English 101, section 15

Frandsen Hall 108, MWF 10:00 - 10:50 a.m.

Instructor:  Sean Bernard                                  Office/phone:    FH #7, 784-6689, ext. 255

Email:  sbernard@unr.edu                                 Office hours:  MWF 11-12 and by appointment

Texts and Materials:

Seeing & Writing 2, edited by D. McQuade and C. McQuade  (S&W)

The Everyday Writer, Andrea Lunsford

Been There, Done That by the UNR Core Writing Program  (BTDT)

A bound composition notebook for your writer’s notebook, & a folder to keep all assignments

Course Requirements:

4 formal essays (average length of four pages) turned in as a final portfolio

(All essays must be typed, stapled, double-spaced, and Times New Roman 12 pt. font)

Responses to the work of your fellow students & general in-class participation

Individual student conferences

Writer’s notebook

Grades:

Participation:                 50%

Final Portfolio:              50%

Participation includes early drafts of essays, all facets of peer workshops, taking part in class discussions, written responses to readings, and your writer’s notebook, which will itself include individual pre-writing assignments. The notebook is a space for you to invent ideas for essays, develop outlines or drafts, and reflect upon your writing process.  Because the notebook represents private writing, it will remain relatively untouched by me.  I will not announce when I will assess your writer’s notebook; therefore, be sure to keep up with your entries. 

The final portfolio reflects the focus of this course:  I am interested in not only the product (the final draft) but the process of how you get to that product.  As such, you should save everything you do in this course.  Your grade for the final portfolio will be an average of the grade earned on each formal essay required for the portfolio and the grade assessed to process. 

Final Exam:

There is no final exam.  However, I will be available in my office during the allocated exam time to discuss grades and/or return your portfolio.  That time is 9:45-11:45 on Friday, December 12.

Attendance/Late or Missing Work:

Because participation is integral, missing class causes not only your work but also the work of your fellow students to suffer:  your voice is needed and wanted.  Department policy allows you to miss three classes for any reason; on the fourth, I can reduce your final course grade by one letter.  If you miss six times, we’ll meet to discuss your future in the course.  Writing workshops, paper exchanges, and conferences are the most important; missing one counts as two absences. 

The Writing Center:

The Writing Center assists you with any questions on particular essays.  Their one-on-one feedback is invaluable for generating ideas, suggesting organization, and grammatical issues.  Use their services as often as you can; you are required to provide me with documentation that shows you’ve gone to the Writing Center at least once by the time your second essay is due (Oct. 10).  The Center is located in room 206 of E. J. Cain Hall (EJCH).  Call for an appointment (784-6030).  Be sure to bring specific questions and a copy of your particular assignment.

Plagiarism:

I assume this won’t be an issue, as all our writing is personal and unique; there’s no reason to write about someone else’s life, is there?  Regardless, understand that ‘plagiarism’ means using another’s words, ideas, or data as one’s own.  Avoid exact duplication of another’s work in any form:  Internet documents, someone else’s ideas, facts that are uncommon knowledge, or even paraphrases of spoken or written words.  Ignorance does not excuse plagiarism. 

(Plagiarism can result in anything from a failing grade on a paper to failure of the course.)

Conduct:

We’re all grown-ups, so this should be no problem.  But remember that university course-work requires an open exchange of ideas, with the classroom as the space of interaction.  The demonstration of mutual respect between teachers and students includes arriving and leaving class at the designated times, participating in class, and adapting to new learning styles.  Positive communication requires that we state our positions with clarity, and have disagreements with tact.  Most importantly, we must always listen carefully to one another whether or not we agree.

Students with Disabilities: 

If you have a documented disability, please let me know soon and we’ll discuss accommodations.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

Aug.     25:  Discussion of syllabus; class introductions.  Comic books (printer paper).  Notecards.

            27:  In-class writing:  Autobiography of a Reader.         

            29:  Essay 1 assigned and discussed.  Notebooks discussed.  Brainstorm topics.

Sept.     1:  No class -- Labor Day.

             3:  Reading:  “Robin Hood,” BTDT.

             5:  Reading:  “Shooting Dad,” S&W 231.  Writing Lesson 1:  Descriptive Exercise.

Sept.    8:  Reading:  “Homeless Man,” S&W 354.  In-class interviews.

            10:  Reading:  “The Skin Game,” S&W 366.

            12:  Rough Draft 1 due.  Workshop Skit.  Writing Lesson 2:  ‘Character.’

Sept.    15:  Workshop of rough drafts; letters to author due.

            17:  How to Revise (look at posters from Week 1).

            19:  On-board workshop.  WL3:  TBD/grammar.

Sept.    22:  Essay 1 due.  Essay 2 assigned:  mapping exercise.

            24:  Reading:  “Minnows & Worms,” BTDT.

            26:  Reading:  “Homeplace,” S&W 145.  WL4:  Detail.

Sept.    29:  Detail exercise:  outside.

Oct.     1:  Reading:  “Coming Home Again,” S&W 205.

             3:  Group work on Mock drafts.  WL5:  Transitions.

Oct.     6:  Rough Draft 2 due.  In-class workshop.

             8:  On-board workshop.  WL6:  TBD/grammar.

            10:  Essay 2 due.  Sign up for conferences.

Oct.     13:  Conferences -- no class.

            15:  Essay 3 assigned.  Bad Writing exercise.

            17:  Reading:  Edward Abbey’s “The Great American Desert.”  Imitation exercise.

Oct.     20:  Reading:  “Creating the Real . . . .”, S&W 391.

            22:  Reading:  “Seeing,” S&W 94.

            24:  Essay drafting.  WL7:  Claim/support.

Oct.     27:  Rough Draft 3 due.  Formulating questions for workshop.

            29:  Workshop.

            31:  No class -- Nevada Day.

Nov.    3:  Essay 3 due.  Essay 4 assigned.

             5:  Library tour.

             7:  Reconvene post-research tour.  Discuss researching.  WL 8:  MLA citation.

Nov.    10:  Reading:  “Ten Steps . . . .”, S&W 476.

            12:  Reading:  “Heroine Worship,” S&W 486.

            14:  Reading:  “The Cosmic Significance of Britney Spears,” S&W 499.  WL8:  TBD.

Nov.    17:  Rough draft 4 due.

            19:  On-board workshop; WL9.

            21:  Workshop.

Nov.    24:  Essay 4 due.  Discuss portfolio revison.

            26:  TBA.

            28:  No class -- Thanksgiving Holiday.

Dec.     1:  Conferences -- no class.

             3:  Workshop.

             5:  Workshop.

Dec.     8:  Portfolios due.

Download an RTF Version of Bernard English 101 Syllabus