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English 1015FA: Introduction to Academic Writing
Course Location: RB3044
Class Times: Tuesday+ Thursday, 11:30-1:00
To our Student: Should you require information or documents from our office in another
format, please let us know. We are happy to help you. Contact your instructor or our
Department of English Administrative Assistant.
Instructor Information................................................................................................................1
Course Description ....................................................................................................................1
Course Objectives ......................................................................................................................2
Course Resources .....................................................................................................................2
Required Course Text ....................................................................................................................... 2
Course Schedule ................................................................................................................................ 2
Assignments and Evaluation ....................................................................................................4
Table of Assignments ........................................................................................................................ 4
Assignment Policies ........................................................................................................................... 4
Details of Assignments ...................................................................................................................... 5
Group Work.................................................................................................................................5
Marking Standards .....................................................................................................................5
Collaboration/Plagiarism Rules................................................................................................6
Course Policies ..........................................................................................................................6
University Policies .....................................................................................................................6
Instructor Information
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Instructor: John Fell
Office: UC0036A
Telephone: 343-8985
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Monday, 1:00-4:00
Course Description
An introduction to university-level standards of composition, editing, research, and
documentation. A review of English grammar (word and sentence level) and rhetorical
forms (paragraph and beyond), and a study of the methods and conventions of
academic argumentation and research with an emphasis on the skills and practices
required to produce academic essays: finding and evaluating sources, formulating
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research questions, developing thesis statements, constructing arguments, and carrying
out various types of analysis.
Course Objectives
The Department of English has the corporate objectives of teaching students to write
grammatically correct, clear, effective prose and to read critically, assessing authors'
rhetorical strategies. Introduction to Academic Writing embraces these objectives in the
context of the writing and reading of essays, giving students the opportunity both to
develop their potential as essay writers and to study the writings of those more
experienced in the genre.
Course Resources
Required Course Text
John Van Rys et al. Writing Life.
Course Schedule
Week
Week 1
(Sept. 6-9)
Week 2
(Sept. 12-16)
Week 3
(Sept. 19-23)
Week 4
(Sept. 26-30)
Reading & Activity
Introduction to the course.
Thinking, reading, writing: connections.
Reading: Chapter 1.
Narration.
Reading: pp. 142-147 + Teresa Zsuffa, "Spare Change" (pp. 151-153).
Diagnostic assignment (in class).
The writing process: an overview.
Focus: establishing the rhetorical context and developing the topic.
Reading: Chapter 2.
Rhetorical mode: definition.
Reading: Chapter 10.
Essay Assignment #1: Definition Essay.
Model essays: Paige Louter, "Hipsters and Hobos: Asceticism for a New
Gereration" (pp.172-176) and June Callwood, "Forgiveness" (pp.177180).
"Forms of Academic Writing."
Reading: Chapter 8.
Formation of workshop groups.
Writing workshop: peer feedback on process work for Essay Assignment
#1. Focus: topic / development of topic.
The writing process. Focus: organization.
Reading: Chapter 3.
Rhetorical mode: classification.
Reading: Chapter 11.
Essay Assignment #2: Classification Essay.
Model essays: Stewart Brand, "Four Sides to Every Story" (pp. 198-199)
and Adam Gopnik, "Recreational Winter" (pp. 200-205).
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Week
Week 5
(Oct. 3-7)
(Oct. 10-14)
Week 6
(Oct. 17-21)
Week 7
(Oct. 24-28)
Week 8
(Oct. 31Nov. 4)
Week 9
(Nov. 7-11)
Week 10
(Nov. 14-18)
Week 11
(Nov. 21-25)
Reading & Activity
The writing process. Focus: drafting.
Reading: Chapter 4.
Group Discussion Assignment #1.
Writing workshop: peer feedback on process work for Essay Assignment
#2. Focus: thesis and outline.
Rhetorical mode: comparison-contrast.
Reading: Chapter 13.
Essay Assignment #3: Comparison-Contrast Essay.
Model essay: Malcolm Gladwell, "Small Change" (pp. 241-251).
Study Break
The writing process. Focus: revising.
Reading: Chapter 5.
Group Discussion Assignment #2.
Writing workshop: peer feedback on first draft of Essay Assignment #3.
Focus: see Chapter 5.
Research I: "From Planning Research to Evaluating Sources."
Focus: summary and paraphrase.
Reading: Chapter 21.
Essay Assignment #4: Article Review. Focus: Thomas King, "Dead
Indians" (pp. 181-185).
Research II: "Conducting Research: Primary, Library, Web."
Reading: Chapter 22.
Essay Assignment #5: Research Essay.
Editing and proofreading.
Reading: Chapter 6.
Workshop for Essay Assignment #4. Focus: rhetorical context + editing
issues (see Chapter 6).
Research III: making effective use of source material.
Reading: Chapters 23 and 24.
Model essay: Nancy Black, "Dismantling the Scarecrow: An Exploration
of Calgary's Cultural Coming of Age" (pp. pp. 486-491).
MLA and APA styles.
Reference: Chapters 25 + 26.
Model essays: Paige Louter, "Why the World Deserves Better Than Fair
Trade" (pp. 525-533). Thomas I. DeJong and Adam B. Smit, "Running
on Empty: The Effects of Food Deprivation on Concentration and
Perseverance" (pp. 555-563).
