BSwanlundEnglish101Spring: Some General Points to Consider upon Revising Your Essay

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Some General Points to Consider upon Revising Your Essay

1. Is my title one that is narrowed enough? Does it set the tone for the words following to be worthy of my reader’s attention?
2. Does my introduction begin in a general kind of way that opens discussion on my topic, while at the same time remain focused on my topic, enough to cat my reader’s interest?
3. Is my thesis straightforward and easily recognizable? Does it make sense? And does it reflect the paper?
4. Does each body paragraph open with its topic sentence relative to my thesis or in some way support my thesis?
5. Do each of my ideas relate back to the thesis in some way or are there places where I go off topic?
6. Do I give enough specific examples to illustrate the points I am making in each body paragraph?
7. Are my ideas fully developed? Are there places that could be developed any further?
8. Does my conclusion bring the entire paper to a fitting end? Does it enable my essay to work as a unit, without leaving gaps or questions in the reader’s mind?
9. Am I using the active voice as much as I could? Do I place any Direct Objects in the primary position of the sentence?
10. Am I incorporating elements of descriptive writing in my essay?
11. Am I answering the prompt? Am I leaving anything out?
12. Have I successfully avoided the use of the 2nd person throughout my essay?
13. Have I avoided making announcements such as “In this essay” or “In conclusion” all throughout my paper?
14. Are my subjects in agreement in number, gender, etc?
15. Have I spelled my words correctly, checked them, and if I’ve used a thesaurus, have I chosen appropriate synonyms?
16. Am I using the proper forms of words, such as “there,” “their,” and “they’re,” and other words that are commonly confused?
17. Have I avoided using contractions and other informal language/tone?
18. Are my sentences structured correctly throughout my paper; does each sentence, when read aloud so I can hear it, make sense? Are my words in their proper places sp their sentences operate smoothly?
19. Have I made any sentence fragments? Do all of my sentences include a subject and a verb?
20. Have I made any run-on errors or comma splices?
21. Have I maintained MLA formatting throughout my paper?

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Syllabus

Instructor: Bruce Swanlund Email: Bswanlund@fullerton.edu

Phone: (657) 278-5679 Office: LH-535

Office Hours: Thursday 4:00 - 5:00 and by appointment

Location: UH 337 Class: MW 2:30 - 3:45

Section: 42 Schedule #: 11991

Name: ______________ Name: ______________

Number: ____________ Number: ____________

Email: ____________________ Email: ____________________

Required Texts:

Virtually all of the readings are available at: htthe website you are currently looking at or will be provided through emails or handouts.

Suggested Text:

Hacker, Diane. A Writer’s Reference. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006

Although this text is not required, a writing handbook is strongly recommended as it will be useful to you in this class as well as other courses throughout your college career. You will find it useful for writing a paper (research or other suggestions), proper citation and documentation, and grammar rules.

This text is available at The Little Professor bookstore.

Required Materials:

Access to the Internet and Microsoft Word is essential for this class

Blue or Black pens for in-class assignments

Two Blue Books

College Ruled 8 ½ x 11 paper for in-class assignments

Course Description:

Prerequisite: English 099, a satisfactory score on the English Placement Test, or exemption from the EPT. This is an introductory course in the fundamentals of expository prose, with an emphasis on grammatical and basic rhetorical concepts and practices necessary for successful college writing.

Objective:

Texts exist everywhere; it is our goal to learn how to access and analyze them, as well as demonstrate those skills through a professional use of the English language.

Ideally, in addition to learning how to organize, compose, and revise a college essay, students will learn how to read, write, speak, and think more critically.

By its very nature, writing involves both individual and collaborative activity. Even when a piece of writing has only one author, that author employs a language system that is shared by others and draws upon ideas and values that are not his or hers alone. Indeed, one of the most important parts of becoming a writer within the academic community is learning how to balance the obligations of individuality and collaboration.

This means, as a college writer, you are expected to use writing to develop and assert your own ideas and beliefs – to think for yourself. But at the same time you are expected to engage with the thinking of others, to place your own writing within the context of academic discourse by using and criticizing arguments from that discourse.

Course Guidelines:

Journals:

On specified days, each student is required to write a one page (double-spaced) journal in response to the readings to demonstrate engagement with the texts. These journals should consist of an analysis of the text and/or offer a comparison to the student’s own life. They should not merely summarize the readings. Journals are designed to get you thinking about the text before you come to class, so that you will have something to say (i.e. a comment, a question, or even an insight) and to generate material for class discussion. These journals must be typed and handed in at the beginning of the next class meeting.

