ENGL 095:
Fundamentals of
Writing
Handbook for Faculty
DRAFT
Brookdale Community College
English Department
2006
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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................... 7
How This Guide Was Created ....................................................................................... 9
Intended Audience and Purpose ................................................................................... 9
Future Updates............................................................................................................... 9
Part 1: ENGL 095 and the Writing Process ............................................... 11
Who Can You Ask for Help? ....................................................................................... 13
What is ENGL 095? ..................................................................................................... 14
Course Overview ...................................................................................................... 14
Catalogue Description.............................................................................................. 14
The Course Syllabus ................................................................................................ 14
The Role of the Writing Center ............................................................................... 15
Types of Assignments............................................................................................... 15
Building Skills: HOCs and LOCs for ENGL 095................................................... 15
What 095 Is Not or What to Avoid in ...................................................................... 16
Understanding ENGL 095 Students............................................................................ 17
How Was the Student Placed in ENGL 095?.......................................................... 17
Students’ Paths Through Writing Courses ............................................................. 17
Diversity of Students ................................................................................................ 18
Previous Educational Experiences.......................................................................... 18
The Process Approach to Writing ............................................................................... 19
What is the Process Approach? ............................................................................... 19
Responding to Students’ Writing Rather than Grading ......................................... 20
How Does the Process Approach Benefit Students? .............................................. 20
Part 2: Planning Your Semester.................................................................. 21
The Semester at a Glance ............................................................................................ 23
Before the Semester Starts........................................................................................... 25
Finding Your Stuff................................................................................................... 25
Reviewing Your Rosters ........................................................................................... 25
Setting Your Office Hours ....................................................................................... 27
Getting Copies of the 095 Syllabus.......................................................................... 27
Developing Your Own Course Objectives ............................................................... 27
Visiting the Writing Center...................................................................................... 27
Familiarizing Yourself with Available 095 Materials and Resources ................... 28
Planning Your Assignments .................................................................................... 28
Selecting Texts and Readings .................................................................................. 29
The First Couple of Class Meetings ............................................................................ 30
Reviewing the Departmental Syllabus and Your Own Course Obejctives............. 30
Checking Your Roster.............................................................................................. 30
Breaking the Ice ....................................................................................................... 31
Notifying Students of Disability Services and Collecting Alert Forms.................. 32
Taking Your Class to a Writing Center Orientation............................................... 33
Giving the Writing Diagnostic................................................................................. 33
Evaluating the Diagnostic ....................................................................................... 34
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Placing Students You Think Were Misplaced in 095 ............................................. 34
Giving Feedback on the Diagnostic ........................................................................ 35
Deciding How to Use the Diagnostic Once You Evaluate It .................................. 36
Contacting Students Who Missed the First Day ..................................................... 36
Explaining the Writing Process............................................................................... 36
Explaining Assessment vs. Grading ........................................................................ 37
Throughout The Semester ........................................................................................... 38
Addressing Retention .............................................................................................. 38
Working with the Writing Center ............................................................................ 38
Addressing Attendance ............................................................................................ 39
Using Monitoring Letters ........................................................................................ 40
Addressing Problems in the Classroom................................................................... 41
Mid-Semester................................................................................................................ 42
Giving a Midterm Evaluation and Self-Assessment Assignment........................... 42
End of the Semester ..................................................................................................... 43
Scheduling Time for Your Observation and SORs................................................. 43
Advising Students About Registration for Next Semester ...................................... 43
Giving Instructions for Portfolios ........................................................................... 44
Assigning a Portfolio Letter..................................................................................... 45
Collecting Portfolios ................................................................................................ 45
Preparing for the In-class Final Essay ................................................................... 46
Arranging Accommodations for Students with Alert Forms ................................. 46
Giving the In-class Final Essay............................................................................... 46
After the Last Day ........................................................................................................ 48
Evaluating the In-Class Final Essay and Portfolios .............................................. 48
Deciding the Next Placement .................................................................................. 49
Completing the ENGL 095 Referral Form ............................................................. 51
Preparing Portfolios for ENGL 094 and ENGL 097 Placements.......................... 51
Conferencing With Students.................................................................................... 52
Entering Semester Grades ....................................................................................... 52
Leaving Portfolios .................................................................................................... 52
Following Up with Students in ENGL 094 and ENGL 097 ................................... 53
Part 3: Teaching Strategies ......................................................................... 55
Developing Retention Strategies.................................................................................. 57
Working With the Writing Center ............................................................................... 58
Pacing the Three Hour Class ...................................................................................... 59
Warm Up Writing Activities..................................................................................... 59
Large Group Discussions......................................................................................... 59
Writing Practice and Individual Instruction .......................................................... 59
Sharing and Commenting........................................................................................ 60
Break......................................................................................................................... 60
Composing, Revising, and Responding .................................................................. 60
Summary and Reflection ......................................................................................... 60
Pacing Split Classes ..................................................................................................... 61
Assigning Journal Writing .......................................................................................... 62
Journal Topics.......................................................................................................... 62
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Commenting on Journals ........................................................................................ 62
Hidden Benefits of Journal Writing........................................................................ 62
Using Readings ............................................................................................................ 63
Using the Process Approach........................................................................................ 64
Starting a Topic Search ........................................................................................... 64
Discovering Topics – Another Approach ................................................................ 65
Topic Search for Issues and Opinions .................................................................... 66
Topic Search for the Process Essay ........................................................................ 67
Getting Started with Prewriting Activities................................................................... 68
Freewriting ............................................................................................................... 68
Clustering ................................................................................................................. 69
Cubing ...................................................................................................................... 68
Developing a Draft ....................................................................................................... 69
Commenting on Students’ Drafts ................................................................................ 70
Use the Process Approach When Commenting ...................................................... 70
Ask Questions........................................................................................................... 70
Commenting on Sentence Structure and Mechanics ............................................. 71
Give Summary Comments ....................................................................................... 71
Workshopping .............................................................................................................. 72
Revising ........................................................................................................................ 74
Addressing HOCs and LOCs ................................................................................... 74
Grammar and Mechanics ........................................................................................ 74
Incorporating Critical Thinking Strategies ................................................................ 75
Part 4: Best Practices and Favorite Resources........................................... 77
Best Practices ............................................................................................................... 79
Why I Use Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie in the ENGL 095 Classroom ... 79
Smoke Signals” and Descriptive Writing................................................................ 81
Different Perspectives on Art................................................................................... 83
Favorite Resources....................................................................................................... 85
Books ........................................................................................................................ 85
Short Stories ............................................................................................................. 85
Essays ....................................................................................................................... 85
Movies....................................................................................................................... 85
Campus Events......................................................................................................... 85
Art and Photography Exhibits................................................................................. 86
Appendix A: ENGL 095 Course Syllabus ................................................... 87
Appendix B: Disability Services Alert Form............................................... 95
Appendix C: Basic Skills Waiver Form ...................................................... 99
Appendix D: 095 Referral Form ............................................................... 103
Appendix E: Extended List of Journal Topics ......................................... 109
Appendix F: Sample Essay with Instructor Comments............................ 117
Appendix G: Sample Passing Final Portfolio Essay................................ 121
Appendix H: Sample Portfolio Essays That Are Not Passing ................. 125
Selected Bibliography................................................................................. 129
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Introduction
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How This Guide Was Created
This is a working draft. Marcia Krefetz-Levine’s 2001 guide appears in its entirety in
various portions of this updated version. I used Marcia’s work as the basis of this guide
and added information I thought would be helpful to new instructors based on questions
that came up during some pedagogical discussions on ENGL 095. Working on this
project helped give me more insight into teaching ENGL 095; I hope reading through it
helps you as much as compiling it helped me.
Intended Audience and Purpose
This guide is helpful for full-time or adjunct instructors who are teaching ENGL 095 for
the first time. It provides lots of background information on ENGL 095, the students, the
process approach, and semester milestones. It also gives suggestions on how to structure
your semester and great ideas from your colleagues on possible assignments.
If you have taught ENGL 095 before, hopefully you will find lots of new ideas and
inspiration from your colleagues in this guide.
This handbook is in no way meant to be a book of rules and regulations. Rather, it is
intended as a guide to provide new instructors with ideas, models, and suggestions.
Future Updates
Ideally this should be a collaborative project. Our department has so much wisdom and
experience to share. I hope that more faculty will contribute. Please jot down any
questions, clarifications, and suggestions you have as you use this guide and send to me
anything you think would be helpful to others. You can do this through email or hard
copy, whichever is easier for you.
Kathleen Kennedy
[email protected]
LAH 233D
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Part 1:
ENGL 095
and the
Writing Process
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Who Can You Ask for Help?
There are a number of people who are available to help you throughout the semester with
any question you may have. Aside from the people listed below, don’t hesitate to ask
your colleagues for ideas or help.
Contact
Your mentor
(fill in)
English Department
Office Assistant
Learning Assistants
095 Coordinator
Basic Skills
Coordinator
English Department
Assistant Chair
English Department
Chair
Name
Email
@brookdalecc.edu
Ext.
Room
LAH
khapstak
2513
222
lablist
kkennedy
2941
2197
118
233D
jcody
2681
222K
mdesarno
2657
222E
sridley
2091
222H
Karilyn
Hapstak
Kathleen
Kennedy
Jim Cody
Mary Ann
DeSarno
Scott Ridley
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What is ENGL 095?
Course Overview
ENGL 095 is a course in the fundamentals of writing. We encourage students to develop
an approach to writing that produces clear, well-organized essays, from personal
narrative to issue and opinion pieces, on a variety of subjects. Instruction in the class and
in the Writing Center is based on a process approach to writing in which thinking,
discovering, and learning by doing are emphasized. Students are given opportunities to
find their voice and discover and honor their unique writing process. The goal of the
course is to provide students with a foundation they can build on in future college-level
courses.
Catalogue Description
The following is the course description for ENGL 095 as it appears in the Brookdale
2006-2007 Catalogue:
ENGL-095 Fundamentals of Writing: 4 credits . . . This basic writing course is
designed to teach students to write clear, well-organized and mechanically
acceptable prose. In addition to class, students are required to work in the Writing
Center each week. Successful completion of ENGL 095 satisfies students’ basic
skills requirement in writing. This is a developmental course and will not be
counted toward degree requirements. Students may not enroll in another writing
course simultaneously with ENGL 095.
The Course Syllabus
The ENGL 095 syllabus appears in Appendix A. Copies are available in shrink-wrapped
packages in LAH 222. Check the boxes on top of the filing cabinets. It is important to
review this syllabus with your students on the first day of class.
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The Role of the Writing Center
The Writing Center is a required and integral part of ENGL 095. Of the four credits
students earn for ENGL 095, students earn three in the classroom and the fourth in the
Writing Center. The Center works with students in half hour appointments, during which
the Learning Assistants provide individual support and guidance on any aspect of the
students’ writing.
You should encourage your students to make weekly appointments and give specific
assignments that connect to their classroom work. We discourage you from telling
students that they need to go to the Writing Center a certain number of times during the
semester. They usually wait until the end of the semester and won’t get the full benefit of
the Writing Center’s services. Also, this gives students the idea that they “score points”
just for attending rather than actually working with the Learning Assistants to improve
their writing.
For more information on the Writing Center and how best to work with the Center, see
Working With the Writing Center in Part 3 of this guide. Also, call the Writing Center
on extension 2941 or visit and talk to the Learning Assistants. They’d be more than
happy to help you come up with ideas for Writing Center assignments.
The Writing Center created an excellent resource called Connecting the Classroom and
the Tutoring Session: BCC Faculty Guidebook to Using the Writing Lab. If you did not
receive a copy during orientation, you can pick up a copy in the Writing Center.
Types of Assignments
In ENGL 095, you should create assignments that lead the student to write whole essays.
Most instructors assign roughly four to five essays plus the in-class final essay at the end
of the semester. More than this will make it difficult for the student to practice and
benefit from the process approach. Encourage students to write a minimum of two or two
and a half pages. Many instructors begin with the narrative essay since this allows
students to develop confidence in themselves as writers. Most instructors also incorporate
other types of essays, such as process or how-to essays, opinion or persuasive essays, and
analyses. Many save these more complex types of essays for the second half or end of the
semester; they work well as bridge assignments to prepare students for ENGL 121.
Building Skills: HOCs and LOCs for ENGL 095
Many ENGL 095 students need help with skills that make an essay a good piece of
writing. You can create lessons on these skills as your students develop their drafts. Here
is a list of skills arranged as High Order Concerns (HOCs) to Low Order Concerns
(LOCs) which you should address with your students throughout the semester:
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Main point
Details and Development
Focus
Organization
Paragraphing
Transitions
Sentence Structure
Verb forms and tenses
Punctuation
Proofreading
You can break these up and incorporate a few per writing assignment. For example, some
instructors work on main point, development, and focus in the first essay. Then in the
second essay, they introduce organization, paragraphing, and transitions. When students
go back and revise their first essay, they can work on these newly learned skills (in this
example, organization, paragraphing, and transitions) in that essay as well. This allows
them to see the process approach in action, and they gain confidence when they see how
much they improve with each revision.
What 095 Is Not or What to Avoid in ENGL 095
There are a number of misconceptions about ENGL 095. As one of our instructors put it,
“[ENGL 095] is not about the 5-paragraph essay . . . It isn’t about formula writing. It’s
about discovering what you want to say and determining the most effective way to say it,
not plugging into a formula that takes away the need for students to think critically.”
In ENGL 095, avoid assignments that:
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require research
focus exclusively on creative writing
are formulaic
don’t go beyond individual paragraphs or freewriting
don’t require the student to develop more than a page and a half.
