SYLLABUS FOR ENGLISH 099
Developmental Writing
Summer 2003, M-F 11 a.m. - Noon
Instructor: Todd M. Bunnell
Phone: 241-6235
Office: 411 Reneau
E-mail: tbunnell@muw.edu
Texts and Materials:
*Evergreen (with Readings), 7th ed.
*One (or more) 3.5 inch floppy disk
*Pocket folder
Course Content:
Developmental Writing stresses basic writing skills and effective presentation
in organized and structured paragraphs through the limitation of topics and
on the development of a thesis statement in a unified, coherent piece of writing.
Students will get a chance to write a series of paragraphs and will work on
editing and revising each paragraph.
Goals:
To help students develop stronger grammatical skills
To help students limit topics and to develop a limited thesis statement
To help students organize and structure thoughts in writing
To help students produce coherent and unified paragraphs
To develop editing skills
To develop basic word processing skills
To prepare students for Basic Writing
Course Requirements:
Each student will be required to write five original paragraphs that
will be graded, given back to be revised, and then regraded. I will keep the
revised copy, so it's very important to save the last revision of an essay on
disk (or even print out another hard copy). At the end of the term, each student
will select three writing samples -- totaling at least 500 words -- to
be submitted in a pocket folder portfolio to be graded for course evaluation.
Each writing assignment must be typed and double-spaced. Late writing assignments
will be docked one letter grade for EACH DAY I have not received them. Also,
students will be expected to complete in-class assignments and quizzes regarding
grammar and writing exercises.
Method of Evaluation:
Grading breakdown:
Five writing assignments . . . . . . . . . .30%
Portfolio (3 samples) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30%
Final exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%
Lab (quizzes and in-class work) . . . 15%
____________________________________________
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100%
Note: This percentage is for my grade for the class, which will count for 25%
of
your entire course grade. The other 75% of the course grade, as mandated
by state regulations, will come from a statewide exit exam.
Attendance:
More than three (3) unexcused absences will automatically result in a failing
grade for this class.
Disabilities:
It is the responsibility of students who have professionally diagnosed
disabilities to notify the instructor so that necessary and appropriate modifications
can be made to meet any special learning needs.
Important Dates:
June 6 Last day to drop a course without receiving a grade of
WP/WF
July 7 Last day a course may be dropped
July 24 Last day to withdraw from the university
SYLLABUS FOR ENGLISH 099
WEEK 1 (May 28-May 30) -- Introduction to the course. Ch.1, Exploring the
Writing Process. Ch. 2, Generating Ideas. Computer instruction. Diagnostics.
WEEK 2 (June 2-6) -- Ch. 3, The Process of Writing Paragraphs. Ch. 4, Achieving Coherence.
*Writing Assignment #1 (Expository).
WEEK 3 (June 9-13) -- Ch. 6, Narration. Ch. 26, Avoiding Sentence Errors. Ch.
27, Present Tense (Agreement). Ch. 30, Nouns.
*Writing Assignment #2 (Narration).
WEEK 4 (June 16-20) -- Ch. 7, Description. Ch. 35, The Comma. Ch. 20, Revising for Consistency and Parallelism.
*Writing Assignment #3 (Description).
WEEK 5 (June 23-27) -- Ch. 10, Comparison and Contrast. Ch. 21, Revising for
Sentence Variety. Ch. 22, Revising for Language Awareness.
WEEK 6 (June 30-July 1) -- Ch. 9, Definition.
*Writing Assignment #4 (Definition or Comparison and Contrast).
WEEK 7 (July 7-11) -- Expository paragraph work.
WEEK 8 (July 14-18) -- *Writing Assignment #5 (Expository).
WEEK 9 (July 21-25) -- Portfolio Preparation.
WEEK 10 (July 28-30) -- Review. Final exam.
July 31 -- Exit exam.