English 101—English Composition I

COURSE HANDBOOK

Handbook for a Computer-Assisted Course

in English Composition

by

Tim Kelley, Debbie Benson, and Michael Patrick McClung

with help from Elizabeth Gardiner, Virginia Curtis, Ginger Long,

Marcia Nesbitt, Carol Thornton, and Linda Vaughn

and technical assistance from Marsha Oliver and April Cookson

revised by Tim Kelley, 2003, 2004

Copyright © 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1988

by

Northwest Alabama State Junior College

Phil Campbell and Tuscumbia, Alabama

Copyright © 1990, 1991, 1992

by

Northwest Alabama Community College

Phil Campbell and Hamilton, Alabama

Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2004

By

Northwest-Shoals Community College

Phil Campbell and Muscle Shoals, Alabama

                Some materials in this handbook were originally prepared as parts of two different courses--English 103 and English 104, Freshman Composition I and II--in 1984.  Members of the English Department have revised the handbook several times since then.  Colleagues contributing to previous editions include Tim Kelley, Elizabeth Gardiner, Stewart Phillips, Ruth Palmer, Charles Smith, James Bulman, Howard Hamrick, Dorothy Phillips, Charles R. Simmons, and Pauline Wheeler.  Assistance from funds provided by the U. S. Department of Education (Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended) has enabled the Northwest Alabama State Junior College, Northwest Alabama Community College, and Northwest-Shoals Community College faculty to develop, modify and improve this course.

CONTENTS

The Purpose of English 101--English Composition I

Skills You Will Achieve in English 101

Books and Materials Required for English 101

Student Responsibilities in English 101

            Class Attendance

            Classroom Environment

            Extra Laboratory Sessions

            Completing Assignments

            Academic Honesty

            Rewriting or Revising--Part of Every Writer's Work           

Evaluation and Grading in English 101

            Note Concerning Course Grades

            Characteristics of an "A" Essay

            Characteristics of a "B" Essay

            Characteristics of a "C" Essay

            Comments about Essay Grading

Unit 1:  Introduction to English 101: Books and Computers

Unit 2:  Introduction to Expository Writing

Unit 3: Prewriting, Topics, and The Writer’s Purpose

Unit 4: Prewriting and Planning

Unit 5:  Writing

Unit 6:  Revising

Unit 7:  Editing and Proofreading

Unit 8:  Organizing by Description

Unit 9: Organizing by Narration

Unit 10: Organizing by Process Analysis

Unit 11: Organizing by Definition

Unit 12: Organizing by Comparison and Contrast

Unit 13: Organizing by Division and Classification

Unit 14: Organizing by Cause and Effect

Unit 15: Organizing by Argumentation

Unit 16: Writing a Research Paper

Unit 17: Critical Reading and Writing about Literature

Unit 18: Writing a Résumé and Cover Letter

Appendix A:  Grading Scales in English 101

·        The Traditional Grading Scale 

·        The Eight-Goal (100 Point) Grading Scale

·        The Four Steps (100 Point) Grading Scale

·        Other Grading Scales

Appendix B:  File Names for Saving Essays in English 101

Appendix C: Novels and Non-Fiction Books Used in English 101

The Purpose of English 101

            In the "real world," people use words to get things done: to make a point, to clarify information, to convince other people to do something. As a class designed to teach students to write good, strong essays, English 101 focuses on words and how to use them. In this course, you will develop competence in the communication skills college students and professional men and women are most often expected to demonstrate, whether they're explaining information or motivating their audience. 

           Competence in the use of language will certainly help you find and maintain your place in the working world. Management expert Peter Drucker even claims, "As soon as you move one step up from the bottom, your effectiveness depends on your ability to reach others through the spoken or written word."  Among other things, Drucker means competence in language increases your chances of getting a good job and being promoted on that job.

            But language ability also has much broader applications. For example, many skills necessary for good writing—such as questioning, observing, gathering information, organizing ideas, and deciding what you can or cannot use to achieve your own purposes—can easily be recognized as basic equipment for living.  The processes of learning to write well can help you develop these kinds of competence.

Skills You Will Achieve in English 101

            Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to write impromptu expository essays containing an introductory paragraph with a precise, restricted thesis or main point; two or more fully developed body paragraphs in support of that thesis; and a satisfactory conclusion.  You will have shown that you can use the computer effectively to help you become increasingly competent in thinking and writing.  Finally, you will have shown that you can apply basic skills to some specialized writing tasks.  Your essays will demonstrate your increasing proficiency in a number of important steps in expository writing.

            To complete English 101 with a satisfactory grade, you must demonstrate the following skills:

1. You will demonstrate skills in following prewriting procedures to conceive ideas about a topic for the purpose of writing about that topic. 

2. You will demonstrate skills in selecting and stating ideas so that one main idea emerges as a well-formulated thesis or controlling idea for an expository essay.

3. You will demonstrate skills in selecting and producing adequate specific evidence—supporting ideas, examples, and explanations—in support of a thesis.

4. You will demonstrate skills in selecting and arranging ideas and supporting evidence in logical, coherent patterns.  These skills will be evident in the essay as a whole, as well as in each paragraph.