Also, it is advisable that you do not grade assignments in ENGL 095 with either a
number or a letter grade. Instead, give feedback in the form of written comments and
questions.
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Understanding ENGL 095 Students
Understanding more about your ENGL 095 students can help you develop assignments
and retention strategies that will make your students more successful.
How Was the Student Placed in ENGL 095?
Students who scored below a certain point on either the SATs or the Basic Skills
Placement Test are placed into ENGL 095. All students are offered the opportunity to
waive out of ENGL 095 by taking a waiver test in the Writing Center. However, they
may only take this waiver test once. The following table explains how students are placed
depending on their test scores:
Test Score
79 and above on Basic Skills Test*
OR
520 and above on Verbal SAT*
78 and below on Basic Skills Test
OR
519 and below on Verbal SAT
Course Placement
ENGL 121
ENGL 095
*Students who score 520 or above on the Verbal SATs do not have to take the Basic
Skills Test.
Students who are placed into ENGL 095 must complete and pass ENGL 095 before they
are eligible to register for ENGL 121.
Some students in your class may have taken ENGL 095 previously and did not receive a
passing grade. These students are not eligible to take another waiver test. They must,
however, take ENGL 095 again and pass.
Students’ Paths Through Writing Courses
Students can take a number of different paths through the writing courses offered at
Brookdale. Here are a variety of paths:
Directly to 121
095 Æ 121
093 Æ 095
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ESL series Æ 095
095 Æ 094 Æ 121
095 Æ 097 Æ 121
095 Æ 095 Æ 121
095 Æ 094 Æ 095 Æ 121
095 Æ 094 Æ 094 Æ 121
Diversity of Students
Students who take English 095 are a diverse group with many needs. Although most of
our students have just graduated from high school and are experiencing their first
semester in college, some are older students returning to college after many years away
from school. Still others may be non-native speakers of English. We are proud that over
19 countries are represented by our student population! Some of your students may have
learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Whatever the case, students come to English
095 with a wide and varied range of skills and abilities. However, all share a need to
develop confidence in their writing abilities and to feel comfortable with their writing
process. We try to meet these needs in a supportive yet challenging environment.
Previous Educational Experiences
Because of the variety of challenges students may have faced in their lives, many have
had disappointing or humiliating educational experiences in the past. Many come to
ENGL 095 resistant, defensive, and convinced that they’ll fail again. It’s important to
help students build their self-esteem and confidence as students and writers. Many
instructors do this by giving clear, achievable objectives, and by creating small
assignments that offer chances for success early on, and build up to more challenging
assignments as the semester progresses.
For more information on retention and motivating students, see Addressing Retention in
Part 2 and Developing Retention Strategies in Part 3.
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The Process Approach to Writing
The typical ENGL 095 class revolves around the students’ work in progress. Students
work from initial idea to finished product, building skills and learning to make the
choices that writers make as a piece of writing develops.
The strategies offered in Part 3 of this handbook have been developed by Brookdale
faculty to reflect a process approach to writing and are meant to give students many
different opportunities to practice the various components of the writing process.
What is the Process Approach?
English 095, like all our writing courses at Brookdale, is a process-oriented course.
Rather than limit students to isolated sentence and paragraph practice, we ask them to
compose whole, complete essays from the start of the semester, working through a series
of drafts and obtaining feedback and response from others along the way. We show
students that writing is a process of discovery that involves prewriting, composing,
responding, revising, and proofreading, and that these stages of the process are not
necessarily separate nor accomplished in that order. This approach gives student writers
a clearer understanding of how writers work, encouraging them to expand, clarify, and
refine a piece of writing over a period of time.
Students should be encouraged to write on a variety of subjects during the semester and
to write from their own experience. You may give the class a topic to write about and
help them find different ways to approach it, or you may let students choose their own
topics. This approach lends itself to narrative writing. Therefore, many instructors
emphasize narrative writing, which provides students with the opportunity to write
narrative pieces throughout the semester. However, exposing students to expository
writing styles is important to prepare them for future classes that require written
assignments.
Typically, students write most of their essays in class rather than at home so that the
instructor can offer guidance and support during the process. Often, a paper will develop
over more than one class meeting. For example, in one class session students can begin
with prewriting and discussion and perhaps write a rough draft. In the next class
meeting, students can work on revising that piece. At different points in this sequence,
students can read each other’s work in progress or get comments or feedback from you.
They can work individually with Learning Assistants in the Writing Center on the
comments they receive from you or their peers, or they can get additional feedback from
the Learning Assistants. Class sessions can also be supplemented with periodic
discussions or practice activities emphasizing specific problems in invention, composing,
revising, or proofreading, but these will depend on the needs of your particular class.
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This balance of class instruction and writing will help you to address the writing needs of
each student while helping all to develop as independent writers. For specific strategies
that faculty members use in the classroom, see Part 3, Teaching Strategies.
Responding to Students’ Writing Rather than Grading
Rather than grading, editing, or correcting students’ papers, offering them feedback in the
form of written comments and questions enhances students’ understanding of and
experience with the process approach. Writing positive comments in the margins
reinforces students’ strengths. Asking questions encourages students to revise and
develop.
For more ideas on how to respond to students’ writing, see Commenting on Students’
Drafts in Part 3.
How Does the Process Approach Benefit Students?
When asked what process students typically followed in writing assignments for high
school or in previous classes, many will tell you that they wrote the paper on the bus on
the way to school, handed it in, got it back with a grade on it, and then stuck it away
somewhere. They never looked at it again. These same students will tell you that they
learned nothing about how to improve their writing. All they learned was that there was
something wrong with it. This does nothing to help them grow as writers and usually
winds up eating away at their confidence. Approaching writing as a process helps
students see that they can improve their writing. They can see their progress draft to
draft, and this builds confidence.
Here’s how some of our instructors view the benefits of the process approach:
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The process approach follows the natural thinking process of exploring and
examining ideas, refining our thoughts, and then tidying up for presentation.
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It reinforces the concept that writing isn’t easy and that good writing is a series of
steps. Unfortunately many students believe that their freewriting is the essay;
however, once we explain that freewriting helps to select/eliminate ideas to
develop, it gels for them.
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The process approach makes writing linear, which ultimately promotes logic.
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Writing is a cognitive process. The process approach addresses the thinking
processes involved in the task.
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Part 2:
Planning Your Semester
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The Semester at a Glance
Here is an overview of ENGL 095 milestones to help you plan out your semester.
Information on each activity is detailed below.
When
Milestone
Before the First Class
Print and review WebAdvisor roster.
Schedule Writing Center Orientation.
Go to LAH 118 or call x 2194
Get Extended roster in your mailbox and review it. May
not receive it until just before first class. If not, check
with Anna Uhouse.
Review departmental syllabus and your own objectives
with your class.
Announce notice of Disabilities Services Office (read
from 095 Syllabus, last page) and collect Alert Forms
from students.
Check roster in class.
Give the Writing Diagnostic.
Evaluate the Writing Diagnostic.
Contact your mentor immediately if you think someone
was misplaced in 095. If mentor agrees, contact students
and fill out Basic Skills Waiver Form.
Contact students who missed the first day. Check your
WebAdvisor roster for phone numbers.
Review the writing diagnostic with students.
Take students to a Writing Center orientation.
Complete monitoring forms on WebAdvisor for students
who have attendance problems or trouble keeping up
with the work.
Assign student self-assessment.
Give students mid-semester evaluation.
Schedule time for your observation and SORs.
continued
The First Class
Immediately After the
First Class
By the Second Class
Throughout Semester
Mid-semester
Weeks 9 to 12
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Last Three Weeks
After Last Day of
Class
Contact 094 Coordinator (Kathy Vasile, x 2496) or 097
coordinator (Marcia Krefetz-Levine, x 2682) if you think
a student should be placed in one of these classes after
ENGL 095. Verify placement when in-class essay is
complete.
Give students instructions for putting together portfolios.
Arrange accommodations for students with Alert Forms
for in-class essay. Check your Alert Forms on file for list
of accommodations. Call Disability Services Office with
questions.
Begin in-class final essay.
Complete in-class final essay.
Evaluate portfolios.
Complete ENGL 095 Referral forms for students who
don’t pass 095.
Prepare portfolios for 094 and 097 placements.
Conference with students to tell them their next
placement.
Enter grades on WebAdvisor.
Leave portfolios for students.
Complete Disability Services Alert Forms and send to
Disability Services Office.
Follow up with students in 094 or 097 mid and end of
next semester.
Complete Change of Grade form for any of your former
095 students now in 094 or 097 who passed 095 based on
their 094 or 097 portfolio.
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Before the Semester Starts
Here are some suggestions of things you can do before the semester starts to acclimate
yourself to the English Department.
Finding Your Stuff
Your mentor will assist you with finding materials, supplies, and facilities. Here are some
items that will help get you started. Most of this information is explained in detail in your
Adjunct Handbook.
What Do I Have?
BCC extension
Email account
Password
Mailbox
Writing Center
folder for student
work
Access to computers
Computer folder on
hard drive
Class record book
and stationery
supplies
Where Do I Find It?
Ask your mentor or see Anna Uhouse in the Humanities Division
Office, LAH 131.
Adjunct faculty mailboxes are in the English Department Office,
LAH 222. See Karilyn Hapstak.
Full-time faculty mailboxes are in the Humanities Office, LAH
131. See Anna Uhouse.
Each instructor has a folder in the Writing Center 095 filing
cabinet in LAH 118. Ask any of the Learning Assistants.
Adjunct Faculty Workroom, LAH 222A.
Each instructor has a folder on the hard drive of the computers.
On Microsoft Word, select File > Open
Select writing on ‘studentfs1.lincroft.ads.brookdalecc.edu’
Select WritingStudents
Double-click on the folder with your last name.
Students can store files temporarily in this folder.
Filing cabinets in the English Department Office, LAH 222. Ask
Karilyn Hapstak for help.
Reviewing Your Rosters
Correct placement in ENGL 095 is extremely important. Therefore it is imperative that
you review your rosters carefully. You will have two types of rosters:
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WebAdvisor rosters, which you can access and print out yourself.
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Extended rosters, which will be placed in your mailbox when they become
available. This may not be until the last minute before your class or even after the
first day.
WebAdvisor Rosters will continue to be updated as students enroll and until your class
reaches capacity. This means that additional students may appear on your roster after the
first day of class. You can print your WebAdvisor rosters in the Adjunct Faculty
Workroom in LAH 222A, from the computers in the Writing Center, or from home.
This roster provides information such as students’ names, addresses, identification
numbers, phone numbers, and counseling area, whether the student is full or part-time,
and if this is the student’s first semester.
Extended Rosters are printed just once, and sometimes they are not available until
minutes before your first class. These rosters include information about test scores and
indicate why the student was placed in your class. They also provide information about
any writing classes the student has taken previously. Check this roster carefully to be sure
that all students were placed correctly according to their test scores. The following table
explains how students are placed depending on their test scores:
Test Score
79 and above on Basic Skills Test*
OR
520 and above on Verbal SAT*
78 and below on Basic Skills Test
OR
519 and below on Verbal SAT
Course Placement
ENGL 121
ENGL 095
*Students who scored 520 and above on the Verbal SAT are not required to take the
Basic Skills Test.
All students who are placed in ENGL 095 are eligible to take a waiver test in the Writing
Center. They may take this waiver test only once. If they have taken the waiver test and
did not waive out of ENGL 095, you will see a code of 0 on your extended roster. (If they
did waive out of ENGL 095, the code on the 121 extended roster is 1).
Please note: If a student attempted to waive out of ENGL 095 by taking the waiver test
in the Writing Center and was not waived, the student may not waive out of ENGL 095
based on the Writing Diagnostic given on the first day of class (see Giving the Writing
Diagnostic, later in this chapter). Be careful to check for the 0 code on your extended
roster for any student who attempted to waive out but who was not eligible to waive out
of ENGL 095. Similarly, students who previously took ENGL 095 and failed are not
eligible to waive out of ENGL 095 based on the first day Writing Diagnostic. Once
students are correctly placed in ENGL 095, they must complete and pass ENGL 095
before they are eligible to register for ENGL 121.
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Since students may continue to register for your section after your Extended roster was
printed, some students’ names may appear on your WebAdvisor roster but not on your
Extended roster. Speak to your mentor or call the students’ counseling areas to get their
test scores. Again, careful placement in ENGL 095 is important.
Setting Your Office Hours
Full-time instructors are required to hold one hour of office hours per week for each
section taught. Adjunct instructors are not required to hold office hours; however, many
adjunct instructors make themselves available to students either right before or right after
class. You can hold office hours in the classroom, if no one else is waiting to use it, or
you may hold your office hours in the Adjunct Faculty Workroom which is in LAH
222A. In this room you have access to computers and printers in case you need them
while working with your student.
Getting Copies of the 095 Syllabus
You may pick up packages of course objectives in LAH 222. They are in the boxes on
top of the filing cabinets against the wall.
See Appendix A for a copy of the ENGL 095 Syllabus.
Developing Your Own Course Objectives
A lot of instructors like to create their own course objectives. You may include your
office hours, contact information, any supplies you want your students to get, and any
explanations of your approach or assignments. Be sure to review these objectives with
your mentor before distributing them to your students.
Visiting the Writing Center
If you have time before the semester starts, it’s a good idea to visit the Writing Center
and talk to some of the Learning Assistants. The Writing Center is located in Larrison
Hall 118. The Learning Assistants will explain what they do and how they work in
conjunction with your class. They will also show you how to schedule a 15-minute
Writing Center orientation for your class. They offer these orientations during the first
few weeks of the semester.
