English 1111: Critical Reading and Writing

Fall Quarter 2001, Section 27 (T/TH 11-12:30) 

Instructor: Ms. Ansari

REQUIRED TEXTS: 

Rose, Mike & Kiniry, Malcolm. Critical Strategies for Academic Thinking and Writing, 3^rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 1998.
Opening Doors: Guide for First-Year English, 13^th ed.
Paperback Merriam-Webster Dictionary (this will be shrink-wrapped with your text)

PURPOSE 

Writing is the process of giving words to your thoughts and communicating them to others. Writing is thinking. First-Year English will teach you to think, write and communicate effectively. These are skills that you will need in every area of your life.

Defining, Summarizing, Classifying, Comparing, and Analyzing are some of the numerous  modes of thinking and writing. A clear understanding of these modes will give you the ability to choose any one, or a combination of the modes for a powerful piece of writing. 

Critical Reading and Writing is the first course in the First-Year English sequence. We will study readings rich in academic content across the discipline but appropriate to the non-specialist. We will discuss and write our responses to these works in order to challenge and test our own assumptions and to develop a confident writing voice. We link reading and writing as critical inquiry and reflective learning, and we provide instruction in the basic conventions of academic writing, along with mastering details that contribute to the development of an interesting, unified, organized, coherent essay of substance. For every assignment you will need to be aware of voice, audience, and purpose. As preparation for the academic writing you will do in all your courses at DU, your essays for this class will be responses to the essays you read in our text and will, in some way, respond to the course theme: The Individual and the Making of Meaning. All students must pass a standardized English department EXIT EXAM in order to advance to Argument and Research.

REQUIREMENTS

1) Essay Assignments: You are required to write four 5-page essays. All paper assignments will be explained clearly in class -- in discussion and written form. 

Format for Assignments: All essays prepared out of class should be written on a computer or your laptop. Please proofread your essay carefully after it is typed and make any necessary corrections. Essays should be formatted using a standard twelve-point font such as Times New Roman. Leave 1 inch margins on the top, bottom and right borders of your text and 1.5 inch margin on the left. Double space your papers.

Folder for Assignments: All essays must be submitted in a folder with pockets and with your name on it. Keep your graded essays in the folder and turn the accumulated essays in each time an assignment is due. You will retain this folder throughout the three English classes, accumulating essays as you go. This will help you to chart your writing progress. Each quarter you will be asked to post your best essay (in your opinion) to your electronic portfolio. You and your instructors will have access to this site; it will not be open to the public for general viewing, nor can your essay be downloaded by anyone beyond you or your instructors. Posting an essay to your portfolio must occur before you may enroll in the second quarter of the First-Year English sequence. Last Date for posting is November 16, by 5 p.m.

Late Assignments: An essay's grade will drop by one-third for the first, second and third day it is late. (An A, for example, will drop to an A- after one day.) After the third day, it will no longer be accepted. 

Plagiarism: If you use another writer's words and/or ideas in your paper, acknowledge  it and cite the source in your paper. If you commit plagiarism, you will fail the paper on the first offense and you will fail the course on the second offense. Please read the Opening Doors (red book) for more details. 

 2) Editing Sheets: You are required to complete Editing Sheets for each of your papers. An error in your paper will be marked according to the notation of the Handbook (Part III) in the Opening Doors. After you have identified the problem in your handbook, you must correct your errors (please follow the Editing Policy described in the Guide, pp. 46-47) and submit the editing sheets back to me. An editing sheet for a paper is due the class period immediately following my return of your paper.

3) Reader Responses: For your critical reading and writing practice, I will ask you to write a one-page informal response to a reading assignment.

4) Attendance: Regular attendance is mandatory. If you miss more than three classes, your grade will be lowered by one full letter grade. (see Opening Doors, p. 54)

5) Conferences: You must schedule at least one conference with me during the quarter. A conference is for the purpose of discussing your writing with me in more detail than class time permits. Besides seeing me at the conference, the more often you visit me during my office hours, the more I will be able to help you individually with your paper assignments. 

 ASSIGNMENTS and GRADING:

 IMPORTANT DATES:

Last day you may drop class without a signature: October 19
Last day you may drop class with a signature: November 2
Mid-Term Exam: Thursday, October 11
Final Exam: Tuesday, November 20

 SCHEDULE OF READINGS, ASSIGNMENTS, ACTIVITIES

FINAL EXAM: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 11.00 a.m -12.50 p.m (same classroom).