**Please note that this schedule is subject to change. Any changes will be mentioned in class.
Week 1 (Jan. 6 – Jan. 10)
|
M |
Introduction to course and community. HW: Who Am I? |
|
T |
Introducing ourselves and introduction to process. HW: Read Introduction for Students (p. 1-10). |
|
W |
Essays: What They Are and Why We Write Them. HW: Read From “A Writer’s Diary,” p. 51. Write a list of possible topics to write about. |
|
Th |
Introduction to Exploring Events. Deciding on a topic. HW: Write one page on “I Remember…” |
|
F |
Developing pre-writing strategies. HW: Read “My Father’s Life,” p. 69, and try at least 2 pre-writing strategies. |
Week 2 (Jan. 13 – Jan. 17)
|
M |
Dialogue and detail. HW: Write a dialogue between yourself and someone in your remembered event. |
|
T |
Developing significance. HW: Read “Learning to Read and Write,” p. 93. Write a response to the essay. Write 5 different sentences describing the significance of your essay. |
|
W |
Discuss “Learning to Read and Write.” Other narrative strategies. HW: Write an alternative beginning to your essay. |
|
Th |
Mock Workshop. HW: Finish first draft. |
|
F |
First Draft of Essay #1 due. Workshop. HW: Read “A Few Words about Breasts,” p.98. Write a comparable event to the essay’s. Begin revising essay. |
Week 3 (Jan. 20 – Jan. 24)
|
M |
Martin Luther King Jr. Day. No classes. HW: Read “The Faintest Echo of Our Language,” p.138. Answer question 3 on p. 147. |
|
T |
Revision tactics for narrative essays. HW: Revise draft. |
|
W |
Revised Draft of Essay #1 due. Workshop. HW: Read “On Being a Cripple,” p. 147. |
|
Th |
Editing strategies. HW: Finish final draft. |
|
F |
Final Draft of Essay #1 due. Introduction to Shaping Information. |
Week 4 (Jan. 27 – Jan 31)
|
M |
Writing about concepts. HW: Read “Pride,” p. 389. Write a list of potential topics you could write about. |
|
T |
Choosing a Topic. HW: Read “What America Would Be Like without Blacks,” p. 367. Writing exercise Connections. |
|
W |
Outward and Inward research. HW: Read “What Remains,” p. 404. Write a page describing eases and difficulties of writing about a concept. Make reference to the essays you’ve already read. |
|
Th |
Perspective. HW: Write a page on your chosen topic without using that concept word. |
|
F |
Using ideas instead of events to drive an essay. HW: Find a focus for your essay topic. Read “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs,” p. 396. |
Week 5 (Feb. 3 – Feb. 7)
|
M |
Making outside references. HW: Write a list of different references or allusions you can make in your essay about the topic. |
|
T |
Driving your essay: Drafting. HW: Finish first draft. |
|
W |
First Draft Due. Workshop. HW: Read “A Question of Language,” p. 474. |
|
Th |
Interview strategies and exercises. HW: Interview someone about your topic. Write notes. |
|
F |
Discuss revision strategies. HW: Read “Politics and the English Language” p. 498. Answer question #3. |
Week 6 (Feb 10 – Feb. 14)
|
M |
Discuss Orwell’s essay. HW: Finish revised draft. |
|
T |
Revised Draft due. Workshop. HW: Re-order your essay by cutting it up into paragraphs and re-ordering. Use scissors and tape. |
|
W |
Revision issues. Paragraph level writing. HW: Choose a different colored pen, and go through your draft, marking with a check in the margin those places that have editorial errors. |
|
Th |
Editing strategies: How to move beyond Spell-Check. HW: Finish essay. |
|
F |
Final Draft of Essay #2 due. Begin Argumentation |
Week 7 (Feb. 17 – Feb. 21)
|
M |
Argumentation. Skim essays assigned in this section. Write a list of potential topics you could write an essay about. |
|
T |
Choosing a topic and writing an effective thesis. HW: Read “What’s Wrong with Animal Rights,” p. 700. Write a response. |
|
W |
Pre-writing strategies and using other texts. HW: Read “Living Like Weasels” p. 655. |
|
Th |
Making a valid argument without extensive research. HW: Write at least a page from your experience that illustrates your point on the subject. |
|
F |
Discuss essay organization. HW: Read “Stone Soup” p. 751. |
Week 8 (Feb. 24 – Feb. 28)
|
M |
Downfalls of arguments. HW: Read “Nobel Lecture, 7 December 1993” p. 762. Take notes on what parts you don’t understand. |
|
T |
Discuss Morrison’s essay. HW: Write first draft. Read “The Word Police,” p. 727. |
|
W |
First Draft Due. Workshop. HW: Re-read the essay you’re responding to. Make a list of the points the author makes that you haven’t directly addressed. |
|
Th |
No class. Continue drafting. |
|
F |
Last Day to withdraw. No class. Continue drafting. |
Week 9 (March 3 – March 7)
|
M |
Discuss drafts in more detail. HW: Write a revision plan for your essay. |
|
T |
Discuss revision strategies. HW: Read “Growing Up Class-Conscious,” p. 852. Write a response. |
|
W |
Revised Workshop. HW: Revision plan and revise your essay. |
|
Th |
Editing strategies. HW: Finish writing essay. |
|
F |
Essay #3 Final Draft due. |
Week 10 (March 10 – March 14)
|
M |
Begin discussing Evaluations. HW: Write a page on the positive ways your process has changed. |
|
T |
Finding a focus for your essay. HW: Write a page on the negative ways your process has changed or stayed the same. |
|
W |
TBA. |
|
Th |
Beginning and Endings. HW: TBA |
|
F |
Using your own text as research. HW: Write a list of quotes, passages, and assignments to mention in your essay. |
Week 11 (March 17 – March 21)
|
M |
Group work on inclusion lists. HW: Continue drafting. |
|
T |
HW: Finish first draft. Bring copies to class. |
|
W |
First draft of Evaluations Workshop. |
|
Th |
Revision Strategies, and putting together a portfolio. HW: Complete your portfolio. |
|
F |
Portfolios Due. Celebration. |
Final portfolios will be returned on Monday, March 24, during our final time (10:30) in my office. Please make sure your portfolio is picked up, or your final grade will drop by 0.4 points. If you are unable to come to pick up your portfolio, you must provide me with an envelope big enough for your portfolio and enough postage to mail it back to you when you turn it in.