Tele. 605/677-5975; Office Dakota Hall #229 (English Dept.)
RDTN: Tele. 1-800-233-7937; Fax 1-605-677-6118
E-mail: mrogge@sunflowr.usd.edu
Office Hours: MW 10:30-11:45 a.m. (Dakota #229)
Web Site: http://www.usd.edu/~mrogge
Course Description: Composition 101 is a college-level, introductory course in composition that prepares the student for writing that the student may be expected to do in other college classes. The course emphasizes writing as a continuous process with revision at its core and will include 1) drafting and revising five different kinds of essays, 2) keeping a journal, and 3) reading and responding to the work of not only their peers but professional writers as well.
Course Objectives: By the end of the course, students should be able to invent, draft, and revise their writing, shaping it into different kinds of essays, using various methods of development such as comparison/contrast and narration. They should also have a basic understanding of how to utilize library and Internet resources for essays that might require this kind of preparation.
Attendance: Students are expected to invent, draft, and revise their work in a workshop setting and must have successive drafts prepared when due; therefore, attendance is EXPECTED. An excess of cuts may result in course grade being lowered one letter grade or in an instructor-initiated drop.
NOTE TO VERMILLION STUDENTS: A recent policy change at USD requires me to take attendance in English 101. If you miss class three or more times, your absences will be reported to the administration at USD.
| Letter grade | Percentages |
|---|---|
| A | 90-100% |
| B | 80-89% |
| C | 70-79% |
| D | 60-69% |
| F | Below 60% |
Listserv: Because not everyone has access to the Internet, this is
for
EXTRA CREDIT (2% extra credit possible). Primarily, you will discuss assigned
readings and
composition-related
topics on the Listserv. You are expected to contribute a minimum of ten messages
to the Listserv, with at least five of the messages being a minimum of 200 words
each. Details will be provided at a later date.
Format of Papers: All papers should be typed and double-spaced
(including
rough
drafts), with 1" margins. Your name, the essay number, and the draft number
should appear on the first page (except for the final draft of the research
paper, which should follow MLA format).
Rough Drafts: Each draft is worth 10 points; each peer revision
session
is worth 20 points, with all rough drafts and peer revision sessions adding up
to 10% of your final grade. You must be present on the day a draft is due in
order to receive credit for the draft and peer revision. Late rough drafts are
not accepted. IMPORTANT: On the date that a final draft is due, earlier
workshopped (peer-revised) drafts must be submitted with the final drafts, along
with the peer revision comments your partners made. Make sure that each draft is
marked
appropriately (Draft #1, Draft #2, Draft #3), so that there is no confusion.
RDTN participants: rough drafts or folders should be mailed
on the date due.
Hacker Grammar ExercisesYou will complete three sets of
exercises.
Exercise #1 will be due on the day that Essay #1, Draft #2 is due,
Exercise #2
when Essay #2, Draft #2 is due, and Exercise #3 when Essay #3, Draft #2 is
due.
Together with the library tour, the exercises are worth 10 percent of your
grade.
Vermillion Students: Availability of Computers:The USD link lab
is
located in between
I.D. Weeks Library and the Coyote Student Center. To use this lab, you should
call ahead of time
at 677-6275 to reserve a two-hour block. For hours and other information about
the
Link Lab, visit their web page at http://www.usd.edu/csc/link.htm.
Grades: The grading standards that follow will be applied to
essays. Additional criteria for the research paper will be given with the
assignment. Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism will result, at a
minimum, in a grade of 0 for that assignment.
LATE PAPERS AND ASSIGNMENTS: Papers (FINAL drafts) received after the due date
will automatically be dropped one letter grade. Late rough drafts are NOT
accepted. Other assignments cannot be made up.
You MUST submit only original work for this course, not work that you have
submitted to any other instructors or that you have submitted for any other
courses.
This schedule is subject to change.
Assignment/Purpose
Percentage
of grade
Essay #1: to reconstruct experience
(750-1000 words)
10%
Essay #2: to instruct and advise
(1000-1250 words)
15%
Essay #3: to inform
(1000-1250 words)
15%
Essay #4: to persuade/argue from sources
(1250-1500
words)
25%
Essay #5: to solve problems/present solutions (in class)
5%
Rough Drafts/Peer Revision
10%
Journal/Reading Responses
10%
Hacker grammar exercises/Library Tour
10%
Total
100%
Journal: You're expected to keep a journal in which you'll
respond to
assignments outside of class as well as in class. For this reason, ALWAYS BRING
YOUR JOURNAL TO CLASS. You must date each entry. Feel free to be
imaginative--include pictures or drawings, write a poem, print out journal
entries you composed on a computer and tape them into your journal, etc.
You'll turn in your journal twice this semester. NOTE: In your journal,
don't worry about spelling, punctuation, or grammar. Just write! (And write
... and write ... and write...). The journal and your responses to assigned
readings are worth 10% of your final grade.
Grading Criteria for English 101 Essays
Grade: A
Demonstrates unusual competence. Thesis is clear. Content is both unified
and coherent. Sufficient details
are provided to develop thesis clearly. There are few grammatical or
mechanical errors. Sentence patterns
are varied: diction is tight, fresh, and appropriate to audience and
purpose. The "A" paper is imaginative; it
avoids the obvious and thus provides insights that are often personal and
illuminating. It invites re-reading.
Grade: B
Demonstrates competence. Content is unified and generally coherent. Key
ideas are supported with details.
There are few grammatical and mechanical errors. Sentence patterns are
sufficiently varied to keep reader
interested. Diction is generally concise, accurate, and appropriate to
audience and purpose. The "B" paper
offers substantial information with few distractions.
