Writing Level 6
Course ELWRX706
Summer 2012
Instructor:
Christina Andrade
Facebook: facebook.com/christina.embassy
Website:
crazychristinasclass.blogspot.com
Class Times:
Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:45-4:00pm
Room: SH
116/OH 130
Required
Materials: From Reading to Writing 4
Textbook available at the USD
bookstore.
*You must buy your books and bring them class by Tuesday
6/26. This is worth 10% of your grade!
Course
Goals
This course
offers intensive practice in the writing process and prepares students for
college-level writing. When possible, writing will thematically link to topics
covered in Reading 6. Students will be provided direct instruction in academic
composition skills and partake in a variety of real writing assignments.
Writing fluency
and accuracy will be targeted in this course. Fluency can be
defined as the ability to write easily
and effectively. Fluency in this
course will be developed through daily in-class writing activities aimed at
building comfort and enjoyment with the writing process.
Accuracy can be defined as written work which is free from mistakes or errors. Accurate writing will be modeled
through authentic materials and mentor texts. Additionally, grammar instruction
will be provided based on student need.
Academic writing
at the university level is often based on the 3-part process of paraphrasing,
summarizing, and synthesizing information. This course provides ample
practice paraphrasing, summarizing, and synthesizing information from a variety
of sources. Specific attention will be
given to proper citation and the avoidance of plagiarism.
If I do my job well, by the end of this course students will be
able to:
·
Produce
writing which is accurate (relatively free from grammatical and mechanical
error)
·
Produce
various types of texts for various purposes
·
Paraphrase
without plagiarizing
·
Cite
according to APA standards
·
Produce
writing samples of college-student caliber
·
Approach
academic writing with confidence
·
View
writing as an enjoyable activity
Course
Objectives
1.
Understand the importance of writing
with a specific purpose and audience.
2.
Compose thesis statements which
clearly express focused direction for the essay.
3.
Create an essay using standard
three-part organization (introduction, body, and conclusion) as an introduction
to expository writing.
4.
Apply the writing process which
consists of three broad stages (planning, drafting and revising) to produce
effective written communication.
5.
Gather, evaluate, organize, and
interpret information from a variety of genres, synthesize information gathered
and incorporate it into writing by quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing by
citing sources.
6.
Understand and appropriately
articulate various genres of writing (cause/effect, compare/contrast,
paraphrase/summary, persuasive/argumentative).
7.
Write sentences that evidence proper
linkage and closure (avoid fragments and
run-ons, utilize transition vocabulary)
8.
Produce sentences that show correct
grammar usage (number, possession, tense and person)
9.
Create sentences that demonstrate
correct usage of mechanics (commas, end punctuation, quotation marks, and
capitalization)
Student
Learning Outcomes
1.
Student can write a multi-paragraph
essay with a controlling idea and supporting details
2.
Student uses transitions successfully
3.
Student demonstrates control of
English sentences (simple, compound and complex)
4.
Student incorporates relevant outside
reading information in writing successfully with quotes and citations.
Classroom
Expectations
Students are
expected to come to class on time, prepared and ready to participate.
This means:
1.
Do not come to class late.
2.
Come to class with your homework
completed.
3.
Bring your textbook to class with you
every day.
4.
Bring your notebook and pen with you
every day.
5.
Be *engaged*.
Engaged
(adjective) = interested and excited to participate
*Engagement*
is a very important word to Christina. Did you notice it is even in the title
of the textbook for this course? You will hear it all the time. Learn it, live,
it, love it J
Attendance
Policy
My attendance policy is simple: Come to
class!
If
you come to class regularly, Christina will like you and you will learn.
If you must miss a class, please tell
Christina before the class you are going to miss.
You
can contact Christina in person, by email or by Facebook (so easy, right?)
Students are required by the US government to
have a minimum of 80% attendance.
If you are more than 10 minutes late to
class, you will be marked absent.
It is ELA’s policy that classroom doors be
locked 10 minutes after the start of class and you will not be able to attend
class until after the break. This will
make Christina very sad. L
Do you think attendance is important to
Christina???
We have a lot of fun in this class. I promise
you won’t want to miss a minute of it! J
Grading
System
10% Purchase
the text book by 6/24/12
20% Weekly
Writing Warm-up Assignments
20% Homework/News
in the Real World
50% 3
Formal Writing Assessments
Late
assignments cannot be accepted
**Please notice that 50% of your final grade
comes simply from coming to class prepared and participating. Your attendance
and participation is very important to me!
Cheating
Policy
Any student
caught cheating will immediately fail that assignment.
Any student
caught cheating three or more times will fail the class.
*A special note on plagiarism:
Plagiarism can be
defined as the act of using another person's words or ideas without giving
credit to that person. Any time you include quotes, sentences or ideas from
another text, credit must be given to that author or text. Reporting
information from a source without plagiarizing can be the most difficult part
of the writing process. Because of this, the course will emphasize correct
citation methods. Most universities require that students follow the APA format
for citing sources. Ample instruction on how to follow APA format will be
provided in this course. Plagiarism is a serious offense in the U.S. university
system which can result in immediate expulsion. Your instructors are smart and
can easily detect plagiarism! Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated in
this course and will result in immediate failure of the assignment. Repeat
plagiarism will result in failure of the course.
Course Assignments
Writing Warm-ups
(WWWs)
Once a week we will try to start class with a 10 minute
writing activity. These activities will either focus on writing fluency or writing accuracy. They will be of a less academic nature as the aim is to
build confidence and comfort in the writing process. You must bring a notebook
with you to class each day. You will keep your weekly writing warm ups in this
notebook. Each warm-up is worth 1 point. Full credit will be given to any
completed warm-up activity. Being absent will result in 0 points.
·
WWW-Fluency
These are fun creative
writing activities designed to help you learn to love writing!
·
WWW-Accuracy
These are fun
technical writing activities designed to help you make your writing free from
errors. The topics include grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Homework
Homework will often be assigned from the required textbook.
News in the Real
World (NRW)-Written Summary
Each weekend you will be asked to follow what’s happening
out there in the real world. You can follow the news on any medium you like
(TV, newspaper, internet, radio, etc.). There is no limit on topic, as long as
you find it interesting. On Tuesdays you will submit a one paragraph summary of
the news story you chose. If you are
also in Reading 6, this should be a written summary of the same article you
read for Reading 6.
Formal Writing
Assessments
There will be 3 formal writing assessments in this course.
