from The Writer’s World: Paragraphs and Essays
Part I: The Writing Process
Chapter 1: Exploring
Summary
Successful writing involves a step-by-step process that guides you from the initial writing project or assignment to the finished product. The first of these steps, exploration, involves thinking about the topic, audience, and purpose, and exploring prewriting strategies.
Before beginning a writing assignment or project, it is important to understand the requirements. Consider how long the writing assignment must be, when it is due, and any special elements that must be included.
Think about the topic. If it is too general, narrow it by giving it a personal focus or angle. Next consider your audience and what interests them. Then, think about your purpose. Are you writing to inform, to entertain, or to persuade? After you have considered these points, you are ready to begin prewriting.
Exploring strategies are prewriting strategies that will help you get some ideas flowing. The four most common exploring strategies are freewriting, brainstorming, questioning, and clustering.
Two other ways to generate ideas and to practice writing are keeping a journal or a writing portfolio. The journal can be a notebook or computer file where you record your thoughts, ideas, opinions, or impressions. A journal allows you to practice your writing in private and provides you a with a good source of writing material. A writing portfolio is a binder or an electronic file where you keep samples of all your writing in order to have a record of your writing progress.
The second stage of the writing process is developing, which involves five key steps: narrow the topic, express the main idea in a topic sentence, develop supporting ideas, make a plan or outline, and write the first draft.
First, narrow the topic. Make the topic more specific by focusing on some aspect of the topic that interests you. Use one of the exploring (prewriting) techniques to help you narrow the topic.
The next step is to express your main idea. Write a topic sentence (for a paragraph) or a thesis statement (for an essay) that expresses your main point. The topic sentence and thesis statement introduce the topic, state the controlling idea, are usually the most general statement in the paragraph or essay, and are followed by facts and examples that support the main idea.
----->YOU ARE HERE AND YOU SHOULD NOW HAVE YOUR INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH WRITTEN. 11/12/08
Decide on your strategy. Which organizational method have you selected? Write your choice in your blog. Next, continue to read the remainder of this posting.
Once the main idea is clear to you, it is time to focus on the supporting details that will give the reader interesting information about the topic. To determine your paragraph’s supporting details, generate supporting ideas, choose the best ideas, and organize them in a logical manner. The three most common organizational methods are (1) time order, (2) emphatic order, or (3) space order. In time order, information is arranged chronologically. In emphatic order, information is arranged from least to most important, from general to specific, and so forth. In space order, information is arranged according to its location, for instance, from the top to the bottom, from left to right, or from near to far. A plan or outline of a paragraph or essay is a map showing the paragraph’s main and supporting ideas. To make a plan, write down the topic sentence or thesis statement; then list the supporting ideas. In a more formal outline, you can use letters and numbers to organize your ideas.
--->CHECK YOUR PROGRESS HERE. IF YOU NEED TO REWRITE YOUR INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH, DO SO NOW.
The concluding sentence brings the paragraph to a satisfactory close in three ways: restate the topic sentence in a new, refreshing way; make an interesting final observation; or end with a prediction, suggestion, or quotation.
--->CHECK YOUR PROGRESS HERE. IF YOU NEED TO REWRITE YOUR SENTENCE, DO SO NOW. MAKE SURE YOUR INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH HAS AN EFFECTIVE BEGINNING, YOUR THESIS STATEMENT IS INCLUDED IN YOUR PARAGRAPH, AND THAT YOU PROVIDE BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR YOU TOPIC.
---> NOW, DEVELOP YOUR OUTLINE. USE THE PAGE IN YOUR BOOK THAT IS PROVIDED FOR THAT PURPOSE. POST YOUR OUTLINE TO YOUR BLOG.
-->You should have two postings to your blog: your strategy and your outline. Be sure to date your entries.
*********This is due at the by Thursday COMPLETE your plan or outline. *********
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Annoying Phrases
Are you ready to think outside the box?
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 25/05/2007
from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/portal/2007/05/25/nosplit/ftthink25.xml
Some infuriating phrases defined
The abuses of the English language that readers hated most have inspired a new Telegraph book, explains Richard Preston. It doesn't take much to spoil a sunny morning. Shaving nicks, laddered tights, traffic wardens, tea spilt down a shirt front, children who refuse to dress, the unmistakable sensation of treading in dog mess - all cast a shadow over an otherwise promising day.
Certain words and phrases could only come out of the mouths of politicians and bureaucrats
To this list, those with a sensitive ear for language - Daily Telegraph readers chief among them - would add: having to hear on the radio every morning the mangled English of politicians, lobbyists, weather forecasters, and other assorted celebrities.
"The thing is is, [sic] we've a whole raft of upcoming proposals to deal with issues around diversity and inclusion," gasps a junior minister, and we grip our bread knives a little tighter. "I have to say, John, I don't recognise that figure, but we've clearly reached a tipping point and lessons must be learnt," asserts an evasive spokeswoman, while we reach for a missile.
Switch stations and things get worse. "I watched Big Brother last night," twitters a talk show host, "and I was like, Oh... my... God, Kyleene was, like, all over Marco, and I was like, Hell-lo?, he's so not interested."
