Freshman Writing
Workshop Spring, 2001
Marc DiPaolo The Mansion
Phone Office
Hours:
Email: captainblackadder@hotmail.com,
mdipaolo@drew.edu
Class meets Monday and
Thursday 11:20 12:35
Course Description: The human creative
impulse. It enables us to express
ourselves through art, writing, and music.
It encourages us to evolve as individuals, to develop new technologies,
and to push society forward. But it has
a destructive side as well. In this
class we will examine the many moral and legal issues surrounding
self-expression, creativity, and the quest for knowledge. In the process, this course will help you
hone skills and develop creative approaches as we engage in the writing
process. A variety of interdisciplinary
texts will invite your critical reading and thinking.
Course Objectives: Upon successful
completion of this course, students should be able to:
1) Approach diverse subject
matter analytically.
2) Organize a coherent
paragraph.
3) Develop an argument in
support of a clear thesis.
4) Create an independent
voice in relation to another author's text.
5) Construct strong,
accurate sentences.
Guidelines:
Attendance and
Participation:
A writing seminar grows out of all its members' active participation.
Therefore, each of us needs to arrive on time for every class, having read,
written, and considered the day's work. Anyone's excessive absence (from more
than two classes) will result in a decisive deduction from the final grade.
One
cannot "make up" a collaborative learning experience. Responsibly "getting the notes"
won't recapture a good class's energy or insights. When plausible, you are also
encouraged to connect with your classmates, by email, by phone, or in the
residence halls to keep our discussions flowing. Please leave me a message
if for some reason you must miss a class.
Papers: Several short papers
should allow you to see your writing improve. Moreover, they will allow you to
focus on different aspects of your writing. I will be glad to consider the
distance you have traveled between your early and later work in determining
your final grade.
In
fairness to your colleagues, papers need to be turned in on time for full
credit. Since printers sometimes react to the stress of your need to get to
class, papers will be considered on time if turned in by 5 :00 on the evening
of the assigned date. However, if you travel to class without a completed
paper, bring a rough draft.
Quizzes and In Class Essays: Occasional short
reading quizzes will ask you to offer an independent response to our readings
before our group discussion. We will also do some in-class writing in order
to help you prepare for final exams.
Journals: Studies suggest that
people who write more informally tend to write better formally. Therefore, you
will keep a journal for our class. Each week write at least one entry on the
readings and one entry on something else happening in your week. You might use
your journal to
*Question or comment on an aspect of the
reading.
*Share personal observations that provide
insight into the reading.
*Continue your thoughts about class
discussion.
Final Proficiency Exam: Our final exam, to be
held in our classroom, will ask you to develop and organize an essay, much like
those you will have been writing all semester, on a previously given reading.
Other professors will also be reviewing your work on the proficiency exam.
Conferences: Conferences let us talk
over your responses to our course, the progress of your work, and drafts in
progress. I would be glad to meet with you as often as you'd like. Do also take
advantage of the Learning Center to gain extra suggestions about your work.
Evaluation:
Papers I IV 10 % 15% each
Paper V 20%
Class participation 20%
(includes attendance,
quizzes, journals,
and in-class writing)
Final Exam 10%
Texts:
Fulwiler, Toby. College Writing: A
Personal Approach to Academic -Writing. Portsmouth: Boyton/Cook Publishers,
1997.
Hirschberg, Stuart. Terry Hirschberg. The
New Millenium Reader. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000.
Raimes, Ann. Keys for Writers. New
York: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
Please prepare the following assignments
for the dates listed below. Changes are possible at the discretion of the
professor.
Mon., Jan. 29 Course introduction,
including Walt Whitman.
When I
Heard the Learnd Astronomer.
670.
Thurs., Feb. 1 Helen Keller. The Day
Language Came into My Life. 307
310.
Frederick Douglass. Learning to Read and
Write. 251 256.
A Writers Choices. Fulwiler 3 14.
Getting Started. Raimes 3 13.
Keeping a Journal. Fulwiler 42 60.
Friday, Feb. 2 Last day for New
Registrations
Mon., Feb. 5 Bring a rough draft.
The Composing Process. Fulwiler 15 24.
Finding a Focus in a Draft & Developing
and Organizing Ideas.
Raimes 14 32.
Writing to Remember and Reflect. Fulwiler 72 91.
Thurs., Feb. 8 Paper I due.
Friday, Feb. 9 Final Drop/Add Changes
and Registrations with Special Permission.
Mon., Feb. 12 Dave Barry. Just Say No to Rugs. 41 44.
John McMurtry. Kill Em! Crush Em!
Eat Em Raw!
392 -
397.
Nora Ephron. A Few Words About Breasts. 202 209.
Thurs., Feb. 15 Finding Your
Voice. Fulwiler 206 216.
Revising and Editing. Raimes 32 37.
Options for Revision. Fulwiler 173 184.
Options for Editing. Fulwiler 185 191.
Mon., Feb. 19 Bring drafts in
Progress.
Hand in Journals.
Optional revision of paper I due.
Thurs., Feb. 22 Paper II due.
Mon., Feb. 26 Margaret Atwood. Pornography. 316 322.
Tom Schachtman. Whats Wrong with TV? Talk Shows.
382
388.
Thinking With Writing. Fulwiler 25 41.
Writing in the Academic Community.
Fulwiler 63 71.
In class writing.
Thurs., March 1 Bring drafts in
progress.
Format and Design. Raimes 37 46.
Mon., March 5 Revised Paper II due.
Thurs., March 8 Nat Hentoff. Speech
Codes on the Campus and Problems
of Free Speech. 282 288.
Aldous Huxley. Propaganda Under a Dictatorship.
310 315.
Writing to Argue and Interpret. Fulwiler 108 122.
Mon., March 12 Bring drafts in
progress.
Thurs., March 15 Bring a complete rough
draft.
Mon., March 19 Spring Recess
Thurs., March 22 Spring Recess
Mon., March 26 Paper III due.
Thurs., March 29 Writing about
Literature. Raimes 173 185.
Ambrose Bierce. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.
521
528.
Flannery OConnor. A Good Man Is Hard
To
Find. 138 152.
Robert Frost. The Road Not Taken. 815.
Mon., April 2 Bring drafts in progress.
Thurs., April 5 Bring drafts in
progress.
Hand in Journals.
Friday, April 6 Last Day for Student
Withdrawal from Class
Mon., April 9 Paper IV due. Read John Hersey. A Noiseless Flash from Hiroshima.
509 520.
Thurs., April 12 Writing With
Sources. Fulwiler 146 160.
Planning Research. Raimes 49 60.
On-Line Research. Raimes 60 74.
Mon., April 16 E. Dyson. Cyberspace:
If You Dont Love It, Leave It. 644 648.
Summarizing, paraphrasing, and Quoting.
Raimes 77 92.
Revised Paper IV due.
Thurs., April 19 Gina Kolata. A Clone is Born. 618 633.
Mon., April 23 Organizing your
paper. Make an appointment for a
conference today.
Hand in final journals.
Thurs., April 26 Bring drafts in
progress.
Mon., April 30 Bring drafts in progress.
Thurs., May 3 Final paper due. (Paper V)
Mon., May 7 Prepare for the
proficiency. The Essay Test. Raimes 185 186.
Thurs., May 10 Prepare for the
proficiency. Bring Final Portfolios.
Proficiency
Exam
