Composition I

Composition I (English 100) fulfills your Written Communication requirement because it introduces you to the “rhetorical, conceptual, and stylistic demands of writing at the college level.” As college students you will be asked to develop, support, and communicate ideas by writing essays, and also in writing to analyze and critique what you read or view. Thus, in this class we will devote our attention to specific writing purposes, situations, and strategies as well as to various aspects of the writing process. Increasing your abilities, preparation, confidence and persuasiveness as writers in college is our main goal. And, since critical thinking and reading are inextricably tied with writing, we will focus on all three during the semester. Specifically, our focus will be on analyzing and writing about current discussions of Hawaiian history and culture, representations of Hawai‘i within American popular culture, and Hawai‘i-based and especially Kanaka Maoli responses to these images. We will discuss newspaper articles; images in advertisements promoting Hawai‘i as a tourist destination; documentaries; and essays articulating concerns about and identification with a place, group, or culture.

Individual conferences and collaborative work will play a significant role in this course. Requirements include completing five formal writing assignments, attending and reviewing a cultural event TBA, doing an oral presentation, and assembling a portfolio that includes a self-assessment essay.

Students who complete the course successfully should demonstrate (a) awareness of how feedback contributes to the process and effectiveness of writing; (b) solid capacity for constructing reading-based analysis and argument; (c) awareness of a variety of (academic) discourses, audiences, and forms; (d) attention to and appreciation of language; (e) ability to locate, evaluate, use, and document sources. In other words, we will develop writing topics based on readings and issues, discuss ideas, form lines of inquiry, find our own positions and articulate reasons that justify them, and conduct research to develop our understanding. We will work together towards accomplishing these goals.

Books:

  • Hacker, Diana. A POCKET STYLE MANUAL. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009 (5th edition);
  • Kihleng, Emelihter, Ryan Oishi, and Aiko Yamashiro, eds. ROUTES. Honolulu: Kahuaomanoa Press, 2010, vol 1.
  • Reader of photocopied materials.