About E110:
E110 is the writing course required of all University of Delaware students. The purpose of this course is to develop writing skills essential to success at the university level. To that end, you will clearly state and support your positions across multiple communicative platforms. This requires reading like a writer, writing like a reader, and publishing like a member of the twenty-first century.
Being in a course about composition, you are expected to compose numerous assignments while refining and demonstrating your composition skills. You should be aware that this is a college-level course; meeting minimum qualifications for assignments results in a minimum passing grade. If you strive to achieve an A or B, you must rise above general expectations.
The course aligns with the goals put forth by the University of Delaware, which are found here: E110 Course Goals and Practices.
Course Overview:
You will develop essential writing skills and confidence in your composition, as will be called upon repeatedly for success in college and beyond. You will establish a strong understanding of rhetorical choices, calling upon examples from your past American Literature and present British Literature courses to illustrate. Texts produced through this course will include thoughtful rhetorical choices, some of which must be justified through annotation.
This course requires you to employ the writing process. We will emphasize revision and grow to understand its true value. You will write across multiple genres, including expository, informative, persuasive, analytic, and narrative pieces. Publication media will vary, ranging from printed essays to blog posts to dynamic presentations to videos.
Readings:
- Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (Third Edition). New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2014. ISBN-13: 978-0393935844.
- Greene, Stuart, and April Lidinsky. From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader (Third Edition). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014. ISBN-13: 978-1457653445.
- Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist.
Writing Projects:
MP1: Journeys (photo essay, expository paper)
Think of all of the journeys that a person or group could possibly take, ranging from metaphorical journeys to religious journeys to exploration journeys. The first marking period focuses on journeys: why people take them, why they are necessary, and how humankind has benefited from various journeys. You may even think of this course as a writing journey of sorts.
The marking period begins by reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and “Eternal Frontier” by Louis L’Amour. These two texts focus on very different journeys, exploring why those journeys are important to all who read about them. We will look closely at the role of purpose and audience in these pieces so that those two aspects become essential considerations every time you compose. I will require you to post a link to a relevant article on our blog and write a response to that article. Then you will comment on two of your classmates’ responses. You will respond to journey and writing related questions in your E-journal throughout the marking period. Next, you will consider a journey that you have taken or one that someone you admire has taken. I will ask you to document that journey in a photo essay with captions that tell the story and explain what was learned. Throughout the marking period, you will write blog entries and comments, and respond to thought-provoking questions about your writing journey in your E-journal. As we progress through the marking period, you will begin considering a historical journey that someone has taken. It could be long or short; it could be religious; it could be driven by the need for expansion, etc. I will ask you to research that journey. As part of that research process, you will create a document bank of journey articles and resources to share with your classmates. In it, you must include citation information, physical location, and annotation. Nowhere does it say that research is solitary; instead, we will allow collaboration to further explore the countless sources that exist. The marking period culminates with the composition of an expository paper explaining your chosen journey, why it was important, and how humans or humankind benefited.
- Read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
- Read “Eternal Frontier” by Louis L’Amour. https://re048.k12.sd.us/The%20Eternal%20Frontier.htm
- E-Journal: Why take journeys? Two more journal questions will follow.
- Blog: post a link to an article about a journey; write a 300-word response to the journey.
- Comment: compose two 200 word comments to classmates’ links and responses
- Photo-essay of a journey taken by you or someone meaningful to you
- Contribute at least three sources to a document bank of journey articles and resources.
- Journeys expository paper due 11/1/16. This will be completed in steps throughout the marking period: working drafts, peer editing, revisions, final draft.
MP2: Taking Care (social or environmental expository essay, research paper and service project publication)
“If you want to learn about the health of a population, look at the air they breath, the water they drink, and the places where they live.” – Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, in the Fifth Century B.C.