Out of the house you're no safer, as shopkeepers inquire, "You all right there?" and the man in front of you asks, "Can I get a latte?" to which the reply is, "Not a problem". A barrage of public transport announcements reminding "customers" to keep their "personal belongings" with them might punctuate your journey, until you "arrive into" your "station stop".
advertisement
Then, perhaps, you get to work, where colleagues are eager to give you a "heads up" on a meeting about the company's new "commitment to excellence" which has concluded that it's time to "push the envelope", because "doing nothing is not an option". It's enough to make you weep. Or to make you send your least favourite phrases to this newspaper and our website, as thousands of readers did earlier this year after the subject was aired on the letters page.
Inspired by your rage, Christopher Howse and I have written a little dictionary, She Literally Exploded: The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook (or should that have been Book of Infuriating Phrases? How infuriating) in which we have collected hundreds of the most irritating words and phrases to be found in print, in the street and on air and attempted to illustrate usage, offer plain English alternatives and, in some cases, explain what on earth is meant.
Certain words and phrases could only come out of the mouths of politicians and bureaucrats; others are drawn from restaurant menus, sports press conferences, advertisements and simple errors of sense ("unchartered waters").
Some will say that this is the province of the BBC's Grumpy Old Men: stick-in-the-muds who won't accept that usage changes and language is constantly growing, throwing up new and unexpected turns of phrase. To which we say: we've got issues with that.
There are wonderfully inventive new phrases turned every day by writers, comedians, rap artists and hoodies. The online slang dictionary, urbandictionary.com, contains thousands of examples, most of them thoroughly obscene.
Roger's Profanisaurus, produced by Viz magazine, is a smaller, portable guide to the same sort of territory. Obscenities aside, among urbandictionary's latest entries are the charming "couching distance": the distance one can reach without leaving the sofa; and "floordrobe": storage of clothes by dropping them on the floor.
Among the reasons that a wit such as Dorothy Parker is so often quoted is that she had a fine ear for a cliché, and a fine sense of how to play with it, which is how one arrives at: "She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B" and "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."
One of many reasons why most government ministers remain so unquotable is that they have tin ears and can't even get the dull bits right, much less make their phrases sparkle (John Prescott, with his surreal reinventions, is exempt from this criticism).
When they trot out their verbless sentences, say "As far as" when they mean "As for", "challenged" when they mean "incapable" and telegraph their evasiveness with phrases such as "I'll be frank with you...", they confirm the impression that they can't be bothered to listen to what they're saying - in which case, why should we?
It is poverty of thought and expression that make for infuriating phrases. There are comfortably more than 500,000 words in the English language, many more than are available in French or German. They allow us to be specific in every situation, and to be playful, alliterative, allusive - all sorts of things that repetitive use of phrases such as "I'm like, whatever" doesn't allow.
If people use four words where one would do, they're wasting your time. If corporate lackeys use jargon to obfuscate or euphemism to obscure, then anger is the right - or as they'd say "appropriate" - response.
That's not to say that there isn't comedy in the infuriating phrase. As Ricky Gervais knew when he was creating his office monster David Brent, there's a giddy pleasure in hearing cliché piled upon cant piled upon malapropism, with a dusting of political correctness on top.
With this in mind, we invite you to come up with a paragraph or two of no more than 150 words in total, into which you should pack as many infuriating words and phrases as possible. We shall publish the best of them and send the winners a copy of the book.
Be sure to think outside the box, and until we see speak again, cheers and take care.
'She Literally Exploded: The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook' by Christopher Howse and Richard Preston (Constable) is available for £5.99 + 99p p&p. To order please call Telegraph Books on 0870 428 4112 or visit books.telegraph.co.uk.
For your chance to win one of 10 copies of the book, post your entry to Infuriating Phrases Competition, The Daily Telegraph, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0DT or send it by email to phrases@telegraph.co.uk. Actually. Often a preliminary to an untruth. "Actually, I wish the Chancellor well."
SOME INFURIATING PHRASES DEFINED
Blue-sky thinking. Species of daydreaming for which businesses are billed by the hour. Can lead to thinking the unthinkable or saying the unsayable [qv].
Commitment to excellence. Synonym for poor service.
Do. Let's do lunch some time soon. "I don't do smiling." "I so don't do Shakespeare."
End of story. Used as a self-contained sentence with no verb, in an attempt to shore up an opinion. "The accounts department reports to me. End of story."
First lady. Laura Bush is the first lady of the United States and Aretha Franklin might be the first lady of soul, but Cherie Blair is not the first lady of the United Kingdom.
Ground-breaking. A dead metaphor for the cliché "innovative".
Help us to help you. Customer service claptrap.
I turned around and said. A garden-fence phrase devised to inflate the role of the speaker in an anecdote.
Jus. Gravy
Lessons must be learned. Pious denial of responsibility. See also: moving on.
Oven-baked. One of a gaggle of menu words intended to convey wholesomeness: freshly-picked, field-fresh, pan-fried, hand-made.
Raft of measures. "The Government announced a raft of measures to tackle child poverty." Also: a whole raft of measures. Meant to suggest breadth but implies hastily assembled with driftwood.
Saving the planet. Remembering to turn off your laptop before driving to the supermarket.
Serving suggestion. On the label of a prepared meal, a warning that the plate, tablecloth, and accompanying boar's head shown in the picture are not included in the small plastic container.
