English 103 Supplement

English 103 Supplement

Fall 2005 (051)

Week One, August 29^th – September 2^nd

Introductions and Class Syllabus (15 minutes)

In Class Writing (45 Minutes)

Diagnostic Writing:

To encourage you to view yourself as a writer, write a journal entry profiling yourself as a writer. What do you write, and why? Do you ever write for pleasure? Do you find writing enjoyable? Laborious? Under what circumstances? To what different audiences have you written? In what range of forms and styles? Has writing been useful to you? How so?

Also, set goals for this semester in your writing class. Respond to the following questions:

What do you want to learn about writing this semester?

What aspects of your writing do you want to improve by the end of the semester?

Do you want to change anything about the way you go about writing? What?

Break (15 minutes)

In Class Workshop (Duration of class time)

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/interact/index.html

Systematically work through the interactive handouts. Pay special attention to that which gives you the most trouble. In your Blair Handbook, find the chapter(s) or section(s) that are relevant to helping you with your specific writing issue(s). Then, throughout the semester, use your Blair Handbook to help you with these issues.

Week Two, September 5^th – 9^th

Discussion of the writing process (Blair Handbook 26-36) (20 minutes)

Intro to Chapter Five (Blair) (30 minutes)

Discussion of inventing and discovering techniques

In Class Writing (20 minutes)

Writing 1: Exploration (Blair 50)

Break (15 minutes)

In Class Writing (45 minutes)

Brainstorm using three (4) different techniques for your next paper due in your English 103 class. Discovering which invention and discovery techniques works best for you will help you not only in your English 103 class, but also throughout your academic career.

Group discussion about invention and discovery (30 minutes)

Week Three, September 12^th – 16^th

“There are days when it is so bad that no fewer than five revisions are required. In contrast, when I’m greatly inspired, only four revisions are needed.” ~John Kenneth Galbraith

Intro to Chapter 18 (Blair 273-281) (30 minutes)

Discussion of the revising process

IN Class Writing (20 minutes)

Writing 2: Application (Blair 275) (20 minutes)

Break (15 minutes)

Discussion of “Reminders for Revision” (Blair 280) (20 minutes)

Use the questions from “Writing 3: Exploration” to aid the discussion.

In Class Group Work with Writing (60 minutes)

To help you determine if your main idea is clearly expressed and that all the elements of your paper are related to it, share your paper in small groups. Readers will underline the main idea and put a question mark next to anything that doesn’t seem to be relevant. If the readers have a difficult time determining the main idea, the group can work with the writer to help formulate a clearer one.

Discussion of Group Work (15 minutes)

Week Four, September 19^th – 23^rd

Discussion of the Editing Process (Blair Part Six) (20 minutes)

In Class Writing (15 minutes)

To become more aware of your own editing habits, think about the last papers you wrote. Describe when in the writing process you edited your texts and what kinds of changes you made.

Group Work (30 minutes)

Some of you may have the mistaken notion that all editing strategies are hard and fast rules. List three “rules” you follow when editing. Then get into groups and compare your lists and look up these “rules” in Blair. What have you discovered? Have someone in the group record your discoveries. Then share with the rest of the class (10 minutes).

Break (15 minutes)

“Editing Strategies Using Computers” (Blair 327) (Duration of class time)

Using your most recent paper or one you are going to turn in, edit using the computer.

Week Five, September 26^th – September 30^th

Discussion of the Proofreading Process (Blair 713) (10 minutes)

In Class Work (20 minutes)

“Editing 1: Practice (Blair 715)

Get into your groups and work on proofreading the paragraph. Have one person in the group record the changes. Then have another person report those changes. Discuss the similarities and differences between each group’s proofreading of the text.

In Class Proofreading Work (45 minutes)

Choose a piece of your own writing and proofread using the techniques found on page 713 of Blair.

Break (15 minutes)

In Class Proofreading Work (60 minutes)

List any common errors you have in your writing. This may help you avoid them in the future. (15 minutes)

Week Six, October 3^rd – 7^th

“The purpose of paragraphing is to give the reader a rest. The writer is saying to him: ‘Have you got that? If so, I’ll go on to the next point’” ~H.W. Fowler

In Class Reading (15 minutes)

“Shaping Strong Paragraphs” (Blair 332)

In Class Discussion about unified paragraphs (20 minutes)

How do your paragraphs compare to what Fowler claim above? How well are you getting your meaning across?