5. You will demonstrate skills in writing clear Standard English sentences with conventional sentence structures, verb forms, punctuation, capitalization, possessives, plural forms, and other mechanics.

6. You will demonstrate skills in choosing exact, appropriate words to express your meanings, and in spelling those words correctly.

7. You will demonstrate skills in beginning and ending your essays with effective introductory and concluding paragraphs.

8. You will demonstrate skills in selecting an appropriate method of development, such as description, narration, process analysis, example, definition, comparison and contrast, argument and persuasion, division and classification, and cause and effect.

9. The total number of essays to be written by a student in this class will be eight or more. In addition to writing essays using at least three of the methods of development detailed above, you will demonstrate skills in writing two critical essays on literature and at least one essay which requires research skills and demonstrates correct documentation procedures. You may also write an effective résumé and job application letter.

10. You will demonstrate skills in improving your own essays by proofreading, referring to appropriate handbook sections, revising, restructuring, correcting errors, and rewriting using the Microsoft Word software program and an PC.

11. As a way of improving your ability to make effective use of the computer in writing, you will demonstrate your ability to use basic computer commands in Microsoft Word. You will learn to Save documents to multiple disks, to Retrieve those documents, and to use such features as Cut, Paste, Center, Spell Check, and Word Count. You will also make use of the computer to access this handbook and other portions of the English Department Website for information and models to improve your writing.

12. You will demonstrate your ability to read assigned essays and novels effectively and critically, identifying main ideas, organizational patterns, settings, themes, events, characters and conflicts.

13. You will demonstrate your acquaintance with basic library tools, write at least one essay in which you integrate results of your own research, and correctly employ the MLA documentation format. 

            Bear in mind, as you demonstrate these skills, that competence is more than an accumulation of necessary skills.  To be a competent writer, you must achieve an effective synthesis or blending of all the skills you have learned.  Above all, competence requires a consistently responsible application of your full range of writing skills.

Books and Materials Required in English 101

  Also Recommended for English 101

Your Responsibilities as a Student in English 101

            In English 101 you will be responsible for attending classes and writing laboratories, for paying attention and participating in class and writing laboratories, and for completing all assignments on time.  You are expected to do your own work and to maintain strict honesty.

Class Attendance

            You should attend all classes as scheduled. Inform your instructor if you cannot meet any class as scheduled, and determine whether it will be possible to schedule a make-up class. Every minute of every class and every writing laboratory is important. Be in the classroom ready to begin when each class starts. More than six absences (or four in the summer term) may cause a student to fail English 101. Frequent absence or tardiness will certainly lower your grade.

Classroom Environment

            Take pride in keeping the classroom and laboratory clean and orderly. Food, drinks and tobacco are prohibited in classrooms at Northwest-Shoals Community College. Food and drinks should never be taken near a computer. Cell phones, beepers, and alarms are disruptive; they should be turned off before coming to class.

Extra Laboratory Sessions

            Essays will be completed in a laboratory setting with the instructor present or a laboratory assistant supervising. Extra laboratory sessions may not be assigned to make up unexcused absences.

Completing Assignments 

            Your instructor will provide you a schedule of assignments or course syllabus. If you lose your copy, request a replacement copy from your instructor. If the course syllabus is also accessible through the English Department Website, your instructor will inform you. This schedule will tell you which assignments you are to complete and when you should complete them. Much of your laboratory time will be spent in actual writing, revising, and rewriting. You will usually also have assignments to complete between classes and laboratories. Expect to devote about six hours per week to reading and to completing assigned exercises outside the classroom and laboratory. Remember that discussions and activities in the classroom and the laboratory will assume that you have already completed all assignments outside class. Unless you complete assignments on time, you cannot possibly get full benefit from this course.

            In registering for this course, you made a commitment to yourself, your classmates and your instructor. Unless you complete all coursework conscientiously, you are not really "taking" the course; you are only following along behind classmates who are taking the course.  

            This point cannot be made too strongly: as a student in English 101, you are responsible for completing 100% of the course assignments, and for completing them on time. 

Academic Honesty

            Students in English 101 are expected to be completely honest. There are both fair and unfair ways to receive assistance from others. While you should want to learn from others, there is a difference between receiving assistance from someone else and submitting the work of another person as your own work. You should become familiar with what constitutes academic dishonesty and understand the consequences of plagiarism (using the work of another without giving proper credit) and of cheating. Students guilty of blatant plagiarism will receive a zero for the assignment and an "F" for the class; they may be reported to the Dean for further disciplinary action.

Rewriting or Revising—Part of Every Writer's Work 

            You will be permitted, and may be required, to rewrite some essays, especially if your first version is a poor one. The higher grade will be counted in determining your average grade in English 101; therefore, it is to your immediate advantage to rewrite seriously. Your computer disk will enable you to trace your essay scores, weaknesses and errors.

Evaluation and Grading in English 101

            You will demonstrate your writing skills through a series of at least eight essays, or major writing assignments. Most of these essays will be written on the computer using Microsoft Word in a supervised writing laboratory, with your instructor present. Each essay assignment will require you to select a subject from a list supplied by your instructor at the beginning of a laboratory period. Your instructor will collect your disks and may grade your essay on the disk. You may be permitted to rewrite some of your essays as a way of improving your skills and your grade.

