Explore English Composition: Writing Techniques and Critical Thinking

1. ENGL 1301 Composition

2. Here we go…. • Instructor: Kimberly WomblesWebsite: www.kwombles.comEmails: kim.wombles@cisco.edu, wombles@sbcglobal.net

3. Syllabus • Description and Objectives of the Course: The CJC catalog contains this description of English 1301: “Principles and techniques of written, expository, and persuasive composition: analysis of literary, expository, and persuasive texts; and critical thinking. Three lecture hours per week.” Credit: 3 semester hours.

4. Syllabus • Required texts: Bullock, Richard and Maureen Daly Goggin. The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings. New York: Norton, 2007. Troyka, Lynn Quitman and Douglas Hesse. Handbook for Writers. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Simon & Schuster, 2007.

5. Syllabus • Bring both textbooks every day: most worksheets and exercises are open-textbook, so, if you fail to bring your texts, then you will receive a zero for in-class assignments.

6. Syllabus • Make-up Work: Late papers will have 5 points deducted per day late (not per class day, per DAY). • All work may be submitted via email. Please have two files for the paper; one for the rough draft (labeled as such), and one for the final draft. Please name the files as such: Last Name Rough Draft Paper #, Last Name Final Draft Paper #.

7. Syllabus • Essays and papers are due when called for in class on their due dates.

8. Syllabus • Coursework:1. 1. Papers (10% per first 4 essays, 20% for lit analysis short story)     5  essays, both rough draft and final draft typed. (page counts announced individually). Peer edits are required in class.  MLA format will be adhered to strictly

9. Syllabus • 2. Critical Thinking and Writing Exercises (15%)

10. Syllabus        3. Daily Work work (5%)      Quizzes, exercises in texts, and readings and sundries.4. Final exam (20%)     Textual Analysis.

11. Moving on • Handbook Chapter 1: Thinking Like a Writer. • Norton 6. Writing a Literacy Narrative, 50. Literacy Narratives   • Writing example: read the essay Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue”  and respond to the questions 1-4. (These two chapters will need to be read outside classes. You should be prepared to discuss the essays in chapter 50 the next class).

12. Why writing isn’t nearly as bad as you think it is! • Like talking, or anything else for that matter, the more you do it, the easier it gets! • Practice and learning to have a thick skin are important keys to being a successful writer. Criticism of your writing is not criticism of you as a person. Really. Seriously. It’s not.

13. So, writing? We write more now than at any other time in history. You write on MySpace, on facebook, on YouTube. You text. Maybe you even blog. Some of you may even write stories. Cool, huh?

14. Yes, writing. Wherever you are on the writing spectrum, I’m going to help you get better at it. -- like, when do you have to follow the grammar rules and when can you break them? -- and, how do you shape your text to best excite readers and get your point across?

15. Mhmm, more on writing Major purposes of writing: to express yourself to inform a reader to persuade a reader to create a literary work

16. Huh? Expressive writing: I’ve got something to say, something to share. Narrative essays, blogs, diary or journal entries, literary writing, opinion essays, letters to editor, comments on blogs or other types of sites.

17. Oh. Informative writing: I need to share information with you (okay, so I can see some overlap in expressive writing and informative writing. Wow, I bet the persuasive writing will overlap, too!) Magazine articles, notes from your instructors, blogs, textbooks.

18. Well, sure. Persuasive Writing: I’m right and here’s why! So, you can write to express yourself, inform your reader and persuade them to change his or her point of view all in one piece of writing, and if you are really good, you can do that in a literary work.

19. Audience Just like you don’t talk to your grandmother or your preacher the way you talk to your friends, you need to tailor your writing to your audience. No LOLs or other informal abbreviations in formal writing. And this will be formal writing.

20. Assessing your Audience Where? Academic? Subject area? Specialized vocabulary? Workplace? What business area? Who? Age, gender, cultural identity, religious beliefs, etc. What? Education level, knowledge level, belief systems, interests.

21. Peer Audience We will use peer-editing in this class. It is mandatory; you will participate and earn a 100 for a quiz grade; absence or unpreparedness will result in a 0 that will not be dropped. What you will not do: engage in personal attacks. What you will do: look for flow, transitions, blatant grammar errors. You will offer positive comments. Find something that works for everything that doesn’t.

22. Tone matters Tone is how you say it, not what you are saying. Tone is made up of: Diction -- choice of words Level of formality – slang, informal or professional

23. Sources Strengthen your work by using outside sources, and document those sources! NO Wikipedia! Use it as a starting point to find credible sources, but do not cite it or use it in your works in ANY COURSE EVER!

