COURSE DESCRIPTION

Introduction to basic principles of the composing process, rhetoric and standard usage. Expository writing assignments, with emphasis on writing to specific audiences to accomplish particular rhetorical purposes, such as to inform, to offer an opinion or to present an analysis. General education credit-Communication

This course is designed to provide opportunities for you to improve your expository writing skills and to increase your confidence in your ability to participate in the college writing community. This course assumes that clear writing has many practical, social, and personal uses, and that, by honing your skills in these areas, you will become better equipped to use writing to enhance your academic and personal lives. To these ends, assignments are designed to help you insightfully reflect on course readings and your writing process, interact with a community of writers, and compose with a clear sense of purpose and audience.

Because this is a “workshop” course, you will be expected to participate actively in class assignments, peer workshops, and writing conferences. By the end of the semester, you should have greater insight into your strengths and weaknesses as a writer and a better understanding of how you can best use your skills to make the most of your academic experience.

PEER REVIEW

Several class meetings throughout the semester will be used to share drafts of your papers with a small group of peers. Writers write to be read, and these meetings will give you the opportunity to receive feedback from an audience of your peers. Complete rough drafts of all papers will be due prior to review, and you will distribute copies to your review team and me. These drafts should be complete and submitted in proper format. If you are absent on the day that a draft is due, it is your responsibility to see that your review team and I receive a copy of your draft (through e-mail or a classmate) on that day. Late and incomplete drafts will be penalized 3 points of your final grade on the paper, i.e., a 93% becomes a 90%, etc. Giving constructive feedback to your peers is crucial for this process to work, so be sure to read your peers’ drafts carefully and respond with specific suggestions. I will distribute review sheets with relevant criteria for each paper.

In addition to the review sheets, I will give each of you a skills sheet which I will use throughout the semester to keep track of your progress. I will fill out the sheet each time I look at your rough draft and again when I evaluate the final draft. Having this information on one sheet will allow us to identify and address your editing strengths and weaknesses.

 ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION  (12 PTS.)

 IN-CLASS WRITINGS AND ACTIVITIES:  (15 PTS.)

You will often be asked to write in class to explore various topics and pre-write for writing assignments. You will also be asked to present group work to the class. These in-class activities cannot be made up if you are absent.

 RESPONSE LETTERS AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (15 PTS.)

Using active reading strategies is crucial to making the most of your college experience. In order to encourage insightful reading of assigned material and also to provide the opportunity for you to engage in a dialogue with others, you will be asked to write response letters to a reading partner several times during the semester. Included in your letter you will also write a discussion question. These letters will be sent through RU e-mail using the following procedure:

1. After reading, Partner A writes a response letter (400 words) plus a discussion question and Works Cited entry. You will then send it to Partner B and me (mbowling@radford.edu). before 7 p.m. on Wednesday. (COPY YOUR LETTER TO YOURSELF. THIS WILL SERVE AS YOUR DOCUMENTATION THAT YOUR LETTER WAS SENT ON TIME IN THE EVENT OF E-MAIL PROBLEMS.)

2. Partner B responds to Partner A’s e-mail (same length), also adding a discussion question and citation. This e-mail is sent back to Partner A and copied to me and yourself.  Deadline 7 p.m. Thursday.

3. Partner A and B will switch roles each week that response letters are due.

            Your comments to each other and discussion questions will form the basis for our discussions of the readings on Fridays.

PAPER ONE-PERSONAL NARRATIVE (15PTS.)

The first paper will be a personal narrative in which you use one or more personal experiences to make a point. Your thesis may be stated or implied, but should be easily discernable. This assignment will help emphasize the concept that personal experience can have a place in expository writing when used to give anecdotal evidence or support a thesis. Choosing an appropriate topic is crucial for this paper. Many topics, i.e., your first funeral, beach week, or your prom, are inappropriate unless your experience was significantly different from those of others, or contained an unusual twist. You will want to think hard about what you've learned about life so far and which experiences led you to these conclusions. We will explore topics together in class.

