English 100W-4: Composition
Wollaeger  TR 11-12:15 in Cole 225
  Office: 414 Benson Hall      Office Hours: TR 2-4       Office phone: 2-7469
                                                      Secretary (Dori): 2-6527
 E-mail: mark.wollaeger@vanderbilt.edu

Texts and  Materials
Aims
General Requirements
    Essays
    Response Pages
    Presentations
Other Requirements
     Computer Lab Sessions
     E-mail
     Miscellaneous
Schedule of Assignments -- Last updated: March 23, 1998
Archive of Handouts -- Last updated: March 17, 1998
Daedalus Handbook -- 
 
 
 
 
 

Texts and Materials

Columbo, Cullen, and Lisle, Rereading America (RA)
Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Hacker, The Bedford Handbook for Writers, 5th Edition
One formatted 3.5" IBM computer disk
One pocket-style folder big enough for a semester's worth of writing

Aims

This course is designed to help you to write confidently, deliberately, and appropriately for your various college courses.  We will focus most intently on critical thinking and argumentation.  Writing will be assigned throughout the semester, with ample opportunity for revision.  Revision, in fact, is the key to good writing, so we will work hard on learning to revise effectively.

General Requirements

In general, you must complete the appropriate assignment for each day and bring the appropriate text(s) to class.  Attendance and participation in class discussions are mandatory.  After more than two unexcused absences (whenever possible inform me in advance) I will begin to penalize your grade.  You must also attend a minimum of two scheduled writing tutorials in my office.  Missing a tutorial counts as an unexcused absence.  To pass the course you must satisfactorily complete all writing assignments.  Active participation in all class discussions and workshops is crucial: this is a small class; we need you and your voice.

 Essays:  During the semester you will write five essays, each one word-processed on a computer and 4-5 pages in length (unless otherwise specified).  One page = a page of approximately 250 words, double spaced.  At least four of these essays will be extensively revised.  I will give detailed responses to your drafts, but assign a grade only to the final draft of each essay. Failure to produce a good faith effort on a draft will result in a grade penalty on the graded version.   Format: follow MLA guidelines as described  in The Bedford Handbook.  (Note that this means each essay should include parenthetical citations and a bibliography page listing the essays cited.) All written work must be paginated and titled.

Keep all your essays together in a folder, and always hand in the previous draft(s) with every new version.  Given that the class will operate on a workshop schedule, it is essential that all papers come in as scheduled; late papers without a prearranged extension (given only under dire circumstances) will suffer a grade penalty.

Response pages:  Beginning Tuesday, January 13, you must hand in at the beginning of class a typed, double-spaced response paper (1-1 ½ pp) on one of the assigned readings for that day.  We will begin with the following format: you will select one passage from the reading, type it out in full, and then write a commentary in which you aim to articulate your perspective on what strikes you as important in the passage. (See the sample distributed in class.) The passage should be no more than four lines or so.  You may disagree with the passage, agree with it, agree with part of it but reject the rest -- in any case, establish a distinct perspective on it; do not simply summarize. Whatever your response, you should engage closely with the chosen passage and offer specific reasons in support of your response.  If you devote careful attention to these response papers, you will find it easier to generate beginning ideas for your papers, and you will feel more actively engaged in class discussions.  These will be evaluated but not assigned individual grades.
 
Presentations:  in the last weeks of the semester, each of you will give a presentation on a topic of your choice.  The presentation must advance an argument; a short prospectus is due April 1. Part of the final exam will ask you to write out a version of your presentation as your last essay for the course.  On the presentation days during which you are not presenting, you will select one presentation and write a response page for the next class meeting.  We will discuss the length and format of presentations as the semester unfolds.  Our final exam is scheduled for Thursday, April 30, at 9 a.m.

Other Requirements

Garland Lab sessions:  over the course of the semester we will meet about seven times in the Garland Microcomputer Lab, where you will participate in various activities using the Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment (DIWE).  For each of these sessions you will need to bring your computer disk.

Currently Scheduled Lab Dates:

E-mail:  I will also require you to send me an email message by Tuesday, January 13.  My address is mark.wollaeger@vanderbilt.edu.  If you need help establishing an email account and learning to use email, please go to the Garland Computer Lab to find out what you have to do. I will meet with you frequently face to face, but I highly recommend email as a quick way to touch base with me about your writing. You can send me queries, your thesis statement for an essay, or anything else that could be handled through a quick exchange of messages. For this first message, just saying hi will suffice (though I'd be happy to hear anything else you have to say).

