ENWR 110: accelerated academic writing

MEDIA MATTERS

J Wood (jrw3k@virginia.edu)

Office Hours: MW 2-3:30 at Alderman Café & Appointment

Mailbox in English Department Office, 219 Bryan Hall & Outside the Office

what you will need

EasyWriter: A Pocket Guide, 2nd ed. (Andrea Lunsford): This is a must-have for any course; it's an essential reference tool for your college career. This text covers such elements as grammar, essay development and citations, which should follow MLA style (Modern Language Association). MLA style can be seen in greater depth in The MLA Handbook and The MLA Style Manual.  

The Craft of Argument: Concise Edition (Joseph M. Williams and Gregory G. Colomb): A required text, and highly recommended for gaining a better grasp on the concepts of argument that we will be discussing in class. The Craft of Argument will help you become more comfortable with academic arguments, but is no substitute for actually working through the process yourself.

A College Level Dictionary: Most dictionaries found at the University Bookstore will do, but for English and humanities in general, the Oxford English Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary come highly recommended.

2 Computer Disks (one as a back-up)

There will be a number of essays on the class web page/Toolkit, and when the occasion calls for it, on reserve in Clemons library.

course description

English 105 is a course designed to prepare you for critical thinking and writing at the college level.  This course will focus on writing clear and grammatically correct expository and persuasive prose; devising problem statements; presenting well-developed arguments; organizing essays at both global and local levels; and developing critical thinking and reading skills.  The writing component is based on the Craft of Argument (which stems from U.Va's Little Red Schoolhouse).  We will be pursuing this course in the context of understanding the media, primarily political news mediahow do we understand "the media" and how does "the media" understand us?  Since we will be exploring how to develop arguments, we will be witnessing arguments in a variety of media contexts.  However, we won't only be watching the news as it happens; we will also be exploring selected essays that will lay out some foundational ideas for how we can approach and respond to the medium that purports to approach and respond to our everyday world. There will be some flexibility in our reading schedule, depending on the direction the current media wind blows. In the final analysis, this country's democracy was established with the idea of a well-educated populace that could hold their elected officials, and the policies they sponsor, accuntable; news media is the chief way that populace can remain educated. What does today's media environment mean for today's democracy, and how are we establishing such ideas --through analysis of evidence, or through assertion?

This is a writing intensive course, so do not let the four essays fool you; we will be working and re-working these essays in class and amongst yourselves, working towards the vanishing point of clear academic argument.  So it's a good idea to become familiar with the UVA Writing Center, and take full advantage of your standing appointments.

This class will be one of the first college-level writing classes you will have, and it helps set the tone for how you will approach communicating at the college level.  We all need to learn to communicate effectively and clearly, to learn how to critically evaluate ideas, and to call upon these resources whenever necessary.  This isn't as intimidating as it may sound; learning and developing these skills is an ongoing process at which even your teachers are constantly working, and English 105 is where this process begins.

Expository and Persuasive Writing

Expository: From expose, so you're exposing something, like a meaning or intent.

Persuasive: Trying to convince your audience of a position or idea.

Producing Successful College Essays

No matter what your major, you will need to show in writing that you understand the material in a meaningful way, that you have your own opinions about the material, and that you can support those opinions.  The basics of these skills are taught in this class, which include understanding claims, reasons, evidence, acknowledgements and responses, and problem statements; these are the scaffolding upon which your essays will be structured.

Interpretive, Critical Thinking and Communicative Skills  

Contrary to popular opinion, this does not mean criticizing something in order to expose its negative qualities.  This does include evaluating ideas, questioning assumptions, developing opinions and supporting those opinions with evidence in order to reach some kind of informed understanding.  We'll do a lot of group work in order to help hone these skills.

Writing Thorough Answers to Response Questions  

Recording your responses enhances your critical thinking skills and helps you to learn what you know and value, why and how.

Reading Actively  

Never read without a pencil in your hand.  Use the margins to write questions, mark passages and generally carry on a conversation with the text.  Reading is not like watching television; it does not consist of letting the words pass over your eyes, it's an interaction between you and the text, you and the author, you and the context of the work.  

writing objectives

grading

Your overall class grade will be based upon attendance, participation including response questions and quizzes, and of course the papers.  Participation is important --it's not enough to just show up. After the first "shopping" week, you are allotted one week of missed classes (three class meetings); after that, each absence will result in a one-third drop in your letter grade (A to an A-).  An A paper meets the requirements of the task in terms of format, length, and when necessary use of sources.  An A paper will effectively incorporate quotations and show that concepts are understood and applied, not simply repeated (I've read the material --show me something new).  An A paper is organized in a clear, logical manner with a thesis and a supportive conclusion. Finally, an A paper will be relatively free of grammatical mistakes, will be proofread for spelling errors, will show good sentence variety and narrative voice, and of course will be turned in on time.  These are the criteria for earning the grade of A on your essays; grades of B, C, D and F are considered according to these criteria.  

LATE ASSIGNMENTS: The English department allows two late assignments before your overall grade drops.  Late papers must be turned in by the next class period or arrangements should be made with me in advance.  Keep in mind that a C- is required to pass this required course.

Not everyone is as comfortable talking in a large group, which is why we'll frequently be using smaller groups as well as non-graded response assignments and quizzes.  It's more important for you to be able to voice your ideas in some form than it is to sound brilliant; this is how you come to know and evaluate your ideas, which will help your writing.  Therefore, we will often trade written assignments and discuss the ideas in the smaller groups.  Graded papers from the end of the semester will be weighted more heavily than papers from the beginning of the semester, as our goal will be to become better writers, not to be great from the beginning.  Be sure to check the class toolkit on a regular basis for any response questions (as well as any alterations in the syllabus).  The questions, when asked, are short and designed to get your thinking about both the material and how to develop an argument about that material.  For our purposes these are better than quizzes for keeping up with the work.  Although these are not graded, they will be checked and factored into your participation grade: a check mark is 5 points, a plus is an extra 2 points, and a minus less 2 points.  Since these are assigned as needed, there is not set amount of response questions; these are all based on how the class is going.

revisions

Writing is a never-ending process.  Many writers who publish history, criticism or philosophy return to the work years later and amend their earlier ideas.  You may revise all of your essays, but you must revise at least 2 essays for your portfolio.  If you want to have your grade changed via revision, or if I required a revision, you have one week from the date the essay was handed back to submit the revision.  Any revisions handed in after the one-week grace period, including the portfolio revisions, will not change that essay's grade.  After a required revision or one submitted within the one-week time slot, your grade for that essay will be the average of the two, with some leeway.  If for some reason the revision is not satisfactory, we will set up a meeting time.  So: Revision handed in within one week that's a grade change; late revisions and/or revisions handed in for the portfolio at the end of the semester; there are no grade change for those essays.

discussion groups

The class will be broken up into smaller groups for discussion on a regular basis.  Get to know your classmates because they will help you when you review each other's work.  (It's a good idea to get contact information, because you will be trading drafts of your essays with the members of your group for perusal and discussion.)  You will see that there are drafts for each essay. To make the discussion groups function, you are to have your drafts prepared ahead of time so you can discuss them in class the day they are due. Discussions will focus on structure, rhetoric, organization, and clarity of argument.

honor statement

A customized honor statement has been placed on Toolkit.