Engl
3130 Advanced Composition, Spring 2018
[ Policies ]
[ Calendar ] [ Model
Student Essays ] [ Final
Exam Instructions/ Best Essays from This Semester ]
Calendar
last update: April 22, 2018
Class meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays from 9:20-10:15am in Burleson 302.
BAM = Best American Magazine
Writing 2016
SS = The Sense of Style: The Thinking
Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, by Steven Pinker
Week 1
Wednesday,
January 17:
Introductions.
Friday,
January 19:
-
In BAM, read "The Friend," by Matthew Teague, p 277-295. Bring BAM to
class, and be prepared to discuss the essay.
-
Browse the "Narrative Based on Experience" essays on the "Model
Student Essays" page.
-
Browse the UNC-Chapel Hill Writing Center Handouts on Writing Groups: writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/writing-groups/.
Read "Responding to Other People's Writing"--writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/writing-groups/responding-to-other-peoples-writing/--
and read "Reacting to Other People's Responses to Your
Writing"-- writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/writing-groups/reacting-to-other-peoples-responses-to-your-writing/--at
the UNC Writing Center website.
Week 2
Monday,
January 22:
- Click here for an
ms word version of a writing response sheet: http://faculty.etsu.edu/odonnell/readings/WritingResponseWorksheet.docx.
Print two copies of the sheet and bring those to class.
-
1500 word rough draft of essay 1, Narrative, due. As always, on
draft days, bring two extra copies (a total of 3 copies) for a writing
workshop.
Wednesday,
January 24:
-
Read this one page sheet posted at the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of
English) website, entitled "Organizing Your Writing": www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Involved/DayonWriting/OrganizingYourWriting.pdf
Friday,
January 26:
-
In SS, read "Prologue" p1-9, and "Chapter 1: Good Writing"
p11-26.
Week 3
Monday,
January 29:
-
Essay 1, revised, due for a grade. Also bring to class the
rough draft, to submit along with the revised essay.
-
Bring your grammar handbook to class.
Wednesday,
January 31:
-
Browse the "Tech Writing" essays on the "Model
Student Essays" page.
-
Read the following professional examples of tech writing, online:
- "36 Hours in Asheville, N. C."
By Shaila Dewan. New York Times, Oct 13, 2016. www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/10/travel/what-to-do-36-hours-in-asheville-north-carolina.html
- "The Bacon Explosion: Take Bacon. Add Sausage. Blog." Food article
and recipe, New York Times online, January 27, 2009. www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/dining/28bacon.html
Friday,
February 2:
-
In BAM, read the first 4 sections of "What Is Code?" by Paul Ford,
p9-36.
Week 4
Monday,
February 5:
-
1500 word rough draft of essay 2, Tech Writing, due. As always,
on draft days, bring two extra copies (a total of 3 copies) for a writing
workshop.
Wednesday,
February 7:
-
In BAM, read sections 5 through 7 of "What is Code?" by Paul Ford,
p36-60.
Friday,
February 9:
-
On Youtube, view "Great Pacific Garbage Patch." By Hank Green and the
youtube channel SciShow. Published on August 7, 2012. Running time: 3:22. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh6lkv1udb0
Week 5
Monday,
February 12:
-
Essay 2 due.
-
Bring your grammar handbook to class.
Wednesday,
February 14:
-
Browse the "Review/ Criticism" essays on the "Model
Student Essays" page.
-
Read, here online, "Steven Pinker’s ‘The Sense of Style’" [book review].
By Charles McGrath. The New York Times Sunday Book Review, October
17, 2014. www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/books/review/steven-pinker-the-sense-of-style-review.html
Friday,
February 16:
-
In SS, read "Chapter 3: The Curse of Knowledge--the main cause of
incomprehensible prose is the difficulty of imagining what it's like for
someone else not to know something that you know," p57-76.
Week 6
Monday,
February 19:
-
1500 word rough draft of essay 3, Review/ Criticism, due. As always,
on draft days, bring two extra copies (a total of 3 copies) for a writing
workshop.
Wednesday,
February 21:
-
In BAM, read "Down for the Count," by Howard Bryant, p269-271; and
read "Stop Sending Me Jonathan Franzen Novels" by Barrett Brown,
p258-266.
Friday,
February 23:
-
Read, here online, "Hosed: Is there a quick fix for the climate?"
[review of Levitt and Dubner's SuperFreakonomics and Al
Gore's Our Choice]. By Elizabeth Kolbert. The
New Yorker, November 16, 2009. www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/11/16/091116crbo_books_kolbert
Week 7
Monday,
February 26:
-
Essay 3 due.
-
Bring your grammar handbook to class.
Wednesday,
February 28:
-
Browse the "Writing from Sources" essays on the "Model
Student Essays" page.
-
Online, read "The Answer Man: An ancient poem was rediscovered—and
the world swerved." By Stephen Greenblatt. The New Yorker,
August 8, 2011. www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/08/110808fa_fact_greenblatt
Due: Topic proposal
for essay 4, Writing from Sources. Write a memo to me and your classmates,
proposing a topic for the essay that you will write. Consider the following
guidelines:
1. Include a generous working title
(including a subtitle after the colon).