            Your instructor reserves the right to substitute several shorter writing assignments for one of the essays, if in the instructor's opinion this will help to develop the skills of one or more students, or of the class as a whole, more rapidly and effectively than the normal essay assignments.

            Your instructor will choose one of the grading scales (found in Appendix A of this handbook) for use in your course, or will supply you with an equivalent grading scale to be used in evaluating your essays.

            You should study the grading scale carefully. A grade of 90 or higher is considered an "A"; a grade of 80 to 89 is considered a "B"; and so on. A grade of 60 is the minimum passing grade, and a grade of 70—the lowest possible "C"—is the minimum satisfactory grade. You cannot progress into English 102 or Speech 107 without at least a "C" for the course.

Note Concerning Course Grades

            NOTE:  To achieve a grade of "B" or "A" in English 101, a student MUST have grades of "B" or higher on at least five of the eight essays assigned in this course. To achieve a grade of "C" in English 101, a student MUST have grades of "C" or higher on at least five of the eight essays assigned in this course. To be awarded any grade, a student must complete the final examination essay. To progress to English 102 or Speech 107, a student must complete English 101 with a grade of “C” or above.

Characteristics of an "A" Essay

An "A" essay

Characteristics of a "B" Essay

A "B" essay

Characteristics of a "C" Essay

A "C" essay

Comments about Essay Grading

            Even though your essay may be excellent in some or even most areas (ideas, or organization and coherence, or English grammar and mechanics, for example), do not expect a grade of "A" or "B" if the essay has one or more areas of great weakness. The “A” or “B” essay will demonstrate the writer’s control of virtually every aspect of the assignment.

            The following are considered MAJOR OR SERIOUS ERRORS, and even one or two instances of such errors will lower an essay grade considerably: 

            Relatively minor errors, such as misspellings, errors in capitalization, an omitted or an unnecessary comma, or a misplaced quotation mark, will lower your grade; an essay with many errors will not receive a high grade, no matter how strong it may be otherwise.

            Plagiarism, the unacknowledged use of someone else’s work, is a type of academic dishonesty. In most cases of plagiarism, the student receives a grade of “zero” for the assignment in question and an “F” for the course. In some cases the student is expelled from the college.

            Both The College Writer and Microsoft Word have handbooks to help you learn to avoid mechanical and grammatical errors, and to correct errors.

UNIT 1:  INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH 101: BOOKS AND COMPUTERS

Objectives:  

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Correctly identify the basic requirements for the course.

2. List the books, computer materials, and other supplies to be used in the course.

3. Turn on the computer and access Microsoft Word.

4. Create a simple document on Microsoft Word and perform basic editing tasks. 

5. Using Microsoft Word, save a document on a document diskette.

6. Retrieve a Microsoft Word document from a document diskette.

7. Use the computer to access the English Department Website and this handbook.

Activities:

1. Read "An Introduction to English 101," in this handbook.

2. Attend class and pay attention as your instructor reviews and amplifies the course requirements. Ask questions about anything you do not understand.

3. Complete any test or diagnostic writing assignment assigned by your instructor.

4. Remain aware throughout the course of the need to discuss with your instructor and classmates any  information you do not thoroughly understand. 

5. Attend class in the computer lab, and pay attention as your instructor demonstrates and explains basic principles for using the computer and Microsoft Word to create, edit, retrieve, and store documents.

6. Follow your instructor's directions for completing basic practice exercises using the computer and Microsoft Word.

7. Refer to, study, and ask questions about additional features of Microsoft Word as you need to use the various editing and special features. The help features in the Microsoft Word program, your instructor, and other students will be available throughout the course as you continue to learn and use the computer to help you write.

8. Follow your instructor's directions for accessing the English Department Website.  Note whether your instructor has a webpage and links to the syllabus for this course. Also note the methods for emailing faculty, for using the composition links, and for accessing this handbook.

UNIT 2:  INTRODUCTION TO EXPOSITORY WRITING

Objectives:  

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Correctly identify the different parts of a standard college essay.

2. Have an overview of the essay-writing process.

3. Write a first draft of a standard college essay supporting a main point or thesis.

Activities:

1. Read "One Writer's Process," in The College Writer, pages 95-130, completing all activities as assigned by your instructor.

2. Read selections from The College Writer and The Riverside Reader, as assigned by your instructor, completing all exercises and writing assignments. Your instructor will tell you if you are to turn in these assignments.

3. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the relationships between point and support in an essay.

4. Write an expository essay containing a main point, supporting points, and supporting details. Your instructor will provide subjects and directions for writing this essay.

NOTE:  Your instructor will decide, based upon your progress and the progress of other students in your class, when you are to write essays to be submitted for grading. Essay submissions may or may not coincide with the completion of units in this course.

UNIT 3:  PREWRITING, TOPICS, AND THE WRITER’S PURPOSE

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Describe the function of prewriting as a step in the writing process.

2. Develop a set of individual strategies for generating ideas about a topic for the purpose of writing an expository essay.

