WR115_Syllabus_Fall10.doc / September 9, 2010 / 11:28 AM

Syllabus WR 115: Introduction to Expository Writing

Fall Term 2010 CRN 40288 MW 1 PM – 2:50 PM 4 credits 9/20/2010 – 12/6/2010 Sylvania CT 236

Dr. Michael McDowell Office: Sylvania CT 209

Voice: 503-977-8012 / Fax: 503-977-4874 E-mail: mmcdowel@pcc.edu

Home Page: <http://faculty.pcc.edu/~mmcdowel> Office Hours: MW 11-12, 3-4; Tu 4-6, & by appointment

Portland Community College—Sylvania Campus, PO Box 19000, Portland, Oregon 97280-0990 • 503-244-6111

Description Prerequisites 1. Placement into WR 115 or completion of WR 90 or ESOL 262, and 2. Placement into RD 115 or completion of RD 90 or ESOL 260

Required Text Required Text Recommended Text

Susan Thurman, ed. Expanding Horizons: Short Readings and Images from Unusual Topics. New York: Longman, 2007.

Jane Aaron. The Little, Brown Essential Handbook, 6th ed., with 2009 MLA Guidelines. New York: Longman, 2009.

A college dictionary, such as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 2003.

You will need to bring the two required texts to each class meeting. Web Sites

SPOT The PCC Faculty

Server

McDowell Instructional on the Spot Server: <http://faculty.pcc.edu/~mmcdowel/> MyPCC: <https://my.pcc.edu> My Courses > English Composition > Links, Files, and E-mail. CompWiki: <https://spaces.pcc.edu/> Purdue OWL: <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/> Supplies Standard-sized white notebook paper; blue or black pens; a letter-sized file folder in which to submit essays; a flash drive for in-class writing. Catalogue Description Writing 115 introduces college level skills in reading critically, exploring ideas, and writing. Students compose essays which support a thesis through structure appropriate to both thesis and reader and learn to revise for clarity and correctness. Addendum to Catalogue Description Students read and write expository essays and practice skills in paragraph development, sentence structure, standard usage, diction, and punctuation. Writing 115 develops student skills in writing as

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preparation for the more difficult requirements of Writing 121. Students write essays in and out of class and must pass an essay final (written in class) in order to pass the course. Course Outcomes [from the PCC Course Content & Outcome Guide (CCOG)]: Outcomes for this course require working through multiple drafts of several pieces of writing with time to separate the acts of writing and revising; in addition, the reading outcomes require time to read, reread, and reflect, respond, interpret, analyze, and evaluate. Upon completion of Writing 115 with a “C” or better, students will be able to:

• Write a 3-page thesis-controlled coherent essay. • Demonstrate grammatical conventions without patterns of major usage errors. • Practice writing as a process. • Employ strategies that acknowledge specific audiences and purposes. • Begin to explore ways to write with style. • Analyze college-level texts for structure and content and theme. • Explore unfamiliar points of view through reading and writing. • Use writing as a tool to begin to develop an authentic voice. • Interpret and apply feedback. • Access and use library and Internet sources. • Seek out and engage assistance from a variety of tutoring centers on campus. • Write a multi-paragraphed essay in class that is focused on a main idea, shows an understanding

of sentence structure, and illustrates a sense of organization through topic sentences and paragraphs.

Class Activities

• discussion of text readings • short presentations on key concepts of course, such as thesis, paragraphing, and essay structure • short presentations on grammar and mechanics of language, as needed • free-writing • writing peer responses • drafting essays on computers • editing and revising essays • brief instructor-student paper conferences

Requirements Reading and Discussion Reading assignments in the texts and handouts are due nearly every class meeting. Please bring the two required textbooks and the class handouts to each class meeting. You are expected to have read and thought about the day’s reading before coming to class. Do your reading at home; class time is for writing and discussing essays. Not having anything to say about the day’s readings says you’re failing the reading and discussion requirements. Writing • 5 formal essays, each about 500 words. The middle essay will be a midterm in-class essay exam; the

last of the five will be a final in-class essay exit exam. • miscellaneous out-of-class writings • journal responses to readings • 3 revised essays • formal and informal in-class writings—”freewrites,” prewriting, or grammar exercises • unannounced quizzes on the readings. Note: Passing the exit exam does not guarantee that you pass the course; your coursework throughout the term—including daily participation in discussions—must also be at least “C” level for you to pass. Attendance Because this class is largely a writing workshop, no absences are allowed. Consider that each hour of absence lowers your attendance grade one level from whatever it would otherwise have been. If you miss

