English 101

English 101—English Composition I

COURSE HANDBOOK

Handbook for a Computer-Assisted Course

in English Composition

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

Northwest Alabama State Junior College

Phil Campbell and Tuscumbia, Alabama

Northwest Alabama Community College

Phil Campbell and Hamilton, Alabama

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

The College Writer, by Randall VanderMey, Verne Meyer, John Van Rys, Dave Kemper, and Pat Sebranek

The Riverside Reader, by Joseph Trimmer and Maxine Hairston, seventh edition (optional; your instructor will choose whether to require this additional text)

Two novels or alternate books, assigned by your instructor

Two High Density 3.5" computer diskettes

Also Recommended for English 101

Webster's Tenth New Collegiate Dictionary or an equivalent college level dictionary

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

has a clear, effective thesis statement supported by logical, unified, well-developed paragraphs

uses specific, vivid, detailed language to create interesting examples and express generalizations strongly

binds thoughts together coherently with effective transitions

shows excellent judgment and control in choosing and creating patterns of organization appropriate to the assignment and the thesis

demonstrates effective word choice, sophisticated and varied sentence structures, and mature and thoughtful ideas

is practically error free; uses Standard American English grammar and mechanics

is properly documented (when applicable)

taken as a whole, is a far above-average essay that demonstrates an understanding of the requirements of the assignment and an excellent response to those requirements

Characteristics of a "B" Essay

A "B" essay

has a generally clear, effective thesis statement supported by unified, well-developed paragraphs

uses fairly specific, vivid, detailed language to create examples and express generalizations

binds thoughts together coherently with effective transitions

shows good judgment and control in choosing and creating patterns of organization appropriate to the assignment and the thesis

demonstrates generally effective word choice, with some variation in sentence structures, and good ideas that are clearly expressed

has few mechanical or grammatical errors; uses Standard American English grammar and mechanics in almost all sentences

is properly documented (when applicable)

taken as a whole, is an above average essay that demonstrates an understanding of the requirements of the assignment and conforms to those requirements

Characteristics of a "C" Essay

A "C" essay

has a thesis statement supported by fairly well-unified paragraphs

includes some examples to support generalizations in each body paragraph

maintains some coherence by the use of transitions

shows at least limited control in choosing and creating patterns of organization appropriate to the assignment and the thesis

demonstrates some conscious word choice, limited variation in sentence structures, and average ideas

may have some, but not many, mechanical or grammatical errors; uses Standard American English grammar and mechanics for a clear majority of sentences

may have some weaknesses in documentation (when applicable)

conforms at least to the main requirements of the assignment but taken as a whole, is only average

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:

Sentence Fragments

Fused or Run-On Sentences

Comma Splices

Badly Garbled Syntax or Sentence Sense

Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement

Wrong Tense or Tense Shift

Pronoun Agreement or Reference Error

Faulty Parallelism

Dangling Constructions

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.