in your possible career or in
your major/future classes).
2. Send this paragraph to me via email within 3 days of the workshop.
You may use both extra credit opportunities to boost your final grade.
Students With Disabilities: If you are a student with a disability and you need academic
accommodations, please see me and contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 703-9932474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through the ODS.
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS
This is a preview of coming attractions! There are detailed assignment sheets posted on Blackboard,
which we’ll review together as we begin each project. Final products will be submitted to and
graded using Blackboard (unless we as a class come to some other agreement).
Project #1: Write Analytical Letter to Friend (850 words)
Due 9/27
Your peer is writing an article that they want to get published in a well-respected publication.
They're nearly ready to submit it, but they want you to take one last look at it.
Your friend wants you to rhetorically analyze how they present their argument. More specifically,
they want to know if they successfully keep audience in mind, effectively deliver a message and if
they should revise their article. Should your peer spend several more days or several more weeks
revising, or should they send their paper off after a few small changes? You will answer questions
like this in a thorough letter. Using evidence from their article, make suggestions for their final
draft.
Project #2: This Gets My Goat Narrative Essay (850 words)
Due 10/13
For your second essay, you have the opportunity to submit something to “The Complaint Box,” a
special area of the New York Times that publishes short essays about problems in the community
or in the world at large. In your piece, you’ll talk about something that “gets your goat,” something
that “grinds your gears,” essentially something that irritates or bothers you, and then argue what’s
wrong with it using personal anecdotes. (For examples in form and style, check out the Complaint
Box on the New York Times website.)
In this essay, you should:
 introduce us to the problem using a story from your life;
 settle on a particular solution & explain why that is the best solution; or if there’s no
solution, explain why;
 consider and respond to people who might not think that this is a problem.
Remember that this is not a rant, but an opportunity to express your opinion on a subject that
matters to you. This means that you will need to carefully consider your tone and your word choice.
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As we work on this essay, we will also focus on using your skills as a narrator, employing
appropriate tone, and honing your existing writing skills.
Project #3: Annotated Bibliography (500 words) & “Boring Object” Research Paper
(1,300 words)
Annotated Bibliography due 11/14
Research Paper due 11/14
For this project, we will attempt to glean inspiration from the TEDtalk, “How I Learned to Stop
Worrying and Love Useless Art,” in which the speaker makes interesting what he originally felt was
a useless piece of art.
In this essay, you’ll use research to help you make a common, boring object interesting to your
audience. There are a variety of approaches that you can take, which we’ll brainstorm and discuss
in class, but your primary objective is to use research and the boring object to help you offer a
complex, interesting idea to your reader (an idea that may or may not be about your boring object).
This paper will develop your research skills and offer you the chance to experiment with your
writing. It requires that you think in a new way about the purposes, uses, and presentation of
researched information and take careful control and ownership of it.
You’ll use this research to investigate and refine your topic and will select your best eight sources
to analyze, summarize, and evaluate in an annotated bibliography. Your annotated bibliography
will include a research evaluation that evaluates and maps your body of research to show the
connections between your sources and evaluates your research process and progress to explore
your research gaps and how research has complicated, refined and confirmed your initial topic and
ideas.
We will break down the research process, step-by-step, to help you complete this project. First,
we’ll start with a research calendar, showing you what you need to accomplish and when. Then,
you’ll complete a topic proposal. Then, you’ll complete a first draft of your annotated bibliography.
Then, you’ll complete an outline of your essay. Then, you’ll move to a first draft of your essay for
peer review. Finally, you’ll revise and submit your final draft.
This project will focus on crafting and refining research questions; finding, evaluating, and selecting
sources; evaluating your research process and progress; understanding the way sources connect
and come together in conversation; and synthesizing sources to add to the conversation.
Project #4: Final Portfolio
Due: 11/24
The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate your best writing and create pieces you are
proud to call your own. This will also help you think about your writing and the writing process in a
more conscious way, which will, ideally, make you into a more careful, self-conscious, and effective
writer.
Generally, requirements of this are that you must gather all of your writing from this semester
(including anything produced in class) and all final versions of your three projects + a Post Script
for each. You will also submit a reflective cover letter of at least 500 words, your original in-class
essay from Week 1, and your in-class essay from Week 12. Particulars about how this will be
turned in (electronically vs. hard copy) and other details will be negotiated as a class.
ASSIGNMENT POLICIES
Submitting Class Work
All work must be submitted as specified on the assignment sheet, on the stated date and time.