24. Resources for writing Dictionary Thesaurus Handbook for writers Library Internet

25. Writing isn’t that bad Practice helps you get better. Being willing to accept constructive criticism helps you improve the next time out. Writing lets you communicate with people who are far away, both in distance and time. Writing hones our critical thinking skills and allows us to make better arguments.

26. So, let’s write! How do you feel about writing? Think about it, jot some words down on a piece of paper, think some more, and then on a fresh piece of paper, begin writing. ***first daily grade***

27. Second Class

28. So what is a narrative essay? • Stories, sometimes true, sometimes fictions, sometimes a blend of the two. • We’re not taking the time in class to read the three readings, but YOU WILL at home before the next class. 

29. Distinctions between a Narrative and a Literacy Narrative • A narrative can be over any significant event. • A literacy narrative is the writer’s remembrance of learning to read or write or to value one or the other. • Your in-class essay can be either a literacy narrative or a straight narrative (not fiction, though).

30. KEY features of a narrative essay? • Well told story with a situation needing resolved = TENSION • Vivid detail: vivid mental images = think television or movie. The reader can see it, feel it, smell it, taste it. • Significance: why this scene, this story matters, to the writer and to the reader: what do you take away?

31. Guide to Writing a Narrative • Topic: focus on a single event: first time you met your true love, some event that profoundly changed your life, whether good or bad. • Make a list of possible topics, do prewriting activities on those that are most appealing and see where you really get caught up: do that topic.

32. Guide to Writing a Narrative • Purpose: why this topic, why this essay? How do these choices shape the project? • Audience: who are you writing it for? Yourself? The instructor? Family or friends? A wider audience? • Stance: what’s your attitude towards your topic? Nostalgic? Regretful? Happy? Angry? Bitter?

33. Guide to Writing a Narrative • Generate your ideas: did you do some prewriting activities when you were singling out your topic? Use these to generate additional ideas about the topic. • Describe the setting. • Describe the participants. • Dialogue? Not necessarily necessary, but maybe, if it feels right.

34. Guide to Writing a Narrative • What happened? Got the place. Got the people. Now tell what happened. • Why does this matter? Why was it important? What’s the lesson? • If it doesn’t resonate, doesn’t have some tension to it, then it has no purpose. We NEED purpose.

35. Organizing • Thought you were through didn’t you? All that work, filled some pages. And it’s not even the first draft? Huh? • Outline the event. Play with how you want to tell the story. Straight chronological order? Ending first, then backtrack? Start in the middle? SO MANY WAYS to tell a story.

36. First Draft • Once you’ve got an outline, a clear plan, ducks in a row, NOW you write the first draft. • Maybe you draft the beginning and the ending FIRST, then go back and fill in the middle. • When you write, you are thinking about your reader, not yourself.

37. Title last • Got to have a catchy, interesting title. You can have interim titles, working titles for yourself, but when you’re done and ready to give it to the reader, it needs a title that evokes the reader’s interest, draws him in.

38. Plugging the Holes • Still ain’t done. Get somebody to read it, find out where it doesn’t flow, and go back and fix it. • Read it aloud. If you hitch up in the reading, you need to smooth the words out. • Then, fix the grammar leaks.

39. Narration as a writing strategy • Narration, done well, can support most kinds of writing. We like stories, so we use them to convince people our ideas are right. • Three main things about narration as a strategy: put them in clear sequence, include pertinent details, and make sure it is appropriate to the material at hand.

40. Sequencing • Start at the beginning and work your way all the way to the end. • Start at the end and work your way back to the beginning (think resumes) • Use flashbacks in the middle of a narrative to an event that occurs before the story begins. • Use time markers (dates, days, time of day, year) • Use transitions: first, then, next

41. Pertinent detail • Pertinent: NECESSARY • What details do you need? • What do you not need to include? • How does your vocabulary shape the story? Word choices matter.

42. When are narratives appropriate? Narratives can be useful as openings and endings. Think of an argumentative essay against abortion. Using a narrative at the beginning and the end can strengthen your argument by bringing in the reader’s emotions.

43. Literacy Narratives • Norton Chapters 6 and chapters 50 have a total of 8 narrative essays for you to read. You need to read all 8, take some quick notes on them and be prepared to discuss all 8 in the next class. Specifically, you should be able to discuss what worked in each essay, what didn’t work for you. What you would have changed. What the significance of the essay was.