Review of grammar.
Reference: Chapters 27+28.
Major sentence errors.
Reading: Chapter 29.
Test #1: Sentence Errors I.
Other common sentence errors.
Review of Test #1.
Test #2: Sentence Errors II.
Punctuation.
Test #3: Punctuation.
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Week
Reading & Activity
Week 12
Review of Tests #2 and 3.
(Nov. 28Workshop for Essay Assignment #5.
Dec. 1)
Submit Essay Assignment #5.
3 notes:
*Precise page ranges for the above chapter readings will be given in class.
*Although coverage of grammar and punctuation does not appear on the schedule until
late in Week 9, sentence issues will be dealt with periodically throughout the course
(when appropriate and when time allows).
*Monday, November 7 is the University's deadline for withdrawal from the course
without academic penalty.
Assignments and Evaluation
Table of Assignments
Assignment
Due date
Value
Length
Diagnostic (in-class)
September 13
5%
500 words
Essay Assignment #1
September 27
10%
500 words
Essay Assignment #2
Group Discussion Assignment #1
Essay Assignment #3
Group Discussion Assignment #2
Essay Assignment #4
Test #1
Test #2
Test #3
Essay Assignment #5
October 6
October 18
October 20
October 25
November 3
November 15
November 22
November 24
December 1
10%
5%
5%
10%
10%
10%
5%
5%
25%
500 words
250 words
250 words
500 words
500 words
30 minutes
20 minutes
20 minutes
1500 words
Assignment Policies
Late assignments will not be accepted, nor tests rescheduled, except in instances
where students are able to provide compelling (normally documented) reasons for being
unable to abide by the above schedule of dates.
Assignments are acceptable in hard copy only. If a student is unable to be present to
submit an assignment, he or she may submit it electronically as proof of completion and
then submit the hard copy as soon as possible.
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Details of Assignments
Diagnostic Assignment (in-class): a narrative essay on a topic to be assigned on the
day of writing.
Essay Assignment #1: an exercise in extended definition, the textbook supplying a
choice of models to follow.
Essay Assignment #2: a short essay, the success of which will depend not only on
finding a good topic but also on devising a classification scheme that will allow an
interesting and meaningful exploration of that topic.
Group Discussion Assignment #1: a short piece stemming from a discussion of the
ways in which an accomplished essayist has used classification to explore a topic.
Group Discussion Assignment #2: a short piece stemming from a discussion of the
ways in which an accomplished essayist has used comparison to explore a topic.
Essay Assignment #3: a comparative essay in which the author will need to
demonstrate the aptness of the comparison (and/or contrast) by showing how his or her
two chosen subjects illuminate each other.
Essay Assignment #4: a review of an article preselected from the text.
Test #1: a test of the student's ability to correct common major sentence errors.
Test#2: a test of the student's ability to correct common sentence errors other than
those covered on Test #1.
Test #3: a test of the student's ability to punctuate sentences correctly.
Essay Assignment #5: a research essay written according to principles covered in class.
Note: All assignments listed above will come with precise written instructions circulated
in class on the appropriate date.
Group Work
It is expected that students will participate in the various group activities indicated on the
Course Schedule, including the writing workshops. The group work scheduled has
direct bearing on assignments, and attendance will be taken.
Marking Standards
All assignments will be marked in accordance with the English Department Marking
Standards 1.
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https://www.lakeheadu.ca/academics/departments/english/marking-standards
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Collaboration/Plagiarism Rules
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's words and/or ideas. Not
acknowledging your debt to the ideas of a secondary source, failing to use quotation
marks when you are quoting directly, buying essays from essay banks, copying another
student's work, or working together on an individual assignment, all constitute
plagiarism. Resubmitting material you've submitted to another course is also academic
dishonesty. All plagiarized work (in whole or in part) and other forms of academic
dishonesty will be reported to the Dean, who is responsible for judging academic
misconduct and imposing penalties. The minimum penalty for academic misconduct is a
0 on the assignment in question. It might also be subject to more severe academic
penalties. See the Code of Student Behaviour 2.
Course Policies
Please note that English 1015 is a text-based course, which means that students must
not only purchase the text but also bring it to class.
Note that attendance is vital, as is attentiveness. It is unacceptable for students to
behave in ways that make it difficult or impossible for others to concentrate.
University Policies
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Students in this course are expected to conform to the Code of Student Behaviour.
Accommodations: Lakehead University is committed to achieving full accessibility
for persons with disabilities. Part of this commitment includes arranging academic
accommodations for students with disabilities to ensure they have an equitable
opportunity to participate in all of their academic activities. If you think you may need
accommodations, you are strongly encouraged to contact Student Accessibility
Services (SAS) 3 and register as early as possible.
In accordance with the terms of the Ontario Human Rights Code 4. This occurs
through a collaborative process that acknowledges a collective obligation to develop
an accessible learning environment that both meets the needs of students and
preserves the essential academic requirements of the course.
This course outline is available online through the English Department homepage.5
https://www.lakeheadu.ca/academics/academic-support/skills-for-success/responsibilities
http://studentaccessibility.lakeheadu.ca
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http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/ontario-human-rights-code
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https://www.lakeheadu.ca/academics/departments/english
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