Syllabus

English 100

First Year Composition

Course Description

English 100 is a three-unit expository writing course that satisfies one of the general education writing requirements for CSULB. Writing will consist of nonfiction prose, with an emphasis on exposition. Readings will be assigned.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites for this course include the following:

	A score of 151 or above on the English placement Test
	Credit in English 001 or its equivalent and consent of the instructor
	A score of 490 on the verbal portion of the SAT
	A score of 21 or above on the ACT

Class Objectives

In this class we will emphasize the kind of expository and analytical writing expected of students in the academic community. Students will become familiar with and be able to demonstrate the use of the writing process to compose in a variety of writing domains appropriate to university level academic requirements. As a result of taking English 100 (Composition), students should develop the following competencies:

	Writing fluency: Develop an efficient writing process in order to become prolific, confident writers.
	Develop higher level thinking skills (think critically): Learn the art of discovery, of inventing new knowledge and analyzing old knowledge, of scrutinizing and evaluating a writer’s bias as well as their own.
	Rhetorical skills: Become increasingly aware of the way in which writers envision their audience given the various contexts in which they, as writers, will write.
	Understand and practice writing as a social act: Developing the awareness that writing and learning how to write, like any type of learning, involves the active exchange of ideas, opinions, and experiences.

Course Structure

In order to develop an efficient writing process and become more confident writers, students will be asked to write frequently and participate in Writers’ Workshop. Students will gather and critically evaluate information and opinions from outside texts, and respond to these texts in their notebooks. Because of the nature of writers’ workshop, students will be expected to share their work with fellow writers and provide them with constructive feedback on their essays. Students will have the opportunity to showcase their work in writing portfolios.

Texts and Materials

Clouse, Barbara Fine. Working It Out: A Troubleshooting Guide for Writers (2nd ed.), New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997.

Additional text materials may be purchased from the Bookstore in the copy center. Some required reading will be available on-line.

Recommended Text:

Bresser, Pam. A Basic Handbook of Writing Skills Mountain View: Mayfield, 1994.

Course Requirements and Assignments

Writer’s Notebook:

Each student will keep a writer’s notebook in which he or she will respond to the assigned readings and writing issues that come up in class. Students will also keep a record of issues concerning grammar and spelling problems, ideas, and prewriting activities. I will assign a notebook prompt for each class meeting, and will collect and grade your writer’s notebook periodically through the semester. You will not be graded on grammar and spelling in these notebooks as they are meant to be informal and for your use in discovering your writing process. I will grade on how well you respond to the prompts, make connections with class readings and your own writing. Writers’ Notebook prompts should be at least three pages double spaced.

Notebooks should be emailed to me as an attachment and should be written using standard word processing software i.e. Word or Word Perfect.

Essay Assignments:

Each student will write four formal, "out-of-class" essays which will account for the bulk of the final course grade. In addition, students will be asked to write two short in-class essays. The in-class essays cannot be made up, attendance is mandatory when these essays are scheduled. Each essay will be graded through the writing process.

Each paper should have the following attached at the time of grading:

	Prewriting: You must submit evidence of prewriting for the first paper only. This may be accomplished in two ways: submit your Writers’ Notebook with evidence of the prewriting process or attach a copy of your prewriting sample to paper.
	Rough Draft: You must attach all copies of your rough draft work that has gone through the peer evaluation process. This includes all comments made by your peers. Students will be given credit for peer group participation. Note: Microsoft Word does have a function that will allow you to track revision.
	Revised/Final Draft: Your final draft should reflect comments and suggestions by peer evaluators and your self evaluations (we will talk more about this later). Final drafts will not be accepted without at least three peer evaluations attached.
	"Dear Reader" Letter: Each final draft must be accompanied by a "Dear Reader" letter which should include: the process that you went through to write your essay, the purpose of your essay, any problems that you had when writing the assignment, what you learned, and any other issues you feel the reader should know about the essay. This is an informal letter that is used for you to explore your writing process and to help your reader. You are encouraged to write freely and as candidly as possible. The letter will not affect your grade on any paper.

ALL DRAFTS MUST BE TYPED and DOUBLE-SPACED. ALL FINAL DRAFTS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A) ALL COPIES OF ROUGH DRAFTS B) ALL PEER RESPONSES AND C) A "DEAR READER" LETTER. FAILURE TO TURN IN ANY OF THE ABOVE WILL LOWER YOUR GRADE BY A FULL LETTER GRADE.

Note: All work should be submitted as an attachment and emailed no later than 5:00p.m. on the due date.

Miscellaneous

Final Portfolio:

Your portfolio should represent a collection of your best writing throughout the semester that will be evaluated by a panel of composition instructors. Your portfolio is due on the final day of class instruction and should include the following:

	All drafts and peer evaluations, and prewriting activities of each essay
	Clean Edited copies of out-of-class essays (2) (One of the essay will be your final "Informed Argument" Essay and the other will be your choice.
	The final in-class essay
	A "Dear Reader" letter in which you explain how these essays demonstrate your development as a writer (2-3 pages). This letter should be similar to the ones turned in with each final draft, but should be more comprehensive in scope.

The Writers’ Resource Lab:

The WRL is an excellent resource for writers of all levels and disciplines. The WRL offers free one-on-one tutoring for students enrolled at CSULB. Please check out the WRL's website for hours of operation, and other interesting and helpful items. You will be expected to attend one tutoring session by mid term or prior to your third paper. You must tell the tutor that you need a confirmation sheet emailed to me as proof of your attendence.

Final Grade Breakdown

Essay #1	Essay #2	Timed Essay #1	Mid-Term Portfolio	Essay #3	Essay #4	Final Portfolio	Writer's Notebook
100	100	50	150	150	150	200	100