Eng 101: The Process of Writing 

Theme:  Writing in and about Communities
Section 35:  TTH  11:00-12:15 in 057 Millett
Section 44:  TTH  2:00-3:15 in 118 Millett
Fall 1997







Lecturer:  Cathy Sayer                    Office:        082 Library
Mailbox:  441 Millett                     Office Hours:  MWF 11:30-12:30
Phone:      775-2471 (my office)                         MW 1:30-2:30
            775-3136 (department office)                 TTH 9:00-10:00
email:    csayer@corvus.wright.edu










Required Texts and Materials



St. Martin s Guide to Writing, 5th edition, by Rise B. Axelrod & Charles 
R. Cooper



Writing for Change: A Community Reader by Ann Watters and Marjorie Ford



The Passbook for College Composition (orange cover)



2-3 paper folders with pockets



A copy card with about a $5 charge



Several floppy disks (if you are in a computer section)









Course Goals

As a course in your General Education Program, this course seeks to :








Course Description

In this course, you will be introduced to the concepts of writing and 
reading to learn and to principlesof effective written communication. 
The processes of invention, drafting, revising, and editing will be
stressed, along with methods for effective critique of you work and 
collaboration.


Course Theme
Since one of the goals for this course is to improve critical 
thinking and since clear thinking provides the content for clear writing, 
theme courses have been developed to encourage students to delve deeper and
deeper into one area, rather than skim the surface of several. The theme 
for this course, Writing in and about Communities, is based on the belief 
that the communities we are members of play important roles in our lives. 
They influence our identities, affect our opportunities, and provide the 
sites where we will claim or deny our citizenship. We will explore these 
ideas through readings, class discussions, and writing. Additionally, we 
will operate as a community of writers, working together to improve the 
quality of each individual's writing.


Course Grade

Your final course grade will consist of the following:






Major Papers

Your major assignments for this class will include prewriting, drafts, and 
revisions of 3 essays.





As we begin to work on each of these papers, you will receive a handout, 
detailing the requirements of the assignment and the important due dates. 
All drafts except for the first one must be typed, double-spaced (see 621-29 
in SMG for a model of page layout), and submitted in a folder with pockets. 
Staple pages together in the upper left corner. Do not use eraseable
bond paper, cover pages, or plastic covers.


Portfolio Grading

In portfolio grading, the bulk of your course grade is determined by the 
quality of your writing at the end of the quarter after you have had many 
opportunities to revise and improve it. So your final portfolio will 
represent the highest level of excellence you have been able to achieve 
through the course of the quarter. Here s the basic process you will follow 
in preparing your papers for the portfolio.

Step 1: Write inventions and several drafts of the assignment.
Step 2: Get peers response to your work.
Step 3: Write deadline draft and prepare folder for conference.
Step 4: Write a commentary, evaluating your deadline draft and preparing 
questions for the conference.
Step 5: Turn in folder to teacher and come to conference.
Step 6: Revise essay for final portfolio.

After your conference, you may revise your papers as many times as you 
like before submitting them in your final portfolio. At that time, I will 
grade the overall quality of the writing in the portfolio, rather than
assigning grades to individual papers.

Your final portfolio, due on the first day of finals week, will include:





Attendance and Daily Work

There is no attendance policy for this class. I prefer that any credit you 
receive be for doing work, rather than for showing up and warming a chair. 
Consequently, you will have something due every day class meets. Sometimes 
it will be an assignment you must complete before class. Sometimes it will 
be an in-class writing. You must be present for the duration of class in 
order to receive credit for that day's work.  However, I will allow you to 
drop several of your lowest daily work grades (2 for TTH sections, 3 for MWF
sections).

Because most of your course grade (80%) is based on the quality of your 
writing, I think it important that daily work be evaluated solely on the 
amount of effort I can see. For homework assignments, I will be looking for 
thoroughness, detail, completeness. If I assign a 1-2 page freewrite, the 
minimum-required one page would probably receive a grade of C, except in 
exceptional cases. For drafts, the equivalent of 2 double-spaced, 
typewritten pages with a beginning, middle, and end would earn a C. 
Revisions will be assessed on risk-taking and amount of change apparent. 
I will be more lenient with in-class writings, since they will vary in type 
and will be written under time limitations.


Class Participation

Class participation is important to the success of any course; but in a 
course like this that emphasizes collaboration and seeks to become a 
community, it is essential. To participate fully, you must read all 
assigned texts carefully and critically; make useful and responsible 
contributions to small-and large-group discussions and activities; 
demonstrate an ongoing commitment to your own writing process (planning, 
drafting, revising); and show a commitment to collaboration by giving 
serious, thoughtful, respectful attention to others writing and to their 
needs in the classroom.


Late Work

All assigned work is due at the beginning of class on the assigned date. 
Conference folders and final portfolios turned in late will be docked one 
letter grade for every calendar day overdue. Note: If an assignment is due 
on the last day of class for the week (Thursday or Friday) and is not
turned in until the first class day of the following week, it will be 
penalized 5 letter grades for a TTh class (automatic F) and 3 letter grades 
for a MWF class (automatic D). So plan ahead for those unexpected 
emergencies such as running out of printer ink/ribbon and call me ahead of
time to make arrangements if some situation develops where you know you will 
not be able to get your work in by the deadline.


Conferences

I will schedule conferences on each of the three essays you write this 
quarter. During conferences, I will act as your coach, encouraging and 
instructing you so that you will be able to do your best by game time 
(final portfolio). However, so that you will gain skill in critiquing your
own work, I will not hold a conference on a draft only after you have 
written the commentary mentioned under Portfolio Grading. (You will receive 
a handout with instructions for completing the commentary before your 
first conference.) If you should miss a scheduled conference, it will be 
your responsibility to reschedule during regular office hours. Of course, 
if you have questions or need clarification on some point, you may see or 
call me during office hours or schedule a conference for that purpose.


Grades 

Here are the criteria generally applied to papers in English 101.

A Pieces do an outstanding job of meeting requirements. They are thoughtful, 
detailed, and well-organized. They show evidence of critical thinking and 
extensive revision. Polished, near error-free, excellent work.

B Pieces do a good job of meeting requirements. They show thought, 
organization, and audience awareness. Entries are clearly revised; 
mechanical errors are minimal. Above average college work.

C Pieces do a satisfactory job of meeting requirements. They show revision 
and evidence of the basic components of quality writing. Errors are evident. 
Average college work. (The university requires that you earn a minimum of C 
in Eng 101 in order to pass.)

D Pieces do a weak job of meeting requirements. They show some evidence of 
revision and thought. Mechanical errors abound. Below average college work.

F Pieces do an unsatisfactory job of meeting requirements. They lack thought, 
revision, detail, coherence and/or required contents. Errors impede meaning. 
Unacceptable college work.


Plagiarism

Plagiarism means taking credit for someone else's words or ideas. The 
university considers plagiarism an offense that warrants serious penalties, 
including the possibility of receiving an F in the course. For a fuller 
discussion of plagiarism, please consult pages 8-9 of The Passbook for 
College Composition.


Final Comment

This syllabus gives you an idea of what to expect this quarter, but I 
reserve the right to make changes in it anytime the needs of the class 
seem to require such. However, if changes become necessary, I will notify 
you ahead of time and will give you a written record of the change.









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