Once the journey has concluded, the next step is to take care of this new place in which we find ourselves. The same is true of your writing. During this marking period, our focus will be on thesis development, research skills, and methods of incorporating data. We will continue our attention to purpose and audience. You will also continue to post and comment on the blog and write responses in your E-journal. The second marking period focuses on how we take care of those things that are important to us once we have made the journey. This marking period centers on human ecology, which is the study of humans in their environment. We begin with “Message from the Dean” by Alan Mathios, and from this speech, we will generate a list of social or environmental issues that need care. I will ask you to read about a variety of these issues. You will choose one and write an expository piece illuminating the problem. Again, you will create a document bank to help yourself and your classmates. You will study that issue and synthesize possible solutions. As part of your study, you will become involved with the solution through community service. You should keep a journal of your experiences during your service hours. This volunteerism also serves as primary research, for you will learn much more through being hands on experience. Ultimately at the end of the marking period, you will have written an expository essay illuminating an issue and then expanded it into a research that also addresses possible solutions for the problem. In the fourth marking period, you will revisit this essay and remediate the paper in a digital format other than PowerPoint.
- E-Journal: For what/whom do we need to care?
- Blog: post a link to a speech about taking care; write a 300-word response to the speaker’s opinion.
- Comment: compose two 200 word comments to classmates’ links and responses
- Read Mathios, Alan. “Message from the Dean.” Human Ecology2 (2015): 2. Student Resources in Context. Web. 29 June 2016.
- Create a document bank of at least three human ecology articles and resources. Include citation information, physical location, and annotation.
- Expository piece: present a social or environmental issue. This will be completed in steps throughout the marking period: working drafts, peer editing, revisions, final draft.
- Begin community service related to chosen issue and record experiences in a journal (ten hours required by the end of marking period three)
- Human Ecology research essay: issue plus solution due 1/6/17. This will be completed in steps throughout the marking period: working drafts, peer editing, revisions, final draft.
MP3: Adapting (interview transcript, persuasive essay, revised journey paper)
The third marking period emphasizes how humankind has changed and adapted as we have learned and solved issues that surround us. You can look at your writing through the same lens. What has changed as you (or the human race) have grown and learned?
We will continue our attention to purpose and audience. You will also continue to post and comment on the blog and write responses in your E-journal. The unique skill to master this marking period and the next is using rhetorical devices and understanding of the audience in order to adapt your message and persuade. We will begin by reading about the industrial revolution and the gilded age, spotlighting how technological growth changed the world. Together we will brainstorm a list of major social and technological advances of the last century. We will explore how they are interrelated. You will interview someone over the age of 40 to piece together a picture of the world well before everyone had cell phones, and you will write a transcript of that interview. Next we will read George Monbiot’s “Our Ecological Boredom” and take a position about which way of life offers the most benefits. Next, you will write a persuasive piece advocating for either way of life: pre-technological or modern technological. Please use information from your interview to support your position. In the next step, you will revisit your journeys paper from the first marking period and, having considered the importance of technology in our lives, revise it to include the role of technology in the journey. Throughout our discussion of technology, we will explore how presentation of information has changed and create suggestions for the long-term project of remediating the Human Ecology essay, which is due in the fourth marking period.
- E-Journal: What is important in today’s world?
- Blog: post a link to a scholarly article or editorial about priorities either nationally or globally today; write a 300-word response to the speaker’s opinion.
- Comment: compose two 200 word comments to classmates’ links and responses
- E-Journal: post a link to an article about how technology was intended to make life easier. Respond to that article with a 300 word response.
- Interview transcript.
- Read Monbiot, George. “Our Ecological Boredom.” New York Times 19 Jan. 2015: NA(L). Student Resources in Context. Web. 29 June 2016.
- Persuasive essay: pre-technology or technology. This will be completed in steps: working drafts, peer editing, revisions, final draft.
- Revisit Journey’s research. Analyze the paper: thesis, support, conclusion. Revise to incorporate the role technology has played in journeys.
- Conclude community service from Human Ecology essay.
- Long term: remediate Human Ecology research essay—due May 25 MP4 grade. Be sure to incorporate new support garnered from service hours.
