English 1302 - Writing Workshop

Dr. Richard Newhauser

Spring Semester, 1999; MWF 9:30-10:20 a.m.; CLS Room 349

Office: Northrup Hall 132; Telephone: 736-7567;
Email: Rnewhaus@Trinity.edu; Homepage: http://www.trinity.edu/rnewhaus

Office Hours: MWF 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., or by appointment

Texts:

  • Donald Hall and D.L. Emblen, A Writer’s Reader, 8th ed. (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997).
  • Donald Hall and Sven Birkerts, Writing Well, 9th ed. (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998).

    • Description:

    This course is designed as an introduction to literary rhetoric at the university, that is to say in the simplest terms, to the art of persuasive writing as evinced in the form of the essay. Persuasion in this case should not be misconstrued to imply the composing of argumentative essays alone, though they, too, will form an important part of the material of the course, but rather, in more general terms, the art of persuasion can be taken here as referring to the methods and strategies employed by an essayist in order to evoke from his/her audience a particular emotional or intellectual response. If we, as authors, want our readers to understand our feelings about some matter, we must be able to use language in many of the same persuasive ways employed when we want to convince an audience that our opinion on an issue is correct. Thus, much of the class work will involve learning how to get across a clear message to one’s audience - by a carefully reasoned argument, by irrefutable logic, by the mustering of evidence, by evocative language, etc.

    Requirements:

    1 Regular attendance and preparation for class discussions are primary requirements for passing this course. Each student will be expected to lead discussions of a text for class analysis with a 3-5 minute oral report on the assigned reading. Three unexcused absences will adversely affect the final grade for the course.

    2 Written work will consist of four papers. Each paper must be 4-6 pages long; typewritten; double-spaced; with 1-inch margins, page numbers, and your name on every page; and carefully proofread. Shorter papers will not be accepted, nor will papers which have not been carefully proofread. You will need a folder for your papers. Each time you hand in a new paper, all of your previous papers (with the sheet containing my corrections on them) must be handed in together with the new paper in your folder. The papers will be due at the latest on the dates indicated on the syllabus.

    3 The last paper will require library research; for this paper you must use ONLY printed sources available in Trinity University’s library, and you must return these printed sources to the library before you hand in the final paper. A bibliography of all sources you will use for this paper, including the call number of each item in Trinity University’s library, is due in the week before the final paper must be handed in.

    You will, of course, receive a grade on each paper, but your final grade for the course will not simply result from the average of all the papers. What I will be looking for, rather, are the signs of your increasing facility with persuasive writing, the improvement in your ability to move and convince your reader. This growth in your status as an author will be taken into account when the final grades are calculated.


    Syllabus
    Spring Semester, 1999

    1. (1/13) Introduction
    2. (1/15) Discussion of rhetorical strategy for PAPER 1 (process); Hall-Emblen: (21) Didion, pp. 131-37, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 3
    3. (1/18) Discussion of topics for PAPER 1; Hall-Emblen: (26) Ephron, pp. 159-66, __________________
    4. (1/20) Hall-Emblen: (36) Gould, pp. 217-27, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 3
    5. (1/22) Topic statement for PAPER 1 due; Hall-Emblen: (40) Hegland, pp. 253-55, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 1
    6. (1/25) Hall-Emblen: (97) Wright, pp. 624-32, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 1
    7. (1/27) Hall-Emblen: (4) Angelou, pp. 25-30, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 1
    8. (1/29) Hall-Emblen: (61) O’Connor, pp. 384-97, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 2
    9. (2/1) Hall-Emblen: (59) Oates, pp. 370-74, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 2
    10. (2/3) PAPER 1 DUE; discussion of rhetorical strategy for PAPER 2 (comparison/contrast); Hall-Emblen: (10) Bird, pp. 62-70, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 9 (pp. 283-286)
    11. (2/5) Discussion of topics for PAPER 2; Hall-Emblen: (52) Lopate, pp. 318-20, __________________
    12. (2/8) Hall-Emblen: (3) Adams, pp. 19-24, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 9 (pp. 286-289)
    13. (2/10) Topic statement for PAPER 2 due; Discussion of student essays: __________________; __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 9 (pp. 289-292)
    (2/12/99 – NO CLASS)
    14. (2/15) Hall-Emblem: (77) Steele, pp. 489-502, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 9 (pp. 292-295)
    15. (2/17) Hall-Emblem: (66) Orwell, pp. 422-34, ________________; Writing Well, chapt. 9 (pp. 295-297)
    16. (2/19) Hall-Emblen: (11) Birkerts, pp. 71-75, ________________; Writing Well, chapt. 9 (pp. 297-299)
    17. (2/22) Hall-Emblen: (46) Ivins, pp. 290-92, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 9 (pp. 299-312)
    18. (2/24) Hall-Emblen: (57) Marin, pp. 352-67, ________________; Writing Well, chapt. 9 (pp. 312-319)
    19. (2/26) Hall-Emblen: (5) Atwood, pp. 31-37, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 4 (pp. 75-89)
    20. (3/1) PAPER 2 DUE; discussion of rhetorical strategy for PAPER 3 (classification/division); Hall-Emblen: (42) Hoagland, pp. 263-74, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 4 (pp. 89-96)
    21. (3/3) Discussion of topics for PAPER 3; Hall-Emblen: (14) Boorstin, pp. 86-92, _________________
    22. (3/5) Hall-Emblen: (15) Booth, pp. 93-97, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 4 (pp. 96-104)
    (3/8/99 – 3/12/99 – SPRING BREAK, NO CLASS)
    23. (3/15) Individual Conferences; Topic statement for PAPER 3 due
    24. (3/17) Individual Conferences; Topic statement for PAPER 3 due
    (3/19/99 – NO CLASS)
    25. (3/22) Individual Conferences; Topic statement for PAPER 3 due
    26. (3/24) Individual Conferences; Topic statement for PAPER 3 due
    27. (3/26) Individual Conferences; Topic statement for PAPER 3 due
    28. (3/29) Hall-Emblen: (84) Thoreau, pp. 538-55, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 4 (pp. 104-112)
    29. (3/31) PAPER 3 DUE; discussion of rhetorical strategy for PAPER 4 (cause and effect research essay); Hall-Emblen: (24) Ehrlich, pp. 147-50, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 4 (pp. 112-125)
    (4/2/99 – PASSOVER/GOOD FRIDAY, NO CLASS)
    30. (4/5) Discussion of topics for PAPER 4; Hall-Emblen: (86) Thurber, pp. 562-64, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 5
    31. (4/7) Hall-Emblen: (87) Tuchman, pp. 565-78, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 5
    32. (4/9) Topic statement for PAPER 4 due; Discussion of student essay: __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 5
    33. (4/12) Hall-Emblen: (95) Woolf, pp. 617-20, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 8
    34. (4/14) Bibliography for Paper 4 due; Hall-Emblen: (37) Green, pp. 228-35, __________________; Discussion of student essay: __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 6
    35. (4/16) Discussion of student essay: __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 6
    36. (4/19) Hall-Emblen: (80) Swift, pp. 516-23, __________________; (91) Walker, pp. 591-96, __________________; Writing Well, chapt. 7
    37. (4/21) PAPER 4 DUE; Hall-Emblen: (90) Vidal, pp. 588-90, __________________
    38. (4/23) evaluations

     

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