"My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things, trout as well as eternal salvation, came by grace and grace comes by art, and art does not come easy. "

from the movie A River Runs Through It (1992)

Please Note: What you hold is a hard copy of a web document accessible by any computer with internet access. The index units below, showing this document's parts, are not only a sort of organizing table of contents but are on the web  links to the indicated parts of this syllabus.  While the basic plan of this class is established, fine tuning as well as added resources may not be included in this printed version. I will announce alterations to the syllabus in class.   Still, student are encouraged to check the actual web site regularly.

Course Index:

• Course Description
[texts][tools][objectives][required forms][grading scale][attendance][evaluation][tests][midterm &final][journal][journal samples][the essays][portfolio]
• Class Schedule
[Week One] [Week Two][Week Three][Week Four][Week Five][Week Six][Week Seven][Week Eight][Week Nine][Week Ten][Week Eleven][Week Twelve][Week Thirteen][Week Fourteen][Week Fifteen]

ENG3093 Advanced Composition [3] is an upper division course required of students in Professional Writing and various English major programs.  This semester, the course will cover advanced study of the composing process, essay form, and individual style.  Students will be provided with opportunities to analyze evidence of invention, arrangement, and tone.  While there will also be some emphasis on teaching composition and creative writing, students will be especially exposed to the practical nature of composing and selling non-fictional essays.

Texts:

Required:

Beyond Borders: Cultural Readings for Contemporary Writers
Second Edition

by Randall Bass, Georgetown University
Joy Young, Georgetown University 

Here is an important resource related to this text:
Border Text Online

Scribners Handbook for Writers

The Writer's Market 2003

www.writersmarket.com

If you sign up for the annual service for $29.99 (USD), you get a 30-day money back guarantee. Or, if you prefer a monthly plan, pay just $2.99 (USD)

List Price: $32.95
Amazon Price: $26.36

Course Objectives:

• To provide students with a wide exposure to freelance non-fictional writing.
• To provide students with the experience of writing within a group setting.
• To provide students the opportunity to analyze professional work.
• To provide students the opportunity to analyze and edit peer and elementary writing in order to prepare them for the experience of teaching composition..

Your notebook will be divided into three parts: handouts (like this hardcopy of the syllabus) notes, and your journal.  Even if you type it up, I would like it placed within the notebook.

You will also need Loose leaf paper (for the notebook), colored ink pins (for editing--no pencils please),  paper clips (do not staple assignments), and a manila folder for your writing portfolio.

Required Forms:

NOTE: All assignments MUST BE TYPED, must be in MLA Format and must be done in 14 Font. (This is larger than standard font which is 12, so you will have to alter the set up when you work with the computer. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS.   If an  assignment is handed in which does not meet these requirements it will be returned without being graded and will be marked down when it is handed in as LATE. See Scribner Handbook on page 741 for examples of MLA layout.

Follow this link to see an example of what is expected.

However, when composing the first copy which will be viewed by the class, feel free to use the standard 12 font.  The larger font is for when I am grading the work individually.  Please never let the computer default to 10 font.

How I Grade:

As an upper division class there will be plus (+) and minuses (-) in the grading system this year.

• 90 to 100 is an "A" Exceptional! A cut above--unusually good.
• 87 to 89 is "B+" Very Well Done!
• 84 to 86 is a "B" Well Done! A fine Job!
• 80 to 83 is a "B-" Fairly Good. 
• 77 to 79 is a "C+" Solidly in there!
• 74 to 76 is a "C" Good, a concrete understanding of the subject.
• 70 to 73 is a "C-"  Understanding of subject is workable.
• 60 to 70 is a "D" Passing but weak.
• 59 and below is an "F"  Fell short of required understanding of material.

• [10%] Tests
• [10%] Journals
• [10%] Midterm
• [10%] Final

• [20%] Presentation/ Participation

Student-led discussion/ analysis of essay from Beyond Borders
Midterm and Final Readings

• [20%] Writing Analyses

Personal Writing Profile/ Self -analysis.
Analyses of professions writing (Selections from Beyond Borders).
Analyses of advanced student writing (peer evaluation).
Analyses of intermediate student writing (ENG1043 students).