MP4: Great Leaders (analytical essay, human ecology essay oral presentation, remediated project, reflection)
The final marking period draws attention to the need for great leaders—whether we are referencing composition or life. Once our journeys are finished, we have settled down, and we have begun to learn and grow, we need leaders to guide and protect us. A person’s air of authority combined with his or her persuasive abilities tend to factor into a leader’s effectiveness. Audience and purpose are especially important in this marking period, as is the understanding of the rhetorical situation.
We will begin the marking period by listing what makes a great leader and then revisiting a piece you read last year—Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”—and identifying the devices he employed to appeal to his audience. You will employ the E-Journal and the blog, writing responses to each other. I will ask you to research a great leader. We will again use the document bank for everyone’s benefit. In history, we do not usually read about personalities, but you will learn what one of our great leaders was like as a person; you will write an annotated bibliography; and you will respond in your E-Journal. Then, since we have recently experienced an election, you will consider logos, pathos, ethos, and rhetorical devices to analyze the ad campaign of one of the candidates. Next, you will take another look at your Human Ecology research paper and consider the role of leaders in the problem and the solution. Who is, can, or should lead, and what he or she can do to help the cause? You will present your findings as a speech. Then, you will present your remediated Human Ecology project to demonstrate your understanding of the digital age into which we have moved. Finally, you will write an E-Journal reflection on your writing strengths and weaknesses, emphasizing the growth you have seen in your work throughout this course.
- E-Journal: What makes a great leader?
- Blog: post a link to a great leader’s speech; write a 300-word response to the speaker’s opinion. Resource: http://millercenter.org/president/speeches#obama
- Comment: compose two 200 word comments to classmates’ links and responses
- Create a document bank of at least three leadership articles and resources. Include citation information, physical location, and annotation.
- E-Journal: Great Leaders: pros and cons of “great leaders” with a focus on personalities
- Analytical essay re: political campaign current or past. This will be completed in steps throughout the marking period: working drafts, peer editing, revisions, final draft.
- Revisit Human Ecology research paper: revise to include the role of a leader. Who would that be? What qualities? What interests? Speech.
- Long term Remediated project due 5/25
- E-Journal course reflection
Course Policies:
Grades will be calculated using a points system. Assignments will range in value from 25 to 200 points, depending upon the degree of difficulty and the amount of work involved.
Attendance is mandatory. Understandable excused absences for serious illnesses will be taken into consideration. Remember, however, that this is a college level course, and you are responsible for communicating to me in advance that you will miss class. For example, if you wake up ill, you must be responsible and contact me via email before class begins. Make an appointment to meet with me as soon as you return to school. You are accountable for the work both done and due when you are absent.
Academic honesty is extremely important. All work that you submit must be your own. Any ideas taken from others must be properly cited. Academic dishonesty has lasting and irrevocable devastating effects on your grade. Do not plagiarize in any sense. Plagiarized assignments result in a level II detention and receive a score of zero. They cannot be rewritten for credit.
Communication happens often. I will email you on a regular basis as I look through your work and make comments. You must check your email every day and respond to emails I send you with acknowledgement that you understand the message I have sent you.
Timeliness: You are expected to submit your work according to the assigned deadlines. Late work will lose points: 25% for one day late; 50% for two days late; zero points earned thereafter. If you are not able to complete an assignment on time, you must email me at least 24 hours before the assignment is due.
Involvement: You will peer review other student’s assignments. This is to be taken very seriously as an important part of the writing process. If you wish to receive feedback from me before the final due date, you must make an appointment and follow conference guidelines. Because revision is such an important part of the writing process, you must revise assignments after receiving feedback. Unrevised assignments will not be accepted.
Conference Guidelines: When you request conferences, you must come to the meeting prepared. First, your paper must have been peer edited at least once before you ask me to look at it. Then, you must annotate your paper in advance, marking your specific concerns. Any student who comes to a conference with an unedited, unmarked paper will be sent away to meet these requirements before being granted a new conference time.
The course aligns with the policies put forth by the University of Delaware, which are found here: E110 Course Policies.
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