27
Familiarizing Yourself with Available 095 Materials and Resources
The department has produced a number of readings and exercises specifically for ENGL
095. Hard copies of these materials are available in the English Department Office (LAH
222) in the 095 cabinets. Feel free to browse through and take copies for yourself or your
class. Please be sure to leave at least a couple of copies in the folders.
Also, many of the exercises are on the hard drive of the computers. You can access these
in the computer classrooms. If you’d like to look them over ahead of time, you can use a
computer in the Writing Center. Here’s how to access them:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Open up Microsoft Word
Click on File.
Click on Open.
Click on the down arrow for a drop-down list.
Select writing on ‘studentfs1.lincroft.ads.brookdalecc.edu’
Select 095 exercises for word.
Select ENG095Supplemental Materials.
Scroll through the list and open any that look interesting.
All of the exercises are read-only. Your students can do these exercises on the computers
in your classroom, but they won’t be able to save any changes.
Planning Your Assignments
In planning out your semester, consider how many and what types of writing assignments
you want to give. Most ENGL 095 teachers assign four or five papers during the semester
plus the final in-class essay. Assigning too many papers does not leave enough time to
devote to revisions, and students will not benefit from the process approach.
It’s a good idea to start with the narrative since this is easiest for most students and will
help them build their confidence. Exposure to other types of writing assignments will
benefit students, too. Here are some types that many of the instructors in the department
assign:
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process or how-to
opinion, persuasive, or point-of-view
analysis
Some instructors assign specific types of essays. Others suggest that their students try out
different types of essays and leave it up to the student to select the type. Many instructors
assign a “bridge” assignment at the end of the semester, such as an analysis or an opinion
paper, to prepare students for ENGL 121.
28
You should not assign research writing or anything else that is too complex for the basic
writer or that requires skills that are taught in a higher level writing class such as ENGL
122.
Many instructors plan assignments that increase in difficulty as students develop their
skills and more confidence in their abilities.
As for paper topics, here are some ideas:
ƒ
Start a topic search in the beginning of the semester and tell students to keep a list
of possible topics in their notebooks or journals. See the section called Starting a
Topic Search in Part 3 for more details.
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Assign a broad “umbrella” topic and allow students to pick a more specific topic
under that heading.
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Assign journal entries each week and show students the number of possibilities
for essays that come up in their journals.
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Use a story or a movie to generate ideas. After watching or watching, discuss the
work and list the different themes on the board.
For more ideas, see Starting a Topic Search, Discovering Topics – Another Approach,
Topic Search for Issues and Opinions, and Topic Search for the Process Essay, all in
Part 3.
Selecting Texts and Readings
At this time, the English Department is not recommending a text and therefore has not
ordered a supply for the bookstore. There are a number of handouts – both exercises and
readings – available in the 095 filing cabinets in LAH 222.
If you would like to order a specific text for next semester, speak to your mentor. You
will need to order it in advance.
If you would like to use a novel or short story collection throughout this semester, you
could have your class buy it at a local bookstore or order it online through Amazon.com
or barnesandnoble.com. Also, you can make copies of short stories or essays you yourself
have collected.
For specific stories, essays and novels other instructors have used, see Part 4: Best
Practices and Favorite Resources.
29
The First Couple of Class Meetings
There are a number of things you should plan to take care of on the first day of class, and
some things that can wait until the second class meeting if you run out of time or are
teaching a split class (a class that meets twice a week).
On the first day of class, you should aim to do the following:
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Introduce yourself and give an overview of the class using the ENGL 095
Syllabus and your own course objectives
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Begin explaining the writing process
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Check your roster
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Give the Writing Diagnostic
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Notify students of the services provided by the Disabilities Services Office and
ask for Alert Forms.
On the first or second meeting, consider doing the following:
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Use an ice-breaker to help students get to know each other
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Visit the Writing Center
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Further explain the writing process
Each of these is described below.
Reviewing the Departmental Syllabus and Your Own Course Obejctives
On the first day of class, it is very important to review the departmental syllabus. Copies
are available in shrink-wrapped packages in LAH 222. See Appendix A for a copy. Also,
if you have created your own addendum, review this as well with your class.
Checking Your Roster
It’s a good idea to print out a new roster from WebAdvisor the morning of your first class
to be sure your roster includes students who registered at the last minute. Be sure all
students sitting in your class are listed on your roster. If any are not, they are not
supposed to stay for insurance reasons. If they said they registered, check WebAdvisor
30
again after class to see if their name appears. If they say they registered a while ago, tell
them to go to registration to see what the problem is.
If you have students listed on your roster who are not in class, see Contacting Students
Who Missed the First Day, below.
Breaking the Ice
Making students feel comfortable and developing a sense of community will help
students be more successful in ENGL 095. On the first day, or on the second if you’re
teaching a split class (one that meets twice a week), try a brief ice-breaker to help
students get to know each other. If you are afraid that such an activity will be seen as
embarrassing or immature, you can explain to your class that it’s important to get to
know each other to create a comfortable learning environment, and you can even
participate yourself. Here are some ideas our faculty have tried in the past:
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Have students interview each other. As a class, come up with the interview
questions. Then have students pair up and ask each other the questions. Each pair
will then introduce each other to the class.
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Have the whole class get up from their seats and introduce themselves to each
other. When they’re finished, ask them who they met and see how many names
they remember.
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Break students into small groups of three or four. Tell them to discuss something
they value about their culture or background or some special hobby. Then as a
class, ask the students what they learned about the other students in their group.
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Play the “name game.” Have each student try to repeat each student’s name and
see how many they can remember.
Here’s a detailed description of an icebreaker that has been fun and successful for one of
our instructors:
Brainstorm with students about things good writers need to be able to do. The list
on the board usually includes talking, thinking, observing, listening, experiencing,
reading, spelling, understanding grammar rules and others. Explain that we are
going to practice using those tools right away. Students then pair up. They must
spend at least 1 minute just looking at their partner and follow that by writing a
short but detailed physical description. Then they interview each other for 10
minutes and take notes. The object is to find out as much about their partners as
they can, including gathering unusual facts, such as the most daring thing he has
ever done or the most fascinating place he has ever visited etc. For the next 10
minutes, each student writes up a paragraph introducing his partner and including
all the information he has gathered. Then we go around the room and each person
31
introduces his partner to the class, using his paragraph or speaking without it. As
they do this, I continually go back and review class members' names. By the end
of the class, every one knows all the students' names and a little bit about them. I
also learn quite a lot about them and the skills they already have as writers.
Notifying Students of Disability Services and Collecting Alert Forms
Brookdale has one of the most respected and comprehensive disabilities services
programs in the state. On the first day it’s important to alert students to the availability
of these services. The best way to do this is simply to read the information at the end of
the ENGL 095 syllabus:
Brookdale Community College provides support services for all students.
If you have a documented disability and would like to request accommodations
and/or academic adjustments, contact the Disability Services Office at (732) 2242730 or TTY 732-842-4211.
Students who have already contacted the Disability Services Office and who have a
documented disability should have an Alert Form (see Appendix B for a copy). The
Alert Form notifies instructors that a student has a documented disability and lists the
accommodations the student is eligible to receive in your class. By law you are required
to provide any of these accommodations that apply to your class (i.e., use of a calculator
will not apply to ENGL 095 but preferential seating will). Be aware that some
accommodations may apply to the in-class essay at the end of the semester but not to
the rest of the semester.
On the first day, collect any Alert Forms from students with documented disabilities. You
may want to invite students to give you their Alert Forms at the end of class or during the
break, since many students are reluctant to do so in front of the class.
When students give you their Alert Forms, do the following:
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Review the list of accommodations with the student and discuss which apply to
this class and how you will make the accommodation.
Sign and date the form.
Save it in your files.
At the end of the semester, you will check off any accommodations provided throughout
the semester, and mail the form to the Disability Services Office.
32
Taking Your Class to a Writing Center Orientation
On either the first or second class meeting, bring your students to the Writing Center for
an orientation. You should schedule this orientation ahead of time by writing your name
in the Orientation book at the front desk in the Writing Center.
Taking your students to the Writing Center rather than just telling them about the Writing
Center benefits them in many ways. Students will:
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know exactly where the Writing Center is
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get a sense of the atmosphere
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meet some of the Learning Assistants
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learn about how the Writing Center can help them
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get a flyer that lists the hours and instructions for scheduling appointments
ƒ
see the computers that are available to them.
Giving the Writing Diagnostic
It is a departmental requirement that all students in ENGL 095 complete a writing
diagnostic in the beginning of the semester. This will help you ensure that everyone is
placed in the right class and it will provide you with a sample of your students’ writing.
Devote the second half of your first class period, or the second meeting if you are
teaching a split class, to giving this writing diagnostic. Assure students that this is not a
test. Rather it will give you a benchmark of their writing skills and abilities so that you
can develop a plan for the rest of the semester.
Either give students a choice of topics or come up with a list of topics together. If you
want to give students a choice of topics, you can refer to the list of journal topics in
Appendix E for ideas. If you want to generate a list together, you can use some of the
ideas in the sections on topic searches in Part 3.
33
Evaluating the Diagnostic
It’s important that you evaluate the writing samples as soon as possible after the first day
of class. If a student is misplaced, she or he will need to find another section in the
appropriate class, and by the first week most classes are filled.
One way to evaluate the diagnostic is to list on the back the writer’s strengths and
weaknesses. Use the list of High Order Concerns (HOCs) and Low Order Concerns
(LOCs) as your guide:
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Main point
Details and Development
Focus
Organization
Paragraphing
Sentence Structure
Verb forms and tenses
Punctuation
Proofreading
Placing Students You Think Were Misplaced in 095
If, based on this writing sample, you feel that a student would be better placed in either
ENGL 093 or ENGL 121, contact your mentor immediately to discuss your concerns.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO PLACE A STUDENT IN THE NEW 095/121 HYBRID COURSE
ONCE SEMESTER STARTS? ASK JEN K.
Does the Student belong in ENGL 093?
If the essay shows minimal development, difficulty with logic, and a disproportionate
number of spelling mistakes, the student may be better placed in ENGL 093. If your
mentor agrees that the student belongs in ENGL 093 you will need to do the following:
1. Discuss the essay with the ENGL 093 instructor and coordinator.
2. Fill out a Basic Skills Waiver Form. This form is available in the English
Department office, in LAH 222. See Appendix C.
3. Instruct the student to see the English Department Office Assistant immediately to
check on the availability of ENGL 093 sections.
4. Inform the student to fill out a Drop/Add form. At this point, the student will need
the Humanities Division stamp (the student should see Carol in the Humanities
Office) and the signature of the ENGL 093 instructor.
34
Does the Student belong in ENGL 121?
If your mentor agrees that the student belongs in ENGL 121, you will need to do the
following:
1. Check with the Writing Center to see if the student has already tried to waive out
of ENGL 095. If the student completed a waiver test in the Writing Center, he or
she may not waive out of ENGL 095 based on the diagnostic completed in your
class.
2. If the student did not take a waiver test in the Writing Center, fill out a Basic
Skills Waiver Form. This form is available in the English Department office, in
LAH 222. See Appendix C.
3. Instruct the student to see the English Department Office Assistant immediately to
check on the availability of ENGL 121 sections.
4. Inform the student to fill out a Drop/Add form. At this point, the student will need
the Humanities Division stamp (see Carol in the Humanities Office (LAH 131)
and the signature of the ENGL 121 instructor.
Giving Feedback on the Diagnostic
Go over the writing sample with each student the next time you meet. You can tell the
student the list of things he or she did well, which is always a boost, and give the list of
areas the student should work on throughout the semester. Assure students that this is
why they are in the class and that these problem areas are all skills they will be learning
throughout the semester.
Here are some different ways instructors give feedback on the diagnostic to students:
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Discuss the feedback in individual mini-conferences while the rest of the class
works on an assignment.
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Give a list of things the student did well and areas for improvement verbally and
tell the student to write the lists in his or her notebook. This sometimes helps them
to begin to take responsibility for their learning process.
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Type up individual lists of writing strengths and areas for improvement and title
the list “ENGL 095 Semester Plan.” Discuss the list with students individually
and tell them to keep them in their notebooks.
35
Deciding How to Use the Diagnostic Once You Evaluate It
There are many different ways you can use the diagnostic. Here are a few suggestions:
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Use it as the start of the first writing assignment.
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Use it as a later assignment during the semester.
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Save it and hand it back toward the end of the semester to show students the
difference in their writing.
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Use it as a mid-term evaluation exercise. Hand it back in the middle of the
semester and tell students to assess their own progress. Then give them the
assignment of revising this essay with their newly developed writing skills.
In any case, it’s a good idea to keep either the original diagnostic or a copy on file, so that
you have a sample of the student’s writing.
Contacting Students Who Missed the First Day
While it is not required, it is helpful if you contact students who missed the first day of
class. You can do this by calling them or sending them email. Tell them that if they
intend to take the class, they need to contact you. You can then make arrangements to
give them the materials they missed and to take the diagnostic. One way to do this is to
leave instructions for the diagnostic in your folder in the Writing Center. Tell the students
that they should go to the Writing Center and ask a Learning Assistant to get the
assignment out of the folder for them. They must complete it in the Writing Center; they
can’t take it home or to another part of the campus. When they’re finished, they can give
their writing sample back to the Learning Assistant who will put it in your folder.
Students do not need to schedule an appointment for this. However, they should plan to
spend roughly an hour and a half working on this assignment.
If students who missed the first day do not intend to take the class, they need to
withdraw. You can’t withdraw them from your class; they need to do this themselves. Be
aware that sometimes despite repeated suggestions, some students do not officially
withdraw. Continue to send them monitoring letters (see below) throughout the semester.
Explaining the Writing Process
Begin explaining the writing process, highlighting how it will benefit them as developing
writers and as students. You can start by asking them how they wrote papers in the past.