Grade: C
Suggests competence, but with a tendency to depend upon the self-evident and
the cliché. Content may be
ineffectively organized, with weak or missing transitions. Development is
thin: generalizations are not
developed with appropriate details. Diction is limited in range,
occasionally marred by repetition, redundancy,
imprecision. Sentences may be choppy, monotonous. The "C" paper lacks both
imagination and an
awareness of choices that affect style.
Grade: D
Suggests incompetence. Thesis may be unclear or missing. Organization is
neither clear nor effective. Ideas
are left undeveloped. Generalizations are not supported. Grammatical or
sentence structure errors may
distort the intended meaning. Mechanical errors may be prevalent. Diction is
limited in range and may be
inappropriate. Evidence of proofreading is scanty. The "D" paper often gives
the impression of having
been conceived and written in haste, and does not invite reading, much less
re-reading.
Grade: F
Demonstrates incompetence. Lacks thesis, unity. Is marginally coherent. Few
ideas are developed or
supported. Grammar, spelling, and sentence structure are weak. In short, the
ideas, organization, and
style fall far below what is acceptable in college writing.
Plus or minus grades may be used to indicate slight variations from these
standards.
Daily Assignments:
Dates
Assignments
9/3-9/5
Introduction. Chapter 1: "How Writers and Readers Construct
Texts."
9/8-9/12
Chapter 1 cont. Style and Voice (656-658). Chapter 2: "Writing to
Explore" (including
readings--Welty, Lugard). Invention (613-618). Chapter 3:"Writing to Reconstruct
Experience" (including readings--Slay, Hughes, Lorde).
9/15-9/19
Paper #1, Draft #1 due. Peer revision.
Chapter 3 cont. Narration (618-621); Description (565-569).
Analogy
(517-522).Introductions (607-613). Conclusions (549-552). Thesis (663-667).
9/22-9/26
Paper #1, Draft #2 due. Peer revision. Grammar
Exercises #1 due. Revising and
Editing (651-655). Amplification (508-517);
Conciseness (545-549); Titles (667-672). Credibility (552-560).
9/29-10/3
Paper #1, Draft #3 due (incl. old drafts) in folder.
Chapter 4: "Writing to Instruct and Advise" (including
readings--Giovanni, Halberstam). Forecasting Statements (580-582)
Transitions (676-682). Comparison/Contrast (542-545); Cause and Effect
(522-527);
Exemplification (574-579); Definition (560-565); Classification (527-530).
10/6-10/10
Paper #2, Draft #1 due. Peer revision. Chapter 4 cont. Paragraphing (629-643); Topic Sentences
(672-675); Coherence (530-542). Graphics and Headings (596-607).
10/15-10/17
Mon. Oct. 13 no class (Native American Day).
Paper #2, Draft #2 due. Peer revision. Grammar
exercises #2 due. Journals due. Chapter
5: Writing to
Inform (incl. Eggers, Harris, Bailey). "Conducting Field Research" (444-459).
10/20-10/24
Paper #2, Draft #3 due (inc. old drafts) in folder.
Chapter 5 cont.
10/27-10/31
Paper #3, Draft #1 due. Peer revision.
Chapter 6: "Writing to Persuade" (including readings--Clark, Gelernter).Library Research--beginning with "Keeping a Record of Your Research" (424-444).
11/3-11/7
Paper #3, Draft #2 due. Peer revision. Grammar exercises #3 due. Library/Internet Research.
11/10-11/14
Paper #3, Draft #3 due (incl. old drafts) in folder. Chapter 7 cont. (incl. King). Chapter 8: "Writing from
Sources"
(including readings--Synder, Bailey). Integrating
and
Acknowledging Sources (459-503).
11/17-11/21
Conferences (no class all week).
11/24-11/26
Paper #4, Draft #1 due. Peer revision. Journal due.
Fri. Nov. 28 no class (Thanksgiving Break).
12/1-12/5
Paper #4, Draft #2 due. Peer revision. Chapter 7: Writing to Solve Problems and Present Solutions (inc. Cedeno, Snider)
12/8-12/12
Paper #4, Draft #3 due (incl. old drafts) in folder. Chapt. 7 cont.
Wed. Dec. 10 In-Class Essay. Fri. Evaluation Day (last day of
class).
Complete the assignments listed below on the specified due dates. Study the
appropriate sections of your Hacker handbook (A Writer's Reference); then
complete the corresponding exercises in the exercises book.
Exercises #1:
Due with Essay #1, Draft #2.
Exercise E3-1, 1-5
misplaced modifiers
Exercise E3-2, 1-5
dangling modifiers
Exercise E6-1, all
coordination and subordination
Exercise W4-1, 1-5
active verbs
Exercise G2-4, all
the active and passive voice
Exercise W2-1, 1-5
wordy sentences
Exercise W4-4, 1-5
clichés and mixed figures of speech
Exercises #2:
Due with Essay #2, Draft #2.
Exercise G5-1, 1-5
sentence fragments
Exercise G6-1, 1-5
comma splices and fused sentences
Exercise G6-3, all
comma splices, fused sentences, and fragments
Exercise P1-1, 1-5
the comma: independent clauses, introductory elements
Exercise P1-2, 1-5
the comma: series, coordinate adjectives
Exercise P1-3, 1-5
the comma: nonrestrictive elements
Exercise S1-2, all
spelling
Exercises #3:
Due with Essay #3, Draft #2
Exercise P2-1, 1-5
unnecessary commas
Exercise S5-1, 1-5
numbers
Exercise S6-1, 1-5
italics (underlining)
Exercise W3-3, 1-5
sexist language
Select two additional exercises to complete. Don't choose exercises that are
easy; select exercises that will challenge you as a writer.