Generally, homework will be due as hard copy in class and major projects will be due through
Blackboard before midnight. Unless otherwise noted, all formal assignments should be typed using
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a standard font and size and double-spaced. You should keep all of your assignments as they are
handed back to you.
Late Work & Crisis Passes
Late assignments are those arriving any time after the due date/time.
Please do not:
 email me your assignments or
 put work on or under my office door (because I share my office).
If you submit an assignment late, submit it to Blackboard, which accepts late submissions. To
submit hard copy assignments (like your final portfolio) late please put them in my box, located in
Robinson A487 (the English department office), and email me immediately to let me know that
your have put it in my box (so that I have a record of when you put it there and so that I know to
look for it. Ask for help in the main English office if you can’t find my box.)
Homework will be accepted late for one week after the due date for a √-. Late projects will lose 1/2
of a letter grade (5%) for each calendar day that they are late. So, after 3 days, your project
would lose 15% off of the grade you earn. For example, if you get a 95% on the paper, you
automatically lose 15% so that the final grade becomes 80%.
NOTE: Late-work penalties cannot be changed through revision.
You have a total of three (3) crisis passes to use this semester. Each crisis pass allows you to
submit the work one calendar day late, without grade penalty, without permission or offering an
explanation. You may use multiple crisis passes at once. For example, you could submit your
“Goat” essay three calendar days late (for example, if the paper is due Monday and you want to
submit it on Thursday) and receive no late penalty, but you would have no more crisis passes for
the semester.
To use a crisis pass (or passes) on an assignment:
 type the number of crisis passes used at the top of the first page in ALL CAPS (e.g. I’M
USING 3 CRISIS PASSES).
If you do not indicate that you are using a crisis pass when you submit your work, the late penalty
will be applied. Crisis passes cannot be used retroactively.
In the case of a rare, serious emergency, please contact me to discuss the situation.
REVISION POLICY
Because revision is such an important part of the writing process and how writers improve, I
encourage revision as part of the writing process. So, we will be doing multiple revisions of each
writing project so that by the time you submit your final work, the piece has moved through
multiple versions and has settled on what you think is your best work. However, if it comes time to
submit and your grade is not what you had hoped, I will allow for one revision of each project. If
the final grade on this is better than your original submission, the grade for this will replace that
grade. This revision will be graded on the depth and quality of the revision. Meet with me in my
office hours for more information.
NOTE: This must be a genuine revision—not an edited paper. You should address the weaknesses of
your original essay and try to strengthen it by looking at and expressing your ideas in a new way.
I’m happy to discuss graded work once you’ve read and thought about my comments (meaning
that you should wait to talk with me more than 24 hours after work is returned to you).
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You are not guaranteed a higher grade for revising, but you can’t get a lower one. If your revision
produces a better product than the first and you’ve done a thorough revision, your new grade
replaces the original. Otherwise, you keep your original grade.
You may revise Projects 1, 2, and 3 and re-submit them up to two weeks after you receive your
paper back.
For your revision (Read this before revising): Your final revision must be submitted as a
document that uses “Track Changes” to show each change made. You must also use the comment
function to explain why you made at least two significant changes and how each of those changes
supports your primary revision goal(s). All revisions also require a “Post Script” (see
Blackboard for more specific information on this).
PLAGIARISM: THE COMPOSITION PROGRAM’S STATEMENT ON PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another source
without giving that source credit. Writers give credit through the use of accepted documentation
styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or end notes; a simple listing of books, articles,
and websites is not sufficient.
This class will include direct instruction in strategies for handling sources as part of our curriculum.
However, students in composition classes must also take responsibility for understanding and
practicing the basic principles listed below.
To avoid plagiarism, meet the expectations of a U.S. Academic Audience, give their readers a
chance to investigate the issue further, and make credible arguments, writers must:
put quotation marks around, and give an in-text citation for, any sentences or distinctive
phrases (even very short, 2- or 3-word phrases) that writers copy directly from any outside
source: a book, a textbook, an article, a website, a newspaper, a song, a baseball card, an
interview, an encyclopedia, a CD, a movie, etc.;
• completely rewrite—not just switch out a few words—any information they find in a separate
source and wish to summarize or paraphrase for their readers, and also give an in-text
citation for that paraphrased information;
• give an in-text citation for any facts, statistics, or opinions which the writers learned from
outside sources (or which they just happen to know) and which are not considered
“common knowledge” in the target audience (this may require new research to locate a
credible outside source to cite);
• give a new in-text citation for each element of information—that is, do not rely on a single
citation at the end of a paragraph, because that is not usually sufficient to inform a reader
clearly of how much of the paragraph comes from an outside source.