Tipping point. Formerly, turning point
Your call is important to us. Inherently untrue, since the message is delivered by a machine.
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 25/05/2007
from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/portal/2007/05/25/nosplit/ftthink25.xml
Some infuriating phrases defined
The abuses of the English language that readers hated most have inspired a new Telegraph book, explains Richard Preston. It doesn't take much to spoil a sunny morning. Shaving nicks, laddered tights, traffic wardens, tea spilt down a shirt front, children who refuse to dress, the unmistakable sensation of treading in dog mess - all cast a shadow over an otherwise promising day.
Certain words and phrases could only come out of the mouths of politicians and bureaucrats
To this list, those with a sensitive ear for language - Daily Telegraph readers chief among them - would add: having to hear on the radio every morning the mangled English of politicians, lobbyists, weather forecasters, and other assorted celebrities.
"The thing is is, [sic] we've a whole raft of upcoming proposals to deal with issues around diversity and inclusion," gasps a junior minister, and we grip our bread knives a little tighter. "I have to say, John, I don't recognise that figure, but we've clearly reached a tipping point and lessons must be learnt," asserts an evasive spokeswoman, while we reach for a missile.
Switch stations and things get worse. "I watched Big Brother last night," twitters a talk show host, "and I was like, Oh... my... God, Kyleene was, like, all over Marco, and I was like, Hell-lo?, he's so not interested."
Out of the house you're no safer, as shopkeepers inquire, "You all right there?" and the man in front of you asks, "Can I get a latte?" to which the reply is, "Not a problem". A barrage of public transport announcements reminding "customers" to keep their "personal belongings" with them might punctuate your journey, until you "arrive into" your "station stop".
advertisement
Then, perhaps, you get to work, where colleagues are eager to give you a "heads up" on a meeting about the company's new "commitment to excellence" which has concluded that it's time to "push the envelope", because "doing nothing is not an option". It's enough to make you weep. Or to make you send your least favourite phrases to this newspaper and our website, as thousands of readers did earlier this year after the subject was aired on the letters page.
Inspired by your rage, Christopher Howse and I have written a little dictionary, She Literally Exploded: The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook (or should that have been Book of Infuriating Phrases? How infuriating) in which we have collected hundreds of the most irritating words and phrases to be found in print, in the street and on air and attempted to illustrate usage, offer plain English alternatives and, in some cases, explain what on earth is meant.
Certain words and phrases could only come out of the mouths of politicians and bureaucrats; others are drawn from restaurant menus, sports press conferences, advertisements and simple errors of sense ("unchartered waters").
Some will say that this is the province of the BBC's Grumpy Old Men: stick-in-the-muds who won't accept that usage changes and language is constantly growing, throwing up new and unexpected turns of phrase. To which we say: we've got issues with that.
There are wonderfully inventive new phrases turned every day by writers, comedians, rap artists and hoodies. The online slang dictionary, urbandictionary.com, contains thousands of examples, most of them thoroughly obscene.
Roger's Profanisaurus, produced by Viz magazine, is a smaller, portable guide to the same sort of territory. Obscenities aside, among urbandictionary's latest entries are the charming "couching distance": the distance one can reach without leaving the sofa; and "floordrobe": storage of clothes by dropping them on the floor.
Among the reasons that a wit such as Dorothy Parker is so often quoted is that she had a fine ear for a cliché, and a fine sense of how to play with it, which is how one arrives at: "She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B" and "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."
One of many reasons why most government ministers remain so unquotable is that they have tin ears and can't even get the dull bits right, much less make their phrases sparkle (John Prescott, with his surreal reinventions, is exempt from this criticism).
When they trot out their verbless sentences, say "As far as" when they mean "As for", "challenged" when they mean "incapable" and telegraph their evasiveness with phrases such as "I'll be frank with you...", they confirm the impression that they can't be bothered to listen to what they're saying - in which case, why should we?
It is poverty of thought and expression that make for infuriating phrases. There are comfortably more than 500,000 words in the English language, many more than are available in French or German. They allow us to be specific in every situation, and to be playful, alliterative, allusive - all sorts of things that repetitive use of phrases such as "I'm like, whatever" doesn't allow.
If people use four words where one would do, they're wasting your time. If corporate lackeys use jargon to obfuscate or euphemism to obscure, then anger is the right - or as they'd say "appropriate" - response.
That's not to say that there isn't comedy in the infuriating phrase. As Ricky Gervais knew when he was creating his office monster David Brent, there's a giddy pleasure in hearing cliché piled upon cant piled upon malapropism, with a dusting of political correctness on top.
With this in mind, we invite you to come up with a paragraph or two of no more than 150 words in total, into which you should pack as many infuriating words and phrases as possible. We shall publish the best of them and send the winners a copy of the book.
Be sure to think outside the box, and until we see speak again, cheers and take care.
'She Literally Exploded: The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook' by Christopher Howse and Richard Preston (Constable) is available for £5.99 + 99p p&p. To order please call Telegraph Books on 0870 428 4112 or visit books.telegraph.co.uk.
For your chance to win one of 10 copies of the book, post your entry to Infuriating Phrases Competition, The Daily Telegraph, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 0DT or send it by email to phrases@telegraph.co.uk. Actually. Often a preliminary to an untruth. "Actually, I wish the Chancellor well."
