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Texts Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. Patterns for College Writing. A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. Warriner, John E. Holt Handbook. Fifth Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2003. Vocabulary Workshop, Level E. New York: Sadlier Oxford, 2005. Course Objectives and Procedures Most writers agree that before writing can become an art, it is a craft. Thus, we will write every day to develop the skills of our craft. I hope along the way you are able to recognize your own narrative voice. That is the tone, diction, and pacing that reflect you and you alone. No one else in the world writes or conceives of ideas quite the way you do. You are unique! But writing cannot stand isolate from reading. The reading selections from Patterns are not intended to serve as the only models for good writing. However, they reflect various possibilities for developing ideas and arranging materials that can be helpful in practicing the modes of discourse. Close reading and discussion of assigned selections will help you understand the techniques of effective writers and begin to apply such techniques to your own writing. These readings will also help you explore new ideas about which you will want to write. Reading broadly and deeply on your own will always impact and strengthen your writing! The Holt Handbook can be of use to you when you need to review grammar or for actual tips on writing introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions, even whole essays and research papers. Although you may use it on your own in the classroom as a resource, the teacher will assign, from time to time, some exercises when they are appropriate for the class or for individuals. Two of the following novels will be discussed first, third, and fourth quarters. Second quarter will be devoted primarily to research. Students should be reading independently the assigned novels or their outside reading texts when they complete their writing assignments for the day. A test over each text can include identification of quotations and/or essays that draw on the writing skills emphasized in the concurrent unit. Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye 0316769487 Golding, William. Lord of the Flies, Casebook Edition 0-399-50643-8 Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea 0684801221 Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew 074347757x (Folger Edition) Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 0-451-16396-6 Paperback Texts Please have the editions indicated of the above paperback texts for this course. The reasons for this are that all students should be on the same page simultaneously with the teacher when reading discussion and analysis occurs. Also, when students write papers with quotations from the text, I will be checking page numbers in their documentation from the required text. It is vital that we stay together in the designated paperback texts. You can find the approved versions of our texts at Steve’s Sundry (27th and Harvard). Writing The primary purpose of this course is to give you practice writing the kinds of essays you will be assigned to write in high school and in college. You will write all the modes of discourse—narration, description, exposition, and argumentation. Of course, research will be a component of the course as well. You will write a minimum of two papers each quarter in this course. Each paper will consist of a first draft and a final draft, indicating revision. In some cases, your teacher may require an intermediate second draft before you prepare the final version. You may also write a test essay over each novel assigned and discussed to help you write in a prescribed and limited amount of time. Paying close attention to handouts and the Composition quarterly calendar will keep you current with assignments and well on your way to feeling a sense of accomplishment in this course. Homework You will do daily readings in Patterns as assigned by the instructor, or you may be reading an assigned novel. You will make written responses to questions posed by the instructor, or you will write reader-response entries in your journal. These journal entries and homework assignments will be checked by your teacher. Journal Your teacher will assign reader-response journals for each reading and prewriting exercises for each major essay. These are to be completed in the journal and handed in on Fridays (see quarterly calendar) for a journal grade. The journal is a place to prepare for writing a finished paper. Treat it as a place where you put ideas you will use later, and then use it often when you are looking for subjects to write about. Homework and journals will be graded weekly based on completion of all class and home exercises. The teacher may also choose to grade one assignment that is especially representative of the week’s work. You will not know which assignment is the chosen one until homework and journals are returned for the week; therefore, it is wise to complete all assignments to the best of your ability, and neatly! Keep all homework on notebook paper and journal entries in a separate Mead Composition Book. Generally, the journal will be collected on Fridays, but the teacher may ask to see your work at any time, so keep the homework and journal with you at all times in class Late Work Policy You are expected to hand in work on the due date or the day you return from an absence. Your teacher may deduct one letter grade for each day that assignment is late and may refuse to accept an assignment more than three days after the due date. Of course, in light of a hospital stay or major illness, you may have extended time, if you will speak with the teacher. Grading Scale Grades on writing assignments will be converted to the following numerical values which will be used to compute your final grade: A = 90-100; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 60-69; F = below 60 Assignments will have the following grade weights: Homework and Journals = 40%; Essays and Tests = 60% Proficiency Testing and Portfolio The purpose of this course is to help you learn to write with thoroughness and clarity. The daily exercises and papers planned will help you discover your own writer’s voice and many techniques for effective writing—both creative and expository. However, as with any skill, writing proficiency cannot be acquired overnight. Writing takes constant practice and scrutiny. You do not become a skilled tennis player by playing once a month and only at tournaments. You must practice daily, just as in writing. Only then will you begin to see improvement. The more attention you give to writing, the more you will begin to enjoy your own and be fascinated by the styles of others. Remember, however, before writing can become an art, it must be a daily craft! At the end of the second semester you will take a Writing Proficiency Test and submit a Portfolio of some of your best papers of this year. You will then be graded on the basis of coherence, structure, paragraph development, correct usage and grammar, and effort in stylistic development. The quality of the Test and Portfolio will determine whether or not you are ready to move on to Literary Analysis. Students who do not pass the Writing Proficiency, will be allowed to attend a summer Comp. Camp here at Cascia, usually beginning the first Monday after graduation and lasting two weeks. Upon successful completion of this summer session, students will take a final Proficiency Test and submit their Comp. Camp Portfolio. The quality of work and consistency of work effort will determine whether or not a student passes on to Literary Analysis. Outside Reading and News Day Each quarter it is necessary that students read a book outside of class of at least 180 (or more!) pages in length. Not only does this widen and broaden the reading experience of the students, but it also develops their writing in subliminal ways beyond the intentional strategies learned in a writing classroom. Research has shown that students who read broadly also write more fluidly and insightfully. But I want the students to be able to discuss their reading as well with their peers in Literature Circles. Thus, I am recommending the following books for this first quarter. With a limited number, several students can be in each discussion group. If all goes well, we may take some class suggestions for the 2nd or 3rd quarter. So, choose from the following texts and purchase (or check out of a library) one of these so you can begin reading it soon. Don’t wait until the end of the quarter! Bring it to school, so when you have finished your daily work, you can read it quietly in class. I will be giving brief “Book Talks” on each of these: Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson Return with Honor by Captain Scott O’ Grady Firehouse by David Halberstam Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beal In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein Also, we will have a News Day Friday every other Friday to read and write a five-paragraph summary of a current news story. This will go into the Journal and may be graded when the Journal is submitted. These assignments keep us up to date on current issues in non-fiction journalism and prepare students for summarizing and synthesizing material for the research paper in 2nd quarter. I look forward to getting to know you this year through the class and through your writing. This is a time for you to find yourself in the written word. As much as we Twitter and text, the writing in Comp .may seem formal to you. But it will sharpen your analytical skills, your close reading, and also help you to be more creative and expressive. Good writing should always reveal something about the personality of the writer. I look forward to hearing your writer’s voice! Let us commit to a successful year together through Truth, Unity, and Charity, Mrs. Luccock

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