ENC 1101 Freshman Composition
ENC 1101-29 #25823 M/W/F 12:20-1:10 AC221
ENC 1101-31 #25825 M/W/F 1:25-2:15 AC220
ENC 1101-61 #26929 M/W 2:30-3:45 AC221
Instructor: Dr. Nesbitt
Office: EN 111
e-mail:nesbitw@tcc.fl.edu
Office Phone: 201-6437
Office hrs. 3:50-4:35 M
3:50-4:35 W
2:20-3:50 F
*Remember that you must attend the class for which you are registered. If, for example, you register for my 12:20-1:10 class, don't think you can miss it and come to my 1:25-2:15 class to make up an absence.
Course Goals or My Writing Manifesto
What We Think They Did
The popular image, or at least one image, of the writer consists of someone who possesses some sort of heightened sensitivity towards life in general and an extraordinary, inherent ability for writing in specific. Such an individual sits around alone like a giant, cosmic antennae waiting for a supernatural muse, with which he or she has supernatural communion with and preference from, to strike him or her with the mysterious thing called "inspiration." In the frenzied heat of this inspired state, the writer hurriedly scribbles down what comes forth, hoping to catch it all before the moment of excitement passes. Once the act of writing is complete, the writer presents this material for all the world to hold in awe. Never ever can the writer change what he or she has recorded because those words called down from the heavens are sacred and, therefore, unalterable. In stone. To change anything, even a single word, is to kill it. Thus, our image of the writer resembles that of a Jedi knight always wrestling with a mysterious and unknown power. Likewise, either you have The Force or you don't and as a writer either you are inherently gifted or you are not.
What We Are Going to Do
As romantic as this image is, it simply just isn't true. Certainly the initial idea for a piece of writing, the first spark, even a first draft of a piece of writing may seemingly come out of nowhere like an urge to sneeze. However, the refinement and honing of the idea or text becomes a slow, arduous, tedious, and often difficult process filled with problematic areas. What is borne from this first genesis is crude and misshapen, but picking through one finds potential: a few words, a couple of sentences, perhaps even a paragraph or two. Carefully, painstakingly, and gradually the writer edits and revisesE˝revision, literally "to see again"E˝the text until is more closely resembles what he or she has in mind, each draft and act of revision potentially offering a wholly new perspective.
You might think of good writing as pregnancy. Conceiving a child happens pretty quickly. Carrying the child, birthing it, and raising it until it can stand on its own takes a lot of time, work, and patience. We're all here to act as midwives and foster parents.
Unlike our writer from the previous paragraph, we also have a community of other writers grappling with the same problems to offer feedback, constructive criticism, and support. Or if you want to think of writing as weightlifting, we know that you have to lift consistently over long periods of time to see progress. In this sense, your fellow classmates are here to spot you, to make sure you don't crush yourself but without lifting the weights for you. I like to think of the similarities between snipers and writers, but I digress.
What They Really Did
The great writers didn't have anything you didn't have; many of them, in fact, had much less. Frederick Douglass had to steal his language. Allen Ginsberg made his and then was censored for it. Writers have been imprisoned, persecuted, banned, and killed for what they wrote (Of course, not of all of them had it so bad). Luckily, our classroom will have none of these things. So what was I saying? What good writers do is immerse themselves in regular and careful reading while writing constantly, often with feedback from fellow writers. So here's the Great Secret of writing: It's all sweat.
You still with me? Good. Let's get down to the nuts and bolts of thing
Plagiarism: You represent someone else's ideas as your own either by directly copying it or paraphrasing it without citation, and you get a 0 for that paper. Then I report you to the appropriate authorities. If you're in doubt, talk to me. The Great Writers helped one another; they didn't do the work for each other.
Attendance: I call roll at the start of class. If you're not here when I call your name, you are absent. If you leave early, I mark you absent. If you disappear during class, I mark you absent. What your watch says is irrelevant. Tardy, absent, it's all the same to me. If you are in a class that meets twice a week, you get four absences. When you miss five, you fail. If you are in a class that meets three times a week, you get six absences. On the seventh, you fail. Either way, you get two weeks of class time. The Great Writers didn't shirk their writing responsibilities.
Excused Absences: I can only be here, and I can't be there, which means I can't be anywhere you are unless we are both in class. Consequently, I have no way to know what goes on outside of class. This means I need documentation. No matter how many excused absences you have, you can still only miss the aforementioned number of classes. What you can do is use such documentation for a medical withdrawal. An excused absence means, for example, that I don't give you a zero for an exercise or a quiz. In-class writing still has to be done in class. I will take up all such documentation on the last day of class and sort through it then. Even the Great Writers had an unavoidable, understandable emergency come up once or twice. Nonetheless I cannot accept job-related excuses.
Late Paper: When I ask for it, it's due. If I don't get it from you when it's due, it's late. Every day, except Saturday, that school is in session that I don't get your paper is minus ten points. If I get your paper right after class is over, I count it a day late. Even the Great Writers had to observe deadlines.
Assignments and Grading
5% CLAST Essay
10% In-class Essay
5% Quizzes
10% Exercises
5% Presentation
5% CLAST English Language Skills Test #1
5% CLAST English Language Skills Test #2
15% Essay 1
20% Essay 2
20% Essay 3
More information about grading
10% CLAST Essay. We do this in class.
10% In-class Essay. See above.
10% Quizzes. Every day we have a reading or readings, we have a quiz. Three questions, twenty points each. I give you forty points. The questions will call only for factual information. Such information may include the definition for words found in the text. You can use any notes you have made. You can't use your book or anyone else's notes. It doesn't get any easier than this. People sometimes think they should get a reward for doing what they are supposed to do. I am not one of those people. However, you may think of this as, if not your reward for reading, your incentive to do so.
10% Exercises. Good news, we do them all in class. Bad news, they must be done in class. For the ones in you which you post a draft or a paragraph, you must also include questions and concerns for the responder to use. I will install a link with some suggestions here.
5% Presentation. Pick a partner. You and that person will get the discussion on the text rolling and sustain interaction between the class and the text for ten minutes. Here are some strategies I have seen. Give a lecture. Ask the class questions. Put on a skit/ based on the text. Develop a board game. Try putting people into teams and running something like Jeopardy.
10% total. CLAST English Language Skills Test #1 and #2. We'll do this in class.
15% Essay 1 Definition Essay.
20% Essay 2 Argument Essay.
20% Essay 3 Interpretive Essay about Literature with sources.
Final Drafts: All must be between three and four pages long. I need the final draft, at least one other draft, and the introductory paragraph you posted. Place all of this in a folder or flat envelope of some kind. No binders. All papers with be double-spaced, in Times New Roman, 12 pt, with one-inch margins all the way around.
Readings:
The day they are listed is the day we will discuss them. You will have them read ahead of time.
When we have extra time: Always bring both textbooks and a disk with your work on it. If we have extra time, I may give notes, let your work on something for this class, or get ahead on the readings. You will not sleep, chatter, or work on something not for this class.
Miscellaneous: Please silence all electronic gizmos, gadgets, and whirlimajigs before entering the classroom. The English departments does not allow any food or beverages in class. Also, you must arrange for your own baby-sitting services. I cannot let anyone to bring his or her children into the classroom.