• [20%] Actual Essay Product

• Tad Bits (A presentation of elements in student writing which drive Dr. Rearick crazy!)
• MLA Guidelines (A power point presentation provided by Cornell University's Writing Lab)

Attendance:
Since this class is strongly based on student involvement, in fact since 20 percent of the grade is centered on editorial work given to peers as they read their work in class, regular and faithful attendance is vital.  This fact is acerbated by the fact that our class meets only twice a week.  Students who miss three classes have missed a week and a half of work.  More than this makes catching up highly unlikely and the student will be asked to drop this course.

Tests:
There will be four tests through the semester based on class discussion and readings: Feb 24, March 11, April 15, May 11

Midterm and Final
These will be based on the exams.  The Midterm will be on Thursday March 18 in class.  The Final will be on Tuesday May 18 at 3:00 to 4:10

Journal

Your journal is worth ten percent of your grade.  You should write in it twice times a week.  It is your personal repository for what you think about the professional writing being covered in class.  The grade is accumulative and the journals will be check on the following dates:

1.    Feb. 26

2.    April 8

3.    May 13

I will be looking for the following in your journal:

1.  Two entries per week (totaling 23 by the end of the semester).  Going  beyond that 38 entries could indicate to the instructor the kind of student  who will achieve a high grade (an A).  Please note that writing in your journal is not connected with days on the calendar.  Remember it is also allowable to write two entries on the same day as long as both are adequately developed. Now, please note. . .

 A. Periodic class checks may occur to determine the currency of your journal entries.   So, always bring your journal with you to class.  Furthermore I sometimes give writing time in class for journal entries.

 B. Journals will be handed in three times during the semester:

2. A table of contents made from the thesis sentence found in each entry should be included each time the journal is handed in.

3. Journal entries must be at least 2/3 of a page long.  Furthermore, if you are one of those individuals like St. Paul with BIG handwriting-- "Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand"  (Gal. 6:11)--then you should plan to write more than what I have  suggested.  I've seen some fill up 2/3 of a page with "I've been thinking  about our reading."  Note Typing a journal could add to your score an an indication of going the "extra mile."

4. All entries should be numbered and dated

 (For Example: Entry # 10; Feb.. 23^rd).

5. Although I will not be grading the journal harshly concerning mechanics and restarts of thought (which require a single line to cross out some    material), I do expect the final product to be neat and legible.  Also you  should write full sentences within paragraphs--no fragmented stream of  consciousness experiments.  "Split from society--bad."  To be specific, I will be especially looking in your journal for. . .

A. Development of ideas.  Remember that it is not necessary to finish a
work to have a good idea.  In fact waiting till you have finished can be   overwhelming. Keep your journal handy while reading.

B. Interconnectedness of journal entries.  This means that an idea you examine at one point in your journal might have relevance to another work discussed later. Works in literature should not be thought of in a vacuum.

1. A diary. Your entries should be a mixture of commentary concerning what  you read and what you discuss in and out of class about literature.  I do  not want to read (as I have in the past) what you had for lunch or who is  presently percolating your hormones.

2. A place for class notes.  Class notes belong in the section provided for them in your loose leaf.  I should not see your actually writing in your journal  during class.  This also means that a journal is not a re-hashing of what is  covered in class ("today in class we talked about. . .etc. etc.").

Entry One, Feb. 1    "I Write to Make Sense of Ideas Which Bug Me."
Entry Two, Feb. 5   "I Wish I Felt Certain About My Abilities to Edit Peers."
Entry Three, Feb. 6 "I Am a Writer Because I Would Write Even If No One Read My Stuff"
Entry Four, Feb. 10 "I have Some Real Fears About Getting Published"

Journal Entry # 4  Sept, 10

Writing to be published is both a desire and a dread for me.  Of course, I'd love to be able to share with others my ideas and be respected as a worthwhile communicator.  Still, bound up within the goal of getting my name in print is the fear of being rejected by editors and readers.  This can create a real sense of inertia in me.  Furthermore I confess that the exhaustive process of becoming familiar with the "business" aspect of writing, finding audiences, publishers, agents and so forth have very little to do with the creative aspect of writing.  It makes me tired to just think of it.  Or maybe I am just too lazy to do some good old fashioned work.

No that's not it.  In fact as an English professor, I have so many responsibilities pressing on my that I often feel as if I am not getting even the required parts of my occupation finished.  Add to that creatively writing and then add to that the business process of getting published and it's clear why I have this recurring experience of going to sleep at my children's bed time.  Still I know that as the world of Nazarene academics becomes more and more business-like, it will require as it has never done before the publication of works.