SOME INFURIATING PHRASES DEFINED
Blue-sky thinking. Species of daydreaming for which businesses are billed by the hour. Can lead to thinking the unthinkable or saying the unsayable [qv].
Commitment to excellence. Synonym for poor service.
Do. Let's do lunch some time soon. "I don't do smiling." "I so don't do Shakespeare."
End of story. Used as a self-contained sentence with no verb, in an attempt to shore up an opinion. "The accounts department reports to me. End of story."
First lady. Laura Bush is the first lady of the United States and Aretha Franklin might be the first lady of soul, but Cherie Blair is not the first lady of the United Kingdom.
Ground-breaking. A dead metaphor for the cliché "innovative".
Help us to help you. Customer service claptrap.
I turned around and said. A garden-fence phrase devised to inflate the role of the speaker in an anecdote.
Jus. Gravy
Lessons must be learned. Pious denial of responsibility. See also: moving on.
Oven-baked. One of a gaggle of menu words intended to convey wholesomeness: freshly-picked, field-fresh, pan-fried, hand-made.
Raft of measures. "The Government announced a raft of measures to tackle child poverty." Also: a whole raft of measures. Meant to suggest breadth but implies hastily assembled with driftwood.
Saving the planet. Remembering to turn off your laptop before driving to the supermarket.
Serving suggestion. On the label of a prepared meal, a warning that the plate, tablecloth, and accompanying boar's head shown in the picture are not included in the small plastic container.
Tipping point. Formerly, turning point
Your call is important to us. Inherently untrue, since the message is delivered by a machine.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Syllabus for English 1
Western Career College
General Education Department
Carolyn Alm, Instructor
COURSE OUTLINE
Course Name: English 1: College Writing and Composition
Units: 3.0 units
Hours: 5:00pm -7:00pm (Mon-Thurs)
Prerequisites: none
Catalog Course Description:
This course involves writing skills useful for communicating in one’s personal life as well as in working relationships. Emphasis is on the expository essay written with a clear purpose appropriate to an intended. Topic areas include the writing process, i.e., exploring, developing, revising, and editing. Other topics include identifying the audience, developing the paragraph and the topic sentence using brainstorming and outlining techniques, identifying the different types of essays by reading various examples, and identifying the appropriate writing patterns for the selected topic.
COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
The learning objectives of this course are to:
Examine and understand how to identify ideas for topics.
Expand, organize, and present ideas in a written format
Develop techniques for revising and editing an expository essay
Provide students with the opportunity to develop and demonstrate competency and practice writing skills in a supportive environment.
Develop complete sentences and identify and correct incomplete sentences, run-on sentences, and sentence fragments.
Explore and use different sentence types, lengths, and complexities.
Successfully pass the SLO (Student Learning Outcome) assessment at the end of the class.
COURSE GOAL:
The underlying goal of this course is to help students become better writers and understand the relevancy of such skills in a personal and professional context. Students will explore a variety of writing patterns and develop an understanding of the writing process and the different techniques available to them to organize and to structure their writing.
TEXT: Gaetz, Lynne, and Phadke, Suneeti. (2009). The Writer’s World: Paragraphs and Essays (Second Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
GRADING SCALE
100-90 = A
89-80 = B
79-70 = C
69-60 = D
59-0 = F
** Please note . . . grades are not GIVEN, they are EARNED.
COURSE POLICIES
Course policies are set so that the rules are clear and fair to everyone. Please read these policies CAREFULLY so that you know the expectations that I have.
First and foremost, I understand life happens. I am a flexible and understanding teacher when you are upfront and honest with me. If you are having a problem or need assistance, PLEASE come to me as I am here to help and want to help you attain success. Yet, it is also VITAL that you understand that YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU! Poor planning on your part does not entail an emergency situation on my part!
Attendance: There is a formal attendance policy for this course. In the General Education Department, an instructor reserves the right to fail a student if he/she has FIVE or more absences. You are expected to be in class everyday and there are consequences for not coming. First, students who come to class tend to do much better than those who do not come. The information provided during lectures will help you better understand the concepts, which will appear on exams. Also, there is information included in the exam that does not come directly from the book. Secondly, you cannot receive points for class activities and class participation if you miss the activity due to missing class. Third, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to find out what information was missed (including announcements) and obtain notes from fellow students if you miss class. I do not have notes to give students. An attendance sheet will be passed at the start of each class.
Tardy Policy: Arriving late to class is a blatant disrespect for the class, fellow students and the instructor. If, for some reason, you do arrive late, it is within your best interests to enter the class without the instructor knowing. This means, QUIETLY slip into the classroom. Tardy arrivals are disruptive and annoying to students and instructors alike. Every four tardies equates to one absence and again, five absences can result in a failing grade. Also, participation points will be docked meaning that a tardy can negatively affect your final grade.
