Welcome to English 1A
Composition with Georgie Ziff
About you…
o On a piece of paper please write the
following…
̶ name and contact phone number
̶ other courses you’re taking
̶ what college English courses you’ve
taken and where
̶ Current employment and schedule
̶ things - anything I should know to better
help y help you during the class
̶ how y – how you feel about your writing
Now about me…
Georgie Ziff
-
Two boys, now teenagers! We live in Oakland.
̶ Grew up on the East Coast and the Midwest, but came to
California for a one year job and never left : )
̶ M.A. in Composition and Creative Writing from CSUEB
̶ B.A. from CSUEB, double major in English and
Women’s Studies
̶ American Montessori Society Early Education
Teaching Credential
̶ 8th year teaching college composition at California State
University East Bay; 6th year at Merritt College; 3rd year at
Berkeley City College; 2nd year at Los Medanos College; 1st
summer at Contra Costa College
̶ As a teacher, I hold my students to high standards of
excellence, but I will do all that I can to help them succeed
(because I know they can).
About Writing…
̶
my favorite writing quote:
o “Vigorous writing is concise. A
sentence should contain no
unnecessary words, a paragraph no
unnecessary sentences, for the same
reason that a drawing should have
no unnecessary lines and a machine
no unnecessary parts. This requires
not that the writer make all his
sentences short, or that he avoid all
detail and treat his subjects only in
outline, but that every word tell.”
o William Strunk Jr.
Elements of Style
Required Course Materials
o Reading Critically, Writing Well by Axelrod,
Cooper and Warriner – 9th edition.
o I’m a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson
ISBN 9780767903820
o Rules for Writers, by Diana Hacker –
Contra Costa College 7th edition
o Composition book for your writing journal
o USB flash drive and/or an online free account
with Dropbox.com (suggested)
o Account with Engrade.com (suggested)
o Reliable computer and printer
o Stapler or paper clips for attaching pages
Grading in the Course
oThree out of class essays 50%
oTwo in class essays
30%
oHomework
5%
oGroup Writing Present.
5%
oIndividual Presentation 5%
oWriting Journal
5%
Save Your Work Online
* Create a free account
at www.dropbox.com for saving your
work online. You can then access it in
the computer lab. This is a great tool –
it not only provides you with a place
to save work, it also synchronizes any
changes you make online, so your
Dropbox is always up to date!
* Use a flashdrive as backup, in case
you cannot go online.
Essay Assignments
o
o
o
o
o
You will write three out-of-class essays:
Observation Essay
Position Research Essay
Nonfiction Bill Bryson book essay
There will be two in-class essays in response
to a writing prompt. The first will be in the
third week of class as a midterm; the
second will be on the final day of class
o The in class essays might be handwritten or
not, depending on whether there is
computer lab access that day.
Presentations
o Individual Presentation:
a) You will choose one story from Bill Bryson’ book,
“I’m a Stranger Here Myself” and read it aloud
to the class.
b) You will provide a rhetorical analysis of the story in
response to a series of questions available online
o Group Presentation:
In a small group of 3 or 4 classmates, you will select
and research a topic about writing and create a 20
minute presentation for the class that has three parts:
1) describe the topic
2) demonstrate the topic
3) involve the class with a learning activity
Homework
o On the Schedule online on your class page, the
homework assignments are underlined with
hyperlinks. These are links to articles are writing
topics.
o Your task is to read each article and provide
TWO paragraphs (not just a few sentences!)
a) the first paragraph is a summary of what the article
said, without opinion, paraphrasing in your own words
b) the second paragraph is your response and
analysis of the topic. Specifically:
* How effective/understandable/helpful is the article?
* How is this information applicable to your writing?
* What strategies can you employ from this information
to improve your college writing?
Attendance Policy
o Come to class prepared and on time
o Attendance is your job as a student; your life is not
my business, so as such, do not feel it is necessary to
inform me about reasons for absences or tardy
issues. This class meets three days per week; a
student who misses two of the classes, regardless of
the reason, will have their grade reduced by one full
grade.
o Missing three classes will result in being dropped
from the class. In addition, as participation is
required, the instructor reserves the right to drop a
student who fails to submit any assignments and
essays in a timely manner, i.e. more than a week late
o Computer lab days are required = missing the lab or
arriving unprepared will result in a 5 point deduction
off the final essay grade.
Today’s Objectives
o To get oriented to the
course, the syllabus,
requirements,
expectations, and so
forth.
o To break/melt the ice
with one another
o To form and begin
working in collaborative
groups
Break the Ice
1. Form groups of three
2. Find one item you are
carrying that is
significant to you and
share it with your group;
explain the significance
3. Find one thing that
everyone in your group
has in common
4. Exchange
email/contact
information with each
other
In the Spot Light
1. Each of you will in
turn introduce one
person in your
group and share
something you
learned about
him/her
2. Share what
everyone in your
group has in
common
Working as a Team
1. Together come up with 3 to
4 questions you have about
this course
2. Now, with the syllabus, try to
find the answers to the
questions you came up with
3. Let’s talk about the
questions you couldn’t find
answers to…
What to expect next class…
o Writing/grammar
presentation sign ups
o In class writing
assessment so I can
learn more about you
o Discussion of writing
process
o Your first reading
assignment
Your Homework
o Buy Reading Critically, Writing Well – 9th
edition, Bill Bryson’s book, and a blank
composition book for your writing journal
o Download the Syllabus and Schedule,
noting the homework assignments
o Send me an email with your class and name
in the subject line of the email to:
georgie.ziff@csueastbay.edu
o Go to the class website www.georgiesenglishwiki.pbworks.com
o Register at Engrade.com