3. Begin making appropriate choices in reference to the purpose, subject, and audience for a writing project.

4. Experiment with such prewriting or planning strategies as keeping a journal, freewriting, listing, questioning, clustering, and reading.

5. Limit a topic for the purpose of writing a thesis statement.

Activities:

1. Read "Getting Started," in The College Writer, pages 27-38, completing all activities as assigned by your instructor. Determine whether your instructor expects you to submit these activities as daily assignments, or simply to complete the activities for your own benefit.

2. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the activities from The College Writer related to development of a clear statement of a main idea.

3. Read essays in The College Writer and The Riverside Reader, as assigned by your instructor. Clarify the purpose and evaluate the effectiveness of the thesis statement in each essay, and identify major supporting points for each thesis.

4. If assigned by your instructor, use a variety of prewriting or planning strategies to arrive at a suitable essay topic and purpose.

5. As you complete this unit, your instructor may ask you to write an expository essay containing a main point, supporting points, and supporting details. Your instructor will provide subjects if you are required to write this essay.

UNIT 4:  PREWRITING AND PLANNING

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Write a rough draft thesis statement for a short expository essay.

2. Distinguish a workable thesis statement from poorly formulated ones which are vague, imprecise, incomplete or unrestricted.

3. Develop a more restricted, unified, and precise thesis.

4. Develop a basic list, a topic or sentence outline, or a graphic organizer to organize your essays.

Activities:

1. Read "Planning" in The College Writer, pages 39-48, completing all activities as assigned by your instructor.  

2. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the relationships among prewriting, writing, and rewriting or revising.

3. Complete any other prewriting activities assigned by your instructor.

3. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the activities from The College Writer and The Riverside Reader and of the organization and supporting evidence in assigned essays.

4. Write one or more outlines, as assigned by your instructor.

5. As you complete this unit, your instructor may ask you to write an expository essay containing a main point, supporting points, and supporting details. Your instructor will provide subjects if you are required to write this essay.

UNIT 5:  WRITING

Objectives:  

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Write a first draft of an essay that develops and supports a thesis with specific detail.

2. Develop strong introductory, supporting, transitional, and concluding paragraphs.

Activities:

1. Read "Drafting,” pages 49-58 in The College Writer, completing all activities as assigned by your instructor. You may be asked to submit these activities to your instructor for evaluation.

2. Read essays in The College Writer and The Riverside Reader, as assigned by your instructor. Evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of the organization and support in providing clear development of a thesis.

3. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the activities from The College Writer and The Riverside Reader and of the organization and supporting evidence in assigned essays.

4. Write one or more outlines, as assigned by your instructor.

5. As you complete this unit, your instructor may ask you to write an expository essay containing a main point, supporting points, and supporting details. Your instructor will provide subjects if you are required to write this essay.

UNIT 6:  REVISING

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Revise your presentation of your main point, supporting points, and supporting examples and details.

2. Understand the importance of unity (advancing a single point and sticking to that point) as a standard of effective writing.

3. Understand the importance of support (providing specific evidence) as a standard for making a unified essay more effective.

4. Understand the importance of coherence (providing clear and logical organization) for making a unified, well-supported essay more effective.

5. Identify weaknesses (in sample paragraphs) in unity, support, and coherence.

6. Recognize strengths (in sample paragraphs) of unity, support, and coherence.

7. Apply some of the techniques you study in this unit, to produce unity, support, and coherence in your own writing.

Activities:

1. Read "Revising,” pages 59-76 in The College Writer, completing all activities as assigned by your instructor. You may be asked to submit these activities to your instructor for evaluation.

2. Read essays in The College Writer and The Riverside Reader, as assigned by your instructor. Evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of topical paragraphs in providing supporting evidence for topic sentences and thesis statements in these essays.

3. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the activities from The College Writer and The Riverside Reader, and of the organization and supporting evidence in assigned essays.

4. As you complete this unit, your instructor may ask you to write an expository essay containing a main point, supporting points, and supporting details. Be sure that your essays satisfy the criteria of unity, support, and coherence. Your instructor will provide subjects if you are required to write this essay.

5. In newspapers, books, or magazines, find examples of writing which is unified, well-supported, and coherent. Bring one or more examples to class for discussion with classmates and your instructor.

UNIT 7:  EDITING AND PROOFREADING

Objectives:  

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Recognize the advantages of looking on the first version of your essay as a draft that can probably be improved by proofreading and editing.

2. Become a more critical reader of your own writing, with the capability of identifying portions of an essay that badly need revision or rewriting, and also of identifying portions of an essay that would benefit from revision or rewriting.

3. Apply editing skills to your own writing, considering how changes in your sentences, diction, tone, and style will help to accomplish your purpose.

4. Recognize basic components of English grammar such as subjects, verbs and verbals (participles and  infinitives), objects, complements, modifiers, and conjunctions.

5. Recognize and avoid such problems as sentence fragments, fused or run-on sentences, comma splices, lack of agreement in subject and verb or pronoun and antecedent, shifts in tense, vague pronoun reference, and problems with case.

6. Recognize ways writers may expand simple sentence patterns.

7. Recognize writing that is weakened by biased language or  by use of jargon and clichés and revise it to express your purpose more appropriately and effectively.