Missed Activities: There numerous in-class activities for this course throughout the semester. You earn ten points toward your participation grade by coming to class, engaging in the activity, and turning in the necessary paperwork connected to the activity. You are allowed to make up ONE (and ONLY ONE) of the activities by turning in a “Spotlight on Scholarship” summary. The summary should be modeled after those in your textbook. You will need to find an article (no later than 2002) from one of the journals: Communication Monographs, Human Communication Research, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, or Western Journal of Communication. If you have problems accessing one of the aforementioned journals, I will provide you with a variety of acceptable articles to choose from. In a 1½ to 2 page paper, summarize the method the author used to collect data (i.e., questionnaires, experiment, etc.), the main findings from the study, and the application those finding from the study have to everyday life, or how are the findings relevant in your world and your relationships. You must then prepare a SHORT, 2-3 minute speech outlining the findings and everyday life application to be presented to the class on a day I specify. This paper must be turned in ONE (1) WEEK from the date of the missed activity. Your topic and article must be approved by me. If you miss more than one activity, you will not have the opportunity to make up the missed points, unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Obtaining Information on a Missed Class Day: If you miss a class, it is NOT my responsibility to ensure you get the information you missed. Please take responsibility to obtain missed information, projects, handout, etc. from a generous and understanding classmate.
Missed Exams: Make-up exams are only given under extenuating circumstances and when you can provide DOCUMENTATION of these circumstances. For example, if you are ill, you must have documentation to support your claim that you were not able to take the exam at the given time. If possible, you mist notify me PRIOR to the exam to secure permission to take the exam at a later date. If you miss a class due to a religious holiday, please notify me by the end of the first week of classes regarding the dates you will be absent. If you need special accommodations, please inform me as soon as possible so we can make arrangements.
Late Assignments: All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the designated day. Assignments that are due and turned in at the END of class on the day they are due will automatically be lowered 5%. Assignments turned in after the due date will receive a 10% deduction for every day (NOT EVERY CLASS DAY – I COUNT WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS) they are late. I will not accept assignments more than 4 days late. PLEASE NOTE: Computer problems are NOT a valid excuse for turning in an assignment late. Technology fails on occasion, so plan accordingly and finish and print assignments early. Please turn in all assignments to me. Do not email, fax, mail, slip under my door, place on my car windshield, leave for me at reception, and so forth. Assignments get lost easily this way and I claim NO responsibility.
The Communication Blog must meet all class requirements since it serves as the central repository for all in-class assignments. In addition, you are required to post comments to other students’ blogs as assigned in class.
Participation and Confidentiality: This course is much more interesting, fun and beneficial when students participate in the discussion. Active participation also helps students develop and refine their communication skills. To be prepared to participate effectively, you should read chapters PRIOR to the day we talk about them in class. Students should also feel that our classroom is a SAFE environment for discussing sensitive or personal issues that are related to the concepts we are studying in class. Therefore, please keep all personal information shared in this class to your self; such information should not be used to gossip or in any way harm fellow students.
Consideration: Please be considerate to your fellow students and my by observing the following guidelines for classroom conduct. First, when entering the classroom, please be sure to turn off any cell phones, PDAs, pagers, iPods, or any other electronic devices you are carrying. NO CELL PHONES! I do not want to see a phone sitting on your desk. I do not want to hear a cell phone. TURN THEM OFF!!! They are a complete distraction to the class when they go off. They are also distracting to you as a student as we all have a tendency to check for messages, texts, etc.
Second, please refrain from engaging in distracting activities, such as carrying on private conversations with a neighbor, passing notes, reading the newspaper or any extra-curricular materials, or working on something else NOT related to the class. Such behaviors are noticed make it really difficult for both students and me to concentrate on the class.
Grievance Procedure/Grade Challenges: I am more than willing to discuss challenges to grades. Any grievances you have with a grade on assignments for this course MUST be presented to me in a WRITTEN format. This means, you need to present me with a typed explanation of why you are not happy with your grade and why you deserve a higher grade. You must also attach a copy of the assignment with the letter. This MUST be turned in by the next class meeting or it will be disregarded. I will not accept letters via email. Please understand, upon reviewing assignments I reserve the right to change grades in both positive and negative directions.
Extra- Credit: Extra-credit will not be offered. Instructor reserves the right to offer extra-credit throughout the course of the module if deemed appropriate.
Academic Integrity: As a learning community of scholars, Western Career College emphasizes the ethical responsibility of all its members to seek knowledge honestly and in good faith. Students are responsible for doing their own work, and academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, or misrepresentation of information in oral or written forms. Such violations will be dealt with severely by the instructor and the dean. Plagiarism means presenting someone else’s ideas or writing as if it were your own. IF you use someone else’s idea or writing, be sure the source is clearly documented.
HELPFUL HINTS FOR SUCCESS IN English 1:
READ THE BOOK!!!!!!
Prepare for class, complete assignments early, PARTICIPATE in class
COME TO CLASS ON TIME!!!
If you have a question . . . ASK!!!!
