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Introduction to course and community.  HW:  Who Am I?  Read Introduction for Students (p. 1-10).

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Introduction to Exploring Events.  Deciding on a topic.  Essays:  What They Are and Why We Write Them.  HW:  Read From “A Writer’s Diary,” p. 51 and “My Father’s Life,” p. 69.  Write a list of possible topics to write about.  Write one page on “I Remember…” on your chosen topic. 

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Developing pre-writing strategies. Dialogue and detail.  HW:  Write a dialogue between yourself and someone in your remembered event, and try at least 2 pre-writing strategies.  Read “Learning to Read and Write,” p. 93.  Write a response to the essay. 

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Developing significance. Discuss “Learning to Read and Write.” Other narrative strategies.  HW:  Write an alternative beginning to your essay.  Write 5 different sentences describing the significance of your essay. 

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First Draft of Essay #1 due.  Workshop. Revision tactics for narrative essays.  HW:  Read “A Few Words about Breasts,” p.98.  Write a comparable event to the essay’s.  Begin revising essay.  Revise draft.

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Revised Draft of Essay #1 due.  Workshop.  Focus for narrative essays.  Editing strategies.  HW:  Read “On Being a Cripple,” p. 147. Finish draft. 

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Final Draft of Essay #1 due. Writing about concepts.  Choosing a Topic. HW:  Read “Pride,” p. 389 and “What America Would Be Like without Blacks,” p. 367.  Write a list of potential topics you could write about.  Writing exercise Connections. 

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Outward and Inward research.  Perspective.  Using ideas instead of events to drive an essay.  HW:  Read “What Remains,” p. 404 and “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs,” p. 396.  Write a page describing eases and difficulties of writing about a concept. Make reference to the essays you’ve already read. Write a page on your chosen topic without using that concept word.

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Finding a focus for your essay topic. Making outside references.  HW:  Write a list of different references or allusions you can make in your essay about the topic.  Finish first draft.  Read “A Question of Language,” p. 474

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First Draft Due.  Workshop.  Interview strategies and exercises.  Discuss revision strategies. HW:  Read “Politics and the English Language” p. 498. Answer question #3.  Interview someone about your topic.  Write notes. 

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Revised Draft due.  Workshop.  Revision issues.  Paragraph level writing.  HW: Re-order your essay by cutting it up into paragraphs and re-ordering.  Use scissors and tape.  Choose a different colored pen, and go through your draft, marking with a check in the margin those places that have editorial errors. 

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Final Draft of Essay #2 due.  Begin Argumentation.  HW:  Skim essays assigned in this section.  Write a list of potential topics you could write an essay about.  Choosing a topic and writing an effective thesis.  HW:  Read  “What’s Wrong with Animal Rights,” p. 700.  Write a response. 

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Pre-writing strategies and using other texts.  HW:  Read “Living Like Weasels” p. 655. Write at least a page from your experience that illustrates your point on your subject.  Read “Growing Up Class-Conscious,” p. 852.

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Making a valid argument without extensive research.  Discuss essay organization.  Downfalls of arguments.  HW:  Read “Stone Soup” p. 751 and “Nobel Lecture, 7 December 1993” p. 762.  . Write first draft. 

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First Draft Due.  Workshop.  Discuss Morrison’s essay.  Focus and citation.  HW:  Revise essay.  “The Word Police” p. 727.

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No class.  Continue working on essay. 

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Revised Workshop.  Discuss revision strategies.  HW:  Write a revision plan.  Write a response.  Finish essay.

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Essay #3 Final Draft due. Begin discussing Evaluations.  Finding a focus for your essay.  HW:  Write a page on the positive ways your process has changed. Write a page on the negative ways your process has changed or stayed the same. 

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Beginning and Endings.  Using your own text as research.  Write a list of quotes, passages, and assignments to mention in your essay. Group work on inclusion lists.  HW:  Draft your evaluation. 

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First draft of Evaluations Workshop.  HW:  Complete putting together your portfolio.

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Portfolios Due.  Celebration.