English 111, College Composition I Becoming Conscious of our Global Community

by Beverly-Lynne Aronowitz

from VCCA Journal, Volume 8, Number 1, Summer 1993, 40-47

© Copyright 1993 VCCA Journal

Texts:

Verburg, Carol J. Ourselves Among Others, Second Edition. Boston: St. Martin's (Bedford).

Glazier, Teresa Ferster. The Least You Should Know About English Writing Skills.

A Short Business Writing Style Sheet. (1991) English Department. J. Sargeant Reynolds C.C.

Learning Activities:

• Developing the skill of focused writing from sources (print, video, and lecture) as preparation for college and career.
• Summarizing, paraphrasing: How do I express ideas from the original into my own words? Citing sources: Where did the ideas I used come from and how do I format these borrowed ideas?
• Creating a central theme or thesis; supporting theme with discussion based on information from a variety of sources (print, video, personal experience); defining a position and using support from a variety of sources; presenting clear information targeted to specific audiences; thinking through a problem in writing and considering solutions.
• Accessing information from varied sources; summarizing paraphrasing and citing; evaluating information to understand a topic and preparing to write an essay. Sessions at the
• Learning Resource Center will be scheduled. Considering career choices, planning a resume, and writing a business letter. Sessions at the Career Center, Room 210B will be scheduled.

Applicable Learning Resources:

Videotapes; guest lecturers to college; Career Center; Learning Resource Center.

Writing Assignments:

All writing assignments begin with summarizing sources you read or view. Record personal reactions and ideas, as well, in response to your readings. These preliminary writings, along with discussion in structured small groups with other students, become the basis of the essays assigned.

Evaluation:

• Portfolio reviews. Students will collect all writing in process in a folder for periodic review, informally or at meetings scheduled with the instructor. A student may also initiate a review of a paper or of the portfolio--at any time.
• Grading: During the draft process, writing may not be graded (unless the student so requests). At an appropriate phase in the process a letter grade is assigned.
• At midterm and at the end of the semester, a letter grade is assigned to the portfolio; this grade represents an assessment of the essays including all summaries and preliminary writings. All assignments when graded carry equal weight.
• Midterm Assessment: March 1 to March 5. Portfolios with all writings to date are submitted to the professor to be assessed for a letter grade. Last day to withdraw without failure is Friday, March 19.
• Makeup policy: an aspect of student and instructor collaboration. Videos scheduled for class time will be on reserve in the Microcomputer room of the LRC for ten weekdays after classroom showing. Note: the Microcomputer Room in the LRC closes at 1:00 p.m. on Fridays. The lab is open until 5:00 p.m. on other weekdays.
• Absence: Students are encouraged to be in contact with the instructor if an absence is necessary in order to discuss work to be assigned, topics to be covered. Absence beyond 12 hours of class may result in a failing grade. Please note last day to withdraw from class above.

Student Outcomes:

By the end of the semester, students should be able to:

• demonstrate ability to communicate with peers;
• demonstrate ability to be critical of essays written in a
• process of drafts, their own and others by their peers;
• demonstrate ability to create a position about an issue and to develop ideas with a variety of strategies from a variety of sources, responsibly cited;
• demonstrate ability to write for alternative purposes and audiences, for college and career.

Calendar for English 111, Spring, 1993

Monday, January 11, Tuesday, January 12.

• First days of classes: Getting Acquainted and Building a Learning Community. Workshops in small groups: What are the responsibilities of the members of a learning community? Responsibilities for both students and instructors?

Wednesday, January 13; Thursday, January 14

• Videotape: First Day in English 111. All videos will be on reserve in the microcomputer room of the Learning Resource Center 10 weekdays after showing in class. Contact Mr. Doug Sebastian in LRC. Distribution of Course Syllabus: Comments and questions from small groups.

Friday, January 15; Tuesday, January 19

• Impromptu Writing: In preparation for today's class, you will have chosen one of the short readings in our text Ourselves Among Others titled "Looking at Ourselves," 79-85.
• On Friday or Tuesday (depending on class schedule), come prepared to respond in writing in class to one of the readings above concerning family life in our global community in the 1990's. These essays will not be graded but will serve as an initial writing sample, part of your portfolio collection. Later on in the first segment of our course to center on family life, you might want to incorporate parts of this writing into your first essay.
• Topic for the In-class writing: Create a definition of "family" as you know it to be. After choosing one of the reading selections noted above, tell others in writing about the main ideas contained in that passage. Then tell others about your reactions, that is tell us about your prior knowledge or experience, thoughts and/or feelings prompted by your reading of this passage.
• These essays, even if incomplete,will be collected at the end of the class period. After evaluation of this writing sample and if warranted, the instructor might advise the student to seek more preparation in writing by enrolling in English 01 or English 03 during the drop and add period: Monday, January 11 to Friday, January 15.