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more than four classes (8 hours, two weeks’ worth), you’re not taking the course; you should drop the course and take it again when you are willing and able to attend regularly. If you arrive late or leave early from class, you may be counted absent for the day. At any rate, if you miss part or all of any class, you need to call another student to find out what you missed, or e-mail me or see me during office hours. Cell Phones

While you’re physically in the classroom, you also need to be mentally in the classroom as well—which means engaged and participating. Turn off your cell phone before class begins and keep it off the table and off your lap. Put it away for the duration of the class. Don’t let it ring (or vibrate loudly) during class. Paying attention to your phone instead of to class will drop your participation grade besides leading everyone around you to dislike you. Conferences You’ll each be having two or three out-of-class conferences with me to discuss your writing in the course. Save everything you write for this course and bring it to the conference. Two meetings are required (generally in my office, CT 209). I also recommend visiting the Writing Center, CT 239, for conferences on your peer review drafts. Rough Drafts Much of WR 115 is devoted to the preliminary work leading to an essay. This “process work” includes written journal responses to the readings, freewritings, in-class assignments, a rough draft, intermediate drafts, quizzes on the readings, and written peer responses to drafts. Because a major goal of the course is that you learn an adequate process leading to your final draft, all this preliminary work needs to be turned in with your essay in a file folder. Manuscript Format MLA. Computer Familiarity It can take awhile to become comfortable using the computer lab. Ask questions; your classmates may also be able to help you. To save yourself grief, after every session at a computer (1) save your work on a flash drive and (2) print out a hard copy of the latest version. Grading Your success in the course depends upon your ability at the end of the term to write a short essay in standard written English which meets the requirement for entrance into Writing 121. This requirement involves writing an essay which develops a single idea, writing consistently in complete sentences, and supporting your main idea with evidence logically organized in full paragraphs. If your final in-class essay at the end of the term does not show Writing 121-level competence, you will need to repeat Writing 115. Many people take the course several times. To receive an A or a B in the course, you must turn in all assignments on time, have perfect or nearly perfect attendance, participate in class discussions, show improvement in your writing, and by the end of the term be writing at a level that qualifies you for entry into Writing 121. To pass with a grade of C, you must meet the minimum course requirements described above and by the end of the term be writing at a level that qualifies you for entry into Writing 121. No one will receive a passing grade unless all assignments are completed. Grading is on an A-B-C-D-F basis. No grades of P/NP or audit (AUD) are given for transfer writing classes. An Incomplete (I) may be taken only if you’ve met all of the course requirements except the final exam. All students who have submitted any written work for the term, even those who stop attending after the term starts, receive an A, B, C, D, or F grade for the course. If for some reason you stop attending, you must take it upon yourself to formally drop the class at the Registrar’s office or else you may receive a permanent grade of F on your transcript. In summary form, then, your performance on these basic requirements determines your final grade: • reading all assigned course material by dates due for discussion

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• turning in all assigned essays with preliminary writing on dates due • turning in all other assigned writings on dates due • attending all classes and participating in class activities • meeting with the instructor for two or three out-of-class conferences • successfully completing the exit exam

Attendance and participation in class activities 25% Essay 1 (including responses, in-class writings, etc.) 15% Essay 2 (including responses, in-class writings, etc.) 15% Essay 3 (including responses, notes, in-class writings, etc.) 15% Essay 4 (including responses, in-class writings, etc.) 15% Essay 5 (including responses, notes, in-class writings, etc.) 15%

Total 100%

Policies E-Mail Communication

PCC uses the web and e-mail to conduct college business. It’s fast, it saves paper and time, and it helps keep down the cost of attending college. Students are expected to monitor MyPCC for new postings and to check their PCC e-mail for messages from the college and their instructors. Much of what you need to succeed in the class will be posted on the MyPCC webpage for this class.

From time to time throughout the term, I’ll be sending e-mails to the whole class announcing changes to assignments, changes in due dates, and other essential information. For efficiency and security, I will be using only your PCC e-mail. I you don’t want to constantly log on to MyPCC, you can easily forward your PCC e-mail to your most-used e-mail account. Follow this path: E-mail > Options > Settings > Mail Forwarding.

I receive dozens of e-mails every day. I don’t have the time to respond fully to every one. Please don’t send e-mails saying “I missed class today. Did we do anything important?” Every class meeting is designed to build the skills you need to succeed in the course; if you miss class, you lessen your likelihood of doing well in the course. Only you can decide whether that’s important to you. But if you have a significant problem or a pertinent question that hasn’t answered in the syllabus or in class, by all means send me an e-mail. I’ll answer by e-mail within 24 hours if it can be answered quickly; if it’s an open-ended question, it may take longer or I may address it in class or we may need to set up a conference.