8. Recognize other key elements in English sentence structures.

9. Apply sentence skills in revising your own essays so that your sentences are clear and mechanically correct.

10. Apply sentence skills in revising your own essays so that your sentences provide intended emphasis.

11. Learn to use the help features of Microsoft Word, including the spelling features to assist in revising, editing, and proofreading.

Activities:

1. Read "Editing and Proofreading” in The College Writer, pages 77-88, completing all activities in a form assigned by your instructor. 

2. Read "Submitting” in  The College Writer, pages 89-92, completing all activities in a form assigned by your instructor. 

3. Read through any of the Handbook Chapters 35-40 in The College Writer, pages 573-650, which deal with problems you are experiencing in your writing. Your instructor will be able to suggest appropriate sections.

4. Carefully revise and rewrite two or more of your own essays.

5. Meet with your instructor in a scheduled conference to discuss how you may be able to improve your writing.

6. Participate with your instructor and your classmates in discussions of the above sections in The College Writer. If there are any other sentence skills causing you particular problems, ask your instructor to include them in your discussions.

7. From newspapers, books, or magazines, locate several sentences you believe to be highly effective in accomplishing the writers' purposes. Bring these examples to class.  With your instructor and classmates, analyze these sentences to identify the sentence skills used by the writers.

NOTE:  Some students need to spend several hours per week for two, three, or more weeks to improve sentence skills. Since you will apply these skills in all your writing throughout college and your career, you should make this investment in your future NOW.  English 101 is the course intended to help you begin a lifetime of developing these skills.  However, many students need much more practice in developing sentence skills than English 101 provides. If you need some professional assistance beyond that provided in English 101, but cannot enroll in communication skills classes, you may go to the communication skills laboratory for assistance.  This assistance must be scheduled with the laboratory personnel. Ask the laboratory director to arrange a schedule for you to receive assistance.

UNIT 8: ORGANIZING BY DESCRIPTION

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Define descriptive writing.

2. List and explain some basic principles of descriptive writing.

3. Identify samples of descriptive writing.

4. Distinguish effective from ineffective versions of descriptive paragraphs or essays.

5. Write an effective paragraph of description.

6. Use description effectively in the composition of one or more essays.

Activities:

1. Read "Personal Description," in The College Writer, pages 163-180, completing all exercises.

2. Read “Narration and Description,” in The Riverside Reader, pages 21-90, or at least two other essays, as assigned by your instructor.

3. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the activities from the above pages in The College Writer and The Riverside Reader.

4. Write one or more additional descriptive paragraphs or a descriptive essay, as required by your instructor. Your instructor will provide or select subjects if you are required to write descriptions at this time.

5. Use strategies suggested by your instructor and by Trimmer to incorporate effective description into your essays whenever this would improve your essays.

UNIT 9: ORGANIZING BY NARRATION

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Define narrative writing.

2. List and explain some basic principles of narrative writing.

3. Identify samples of narrative writing.

4. Distinguish effective from ineffective versions of narrative paragraphs or essays.

5. Write one or more effective paragraphs of narration.

6. Use narration effectively in the composition of one or more essays.

7. Correctly write and punctuate dialogue.

8. Maintain a consistent point of view in a sample of narrative writing.

9. Write effectively paced narrative paragraphs that use summary and scene.

10. Correctly integrate setting with other elements in narrative writing.

Activities:

1. Read "Personal Narrative,” in The College Writer, pages 135-48, completing all exercises as assigned by your instructor

2. Read "Personal Reflection,” in The College Writer, pages 149-62, completing all exercises as assigned by your instructor

3. Read “Narration and Description,” in The Riverside Reader, pages 21-90, or at least two other essays, as assigned by your instructor.

4. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the activities from the above pages in The College Writer.

5. Write one or more additional narrative paragraphs or a narrative essay if required by your instructor. Your instructor will provide or select subjects if you are required to write narratives at this time.

6. Use strategies suggested by your instructor and by Trimmer to incorporate effective narration into your essays whenever this would improve your essays.

UNIT 10: ORGANIZING BY PROCESS ANALYSIS

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Define process analysis and list different types of process writing.

2. List and explain some basic principles of process writing.

3. Identify samples of process writing.

4. Distinguish effective versions of paragraphs or essays developed through process analysis from versions which are ineffective because of failure to maintain a logical or chronological sequence or because of failure to provide necessary explanation of steps in the process.

5. Write a clear, effective explanation of a process.

Activities:

1. Read "Process Writing," in The College Writer, pages 221-34, completing all exercises in forms assigned by your instructor

2. Read “Process Analysis,” in The Riverside Reader, pages 91-159, or at least two other essays, as assigned by your instructor.

3. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the activities from your textbook.

4. If requested by your instructor, find examples of effective process writing in newspapers, magazines or books. Copy especially effective sections from these examples and bring them to class. Share them with classmates or show them to your instructor.

5. Write an explanation of a process. The textbook contains suggested subjects; however, your instructor may suggest different or additional subjects and may provide special instructions for this assignment.

6. Use strategies suggested by your instructor and by your textbooks to incorporate process analysis effectively into your essays.

