English 15.3: Rhetoric and Composition Spring 2001
M 2:00-2:50, CLRC 201
W & F 2:00-2:50 Birch 108
Instructor: Assistant Professor Meg Powers Livingston
Office Hours: M-W 3-5pm, Tuesday noon-2:00, and by
appointment
Office: 126C Smith Bldg.
Mailbox: 128D Smith
Bldg. (This mailbox is where you will
drop off papers)
Phone and Voice Mail: 949-5745
E-mail: MPL10@psu.edu (by far the best way to reach me unless you
know I’m in my office)
Objectives: to help you develop the analytic, argumentative, and stylistic communication skills you need in order to engage successfully in academic, professional, and even community discourse. Accomplishing this objective will require refining your ability 1) to read carefully, 2) to think critically, and 3) to express yourself clearly and thoughtfully. As these three steps begin to indicate, writing is not just an act but also a process, one that can differ greatly among individual writers. In this course, you will be encouraged to explore a variety of approaches to writing as a means of fashioning a process that works well for you.
Required Texts and Supplies:
Cooley, Thomas, ed. The Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition. 5th ed. (Readings will be listed on the syllabus under NS)
Pfefferle, W. T. Writing That Matters: A Rhetoric for the New Classroom. Prentice-Hall, 1999. (Readings will be listed on the syllabus
under WTM)
Requirements:
Attend all scheduled classes promptly. Many in-class activities, including those that take place in the
first 5-10 minutes, cannot be made up.
More than two unexcused absences will result in failure of the
participation component of your grade; excessive absences, even if excused,
could also hurt your participation grade.
Complete all reading and writing
assignments in full and on time. I
reserve the right to give pop quizzes if non-participation leads me to suspect
that the class has not thoroughly prepared the day’s materials.
Participate actively in class
discussions and group activities.
Meet with me individually (face to
face) at least once early in the semester.
You are responsible for informing me of any situations or problems that
are interfering with your class work.
If you are struggling, TELL ME!
Post complete first drafts of four
papers to FirstClass, where your peers can read your work and respond. We will discuss this requirement more fully
in class.
Provide thorough, truthful and
constructive evaluations of your peers’ papers, also posted to FirstClass.
Turn in finished drafts, via printed
hard copy, on the assigned dates; you will receive comments and a provisional
grade in return.
Continue working on returned drafts
throughout the semester, accumulating a portfolio of work that will be given a
final grade at the end of the term.
Technological Resources:
This class will take advantage of an electronic interactive program called FirstClass. This program will allow me to post announcements, send messages, post links to helpful Internet resources, and other useful things. The program will allow you to post questions, comments, and rough drafts and then respond to each other on an asynchronous bulletin board, as well as communicate “live” in a chat room environment. We will have an in-class “hands-on” introduction to FirstClass early in the semester.
Grading: Papers = 60%, Peer evaluation=20%, Class participation, homework and quizzes = 20%
Plagiarism:
Any use of another’s words or ideas must be acknowledged by the appropriate use of quotation or parenthetical reference. For guidelines, see WTM pp. 149-153. All suspected plagiarism must be reported as a violation of the University’s Academic Integrity policy and can result in course failure and/or University expulsion. Be warned: I know how to use the web as well as you do (or better), so do not give in to the temptation to buy an online paper or to plagiarize online material, because I can and will find it. If you find yourself struggling for any reason, please talk to me and we’ll work something out.
