English 101: Independent WritingShelton Waldreprmccoy202001-09-05T00:15:00Z2006-08-31T15:03:00Z2006-08-31T15:03:00Z18975115 4211600111.8026Course: English 101: Independent Writing; Mon./Wed. 10:15-11:30, Spring 2006; 509 Luther Bonney HallInstructor: Dr. Shelton WaldrepOffice: 321 Luther Bonney HallOffice Hours: Mon./Wed. 4-5 PM and at other times by appointment by contacting HYPERLINK mailto:waldrep@maine.edu waldrep@maine.eduDescription:English 101C is offered as an alternative to English 100C for students who prefer to define their own writing goals and work toward them with the instructor's guidance. Classes meet regularly for a few weeks of the semester, but the course is conducted primarily in weekly individual conferences. Independent Writing is not a remedial course; it addresses writing mechanics to some extent, but emphasizes style, organization, and development. The major challenge of the course is the self-discipline the students will need to work independently. Required texts:Gibaldi, Joseph. MLAHandbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2003.Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2003.Handouts on essay structure, research methodology, and writing about popular culture.Grading and Class Structure: You will be working on your writing on an individual basis; however, it is a requirement of the course that you complete the following: four essays of 4-5 pp. in length and a research paper of 7-8 pages in length. With the exception of the first and last papers, paper due dates are set individually as I determine that you have successfully completed an assignment. All paper topics must be approved by me. Papers written on a topic that has not been approved will not be accepted. Likewise, no papers used in another class can be used for this one. That is, all written material must be prepared for this class only. Generally, either a draft of a paper or a finished essay will be due the day before your tutorial, but always bring two hard copies of your paper to the tutorial meeting. Grade breakdown is as follows: 15 % for each short essay (60 %) and 40% for the final paper. Note that it is impossible to pass this course without turning in a final research paper.You will normally meet with me on alternating weeks to receive individual writing assignments and detailed discussion of your writing for a total of six sessions. You are expected to meet your tutorial sessions in my office. These meetings will usually be scheduled in blocks of time that overlap with at least part of our class time. After you complete the first three or four essays, your writing should begin to act as material for your final researched essay. You will be encouraged to begin compiling a bibliography as soon as you have settled on a general area of inquiry to research. Although we will normally meet in tutorials, we will meet as a class at least four times to discuss computers, libraries, and research methodology. Two of these meetings will be held in the networked computer cluster in the Glickman Library.A special note about our Web site: This course will use Blackboard—an interactive Web site that is available for all courses at USM at http://www.courses.maine.edu. It is your responsibility to become familiar with the site for our class and to check the site weekly for announcements. Several features of Blackboard you might find especially handy are a drop box that allows you to send your papers to me electronically; an on-line grade book where you can track your grades; a schedule of tutorials that allows you to see when you need to be at my office; and a discussion board, which allows you to communicate with the other members of the class much as you would on a listserv. Please note that any changes to class policy or to the reading schedule for the class will be made on this site. Also note that you are automatically registered to this site using your USM e-mail address. If you have not done so already, you must first activate your “maine.edu” (UNET) e-mail account and choose a password at https://mail.maine.edu/um/ActivateAccount. Blackboard usernames are set up 24 hours after you activate your e-mail account. Once you are on Blackboard, you can change your address by going to the section of the site entitled ‘Personal Information.’ Other Policies:All major assignments will receive a letter grade. Letter grades will be computed as follows: A = 95; A- = 92; B+ = 88; B = 85; B- = 82; C+ = 78; C = 75; C- = 72, etc. Late papers will be accepted by permission only. If accepted, one-half of a letter grade will be subtracted per day for each day of the week that the paper is late. Please note that because we will not meet as frequently as a regular class that attendance at a scheduled tutorial or at a meeting of the full class is mandatory. If you realize that you will have to miss a scheduled tutorial—for whatever reason—please contact me as soon as possible. If you miss more than one tutorial or class meeting, your final course grade will be affected. Schedule:Wed, January 18: Meet in the classroom: introduction to the course; student information gathered; first essay assigned.Mon 23/Wed 25: First Tutorials.Mon 30: First Tutorials, cont.Wed, February 1/Mon 6: Second Tutorials.Wed 8: Second Tutorials, cont.Mon 13/Wed 15: Third Tutorials.Mon 20/Wed 22: Winter Break.Mon 27: Third Tutorials, cont.Wed, March 1/Mon 6: Fourth Tutorials.Wed 8: Fourth Tutorials, cont.Mon 13/Wed 15: Meet in room 518 Glickman Library for a presentation by Pat Prieto, USM Reference Librarian, and for a discussion of computers and on-line resources.Mon 20/Wed 22: Fifth Tutorials.Mon 27/Wed 29: Spring Break.Mon, April 3: Fifth Tutorials, cont.Wed 5/ Mon 10: Meet in classroom (509 LB) for a discussion of research methodology.Wed 12/Mon 17: Sixth Tutorials.Wed 19: Sixth Tutorials, cont.Mon 24/ Wed 26: Optional Tutorials.Mon, May 1: Optional Tutorials, cont.Wed 3: Research papers due in my box in the English Department Office by 4 pm.