Having a list of publications offers a possible employer a quick gauge of one's ability to produce text.  It's a really questionable guideline (a lot like judging a professor by how popular he or she is with students), but in the face of lack of time (which I understand is also a reality in the administrative world) and with the great divorce of the administration from faculty (when do they eat together these days?), publication becomes a easy measuring stick.  Thus, even in schools where traditionally publication has not been required, I suspect it will begin to hold more and more weight.  Want to or not, I need to work on getting published.

Now, it is up to me to be certain what I publish also has merit.

The Process:

During the semester each student will write six essays (three for each half) and bring to class enough copies of the assigned essay for each peer and the instructor to read.  The instructor will provide the parameters for each essay type.  These works will then be read aloud by the author, while at the same time the class will read along and mark their copies according to the provided parameters of what is expected and their own insights.  There will be a few moments of class discussion and then the students will pass to the author their comments.  The author will then do a rewrite and hand it in to the instructor by the next class.

The student will hand in two portfolios, one at midterm and the second at the end of the semester.  Each of these portfolios will contain two essays representing the student's best work (as determined by peer and faculty feedback and by the student's own heightened editorial sense).

The Form:

Just a reminder over what was emphasized earlier:  Each essay will be tayped and done in standard MLA format. For the sake of Prof. Rearick's eyes please do all essays in 14 font (the computer usually defaults to 12, so take it up one).  All works should have a working title and, when appropriate, a "works cited" page.

REAL WORD FACTS:  Writing, like drawing or singing, is an art.  All students at the college level can write, draw and sing.  We write home to Mom and Dad, we draw doodles when we are taking notes, and many of us sing in the shower.   Some of us have been blessed by God with a talent in such one or more of these areas.   And some of us are not.  The ramifications of this are that there will be some in class who will seem to get the hang of writing very quickly and who seem to excel very easily.  Others will need to struggle.  It is impossible to guarantee a superior grade even with the promise of effort.  However, students who are attempting to excel should be on the look-out for possible extra credit work and other ways to go beyond what is expected.

I am in debt to Arthur Seamans' small book Writing for Growth for several concepts of essays included here, for his articulation of concept of "Writing at a Liberal Arts College" from the same work, and for his inspiration and encouragement in my early career experience at Point Loma.

• February    3    Registration
• February    4    Classes Begin
• February    9    Last Day to Add First Half Term Course
• February    l3    Last Day to Add Full Term Course
• February    18    Faculty Development and Student Assessment Day (classes begin at 12:40pm).
• March        3     Lest Day to Drop First Halt Term Course
• March        5     Last Day to Declare an Intent to Graduate
• March        l0-12    Spring Revival
• March        12    Many in the English Department are going to the C.S. Lewis Colloquium
• March        19-29    Midterm Break (5:10p.m., Friday - 8:00a.m.., Monday)
• March        30    Last Day to Drop Full Term Course
• March        30    Last Day to Add Second Half Term Course
• April           8-12     Easter Break (9:30 p.m., Thursday - 6:30p.m., Monday)
• April          20     Last Day to Drop Second Half Term Course
• May          6    Blue-Green Day (classes dismiss at 12:30p.m.)
• May          10    Term Work Due
• May          17-20    Final Examinations (8:00a.m., Monday - 11:50a.m., Thursday)
• May          21    Baccalaureate
• May          22    Commencement
• May          25    Final Grades due in Academic Records and Registration Office

HTW --    How to Write What you Love.
SCRIB -- The Scribner Handbook for Writers
BOR -- Beyond Borders : A Cultural Reader

WFG -- Writing for Growth

Thursday: Feb. 5

Review Syllabus

Introduction and in class writing "Why do You Write?"

