Composition I

English 100 (Sec. 018):

MWF: 11:30 – 12:20

Throughout the semester, the course will involve various reading, journaling, and essay writing activities to hone and further develop a student’s writing literacies.

This course will allow students to realize the functional purposes of writing in their lives.  We will begin with an introspective take on the life of the student via a personal narrative that traces and weaves together birth places (one hānau) and genealogy (mo‘okū‘auhau).  The course will then gradually shift from this investigation of self and work outward – to family, community, state, country, and beyond.  As each level is addressed, students will have the opportunity to identify various rhetorical situations (rhetorical triangle – ethos, pathos, logos) and write to meet the demands of a specific audience.  Also, students will practice the process of writing itself (pre-writing, writing, and re-writing), techniques toward researching and evaluating/citing resources/documentation, as well as advance their overall literary knowledge.

 

Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes:

1) To compose college-level writing, including, but not limited to, academic discourse, that achieves a specific purpose and responds adeptly to an identifiable audience.

2) Provide evidence of effective strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proofreading a text in order to produce finished prose.

3) Compose an argument that makes use of source material that is relevant and credible and that is integrated in accordance with an appropriate style guide.

 

Assignments:

There are four (4) major writing assignments including: 1) a personal narrative, 2) an exploratory paper, 3) a critical analysis paper, and 4) a final research paper.  Students will also be required to complete a creative project requiring them to articulate arguments made within their research paper.  For the creative project, students can be as inventive as they like in terms of medium, style, and technique.

Writing is an act that is hardly done in isolation.  This course will emphasize collaborative work during multiple stages of the writing process.  Certain class periods will be designated for peer review.  Copies of rough drafts will be required on these days for distribution to the instructor and a set number of peers.

 

Requirements:

1) Attendance and participation in discussions/classroom activities.  Attendance is mandatory.  More than four (4) unexcused absences will result in substantial grade deductions.  Six (6) or more total absences will result in the student failing the course.

2) Consistent monitoring of e-mail correspondence and course section on Laulima website for updates, assignments, and reading materials.

3) Four (4) major papers (about 5-7 pages each), one creative project, and weekly Laulima “blog” responses.

 

Course Texts & Required Materials/Supplies:

1) Basic writing materials are necessary for in-class writing exercises and note-taking.

2) Access to the internet and UH’s Laulima course website.

3) Reading materials for the course will be distributed via Laulima for download in PDF format.  I anticipate that this course will not require the purchase of any textbook or reader, but this is a tentative description.  Every effort will be made to keep material costs to an absolute minimum.

 

Grading:

This course will be graded using a point value system in which all of the written assignments account for about 90% of a student’s final grade (including all four major papers, the creative project, weekly Laulima responses, and class participation).  Grades for this course will use pluses/minuses.  A strict ZERO TOLERANCE policy for plagiarism, cheating, or any other form of academic dishonesty is observed.

 

***Disclaimer:  This is a tentative course description.  All contents and details may be subject to change.  For the latest information on this course, contact the instructor KAPENA M. LANDGRAF at KAPENAML@HAWAII.EDU.