Most of them will explain that they spent very little time on their assignments, that they
wrote one draft, and that they work well under pressure. Ask them how they did on these
assignments and what they learned as a result about writing. Use the opportunity to
explain how the process approach will help them.
36
Use this opportunity to explain the purpose and importance of a portfolio. You can even
pass around a couple from a previous semesters (with the writers’ permission) to show
them what they’ll be creating this term.
Explaining Assessment vs. Grading
As you begin to explain the process approach to writing, it’s important to address the
issue of grading, specifically that students will not receive grades on their assignments in
this class. This is a very difficult concept for students to accept at first since most of their
education so far has been driven and determined by grades.
Explain that you will be giving feedback in the form of comments and questions, and that
students will revise according to the feedback they receive from you, the Writing Center,
and their peers. Some instructors assure their students that they will be given an
indication of their progress at a midterm evaluation session and that they can ask at any
point in the semester about their progress.
It’s also important to remind students that they credits they earn in ENGL 095 will not
count toward their degree. Many students are understandably upset by this. Remind
students that they will earn something more valuable than credits in this class: confidence
as writers and students, and a firm foundation in writing that will serve them through the
rest of their college careers.
37
Throughout The Semester
Addressing Retention
For a variety of reasons, retention is sometimes a challenge in ENGL 095. Here are some
ideas that have improved retention in the past:
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Always give clear directions and express clear expectations.
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Build a sense of community in the classroom.
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Use the Writing Center on a regular basis.
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Constantly praise and offer encouragement, verbally and in your comments on
students’ papers.
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Complete the student monitoring forms on WebAdvisor.
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Conference with students either in class or in your office.
See Developing Retention Strategies in Part 3 for specific strategies used by some of our
instructors.
Working with the Writing Center
Begin on the first day of class talking about the Writing Center as part of the course.
Explain to students that the Writing Center is the place where they get individual
attention and specific help that complements the classroom experience. The closer you
yourself work with the Learning Assistants, the easier it will be for your students to view
the Writing Center as an integral part of their success. Avoid using language or attitudes
that give the impression that the Writing Center is punishment.
Here are some tips to help establish a close relationship between your students and the
Writing Center:
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Take your class to a Writing Center orientation on the first day.
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Schedule your first Writing Center appointment together if you’re working in a
computer classroom. If you’re working in a classroom without computers, ask the
Learning Assistants if you can step your students through scheduling their first
appointment in the computer lab after your Writing Center orientation.
Plan weekly Writing Center assignments rather than requiring a specific number
of signed Writing Center slips per semester. The latter gives students the
ƒ
38
impression that they “score points” for attending, and they usually wait until the
end of the semester to cram them all in.
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Send students to their appointments with clear direction. Some instructors print up
Writing Center assignments and hand them out; others write them on the board
and tell students to copy them. Some keep a copy of all assignments in their folder
in the Writing Center.
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Have students freewrite about or discuss their first Writing Center appointments.
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If students feel comfortable working with a particular Learning Assistant,
encourage student to schedule future appointments with that LA.
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If students have difficulty finding time in their busy schedules, suggest that they
pick a timeslot right after class and schedule all of their appointments at this time.
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If students do not go to the Writing Center as assigned, tell them you won’t accept
their papers without a signed Writing Center slip and they will fall behind if they
don’t keep up with their Writing Center assignments.
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If you have any problems, concerns, or questions, contact the Learning Assistant
immediately.
Many new instructors are reluctant to send their students to the Writing Center because
they feel like it is a poor reflection on their teaching ability. Developing writers need
more support than we could possibly give on a weekly basis. The Learning Assistants are
a great resource for instructors as well as for students. If you are concerned about a
particular student’s progress, you can talk to a Learning Assistant and come up with a
plan together. If you are unsure of how students are responding to a particular
assignment, you can ask the Learning Assistants for feedback.
For specific ideas on working with the Writing Center, refer to Connecting the Classroom
and the Tutoring Session: BCC Faculty Guidebook to Using the Writing Lab. You should
have received a copy of this guide at your orientation. If you did not, any of the Learning
Assistants would be more than happy to give you a copy.
Addressing Attendance
Attendance in ENGL 095 is required. Generally, if a student misses more than three
classes, he or she should repeat the class. Clarify your attendance policy in the beginning
of the semester and stress the importance of attending class throughout the semester. Use
the monitoring letters (see below) to warn students of attendance problems.
39
Using Monitoring Letters
Brookdale’s monitoring system, which is accessible through WebAdvisor, allows you to
send one of four form letters to students and their counselors warning them of problems
related to attendance or progress in your class. You will receive a memo specifying the
periods for entering monitoring codes for your students. Be sure to complete the form
during each monitoring period. The day after the last date of the monitoring period, a
letter is sent to the student and a copy to the student’s counseling area.
To complete the form, log onto WebAdvisor and select Grading and Student Monitoring.
You can select the Student Monitoring screen for a specific section. Your roster will be
displayed with the following options for each student listed. For students with attendance
or progress problems, make one of the following selections:
ƒ
Never Attended
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Erratic Attendance
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Difficulty with Subject Matter
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Stopped Attending
If the student is listed on your roster but never showed up, select the option for Never
Attended.
If the student has missed two classes in a row or has reached three absences, select the
option for Erratic Attendance.
If the student is not keeping up with assignments, is not coming to class prepared, or is
demonstrating difficulty with the course work, select option for Difficulty with Subject
Matter.
If the student stopped coming, select Stopped Attending. You will need to specify the last
date the student attended class.
40
Addressing Problems in the Classroom
If you are experiencing any sort of problem in your classroom, don’t hesitate to talk to
your mentor or any of your colleagues. Here are contacts for some specific types of
problems:
Type of Problem
Contact
(extension)
Computer or disk problems
Susan DeMatteo (2638) or Kelly Parr
(2193)
mentor, colleagues
Health Services Office (2106)
Safety and Security Administration (2355)
Disability Services Office (2730)
Your mentor
Scott Ridley (2091)
Student’s counseling area (see WebAdvisor
roster)
Behavioral or morale problems
Medical emergencies
Threatening behavior
Questions about students with disabilities
Concerns about student’s physical,
emotional, or mental health
41
Mid-Semester
Giving a Midterm Evaluation and Self-Assessment Assignment
Many instructors give a midterm self-assessment assignment to help students see the
progress they’re making or to serve as a wake-up call if they need it. Along with this
assignment, it is important to give students a mid-term evaluation, so students can see
their progress from your perspective. There are a number of ways you can do both. Here
are some suggestions:
ƒ
Have students write a letter to you explaining the progress they feel they’ve made
so far in the class. They should specify what they’ve learned about their writing
process, what problems they’ve overcome, how they’d describe their style, how
they feel about their writing, which is their favorite essay so far, and anything
else.
ƒ
Assign a new essay assignment and assess it as you did the writing diagnostic on
the first day of class. Conference with students and compare the two.
ƒ
Hand back the writing diagnostic from the first day of class and tell students to
revise it using their newly learned skills.
ƒ
Conference with students individually in class and update their list of writing
strengths and areas for improvement from their writing diagnostic on the first day.
42
End of the Semester
Scheduling Time for Your Observation and SORs
Between weeks 9 and 12 during a 15-week semester, a full-time faculty member will
come into your class and observe you. This instructor will then write a report that
provides information about the focus of your instruction at the time of the observation, a
description of the class setting, an evaluation, including a summary of the SORs, and any
recommendations.
Also, either your mentor or the faculty member who observes you will need to hand out
Student Opinion Reports (SORs). While students complete them, you must leave the
room. You should schedule about 15 to 20 minutes for this. All students’ responses and
comments are kept anonymous. You will receive a copy of the report shortly after the end
of the semester. These reports are very helpful in determining the effectiveness of your
teaching and in deciding what you will continue to do and how you might improve.
Many instructors arrange to have their SORs done right after the observation during the
same class session.
Advising Students About Registration for Next Semester
Since registration for the next semester begins before your current semester ends, and
since ENGL 121 sections fill up quickly, you can tell students to go ahead and register
for 121 if you’re reasonably certain they will pass 095. If for some reason they don’t pass
ENGL 095, it may be easier for them to do an “add/drop” than to find a 121 section at the
last minute.
If by the last few weeks of class you feel a student won’t pass, begin speaking to him or
her about this possibility. Also, begin speaking to either the 097 coordinator (Marcia
Krefetz-Levine) or the 094 coordinator (Kathy Vasile) about your concerns.
Discussing Grades and How to Access Them
Toward the end of the term, remind students that this class is Pass or Fail. Students will
receive either a P for Pass or an NC for No Credit if they failed.
If a student is being referred to either ENGL 094 or 097, you must give this student an
NC for ENGL 095 at this time. If the student completes and passes 094 or 097, the
student will receive a passing grade for that class. At that time, if the portfolio they
produced is also passing for ENGL 095, you will submit a Change of Grade form to
change the NC they received in ENGL 095 to a P.
43
Be sure students are aware that they must access their grades via WebAdvisor. They will
not receive a paper copy in the mail.
Giving Instructions for Portfolios
When talking to your students about preparing their final portfolios, remind them what
the portfolio represents: all the work they completed for the semester, all the effort they
put into this work, all the progress they made, and their awareness of their unique writing
process. Their portfolio showcases the body of work they produced in ENGL 095.
Some instructors tell students to select two or three favorite essays and do a “best effort”
revision. This allows students to focus on select few assignments at the end of the
semester. In any case, they should be encouraged to include the other work they
completed during the semester in their portfolios. Most instructors find it extremely
helpful to require a portfolio letter as well. See Assigning a Portfolio Letter, below, for
more information on this letter.
Before portfolios are due, it’s a good idea to hold a revisions workshop in class. During
this workshop, you can assist students in deciding which essays to select for their best
effort revisions.
It’s helpful to students if you can give them a handout with your guidelines and
requirements for final portfolios. Go over these guidelines in class.
Here is an example of one instructor’s directions for putting together the final portfolio:
Select two of your favorite essays and do a best effort revision on each. Think of
all the things we learned this semester from the beginning of the semester to the
end. Decide what changes you can make to your essay to reflect your developing
writing style to the best of your ability.
Put both of these best-effort revisions on the right side of your portfolio. For each,
make a pile of all your drafts, including your initial freewrites, all drafts, and your
final revision. Put the final revision on top and clip all the drafts together.
Put all your other work on the left side of your portfolio. Clip your freewrites
together, and make two packages with your other two essays: clip together all
your freewrites, drafts, and revisions for each of these assignments.
Put your portfolio letter on the right side, right on the top. It should be the first
thing I see when I open your portfolio, and it will serve as an introduction to and
explanation of your portfolio.
44
When you finish with your in-class essay, I will put it on the right side of your
portfolio. You may receive help from the Writing Center with anything in your
portfolio, including your portfolio letter, except for the final in-class essay.
Tell students to label their portfolios with their name, your name, their class and section
number, and their telephone number. If they are not comfortable putting their phone
number on the outside, they can write it on the inside cover. It’s important to make sure
they include a current phone number in case you need to contact them at the very end of
the semester; many times the phone numbers listed on your roster are out of date.
Assigning a Portfolio Letter
Requiring students to write a portfolio letter is important since it encourages them to
reflect on what they learned during the semester, the progress they made, and what
they’ve discovered about their own writing progress. Think about what you would like
your students to reflect upon and ask them to include this in their letter. Here are some
possibilities:
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what the portfolio represents
ƒ
what it contains
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what they learned about their writing process
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what their experiences in the Writing Center were like
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what exercises and classroom assignments worked for them and what didn’t
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why they chose their best-effort revisions, why they are proud of these essays, and
what they show about their range and abilities
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how they would assess their own portfolio
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how they’ll use the knowledge gained in this class in the future
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anything else they want you to know about their work or experience this semester.
This letter provides students with an opportunity to clarify their own perspective on their
progress in the course. Often this is one of their best pieces of writing and offers students
the chance to speak for their work.
Collecting Portfolios
It’s a good idea to collect portfolios before the last day of class, so that you can assess
them and conference with students on the last day.
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This is a momentous occasion! For many students in your class, this is the first time
they’ve completed such an impressive body of work. You may want to plan a brief
activity during which you ask students to express how they feel about this collection!
Preparing for the In-class Final Essay
As the semester winds to an end, remind students that one of their goals is to become
independent, confident writers. They will be given an in-class writing assignment that
will be completed in two sittings, and they will not receive help from you, from the
Writing Center, or from their peers.
Students should be encouraged to begin revising their earlier essays and to “wean”
themselves off of assistance from you or from others in deciding what types of revisions
to make.
Arranging Accommodations for Students with Alert Forms
A couple of weeks before you give the in-class final essay, be sure to make any necessary
arrangements for students with Alert Forms. If a student needs extra time, and the student
does not need a room with no distractions, you can arrange for the student to work in the
computer lab in the Writing Center.
If a student needs a room with minimal distractions, check with the Learning Assistants
in the Writing Center to see if they have any private workrooms available. You need to
reserve these in advance. ENGL 094 students have first priority for these rooms, so often
the rooms will be reserved before you ask. If rooms are not available in the Writing
Center, call the Disability Services Office on extension 2730 and ask for suggestions.
Giving the In-class Final Essay
The in-class essay demonstrates the student’s ability to write a passing paper without the
instructor’s intervention. Students should not receive any help or feedback on this
assignment. They should not be allowed to work on this assignment at home. Ideally you
should give the in-class final essay in two sittings so that students can put into practice
what they have learned about the writing process. Devote two class sessions to this
assignment.
You can assign a broad topic and tell students to come up with a topic within that range,
allow students to choose a topic, perhaps from their journals or from an idea they liked
but never had the chance to address, or you may choose to give a list of possible topics.
