Composition IAugust 29, 2013

Tonight’s AgendaIntroductions and attendanceCourse objectivesReview of the syllabusSentences, paragraphs, and essaysElectronic writing tools

Course Objectives1. Reading Critically

The students shall be able to evaluate assigned readings with a view to their artistic merits, content, logical progression, and thoroughness of citations (if any). The students shall be able to find the main idea of the assigned reading, recognize and evaluate the supporting details and comment on the effectiveness of the writer’s overall writing technique.

Course Objectives2. Essay Development

The students shall be able to compose units of discourse and provide ideas and information suitable to the audience and purpose.

Course Objectives3. Conventions of Standard American English

The students shall be able to transmit ideas and information in effective written language by employing good diction, conventional sentence structure, and standard written American English grammar and usage.

Course Objectives4. Research Skills

The students shall be able to locate and evaluate primary and secondary sources in both print and electronic formats and incorporate the relevant information into a properly documented paper, both internally and bibliographically.

Required CompetenciesRead with critical comprehension.Write clearly and coherently.Demonstrate and apply literacy across all

the disciplines.Information, technology, workplace, cultural,

quantitative, scientific, and environmental. Apply problem-solving skills or methods

to make informed decisions in a variety of contexts.

SentencesUnderstand the similarities and differences

between verbal and written communication. Understand that writing is guided by

consideration of three things: purpose, audience, and topic.

Unlike speaking, writing is a series of deliberate and thoughtful decisions.

Good writing begins with well-constructed sentences.

A sentence is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb; it also expresses a complete thought.

SentencesSentences that are formed incorrectly are

confusing, distracting, or both. Sentences that do not express a complete

thought are called fragments.Sentences that combine thoughts without the

proper punctuation are called run-on sentences.Comma splicesMixed or blended sentences

SentencesFRAGMENTS

The dog. (just a subject)

Ran down the street. (just a verb)

The boy who looked guilty. (subordinating word disables the

complete thought)

SentencesRUN-ONS – COMMA SPLICE

Dogs like bones, cats like yarn.

(A comma is not a strong enough punctuation mark to join two complete thoughts, each with a subject and a verb. Instead, use a semicolon or a comma + a conjunction. You could also simply make these two different sentences.)

SentencesRUN-ONS – MIXED SENTENCE

When the dog runs too fast to catch the Frisbee hits him on the head.

(The end of the sentence does not match the beginning of the sentence. This can be fixed by adding or subtracting words or by rewriting entirely.)

SentencesMost people, when asked to say a sentence about

any topic, begin with the word “there,” “this,” or “it.” These words are pronouns, and by definition, they are vague.

Instead of saying, “There are 8 planes waiting to take off,” instead write “Eight planes are waiting to take off.”

Write deliberately. Choose specific nouns as the subjects of your sentences. Choose precise verbs as your predicates. When possible, choose main verbs rather than linking verbs or forms of “be.” Modify with vivid adjectives and adverbs.

ParagraphsWhat you learned in K-12 is true, and it is more

relevant than ever in college writing:A paragraph is group of sentences about the same

main idea.That main idea is usually indicated in the topic

sentence.The topic sentence is followed by supporting

details.In high school writing, the expectation is that all

the sentences in a paragraph are related to the main idea. In college writing, the sentences should support the main idea.

EssaysScholars build arguments or propositions by

arranging well-written paragraphs that establish reasoning, logic, and evidence about a main point called the thesis.

Articles you read on the web, in newspapers, in magazines, and in scholarly journals are essays that have been published for a wide audience.

Electronic Tools for WritingFile managementWord processingOriginality checkingPublishing

Electronic Tools for WritingFILE MANAGEMENT

USB drivesCloud storage

DropboxSkydrive iCloudGoogle Drive

Electronic Tools for WritingWORD PROCESSING

Microsoft WordStudent and Teacher EditionUltimate Steal

Open Office Caution: File extensions

Important: Do not attempt to compose college writing on smartphones or tablets that do not have Word.

Electronic Tools for WritingORIGINALITY CHECKING

TurnItIn.comOriginality reportSimilarity index

Safe AssignTurnItIn-like product embedded into

Blackboard

Important: You can’t paraphrase something you’re looking at. Read it, put it away, then write about it.

Electronic Tools for WritingPUBLISHING

Desktop publishingMS Publisher

BloggingBlogger, WordPress, others….

Template-driven web sitesWeebly

In this class, we’ll be using Edublogs.

Homework1. Create an account at TurnItIn.com and join

the class.2. Create an account and Edublogs and email

me your username so I can add you as an author.

3. Take or find a picture of you. Incorporate it into a blog post that explains why it is meaningful.