Schedule |
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Week One |
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M 1/8 |
Meet in CLRC 201 for introduction to the course and introduction to FirstClass |
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W 1/10 |
WTM Chapter 1, “Why Write?” and NS “Introduction” and “The Writing Process” |
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F 1/12 |
NS Dillard’s “Transfiguration” and “How I Wrote the Moth Essay—and Why” |
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Week Two: Narrative Essays |
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M 1/15 |
WTM Chapters 3-5, NS “Essays in the First Person Singular” (p. 27-29) |
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W 1/17 |
Baldwin’s “Notes of a Native Son” (handout) |
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F 1/19 |
NS Mebane’s “The Back of the Bus” (37-46) and Interview (62-66) |
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Week Three |
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M 1/22 |
WTM Chapters 2 and 16 |
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W 1/24 |
Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” (handout) |
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F 1/26 |
NS Rodriguez’s “None of This is Fair” |
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Week Four |
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M 1/29 |
First draft of Paper #1 due; bring draft on disk to class; group peer evaluation process; WTM Chapter 13 |
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W 1/31 |
Kingston’s “No-Name Woman” (handout) and NS Maynard’s “Four Generations” |
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F 2/2 |
Discuss common paper problems |
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Week Five: Descriptive Essays |
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M 2/5 |
WTM Chapter 12; work on revisions in computer classroom |
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T 2/4 |
Revised version of Paper #1 due in my mailbox in Smith 126D by 2pm. |
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W 2/7 |
NS “Essays that Appeal to the Senses” (pp. 269-271), McDonalds’s “A View from the Bridge,” and Dipo’s “No Rainbows, No Roses” |
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F 2/9 |
NS Hodgman’s “No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch” |
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Week Six |
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M 2/12 |
WTM Chapters 6 and 11; work on common mistakes in first paper |
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W 2/14 |
NS Asimov’s “What Do You Call a Platypus?” |
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F 2/16 |
NS Petrunkevitch’s “The Spider and the Wasp” |
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Week Seven |
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M 2/19 |
NS Toth’s “Cinematypes” |
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W 2/21 |
NS Keillor’s “How to Write a Letter” |
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F 2/23 |
NS Woolf’s “The Death of the Moth” |
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Week Eight |
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M 2/26 |
First draft of Paper #2 due; bring draft on disk to class; group peer evaluation process |
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W 2/28 |
Tan’s “Two Kinds” (handout) and NS Tan’s “Mother Tongue” |
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F 3/2 |
NS Smiley’s “Reflections on a Lettuce Wedge” |
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Spring Break March 5-9 |
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Week Nine: Evaluative Essays |
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M 3/12 |
WTM Chapter 7; work on revisions in computer classroom |
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T 3/13 |
Revised version of Paper #2 due in my mailbox in Smith
126D by 2pm. |
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W 3/14 |
NS “Essays the Compare and Contrast” (pp. 199-201), Baker’s “A Nice Place to Visit,” Catton’s “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts” |
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F 3/16 |
NS Talbot’s “The Potato: How it Shaped the World” and Diamond’s “Who Killed Easter Island?” |
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Week Ten |
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M 3/19 |
Work on revisions in computer classroom |
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W 3/21 |
NS Davis’s “Body Imperfect” and Soto’s “Like Mexicans” |
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F 3/23 |
NS Cofer’s “More Room” and Florey’s “Ticky-Tacky” |
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Week Eleven |
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M 3/26 |
First draft of Paper #3 due; bring draft on disk to
class; group peer evaluation process |
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W 3/28 |
NS Ehrenreich’s “Maintaining the Crime Supply” |
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F 3/30 |
No Class |
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Week Twelve: Argumentative Essays |
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M 4/2 |
WTM Chapters 8 and 10; work on revisions in computer classroom |
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T 4/3 |
Revised version of Paper #3 due in my mailbox in Smith
126D by 2pm. |
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W 4/4 |
NS “Essays That Appeal to Emotion and
Ethics” (pp. 344-346) and Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” |
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F 4/6 |
NS Swift’s “Proposal,” continued |
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Week Thirteen |
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M 4/9 |
WTM Chapter 9; Work on revisions in computer classroom |
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W 4/11 |
NS Chief Seattle’s “Reply to the U.S.
Government” and Quindlen’s “The War on Drinks” |
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F 4/13 |
No Class |
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Week Fourteen |
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M 4/16 |
First draft of Paper #4 due; bring draft on disk to class; group peer evaluation process |
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W 4/18 |
NS “Essays That Appeal to Reason” (pp. 303-306), Jefferson’s “The Declaration of Independence,” and Montgomery’s “The Island of Plenty” |
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F 4/20 |
NS Wilson’s “Reasonable Search and Seizure” and Verhulst’s “Being Prepared in Suburbia” |
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Week Fifteen |
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M 4/23 |
Work on revisions in computer classroom |
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T 4/24 |
Revised version of Paper #4 due in my mailbox in Smith 126D by 2pm. |
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W 4/25 |
NS Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” |
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F 4/27 |
Work on revisions |
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W 5/2 |
No Final Exam Final Portfolio due in my mailbox in Smith 126D by 4pm. |
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[Teaching Experience]