UNIT 11:  ORGANIZING BY DEFINITION

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Explain basic procedures in the process of definition.

2. Recognize examples of extended definition in writing.

3. Write concise definitions.

4. Write an extended definition.

Activities:

1. Read "Definition," in The College Writer, pages 235-50, completing all exercises activities in forms assigned by your instructor.

2. Read “Definition,” in The Riverside Reader, pages 325-82, or at least two other essays, as assigned by your instructor.

3. Read any other definitions assigned by your instructor.

4. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the activities from the above pages and from other materials you have studied, related to essays developed by definition.

5. As you complete this unit, your instructor may ask you to write one or more definitions. Your instructor will provide or select subjects if you are required to write definitions at this time.

UNIT 12: ORGANIZING BY COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Distinguish paragraphs with ideas and supporting evidence arranged in logical, coherent patterns, from paragraphs with no logical, coherent organization.

2. Recognize essays developed by comparison and contrast.

3. Write an essay developed by comparison and contrast.

Activities:

1. Read "Comparison and Contrast,” in The College Writer, pages 195-208, completing all exercises in forms assigned by your instructor

2. Read “Comparison and Contrast, "  in The Riverside Reader, pages 161-237, or at least two other essays, as assigned by your instructor.

3. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the activities from your textbook.

4. If requested by your instructor, find examples of effective comparative writing in newspapers, magazines or books. Copy especially effective sections from these examples and bring them to class. Share them with classmates or show them to your instructor.

5. Write at least one essay using comparison and contrast. Your instructor will provide topics.

UNIT 13: ORGANIZING BY DIVISION AND CLASSIFICATION

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Explain the basic principles of classification.

2. Explain the relationships between definition, and classification and division.

3. Write an essay developed primarily through classification and division.

Activities:

1. Read "Classification," in The College Writer, pages 209-20, completing all exercises in forms assigned by your instructor

2. Read “Division and Classification,” in The Riverside Reader, pages 239-323, or at least two other essays, as assigned by your instructor.

3. If requested by your instructor, find examples of effective classification and division essays in newspapers, magazines or books. Copy especially effective sections from these examples and bring them to class.  Share them with classmates or show them to your instructor.

4. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the activities from the above pages and from other materials you have studied, related to essays developed by division and classification.

5. As you complete this unit, write any classification and division paragraphs and essays assigned by your instructor. The textbook contains suggested subjects; however, you may wish to choose subjects of your own, or your instructor may wish to provide subjects for assignments at this or a later time.

UNIT 14:  ORGANIZING BY CAUSE AND EFFECT

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Define cause and effect.

2. List and explain some basic principles of cause and effect.

3. Identify samples of cause and effect based writing.

4. Distinguish logical from illogical examples of causal analysis.

5. Use causal analysis effectively in the composition of one or more essays.

6. Understand fallacies of faulty causation, such as Post hoc ergo propter hoc, and avoid them.

Activities:

1. Read "Cause and Effect,” in The College Writer, pages 183-94, completing all exercises in forms assigned by your instructor

2. Read “Cause and Effect,” in The Riverside Reader, pages 383-445, or at least two other essays, as assigned by your instructor.

3. Read "Identifying Logical Fallacies," in The College Writer, pages 261-64.

4. If requested by your instructor, find examples of effective cause and effect writing in newspapers, magazines or books. Copy especially effective sections from these examples and bring them to class. Share them with classmates or show them to your instructor.

5. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the activities from the above pages and from other materials you have studied, related to essays developed by cause and  effect.

6. As you complete this unit, write any causal analysis paragraphs and essays assigned by your instructor. The textbook contains suggested subjects; however, you may wish to choose subjects of your own, or your instructor may wish to provide subjects for assignments at this or a later time.

UNIT 15:  METHODS OF ORGANIZATION: ARGUMENTATION

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Recognize examples of argumentation.

2. Recognize whether an argument's basic appeal is to reason, ethics, or emotion.

3. Explain the difference between inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning.

4. Recognize the following common fallacies in argument:

5. Write a closely reasoned argumentative essay.

Activities:

1. Read "Strategies for Argumentation and Persuasion,” in The College Writer, pages 253-68, completing all exercises and assignments as assigned by your instructor.

2. Read "Taking a Position,” in The College Writer, pages 269-80, completing all exercises and assignments as assigned by your instructor.

3. Read "Persuading Readers to Act,” in The College Writer, pages 281-96, completing all exercises and assignments as assigned by your instructor.

4. Read "Arguing Against a Claim,” in The College Writer, pages 297-312, completing all exercises and assignments as assigned by your instructor.

5. Read "Proposing a Solution,” in The College Writer, pages 313-30, completing all exercises and assignments as assigned by your instructor.

6. Read “Persuasion and Argument,” in The Riverside Reader, pages 447-547, or at least two other essays, as assigned by your instructor.

7. View any assigned audio-visual materials related to argument and persuasion. Your instructor will select audio-visual instructional materials for this and other units, and will tell you when and where to view the materials.

8. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in a discussion of the activities from the above pages, and of the ideas presented in any audio-visual materials you have viewed, related to argumentative and persuasive essays.

