Instructor:	Dr. William P. Banks
Office:	2143 Bate Bldg
Office Phone:	328-6674
Office Hrs:	T/Th 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
E-mail:	banksw@mail.ecu.edu
AOL/Yahoo:	wbanksecu
Web Page:	http://personal.ecu.edu/banksw/

Welcome to English 1100, your first college course in Composition! Although you may be apprehensive about taking a course about writing — we have, I'm sure, all heard the rumors, the hype — I believe this course will be vastly different from your other experiences. English 1100 emphasizes the processes of writing, so class time will be spent working on drafts, engaging in peer review, revising and editing drafts, and discussing the essays we read. Because the course itself is student-oriented, focused on student writing and participation, you have control over your performance and, consequently, your grade. My commitment will equal your own, but will not exceed it. I believe in rewarding students who do their work and contribute to the class. I look forward to our time together this semester!

Readings and essay assignments designed to introduce principles of expository writing and their application to various writing tasks. Emphasis on methods of organization; techniques for developing unified, well-supported paragraphs and essays; grammatical conventions, proofreading and editing skills; and other important aspects of the writing process.

• to help you develop topics for writing through critical reading and class discussion;
• to help you develop skills for writing effectively for various audiences and purposes (to write rhetorically);
• to teach you how to revise your writing to better address those audiences and purposes;
• to teach you how to ask appropriate "writer's questions" about your work in order to solicit responses that will help you revise more effectively;
• to teach you to read other writer's works as a writer, paying attention to what could be done to make the work more effective given the writer's stated rhetorical situation;
• to teach you where, when, and how to research your topics to strengthen your ideas and arguments;
• to teach you how to use technologies effectively as a writer and observer/researcher;
• to help you improve your editing and proof-reading skills.

Over the course of the semester, you will

• practice strategies for discovering and developing topics;
• develop facility with drafting and revising;
• increase your awareness of organizational strategies and your ability to apply them to the construction of effective essays;
• become attentive to how audience and purpose affect content, tone, syntax, and structure;
• learn how to support generalizations with sufficient and appropriate details;
• practice writing with precision and clarity and with effective syntax, punctuation, and spelling;
• explore writing to narrate, analyze, evaluate, and persuade;
• gain competence in using computer technology in the writing process;
• practice reading and thinking critically.

You will write extensively, both formally and informally, often for every class meeting. You must be prepared to share your writing with your peers and instructor on a regular basis. You will complete a minimum of 20 pages of polished prose.

Reading
Rather than have you purchase a textbook, I prefer that you learn to find challenging, engaging reading materials on your own. People who read outside of school don't generally read textbooks, and because of that, they may actually enjoy reading. Each week, you will be required to have found, read, and critically responded to (one single-spaced page) a variety of texts that we will discuss during the first weeks of class. Some of your writing topics will come from early reading activities; other readings will serve to support the writing you're doing this semester.

Writing Projects
Since English 1100 is a writing course, you will write for and often during each class. You are required to develop four different writing projects. These projects should demonstrate your ability to share information with different audiences and for different purposes. The type of writing is negotiable. You MUST keep all drafts, responses to your peers, writer's questions and responses, and cover memos that you write this semester or your portfolio will be incomplete. Likewise, if I do not respond to your Writing Projects throughout the semester (at regular intervals), then they may not be included in your Writing Portfolio at the end of the semester.

Writing Portfolio
At the end of the semester, you will assemble your Writing Projects (final revisions, middle and early drafts, etc.) and an Analytical Cover Memo into a 1.5" - 2" three-ring binder for my evaluation. The Portfolio may not be turned in except at times designated in the course schedule. Your portfolio grade is your course grade. If you don't turn in the required materials, your portfolio will be incomplete; the highest grade an incomplete portfolio can receive is a D.

Although you may choose to be absent from class as frequently as you’d like, these absences will adversely affect your grade by affecting your in-class performance. English 1100 is a workshop course; if you weren't in class, then you didn't read a peer's paper, help a peer develop ideas, do any research during class, contribute to class conversations about writing and revising, revise any of your own work, etc.  Each unit we work on lasts two weeks.  Missing a day of class during that time may result in your unit grade dropping significantly. Students who miss NO days of class during the semester will receive a three (3) point bonus on their final grade.  It is your responsibility to sign-in to class each day.  If you were in class and forgot to sign-in, then you were absent.
 

Just like me, you have rich, full lives, and those lives sometimes have tragedies. And sometimes, you (like me) will make decisions to prioritize something that isn't school and thus miss an important class deadline. It happens to us all. But that doesn't mean we don't have to work double-duty to catch up what we missed. When I miss class, I don't hold you responsible; when you miss class, likewise, do not hold me responsible. It wasn't my fault and I don't have to fix the problem — you do. Since only Writing Projects that I have responded to may be turned in for credit in the Writing Portfolio, missing a deadline could be bad news for you or you grade. Therefore, if you miss a deadline and thus forfeit your right to get a written response from me to your Writing Project, you may schedule an office appointment with me to discuss your project. You have this option only once. In order to get credit for the meeting, you must complete all of the following steps:

1. Set up a meeting time that works for both of us, preferably during my posted office hours.
2. Before the meeting, you should prepare a short list of questions you have about the project that you need me to answer and you should bring those questions to the meeting. You should also bring your project, the cover memo, and any other information that might help us discuss your project more effectively.
3. You are responsible for leading the meeting, asking the questions, taking any notes, clarifying any responses I might offer.
4. After the meeting, you have three (3) days to draft a memo which summarizes what we discussed at the meeting, what specific changes you will be making to the paper as part of your revision, and why you will be making those changes.
5. I will then sign-off on the memo if it is specific enough and demonstrates that you have learned enough during the process to adequately revise the project. My signature will stand in lieu of my written comments on that particular project.

Students who fail to follow this procedure render this option null and void.

Free assistance with your writing is available in First-Year Writing Studio, located in Bate 2005. The writing consultants in the center are trained to deal with a variety of academic issues, and many of them have extensive experience with helping other writers improve their drafts. The Writing Studio is NOT a place to get your papers proofread, however. The assistants will respond to your drafts, but you shouldn't expect them to just change your grammatical and/or mechanical mishaps — that's your job!

Because we meet in a computer-mediated classroom, we will make almost daily use of the machines.  However, certain computer-related behaviors will not be tolerated.  You may check your email or free-surf the web as you please before and after class, but after I announce the beginning of class by starting the roll, any student still using email, chat programs, or web browsers for non-class-related activities will loose points for participation.

Likewise, you retain sole responsibility for keeping electronic copies of all your work.  Lost or stolen disks, erased disks, home computer crashes, printer problems, etc. do NOT excuse you from turning in work or having copies of all your work on disk at the end of the semester.  Remember to make frequent back-up copies of files and keep copies on multiple disks.

• Two 3½" diskettes, IBM format
• Two three-ring binders: one for class work, one for the final portfolio
• Four pocketed folders, one for each unit
• Vending cards with money on them ($20 minimum for the semester)