The essays you'll be reading and writing about in the Borzoi College Reader and the book length work I've assigned you cover serious, challenging intellectual subject matter. These readings have a heavy psychological and sociological bent to them since our mission is to foster skills in analytical/critical interpretation and response. In all the readings you do, you'll be asking yourselves why events happened as they did, what motivated people to act as they did, how could events or peoples' reactions been different. At times, these psychological and sociological analyses will be light-hearted (as when we read about Annie Dillard's encounter with a weasel at her favorite get-away spot in Virigina) but at other times, the themes will be heavy in that they explore some of the more reprehensible aspects of human thought and action (such as when we read about Huxley, Golding, and Milgrim's insights into the forces which can lead human beings to commit the kind of atrocities which were exhibited during the Holocaust).
It would be unreasonable to expect that any student in a composition class will enjoy/find interest in every assigned reading. Keep in mind, that good readers and writers do not read solely what they like or the type of material they've read before. One test of your abilities and potential is to grapple with material you've never encountered. Whether you enjoy a piece of reading or not, whether or not you find it dull, whether you are confused or frustrated by the author's style or word choice--rest assured that there is something (many somethings, in fact) of deep value and meaning in that reading which you'll be asked to find, discuss, and react to.
You'll be writing seven essays this quarter of anywhere up to five pages. Two of those essays will be written in class in two hours. The out-of-class essays may be submitted in draft form and rewritten once into finished, polished form for a grade. The in-class essays are one shot pieces of writing with no opportunity for revision.
It behooves you to turn in your drafts on time and according to the specifications listed in the writing assignment descriptions on the web page for each essay. Drafts are, however, optional. If you choose to turn in a draft (and I encourage you to!), you'll have the benefit of my response as your writing instructor and a chance to improve your essay for the final graded version. If you do not turn in a draft, you'll have to take your chances on my final assessment of the essay you submit. BE ADVISED--I don't accept late papers of the revision to your drafts. The revision is the final graded version of your essay and must be turned in on or before the deadline
You may email me your writing assignments as an attachment--I have file conversion software which will allow me to read most (if not all!) word processed file formats. If for some reason I can't open the attachment, you will need to email me your papers by embedding them within the body of your email message. I'll give you instructions on how to do this should it becomes necessary.
Be sure that your essay meets the minimum page requirements. Use double spacing and follow the normal conventions of writing such as indenting the first word of each paragraph, italicizing book, magazine, and newspaper titles, etc. Rest assured that if your writing does not meet the minimum page length I'll notice and will insist (if it is a draft) that you develop your ideas more. If it's a final version, you're out of luck and will lose points in the content area.
Deadlines are just as important and just as enforced in an on-line class as in any other class setting. Essays or assignments that don't get submitted on time by you don't get read by me. Don't leave your writing to the last minute--plan ahead to avoid undue pressure and a reduction in the quality of what you're able to produce.
Proficient writers are able to demonstrate their mastery of two highly valued writing qualities--fluency and correctness. Fluency means that capable writers can generate prose relatively easily, regardless of the topic or the time constraints they are under. Fluent writers are able to size up the rhetorical demands of a writing assignment, formulate goals for creating/finding content, and set a logical, coherent organizational plan for the presentation of that content. Correctness refers to a writer's mastery of standard written English; correctness is one feature which helps us identify a person for whom English is not his/her native language. Correctness covers issues in English sentence structure and word forms/usage. There are links on the web site to help you improve in these areas. A one-on-one chat room conference or in person conference is also possible by appointment with me.
It is important to note (and I'll elaborate on this later) that English 1A is not a remedial or basic skills course; it is a first year, college level transfer course. I will act as a resource person to help writers identify patterns of structural and usage error. But I will not mark every individual or isolated problem, and as the course goes along I will expect that students will become increasingly dependent on their own diagnostic and prescriptive abilities in finding and fixing sentence level problems. It is possible to write an essay which is intelligent in content and adroit in organization; however, if that essay demonstrates a lack of proficiency in the conventions of standard written English, the writer cannot expect to receive any higher than a "C" grade for it. English tutorial assistance is available on campus from the Tutorial Center; it is available in abundance online through the many online writing labs (OWLS) housed at major universities. Check with me for the URLs to some of these fine resources.