Process Feedback (Handout)

Read "Reducing One's Zzzz Factor" (Handout)

Tuesday: Feb. 10

"Process Essay" Due: Come prepared to share (bring copies)

HTW    pages 3-24 ("Becoming a Freelance Writer" Part I)
BOR:    pages ix-xiii "Preface" and Introduction pp. 1-11 

WFG:   pages 1-8 "Introduction" & "Writing at a Liberal Arts College" 
Reading and Peer Editing

Thursday: Feb. 12

SCRIB Part 1 a-e pages 2-13
BOR:    pages Chap. 1: 13-35 "Borders of Identity"

WFG:   pages  9-12  "An Approach to Writing"
Reading and Peer Editing

For those who read in class, hand in Process Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Tuesday: Feb. 17

Hand in Three to Five  Titles of Magazines in which you would like to be published.
(They must accept freelance contributions)

HTW    pages 25-39 ("Cash, Copywriters, and Clocks" Part II)
BOR:   Chap. 1 pages 36-66 "Borders of Identity Continued"

WFG:  pages 13-18 "Expressive Writing"

Reading and Peer Editing

For those who read in class, hand in Process Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Thursday: Feb. 19

SCRIB Part 1 f-i pages 13-26
BOR:    Chap. 1: pages 66-96

WFG:  pages 19-25 "The Image Theme"

Reading and Peer Editing

For those who read in class, hand in Process Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Tuesday: Feb. 24
"Satori Essay" Described

WFG: pages 25-38 "The Memory and Satori Theme"
5 readers should share today

Thursday Feb. 26
Test One: Covers readings from Border Texts, Scribner, Writing for Growth and How to Write

"Satori Essay" Due: Come prepared to share (bring copies for each student and instructor.

5 readers should share their Satorie Essays today

For those who read, hand in Satori Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Hand in three submission guidelines provided by three of Magazines in which you would like to be published
BOR: Chap. 2: pages 97-136

WFG: pages 41-53 "The Zuihitsu and Pan Theme"

Reading and Peer Editing
5 readers should share their Satorie Essays today

"First Set of Journals Due: (7 Entries Required)

For those who read, hand in Memory Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Thursday March 4

BOR: Chap. 2: pages 137-179

WFG: pages 53-55 "Persuasive Writing"

Reading and Peer Editing
5 readers should share their Satarie Essays today

For those who read, hand in Memory Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

BOR:    Chap. 2: pages 180- 227

HTW 43-58 (" What to Write About" Finding a Salable Subject" "Part II, Chap.. 3)

WFG:  pages 56-59 "The Empathy Letter Theme"
Reading and Peer Editing

For those who read, hand in Satori Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Thursday March. 11 

SCRIB Parts 3 a-c;  pages 54-68 (Thinking)
Reading and Peer Editing
Test Two: Covers readings from Border Texts, Scribner, and How to Write

Week Seven:

March 15-19

Tuesday March. 16

"A Sense of Place" Essay" Described

BOR: Chap. 2: 228-245 

HTW 59-75 (Part II, Chap.. 4)
SCRIB Part 1 Sec 2: a-e pages (Critical Reading)  26-43

WFG:  pages 33-41 (Review Satori) 60-71 "The Irony Theme"

For those who read, hand in "Sense of Place" Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Thursday March 18   Midterm EXAM

"The Irony Theme" Essay" Described

Week Eight:

March. 22-26

Midterm Break!

Tuesday March. 23 - No Class

Thursday March. 25 - No Class

Week Nine:

March 29 - April 2

Tuesday March 30

SCRIB Part 1, Sec. 3 "Reading and Writing About Visual Texts" a; pages 43-46

WFG: pages 71-78 "The Analogy Theme"
HTW 76-98 (Part III, Chap. 5)
Reading and Peer Editing

Thursday April 3

BOR: Chap. 3: pages 246-274

• "The Dynamics of Difference" (opening) 246
•  "Critical Questions" (246)
•  "Arts of the Contact Zone" (249-261)
• "The Middle Ground" (262-274)

SCRIB Part 1, Sec. 3 "Reading and Writing About Visual Texts" b-c; pages 47-56
HTW 99-115 (Part III, Chap.. 6)
WFG: pages 79-81 "Referential Writing"
For those who read, hand in "Sense of Place" Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Week Ten:

April 5-9 Easter is Coming!