Check the class blog if you have a questions at http://writeandspeakblog.blogspot.com/
WEEK Class Overview Topics
Interpersonal Communications Syllabus
Week 1
Day 1
Monday
Intro and Class Syllabus
Introductions from classmates
The Writing Process: Exploring, Developing, and Revising and Editing
List options for final essay
Set up groups for Peer review
Select topic for final paper
Day 2
Tuesday
Read Part 1, Chapters 1 through 3
Writing Blog
Class lecture and Group review of material
Writing practice
Day 3
Wednesday
Class lecture
Peer Review and Rewrite
Writing practice
Day 4
Thursday
First written assignment due
Writing review
Week 2
Day 1
Monday
Read Part 2, chapters 1 through 12
Paragraph Patterns
Group review of material
Writing practice
Write thesis statement for final paper
Day 2
Tuesday
Writing Blog
Class lecture and group participation
Writing practice
Day 3
Wednesday
Group review of material
Peer Review and Rewrite
Writing review
Day 4
Thursday
Second written assignment due
Writing practice
Week 3
Day 1
Monday
Read Part 3, chapters 13, 14, and 15
The Essay
Class lecture and
Group review of material/
Writing practice
Write introduction and conclusion for final paper
Day 2
Tuesday
Writing Blog
Class lecture and group participation
Writing practice
Day 3
Wednesday
Group review of material Peer Review and Rewrite
Writing review
Day 4
Thursday
Third written assignment due
Writing practice
Week 4
Day 1
Monday
Read Part 4, chapters 16 through 24
The Editing Handbook
Peer Review of writing (Use form at end this syllabus)
Review Information on Class Blog and complete assignments
Writing practice
Write body of paper for SLO
Day 2
Tuesday
Rewrite based on Peer Review
Writing Blog
Continue to complete Class Blog assignments
Writing practice
Day 3
Wednesday
Continue to complete Class Blog assignments
Writing review
Day 4
Thursday
THANKSGIVING
THANKSGIVING
HOLIDAY
Eat lots of Thanksgiving Dinner
Week 5
Writing practice
Day 1
Monday
Read Part 4, chapters 16 through 24
The Editing Handbook
Class lecture and
Group review of material/
Writing practice
Peer Review SLO paper this week
Day 2
Tuesday
Writing Blog
Class lecture and group participation
Writing practice
Day 3
Wednesday
Group review of material
Peer Review and Rewrite
Writing review
Rewrite SLO essay
Day 4
Thursday
Fifth written assignment due
Writing practice
Week 6
Day 1
Monday
Part 5, Reading Strategies and Selections
Writing practice
Polish and finalize SLO paper
Day 2
Tuesday
Peer Review and Analyze
Writing practice
Day 3
Wednesday
SLO Written Essay Final Draft
Day 4
Thursday
POTLUCK
Weekly Essays – 40 points
Grammatical assignments – 10 points
Writing Blog – 10 points
Class participation – 10 points
Exam—10 points
SLO Essay – 20 points
Peer Review Checklist*
Name of Reviewer:_____________________________________________________________
Name of Writer:________________________________________________________________
Assignment Date:______________________________________________________________
What is the main point of this essay?
Is there a thesis statement? What is it? If it is missing, indicate that it is not in the essay.
What is the greatest strength of this essay?
Does the introduction grab your interest and make you want to read on? Explain your answer.
What material does not seem to fit the main point of the essay or does not seem to be appropriate for the audience?
Where should the author add more details or examples? Explain your answer.
Where is the writing unclear or vague?
What is your favorite part or parts of this piece of writing?
. Were there incomplete sentences and misspellings? Underline any incomplete sentences and circle misspelled words.
What other comments can you provide for the author?
*Adapted from Reinking, J. A., Hart, A. W., & Von der Osten, R. (2003). Strategies for successful
writing: A rhetoric, research guide, reader, and handbook (6th ed.). Boston: Prentice-Hall/Pearson Custom Publishing.
General Education Department
Carolyn Alm, Instructor
COURSE OUTLINE
Course Name: English 1: College Writing and Composition
Units: 3.0 units
Hours: 5:00pm -7:00pm (Mon-Thurs)
Prerequisites: none
Catalog Course Description:
This course involves writing skills useful for communicating in one’s personal life as well as in working relationships. Emphasis is on the expository essay written with a clear purpose appropriate to an intended. Topic areas include the writing process, i.e., exploring, developing, revising, and editing. Other topics include identifying the audience, developing the paragraph and the topic sentence using brainstorming and outlining techniques, identifying the different types of essays by reading various examples, and identifying the appropriate writing patterns for the selected topic.
COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
The learning objectives of this course are to:
Examine and understand how to identify ideas for topics.
Expand, organize, and present ideas in a written format
Develop techniques for revising and editing an expository essay
Provide students with the opportunity to develop and demonstrate competency and practice writing skills in a supportive environment.
Develop complete sentences and identify and correct incomplete sentences, run-on sentences, and sentence fragments.
Explore and use different sentence types, lengths, and complexities.
Successfully pass the SLO (Student Learning Outcome) assessment at the end of the class.
COURSE GOAL:
The underlying goal of this course is to help students become better writers and understand the relevancy of such skills in a personal and professional context. Students will explore a variety of writing patterns and develop an understanding of the writing process and the different techniques available to them to organize and to structure their writing.
TEXT: Gaetz, Lynne, and Phadke, Suneeti. (2009). The Writer’s World: Paragraphs and Essays (Second Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
GRADING SCALE
100-90 = A
89-80 = B
79-70 = C
69-60 = D
59-0 = F
** Please note . . . grades are not GIVEN, they are EARNED.
COURSE POLICIES
Course policies are set so that the rules are clear and fair to everyone. Please read these policies CAREFULLY so that you know the expectations that I have.
First and foremost, I understand life happens. I am a flexible and understanding teacher when you are upfront and honest with me. If you are having a problem or need assistance, PLEASE come to me as I am here to help and want to help you attain success. Yet, it is also VITAL that you understand that YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU! Poor planning on your part does not entail an emergency situation on my part!
