Basic Writing
Fall 2012
Friday 1:00 – 4:00
Curtis Porter
#413상경관 [Commercial and Management Building]
Office hours: Thursday 1:00 – 5:00 (or by appointment)
email: curtykorea@gmail.com
Class Blog: dkubasicwriting.blogspot.kr
General Remarks
This Basic Writing course introduces a variety of authentic texts and focuses on features that lead to effective writing. Participants will explore various techniques and strategies that writers utilize to produce various types of texts. We will explore a range of genres such as reporting, argumentative essays, short fiction, literary critique, personal narratives, and graphic novels. Material will be predominantly student-centered and student-generated, meaning that students will be expected to generate writing topics and produce relevant and meaningful work that conforms to the basic requirements of the assignments.
The course is designed to help students develop a greater sensitivity to ways that authentic written texts are constructed and to support the development of effective individual. There will be very limited focus on grammar. Instead we will investigate numerous examples of authentic writing in English and analyze different techniques writers use in order to create and develop a piece of writing.
Schedule
(This an approximate schedule and will probably change)
Sep 7 Week 1: Introductions
Sep 14 Week 2: Descriptive writing
Sep 21 Week 3: Descriptive writing
Sep 28 Week 4: Descriptive writing
Oct 5 Week 5: Reporting
Oct 5 Week 5: Reporting
Oct 12 Week 6: Reporting
Oct 19 Week 7: Procedural Writing
Oct 26 Week 8: Persuasive Writing
Nov 2 Week 9: Persuasive Writing
Nov 9 Week 10: Creative Writing
Nov 16 Week 11: Creative Writing
Nov 23 Week 12: Peer editing
Dec 30 Week 13: Peer editing
Dec 7 Week 14: Small Group Meetings
Dec 14 Week 15: Closing thoughts
This course will cover several genres of writing. At the end of the semester all students will turn in a writing portfolio containing several assignments related to each genre. The final portfolio will include the following for each genre of writing we cover in class:
- A Functional Outline of a published piece
- A rough draft
- A statement/list of revisions
- A revised draft
(we will discuss the details of each of these in class)
Grading
Grades will be based on the following:
10% – Participation
Your participation score includes coming to class prepared and on time as well as actively taking part in all classroom activities.
30% – Blog
Each week you will be required to complete various short writing assignments and post them to the appropriate place on the class website.
40% – Writing Portfolio
Your portfolio will include all of your weekly writing assignments and drafts. I will post more specific guidelines to the class website. [Due on the last day of class]
20% – Weekly Assignments
Each week (or for homework) you will be completing a variety of short writing activities. These should be turned in on time (you are responsible for turning in work on time, even if you are absent from class)
* Due to Dankook University policy, I am required to curve grades as follows:
A: 30%
B: 40%
C: 30%
I deeply regret having to follow this grading policy. I believe that it decreases the educational value of our time together and it severely undermines what we can accomplish as individuals and as a group. I understand that every one of you needs/desires a good score and I regret that university policy will not allow me to give an 'A' to everyone I feel deserves it. I encourage you to direct your concerns with the grading policy to the administration and I will be happy to support thoughtful student action on the issue. But under the current rules, I simply ask that you do your best to engage in all classroom activities and feel free to take risks with your work. I do not give the highest scores to those who are best at following directions. It is my goal to reward thoughtful and meaningful work rather than work that adheres most closely to a set of predetermined guidelines.
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