To be sure we communicate effectively: • Check your PCC e-mail regularly • Use only your PCC e-mail account to e-mail me • Put the course number in the subject line: WR 115 • All your essays are due in hard copy with drafts and notes. E-mailing is not a substitute. I

may ask you to send me an assignment, though, in which case you should send it as an attachment with a file name that includes the course number, your name, and the assignment—e.g., if your name is “Tyler Wilson,” you’d name the file for your third essay WR115_TylerWilson_Essay3.doc

• Send only files that have been resaved with a .doc, .docx, .txt, or .rtf extension. Late Papers / Make-Up Late essays will be accepted for a reduced grade up to a week late, and not accepted after that. You must submit all assignments to pass the course. If you find you can’t get papers in when they’re due, you need to drop the course and take it when you have more time or motivation. In-class writings may not be made up.

Plagiarism All work submitted in this course is to be your own new, original work written in response to the assignments. Refer to the handbook for advice on how you’re expected to credit your outside sources. Consciously or unknowingly presenting the ideas or writings of others as your own will result in dismissal from the class, an automatic course grade of F, and possible disciplinary action by the college. See the Student Academic Integrity policy available at <http://www.pcc.edu/integrity>.

Writing 115 Syllabus, page 5

Drops & Refunds Students are personally responsible for dropping or withdrawing from their classes even if they do not attend. You may receive a refund if you drop by the second Friday of the term. If you don’t drop during the refund period, you will be responsible for the charges. See the PCC Schedule of Classes for how to drop or withdraw from a class. You need to know that the last day you may drop this class and not receive a W on your transcript is the end of the fourth week of classes; the last day you may drop (and receive a W) is the end of the eighth week of classes. College Closure In the event of snow, ice, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, landslides, wildfires, or other events which might seem to result in the college closing or curtailing its activities, it’s your responsibility to find out whether the college is in fact closed. The college announces its closure or delayed opening on the School Announcement Network, which includes major local radio and TV stations. The Portland Information Network website carries continually updated closure announcements: <http://www.pdxinfo.net/> The college also puts a closure announcement on the college switchboard, 503-244-6111 and TTY 503-977-4877. If the media, websites, and switchboard say nothing about closure, we can assume that classes are held as usual, and all of us are expected to be present. ADA The Americans with Disabilities Act guarantees educational services to those with disabilities. If you have a disability which you think may adversely influence your performance in this class, talk with me and contact the Office for Students with Disabilities (503-977-4341, TTD 503-246-4072, <http://www.spot.edu/osd>), before the second class meeting. Affirmative Action PCC is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution, which means that college policy prohibits any manager, supervisor, faculty, staff, or student to harass or discriminate against any member of the college community on the basis of his or her race, color, religion, ethnicity, use of native language, national origin, age, sex, marital status, height/weight ratio, disability, or sexual orientation. Workload In college, the rule of thumb is that you should expect to do at least two hours of course preparation outside of class for every hour of classtime per week. Writing classes always exceed this average. Since we meet for four hours of class per week, you should expect to spend at least an additional eight hours (and more likely ten) out of class reading and writing every week. If you do not have at least eight hours of alert time to devote to this course outside of class each week, you should drop the course and retake it when your schedule enables you to devote this minimum amount of time to the course. Most students who fail WR 115 fail not because of lack of ability at writing but because of a lack of familiarity with academic life. In other words, most who fail haven’t yet understood what it takes to be a successful college student—such as careful and realistic time management, understanding typical instructor expectations, understanding the function of a syllabus, attendance at every class, and other (often unspoken) understandings.

Campus Resources Everyone at PCC wants you to succeed. Several resources are available specifically to help you in

your coursework, and I recommend that you take advantage of them. From off campus, you can generally get through by putting the 503-977 prefix in front of these extension numbers. Tutoring Help on Your Writing • Student Success Center: CC 204; Ext. 4540; <http://www.pcc.edu/resources/tutoring/sylvania/#ssc> • Writing Center: CT 239 Ext. 4952 < http://www.pcc.edu/resources/tutoring/sylvania/#writing> • Multicultural Center: CC 202; Ext. 4112; <http://www.pcc.edu/resources/culture/>