Tuesday April 6

BOR: Chap. 3, pages 275-301

• "A Key into the Language of America" (275-291)
• "An English-Chines Phrase Book" (291-301

SCRIB Part 2, Sec. 4 "Developeing Ideas" a-b; pages 57-73
HTW 116-130 (Part III, Chap. 7)
WFG: pages 82-86 "The Quest Theme"
Handout: George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language"

5 readers should share their "Irony" Essays today

Reading and Peer Editing

For those who read, hand in "Irony" Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Thursday April 8

SCRIB Part 2, Sec. 4 "Developing Ideas" c-d; pages 74-85
BOR: Chapter 3: pages 303-332

•  Talking Past One Another: Black and White Language of Race (302-315)
•  "Arrow" (316-317)
•  "Letters from a Birmingham Jail" (318-332)

5 readers should share their "Irony" Essays today

For those who read, hand in "Irony" Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.
Reading and Peer Editing

Second Journal Check (At least 18 entries)

Week Eleven:

Monday April 12 Break ends 6:30p.m., Monday

Tuesday April 13

SCRIB Part 2, Sec. 5 "Fundamentals of Paragraph Development" a-b; pages 86-94
HTW 131-157 (Part IV, Chap.. 8)
BOR:  Chapter 3: Negotiating Borders Continued

• On Not Being a Victim" (364-375)
• The White Noise Supremacists" (375-386)

WFG:  pages 87-93 "The Process Theme"

5 readers should share their "Irony" Essays today

For those who read, hand in "Irony" Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Thursday April 15

Test # 3

SCRIB Part 2, Sec. 5 "Fundamentals of Paragraph Development" c-d; pages 94-107
BOR:  Chapter 3: Negotiating Borders Continued

• "TinySex and Gender Trouble" (387-403

• "MAUS: A Survivor's Tale" (424-428) Augmented by Handout

• "Confronting Stereotypes: MAUS in Crown Heights (428-447)

5 readers should share their "Irony" Essays today

For those who read, hand in "Irony" Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Week Twelve:

April 19-23

Tuesday April 20

SCRIB Part 2, Sec. 5 "Fundamentals of Paragraph Development" e-f; pages 107-128

• "Transfiguration" by Annie Dillard [Handout]

• "How I wrote the Moth Essay. . .and Why" by Annie Dillard [Handout]

BOR:  Chapter 4: Imagined Borders 

• "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" (484-489)

For those who read, hand in "Irony" Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

 Thursday April 22

SCRIB Part 2, Sec. 6 "The Exploratory Essay" a-c; pages 129-153
BOR:  Chapter 4: Imagined Borders 

• "Adventures of the Frontier in the 20th Century" (489-503) 

• "At the Buffalo Bill Museum--June 1988" (504-520)

WFG:  pages 93-97 "The Definition Theme"

 
For those who read, hand in "Irony" Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Week Thirteen:

  April 26 - 30

Tuesday April    27

SCRIB Part 2, Sec. 7 "Argumentative Essay" a-c; pages 153-171
HTW 131-157 (Part IV, Chap.. 8)
BOR:  Chapter 6, "The World's New Borders: Beyond Nation, Beyond Place" pages 583-631

• "Critical Questions" (583-588)

• "Soft Cities" (588-

• "Sex, Death and Machinery or How I Fell in Love with My Prosthesis" (606-618)

• "Real Cold, Virtual Heat Virtual Reality at the Roxy" (618-631)

For those who read, hand in "Personal Choice" Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Thursday April  29
SCRIB Part 2, Sec. 7 "Argumentative Essay" d-f; pages 171-196
BOR:  Chapter 6, "The World's New Borders: Beyond Nation, Beyond Place" pages 631-656

• "Disinformoracy"

• "One World Reality"

HTW 158-172 (Part IV, Chap.. 9)

For those who read, hand in "Personal Choice" Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Week Fourteen:

 May 3- 7

Tuesday May  4

SCRIB Part 2, Sec. 8 "Literary (Analytical) Essay" a-b; pages 196-216

BOR:  Chapter 6, "The World's New Borders: Beyond Nation, Beyond Place" pages 656-675

• "Jihad vs. McWorld"

• "Yes This is About Islam"

For those who read, hand in "Personal Choice" Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did.

Thursday May  6 Blue Green Day

Week Fifteen:

Tuesday May 11

SCRIB Part 6, Sec. 26 "Using Appropriate Words" a-b; pages 435-442

4 readers should share their "Personal Choice" Essays today

 For those who read, hand in "Personal Choice" Rewrite plus an attached paragraph report of what you did

Thursday May  13

Test # 4

Third and Last Journal Check (At least 26 Entries Expected--with the last being a closing comment about your impressions of this class.)

Week Sixteen:

May 17-21
EXAM Week

Tuesday May 18 at 3:00 to 4:10