GS110.M1
Expository
Writing
Summer 2004 - Lakeland College -
Milwaukee
Day and Time: Monday, 6:00 -
9:30
Instructor: Khristian E. Kay
E-Mail:
sysop@mrkay.org
Telephone:
262.391.5716
URL:
http://lakelandcollegeonline.org
Required
Texts:
Glenn, C., Miller, R. K. & Webb, S. S.
(2004). Hodges’ Harbrace Handbook, 15th
Ed.
Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle.
McCuen, J. R., & Winkler, A. C.
(2004). Readings for Writers, 11th
Ed.
Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle.
Williams, J. M. (1990). Style: toward clarity
and grace.
Chicago, IL: University
of Chicago Press.
Course
Description:
Expository Writing is a course in writing
clear, thoughtful, and expository
prose:
·
Reinforce the writing
of grammatically correct, complete sentences and well developed paragraphs,
while expanding upon that skill to encourage the writing of fluent expository
prose
·
Prepare students to
write clear, complete thoughtful expository essays, including examples of
each of the following patterns of development: analogy, analysis (causal
and process), classification and division, comparison, narration, definition
and illustration
·
Develop abilities
in clearly stating a thesis or main idea, organizing evidence in support
of the idea and discussing the idea with well-chosen
details.
In this class, you will learn to plan, develop, write, essays that are unified,
organized, coherent and interesting. In order to achieve these goals in each
essay, you will be expected to pay careful attention to vocabulary, grammar,
punctuation and mechanics of standard, academic English. This course focuses
on improving students’ writing ability in various rhetorical modes,
including description, narration, persuasion, definition, classification,
comparison, causation, and process analysis.
Course
Outcomes:
This primary "aim" of exposition helps us to distinguish such writing, which focuses on 'the world,' from persuasive writing, which focuses on the reader, from expressive writing, which focuses on the writer, and from literary writing, which focuses on the beauty of the text itself. Yet the best expository writing often moves toward the other three, explaining to persuade a reader, to express personal passions, and to create beauty with our words. Good expository writing also results from a collaborative exchange between you and a written text, then between you and your peers. In other words, we will read and write to learn, then revise to clarify what we have come to understand.
We will also analyze other writers' styles, not to copy them, rather to learn the rhetorical strategies that create one's written "voice" so that we can more consciously find and develop our own voices.
During the semester, we will read examples of effective writing, discuss composition techniques and strategies, analyze and critique texts, and explore ways to put concepts and theories into practice through specific written assignments. Our journey will focus on:
· Make you aware of the processes involved in all writing;
· Teach you to define the rhetorical principles that shape the design and development of all writing,
· Help you define self-help strategies to overcome your composing difficulties and to ensure your greater independence as a writer.
· Provide you with an opportunity to conduct original research;
· Improve your critical reading and reasoning skills;
· Improve your writing and lay the groundwork for future self-improvement;
· Offer some collaborative learning strategies.
The Student as
Practitioner:
In order for student to put his/her
learning into practice the student is required to connect to outside world
through their readings. This acquisition of practical experience will be
shared with class through presentation, engaging discussion and guest
speakers.
Class
Format:
Lectures, individual writing assignments,
group activities and critical analysis workshops with open-ended discussion.
Students are invited and encouraged to ask questions or raise points for
discussion at any time.
NOTE: Lectures
do not systematically repeat reading materials. Students are responsible
for both lectures and readings. It is the responsibility of the student to
get all lectures notes.
Assessment: 400
Points
Your grade in this course will be based upon:
DUE DATE |
ASSIGNMENT |
POINTS |
| Ongoing | Participation (total) | 35 |
| Ongoing | Journal Entries (minimum) +/- | 70 |
| Weekly | Chapter Assignments | 70 |
| Weekly | Chapter Essays | 140 |
| Weekly | In Class Assignments +/- | 70 |
| Week 7 | Mid Term Essay (On Writing Well) | 10 |
| Week 14 | End of Term Thesis (Career or Education Goals) | 15 |
| Week 14 | Portfolio & Portfolio Presentation | 15 |
|
|
|
425 |
Grading
Scale:
All above requirements of the course should be met in-order to earn the grade.
Points/Percentages |
Lakeland College
Scale |
400+
93% - 100% |
A
(4.0) |
350-
90% - 92% |
AB
(3.5) |
300-
84% - 89% |
B
(3.0) |
250-
80% - 84% |
BC
(2.5) |
200-
74% - 79% |
C
(2.0)
|
150-
70% - 73% |
CD
(1.5) |
100-
64% - 69% |
D
(1.0) |
317
Below 64% |
F
(0.0)
|
Calendar:
(SEE ATTACHED
COURSE SCHEDULE)
Assignments:
All out-of-class essays must be typed. Always bring a pen and paper to class,
as well as your writing portfolio. You may also want to bring a dictionary.