Some instructors offer the option of using the Writing Diagnostic completed on the first
day of the semester.
46
In any case, this in-class essay should be written in the same way students approached
their other assignments all semester: begin with a discussion, freewrite, and first draft
during one class period, and revision and editing in the next. You can address general
questions and give general suggestions, but the students must work on their own in class.
When students begin working on the computers, show them how to save their work to
your online instructor folder:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Click File > Save As.
Click on the down arrow for a drop-down list.
Select writing on ‘studentfs1.lincroft.ads.brookdalecc.edu
Select WritingStudents
Double-click on the folder with your (instructor’s) name.
Save the file using the student’s name as the filename.
Tell students to click on the disk icon every 10 minutes to continue to save to this
file as they work.
As students work, remind them to save every ten or fifteen minutes.
At the end of the first sitting, collect all work students have done so far, including notes
or freewrites, and hand-written first drafts. Tell students to print out what they’ve
completed so far on the computers (as a backup), and then save their work from your
online instructor folder to a computer disk. You should then delete the students’ files
from your instructor folder since these files are accessible from the Writing Center
computers. Do not comment on their work so far.
When students come in for the second sitting, give them back all their notes and drafts,
and bring up their files on their computers. Show them again how to save their work to
your folder, and remind them to continue to save their work every ten minutes.
WHAT ARE OTHER WAYS OF HANDLING THE IN-CLASS ESSAY?
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After the Last Day
Evaluating the In-Class Final Essay and Portfolios
When you are evaluating the in-class essay and final portfolios, remember that you are
not just looking for improvement; you are looking for significant evidence of confidence
in writing, awareness of purpose and audience, authorial voice, awareness of their own
process, and the ability to effectively communicate ideas clearly and logically.
Specifically, the in-class final essay and portfolio work should reflect the goals listed
below, which are stated as objectives in the ENGL 095 course syllabus:
Focus:
Each essay has a central idea, theme, or generalization. Supporting
material is consistently relevant to this focus.
Development:
Each essay has a balance of general and specific support of the
focus. Essays show use of concrete details, illustration, reasons, or
examples.
Organization:
Each essay has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Each essay
demonstrates logical use and order of paragraphs.
Mechanics:
The essays in the portfolio reveal control of sentence form and
verb form. The portfolios demonstrate the student’s ability to
identify and correct sentence fragments, comma splices, run-ons,
syntax errors, subject-verb agreement errors, and verb tense errors.
Errors in punctuation, spelling, and capitalization may be present
at times, but they do not interfere with the reader’s understanding
or attention to content.
Refer to the list of HOCs and LOCs as a guide:
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
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Main point
Details and Development
Focus
Organization
Paragraphing
Transitions
Sentence Structure
Verb forms and tenses
Punctuation
Proofreading
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Students who pass ENGL 095 should fulfill the requirements for ENGL 095 and should
be able to handle the challenges of ENGL 121. While it’s difficult to disappoint a student
who worked to the best of his or her ability, placing a student in a class that’s too
challenging can negatively affect the student’s success and confidence in the future.
Deciding the Next Placement
Here are some guidelines that may help in assessing students’ final work and deciding
which placement appropriate for the next writing class: NEEDS HELP! KATHY AND
MARCIA
If the student’s
work shows
And the
student
significant progress in all major
areas, command of writing,
awareness of authorial voice and
audience, and ability to handle
ENGL 121
problems in a significant number
of areas, especially ESL problems
that interfere with clarity
attended and participated in
class, attended Writing
Center appointments, and
revised according to
feedback
did not revise according to
feedback, missed a
significant number of
classes, and/or did not attend
Writing Center
appointments
attended and participated in
class, attended Writing
Center appointments,
completed work on time,
and would benefit from oneon-one instruction
attended and participated in
class, attended Writing
Center appointments,
completed work on time,
works well in a classroom
setting, and clearly will
improve with more time
problems in just two or three
areas
problems in just two or three
areas
Then the
recommended
next class is
ENGL 121
ENGL 095
ENGL 094
ENGL 097
Of course, it’s rarely as clear-cut as this. If you are evaluating portfolios and in-class
essays for the first time, it’s a good idea to do this along with your mentor.
49
Here’s what you should do depending on the next placement:
If the Next
Placement Is
ENGL 121
ENGL 094
ENGL 097
ENGL 095
Then Do the Following:
1. Give the student a grade of P.
2. Discuss the student’s portfolio and grade during an end of
semester conference.
No further action is required.
1. Give the student a grade of NC.
2. Finalize your discussions of this placement with Kathy Vasile.
3. Complete an ENGL 095 Referral Form.
4. Prepare the student’s portfolio for hand-off to Kathy Vasile.
5. Discuss the student’s portfolio and grade during an end of
semester conference.
6. Follow up with the 094 instructor during the 094 semester.
7. If at end of 094 the student’s portfolio passes ENGL 095,
complete a Change of Grade Form changing the NC to P.
1. Give the student a grade of NC.
2. Finalize your discussions of this placement with Marcia
Krefetz-Levine.
3. Complete an ENGL 095 Referral Form.
4. Prepare the student’s portfolio for hand-off to Marcia KrefetzLevine.
5. Discuss the student’s portfolio and grade during an end of
semester conference.
6. Follow up with the 097 instructor during the 097 semester.
7. If at end of 097 the student’s portfolio passes ENGL 095,
complete a Change of Grade Form changing the NC to P.
1. Give the student a grade of NC.
2. Discuss the student’s portfolio and grade during an end of
semester conference.
No further action is required.
All necessary actions are explained below.
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Completing the ENGL 095 Referral Form
You do not need to complete an ENGL 095 Referral Form for students who pass ENGL
095. However, if you are recommending ENGL 093, 094, or 097 or an ESL class for the
next placement, you do need to complete an ENGL 095 Referral Form. Whatever the
recommendation, be sure to discuss the placement with the coordinator for that class
before completing this form.
The student information necessary to complete the referral form is available on the
“comprehensive” version of your WebAdvisor roster.
If you are recommending ENGL 094 or ENGL 097, be sure to include specific writing
objectives on the Referral Form. List the student’s problem areas and any other
information that might be helpful for the 094 or 097 instructor.
Give one copy of this form to the student. You can give it to the student during your end
of the semester conference, or you can mail it to the student (but be sure to discuss the
placement with the student). Put another copy in the portfolio before you hand it over to
the 094 or 097 coordinator, and keep a copy in your files.
When you give a copy of the ENGL 095 Referral Form to the student, be sure that the
student understands that he or she must also register for the recommended class. The
ENGL 095 Referral Form is not a registration form. The student must register for ENGL
094 or ENGL 097 within one year (two semesters).
See Appendix D for a copy of the Referral Form.
Preparing Portfolios for ENGL 094 and ENGL 097 Placements
If you are recommending a student for ENGL 094 or ENGL 097, you should have
discussed this placement with the course coordinator by now. You also need to give the
student’s portfolio to the course coordinator at the end of the semester. Before doing so,
clearly label all work in the portfolio so that the coordinator knows what problems the
student encountered and how best to proceed next semester. You can do this with sticky
notes indicating any helpful information about the assignment. Also indicate which
essays were the best-effort revisions and which was the final in-class essay. Include in
your notes what you feel were the student’s strengths and weaknesses, what kind of
progress the student made, and what the student needs to work on in the next class.
Be sure to include a copy of the ENGL 095 Referral Form in the student’s portfolio
before handing it off to the ENGL 094 or 097 coordinator.
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Conferencing With Students
It is important to discuss with students the progress they made and their next placement.
Either meet with students during the final class session or make arrangements to meet
with them after the last class. Use this time to go over their portfolios and inform them of
their next class placement.
For those students who will need to take either ENGL 094 or ENGL 097, be sure to
assure the student that he or she made progress. Give the student a copy of the ENGL 095
Referral Form and encourage him or her to register immediately since room in ENGL
094 and ENGL 097 is limited. The student must register for either of these classes within
a year.
Also, be sure to review the grading policy when students are referred to either ENGL 094
or 097. At this time, you must give this student an NC for ENGL 095. If the student
completes and passes 094 or 097, the student will receive a passing grade for that class. If
the portfolio completed for that class is also passing for ENGL 095, at that time you will
submit a Change of Grade form to change the NC for ENGL 095 to a P.
Entering Semester Grades
You will receive a memo informing you of the due date for final grades. We enter grades
on WebAdvisor. Select the option for Grading and Student Monitoring, and then the
option for Final Grading Roster. A grading version of your roster will be displayed with
a drop-down list for each student listed. You must give a grade for each student listed on
your roster, even if the student never attended class. Also, you must enter grades for the
whole class and then submit them. You cannot enter grades for a few students at a time.
Since ENGL 095 is a Pass/Fail course, you will select either P for Pass or NC for No
Credit if the student did not pass. If a student did not pass, you will need to specify the
last day the student attended class, even if the student attended up to the last day.
If a student is being referred to either ENGL 094 or 097, you must give this student an
NC for ENGL 095 at this time. If the student completes and passes 094 or 097, the
student will receive a passing grade for that class. If the portfolio the student completed
for that class is also passing for ENGL 095, at that time you will submit a Change of
Grade form to change the NC for ENGL 095 to a P.
Leaving Portfolios
You can leave your students’ portfolios in boxes in LAH 222A, the Adjunct Faculty
Workroom. Label your box with your name, class, and section number. Announce to
your students that they’ll be there until a certain date (check with Karilyn Hapstak in
52
LAH 222 for the date), and after that they’ll be discarded. Be aware that Brookdale is
closed the week between Christmas and New Year’s, and students will not be able to
enter Larrison Hall during this time. However, once Brookdale opens again, they can
come in any time, even before the next semester starts.
Don’t leave boxes of portfolios by the mailboxes or out in the hallways. They may be
thrown out, and we’ve had problems in the past with students stealing papers.
Following Up with Students in ENGL 094 and ENGL 097
Students have one year to register for ENGL 094 or ENGL 097. It’s usually helpful for
the instructor of either of these classes if you make yourself available for any questions
that might come up and if you check in with the instructor around mid-semester to see
how the student is progressing. The instructor most likely will reach out to you in the
beginning of the semester and again toward the end to notify you of when the student’s
portfolio will be available for review.
When students complete either of these classes, they receive a grade from the instructor
of that class. At this time, you will discuss the student’s progress in ENGL 094 or ENGL
097 and review the student’s portfolio. If the portfolio produced is also passing for ENGL
095, complete a Change of Grade form to change the student’s grade in ENGL 095 from
NC to P.
If, however, the portfolio is not passing for ENGL 095, discuss with your mentor and the
ENGL 094 or ENGL 097 instructor the next appropriate placement for this student.
53
54
Part 3:
Teaching Strategies
55
56
Developing Retention Strategies
For a variety of reasons, retaining students in ENGL 095 can be difficult. Some students
need a lot of encouragement while others need to be challenged. Here are some specific
retention suggestions from our instructors:
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I use positive examples from student writing to let them be models for each other.
I always ask permission first, but it really keeps them motivated. I do this right
from the start. I don’t even teach students figurative language any more; I just pull
examples from their essays and type them up on a sheet with their names next to
each sentence. I pass them around to the entire class. They get “author props” and
the ones who didn’t do this start to do it. They get on the list the next time. You
can do it with anything – excerpts of description, sentence variety, etc. It gives
them a boost and the motivation to do the hard stuff.
ƒ
I ask students to write a mid-term letter to me about their progress and I write one
back to them. In it, I am very positive about their progress and give specific
examples from their essays. I do the same with areas to improve. This makes it
very concrete for them, but it’s also time consuming for me.
ƒ
I think creating that group dynamic right away is so important. Get them
connected to each other, not just to the teacher. I always praise strengths to the
group – ‘so and so does a great job with titles. If you need ideas, ask her, or look
at how ____ made this description so powerful.’
ƒ
In the beginning of the semester, I have each student write a letter to me telling
me about his or her experience so far with education. What was elementary school
like? Middle school? High school? What worked for you and what worked against
you? Why did you decide to go to college? What are you worried about? What are
you excited about? I get to know each student quickly – and his or her learning
style -- through this letter. The week after they hand them in, I talk to each student
about specific things in their letters and give concrete suggestions on how to deal
with some of their concerns. It makes a big difference.
57
Working With the Writing Center
One of our Learning Assistants succinctly captures the importance of the Writing Center:
“I think the most important thing to emphasize for new adjuncts about the WC (terrible
acronym) is that this is a place that is completely necessary for the success of 095
students; it’s a guaranteed way to get them into that all-important ‘writing as process’
mentality.”
Students’ time in the Writing Center accounts for the fourth credit for ENGL 095. It is
much more effective to require students to attend weekly appointments rather than a
specific number of appointments for the semester; the latter strategy usually encourages
students to leave the bulk of their appointments until the end of the term. They don’t
benefit from the Writing Center’s instruction and they wind up believing that they “score
points” for each signed Writing Center slip.
When you send your students to the Writing Center, it is important to give them clear
direction. Remember that the Learning Assistants do not know what each instructor is
doing in his or her classroom.
Here are some suggestions:
ƒ
In your summary comments on the back of your students’ essays, list three things
done well and three areas for improvement. Tell students to go to the Writing
Center to discuss these suggestions and begin putting them into practice. Either
require students to revise their essays according to the feedback from the Learning
Assistant, or tell students to take notes during their appointments and bring these
notes to class to begin their revisions.
ƒ
Give specific comments on your students’ essays. Instruct them to go to the
Writing Center to discuss specifically how they’ll address them.
ƒ
Give students the option of attending one of the workshops offered by the
Learning Assistants.