9. If requested by your instructor, find examples of effective argumentative and persuasive writing in newspapers, magazines or books.  Bring samples of this writing to class for discussion with your classmates or instructor.

10. Write argumentative essays as assigned by your instructor. Your textbook contains suggested subjects; however, your instructor may suggest different or additional subjects and may provide special instructions for this assignment.

11. Use strategies suggested by your instructor and by the textbooks to incorporate argumentation and persuasive writing effectively into your essays.

UNIT 16:  WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Demonstrate your acquaintance with basic library tools, and with the location of tools and materials in the library.

2. Demonstrate your ability to conduct a limited research project using the college library.

3. Demonstrate proper note-taking and documentation skills.

4. Write a short researched essay. Your instructor will explain the subject, scope, number and type of sources, etc.

Activities:

1. Read "Writing the Research Paper,” in The College Writer, pages 441-76, completing activities as assigned by your instructor.

2. Read "Primary, Library, and Internet Research,” in The College Writer, pages 477-502, completing activities as assigned by your instructor.

3. Read "MLA Documentation Form” in The College Writer, pages 505-36, completing activities as assigned by your instructor. 

4. Go with your class to the library for orientation by a member of the library staff.

5. Write a researched essay as assigned by your instructor. Use the proper methods of documentation. Avoid plagiarism.

UNIT 17:  CRITICAL READING AND WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. Employ a variety of critical or active reading strategies to identify the main ideas in essays assigned by your instructor and to think about them logically.

2. Identify the organizational patterns of essays assigned by your instructor.

3. Identify the settings of essays and novels assigned by your instructor.

4. Identify the themes of novels assigned by your instructor.

5. Identify and briefly describe important characters in novels assigned by your instructor, and distinguish the more important characters from less important characters.

6. Identify conflicts in novels assigned by your instructor.

7. Write at least two critical essays with thesis statements related to one or more of the elements identified in 1-6, above.

Activities:

1. Read “Critical Thinking and Reading,” in The College Writer, pages 5-22, completing activities as assigned by your instructor.

2. Read “Writing About Literature and the Arts,” in The College Writer, pages 373-88, completing activities as assigned by your instructor.

3. Read essays, novels, and non-fiction books assigned by your instructor.

4. Participate with your instructor and classmates in discussions of these essays and books.

5. Make notes: write brief notes about the main ideas, themes, organizational patterns, settings, events, characters, and conflicts of essays and novels you read. 

6. Carefully read critical essays or view movies and other audio-visual materials to help you understand novels assigned by your instructor. Your instructor will assign critical essays and movies related to the novels you read, if the instructor believes you need this assistance.

7. Write essays assigned by your instructor, using assigned essays or novels as the subjects of your essays.

UNIT 18:  WRITING A RÉSUMÉ

AND JOB APPLICATION LETTER

Objectives:

After completing the planned activities, you will be able to:

1. List the basic principles for preparing a résumé.

2. Distinguish effective from ineffective sample résumés.

3. Identify conventional elements of the standard business letter, including return address, salutation, body, complimentary close, and signature, with conventional spacing, placement, capitalization, and punctuation for each of these elements.

4. Write a letter (conforming to all conventional elements) applying for a job.

Activities:

1. Read “Writing for the Workplace,” in The College Writer, pages 407-18, completing activities as assigned by your instructor.

2. View audio-visual materials on business communication (selected by your instructor) or complete an alternate assignment prepared by your instructor.

4. Participate with your instructor and fellow students in discussions of résumés, business letters, and job applications.

5. Make use of effective software or internet links as needed to write strong  résumés and cover letters.

6. Write a résumé and job application letter. Your instructor will provide information, models and instruction.

APPENDIX A:  GRADING SCALES FOR ENGLISH 101

            Your instructor will grade your essay according to one of the following grading scales or an announced variation, and will inform you at the beginning of the course which of the grading scales will be used in your class.  You should carefully study the grading scale to be used for grading your essays.

THE TRADITIONAL GRADING SCALE

            In this scale, an essay is assigned a letter grade of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, or F.

            Although D- is the lowest passing grade, it is not sufficient to allow the student to progress into English 102 or Speech 107.  C- is the minimum grade for progression into the next class. C is the average grade, assigned for an essay which just satisfies the minimum standards expected of a college student writer.

            Students at Northwest-Shoals Community College are expected to attain high levels of  competence as writers.  You should attempt to write each essay well enough to deserve a B grade or higher, as well as to attain an average grade of B or higher for the course.

THE EIGHT-GOAL (100 POINTS) GRADING SCALE

            In this grading scale, essays are graded according to a scale of 100 possible points distributed in the following pattern:

  >Effectiveness of Thesis  (15 points possible) 

How clearly and effectively have you stated the thesis (main idea)?  

  >Soundness of Outline or progression of development (8 points possible)

How well organized is the essay?

  >Completeness of Development (15 points possible)

How fully have you developed the essay with supporting ideas and examples to

convince a reader of your main point?

  >Adequacy and Appropriateness of Details (8 points possible)

How appropriate, and how vividly presented, are your supporting details? 