1. Be precise in your word choice. An "essay" is not an "article" or a "story." Remember that vocabulary--words--are the tools of the writer's trade. They must be chosen carefully, wisely, accurately. Along this same vein, be sure to spell the authors' names correctly in your papers.
2. Put quote marks around the titles of essays (no underline or italics). For book titles, use italics type.
3. Learn to interpret composition notations in the body of your essays:
ww=wrong word
w=wordy construction
[ ] = some sentence structure problem in subordination or coordination of clauses.
< >=some usage problem in verb form/tense, subject-verb agreement, pronoun agreement, pronoun reference
p=punctuation error
cs= comma splice
fs=fused sentence
cap=capitalization error
^ in between two words means a word is missing
4. Avoid writing in second person (you). Use 1st or 3rd person as appropriate. Second person address is appropriate for speeches in front of live audiences or in conversation. Essays require the formal distance between writer and reader which the third person creates. First person ("I") is also appropriate, depending on the demands of the writing assignment.
5. Everyone can benefit from a punctuation and usage/sentence structure review; use the resources found on the sentence structure review link on the homepage. Don't forget to make use of the grammar/sentence structure forum (see the link on the homepage). This is an area where you can post your questions and have your fellow students offer their assistance (I will help, too.)
6. Everyone can benefit from reviewing how and when to use quotations; use the resources found on the sentence structure review link on the homepage.
7. Everyone must learn the critical distinction between plagiarism (not allowed and grounds for automatic failure) and paraphrase (encouraged as a desired writing skill). Plagiarized text in your essays or assignments will guarantee an automatic failing grade. If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, be sure to inquire.
8. Everyone must become a more accomplished proofreader. Review for spelling errors, typographical errors, missing punctuation. Correctness counts!
9. Everyone must become a better editor--eliminate superfluous or redundant words; vary your vocabulary choices; aim for specific, concrete word choice. Opt for action verbs rather than "to be" verbs; write in active versus passive voice.
10. Avoid writing short paragraphs of three sentences or less. Develop your paragraphs by using specific, organized, ample, and relevant (SOAR) detail.
11. Check to make sure you have constructed well-focused, clear topic sentences as an aid in organizing the progression of your ideas from one paragraph to the next.
12. Understand that there is a world of difference between revising a piece of writing and editing it. Revising means re-seeing, reconceptualizing. It does not mean tinkering around the edges by changing a word or two.
13. Maintain a positive attitude; be receptive to constructive criticism about your writing.
14. Care, care, care--about your reader's ability to understand, enjoy, and gain insight from your writing. You are the producer of the prose; study your work from the vantage point of the consumer who must read it.
Remember that anyone who responds to your writing is fundamentally going to suggest only four possible changes (RADS). Use RADS as a diagnostic tool to evaluate your writing:
Rearrange--take text from one position/place and put it in another. In other words, reorganize your material
Add--provide additional material (details, statistics, examples, analogies, etc.). In other words, develop your evidence and ideas to a greater depth and sophistication.
Delete--take out text. In other words, eliminate material which is inaccurate, redundant, vague.
Substitute--When you take out material, replace it with better material. Include a substitute which is more accurate, detailed, persuasive, pertinent, etc.
THE BOTTOM LINE--My job as your writing instructor is NOT to be your proofreader or editor. I will look for patterns of writing weakness, point out one or two examples, teach you what you need to learn, and then get out of your way. You will have to go through your writing and increasingly rely on yourself to find what needs improving. To the extent you are capable of doing this at a high level, your final point value on a paper will increase. To the extent that problems which existed in your draft still exist in your final version, your papers will not achieve the points necessary to receive a high grade. Receiving help from others on your writing is fine. However, be careful to not receive too much help or the wrong kind of help. Two of the essays you'll write this quarter will be done in-class with no outside help. Therefore, you need to have the skills necessary to improve your writing on your own.
What I'm looking for in a finished paper is a polished manuscript, one I can read easily and enjoy for its depth of insight, clarity of expression and organization, vivid and mature word choice/language use, and correct document formatting, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc. I look forward to reading your work!
updated Sept 1999