The
Composition Program
English
100
English
100 Syllabus — Sample
English
100 Consent Form
English
100 and 101 — Student Memorandum
The
main goal for ENG100 is competence at the sentence
level, leading to the ability to write paragraphs.
Some professors emphasize sentences throughout
the semester, while others assign longer
writing projects and focus on sentences
in those projects. Basic grammar issues
are the single greatest problem you will
face, along with other issue associated
with being under-prepared for college writing
classes. Many student will not have sufficient
experience with the kinds of academic reading
and writing assignments that are necessary
for success in future college courses.
The
range of skills will vary, and, again, assign
writing assignments often, trying to build
those assignments from class discussions
of assigned reading. That is, try to tie
together the skills of reading, speaking,
and writing. Emphasize revision that goes
well beyond just changing a word here or
there. Encourage students to completely
rewrite sentences and paragraphs and to
experiment with different styles. Most students
will have experience writing narratives,
and many of their experiences with that
writing will be premised in their earlier
teachers praising their content but not
doing much with the writing itself. Since
ENG101 teaches narrative, process, description,
and the use of examples, you might want
to have your students move beyond narratives
after a month or so. Move toward emphasizing
how things are done, using rich descriptions,
and evidence of examples, if you opt to
have students do lengthier writing. But
remember that sentence-level competence
is your main goal. You might want to divide
grammatical and mechanical problems into
two groups: one that impairs a reader’s
comprehension, such as verb and syntax errors
and others that slow your ability to conceptualize
the main point of the writing, such as comma
problems or pronoun reference. Tackle these
issues with an eye toward correcting the
most troubling problems, and articulating
exactly where the problems lie so that students
can work independently on their writing
problems.
The
course uses a workbook, Inside Writing,
plus a reader, Point Taken: A Brief
Thematic Reader. For the fall semester,
please use both the older and newest editions
of Inside Writing.
Students
will need to be taken to the Writing Lab,
in the first or second week of class. They
must attend the Lab for 12 hours a semester.
Contact the Learning Resource Center to schedule
your first visit, after which students can
attend at their own schedule to perform
the 12 hours.