Attendance: There is a formal attendance policy for this course. In the General Education Department, an instructor reserves the right to fail a student if he/she has FIVE or more absences. You are expected to be in class everyday and there are consequences for not coming. First, students who come to class tend to do much better than those who do not come. The information provided during lectures will help you better understand the concepts, which will appear on exams. Also, there is information included in the exam that does not come directly from the book. Secondly, you cannot receive points for class activities and class participation if you miss the activity due to missing class. Third, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to find out what information was missed (including announcements) and obtain notes from fellow students if you miss class. I do not have notes to give students. An attendance sheet will be passed at the start of each class.
Tardy Policy: Arriving late to class is a blatant disrespect for the class, fellow students and the instructor. If, for some reason, you do arrive late, it is within your best interests to enter the class without the instructor knowing. This means, QUIETLY slip into the classroom. Tardy arrivals are disruptive and annoying to students and instructors alike. Every four tardies equates to one absence and again, five absences can result in a failing grade. Also, participation points will be docked meaning that a tardy can negatively affect your final grade.
Missed Activities: There numerous in-class activities for this course throughout the semester. You earn ten points toward your participation grade by coming to class, engaging in the activity, and turning in the necessary paperwork connected to the activity. You are allowed to make up ONE (and ONLY ONE) of the activities by turning in a “Spotlight on Scholarship” summary. The summary should be modeled after those in your textbook. You will need to find an article (no later than 2002) from one of the journals: Communication Monographs, Human Communication Research, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, or Western Journal of Communication. If you have problems accessing one of the aforementioned journals, I will provide you with a variety of acceptable articles to choose from. In a 1½ to 2 page paper, summarize the method the author used to collect data (i.e., questionnaires, experiment, etc.), the main findings from the study, and the application those finding from the study have to everyday life, or how are the findings relevant in your world and your relationships. You must then prepare a SHORT, 2-3 minute speech outlining the findings and everyday life application to be presented to the class on a day I specify. This paper must be turned in ONE (1) WEEK from the date of the missed activity. Your topic and article must be approved by me. If you miss more than one activity, you will not have the opportunity to make up the missed points, unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Obtaining Information on a Missed Class Day: If you miss a class, it is NOT my responsibility to ensure you get the information you missed. Please take responsibility to obtain missed information, projects, handout, etc. from a generous and understanding classmate.
Missed Exams: Make-up exams are only given under extenuating circumstances and when you can provide DOCUMENTATION of these circumstances. For example, if you are ill, you must have documentation to support your claim that you were not able to take the exam at the given time. If possible, you mist notify me PRIOR to the exam to secure permission to take the exam at a later date. If you miss a class due to a religious holiday, please notify me by the end of the first week of classes regarding the dates you will be absent. If you need special accommodations, please inform me as soon as possible so we can make arrangements.
Late Assignments: All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the designated day. Assignments that are due and turned in at the END of class on the day they are due will automatically be lowered 5%. Assignments turned in after the due date will receive a 10% deduction for every day (NOT EVERY CLASS DAY – I COUNT WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS) they are late. I will not accept assignments more than 4 days late. PLEASE NOTE: Computer problems are NOT a valid excuse for turning in an assignment late. Technology fails on occasion, so plan accordingly and finish and print assignments early. Please turn in all assignments to me. Do not email, fax, mail, slip under my door, place on my car windshield, leave for me at reception, and so forth. Assignments get lost easily this way and I claim NO responsibility.
The Communication Blog must meet all class requirements since it serves as the central repository for all in-class assignments. In addition, you are required to post comments to other students’ blogs as assigned in class.
Participation and Confidentiality: This course is much more interesting, fun and beneficial when students participate in the discussion. Active participation also helps students develop and refine their communication skills. To be prepared to participate effectively, you should read chapters PRIOR to the day we talk about them in class. Students should also feel that our classroom is a SAFE environment for discussing sensitive or personal issues that are related to the concepts we are studying in class. Therefore, please keep all personal information shared in this class to your self; such information should not be used to gossip or in any way harm fellow students.
Consideration: Please be considerate to your fellow students and my by observing the following guidelines for classroom conduct. First, when entering the classroom, please be sure to turn off any cell phones, PDAs, pagers, iPods, or any other electronic devices you are carrying. NO CELL PHONES! I do not want to see a phone sitting on your desk. I do not want to hear a cell phone. TURN THEM OFF!!! They are a complete distraction to the class when they go off. They are also distracting to you as a student as we all have a tendency to check for messages, texts, etc.
Second, please refrain from engaging in distracting activities, such as carrying on private conversations with a neighbor, passing notes, reading the newspaper or any extra-curricular materials, or working on something else NOT related to the class. Such behaviors are noticed make it really difficult for both students and me to concentrate on the class.
Grievance Procedure/Grade Challenges: I am more than willing to discuss challenges to grades. Any grievances you have with a grade on assignments for this course MUST be presented to me in a WRITTEN format. This means, you need to present me with a typed explanation of why you are not happy with your grade and why you deserve a higher grade. You must also attach a copy of the assignment with the letter. This MUST be turned in by the next class meeting or it will be disregarded. I will not accept letters via email. Please understand, upon reviewing assignments I reserve the right to change grades in both positive and negative directions.