In Class Group Work (30 minutes)

“Editing 1: Practice” A & B. Work in groups, making sure one of the participants records the changes made to both paragraphs. Select a spokesperson to indicate the changes made to the whole class. Compare and contrast the changes each group makes.

Break (15 minutes)

In Class Paired Work (30 minutes)

Pair up and read each other’s paragraphs, discussing whether or not there is effective organization within the paragraphs. How do you think the writer could make their paragraph(s) unified? Make suggestions to each other for revision of paragraphs.

In Class Editing Work (45 minutes)

“Editing 2: Application” (Blair 334)

Work through more than one paragraph.

Week Seven, October 10^th – 14^th

In Class Reading (30 minutes)

“Organizing paragraphs” (Blair 334 23b)

Discussion of 23b (15 minutes)

What pattern of organization do you generally use? Which pattern of organization do you feel is easiest to write?

In Class Group Work (30 minutes)

“Editing 3: Practice.” Work in groups, making sure one of the participants records the changes made to the paragraph. Select a spokesperson to indicate the changes made to the whole class. Compare and contrast the changes each group makes.

Break (15)

In Class Editing Work (Duration of the class period)

“Editing 4: Application” (338)

Week Eight, October 17^th – 21^st

In Class Reading (20 minutes)

“Making paragraphs coherent” (Blair 338 23c)

Discussion of 23c (15 minutes)

In Class Group Work (40 minutes)

“Editing 5 & 6: Practice.” (Blair 341 & 342). Work in groups, making sure one of the participants records the changes made to the paragraph. Select a spokesperson to indicate the changes made to the whole class. Compare and contrast the changes each group makes.

Break (15)

In Class Editing Work (Duration of the class period)

“Editing 7: Application” (342)

Week Nine, October 24^th – 28^th

Discussion and practice of Competency Exam (to be taken Week 10)

Week Ten, October 31^st – November 4^th

Review of Chapter 23, “Shaping Strong Paragraphs”

Use the entire class period to workshop a paper you have written or one you will be turning in. Work toward unified, organized, and coherent paragraphs.

Use the last 45 minutes to work in pairs, reading each other’s paper. Has the writer achieved unified, organized, and coherent paragraphs? Which paragraph is most unified? Which paragraphs are best organized? Are all the paragraphs coherent? Can you make suggestions for more editing?

Week Eleven, November 7^th – 11^th

“It is always of importance to begin well; to make a favorable impression at first setting out; when the minds of the hearers, vacant as yet and free, are most disposed to receive any impression easily.” ~Hugh Blair

Discussion of Chapter 24, “Improving Openings and Conclusions” (Blair 343-350 only) (30 minutes)

Group Work (30 minutes)

“Editing 1: Practice” (Blair 346)

Work in groups, making sure one of the participants records the changes made to the paragraph. Select a spokesperson to indicate the changes made to the whole class. Compare and contrast the changes each group makes.

Break (15 minutes)

Group Work (15 minutes)

“Editing 2: Exploration” (Blair 349)

Group Work (30 minutes)

“Editing 3: Practice” (Blair 349)

In Class Editing Work (45 minutes)

“Editing 5: Application” (Blair 350)

Week Twelve, November 14^th – 18^th

Discussion of Chapter 24, “Improving Openings and Conclusions” (Blair 350-356 only) (20 minutes)

Group Work (25 minutes)

“Editing 6: Practice” (Blair 353)

Group Work (25 minutes)

“Editing 7: Practice” (Blair 355)

Break (15 minutes)

In Class Editing Work (45 minutes)

“Editing 9: Application” (Blair 350)

Use the last 30 minutes to pair up and read each other’s edited conclusions. As a reader, are you satisfied? Is the conclusion valid? Indicate the conclusion’s strengths. Also indicate the need for any other editing.

Week Thirteen, November 21^st – 25^th

Use the writing skills you have learned to work on a paper due in your 103 class. Depending on the stage of the writing process, remember to consult your previous class discussions and your Blair Handbook.

Week Fourteen, November 28^th – December 2^nd

Week Fifteen, December 5^th – 9^th