Many times students will return to class with complaints that they didn’t know what to do
in the Writing Center once they got there. Some instructors provide handouts with the
week’s Writing Center assignment; others leave a copy in their folder in the Writing
Center. Still others write the instructions on the board and encourage students to copy
them into their notebooks. This provides a good opportunity to teach students valuable
study and classroom skills.
For many other suggestions, including specific assignments, refer to Connecting the
Classroom and the Tutoring Session: BCC Faculty Guidebook to Using the Writing Lab.
If you did not receive a copy during orientation, you can pick up a copy in the Writing
Center.
58
Pacing the Three Hour Class
Most classes at Brookdale meet once a week in three-hour blocks of time. The three-hour
class structure provides time for effective teaching and learning in writing classes
because it allows instructors ample opportunity to be involved as students are engaging in
the writing process. Also, instructors are able to incorporate a variety of writing and
language activities in the session. The following teaching and learning strategies might be
useful as you pace the three-hour writing course.
Warm Up Writing Activities
Many writing instructors like to begin class with a short writing activity to set the tone for
the day’s class. You might begin with a freewriting activity on a specific topic, an open
freewriting activity, a written response to a reading, or a written activity that might
somehow be connected to your large group discussion topic of the day. Any brief
activity that gets students writing and focused on the class will work well.
Large Group Discussions
Large group discussions are generally whole class activities centered on a selected
subject related to the writing process. These subjects include topic searches, specific
writing strategies, various rhetorical devices, selected readings, or approaches to
composing, revising, or proofreading. The subjects will vary depending on the point of
the semester and your specific students.
The goal of the discussion is to create a communal frame of reference for a particular
topic, strategy, or process. Whatever the focus of discussion, this time should be just long
enough to present a concept, give a few examples, or introduce a reading. Allow ample
time for individual questions and student involvement.
Writing Practice and Individual Instruction
Encourage students to write and experiment with the strategies or concepts that were
considered in the large group discussion. At this point, students can work individually or
collaboratively. In ENGL 095, it is essential that instructors provide feedback to
individual students as they develop their writing strategies. You may want to walk
around, ask students to share their writing with you, and provide both positive feedback
and suggestions. The goal here is to assist students as they practice new ideas,
approaches, or processes.
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Sharing and Commenting
At this point, gather your students together again (in large or small groups) to consider
and reflect on the previous writing activity. Students may read, listen, share
observations, offer suggestions, make plans, or summarize the results of the practice.
Break
It is advisable to give students a 15-minute break at the halfway point of the class session.
Composing, Revising, and Responding
During the second half of class, students might work on more substantial composing,
revising, or responding. They may begin the first draft of a new essay or revise a
previous essay based on comments from the instructor, Learning Assistants, and other
students. They can also workshop their latest drafts in small groups.
While students are involved in these various stages of the writing process, instructors
have the opportunity to provide feedback and responses to individual students. As you
move around the room, try to provide specific suggestions to each student and focus on
his or her own strengths and weaknesses. You may also use this time to answer questions
or reinforce your comments on previous drafts.
Summary and Reflection
At the end of class, some instructors like to bring the class back together as a large group
for a brief summary or to provide closure to the day’s work.
There are many ways to set up a three-hour class. The above suggestions might be
reversed, for example, starting with composing, revising, or small group work and ending
with discussion and experimentation. We encourage you to try different combinations
and sequences of student activities.
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Pacing Split Classes
Many of the ideas explained in the previous section will work for classes taught twice a
week. However, if your class meets twice a week, it’s important to provide closure at the
end of the first of the two class sessions and open the second by reflecting on whatever
you ended with last time.
ANYONE WHO TEACHES SPLIT CLASSES, PLEASE NOTE ANY SUGGESTIONS!
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Assigning Journal Writing
Many instructors use an on-going journal in ENGL 095 as a required homework
assignment over the entire semester. Some instructors assign two or three 10-minute
journal writing pieces a week; some require a journal writing every day. Journals keep
students writing, and as they continue to write freely in this way, they become more
comfortable with writing as a form of communicating thoughts, emotions, ideas, and
opinions. Journal writing might be used effectively in class by making selected entries
springboards for class discussion and eventually an essay.
When assigning journal writing, inform students of the direction of the assignment. Will
students be required to share their writings with the class (in small groups or in the large
group)? Is this assignment just for private reflection? Letting students know up front
what your intentions are will keep students informed and will contribute to creating a safe
environment for productive teaching and learning.
Journal Topics
Students might write on assigned topics or choose “free topics,” which might be
reflections on their day or reactions to a given experience of music, television, film,
current event, or any subjects they choose. You may also want to assign specific topics
for your students to consider from time to time. An extended list of journal topics is
included in Appendix E.
Commenting on Journals
Journals can be spot-checked, checked at mid-term, or checked at the end of the term, but
it is important to have some system for acknowledging the work done in the journals.
Refrain from responding to journals on the basis of grammatical structure or mechanics.
Journals should never be “corrected” because they are regarded as a safe place where the
student is encouraged to develop writing fluency and expression of ideas. Some
instructors select one or two entries for careful response, and then merely initial the rest.
Hidden Benefits of Journal Writing
Occasionally, you will notice that some students’ writing is much stronger in their
journals than in their essays. When this happens, it may be an indication that these
students are trying too hard and are tripping themselves up over inflated notions of what
constitutes “good” writing. It’s helpful to point out these students’ writing strengths in
their journals and encourage them student to use their natural voice in their essays. Also,
students who have difficulty coming up with essay topics may be surprised by the topics
that come up in their journals. One student who insisted that she had nothing to write
about included journal entries on her stint as a model for Vogue, going through boot
camp, and surviving a hurricane!
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Using Readings
Reading and discussing professional writing has many advantages for basic writers. The
readings can spark discussion, bringing new ideas and viewpoints to the classroom.
Careful selection of readings for use in ENGL 095 is important. Consider the topic
interest and accessibility of language when choosing a piece for class reading and
discussion. Talk to your mentor about how he or she has used readings in ENGL 095.
There is also a selection of readings available in the ENGL 095 filing cabinets in LAH
222.
Readings used in 095 are not intended to be models for imitation but springboards for the
students’ own writing. To get the most out of using readings in English 095, you can:
1.
Read aloud to the class and ask that students follow along on their own copies.
Ask students to pay attention to the writing – the words, sentences, paragraphs,
even the punctuation.
2.
After the piece is read, ask students to write down three words or phrases that
describe the piece – the writing, the ideas, the author – anything that comes to
mind. These responses can then be shared. This is a way of helping the students
to see the range of responses to a piece of writing and often helps to establish the
focus of the piece.
3.
Workshop the piece, just as you would with student writing. Look for elements
your students have been concerned with in their own work. Ask questions such
as: What do you like best about the piece? What is the writer’s overall idea?
How is the piece organized? Where has the writer made good use of detail? Or
any other questions that help students to focus on the choices the writer made.
Another effective use of readings is to assign a reading for homework along with a
freewrite response (either a general response or a response to specific questions). This
can be used as a discussion started in the beginning of the next class meeting.
You can have copies of a reading reproduced by the print shop if you submit it to the
English Department Office Assistant, Karilyn Hapstak, at least a week before you need
it. It doesn’t pay to count on Xeroxing lots of copies of anything right before class.
63
Using the Process Approach
Starting a Topic Search
Everyone has a story to tell, and helping writers find that story in a blank sheet of paper is
very important. Don Graves, author of Writing: Teachers and Children at Work (1983),
says that by assigning topics we create a welfare system for student writers. Instead, we
should encourage students to come up with their own topics. Giving students the chance
and enough time to write about something they care about can make a difference in the
quality of writing that is produced.
There are many ways to help students generate their own topics. Early in the semester
you may ask them to make up a list of topics they want to write about and share these
with the class to refine the ideas and generate more topics. Suggest to students that they
reserve a page or two in the beginning of their notebooks and title them “Topic Search.”
As ideas emerge, either in class or outside, they can jot them down on these pages. Class
discussions and journal writing are also effective ways to help students come up with
ideas for their essays. As the semester progresses, having students share their revised
essays with each other or the whole class can also inspire new ideas.
In her book In the Middle (1987), Nancie Atwell describes the Topic Search as a strategy
upon which students can build indefinitely. The Topic Search allows students to list
daily happenings that have personal meaning for them, freewrite the story, and come to
realize that their own observations and experiences are important and worth writing
about.
As a way to facilitate this process, you might begin a class or with your own story:
On my way here this morning I saw a child riding a bike across his lawn, and I
remembered the time when I learned to ride a bike. One of the things my brothers
and I did was ride bicycles in and out of the town streets taking great delight in
looking at people’s television screens through the windows of their houses. One
story I might be able to write would be about bike riding. (write this topic on the
board)
Another idea that comes to mind is, because it was so hot today, I was thinking
about ice cream and how I wished I had some. Last night, when I was visiting a
friend, I did have a huge dish of delicious ice cream with one of those long names
like chocolate almond peanut butter fudge, and I can remember how good it felt to
eat it, how cold it was on my tongue. That idea also reminds me of the picture of
my 9 month old nephew while he was feeding himself a dish of vanilla ice cream
and dribbling it all over his face and high chair. I could also write a story about
ice cream (write this topic on the board).
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Now consider things that may have happened to you recently that remind you of
moments and possible stories for you to tell. Let’s list some of them on the board.
Now make your own list in your notebook. After you have made the list, choose
one thing and freewrite about it for at least 10 minutes. Who was there? Where
were you? How did you feel? What did you see, smell, and hear? Show the
whole scene. Include as many details as possible.
The topic search fosters almost immediate investment and enthusiasm. When students
get an opportunity to tell stories and to articulate what is important to them, they seem to
speak and write with more conviction. All the talking and storytelling beforehand is time
well spent.
Discovering Topics – Another Approach
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Donald Murray suggests in his book Shoptalk (1990) an
exercise to help a subject find the writer. He encourages attaining a state of
“unthinkingness” in which the material flowing through our senses can combine with
what has been stored in memory to create the unexpected connections we call creative
thinking.
In order to get started, he sometimes asks himself questions such as the following:
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What’s surprised me recently?
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What’s bugging me? What do I keep thinking or talking about?
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What do I appreciate that I didn’t used to?
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What is changing -- in the world around me? In me?
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What did I expect to happen that didn’t?
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What did I not expect to happen that did?
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Why did something make me so mad? Worry me? Make me laugh? Make me
sad?
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What do I know that someone else needs to know?
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What do I need to know? What would I like to know? Who would I like to
know?
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What do I enjoy doing?
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What have I learned?
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How is life different than I expected?
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What if …?
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You might use these suggestions to start freewriting, or you might add some questions of
your own. Allow yourself to discover on paper. Explore.
Topic Search for Issues and Opinions
Here is one instructor’s approach to starting a topic search for an opinion or persuasive
essay:
We begin in whole class discussion by telling stories about incidents and events that
concern us. First, I tell (at length and dramatically) two or three of my own stories about
issues that affect my own everyday life. After I tell each story, I make a summary
statement about the issue that my story exemplifies and list the statement on the board:
Home recycling is annoying, but we can do it.
We need a traffic light at the corner of Broadway and Rt. 71.
Finding parking at Brookdale is too difficult.
Next I ask students: What bothers you? Tell a story about something that concerns you—
that has made you angry or that has made you think about how something should be done
differently. This can be something that happens at home, here at school, in your
community, in the state—wherever.
After students tell their stories to a partner and ask each other questions, I ask for
volunteers to tell their stories to the class. Then we try to sum up their stories in one
summary statement of opinion. Here’s a typical list:
ENGL 095 credits should count toward the degree.
Policemen in Middletown are unfair to young drivers.
Animal testing for cosmetics is wrong.
Good elementary school teachers are important.
New Jersey beaches are not worth the beach fees.
Lane Bryant should stop using skinny models in their catalogue.
After this listing and discussion, we list other possible topics in our journals for about
five minutes and then share our ideas with a partner. For homework, we pick one or two
promising topics and freewrite for 15 minutes about each one. In the next class, we share
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one or two more stories with the larger group and discuss how these might be developed
into essays. Then we write our rough drafts in class.
When students select their own topics in this way, appropriate audiences and purposes
seem to leap off the page. In a sense this activity uses the narrative as a springboard to
other kinds of writing.
Topic Search for the Process Essay
Another instructor uses the following exercise to devise ideas for the process paper.
Complete the following statements. Don’t worry if you repeat the same answer for more
than one statement.
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In my spare time, I like to _______________________________.
I’m really good at _______________________________.
If I had to teach something, it would be ________________________.
I’m the best at _______________________________________.
My favorite hobby is ____________________________________.
In my family or culture, it’s important to ______________________.
On my favorite holiday I _________________________________.
If you find yourself repeating the same answer for any of these questions, this would be a
good topic for a process essay.
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Getting Started with Prewriting Activities
Most of the writing projects in ENGL 095 begin with a prewriting activity. Prewriting is
essential to the writing process because it helps students figure out what they have to say
about a particular subject. Prewritings should be shared and discussed before students
begin drafting a paper. Try a variety of prewriting techniques in ENGL 095; students
will connect with some more than others depending on their learning styles, and some
techniques lend themselves better than others to certain assignments.
Freewriting
Freewriting is a technique for collecting your thoughts on paper without editing or
correcting as you write. Freewriting is just what it says – writing freely. It is one of the
easiest ways to get words on paper.
Writing is a skill like any other. It takes practice to learn to do it well. When a violinist
begins to learn to play the violin, there are squeaks at first. When people begin to write,
words don’t necessarily come out smoothly. Many beginning writers get “blocked” or
“stuck” because they are more worried about how the ideas will come out than what the
ideas might be. What writers learn when freewriting is that finding ideas is a non-linear
and sometimes messy process.