2. Describe why you are interested in the
topic, and why you are qualified to write about it.
3. If you are choosing, for this essay, to
revisit a topic about which you've already written: describe the previous
writing you've done on this same topic.
4. Also, include at least one complete,
formal citation for one good written source that you plan to use for your
essay. Write an annotation for that source -- that is, a short paragraph
describing the source and how you think it will be useful for your essay.
Friday,
March 2:
Class cancelled for Spring Break.
SPRING BREAK: MARCH 2 - 9
Week
8
Monday,
March 12:
Read "How to Be a Female Nature Writer," by Joan Maloof, here
online: faculty.etsu.edu/odonnell/readings/how_to_be_a_female_nature_writer.pdf
Wednesday,
March 14: Wikipedia writing exercise due: Edit
a wikipedia article. Then write a concise memo, addressed to me, and
to your Engl 3130 classmates, providing the exact information a reader would
need in order to see what changes you made to the article.
Friday,
March 16:
-
Bring to class 2 sources that you are using for you essay 4. If a given source is a published book, or if
you have a printout (hard copy), bring the printed copy to class. If a source exists primarily online, bring
the url and a hard copy of a full written citation; be ready to present and
discuss.
-
Read the section entitled "Key differences in MLA 8th Edition," in A Complete Guide to MLA 8th Edition,
here online at easybib.com: www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/mla-8/ultimate-guide-mla-eighth-edition/. Also, browse the rest of that page.
Week
9
Monday,
March 19: Draft of essay 4, Writing from Sources, due.
Be sure your draft includes a complete bibliography. As always, on draft days, bring two extra
copies (a total of 3 copies) for a writing workshop.
Wednesday,
March 21:
-
Read, online: "Rachel Carson Didn’t Kill Millions of Africans:
How the 50-year-old campaign against Silent Spring still distorts environmental
debates." By William Souder. Slate: the online magazine,
Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/09/silent_spring_turns_50_biographer_william_souder_clears_up_myths_about_rachel_carson_.html
-
This evening, 7-8:30 pm, Joan Maloof will give a presentation and lead
discussion -- "Old-Growth Forests: What They Are, Where They Are, and Why
They Matter." In The Tennessee Room, on the 3rd floor of the ETSU Culp
Center. Extra credit: One check mark if you attend.
Friday,
March 23:
Bring your draft of essay 4 to class.
We'll work on it in class.
Week
10
Monday,
March 26:
Essay 4 due.
Wednesday,
March 28: In BAM, read "Purgatory" by Luke
Mogelson, p155-180.
Friday,
March 30: Good Friday: class cancelled.
Week
11
Monday,
April 2:
Draft of essay 5, Writing in the Nonfiction Genre of Your Choice, due.
Wednesday,
April 4: In BAM, read "'My Nurses Are Dead, and I
Don't Know If I'm Already Infected'" by Joshua Hammer, p127-154.
Friday,
April 6: Class cancelled. (I'll be out of town.)
Week
12
Monday,
April 9:
Essay 5 due.
Wednesday,
April 11:
-
In BAM, read "Pregnant? Scared? Need Options? Too Bad" by Meaghan
Winter, p111-124; read "How it Feels" by Jenny Zhang, p297-310.
-
Revision plan due: Write a memo to me and your classmates, in which
you discuss your plans for revising your best essay. Which essay do you plan to
revise? What is its title? Describe the piece. Why are you choosing to revise
it? What qualities does this essay have, which will lead it to find a genuine
audience on the internet? What specific revisions do you plan to make, so that
the essay will be ready to send out into the world?
Friday,
April 13:
bring to class a copy of the essay that you are revising.
Week
13
Monday,
April 16:
In BAM, read "An Unbelievable Story of Rape" by Armstrong and Miller,
p203-240.
Wednesday,
April 18:
In SS, read Chapter 5, "Arcs of Coherence: How to Ensure That Readers Will
Grasp the Topic, Get the Point, Keep Track of the Players, and See How One Idea
Follows from Another," p139-186.
Friday,
April 20:
Bring SS to class, and bring a copy of the essay you're revising, PRINTED ON ONE
SIDE OF THE PAPER.
Week
14
Monday,
April 23:
In class today we'll discuss all the logistics of the revised essay submission
and the final exam.
Wednesday,
April 25:
-
Revision of your best essay due:
1.
Bring a hard copy of your revision to class. I will grade the hard copy, which
will count for 35% of your final grade.
2.
Also, before class time, email me an electronic version as an attachment. Consider the following:
A. If you don't want your real name
to be posted on the internet, put a pseudonym (nom de plume) on it.
B. Include an email address next to
the author's name, at the top of the essay.
C. A pdf format is best, but I can
do business with most electronic formats.
D. When saving the file, include at
least three tags or search terms.
Final exam period: Monday, April 30, 8:30-10am