Writers must also include a Works Cited or References list at the end of their essay, providing full
bibliographic information for every source cited in their essay.
•
While different disciplines may have slightly different citation styles, and different instructors may
emphasize different levels of citation for different assignments, writers should always begin with
these conservative practices unless they are expressly told otherwise. Writers who follow these
steps carefully will almost certainly avoid plagiarism. If writers ever have questions about a citation
practice, they should ask their instructor!
Instructors in the Composition Program support the George Mason Honor Code, which requires
them to report any suspected instances of plagiarism to the Honor Council. All judgments about
plagiarism are made after careful review by the Honor Council, which may issue penalties ranging
from grade-deductions to course failure to expulsion from GMU.
Note that I recommend course failure for all reported plagiarism cases.
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The full academic calendar and final exam schedule is available through the registrar’s website, but
here are some key deadlines:
Last Day to Add Classes: September 2; You are responsible for verifying your enrollment in the
class and making any necessary schedule adjustments through Patriot Web by this date.
Last Day to Drop Classes: Last day to drop with 33% Tuition Penalty: September 16
Final drop deadline (67% Tuition Penalty): September 26; After this date, withdrawing from the
class requires the approval of the dean and is only allowed for nonacademic reasons.
Selective Withdrawal Period: September 29-October 24; Undergraduate students may choose to
exercise a selective withdrawal—contact the registrar for details—but I encourage you to talk to me
before making this choice.
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Course Schedule
Please note that assignments/readings are due in class on the day listed in the schedule. The
course calendar is subject to changes and revisions throughout the semester. In the event of a class
cancellation, I may send an email with an assignment that you must complete in order to keep us on track
WEEK
DATE
Unit 1
1
ASSIGNMENTS DUE
Meeting the Expectations of College Writing
Mon.
8/25
Course introduction Syllabus Quiz
on Friday!
Meet your
classmates
Sign up for
Top Hat by
In-class writing
Friday!
Wed. Read: Alexie, “Superman and Me”
8/27
Read: “7 Ways High School Prepares You For Failure”
Write: 2 paragraphs to answer: What surprises you
about these two readings? What do you agree with?
What do you reject? Which of the “rules” mentioned by
the authors have “blocked” you before?
Submit: By 8/26 11:59 p.m., post 2 questions about
the syllabus/course on Blackboard (instructions on BB)
& post 2 “rules” that you’ve been taught about writing
(1 that seems true, 1 that seems false)
Fri
8/29
IN-CLASS TOPICS REMINDERS
The “rules” of
writing
Sign up for
What do I mean by
Top Hat by
“read”?
Friday!
Writing emails in
college
Read: Kellior, “How To Write a Letter”
Submit: By 8/28 10 p.m.: Write me an email (using
proper formatting) to tell me:
 your major and year (freshman, sophomore,
etc.)
 2 things that seem difficult about this class or
that are difficult about writing for you;
 why these things are difficult for you;
 your outside-class obligations/activities (student
athlete? Chess club? Parent?) and one or two
secrets that you use to manage your time
between your obligations and your coursework.
Top Hat demo
Syllabus Quiz
Introduction to
"Letter" assignment
Read: Syllabus in preparation for syllabus quiz
Choose: Glance over the “Readings” section of your
book. You will be signing up for one of the readings for
your next assignment.
(Sign up by 9/1/14 on the wiki on Blackboard)
2
Mon
9/1
Wed
9/3
No class! Labor Day!
No class!
Read: Burger, “Teaching to Fail”
Read: EAA “Opening sentences” p. 561-564
Submit: Fast and loose 1st draft of your “Letter” hard
copy in class
Writing and failure
Plagiarism
11
Fri
9/5
Read: Everyone’s an Author (EAA) p. 263-268
(“Genre”)
Read: “Tweets to Reports” of EAA (p. 527-537) & “On
Getting By” (p. 817-822)
Read: Tan, “Mother Tongue”
Submit: Homework:
1. Go to
http://www.luizotaviobarros.com/2013/04/acad
emic-writing-useful-expressions.html
2. Choose 5 expressions/templates that you think
will work for your “Letter” assignment.