Be prepared to write and exchange your ideas with your peers. All assignments
must be completed on time. In all fairness to the writers who complete their
work on time, late assignments will be penalized For each school
day that the work is late, its final grade will be dropped one level.
Revision is essential for the development of writing
Participation: : 35
points
Points for classroom participation are dependent
on your presence in the classroom for the entire class! If you are
absent for any reason participation points for that class will be deducted
from your grade. Arriving more than 15 minutes late for class or leaving
class early will also result in point deductions; each occurrence will be
evaluated individually. If you must be unavoidably absent for any class
assignments your work must reflect your involvement in order for you to share
in the grade for that assignment.
Journal Entries : 70
points
I require that you keep a journal. You will do a minimum of five entries per week. Entries must be numbered consecutively and at least 100 words in length. Journals will not be graded as such but will be responded to and marked with either a Ö+ (excellent —a lot of thought went into this), a Ö (fine work), or a Ö- (not enough thought here). My evaluation is based on the amount of effort I see in your writing to understand the text, and your success at doing so. With this in mind, you can see that your journal is a good place to pose questions, respond to a text personally (and vent if need be), and draw connections from one text to another—which may provide leads to insightful, personally relevant paper topics. If you fail to follow these requirements I will deduct points. Keep your journal in your writing portfolio. I may choose to collect your journal or portfolio at any time.
Chapter Assignments: 70 points
I will provide you with mandatory assignments from each chapter we read through. You may do more that the required assignment/reading at any time. Please reflect these assignments and any additions in your journal/writing portfolio.
Chapter Essays: 140 points
Each week there will be a
“formal” essay due.
These essays will be worth 10 points each. You will be given a selection
of topics to focus on; in addition, you may propose another idea as well,
though it must be approved by me at least one week before a paper’s
due date to be accepted. Formal papers differ from informal papers in the attention
given to structure, the inclusion of evidence to support your paper’s
main points, and attention paid to presentation (format, typing, spelling,
citations, grammar, etc.). We
will discuss this in more detail in class.
In-Class Assignments: 70
points
My hope is to have an engaging and meaningful class. Assignments will reflect as such, therefore in-class assignments will be difficult to make up. Because of the nature of their design classroom assignments will also be graded on the a Ö+, Ö, or Ö- system.
Mid-Term & End of Term Theses: 10 & 15 points
For the Mid-Term and End of Term Theses you will be provided
a topic in which you will need to develop a well constructed essay in class
reflective of those writing elements that we have covered up to that point.
Hence, the Final Term paper will be a cumulative essay which brings understanding
to the entire course. You will be provided the topic one week prior and you
may bring an outline or notes to write from. As this is an assessment of
your knowledge and synthesis of that knowledge all papers need to be written
in
class.
Final Exam: Portfolio Presentation
You will present to the class your Writing
Portfolio developed from this class. This presentation will be worth 15 points.
Talk about pressure!
Course
Policies:
ü
Make Up
Exam: All students are responsible
for taking an exam on the designated exam dates. If you cannot attend class
on the day a paper is due, have a friend bring it to class or mail it. However,
in mailing a paper, it must be post marked on the date due.
ü
Plagiarism and
Cheating:
Lakeland College expects
academic honesty from all of its students. Cheating, plagiarism, or other
kinds of academic dishonesty are considered violations of established college
expectations and may result in penalties ranging from failure of an assignment
to dismissal from the college, depending on the severity of the offense.
Students who believe they have been unfairly accused or penalized may submit
a written appeal, stating the specific details of their situation, to the
Vice President for Academic Affairs. Where appropriate, the Vice President
for Academic Affairs may take such appeals to the Academic Appeals Committee
for a formal hearing and decision. In matters of Plagiarism and Cheating,
the decision of the Academic Appeals Committee is final.
ü
Disability
Accommodations:
If you have a need for
disability-related accommodations or services, please inform the Director
of the Academic Resource Center (located on the 3rd floor of Old Main on
the Lakeland College Campus -- phone: 920-565-1412). Lakeland College will
provide reasonable and effective accommodations and services to students
when such requests are made in a timely manner and are accompanied by appropriate
documentation in accordance with federal, state, and College
guidelines.
ü
Final
Examination:
Upon student request, the
instructor shall make the final examinations, term paper, and/or research
project available to the student to be inspected. It is at the discretion
of the instructor to return the documents. The instructor shall retain the
final graded documents for 14 weeks from the date of the close of the
semester.