I also want you to learn how to use the Simeon mailer on the VUmail system. Even if you don't install Simeon on your own computer, you can easily use it anywhere campus. For help installing Simeon consult ACIS (343-1631) or their Web Pages
 
Miscellaneous:  On some days we will have in-class writing assignments.  If you miss class that day, you will receive a zero on the assignment. Choosing Unit 4: I will ask each of you to vote to determine which unit from Rereading America we'll use for Unit 4.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Schedule of Assignments

 

Th 1/8    Introduction, by Karin Westman (I am at a writing conference and will return for class
              on Tuesday.)

UNIT 1: MYTHS OF EDUCATION AND EMPOWERMENT

T 1/13     RA, 1- 14 ("Thinking Critically"), RA, 15-19 ("Learning Power"), RA, 20-44 (Sizer;
                Rose)
Th 1/15    GARLAND LAB SESSION: Meet at the Microcomputer Lab in Garland Hall.
                Be sure to bring your computer disk to every lab session.
                Reading: RA, 45-60 (Anyon); 86-108 (Sadker and Sadker)

T 1/20    RA, 61-74 (Rodriguez); 77-86 (Malcolm X); 110-14 (Kingston)
Th 1/22   Draft of Essay #1 due in class: bring three copies for in-class workshop.
F 1/23    Essay #1 due by 4 p.m. in my mailbox in Benson (third floor)
                   **Always hand in previous draft with each version

UNIT 2: THE MYTH OF THE MODEL FAMILY
 
T 1/27      RA, 142-44 (Intro); 150-72 (Hochman; Lindsey)
Th 1/29    GARLAND LAB SESSION: Meet at the Microcomputer Lab in Garland Hall.
                Reading: RA, 145-50 (Soto); 172-82 (Ozersky)
F 1/30      Revision of Essay #1 due by 4 p.m. in mailbox in Benson

T 2/3       RA, 182-212 (Campbell; Collins)
Th 2/5     RA, 212-37 (Coontz; Jack; Dixon)

T 2/10     GARLAND LAB SESSION: Meet at the Microcomputer Lab in Garland Hall.
                Draft of Essay #2 due in class: two copies. You will spend the lab session reviewing
                one another's papers, so you must come prepared.
W 2/11    Individual conferences on Essay #2
Th 2/12    No Class:  Individual conferences on Essay #2
 
UNIT 3: MYTHS OF GENDER – Fair warning: some of you may find some of the words in some of
of the following articles offensive.
 
M 2/16     Revision of Essay #2 due
T 2/17      RA, 238-41 (Intro); 241-53 (Kincaid; Devor)
Th 2/19    RA, 253-78 (Schroedel; Kimmel; Hooks)

T 2/24     GARLAND LAB SESSION: Meet at the Microcomputer Lab in Garland Hall.
                Reading: RA, 296-27 (Weinrich and Williams; Allen; Naylor)
 
Th 2/26     Prospectus for Essay #3 due in class: bring three copies for in-class workshop
F 2/27      Draft of Essay #3 due by 3 p.m. in my mailbox in Benson
  .
SPRING BREAK

UNIT 4: MTH OF THE MELTING POT

T 3/10     RA, 328-351 (Intro; Takaki). Also: pick up Class Pak for new reading.
Th 3/12   GARLAND LAB SESSION: Meet at the Microcomputer Lab in Garland Hall.
               No reading beyond the Class Pak reading toward revision of Essay #3.
               (Note change from earlier syllabus: no writing workshop today.)
F 3/13     Revision of Essay #3 due by 3 p.m.in my mailbox in Benson

T 3/17     RA, 356-65; 376-88 (Omi and Winant; Parrillo)
W 3/18    Prospectus due for presentation (one paragraph and three-source bibliography),
                by 5 p.m. in my mailbox in Benson
Th 3/19   RA, 388-11(Terkel; Guerrero)

T 3/24     GARLAND LAB SESSION: Meet at the Microcomputer Lab in Garland Hall.
                Essay #4 due in class: two copies for use in writing workshop
                Individual Conferences Tuesday afternoon.
W 3/25    Individual Conferences
Th 3/26    No Class: Your professor has his knee revised.

UNIT 5: THE GREAT GATSBY and MYTHS OF AMERICA

M 3/30     Revision of Essay #4 due by 3 p.m. in my mailbox in Benson
T 3/31      Fitzgerald, Great Gatsby, chapters 1-3; (one presentation)
Th 4/2      GARLAND LAB SESSION: Meet at the Microcomputer Lab in Garland Hall.
                Reading:  Fitzgerald, Great Gatsby, chapters 4-6
 
T 4/7        Fitzgerald, Great Gatsby, finish the novel (possibly one presentation)
Th 4/9      Presentations
F 4/10      Essay #5 due by 3 p.m. (except for those presenting this week)

T 4/14      Presentations
Th 4/16    Presentations

T 4/21     Presentations and wrap up.
 

Final Exam: 4/30, 9 a.m. Essay #6, derived from your presentation, written in class as part of the final exam.