3. Write 1-2 paragraphs of your “Letter” using
some of the templates you chose. Bring to class
(hard copy or on your laptop)
3
Mon
9/8
Wed
9/10
Fri
9/12
Read: EAA p. 24-28 (“Writing as a process”)
Expectations of
academic writing
Genre
Read: EAA p.275-284, 297(“Other perspectives”)-304
Rhetorical listening:
What do "they
say"?
Read: Starling, “A Guy’s Guide to… Maced” (on BB)
(print or bring on laptop)
Writing as a
process
Submit: Homework (bring to class hard copy or on
laptop):
1. On p. 279 of EAA, answer 4 questions (under
"What's at stake?") about "A Guy's Guide."
How to survive
your first
conference!
Bring: 2 hard copies of your draft so far to your
conference
AND
Bring: your “Pre-Conference Reflection” (hard copy)
Read: EAA “Quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing”
(p. 388-400)
Sign up for
conferences at
http://doodle.
com/72v75u9
4dtzt3zvf
No class!
Conferences!
Implementing
quotes effectively
Fall for the
Introduction to Fall Book!
Bring: draft (so far, for you to see only) of your “Letter”
for the Book
(either in hard copy or on your laptop)
assignment
4
Mon
9/15
Submit: Not-perfect-but-complete draft of “Letter”
assignment due in class. Bring two hard copies.
Peer review of
"Letter"
Fall for the
Book!
No class!
Fall for the
Book!
Read: Anne Lamott: “Shitty First Drafts”
Wed
9/17
No class!
Go to Fall for the Book! (See Fall for the Book
assignment instructions on Blackboard)
Work on your Letter!
Read: King, “Toolbox”
Fri
9/19
Unit 2
WEEK
APA formatting
Take online quiz: APA Tutorial
Revision strategies

Start with “Pre-Test” (you do not have to email
me the results), and then go through the
Sentence-level vs.
tutorial
essay-level
concerns
Submit: Final “Letter” essay by 9/19 11:59pm
Using Writing as a Tool for Exploration, Discovery, and Reflection
DATE
ASSIGNMENTS DUE
IN-CLASS TOPICS REMINDERS
12
5
Mon
9/22
Submit: Fall for the Book assignment by 9/23
(Tuesday) 11:59pm
Introduction to
"Goat" assignment
13
Wed
9/24
Read: EAA p. 122-127 (“Writing a narrative: A
roadmap”)
The genre of
personal narrative
Brainstorming
Outlining “goat”
Fri
9/26
6
Mon
9/29
Wed
10/1
Fri
10/3
7
Mon
10/6
Wed
10/8
Read: EAA p. 127 “Lydia’s Story” p.128-131
Read: EAA p. 132-136, “Literacy: A Lineage”
Building an
argument
Voice
Read: EAA “Writing a Narrative: Bidding Farewell to
Arms” p. 118-121
Constructing
counter-arguments
Write: Two paragraphs: Think about your “goat” topic.
Write the story of your own personal interaction with
this object, person, or problem. As you write, think
about your reader and what action is happening and
what images you are creating in your story.
Personal narrative
intros and
conclusions
Submit: Top grammar fails worksheets
Submit: “Goat” outline
Bring: 2 copies of “Goat” draft to conference
AND
“Pre-Conference Reflection” to conference
Bring: 2 copies of "Goat" to class for peer review.
Bring: 2 copies of “Goat” draft to conference
AND
“Pre-Conference Reflection” to conference
Sign up for
conferences!
EngFish
Supporting your
argument
Avoiding passive
voice
Sign up for
conferences!
No class!
Conferences on
goat/mid-term
conferences!
"Goat" peer review
No class!
Conferences on
goat/mid-term
conferences!
Unit 3
Employing Strategies for Conducting Research, Evaluating Sources, and Incorporating
Other Voices
WEEK
DATE
ASSIGNMENTS DUE
Fri
Submit: final “Goat” essay by 11:59 on 10/10
10/10
Read: Goldthwaite, “This, Too, is Research”
IN-CLASS TOPICS REMINDERS
The decisions of the
writer: Revision
with feedback
Introduction to
Research Paper
assignment
(on Tues 10/14):
Mon
10/13
8
Read: Browse through & be familiar with
http://infoguides.gmu.edu/engh101
Do: Go to the assignment calculator:
gmutant.gmu.edu/acalc/assignment-calculator/
(Tue
and input today’s date and the due date of this essay.
10/14)
Save this! Print hard copy or bring on laptop/tablet.