Monday, January 18

• No classes are scheduled with respect to the remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wednesday, January 20, and Thursday, January 21

• The Writing Process in English 111. Videotape. After the showing in class, this video will be on reserve for 10 weekdays in the Microcomputer room of the LRC. Videotape on women and work (Lucy, job switching, 1952.) and MP Women at Work (JT 395 19 min.) with an impromptu in-class writing.

Tuesday, January 19, Wednesday, January 20, Thursday, January 21 and Friday, January 22

• Strategies for paraphrasing ("mapping"); preparation for writing summaries, paraphrasing, citing, quotation formats. These skills are necessary to the writing of the essays assigned in this course. These skills help you to inform others in a clear way what you have understood from what you have read or what you have seen or what you have heard.
• The semester's work will be divided into thematic topics centering on the global community, each topic taking from two to three weeks. During this time, students will read the essays assigned from Ourselves Among Others, see videos, and attend lectures presented by international guests to the college. The writing assignments during these segments will vary from informal notes to record reactions about the material presented to the formal assignments of writing summaries, and, finally, writing an essay, an essay which incorporates all of the preliminary skills initiated at the beginning of the term. Writing essays will be a process, drafts being shared with other members of the class. Often class sessions are listening and talking sessions where we share essays in stages of development. Selections from the second text The Least You Should Know About English will be assigned to individual students on a need-to-know basis.
• Students will collect all writings in a portfolio and have the option to revise essays in response to feedback from peers or from the instructor. Students are encouraged to compose their essays from start through revisions on word processors. Word processors are available at the college in the Microcomputer Room, LRC (See Mr. Sebastian) or in Room 208, Building A (See Mr. Gary Denby). This instructor will endeavor to hold some in-class composing sessions in one of the microcomputer rooms during class time.

Unit #1: The family in our global community.

Monday, January 25, to Friday, February 6

• Readings from Ourselves Among Others (Note: numbers refer to first page of essays).

Monday, January 25, and Tuesday, January 26

• Reading Selection: "Liza and Family," 109. Workshop on finding strong points, paraphrasing context and selecting quotes.

Wednesday, January 27, and Friday, January 29; Thursday, January 28

• Videos: Being a Single Parent, JSR #947 (19 minutes). A Family To Me: Redefining The American Family. UR 142 or VCU 1800 (28 minutes) and Kibbutz (Motion Picture) VCU 351 (22 minutes). Impromptu writings and sharing of writings will follow videos.

Monday, February 1, and Tuesday, February 2

• Writing workshop for Paper #1: Finding a strong focus for your paper; presenting what you read, saw, or heard objectively; using summary, paraphrase, citation, quotes; finding parallels from personal experience; using examples from personal observation or experience.
• Final draft of in-class writings due no later than Monday, February 8, and Tuesday, February 9.

Unit #2: The multicultural foundations of our global community: understandings and misunderstandings across cultures.

Wednesday, February 10, and Thursday, February 11

• Readings: "What's American about America?" 4; "Proxemics in the Arab World," 23. Workshops on finding strong points, writing summaries, using citation. Video: Thursday, February 11 (and continued Tuesday, February 16); Friday, February 12: Race With Time: Modernization of Saudi Arabia. U R 2187 (58 minutes)

Monday, February 15, and Tuesday, February 16 (after last portion of video on Saudi Arabia)

• Impromptu writing on multicultural understandings and misunderstandings in our global community. Sharing of writings with peers and discussion.

Wednesday, February 17, and Thursday, February 18

• Video: Black and White America, JSR #839, 26 min. Impromptu writings and sharing of writings will follow video.

Thursday, February 18, and Friday, February 19

• In class writing: What are the values gained in a multicultural society? Should we foster the sharing of cultures as opposed to the isolation of cultures in our global community?

Monday, February 22, and Tuesday, February 23

• Video: Chicano Park. JSR 450 59 minutes.

Wednesday, February 24, and Thursday, February 25

• Discussion workshops on the themes or strong focal points in Chicano Park. In-class writing on Chicano Park Thursday, February 25 and Friday, February 26: Writing a summary on the major themes in the video Chicano Park and discussing your reactions.

Midterm Assessment Period: March 1 to March 5 (Monday to Friday)

• To earn a grade at midterm, submit your portfolios to the instructor on Monday or Tuesday, March 1 or March 2. Your portfolio should contain all writings to date (summaries, notetakings on the videos and readings, informal responses to videos and readings). If any writings are revised, place the revision on top of earlier drafts and clip together. Please arrange your portfolio in an orderly fashion, the most recent writings coming first. Please note that if you do not submit a folder at the assessment period, it will be understood that you have a grade of "F" until your folder is received. Note: Last day to withdraw without failure is Friday, March 19.