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• Online Writing Help < https://www.etutoring.org/login.cfm?institutionid=229&returnPage= > Computer Access • Languages & Writing Lab: CT 235 < http://www.pcc.edu/prepare/esol/sylvania/lab.html> • Library: Ext. 4935; < http://www.pcc.edu/library/services/computers.html > • Computer Resource Center: CC 206; Ext. 4325; <http://www.pcc.edu/resources/computer-

labs/sylvania/> Books • Library: Ext. 4498; <http://www.pcc.edu/library/> • Bookstore: Ext. 4704; <http://www.pcc.edu/resources/bookstore/> Explanations • PCC Catalog: <http://www.pcc.edu/about/catalog/> • PCC Schedule of Classes: <http://www.pcc.edu/schedule/> • College Information: CC 215; Ext. 4329 <http://www.pcc.edu/about/> • English Division: CT 219; Ext. 4266 • Public Safety: Emergency: Ext. 4444; Non-emergency: Ext. 4902 <http://www.pcc.edu/about/public-safety/> • Counseling: CC 216; Ext. 4531; <http://www.pcc.edu/resources/counseling/index.html>

WR 115 • Calendar • Fall 2010 This syllabus provides the due dates for all out-of-class reading and writing assignments. You need to complete these assignments before class on the dates indicated. We will add to and subtract from this calendar throughout the term as our needs and interests dictate; listen for updates at the start of each class.

Date Writing due

Expanding Horizons reading due / Class activities Handbook & CompWiki reading due

/ Introduction to course, lab, texts 1 M 9/20 Urban Legends, Hoaxes, Superstitions, and Other Fictions 3-5 / <http://www.snopes.com>

W 9/22 Journal response online page 9

• Gabler, How Urban Myths Reveal Society’s Fears 6-9 • Arbu and Qin, If It Sounds Too Good to Be True 12-15 / Explanation of Essay #1 Assignment

Academic Writing 1a-1e Writing Situation 2a-2c CW Expectations at PCC

2 M 9/27 ¶ 1 of Essay #1

• Lichtman, Knock on Wood 17-19 • 9/11 Phoney Photo 21 • Hayden, Gotcha! 22-27

MLA Paper Format 40c-40d

CW Essays W 9/29 Essay #1 / Peer Review

/ Sign-up out-of-class conferences Writing Process 3a-3d CW Peer Review

3 M 10/4 Journal response online page 83

Food, Glorious Food 76-78 • Colwin, Repulsive Dinners 79-85 / Explanation of Essay #2 Assignment

Revising checklist: p. 2 CW Revision CW MLA Format

W 10/6 Revised Essay #1

• Dorfman, Food Icons 86-91 • Merriam, How to Eat a Poem 92

Avoiding Plagiarism pp. 141-46

4 M 10/11 • Schlosser, Throughput 93-98 PCC Academic Integrity Policy (online)

/ Peer Review / Sign-up for out-of-class conferences

W 10/13 Essay #2

Employment: Problems and Solutions 124-26 • Goodman, The Company Man 127-30 / Explanation of Essay #3 Assignment

Integrating Sources 38a-38c

CW Integrating Quotations

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5 M 10/18 Journal

response online page 129

• Messmer, Resumania 131-37 • Rosandich, Let’s Discuss Who You Know 138

MLA in-text citations 40a (skim)

W 10/20 Revised Essay #2 Notes for Essay #3

• Kariya, What I Did Last Summer 139-45 / Preparation for in-class writing of essay #3

MLA list of works cited 40b (skim)

6 M 10/25 Essay #3 / In-class writing of Essay #3 W 10/27 Inservice—No class

7 M 11/1 Simplicity: Is It Too Complicated? 146-48 • Ford, Followup / Distraction 149-54 / Explanation of Essay #4 Assignment

W 11/3 Journal response online 152

• Parachin, Simple Solutions 155-61

8 M 11/8 • Trout, Complex Language 162-69 • McKibben, Hundred Dollar Holiday (online)

W 11/10 • Desert Island • Whitman, When I Heard the Learned Astronomer 170-

71

9 M 11/15 Essay #4 / Peer Review / Sign-up for out-of-class conferences

W 11/17 Journal response online page 203

Ethics, or “Do the Right Thing” 196-99 • Bear, Why Students Cheat 199-204 / Explanation of Essay #5 Assignment

Subjects and Verbs 5a

10 M 11/22 • George S. May Company, Ethics in Business 205-09 Parallelism 7a-c W 11/24 Revised

Essay #4 • Krauthammer, Of Headless Mice . . . 210-14 Misplaced & Dangling

Modifiers 20a-20b 11 M 11/29 Notes for

#5 / Course review / Writing 121 preview • Business Ethics magazine 315-16 • Bok, White Lies 217-23

Spelling 30a-30b

W 12/1 Essay #5 In-class writing of Essay #5 (Exit Exam) 12 M 12/6 Last meeting; exit writing; evaluations