Fall, 1998	King 139 ; x8612
Expository Writing/English 101	Office Hours: M., 11:00-12:00 & Th., 2:00-3:00 or by appt.
Mr. Podis	email: fpodis

"We [must] expand our notion of the rhetorical project to include the ongoing work of learning how to make [ourselves] heard in a variety of contexts" --Richard Miller

This course provides an introduction to college writing, but it will also focus on writing as a fundamental mode of learning and as a tool for communicating with others. You will be asked to do four types of writing: the personal essay, the critical or academic essay, the learning journal, and the research paper. Emphasis will be on the process of writing (i.e., how to function as a writer) as well as on the written product (i.e.,the qualities a good paper should have.) We will spend some time trying to dispel harmful myths about writing and will approach writing as a rewarding and enjoyable activity that can benefit the writer, who learns through the act of composing, and the reader, who is informed, enlightened, or entertained. Most classes will involve some sort of hands-on activity: small-group response sessions, full class draft presentations, workshops on composing or revising, and so on. Each of you will also have at least one half-hour conference with me every other week to go over your work individually.

The main textbook for the course is Rethinking Writing, which I co-authored with JoAnne M. Podis. The book is based on the latest research in rhetoric and composition studies and also draws on my experience of teaching writing to many Oberlin students over the years. Students from past semesters have contributed writing samples and ideas to the book, and many have also made suggestions for revising earlier drafts of the manuscript. There are several major themes that inform the book, themes that will be prominent in our course:

1. The value of writing as a tool for discovery and learning.

2. The need for substantial revision to clarify the writer's ongoing discoveries.

3. The recognition that writing is social and interactive, not solely an individual activity

4. The importance of context and situation in forming a piece of writing.

5. The crucial role of reading in the shaping of a text.

6. The connection between personal writing and academic writing.

7. The need for flexibility in writing diverse kinds of papers.

8. The effects of a culturally diverse society on writing and discourse.

9. The empowerment of students to be confident, authoritative writers.

(The four quotations I have chosen for the epigraphs at the top of this page are also important in summarizing some of these themes.)

Note: This course must be taken Credit/No Entry. Also note that students whose writing meets Oberlin's "Criteria for Proficiency" (see separate handout) by the end of the course can earn a writing certification credit. However, such certification is not automatically awarded for passing the course. One exception is for students who have passed EXWR 100 ("Basic Writing") and then pass this course: They earn one certification credit automatically. If you do wish to be considered for writing proficiency credit, please let me know so that we can discuss your progress towards writing certification over the course of the semester. At the end of the semester, all students interested in having their work considered for writing certification should submit a folder containing their final 10-15pp research paper and copies of five of their best revised essays.

Attendance at classes and conferences is required. Classes meet on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. In addition to class meetings, we will have regularly scheduled individual conferences. Each of you will have a private conference with me at least every other week. If you must be absent from any classes or conference meetings, please let me know (in advance, if possible).

Important: If you miss more than 2 classes without an acceptable excuse, you risk a No Entry for the course. I am enforcing a strict attendance policy not to be authoritarian or punitive, but to underscore that your presence in class is crucial to our work. This will be a participatory course in which you will be expected to take an active role, whether you are reviewing your peers' drafts in small groups or reading your own draft to the whole class. If you are absent when it is your turn to present a draft, it will be impossible to conduct the scheduled workshop. This will be considered a serious lapse of responsibility. Even if you are absent when you are only part of the audience for someone else's work, it will still hamper our efforts to conduct an effective response session. So please make every attempt to attend. It is also important that you be on time. There are obviously days when just about everyone (myself included) will be "running late" or delayed for some good reason. But please try to take very seriously your responsiblility to be on time. Late arrivals will be especially distracting and discourteous to your classmates when they are presenting a paper to the class. All that said, I would personally prefer that you come late rather than not at all.

All written work assigned must be submitted for a grade of Credit. There will be at least one assignment in writing or rewriting each week. Papers should be 4-5 pages in length, except for the longer research paper (10-15 pp.) to be done during the final weeks of the semester. I will hand out a new assignment sheet each week, but I also want you to do some substantial revisions of previous papers (at least 3 revisions over the course of the semester) in lieu of doing all the new assignments. In other words, you will be required to write at least one paper each week: either the draft of a new assignment or a substantial revision of a previous paper. I will also require you to keep a learning journal in which you write at least one informal entry of 1-2 pp. each week. These entries should either be about your reactions to course reading selections or about your experiences in trying to do the week's writing assignment. Please bring your journal to class, as I will periodically ask you to read excerpts aloud. Also bring your journal to your conference every other week, so we can review and discuss it. I will usually not write comments on journal entries unless you ask me to.

Written work must be submitted on time. Written assignments will be due according to the attached "Tentative Schedule." For most class sessions, there will be some form of draft or revision due at class time. Journal entries, as stated above, should be brought to class and are also due at your conference meeting every other week.

Topics. Each week I will provide many topics from which you can choose, but I encourage you to take the initiative to develop your own. You may also design topics based on your work in other courses. If you wish to work on a paper that is actually due in another course, you may do so if you get permission from the instructor of the other course. You might also try writing papers that respond to (or are inspired by) papers written by your classmates. Note: If you feel that you are a writer who responds poorly to such freedom of topic choice, let me know early in the semester and I will (reluctantly) dictate which topic you must write on.

