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Composition I
Fall, 2005 / Tuesday & Thursday: 5:00 – 6:15 p.m. / (Room 304, Congress building)
Instructor: Kristin Scott, MFA, A.M.
Department of English, Columbia College Chicago |
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Course Description |
This course will focus on listening, thinking, reading, and writing. Through classroom activities and work outside of class, you'll explore the process of writing through stages: brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading. You'll create your own writing journal to practice and develop critical thinking skills and effective strategies. The written assignments will emphasize expressive and persuasive writing and reading skills, giving you an opportunity to practice writing and reading for and about the self and others. The intention of the course is for you to learn to communicate effectively through your writing and to grow as thinkers, in general. Students are expected to share intellectual responsibility with both the class and the instructor through active participation.
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Course Policies Major Assignments: |
You will write a total of four essays. The first and second essays will be 3-4 pages, with 1 optional source. The third paper will be 4-5 pages, with 1 source. The fourth paper will be 5-6 pages, with 2-3 sources. This work represents a major part of this course, so all assignments must be turned in on time. Final papers may be rewritten for a better grade. Below is the format you must use for each paper you turn in (see example):
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Each paper must be typed and double-spaced, with 1-inch margins and 12-point font.
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Each paper should contain: your name; course name; my name; and the date on the upper left corner of the first page of the paper.
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The title (with draft #) should be centered on the page after the identifying information. The final paper will only contain the title (no draft #).
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Subsequent pages should have a page number and your last name.
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Always keep ALL drafts of EVERY paper!
Late Drafts: Late drafts will not be accepted. No matter what you have written or how much, you MUST turn in each draft, as assigned, by the morning it is due.
Late Papers: Late papers will be accepted, but a letter grade will be deducted for each class session they are late.
Response Papers: Each weekly reading assignment requires a brief 2 page response paper to at least one of the readings. You may choose to answer any one of the questions that follow one of the readings. So you will either choose to answer one question per reading from the book OR one question from my handout that will incorporate all the readings. DO NOT summarize the reading in your responses to the questions you've chosen. Assume the person reading your response is familiar with the essay. Examine deeper themes and thoughts in your responses, referring to examples within the text to support your response.
Quizzes: Throughout the semester I will be giving you quizzes on reading assignments and handouts. The quizzes will usually be in the form of short essays (usually 2 paragraphs of handwritten work). Additionally, there will also be quizzes on MLA format/usage and on grammar, for which we will be using A Writer's Resource to facilitate our discussions.
Oral Presentations of Draft Papers: Being able to articulate your thoughts in writing will help you do so verbally and, conversely, presenting your thoughts aloud will also help your writing. Therefore, you will be required to present a 5-7 minute presentation of your draft work to the class once during the semester (see handout). This will count as 10% of your overall grade.
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Goals and Objectives |
By the end of Composition I, students will:
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Use processes of brainstorming, drafting, revising, and editing to compose original essays that generate and communicate personal and intellectual discoveries.
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Develop a controlling idea, exploring it in depth with illustrative detail.
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Use organizational strategies appropriate to audience and purpose.
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Craft coherent, well-developed paragraphs and sentences free from distracting grammatical error.
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Read and respond to student and published writing critically.
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Respond to 2-3 published authors in the context of an essay, using MLA citation.
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Select and analyze evidence, utilize effective and imaginative descriptive language, further develop their personal style of writing, and construct interpretive and evaluative arguments of increasing quality.
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Write and think critically about the interdisciplinary nature of the production and reception of art. • Demonstrate how formal and aesthetic qualities of art produce meaning.
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Understand the ways in which cultural artifacts shape, and are shaped, by their historical and cultural context.
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Writing Center |
The Writing Center is for ALL students at ALL levels of writing. The type of consultation the center offers is simply a standard part of the successful writing process. You can use the center by making an appointment over the phone or drop in on the hour. You may also elect to sign up for a weekly hour-long session, at a time of your choosing to meet with the same consultant. Each consultant has a background in most of the majors offered at Columbia. Using the Writing Center will undoubtedly raise the level of success you achieve in any class that requires writing (of any kind). Columbia is home to one of the largest and most successful writing centers in the country, and I strongly urge you to take advantage of it.
You are required to visit the Writing Center and consult with someone on a draft of a paper at least once during the semester. This will factor into the 50% of your grade that counts toward papers. Take one of the drafts that you are having the most trouble with and a consultant will help to brainstorm, pinpoint weaknesses and strengths, and work with you to accomplish your goals. For each time you attend the Center (beyond the required visit) you will receive extra credit. You must, however, document your consultation/s by having the center consultant sign and date the form attached to this syllabus.
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Participation |
You must participate in class by actively involving yourself in class discussions and small group work. You are also expected to share your work with the rest of the class in workshop sessions and offer helpful critiques of your peers' papers, through verbal and written comments (see Guidelines for Peer Editing ). You must bring drafts of your work to class to share with your workshop group. If you do not bring a draft, your participation for that class will be 0%.
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Attendance and Lateness |
The English Department's policy on attendance states: “More than three absences in a class that meets twice a week . . . will affect your grade and can result in failure.” You are permitted three (3) absences. Upon the fourth absence, your final grade will be lowered one full letter grade; a fifth absence will result in automatic failure of this course.
Please also note: You can be charged with a half-absence if you miss more than 15 minutes of any one class session. In accordance with English Department policy (above), any student who violates this policy risks failing the class.
Please email me if you are going to be absent. Also, be sure to pick up papers or assignments given in class before we meet the following week. To receive full credit for any of your assignments, they must be presented in hard copy at the beginning of class on the day they are due. If you will be missing a class, a ssignments can be accepted via e-mail, but they must be e-mailed to me by 8 a.m. on the day of the class that you are missing. Late responses will not be accepted and will thus lower your grade.
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Academic Integrity |
The work you turn in must be your own original writing. Any thoughts, ideas, or words taken from another author must be properly cited, or the paper will be considered plagiarism. Any student who uses the work of another writer, including other students, without giving credit to the source, will receive an automatic F for the course.
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