English 2010 Syllabus

English 2010 Intermediate College Writing

Syllabus

You will receive regular in-class and take-home assignments which we will review and edit in classroom workshops or discussion groups, and you will be asked to bring in exercises, outlines, research progress reports, and drafts of essays in progress. I will ask you as well to respond to various essays and films (visual texts, if you will) in terms of their contents and their strategies of presentation and persuasion, etc. I have conceived the syllabus to be open-ended and flexible to accommodate your changing needs as developing writers of argumentative prose and research essays. Commonly, I will announce at the end of each class the assignment for the next session(s) and the due dates for notebook entries and first and final drafts. I will then, on occasion, also provide you with handouts that accompany and specify assignments. Nevertheless, here is a provisional overview of the course.

Week 1–2	General Introduction — Argumentative/Persuasive Writing Introduction to 2010 Ha Jin, A Good Fall — writing assignments TBA on a day-to-day basis
Weeks 2–4 [or 3–5]	Argumentative/Persuasive Writing Ctd. A Good Fall Library Research Session, TBA, meet in Room #106 in the Library Group/Individual Conferences Revision Workshop & Editing Groups * Argumentative/Persuasive Paper (#1) Due * Assignment 1 Student Samples
Weeks 5–8 [or 6–10]	Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma Please note: depending on our time, we may need to make adjustments to our reading.
Weeks 5–9 [or 6–10]	Research and Persuasion: Our Food Supply Viewing Recommendation: Robert Kenner, Food, Inc.(2008) “Our National Eating Disorder" + “The Plant: Corn’s Conquest" “The Farm" + “The Elevator" “The Feedlot: Making Meat" + “The Processing Plant: Making Complex Foods" “The Consumer: A Republic of Fat" + “The Meal: Fast Food" “All Flesh is Grass" + “Big Organic" “The Animals: Practicing Complexity" + “Slaughter: In a Glass Abattoir" “The Market: Greetings from the Non-Barcode People" + “The Meal: Grass-Fed" “The Forager" + “The Omnivore’s Dilemma" “The Ethics of Eating Animals" “Hunting: The Meat" “The Perfect Meal" Week 9 [or 10] Revision Workshop & Editing Groups Group/Individual Conferences * Food Research Paper (#2) Due * Assignment 2
Weeks 10–14 [or 11–15]	Research and Argument on Film
Week 10–13	What can I write about and research on film? Readings online and as handouts ReelWeb Film Screening #1, TBA Screening report # 1 (MS Word or Adobe PDF) Click here for Screening Report Samples Film Screening #2, TBA Screening report # 2 (MS Word or Adobe PDF) No class, 4–8 March, Spring Break & instructor conference
Week 13–14	Finishing Up Revision Workshop & Editing Groups Group/Individual Conferences * Film Research Paper (#3) Due * Assignment 3 * Global Revision/Rewrite Due * Final Exam, as per course schedule booklet Below please find select useful websites on our 2010 focus topic. This is a collection in process, as every site must be. Please stay tuned! :) Meet the Foodies -- Locavores

A concluding note: The only dumb question is the one you don't ask. My door is always open (and if it is not open, please knock; I will answer if I am there). Please don't hesitate to stop by during my office hours or to make an appointment, if you're having trouble getting started or want to talk about your ideas or progress. As well, please feel free to use my electronic address to communicate with me.