September 27, 2012

Tonight we will discussing and wrapping up our work over Major Essay #1.  We'll discuss a few of the common issues from the draft.  We'll also have some time for peer review, so students will need to bring in a copy of the essay.  From there we'll move on to a discussion of the three expository essays assigned for tonight.  We'll also discuss the unique direction we'll take with our next minor essays for the expository unit.  We'll wrap up the class by analyzing our first expository essay assignment, Minor Essay 2a, and looking ahead to our readings for next week.

Objectives

• Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay
• Identify and analyze how authors manipulate structure to achieve their purpose

Activities

• Check on the progress of the Major Essay #1 rough draft 
• Notes and points from the rough drafts
• Major Essay #1 peer review
• Discuss Akst, Didion, and Trillin
• Assign and discuss Minor Essay #2a, due next week
• Assign and discuss the readings for next week

Homework

• Final draft (printed copy) of Major Essay #1 due next week
• Minor Essay #2a (written or typed) due next week
• In The Writer's Presence, read:
• Cunningham, 347- 354
• Gladwell, 411 -421
• Schlosser, 558 - 568
• Be prepared to identify:
• Text structure
• The author's topic and development of ideas
• How the writer incorporates his/her voice into the essay
• The writer's ethos

September 20, 2012

At the beginning of the semester, I noted that the lowest essay grade of the course is typically the first essay of the Expository Unit.  The reason for this is that students tend to feel that they cannot use their voice in an expository essay.  With our first readings in this unit, hopefully students will see that this is not the case.  Our goals for tonight include discussing our progress on Major Essay #1, taking notes and discussing types of expository essays, and applying our discussion to an analysis of the assigned readings.

Objectives

• Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay
• Identify and analyze how authors manipulate structure to achieve their purpose

Activities

• Pass back and discuss the results of Minor Essay #1
• Check on the progress of the Major Essay #1 rough draft
• In-class notes over Expository Structures
• Define ethos and apply it to the writer's point of view
• Discuss King, Berube, and Chabon
• Assign and discuss the readings for next week

Homework

• Bring in a printed draft of Major Essay #1 to the Sept 27 class
• In The Writer's Presence, read:
• Akst, 293 - 304
• Didion, 366 - 370
• Trillin, 581 - 583
• In each essay, be prepared to identify and analyze:
1. Which expository structure is used?
2. How does the writer incorporate his/her voice?
3. What is the writer's ethos?

September 13, 2012

Tonight we have three tasks ahead of us: we'll be wrapping up our work over the Minor Essay, starting our work over our first Major Essay, and looking ahead to our first readings for our Expository Unit.  The Major Essay, another personal narrative, is important because our most effective expository points and persuasive arguments are those in which we present a story audiences can relate or connect to, which we will later call pathos.  Having the ability to use a brief narrative in expository and persuasive writing effectively  is one of the most valuable skills a college writer can have.

Objectives

• Review the four elements of The Writer's Presence
• Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay
• Identify and analyze how authors manipulate structure to achieve their purpose

Activities

• Review the four elements of The Writer's Presence
• Turn in a final draft of Minor Essay #1
• Discuss and analyze Orwell, Mayblum, and our choice narrative
• Turn in Part 2 of the Presence Inventory
• Assign and discuss Major Essay #1
• Assign and discuss the readings for next week

Homework

• Bring in a printed draft of Major Essay #1 to the Sept 20 class
• In The Writer's Presence, read:
• Berube, 318 - 321
• King, 451 - 457
• Chabon, 343 - 346

September 6, 2012

September already...  This week we'll move continue the revision process for Minor Essay #1 while also moving into the second part of our Narrative Essay Unit.  While last week's essays focused on literacy and education, the focus for this week is more about the structure of a good story.  Each writer has a distinct point of view and means of telling his/her story.  We may also begin to notice that the narratives we're reading are personal stories with a point.  Each story supports a theme or main idea.  As we revise Minor Essay #1, we will also want to begin considering what personal story with a point waits to be told inside of us.

Objectives

• Review the four elements of The Writer's Presence
• Use the writing process to shape the development of the essay
• Analyze and evaluate our writing through peer review
• Identify and analyze how authors manipulate structure to achieve their purpose

Activities

• Review the four elements of The Writer's Presence
• Discuss Minor Essay #1
• Analyze and evaluate our progress on Minor Essay #1
• Discuss and analyze Cofer, Hughes, and Wiesel

Homework

• Check your e-mail for your ME1, to be commented upon and reviewed by Monday
• Revise ME1
• Printed final draft of ME1 due in class Thursday, Sept 13
• In The Writer's Presence, read:
• Orwell 180 - 186
• Mayblum 164 - 169
• An essay of your choice and complete the Presence Inventory for it

August 30, 2012

We'll start class with a quick review of the four elements our textbook's editors use to identify presence in the essay: experience, voice, point of view, and verbal patterns.  We'll then apply these elements to a brainstormed list of our own Presence Inventory.  Our discussion of the readings for the week will focus on how we see the four elements in our authors' essays.  During our analysis, we'll identify a common theme in the four essays and apply that theme as the basis for our own first essay, Minor Essay #1.  We'll discuss the assignment, expectations, and strategies for success during the last part of class.

Objectives:

• Review the four elements of The Writer's Presence
• Identify and analyze the four elements in ourselves
• Identify and analyze the four elements in our readings for the week
• Begin the writing process for the first minor essay of the semester

Activities:

• Review the four elements of The Writer's Presence
• Presence Inventory for ourselves
• Presence Inventory for this week's essays
• Assign and discuss Minor Essay #1
• Review available resources

Homework

• Send Mr. Ritchie an electronic copy of Minor Essay #1 by Wednesday, Sept 5 at midnight.
• Bring two printed copies of Minor Essay #1 to the September 6 class. 
• In The Writer's Presence, read
• Cofer, 68 -75
• Hughes, 118 - 120
• Wiesel, 267 - 273 

August 23, 2012

Welcome!

On this site you'll find a breakdown of each week's lesson plans and activities for Comp I.  Assignments and due dates will always be listed in red.  You can access class handouts through the "Course Materials" section located on the top right of this site.  Since we only meet once each week, it will be absolutely essential for students to use this site to their full benefit for keeping on track and being prepared for class.  If you have any questions or comments regarding the things you'd like to see on this site, call me or e-mail me at ritchjoh@gmail.com

Our required textbook for the class is an anthology called The Writer's Presence.  We also have a another text called Rules for Writers.  I strongly recommend the book as an excellent writing resource students will use throughout their academic experience and beyond.  Students may pick up their textbooks at the Washburn University bookstore.  I've also hyperlinked the titles.  Click on the title to go to the Amazon page for each book.  It is possible that the book may be available used at a much cheaper price than elsewhere.


Objectives:

• Get to know one another
• Identify and analyze the goals and expectations of the class
• Reflect on on our experiences so far as writers
• Identify and analyze types of plagiarism

Activities:

• Introduce ourselves
• Reflect on our current writing process - information and paragraph due at the end of class
• Overview of the class and resources
• Define and identify types of plagiarism
• Read and discuss tips from successful writers

Homework for Thursday, 8/30 - read the following selections in TWP and be prepared to respond:

• Alexie, pages 27 - 30
• Douglass, pages 86 - 91
• Rodriguez, pages 187 - 203
• Tan, pages 232 - 237