ENGLISH 1304

Freshman Rhetoric

Instructor: Kathryn M. Peterson, M.F.A.
Office: 117 Law Hall
Office Hours: 1:15-2:15 W, 3:30-4:30 Th, & by appointment
Office Phone: (713) 743-0927
E-mail address: english1304@hotmail.com
Web address: http://www.geocities.com/kat_77598/1304.html
class listserv: english1304@egroups.com
 

I. Texts and Materials (available at UH UC Bookstore)

Required:

(1) Channell, Carolyn E., and Timothy W. Cruisus. The Aims of Argument. New York, NY: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1999-2000.

(2) Selzer, Jack.  Conversations:  Readings for Writing.  Needham Heights, MA:  Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

(3) Several handouts which I will give you in advance and note on the syllabus. Where it's allowable, I'll put them on the web or include links to them in order to make them even more accessible.

Optional, but strongly recommended:
(1) Fulwiler, Toby and Alan Hayakawa, The Blair Handbook. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999-2000.
(Look for used copies)

(2) A good, recent college dictionary such as The Random House College Dictionary.

II. Course Description

Welcome to English 1304! This course is designed to introduce you to the art of rhetorical communication, which is a fancy way of saying that you will be learning how to critique other writers' arguments and then build your own.  Beyond that, however, my goal is to meet you where you are in the development of lifelong writing skills. I hope that as the semester progresses, you will expand your ability to discover, analyze, and communicate ideas. You will spend the majority of class time working on various writing and reading assignments, with me in the room to help you as much as I can, every step of the way. Successful completion of English 1304 requires an ability to write essays which are clear, informed, well organized, and coherent, and which display a knowledge of the rhetorical techniques we will discuss in class. By the end of the course, I hope that you will not only be better writers, but better readers and thinkers, too.

III. Course Requirements

• Participating thoughtfully and actively in class discussions, small group and pair work, and our list-serv. You will also participate in frequent short in-class writings. These writings will not receive a letter grade, but will contribute to your journal grade. They are designed to give you practice writing and to let me know where your strong and weak points are.
• Leading class discussion on one day during the course of the semester.  On the second day of class, you will all get the chance to sign up for a particular essay and writer to become an "expert" on.  That doesn't mean you have to know all there is to know--it just means that for that day, you will be the person who will lead our discussion by asking thoughtful questions and helping me keep the conversational ball going.  I will be giving you more information about this shortly, but don't hesitate to e-mail me if this makes you anxious.  You won't have to stand up in front of the class (unless you want to), but you will be the "star" for that day, so try to get comfortable with that idea now at the beginning of the semester, especially if you hesitate to speak in public.
• Completing papers. You will write three short essays for this course and one longer research paper. Although the short papers should always be typed and double-spaced, I expect that they will vary in length depending upon subject matter and material. Some may be three pages while others may end up being four or five pages. I will let you know more about what to expect when I give out the assignment for each paper.  The research paper will likely range from nine pages to eleven or twelve.
• Revision.  You may revise one paper during the first half the semester for a completely new grade. For instance, if you get a horrible grade on one of the first two papers, you can use this option and revise it for anything up through an A-. I've seen D papers go to B papers and C papers to A- papers before, so if you need to take advantage of this option, definitely do so.
• Responding thoughtfully in your journal to the questions I ask outside of class for each set of readings.  The readings are fairly brief, so please read thoroughly and carefully so that you can make a solid response.

V. Important Policies

(1) Late Papers: Late papers will be marked down one letter grade for every class day that the paper is late. You may contact me in advance if for some good reason you are unable to turn in work on time. I am willing to work with you, but you must communicate with me.

(2) Attendance: Since participation in class discussion and workshop days is important to both your grade and your overall performance in class, you will be dropped from the course if you have more than four unexcused absences. If you miss, you are responsible for all information that was discussed in class and should contact me or a classmate to find out what you missed. Excessive absences will negatively affect the participation/attendance part of your grade, but on the positive side, perfect attendance will be taken into consideration in borderline cases.

(3) Tardiness: I realize that there will be times when you will be prevented from coming to class on time, but if you are habitually "just a little bit late," that sends me a message that you aren't taking the class seriously.   Punctuality is important to this class, especially on class discussion days. Try to allow time for traffic, parking, and walking to class.

VI. English 1304 and Beyond

Realize that as your instructor, I am here not only to teach, but also to help you meet your own personal writing goals. BUT DON'T EXPECT ME TO READ YOUR MIND. If you are feeling anxious or resentful, by all means communicate to me. If, for any reason, you are late or miss class, don't feel embarrassed or ashamed. Again, TALK TO ME. I am human (most of the time). Also, if you have had rough English classes in the past, remind yourself that the slate is wiped clean and that those classes are behind you. I advise you to do whatever you can to shed your stress. Be good to yourself!