Syllabus for Introduction to English Composition

English 152: Introduction to English Composition

Keith Dorwick, Instructor

English 152 is the University of Illinois at Chicago's so-called basic writing course. Many of the instructors who teach 152 at UIC feel that labeling these writers as "basic" helps us to miss their creativity, and to think that all they need or want is grammar instruction. As my colleagues Daiva Markelis, Mary Sheridan-Rabideau, and I put it in the preface to our collection of writings from our classes last semester, "we strongly believe that there is nothing 'basic' about our 152 writers. They come to us with talent and enthusiasm; however, poor schooling, adverse economic conditions, and frequent geographical dislocations are among the factors that have left them unprepared for the kind of work the university expects of them. English 152, with its extra hours and fewer students per class, serves as a bridge to English 160 (English Composition I), equipping students with the tools they will need to succeed in academic writing. It is thus, we believe, one of the most important classes the university offers, perhaps the most influential in terms of its stated goal of increased retention."

Introduction to English Composition:
English 152

Required Texts:

Dorwick, Keith, ed., Introduction to English Composition. New York: McGraw-Hill Primis, 1993.

Reagan, Sally Barr, et al., Writing from A to Z: The Easy to Use Reference Handbook. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1994.

Note: Academic dishonesty (including plagiarism) will earn you a failing grade for the course. The 1991-93 UIC Undergraduate Catalog defines academic dishonesty under the section, "Guidelines Regarding Academic Integrity," and is available for purchase in the UIC bookstore.

Goals: By the end of this course, you will have improved on your reading, writing and classroom skills: successful students will be able to create, revise and rewrite carefully well-crafted prose, and to be able to work in groups. The emphasis of the course will be preparation for your future work at UIC with a special emphasis on English 160, English Composition I.

Attendance:Poor attendance and tardiness will affect your final grade for the course, at my discretion.

Assignments: You will keep a writing journal for this class, which will be on an IBM 3.5 computer disk and which will be handed in at regular intervals for my comments (computers are available for student use on campus). You will also turn in five longer formal essays: three 4-6 page essays and two 8-10 page essays that will grow out of and be a development and refinement of two of your shorter essays. Your writing must reflect your ability to control and use audience, grammar, usage, diction, tone and style, and may use any of the various rhetorical modes (description, narration, definition, classification, argument and persuasion) we will study during the class, though the use of any particular mode is NOT a requirement for your writing. I may also assign other informal assignments as necessary.

Format: You must type all (repeat, all) written assignments for this class, including any informal exercises I might assign. Please use one inch margins all around (top, bottom, left, right). Do not use large fonts that take up a lot of room on the page. I know this trick.

Do not use wide margins that really cut down the numbers of words per line, I know that trick also.

Evaluation: You will receive five formal grades (the average of which will be your basic writing score) and one holistic score for this class. Each of the five essays is 20% of your writing score. I will then modify your writing score by assigning a holistic score which looks at your performance on informal writing assignments, class participation, rewriting and revision, computer and class participation and group work using the following criteria:

Students who wish to receive a holistic score of HP (High Pass) will:

rewrite written assignments as necessary using the suggestions both of their peers and of the instructor. Rewrites will be substantial, involving both rethinking and reorganizing ideas, and correction of all error.

perform honestly and well in student peer groups and act as resource for other students. They will offer in-depth criticism of the writing produced by their peers and not allow any personal differences between members of their groups to affect the work of the group. They will meet outside class on their own time if the group decides that additional group time is necessary. They will always provide adequate copies of the work being evaluated and be open to criticism and suggestions for change.

take part in all discussions and show evidence of having completed all assigned readings for the course.

Students who wish to receive a holistic score of P (Pass) will:

rewrite written assignments as necessary using the suggestions both of their peers and of the instructor; their changes will, however, tend to the local (substitution of one word for another, for instance). Their rewrites will not, for the most part, show evidence of reorganization or the creation of new text. There will be very little evidence of a distinction between rewriting and editing, but they will eliminate all grammatical error.

take part in all group work, but will not significantly help the other writers in their group. Their criticism will focus mostly on the local level (i.e., "you spelled 'university' with a 'z'"). They will meet outside class times, but only as a last resort. Other group members will need to police them, needing to remind them of meeting times and places. They will often attempt to justify the reasons they "did something" rather than listen to group and consider changes. They will usually provide sufficient copies of work that the group is evaluating.

take part in all discussions and show evidence of having completed all assigned readings for the course.

