Welcome to English 101
To Do List for Today:
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Go over syllabus
Discuss turnitin accounts and course website
Prepare for success in Eng 101
Discuss the questions “What is rhetoric?” and
“What is pop culture?”
• Review the writing process
Syllabus Highlights
• The best way to reach me is my email or faculty
mailbox.
• Assignments are due on the date they are listed
under on the syllabus.
• Please note policies on cell phones, absences,
and rough drafts.
• The syllabus is available on the class website.
• You are responsible for knowing and
understanding the content of the syllabus.
Course Resources
• We have a class website that is accessible by going
to my faculty page and clicking on our class name
• I will be posting copies of assignment sheets and
handouts that I pass out on the website. If you
lose a handout or your syllabus, it is probably
posted there. (Note: This does not apply to copies
of readings.)
• You will be using our course turnitin.com site to
upload all paper drafts and do peer review.
What can I do to be successful?
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Come to class
Do the work
Strive for excellence
In order to help you meet these goals…
– Have a partner in the class who will take notes/get
copies of assignment sheets for you (assignment
sheets will also be posted on the class website)
– Come to see me during my office hours.
– Come to class prepared to participate.
– Indulge in curiosity. Question your assumptions.
What should I bring to each class
meeting?
• Yourself. Show up ready to engage with the
material we are learning every class meeting.
• Your text books. Even if there is no assigned
reading, I may ask you to refer to one of the
books during a lecture or activity.
• The most current draft of the current essay and
paper and pens/pencils. We will be doing
frequent in class assignments.
• You may also bring a laptop/tablet for work on
your essay and taking notes.
What will our class meetings look
like? A regular day might include…
• Discussion of readings that are listed as due on the syllabus
for that day. This means that if it’s listed on the syllabus,
you should come to class prepared to offer your ideas
about it.
• Lecture on a new writing technique and time to practice it.
• Lecture on a writing technique and time to incorporate it
into an essay draft. (If I tell you to bring a draft, this is why.
If you don’t bring a draft, you won’t get the time to work on
it in class using what you learned.)
• An in-class writing addressing a question about a reading or
a set of readings we have already done.
• A quiz on the reading that is listed as due on the syllabus
for that day.
Student Data Sheet
• On the back of your student data sheet, answer
the following question:
• “Why are you here at Ventura College?” What
experiences have led you to this place? What are
the goals you hope this college will help you to
accomplish?
• I have two rules for in class writing, and they are:
– Write the whole time. At no point during an in class
writing situation should you be finished. There is
always something you can do to improve your work.
– Don’t talk while other people are trying to write.
The Big Picture:
• In this class, we will be using the topic of
“popular culture” as a springboard for class
discussions and writing assignments. Through
our work with this topic, we will hone our skill
with rhetoric.
What is “Rhetoric”?
• Definition of RHETORIC (from Merriam-Webster Online
Dictionary)
• 1: the art of speaking or writing effectively: as
• a : the study of principles and rules of composition
formulated by critics of ancient times
• b : the study of writing or speaking as a means of
communication or persuasion
• 2a : skill in the effective use of speech
• b : a type or mode of language or speech; also :
insincere or grandiloquent language
Who Uses Rhetoric?
• The short answer is, everyone. If you have ever
convinced someone to come around to your
point of view, written a facebook post, or written
a clever tweet on twitter, you have used rhetoric
effectively.
• Rhetoric is simply the study of how to
communicate effectively and persuasively.
• When I talk about “rhetorical choices,” I am
talking about the choices that a writer makes in
order to fulfill the purpose of the piece of writing
and communicate effectively.
The Writing Process
• Prewrite – Choose a topic, brainstorm, freewrite, outline.
If you are writing a research paper, then this is where
you being to find sources.
• Draft – Put your ideas together in a first draft. It doesn’t
have to be perfect, but this is a first try.
• Revise – It’s time to see your writing from a new
perspective. Seek advice from peers, tutors, and
instructors. Put revision strategies we learn in class to
work.
• Edit – Check for grammar, spelling, word choice, and
clarity. Read your essay aloud to yourself.
• Publish – Check your format, make sure your paper looks
the way you want it to on the screen, then print/upload.