Unit #3: Accessing information at the Learning Resource Center (LCR Project #1).

This activity will take place during the week of Monday, March 1, to Friday March 5.

• Sections which meet on MWF will gather at the Learning Resource Center on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 3/1, 3/3, and 3/5 instead of coming to D2.
• Sections which meet on T/TR will gather at the Learning Resource Center on Tuesday, 3/2 and Thursday 3/4. (The LRC is located in Building A, main floor, Corridor 1, off "The Pit.")
• Topic at the LRC: Accessing Information about Japan: Japanese Culture, Ancient and Modern. The research staff (Tim Williams, Christine Campbell and Alice Ann Ellis) will acquaint you with the variety of information resources at the LRC. Choose any aspect of Japanese culture, or choose recent topics with respect to the Japanese which are of interest to you. Access three sources on these topics (especially articles from newspapers, magazines,and journals; only one of your sources may come from an encyclopedia). Write a summary for each source which includes parenthetical page citations and an end "Sources Cited." Topics may include religion, ceremonies, modern Japanese industry, Japanese work ethic and work place, Japanese educational system, family life in Japan.
• The three summaries on Japan are due Monday, March 15, or Tuesday, March 16, right after mid-semester break.

No classes will be held March 8 to March 12: Midsemester Break.

Unit # 4: Working and the work place in our global community.

March 15 to March 19; March 22 to March 26.

• Readings: Monday, March 15 and Tuesday, March 16: "Six Months at Toyota," 447; Strong Points/Quotations Workshop; Selections from Studs Terkel's Working (Handout). Video:Tuesday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 17: Modern Times (Part 1) 15 minutes and Loose Bolts (Motion Picture) JSR 84 (30 minutes). Impromptu writing and sharing of reactions following video. Video: Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19: Being Japanese. (55 minutes). Discussions: Writing of reaction papers in class and the sharing of these writings with peers. Sharing summaries on Japan (LRC Project #1): Monday, March 22, and Tuesday, March 23, for T/TH class).
• Readings: Wednesday, March 24, Friday, March 26, and Thursday, March 25: "Skoro Budet--It'll Be Here Soon." 461 and "The Perils of Perestroika," 507. Workshops on Strong Points, Summaries, selecting quotes.

Monday, March 29, and Tuesday, March 30

• Video: Looking for Perestroika UR 2167 (58 minutes).

Wednesday, March 31.

• Discussion continued: Terkel's Working, Skoro Budet, and The Perils of Perestroika with respect to the video Looking for Perestroika.

Thursday, April 1, and Friday, April 2

• LRC Project # 2: Accessing information about Perestroika and the new Russia: newspapers and periodicals. Due on Monday, April 5: two summaries of articles about the new Russia (the Baltics, Poland to share with peers. Don't forget MLA page citations in body of writing and the complete end citation.

Monday, April 5, and Tuesday, April 6

• Sharing summaries on the "new Russia" with peers.

Wednesday, April 7; Thursday, April 8

• In class writing: Discussion of the global work place: Suggested topics: Comparing and contrasting workers and working in our global work places. Analysis: "The global work place: how do I fit in?" Problem Solving: "How can we make the global work place efficient yet humane?"
• If writing is not completed in M/W/F class, continue and submit essays for a grade on Friday, April 9.

Unit # 5: Writing for business and the work place.

April 12 to April 16; April 19 to April 23

• The resume; the cover letter; a business letter to local industry. Some of these sessions may be held at the Career Center, Room 210 Building B. To be announced.

Unit #6: The roles of men and women in the global community: relationships, courtship and marriage customs.

• Readings: "Pom's Engagement," 262; "Nisa's Marriage," 272; "Marriage by Pros and Cons," 309; "You Are A Man," 315. "Life Behind the Veil," 359, along with "Women in Early Islam," 348. Choose one of the readings listed for Unit #6 as preparation for an in-class writing on the last day of classes, April 29 or May 3.
• Tuesday/Thursday classes, the in-class writing will be Thursday, April 29 the last day of instruction. Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes, the in-class writing will be Monday, May 3, last day of instruction.

Activities during final exam period

• Tuesday, May 4, to Monday, May 10. The examination schedule is printed in the spring 1993 "Schedule of Classes." Consult the time, day, and room. We will meet on that day for an assessment activity, which will encourage us to write about and discuss the teaching and learning activities and experiences of the past semester.

Beverly-Lynne Aronowitz is an Assistant Professor at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, Parham Road Campus, Richmond, Virginia.