Composition with Georgie Ziff Welcome to English 1A Composition with Georgie Ziff

About you… On a piece of paper please write the following… name and contact phone number other courses you’re taking what college English courses you’ve taken and where Current employment and schedule things - anything I should know to better help y help you during the class how y – how you feel about your writing

About me… Georgie Ziff - Two boys, 17 & 20 - we live in Oakland. Grew up on the East Coast and the Midwest, but came to California for a one year job and never left : ) M.A. in Composition and Creative Writing from CSUEB B.A. from CSUEB; double major in English & Women’s Studies American Montessori Society Early Education Teaching Credential 9th year teaching college composition at California State University East Bay; 7th year at Merritt College; 4th year at Berkeley City College; 2nd year at Los Medanos College As a teacher, I hold my students to high standards of excellence, but I will do all that I can to help them succeed (because I know they can). Why the photo? Because we’re all that kid on the inside; find your own voice in your writing.

About Writing… my favorite writing quote: “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.” William Strunk Jr. Elements of Style

Required Course Materials Reading Critically, Writing Well by Axelrod, Cooper and Warriner – 9th edition.  I’m a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson ISBN 9780767903820  Composition book for your writing journal USB flash drive and/or an online free account with Dropbox.com (suggested) Account with Engrade.com Reliable computer and printer Stapler or paper clips

Suggested Materials USB flash drive and/or an online free account with Dropbox.com – the online storage synchronizing website Account with Engrade.com – the online grade book in which you can monitor your progress and assignments. Reliable computer and printer Stapler and paper clips

Course Gradebook Engrade.com is the online grade book used for the course * Go to www.engrade.com/student * You will receive a personal registration code from me. You MUST type it in exactly, including the hyphens; for example: georgieziff-123456789-1234 Each of you will have your own code to register, and then you will enter your own email, user ID and password to access the grade book site. YOU are responsible for keeping track of the access code and your progress in the course, including missing assignments

Grading in the Course Four out of class essays 60% Homework 15% Group Presentations 10% Individual Presentation 5% Writing Journal 5% Portfolio 5%

Save Your Work Online * Create a free account at www.dropbox.com for saving your work online. You can then access it in the computer lab. This is a great tool – it not only provides you with a place to save work, it also synchronizes any changes you make online, so your Dropbox is always up to date! * Use a flashdrive as backup, in case you cannot go online.

Essay Assignments You will write four essays: Observation Essay Evaluation Essay Position Essay Nonfiction Bill Bryson book essay These are multi-draft essays, which will be peer reviewed in class; final drafts submitted without earlier drafts and peer review feedback will not be accepted and will receive a failing grade. Come to class prepared with drafts as part of the writing process.

Presentations Individual Presentation: Group Writing Presentation: a) You will choose one story from Bill Bryson’ book, “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” and read it aloud b) You will provide a rhetorical analysis of the story in response to a set of questions Group Writing Presentation: In a small group of 3 or 4 classmates, you will select and research any topic about writing and create a 20 minute presentation for the class that has three parts: 1) describe the topic 2) demonstrate the topic 3) involve the class with a learning activity/exercise

Presentations, cont. Group Rhetorical Analysis: In small groups of no more than 4 or 5 students, you will select an essay from the textbook and create a class presentation analyzing the essay from a rhetorical standpoint.  Rhetorical Analysis Guidelines are available for download from the class web page and details are provided on the Rhetorical Group Presentation webpage. Presentations will be the last week of school. Each group will submit a collaborative Group Portfolio.

Homework On the Schedule online on your class page, the homework assignments are underlined with hyperlinks. These are links to articles are writing topics. Your task is to read each article and provide TWO paragraphs (not just a few sentences!) a) the first paragraph is a summary of what the article said, without opinion, paraphrasing in your own words b) the second paragraph is your response and analysis of the topic. Specifically: * How effective/understandable/helpful is the article? * How is this information applicable to your writing? * What strategies can you employ from this information to improve your college writing?

Attendance Policy Come to class prepared and on time Attendance is your job as a student; your life is not my business, so as such, do not feel it is necessary to inform me about reasons for absences or tardy issues. This class meets two days per week; a student who misses three of the classes, regardless of the reason, will have their grade reduced by one full grade. Missing four classes will result in being dropped from the class. In addition, as participation is required, the instructor reserves the right to drop or reduce the final grade of a student who fails to submit any assignments and essays in a timely manner, i.e. more than a week late. Computer lab days are required!

Today’s Objectives To get oriented to the course, the syllabus, requirements, expectations, and so forth. To break/melt the ice with one another To form and begin working in collaborative groups

Break the Ice Form groups of three Find one item you are carrying that is significant to you and share it with your group; explain the significance Find one thing that everyone in your group has in common Exchange email/contact information with each other

In the Spot Light Each of you will in turn introduce one person in your group and share something you learned about him/her Share what everyone in your group has in common

Working as a Team Together come up with 3 to 4 questions you have about this course Now, with the syllabus, try to find the answers to the questions you came up with Let’s talk about the questions you couldn’t find answers to…

What to expect next class… Presentation sign ups In class writing assessment so I can learn more about you Discussion of writing process Your first reading assignment

Your To Do List: Buy Reading Critically, Writing Well – 9th edition, Bill Bryson’s book, and a blank composition book for your writing journal Download the Syllabus and Schedule, noting the homework assignments Send me an email with your school, class and name in the subject line to: georgie.ziff@csueastbay.edu Go to the class website – www.georgiesenglishwiki.pbworks.com