PAPER TWO-CAMPUS SPEAKER REVIEW (8PTS.)

For this shorter paper, you will go to a lecture on campus and write a review that includes the author's thesis and intended audience, and an analysis of the content of the presentation. Criteria for analysis and organizational strategies will be discussed in class. This paper may be turned in any time after we go over the guidelines in class up to Monday, Nov. 17.

PAPER THREE-ANALYSIS OF PERSUASIVE RHETORIC (15PTS.)

For this paper, you will choose some medium of a persuasive nature and analyze the its arguments or parts. The medium may be a political ad, an editorial, a magazine ad, or any approved publication. Part of your task will be to develop a set of relevant criteria for your evaluation. You may decide to compare two publications with similar arguments and show how one is more effective than the other. This is the most open-ended of our papers, so think creatively about an issue or subject that really interests you. This paper requires a Works Cited page in MLA form for the publications you choose to examine.

PAPER FOUR-PERSUASION (15 PTS.)

This persuasive paper will require that you take a position on a topic and argue it with adequate examples and support. You should argue from a reasoned position, but do not engage in outside research for this topic (you’ll do that next semester in 102). Pet peeves make good topics for this paper (think Andy Rooney). Is there a rule or situation on campus that you feel should be addressed? This is a good place to explore your position. Composing reasoned arguments and supporting a thesis are tasks that you will need to perform many times in your college career. This paper will help you practice finding a position and arguing it logically without the added burden of incorporating research.

FINAL DRAFTS

All final drafts and other written assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date unless otherwise specified (showing up 5 minutes late or at the end of class with your assignment will result in a penalty for lateness). Final drafts should be typed, double-spaced, in an easy to read font of 11-12 size. We will review the appropriate heading in class. Choosing an original title that captures your main idea is an often overlooked but important component of a good draft. Revising your papers after conferences and peer reviews is a crucial step in the writing process. (However, merely following my advice and that of your classmates does not guarantee an “A.”) The skills checklist that we use during conferences and all pre-writing activities and drafts should also be turned in with your final draft in a folder.

FINAL EXAM

While we will not have a final exam, per se, we will engage in a mandatory activity during our scheduled exam time which will count (approximately 25%) toward your in-class writing grade. Please schedule your transportation home at the end of this semester with this in mind.

LATE WORK

Assignments turned in one class session late will be penalized 5 %, two sessions late 10%, and one week late will earn an F. No work will be accepted more than one week late without prior arrangement. If an emergency arises, please contact me before the class period when the work is due.

CLASSROOM COURTESY

Please plan to be in class on time, with the appropriate materials and with your cell phone OFF. Being late, sleeping or being obviously inattentive will result in a partial or full absence, as these behaviors are distracting and signify inadequate participation. Computers may be used only for taking notes or performing assigned tasks in the computer lab. In-class writings will be done by hand. Beverages are okay, food is not. Please be mindful of whether your behavior might be distracting or antagonistic to me or other class members and act accordingly.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

I will communicate announcements, updates, and reminders through email. Be sure to check your RU email every day. In the case of bad weather, I will email you in the unlikely event that the university is having class but I can't make it.

GRADING

As a class we will explore and define the criteria that we believe constitutes effective writing and compose a grading rubric to be used for evaluating final drafts.

“A” work:  In general, excellent attendance, active participation, high quality responses, response letters and in-class writings, and clearly written, insightful papers that exhibit superior mastery of course objectives and effort to revise will earn you an A.

“B” work: Good attendance, effort to achieve excellence, and well-written papers with minor weaknesses will earn a B.

“C” and “D” work:  Average (4-5 absences) or poor attendance (6-8 absences), barely fulfilling minimal requirements, obvious responses, inattentiveness, and poorly constructed, revised and edited papers will earn grades in the C-D range.

More than ten absences, failure to hand in assignments, and failure to fulfill minimum requirements will result in failing the course.

MY JOB