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Dear Students,

Hi! Welcome to English 450, Fundamentals of Composition!In this class we focus on what makes a great paragraph. I believe a goodparagraph has an insightful, clear topic sentence; a sufficient amountof vivid, concrete, and relevant supporting detail; a clear, logical order;grammatical and mechanical excellence; and style, tone, and diction thatare appropriate to the topic and audience. We will work on understanding,producing, and evaluating good writing.

We will be using a graph to measure our achievement ofour goals. This graph, called a capacity matrix, will also be used to calculategrades.  Because this is an unconventional educational system, itis important that you monitor yourself to make sure you understand howthe class works, how the matrix is used to grade assignments, and how youare progressing towards your final grade. Be sure to tell me in person,by phone, by email, or by fax if you need help with these key conceptsor any of the we are trying to master.

With best wishes for a good semester,
Cathy Decker, Ph.D.
 
 

1. Gain an appreciation of the aesthetic and literarycharacteristics of good writing. (Our capacity matrix breaks this downinto eight capacities or skills.)

2. Develop the ability to think logically and expressthoughts in clear, effective prose. (This breaks down into eighteen capacitiesor skills.)

3. Explain and be better able to apply the principlesunderlying the creation of unified and coherent paragraphs. (See note afterobjective eight.)

4. Recognize and formulate clear and specific topic sentencesand develop these into unified and complete paragraphs. (See note afterobjective eight.)

5. Analyze the structure of various kinds of paragraphdevelopment, including exposition and argumentation, and construct paragraphsin such patterns. (See note after objective six.)

6. Demonstrate an understanding of the various logicalrelationships of ideas within a paragraph and apply these in their ownwritings. (A combination of objectives five and six breaks down into twentydifferent capacities or skills.)

7. Study their own grammatical and punctuation errorsto make their writing more effective.  (This goal breaks down intofifty different capacities or skills.)

8. Study and practice the coherency and rhetorical devicesthat make a paragraph rational, clear, and aesthetically sound. (The overlappingobjectives three, four, and eight together break down into thirty-fourcapacities or skills.)

During our first class we will determine what we willgive participation points for. When this policy is finalized, I will givea copy to each class member.  Basically I will keep a running tabof the maximum number of points a person can get.  Because the maximumwill be indicative of giving 110%, that number will equal 110% (11 pointsout of a possible of ten)!  I will then calculate what number of participationpoints earns a 100%.  What percent of these points that you have isyour participation-point grade.  Feel free to email  me or cometo office hours to clarify this!

We will give participation points for the following.

1. Arriving at 11 AM ready to go

2. Sharing a computer or handout

3. Helping students with the computer or a class problem

4. Behaving in a way that causes another student to nominate you for a point.

5. Attending college book events

6. Having perfect attendance.

1. We will not be mean to each other, but rather be polite to each other.

2. We will speak loudly so everyone can hear and tell everyone our name.

3. We will tell speakers when we can't hear what they are saying.

4. We will ask questions when we don't understand something.

5. We believe that there is no such thing as a dumb question.

6. We will not call anyone dumb or stupid.

7. We will be positive and give advice and suggestions, rather than just criticism.

8. We will not bring devices that ring or beep or turn them off.

9. We won't make loud noises with gum or our hands and feet that are distracting to others.

Required Supplies

• Barbara Kingsolver’s  The Bean Trees
• John Langan’s English Skills with Readings, 4th ed.
• Folders and/or 3-Ring Binder for Portfolio, Class Handouts,Charts, Schedules, Calendar
• Three-hole punch lined paper
• IBM-formatted disks
• Scantron Sheets as announced in class (available at the CollegeBookstore in the Quad)

• Expect that work turned in on time will be graded in twoweeks.
• Expect that I won’t return most weekend phone calls untilMon. and will take a few days to respond to email, snail mail, faxes, andphone calls.
• Expect that plagiarized work gets zero credit; repeat plagiarizersfail the class with an F.
• Expect that tests, quizzes, oral work, and such one-timethings will not be rescheduled.
• Expect that when I don’t get work at the due date, I entera zero in the grade book.
• Expect that if you stop coming to class and don’t drop yourself,you will get an F.
• Expect that I will make mistakes and that copies of all yourwork will come in useful at these times.
• Expect that we will deal with adult content in this course.

Good Things We Want in This Class . . .
 

Planning Ahead Supporting Others Rewarding Excellence Cooperativeness Politeness Promptness Good Listening Assertive Approaches to Problems and Problem Solving Effective Working with Others Drinking Water Without Destroying Equipment

Things that I Avoid and that I’d Like the Classto Avoid . . .
 

Silent Anxiety Not Asking Questions When You are    Worried or Confused Badgering or Brutally Questioning Others Leaving Others Out in the Cold Hostility Finger Pointing Noisy Cell Phones and Pagers Playing Computer Games Breaking the Food/Drink Policy

Go to Participation Points Chart