  >Effectiveness of Sentences, including clarity and intended emphasis (8 points

 possible)

  >Mechanics:  Use of sentence structures, punctuation, spelling and other

 conventions characteristic of Standard Written English (30 points possible)

  >Effectiveness of Diction (8 points possible)

Have you chosen the best words to express your meaning throughout the essay?

  >Economy (8 points possible)

Does your essay state your ideas without wordiness and without wandering from 

your main line of development?

THE FOUR STEPS (100 POINT) GRADING SCALE

            In this grading scale, your instructor will assign up to 25 points to your essay for satisfying each of these  four criteria:

  >Unity: Your essay must have a clearly stated thesis in the introductory paragraph, 

 and all the supporting paragraphs must be on target in backing up your thesis. (25

 points possible)

  >Support:  Your essay must contain at least two separate supporting points for the

 thesis, and preferably three.  There must be specific evidence for each supporting

 point.  There must be plenty of supporting evidence for each supporting point.  (25

 points possible)

  >Coherence:  Your essay must have a clear method of organization. It should also

 have appropriate transitions and other connecting words.  It should have an

 effective  introduction and an effective conclusion.  (25 points possible)

  >Sentence Skills:  Your essay should satisfy the following sentence criteria.   (25

 points possible)

NOTE:  In 100 point grading scales, grades of 90 and above are considered to be grades of "A"; grades from 80 to 89 are considered to be grades of "B"; and grades from 70 to 79 are considered to be grades of "C." Therefore the lowest satisfactory grade is 70, and the lowest passing grade is 60.

OTHER GRADING SCALES

            Your instructor may wish to use a modified version of one of the grading scales described above, or may even use a totally different grading scale.  If so, the instructor will describe to you the grading scale to be used for your class before you write your first essay.

APPENDIX B: FILE NAMES FOR SAVING ESSAYS IN ENGLISH 101

            An identical system of file names is used for saving essays in English 101.  This system is used by all students in all English 101 sections and is carefully coded so that every number and every letter has a meaning.  FOLLOW THIS SYSTEM EXACTLY TO NAME YOUR ESSAYS; OTHERWISE YOUR WORK MAY BE LOST.          

            File Name:        ESSAY1

This name indicates that your instructor has placed an assignment for Essay 1 on your disk.  You will retrieve this file to begin writing Essay 1.  When you have finished working on the Essay 1, you will not save your work with this name but, if you worked on the essay on March 10 (03-10), with the following new name:

            File Name:        10310.XXX

In this name the first number (1) indicates that you have begun work on Essay 1, and the file includes Essay 1 at the stage of work you completed on March 10 (0310); a period (.) is then used to an extension composed of YOUR THREE INITIALS from the main part of the file name.  Let's say you want to work on this essay again on March 15; you would retrieve the file named 10310.XXX, and if you worked on this essay without finishing it, you would save it again with another new file name:

            File Name:        10315.XXX

This file name indicates that the student whose three initials are XXX worked on Essay 1 on March 15, without finishing the essay. If the student works on the essay on March 17, the file 10315.XXX would be retrieved, and at the end of the work session, this file would again be saved with a new name.  Let's say Essay 1 is now finished and ready for grading.  If so, the letter A would be added to the file name, indicating that Essay 1 by the student whose initials are XXX was ready for grading the first time on March 17:

                                   File Name: 1A0317.XXX

The instructor can then retrieve this file, and grade the essay.  (The "1A" told the instructor that Essay 1 was ready for grading the first time.)  The graded essay will again be saved with a new name that tells the student Essay 1 has been graded the first time:

            File Name:        1A0323YY.XXX

The "YY" represents the instructor's two initials.  The entire file name indicates that Essay 1 was graded the first time on March 23 by the instructor whose two initials are YY.  If the student wants to rewrite the essay on May 8, and wants it graded a second time, then the student would retrieve file 1A0323YY.XXX and save it after rewriting as:

            File Name:        1B0508.XXX

The "B" indicates that this essay has been revised and improved is ready to be

 graded the second time.

The following file name indicates that on May 24, the instructor whose two initials are TK graded Essay 5, written by the student whose three initials are ZZX, for the second time:

            File Name:        5B0524TK.ZZX

APPENDIX C: NOVELS AND NON-FICTION BOOKS USED IN ENGLISH 101 

Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Berger, Little Big Man

Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 

Brontë, Wuthering Heights

Brontë, Jane Eyre

Camus, The Plague

Camus, The Stranger

Capote, The Grass Harp

Cather, My Ántonia

Chandler, The Long Goodbye

Covington, Salvation on Sand Mountain

Dillard, A Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment

Faulkner, As I Lay Dying

Faulkner, Go Down, Moses

Faulkner, The Hamlet

Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield

Hawthorne, The House of Seven Gables

Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles

Hemingway, Collected Stories

Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises

Huxley, Brave New World

Kafka, The Trial

Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

Matthiessen, The Snow Leopard

Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

Orwell, 1984

Percy, The Moviegoer

Portis, True Grit

Rolvaag, Giants in the Earth

Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

Stribling, The Store

Thoreau, Walden

West, The Day of the Locust

Wharton, Ethan Frome

Wharton, The Age of Innocence