Lakeland College
Expectations:
As a liberal arts college offering undergraduate
and graduate degrees,
Lakeland provides students with an education
that is broad in scope comprehensive in spirit, and focused in at least one
area of study. Through its curricular and co-curricular programs, the educational
experience is designed to prepare students who:
-
communicate clearly in speech and
writing;
-
have an understanding of our physical and
biological environments;
-
are aware of the historical, social ,
economic, and technological
forces that shape global destinies;
-
have an understanding of philosophy, world
religions, and the truth claims Christianity;
-
have acquired the capacity to solve problems
through methodological analysis, critical reasoning, and deliberate
evaluation;
-
have
an appreciation and understanding of the ways that art, literature, and music
enrich life and contribute to culture;
-
are prepared to contribute professionally
and/or pursue advanced study;
-
are
prepared to participate in their communities as socially and ethically
committed
citizens;
-
will continue to seek knowledge throughout
their lives.
Student
Resources:
Students will need to access supplemental
material via the Lakeland college Online eCompanion:
Go
to
http://www.lakelandcollegeonline.org
One Final
Note:
If you ever uncertain about the purpose or value of an activity I assign, please ask me about it and I will be more than happy to explain my rationale.
I think it is important that students understand the purpose of the work they are required to do.
GS110.M1
Expository
Writing
Summer
2004
WEEK
1
5/24 Course Overview
Introduction to the course, explanation of
the syllabus, discussion of assignments, projects, and classroom activities;
discussion of purpose and what constitutes critical reading . In this class,
you will learn to plan, develop, write, essays that are unified, organized,
coherent and interesting. In order to achieve these goals in each essay,
you will be expected to pay careful attention to vocabulary, grammar, punctuation
and mechanics of standard, academic English. This course focuses on improving
students’ writing ability in various rhetorical modes, including
description, narration, persuasion, definition, classification, comparison,
causation, and process analysis.
Read: CHAPTER 1
Readings for Writers
·
Guidelines for Critical Reading – p.
3
· Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L’Amour - pp 10-14
· p. 14 Answer questions 2, 6 & 32
WEEK
2
6/7 Rhetoric &
Style:
“As long as we think of learning as
reflecting and synthesizing information about the objective world, to teach
expository writing is to provide examples, analysis, and exercises in the
traditional modes of practical rhetoric--description, narration,
comparison-contrast, analysis… But if we think of learning as a social
process, the process of socially justifying belief, then to teach expository
writing seems to involve something else entirely. It involves demonstrating
to students that they know something only when they can explain it in writing
to the satisfaction of the community of their knowledgeable peers." -
Kenneth Bruffee, "Collaborative Learning and the 'Conversation of
Mankind'"
Read: CHAPTER 2 Readings for Writers
·
What is Rhetoric? – p. 15;
Choose 3 of the passages in exercise 1,
complete 7 & 8, pp 31-36
· What – and How – to Write When You Have No Time to Write by Donald Murray - page 36
·
Have a Cigar by James Herriot – page47;
answer question #5 under “The Strategies” Choose 1 of the essays
under “Suggestions for Writing”; and write an essay utilizing
“Chapter Writing” assignment
#2
Read: PREFACE Style
WEEK
3
6/14 Voices:
It may seem odd to begin a book on writing
by talking about written "voices" and reading, but writing, reading, talking,
and listening are more interrelated than most people realize…. A good
first step to controlling the voices that speak through writing is to become
an attentive reader yourself." Understanding Style, p. 3.
Read: CHAPTER 3 Readings for Writers
· What is a Writer’s Voice? – p. 55-59
· How to Say Nothing in Five Hundred Words by Paul Roberts - pp 61-71
·
The Politics of Housework by Pat Mainardi
– pp 76-80;
write essay #1 in “Suggestions for Writing” p 82;
· Remarks on the Life of Sacco and On His Own Life and Execution by Bartolomeo Vanzetti – pp 82-83; do #1 in “Suggestions for Writing” p 84;
· Salvation by Langston Hughes – pp 84-86; answer #2 5 under “The Strategies” & #1 under “The Issues”; #1 under “Suggestions for Writing” p. 87
WEEK4
6/21
Thesis, Organization & Clarity:
It may seem odd to begin a book on writing
by talking about written "voices" and reading, but writing, reading, talking,
and listening are more interrelated than most people realize…. A good
first step to controlling the voices that speak through writing is to become
an attentive reader yourself." Understanding Style, p. 3.
Read: CHAPTER 4, & 5 Readings for Writers
· What is a Thesis? – p. 93-101
· The Thesis by Sheridan Baker - pp 103-106
·
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor
– pp 113-125;
write essays #1 & #5 in “The Issues” p 126;
· How Do I Organize?- pp131-139
·
How to Write Clearly by Edward T. Thompson –
pp 142-145;
answer #4 “Chapter Writing Assignments” p 161
Read: CHAPTER 2 Style
·
Clarity