Freewriting lets you get ideas on paper without worrying about whether they are
“correct” or “right”. When freewriting you may violate rules of correctness, you may
make mistakes in reasoning, and you may change directions before you have said
anything significant. Freewriting helps you to write without worrying about writing. It
helps you to discover ideas to write about—things you may not think of before you begin.
Just write down whatever thoughts come into your head; deciding what to do with them
and how to best express them comes later. At this stage, you are trying to connect your
brain to your pen, to let ideas come out as freely and quickly as possible. If the ideas stop
coming, keep your pen moving either by drawing circles or loops or by writing “um, um,
um” or “I don’t know what to write.” When the next idea comes into your head, write it
freely.
Instruct students to write without stopping for at least ten minutes (in ENGL 095 the
instructor usually provides a starter idea or question). Tell students to just move the pen
across the page, writing whatever comes to mind. They do not need to worry about
neatness, organization, grammar, or spelling (to reinforce this, do a freewrite with them
and show them what your page looks like). This is the raw material from which they will
mine ideas, feelings, directions, and plans for their writing assignment.
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Clustering
Clustering is a technique by which a writer bypasses his/her logical, orderly mind and
taps into the pattern-seeking design mind. It is a non-linear, brainstorming process like
free association, which creates implicit connections that the writer suddenly or gradually
perceives. Clustering unfolds from the center; a “nucleus” word or phrase or dominant
impression evokes clusters of associations unique to each individual. Free associate from
that word; add ideas in their own clusters of circles radiating out from the center.
To cluster as a prewriting activity, begin with a nucleus word circled on a blank page.
Go with anything that comes into your head. Write rapidly, each word or phrase in its
own circle in any direction. Doodle or darken circles and arrows if momentarily stuck.
When you get a sudden sense of what you’re going to write about, stop clustering and
begin to write. Here is an example:
visiting
grandparents
wild
nature
running
wild through
woods
independence
Kentucky
beautiful
view
car ride
with Joe
summer vacation
FREEDOM
Florida
trip
getting
license
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Cubing
Cubing is a technique for swiftly considering a subject from six points of view. The
emphasis is on swiftly and six.
Often writers can’t get going on a subject because they are locked into a single way of
looking at the topic. That’s when cubing works well. Cubing lets you have a single point
of view for only 3 to 5 minutes; then you move on to the next point of view. When you
have finished cubing, you have spent 18 – 20 minutes looking at the subject from varying
perspectives.
Do each of the six steps in order, spending no more than three to five minutes on each:
1. Describe it. Look at the subject closely and describe what you see, including
colors, shapes, sizes, and so forth.
2. Compare it. What is it similar to? Different from?
3. Associate it. What does it make you think of? What times, places, and people
come to mind?
4. Analyze it. Tell how it is made. If you don’t know, make something up.
5. Apply it. Tell what you can do with it and how it can be used.
6. Argue for or against it. Take a stand.
When you have finished all six, read what you have written. If one angle or perspective
strikes you as particularly promising, you may have a focus for your essay.
--68
Developing a Draft
Moving from the freewrite to the first draft is easy. Encourage students to look over their
freewrite or other prewriting exercise and try to find a dominant impression or a focus.
Sometimes this is an idea that appears more than once or one that is expressed clearly and
strongly. Sometimes it’s valuable for students to freewrite again using this idea to explore
the focus more deeply.
Now tell students to begin shaping a draft from their freewrite. In some cases this means
simply adding more details.
At some point, you may want to address audience and purpose. Try asking your students
to answer the following two questions:
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If your essay were to be published in a magazine, who would you want to read it?
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What do you want them to get out of it?
Answering the first question will help students to identify an audience. Answering the
second helps them clarify their main point. Discuss what details are necessary to convey
this point to their audience. It’s helpful to students if you go through a couple of different
possible audiences and purposes for a single topic. Discuss as a class what details you
would expect to see in the essay depending on the audience and purpose.
Encourage students to develop their first drafts with details that show rather than tell, and
require that they write at least two pages. You may want to use readings to help students
see possibilities in the use of concrete and sensory details.
--69
Commenting on Students’ Drafts
Because ENGL 095 is based on a process approach to writing, we do not grade students’
papers until the final portfolio reading at the end of the term. Instead, one of the primary
evaluative tools used throughout the term is instructor response in the form of written
comments and questions. Providing students with focused, helpful, and instructional
comments is essential to their success in the course. Remember that positive comments
are just as important as suggestions for improvement. We recommend that you point to
what works well in a piece of writing before you address the problems with it. In
addition, written responses should be reinforced by the guidance and feedback that the
instructor provides during class time or for Writing Center assignments. They should
support students and make the revision process a positive, collaborative, and productive
experience.
Using the Process Approach When Commenting
Many instructors decide on a goal for each assignment or for each student and focus most
of their written comments on that particular area. This helps students to prioritize their
needs and also serves as a guide for the Learning Assistants in the Writing Center.
Consider focusing your comments and questions on content concerns first – focus,
organization, and development – before addressing corrections regarding proofreading
and mechanics. Most experienced writers do not begin to edit or proofread a piece until
they are satisfied with the ideas expressed in it; the process approach to responding to
papers simply extends that logic to student writers as well. In short, comments on a first
draft should emphasize fluency and clarity before correctness.
Asking Questions
Do not edit or correct mistakes on students’ papers. Instead, ask questions that will
encourage the writer to develop further, clarify, or make revisions that will enhance the
draft. Consider questions such as the following:
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How did this make you feel?
What happened next?
Which day was this?
Where might this paragraph be more effective?
When does he stop speaking?
Remember that adding comments such as “good use of dialogue” or “excellent detail”
will show the writer that he or she is doing something well and will encourage writers to
do more of the same.
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Commenting on Sentence Structure and Mechanics
While basic writers have difficulty with correctness in many areas, those errors that most
often distract the reader or significantly interfere with understanding should be addressed
before less distracting problems. Once students have produced a draft that is developed
and organized, their attention can be turned to proofreading concerns such as mechanics,
spelling, and punctuation. In order to help students gain control of these areas, we
recommend that you refrain from “marking” every error or correcting your students’
papers for them. Instead, prioritize the students’ errors by commenting upon one or two
areas that need improvement in each paper and encouraging students to work toward
correcting and improving those first.
Some instructors flag the problems of a certain type on the first page. Then they’ll draw a
line where they stop flagging the problems and instruct the student to identify and fix this
same type of error in the rest of the draft.
Giving Summary Comments
Add comments on the back of the student’s essay with clear direction as to what you
suggest the student do next. Some instructors like to list three things the writer has done
well and three areas the writer should improve in the next draft.
Such comments also help clarify the direction for the Learning Assistant working with
your student in the Writing Center.
--71
Workshopping
Writers’ workshops are an important on-going component of ENGL 095. During
workshopping sessions, students share their work with their classmates, who respond to
that work, and in doing so, help the writer understand how readers experience that piece
of writing. Of course, students will need direction in both roles – as writers and as
listeners/readers. You may want to refer to the Selected Bibliography at the end of this
handbook for some innovative suggestions for effective small group work in the
classroom.
Using a variety of workshopping techniques in ENGL 095 is an excellent way to
reinforce concepts and skills, and it gives students the opportunity to share their ideas
with their classmates. By hearing and reading their classmates’ writing, students learn
more about the choices writers can make and they see firsthand the possibilities explored
by their peers.
In ENGL 095, workshopping may be scary and difficult for many students at first, so
careful guidance is often necessary. Many times students are nervous about sharing their
own work, and they often don’t have the confidence yet to feel they are ready to offer
valuable feedback to other students.
Here are some approaches you may want to explore to ease your students into
workshopping:
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Begin by using a sample student paper from PEN, our English 095 anthology
(copies available in the Writing Center), or from a previous semester (with the
author’s permission). Sometimes it’s helpful to workshop a piece as a class and
then break the class into smaller groups to workshop another sample.
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Develop a list of workshop rules and questions as a class. Each smaller group will
use these questions and follow these rules as they workshop each others’ work.
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Give students a specific set of questions to address in a workshop session.
Develop the questions together as a group, create them yourself and write them on
the board, or create a worksheet for students to fill out.
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Start students off working with a partner who will swap papers and read for just
one thing – a good detail or description, for example, or what they like best about
the paper.
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Have students do regular “read arounds” where each student reads one paragraph
or more from his or her own paper, or a “pass around” where each student reads
several papers and makes one comment or suggestion about each.
--72
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Ask students to read a classmate’s paper and then choose one paragraph to read
aloud, or have several students read examples of effective introductions, details,
or another component of writing that you have discussed in class.
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Match students according to strengths and weaknesses. For example, pair a
student who is strong with development but weak in sentence structure with
another student who is strong in sentence structure but weak in development. Tell
them to help each other out. Reminding students that they are strong in specific
areas boosts their confidence and encourages them to participate.
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Have students work directly on the computers. Pair students and have them switch
seats. Each student reads the other’s essay and types three questions on the bottom
of the screen. Then they switch back to their own seats and answer their partner’s
questions in their essays.
Vary these patterns as students gain more confidence and skill as readers. Soon students
will learn what to look for in a successful piece of writing and how to communicate their
thoughts about what they read and write in a comfortable and responsible way.
--73
Revising
One of the most effective ways of encouraging students to revise is to do an exercise or
lesson on a specific skill together in class. Then turn directly to the current essay
assignment and tell students to improve their work based on what they just learned.
The Writing Center is indispensable in encouraging revision. Students get half an hour of
undivided attention in learning how to revise their work.
Workshopping and “read-arounds” lend themselves well to revision since students see
different possibilities which they then can try out in their own work.
Addressing HOCs and LOCs
Exercises are available in both hard copy (in the ENGL 095 file cabinets in LAH 222)
and on the computer. You can also model skills on the board or by using either the Doc
Cam, if it is available in your room, or the LCD projector, which you may reserve
through Susan DeMatteo or Kelly Parr. However you work on each new skill, it’s
important that you turn students’ attention directly to their current drafts so that they
understand the connection between your lesson and their writing.
After students work on their revisions in class, try doing a read-around so they can
showcase their new improvements.
Grammar and Mechanics
In ENGL 095, grammar and mechanics are best taught in context. Try to work with your
students individually as much as possible. For common errors, like run-on sentences,
consider reviewing with the whole class, then have them look through one of their own
papers or someone else’s paper to see if they can spot any run-ons. Again, you may want
to use the hard copy exercises in the ENGL 095 file cabinets in LAH 222 and the
computer exercises in the ENGL 095 directory on the hard drive.
--74
Incorporating Critical Thinking Strategies
NEED IDEAS FOR THIS SECTION:
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Using a text throughout the semester
movies and analysis
other analysis assignments
using an article and subsequent letters to the editor
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Part 4:
Best Practices
and
Favorite Resources
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Best Practices
Why I Use Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie in the ENGL 095
Classroom
by Jim Cody
I have found that an essential objective in the early going of an ENGL 095 class is to give
students the opportunity for a sense of accomplishment. Mitch Albom's book is
accessible, simple, and clear. By the midway point, we have completed it and, as most
095 students will openly admit, finishing a book is not something they are accustomed to.
Albom is a sportswriter. His columns can be found online at the Detroit Free Press
website. Most students will recognize him as an ESPN sports commentator. This
"everyday" guy persona is good for students to see. He is not a writer on a pedestal
talking down to students. Instead, he comes across as an average person with some
important ideas to share.
Ultimately, I use the book, as I think a book should be used in a writing course, as a way
for students to find topics they want to write about and not just once. In Tuesdays with
Morrie, they are introduced to topics that they don't mind lugging around a bit through
drafting, feedback, and revision processes. I remember Jeff Ford saying that most
students don't care to write about Enron executives, political scandals, capital
punishment, abortion, etc. Instead, they rather write about topics that really matter to
them and that they can relate to from the world around them. Initially, Tuesdays with
Morrie allows me to get students to write narratives on topics such as "feeling sorry for
yourself," "regrets," "death," "family," "emotions," "aging" (you'd be surprised to find
that even though most students are 19 or 20 in 095 classes they see a great deal of aging
going on from parents and grandparents and are very willing to write about it), "love,"
"marriage," and "culture." These are the topics students can sink their teeth into--ones
that require some evolution of thought, development of ideas, and insight. They inspire
the kind of discussion, too, that leads to a desire to share memories and extend ideas in
writing.
Though Albom's writing is, for want of a better term, easy, that does not mean it is
lacking in sophistication. Albom introduces topics like "the tension of opposites," uses
complex narrative techniques like flashbacks, shares with his readers intricacies about the
Depression era, polio, and ALS, and quotes poetry from Auden. These are features I am
able to present to students and help foster an appreciation for them and perhaps even get
them to risk integration of in their own writing.
I am not advocating the use of this book in your classes, but I am advocating the use of
texts if they can be used for the same positive and encouraging reasons I have for using
Tuesdays with Morrie. Any text can be used in a writing course if it is not forgotten that
the purpose of the text is to get students to write. Albom says that Morrie could see right
--79
to the core of his students' problems. And that is that they were "human beings wanting
to feel that they mattered." Texts that get our ENGL 095 students to feel that way are the
ones that are most successful, but it is not the texts themselves that do that. It's how the
texts are used in the writing classroom that really helps to reach that essential goal.
--80
“Smoke Signals” and Descriptive Writing
by Kathleen Kennedy
If I use a movie in any class, I like to use one that either includes people of diverse
backgrounds or one background that is most likely unfamiliar to most students in the
class. I like “Smoke Signals” for a number of reasons: I rarely have Native American
students in class, it’s an interesting story, it’s rich visually, and it offers accessible
symbolism which enables us to discuss the movie on a number of different levels. Also,
very few students have ever heard of the movie.