Students who wish to receive a holistic score of F (Fail) will:

turn in rewrites that show very little evidence of any actual rewriting. There will no or few changes in structure, no or few ideas generated for the rewrite, and little or no creation of any new text. The writer in this category will use no or few suggestions from either the instructor or class peers.

contribute little or nothing to peer groups. Students will limit their comments to the affective ("I liked it" or "I didn't like it") but not provide either reasons why or suggestions for further change. The writer in this category will not meet outside class and will miss class sessions when the groups will work during class time. This writer will not turn in materials on time, and will usually not provide adequate numbers of copies of assignments for the group.

contribute little or nothing to class discussions, and will show little or no evidence of having read the assigned material for the day.

A grade of HP on the holistic score will raise your writing score one whole grade level. A grade of P will not affect your writing score at all. A grade of F on the holistic score will lower your writing score one whole grade level. The modified writing score will be your final grade for the course. Thus if a student with a writing score of B received a HP, the final grade would be an A. If she received a holistic score of P, her final grade would remain a B. A holistic score of F would lower her final grade to a C.

There will be a public reading at which all members of the class will present excerpts from one of their 8-10 page papers! No one is exempted! This reading will be scheduled during the fifteenth week of the semester. Missing the final reading will mean an F for the holistic score! On the other hand, I will supply a cheese tray and wine........

About the Portfolio Assessment: It is possible to use this course as a substitute for English 160 and progress directly to English 161 (English Composition II) by taking part in the English 160 portfolio assessment. This option will only be available to those students who have a basic writing score of A at the twelfth week of the semester!

Schedule:

This schedule is tentative and subject to change throughout the semester. Always bring your individual work -- I will give you class time to do your writing.

Note: an asterisk and a date in bold indicates that a first draft of a new paper is due that day.

Week One:

8/22/94: Introduction To Course, Diagnostic
8/24/94: Group Work -- Diagnostic Discussion/Paper Topics

Week Two:

8/29/94: Library -- Introduction To Library Resources
8/31/94: *Group Work -- First Paper (Paper 1 Drafts Due)

Week Three:

9/5/94: Labor Day -- No Class
9/7/94: Dorwick, 7-10, 51-59

Week Four:

9/12/94: Dorwick, 11-16, 60-68, 86-93, Paper 1 Due (4-6 Pages)
9/14/94: *Author's Chair (Paper 2 Drafts Due)

Week Five:

9/19/94: In Class Student Conferences (Bring Paper 2 Draft)
9/21/94: In Class Student Conferences (Bring Paper 2 Draft)

Week Six:

9/26/94: Group Work (Paper 2 Drafts)
9/28/94: Dorwick, 17-22, 94-105, Paper 2 Due (4-6 Pages)

Week Seven:

10/3/94: *Author's Chair (Paper 3 Drafts Due)
10/5/94: Dorwick, 23-24, 106-117

Week Eight:

10/10/94: Dorwick, 27-31, 69-82
10/12/94: Group Work (Paper 3 Drafts)

Week Nine:

10/17/94: Author's Chair (Paper 3 Drafts)
10/19/94: Dorwick, 32-39, 118-129, Paper 3 Due (4-6 Pages)

Week Ten:

10/24/94: *Author's Chair (Paper 4 Drafts Due)
10/26/94: Dorwick, 40-45, 83-85, 130-138

Week Eleven:

10/31/94: In Class Student Conferences (Bring Paper 4 Draft)
11/2/94: In Class Student Conferences (Bring Paper 4 Draft)

Week Twelve:

11/7/94: Group Work (Paper 4 Drafts)
11/9/94: Dorwick, 46-50, 139-164, Paper 4 Due (8-10 Pages)

Week Thirteen:

11/14/94: *Author's Chair (Paper 5 Drafts)
11/16/94: Group Work (Paper 5 Drafts)

Week Fourteen:

11/21/94: Author's Chair (Rewrites Of Papers 1-4)
11/23/94: Group Work (Rewrites Of Papers 1-4)

Week Fifteen:

11/28/94: Presentations -- Location TBD
11/30/94: Presentations -- Location TBD, Paper 5 Due: (8-10 Pages)

Back to my Home Page?

Last Modified: February 12, 1996