Manuscript Mechanics. All essays to be submitted, whether an early draft, a revision, or a final version, should be typed or word-processed. Please double space. Also check your ribbon or printer cartridge often to make sure that the print isn't too light to read or photocopy. Please attach a completed cover sheet (I'll hand these out with each assignment) to each paper that you bring to class, whether for group response sessions or submission to me.

Textbooks (at the Co-Op):

Rethinking Writing by Podis and Podis

The Norton Reader, 9th Ed., by Eastman et al

WEEK 1

Wed., Sep. 2.

First Class Meeting: Introductions. Sign up for conferences. Assign. #1 and #2 distributed. In-class writing on Assign. #1 if time allows. For next class, Rethinking Writing, Ch. 1 & 138-45.

Note: Individual conferences begin next week for those students who sign up for conferences in Sequence 1 (see sign-up schedule). Remember to bring your first journal entries to your first conference for review.

WEEK 2

Mon., Sep. 7

Labor Day&emdash;No Class.

Note: Individual conferences begin this week for those students who have signed up for Sequence 1 (see sign-up schedule) and continue every other week thereafter. Bring journal entries to conference for review.

Wed., Sep. 9

Bring completed Assign. #1 to class for discussion. Also bring a draft of Assign. #2 to exchange with a classmate for peer response. Plan to revise #2 and submit it to me in class Mon., Sep. 14. Today I will also hand out Assign. #3. A rough draft of #3 will be due in class for small group sessions next Mon., Sep. 14. Review Draft Presentation Schedule. Reading for next week: RW, Ch. 2; Norton Reader, 56-58 & 13-18.

WEEK 3

Mon.., Sep. 14

Submit a revised draft of Assignment #2 . Also bring a rough draft of Assign. #3 to class. Review response guidelines from RW, Chapter 1 and then form into small groups to read and respond to each other's drafts. Based on the responses you receive, plan to revise #3 for submission at our next class. For your journal entry for next week, try to write about your experiences of composing/revising Assignments #2 and #3, including some reflection on your reactions to the responses you received from your peer readers.

Note: Individual conferences begin this week for students who have signed up for Sequence 2 (see sign-up schedule) and continue every other week thereafter. Bring journal entries to conference for review.

Wed., Sep. 16

Revised version of Assign. #3 is due in class to hand in. Assign. #4 handed out. Be prepared to discuss your ideas for Assign. #4 in small groups at our next class (Mon., Sep. 21) and to begin work on writing the actual draft in class on Monday. Today, begin Scheduled Draft Presentations (See Presentation Schedule.) Reading for next week: RW, 74-95; NR, pp. 1-11 & 496-502.

WEEK 4

Mon., Sep. 21

Pre-writing/Brainstorming/Drafting Workshop for Assign. #4: Form into small groups to discuss ideas and plans for your next essay. Then work on composing/revising Assign. #4 in class during the second half of the period. A draft of #4 will be due to hand in to me at our next class, Wed., Sep. 23.

Note: Individual conferences this week for students in Sequence 1.

Wed., Sep. 23

Complete draft of Assign. #4 due to be handed in. Main Activity: Scheduled Draft Presentation (See separate schedule.) Assign. #5 handed out. A draft of #5 is due in class next Mon. (Sep. 28) for small group responses. Reading for next Monday: RW, 95-112; NR, 71-77 & 85-91

WEEK 5

Mon., Sep. 28

Small Group Sessions. Bring a draft of Assign. #5 to class for peer response sessions. Plan to revise the paper after you get feedback from your group, and submit the paper to me at our next class, a week from today. No new reading for next class.

Note: Individual conferences this week for students in Sequence 2.

Wed., Sep. 30

Yom Kippur&emdash;No Class.

WEEK 6

Mon., Oct. 5

Revision of Assignment #5 due in class (to hand in). Assign. #6 handed out. During the coming week, do the reading and do pre- writing activities for #6. Start the writing process and bring what you have to class next Monday for an in-class writing work- shop. Main activity today: Scheduled Draft Presentation. Reading for next week: RW, Ch. 4; NR, 240-250 & 251-258.

Note: Individual conferences this week for students in Sequence 1.

Wed., Oct. 7

Pre-writing work on Assign. #6 should be underway. Main activity today: Scheduled Draft Presentation.

WEEK 7

Mon., Oct. 12

Writing Workshop. Bring your preliminary work for Assign. #6 and compose/revise the paper in class (to hand in at our next class, Wed. Oct. 14). As part of this workshop, we can explore issues arising from the readings upon which the assignments are based (using your journal entries as a point of departure).

Note: Individual conferences this week for students in Sequence 2.

Wed., Oct. 14

Revision of Assign. #6 due in class (to hand in). Assignment for over Fall Break will be made. Main class activity today: Scheduled Draft Presentation.

WEEK 8

Week of Mon., Oct. 19 & Wed., Oct 21

--Fall Break (Classes will resume Mon., Oct. 26)