Quizzes:

There will be 3 planned quizzes this semester; however, I will occasionally give pop quizzes to encourage reading and to mercilessly instill fear in the hearts of my students.

Attendance:

College is designed to prepare students for the real world, and just like in a job attendance is mandatory. Do not be absent. I understand that sometimes absences are unavoidable, however do not exceed 3 absences or your grade will suffer. Also, try to reserve these given absences for emergencies. Additionally, students need to arrive to class on time, as tardiness can be disruptive; the policy is 3 late entrances count as an absence. Do not be late. If you are late, it is your responsibility to notify me that you were late at the end of class, otherwise there is the chance you will be marked as absent.

Participation:

Participation is a major part of the class. In addition to participating by doing the journals and essays, I expect you to engage with the class and the texts we read. This means thinking about the material before coming to class, offering comments relative to the class discussion, and asking questions. ASK QUESTIONS! Participation is a major part of this class!!

Note: comments that are not relevant to class and other disruptions may negatively affect your participation grade.

Electronic Devices:

Please turn off cell phones when you are in class and stow them away. No cell phone use at all during class, including texting. You also may not use mp3 players, electronic dictionaries, or laptops in this classroom. If you are caught using distracting devices you will be marked absent for the day, as clearly you are not present mentally.

Late Work:

A late paper is not acceptable. All work is due on its due date, not afterwards. Please consider due dates your obligation.

Extra Credit:

To encourage revision, as revision is always a major part of any writing assignment, there are no extra credit assignments for this class; however, students may earn extra points on their out of class essays. After an out of class essay is turned in, a student will get the essay back with my comments. The student should thoroughly revise the essay to reclaim up to 15 points that were lost. Such revisions can be aided by talking to me or visiting the Writing Center. In order to earn back the lost points, the student must submit the revised draft, as well as the first draft with my comments on it. Insufficient revision work will not be eligible for additional points. (For example: I do not want to see “revised” essays that are identical, except that one comma has been moved.)

Approximate Grading Scale:

Percentage

Grade

94% - 100% = A, 90% - 93% = A-, 87% - 89% = B+, 83% - 86% = B, 80% - 82% = B-, 77% - 79% = C+,

73% - 76% = C, 70% - 72% = C-, 67% - 69% = D+, 63% - 66% = D, 60% -62%= D-, 59% - Below = F

Writing Center:

All students are required to make at least one visit to the Writing Center to work on an assignment or portion of an assignment with a tutor. Multiple perspectives are essential for good writing, so make use of the free professional tutors the campus offers! The Writing Center is located on the first floor of the Pollak Library, on the main CSUF campus. The phone number is (657) 278-3650. All students are encouraged to use the center more than the one required visit. Students who are experiencing difficulty either getting started or revising should visit the Writing Center, as it will make these processes easier – believe it!

Academic Dishonesty:

Academic dishonesty is essentially the misrepresentation of any information. Plagiarism is one of the most common and severest forms of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged and inappropriate use of the ideas or wording of another writer. Because plagiarism corrupts values in which the university community is fundamentally committed – the pursuit of knowledge and intellectual honesty – plagiarism is considered a grave violation of academic integrity and the sanctions against it are correspondingly severe. Plagiarism can be characterized as "academic theft."

Plagiarism is:

* The submission of material authored by another person but represented as the student’s own work, whether that material is paraphrased or copied in verbatim or near-verbatim form.

* The submission of material subjected to editorial revision by another person that results in substantive changes in content or major alteration of writing style and

* Improper acknowledgment of sources in essays, papers, or presentations.

Avoiding Plagiarism:

Because of the serious nature of plagiarism, you should ensure that any writing you submit represents your own assertions and abilities, and incorporates other texts in an open and honest manner. The best way to avoid plagiarism is to be careful to document your sources, even when you are making use of data or ideas rather than an actual quotation. In academic assignments, writing is assumed to be the original words and thoughts of the student unless told otherwise (i.e., material from other sources is clearly and properly cited).

Special Needs:

Please let me know the first week of class if you have a disability or special need that might require specific arrangements for you to be successful in the class. CSUF requires students with disabilities to document their disabilities with Disabled Student Services. They are located on the first floor of University Hall in UH-101. You can also visit their webpage at: http://www.fullerton.edu/disabledservices/ or call (657) 278-3117 or TDD: (657) 278-2786.

First Assignment:

It seems you have read the whole syllabus -- good. Now you may do the real first assignment. Find my office, the writing center, and our class website.

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Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Some General Points to Consider upon Revising Your Essay

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Syllabus