Extra- Credit: Extra-credit will not be offered. Instructor reserves the right to offer extra-credit throughout the course of the module if deemed appropriate.
Academic Integrity: As a learning community of scholars, Western Career College emphasizes the ethical responsibility of all its members to seek knowledge honestly and in good faith. Students are responsible for doing their own work, and academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, or misrepresentation of information in oral or written forms. Such violations will be dealt with severely by the instructor and the dean. Plagiarism means presenting someone else’s ideas or writing as if it were your own. IF you use someone else’s idea or writing, be sure the source is clearly documented.
HELPFUL HINTS FOR SUCCESS IN English 1:
READ THE BOOK!!!!!!
Prepare for class, complete assignments early, PARTICIPATE in class
COME TO CLASS ON TIME!!!
If you have a question . . . ASK!!!!
Check the class blog if you have a questions at http://writeandspeakblog.blogspot.com/
WEEK Class Overview Topics
Interpersonal Communications Syllabus
Week 1
Day 1
Monday
Intro and Class Syllabus
Introductions from classmates
The Writing Process: Exploring, Developing, and Revising and Editing
List options for final essay
Set up groups for Peer review
Select topic for final paper
Day 2
Tuesday
Read Part 1, Chapters 1 through 3
Writing Blog
Class lecture and Group review of material
Writing practice
Day 3
Wednesday
Class lecture
Peer Review and Rewrite
Writing practice
Day 4
Thursday
First written assignment due
Writing review
Week 2
Day 1
Monday
Read Part 2, chapters 1 through 12
Paragraph Patterns
Group review of material
Writing practice
Write thesis statement for final paper
Day 2
Tuesday
Writing Blog
Class lecture and group participation
Writing practice
Day 3
Wednesday
Group review of material
Peer Review and Rewrite
Writing review
Day 4
Thursday
Second written assignment due
Writing practice
Week 3
Day 1
Monday
Read Part 3, chapters 13, 14, and 15
The Essay
Class lecture and
Group review of material/
Writing practice
Write introduction and conclusion for final paper
Day 2
Tuesday
Writing Blog
Class lecture and group participation
Writing practice
Day 3
Wednesday
Group review of material Peer Review and Rewrite
Writing review
Day 4
Thursday
Third written assignment due
Writing practice
Week 4
Day 1
Monday
Read Part 4, chapters 16 through 24
The Editing Handbook
Peer Review of writing (Use form at end this syllabus)
Review Information on Class Blog and complete assignments
Writing practice
Write body of paper for SLO
Day 2
Tuesday
Rewrite based on Peer Review
Writing Blog
Continue to complete Class Blog assignments
Writing practice
Day 3
Wednesday
Continue to complete Class Blog assignments
Writing review
Day 4
Thursday
THANKSGIVING
THANKSGIVING
HOLIDAY
Eat lots of Thanksgiving Dinner
Week 5
Writing practice
Day 1
Monday
Read Part 4, chapters 16 through 24
The Editing Handbook
Class lecture and
Group review of material/
Writing practice
Peer Review SLO paper this week
Day 2
Tuesday
Writing Blog
Class lecture and group participation
Writing practice
Day 3
Wednesday
Group review of material
Peer Review and Rewrite
Writing review
Rewrite SLO essay
Day 4
Thursday
Fifth written assignment due
Writing practice
Week 6
Day 1
Monday
Part 5, Reading Strategies and Selections
Writing practice
Polish and finalize SLO paper
Day 2
Tuesday
Peer Review and Analyze
Writing practice
Day 3
Wednesday
SLO Written Essay Final Draft
Day 4
Thursday
POTLUCK
Weekly Essays – 40 points
Grammatical assignments – 10 points
Writing Blog – 10 points
Class participation – 10 points
Exam—10 points
SLO Essay – 20 points
Peer Review Checklist*
Name of Reviewer:_____________________________________________________________
Name of Writer:________________________________________________________________
Assignment Date:______________________________________________________________
What is the main point of this essay?
Is there a thesis statement? What is it? If it is missing, indicate that it is not in the essay.
What is the greatest strength of this essay?
Does the introduction grab your interest and make you want to read on? Explain your answer.
What material does not seem to fit the main point of the essay or does not seem to be appropriate for the audience?
Where should the author add more details or examples? Explain your answer.
Where is the writing unclear or vague?
What is your favorite part or parts of this piece of writing?
. Were there incomplete sentences and misspellings? Underline any incomplete sentences and circle misspelled words.
What other comments can you provide for the author?
*Adapted from Reinking, J. A., Hart, A. W., & Von der Osten, R. (2003). Strategies for successful
writing: A rhetoric, research guide, reader, and handbook (6th ed.). Boston: Prentice-Hall/Pearson Custom Publishing.
English Questions for the Instructor
If you have a questions about a topic we discussed in class or about an assignment, you may post it here. You will be helping others to understand English and the topics we discuss as well. Often, students are too embarassed to ask questions, so this blog provides a place to ask without directing class attention to yourself.
I will answer questions in class without mentioning students' names; additionally, the answers will be posted to the blog so you can check back if you need to refresh your memory.
I will answer questions in class without mentioning students' names; additionally, the answers will be posted to the blog so you can check back if you need to refresh your memory.
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