Read: Ch. 19 “Writing Project Proposal” of EAA
Getting rid of
research phobia!
Scaffolding your
research
Understanding your
topic: topic
proposal
We meet on
Tuesday
10/14, not
Monday, at
the regular
time!
14
Bring: list/assignment calculator
Wed
Read: Kahn, "The Road to the Information Age"
10/15
Narrowing your
topic & forming a
research question
Read: the Wikipedia article on The Information Age
Fri
Read: Chapter 16, “Finding Sources & Considering
10/17 Research Methods” & Chapter 23, “Giving Credit,
Avoiding Plagiarism”
Class will not
be held in
ONLINE CLASS!
person
today—
Wading through the instead, go
web
to
Blackboard
How to find:
for
Scholarly sources
instructions
vs. regular sources to complete
today’s
class.
Online Class answers due Mon. 10/20 11:59pm
9
Mon
Read: Ch. 16 of EAA “Finding Sources, Considering
10/20
Research Methods”
Librarian visit
Submit: Topic proposal due on BB by 11:59 p.m. 10/22
What is an
Wed
annotated
10/22 Research: what is an annotated bibliography? Make a
bibliography?
list of 5 things required in an annotated bibliography.
Go to: http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/
HarryPotter/Docs/Quiz-House.html; take quiz
Fri
10/24 Then: read your assigned “house” essay;
Gryffindor; Slytherin; Ravenclaw; or Hufflepuff (unless
you know a speed-reading spell, skim this one)
10
Mon
Bring: one of your articles from your research to class
10/27 (hard copy or on laptop)
Using sources
about Harry Potter
to practice making
an annotated
bibliography
Evaluating your
sources with the
CRAAP test
Building a literature
review
Wed
Submit: First draft of annotated bibliography with 3
10/29 sources due on BB by 11:59 pm on 10/24
Outlining your
research paper
Fri
Read: Research Paper Example
10/31
Models of
successful research
papers
Analyzing the facts
11
Mon
11/3
Wed
11/5
Fri
11/7
12
The genre of the
research paper
Submit: Outline of research paper (basic, not many
details) due on BB by 11:59 pm on 11/5
MLA & APA
Discussion about
rubric
Bring: two copies of “Research” AND one copy of “Preconference reflection” to your conference
No class!
Conferences!
Mon
Bring: two copies of “Research” AND one copy of “Pre11/10 Conference Reflection” to conference
No class!
Conferences!
15
Wed
Bring: two hard copies of “Research” essay for peer
11/12 review
Research Paper
essay peer review
Revision & Meeting
rubric expectations
Fri
11/14
Read: Ch. 29 of EAA, “Good Sentences”
Proofreading
quotations to avoid
plagiarism
Bring: Working version of “Research”
Grammar Guide:
Top 5 Class
Grammar Troubles
& How to Fix Them
Unit 4
Re-shaping, Revising, and Editing
WEEK
DATE
ASSIGNMENTS DUE
13
Mon
Submit: final draft of “Research” paper and Annotated
11/17 Bibliography on BB by 11/17 11:59 p.m.
Wed
Read: Ch. 32 of EAA, "Assembling a Portfolio"
11/19
Fri
Conferences: Bring all graded essays; come ready to
11/21 discuss your revision plans
IN-CLASS TOPICS REMINDERS
In-class writing
Introduction to
Portfolio Project
Revision strategies
for first 3 essays
No class!
Conferences!
Developing your Passions, Fluency, Confidence, Critical Thinking, Flexibility, and
Sense of Ownership
Unit 5
WEEK
DATE
14
Mon
Conferences: Bring all graded essays; come ready to
11/24 discuss your revision plans
No class!
Conferences!
Wed
No class!
11/26
No class!
Thanksgiving!
Fri
No class!
11/28
No class!
Thanksgiving!
15
Mon
12/1
ASSIGNMENTS DUE
Submit: final portfolio (methods for submission to be
negotiated as class) by 12/1
Read: Ch. 6 “Writing and Rhetoric in the Workplace”
IN CLASS TOPICS REMINDERS
Introduction to
Kindling
Transferring your
knowledge
Wed
12/3
Bring: A sample of your work to read aloud to the class
(from this class or from another class). In order to get
Kindling
credit for this, please be present when your name is
called for presentation.
Fri
12/5
Bring: A sample of your work to read aloud to the class
(from this class or from another class). In order to get
Kindling
credit for this, please be present when your name is
called for presentation.
16