We watch the movie together in class, and immediately afterward, I have the class do the
following freewrite:
What does the movie say to you?
Then we go around the room and instead of reading the freewrite, students just tell me
and I start listing their ideas on the board. We use this as a starting point for generating
themes and ideas for their next essay.
They come up with lots of interesting themes such as forgiveness, living with alcoholism,
keeping secrets, a friend who helped them, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters,
being a nerd, hiding behind a façade, discrimination, different versions of the same event,
cutting off your nose to spite your face, letting go of the past, being yourself, etc.
After our discussions, students pick a topic and begin freewriting. For homework, they
continue their freewrite and begin their first draft.
The next time we meet, I get them into groups of three. I put a list of questions on the
board (see below) and each group picks one question and collaborates on an answer.
Instead of just answering the question by telling, they need to recreate a scene from the
movie with detail to show the answer. We make a contest out of it and the groups try to
outdo each other. When they finish writing, they read their paragraphs aloud and we
discuss what images we like and what the group might add.
After we go through this, the students pick a paragraph from their new essay and do the
same thing – show the scene with vivid detail. We then read these aloud, too, and
comment on what details stand out.
It’s fun and it gets them to begin to show rather than tell. Also, it’s great to have a
common reference point throughout the semester. Periodically I’ll ask them, “How would
Thomas tell this story? What details would Thomas include?” or something like that.
At the end of the semester students write a brief analysis of some sort. They can either
analyze one of the stories we read in class, a song, or this movie. “Smoke Signals” works
well for that assignment, too, because there’s so much overt symbolism in the movie.
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These are the questions I use for the collaborative writing:
Descriptive
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How are Thomas and Victor different in appearance?
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Describe the “frybread” feast.
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What change do we see in Thomas at the end of the movie?
Situational
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How do we know that Victor finally accepts his father?
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How does Victor show his anger as a child and as an adult?
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How does Arnold reveal to us his guilt and shame?
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What role does Thomas play in Victor’s transformation?
Emotional
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How does Thomas’ grandmother react when she learns of the fire that killed
Thomas’ parents?
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What does Victor feel in the final scene of the movie?
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What does Arlene feel when she tells Victor of his father’s death?
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What is Victor’s reaction to Thomas’ stories?
--82
Different Perspectives on Art
by Marcia Krefetz
I take my students to the Monmouth Museum on campus and ask them to write three
different pieces of writing in their journals. They can choose any pieces of art that they
want to choose for these writing assignments, including sculptures, paintings, drawings,
photographs and so on.
The first assignment is to write one full page as if they were the artist in the midst of
creating the piece of art. In this assignment, the writers must “become” the artist. The
second assignment is to “jump into” the piece of art. While writing this freewriting
assignment in their journals, students have to become a thing, person, shape, etc. in the
piece of art. The final assignment is to write a review of the piece of art. The writer must
describe the piece of art in detail, note down what is intriguing about the piece, clarify
what is significant, compare to others of its kind, and so on.
Upon the completion of this project, students often like to share at least one of their
freewritings with the rest of the group. Students have the option of choosing one of these
freewriting assignments and developing it further into a paper topic. Students often find
the creative part of this project very enjoyable, and I am always so pleased to see how
their strong writing reveals their potential.
Another possibility is to take a class to any of the art and photo exhibits on campus each
term and have them observe the art work, taking notes on their general impressions first,
and then selecting a few to write about in detail.
Before we take our class trip (as we laughingly call it), I often have them do some
prewriting on museums they have visited, art that they enjoy looking at, or art they have
created themselves. It has been surprising to see how many of them have had such
experiences. They are often amazed to realize that we have a museum on campus, or that
there are many CVA exhibits to enjoy.
As for the writing assignments that follow the visits, there are many different approaches
I have used such as: writing an article for the Stall (our college newspaper), writing a
story from their lives that was brought to mind by a picture, writing a letter to a friend on
campus about what they saw, or writing descriptions of a picture so that someone else can
visualize it. The possibilities are endless.
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Favorite Resources
EVERYONE, PLEASE ADD YOURS and a line or two
explaining how you use it
Books
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The Color of Water, by James McBride
Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom
Short Stories
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“Greasy Lake” by T. Coraghessen Boyle
“Cathedral” by Raymond Carver
“Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier
“How to Be a Writer” works well for advanced approaches to the process essay.
“Between the Pool and the Gardenias” by Edwidge Danticat
Essays
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“Making the Bed” by Cortney Keim and “Alla Salute!” by Leo Buscaglia work
well as an introduction to the process essay.
“Shame” by Dick Gregory provides excellent examples of sensory and descriptive
detail and works well to model conveying a predominant emotion in an essay
Movies
“Smoke Signals”
“A Simple Plan”
“Lost Boys of the Sudan”
Campus Events
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Readings
Plays
Speakers
Movies
Poetry Slams
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Art and Photography Exhibits
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Monmouth Museum (732-747-2266)
CVA galleries
Bankier Library
--86
Appendix A
ENGL 095 Course Syllabus
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English 095: Fundamentals of Writing
Syllabus
Course Description
ENGL 095 is designed to teach students to write clear, well-organized, and
mechanically acceptable prose. In addition to class, students are required to work in the
Writing Center each week. Successful completion of ENGL 095 satisfies students’
basic skills requirement in Writing.
Objectives
This course will help you improve your writing skills as you compose, revise, and edit
your own work. The skills and abilities that you develop in this class will help you to be
successful in college and in your career.
Students in ENGL 095 will learn to:
•
•
think critically and communicate information and ideas clearly and effectively in
written form
understand the communication process from an audience’s perspective
ENGL 095 will help you to understand more about your writing process and how you
can use writing as a way to explore and communicate your ideas. You will learn to state
and support a point about a topic so that a reader can understand it, practice writing with
a specific audience and purpose in mind, and organize your ideas into effective
paragraphs. The course will help you to learn effective sentence form and correct
punctuation, vocabulary, spelling, and capitalization.
During the semester, you will compose several essays, most of which will require more
than one draft. You will share your writing in a “writer’s workshop” format that will
help you develop and improve your work. At the end of the semester, you will select
and revise your best work and present a portfolio of writing that best demonstrates your
abilities as a writer.
Textbooks and Supplies
(to be determined by the instructor)
Additional Time Requirements
Students in ENGL 095 are required to meet with a Learning Assistant in the Writing
Center on a regular basis to review and discuss their writing. Your instructor will have
more information about the Center requirements for this course. Please refer to page 3
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of this syllabus for more information about the Writing Center.
Course Requirements and Evaluation
Attendance
At all levels and at every stage of a student’s progress, the writing program at
Brookdale emphasizes the developmental nature of writing by attention to (1) discovery
through regular journal writing, (2) focused, participatory discussion in both large and
small group settings, and (3) workshopping for peer reaction and critical analysis.
Writing courses differ from others in that they cannot be completed successfully
through textbook study alone and results cannot be assessed by testing. In fact, our
approach relies on members of a class being present when that class is in session.
We believe that learning through writing best occurs when students complete
assignments in sequence and submit them on time. We expect students to be present
when a class is scheduled to begin, assignment in hand, ready to participate in the day’s
work.
Students who have to miss a class because of an emergency must speak to their
instructor in time to attend the following class fully prepared and up-to-date.
Individual instructors have additional attendance requirements. It is the student’s
responsibility to be aware of these requirements.
Assignment Deadlines
Journals, drafts, revisions, and other assignments are due one week after they are
assigned. Try not to get behind because this can affect your course grade. Besides, it
is easier to do all the work on time than it is to catch up. You'll have less stress and
enjoy the class more.
Portfolios
At the end of the term, you will submit a final portfolio that contains a minimum of
two revised essays and one final in-class essay (your instructor may have additional
requirements). Your portfolio will be evaluated by your instructor and another
member of the English Department. The work in your portfolio should be carefully
selected and well presented, and it should show control of all the course objectives.
All assignments must be completed before you may submit a final portfolio.
Grading
ENGL 095 is a “Pass/No Credit” course. Your grade for the course will be based on
your final portfolio, class attendance, participation, and meeting deadlines.
You will receive one of the following grades for ENGL 095:
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P (pass) A grade of P means that the writing in your portfolio demonstrates control of
the course objectives and that you have met all the course requirements
(attendance, assignments, class participation, required Writing Center
appointments, etc.).
NC (No Credit) A grade of NC means that the writing in your portfolio does not
demonstrate control of the course objectives or that you have not met all the
course requirements (attendance, assignments, class participation, required
Writing Center appointments, etc.).
Course Referral
In addition to assigning a grade for the course, your instructor will also recommend
the next Writing class that best meets your needs and abilities.
ENGL 121
Students who receive a grade of P will be recommended for
ENGL 121.
ENGL 094/097 Students who have met all the course requirements (attendance,
assignments, class participation, required Writing Center
appointments, etc.), but whose portfolio does not demonstrate control
of all the course objectives, may be recommended for either ENGL
094 or ENGL 097. These courses offer individual instruction with an
emphasis on each student’s unique writing needs. At the completion
of ENGL 094 or ENGL 097, your portfolio will be reevaluated for
placement into ENGL 121 or ENGL 095.
ENGL 095
Students who receive a grade of NC will be required to repeat
ENGL 095.
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Available Support
Writing Center
A Writing Center appointment assures you of individual instruction. Writing Center
learning assistants can help you at any stage of the writing process, whether you’ve just
started a draft or you’ve already finished a draft and are ready to revise. These
conferences will help you build on skills you've practiced in class and help you develop
new skills to use when revising and proofreading your essays.
You may choose any day or time that is convenient for you, but you will need to make
an appointment to meet with a learning assistant.
Location:
Phone:
Hours:
LAH 118
732-224-2941
Monday through Thursday
Friday
Saturday
9:00 AM to 8:00 PM
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Phone the Center for available hours.
Writing Center learning assistants are also available at the Brookdale Higher Education
Centers in Bayshore, Freehold, Long Branch, Asbury Park, and Wall.
Making Writing Center Appointments
Writing students must use TutorTrac to schedule and cancel Writing Center
appointments. TutorTrac is the Web-based appointment scheduling, tracking, and
reporting software used by the Brookdale Community College Writing Centers (Lincroft,
Asbury Park, Bayshore, Long Branch, Western Monmouth-Freehold, and Wall).
To schedule or cancel a Writing Center appointment, go online using any Internet
browser (Explorer must be version 5.5 or higher) and type in the following Web address
to go to the TutorTrac login screen: http://tutortrac.brookdalecc.edu
Enter User Name: Your first initial followed by your last name (no spaces, all
lowercase).
Enter Password: The last 6-digits only of your Brookdale Community College ID
number (located on the front of your student ID card and the upper left corner of your
class schedule).
Detailed TutorTrac instructions are available in the Writing Centers and on the English
Department Web page.
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Computer Access
Computers are available at the following locations:
•
•
The Writing Center (LAH 118)
Library
Notification of Services for Students with Disabilities
Brookdale Community College provides support services for all students.
If you have a documented disability and would like to request accommodations and/or
academic adjustments, contact the Disability Services Office at (732) 224-2730 or TTY
732-842-4211.
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Appendix B
Disability Services
Alert Form
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Semester: 06FA
ALERT
TO:
INSTRUCTOR or RECIPIENT
FROM:
Elaine Foley, Director of Disability Services
RE:
Student Name
ID#:
This student is giving notification of his/her disability and is entitled only to the
accommodations listed below unless the integrity of the course is jeopardized.
List of Accommodations
This student has been informed that before accommodations can be provided, it is his/her
responsibility to discuss accommodation arrangements with the instructor or recipient.
If you have any questions please call me at X2729.
INSTRUCTOR / RECIPIENT:
1. Upon receipt, have the student sign and date this form.
Student’s signature: _____________________Date:_________________
2. Please check the accommodations above to indicate which the student used in
your course.
THIS FORM MUST BE SIGNED BY THE INSTRUCTOR/RECIPIENT AND
RETURNED TO DISABILITY SERVICES AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR COOPERATION.
Instructor/Recipient Signature ______________________________________________
Course/Section _________________________________________________________
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Appendix C
Basic Skills Waiver Form
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BROOKDALE.
COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
BASIC SKILLS WAIVER FORM
_______________________________________________________________________
Student Name
ID number
Date
is waived
from English 095. Indicate test results and/or other reasons
for waiver:
is not waived from English 095. Check recommendation:
Indicate test results and/or other reasons for
recommendation.
English 093
English 095
Accelerated 095/121
Other
__________________________________________________
Faculty/Learning Assistant Signature
Date
Please inform students that this is not a Drop/Add Form and that such a form needs
to be filled out.
DISTRIBUTION: White-Writing Center (please attach a copy of the writing sample);
Yellow-Faculty; Pink-Student
STUDENTS: Please bring a copy of this form when you meet with a counselor.
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Appendix D
095 Referral Form
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ENGLISH 095 – REFERRAL FORM
Student Name:
English 095 Instructor:
Student ID Number:
Instructor e-mail and phone:
Address:
English 095 Section:
Phone:
Semester (Term/Year):
Counselor or Counseling Area:
. The student must take:
This student’s grade for English 095 was a
English 094: Writing Skills Lab (2 credit course)
English 097: Seminar in College Writing Strategies (3 credit course)
English 093: Discovery Through Writing (3 credit course)*
Appropriate ESL Course (3 credit course)**
TO INSTRUCTORS: See the reverse for descriptions of the courses students can be
referred to from ENGL 095. In addition, please consult the placement guidelines and
show the student’s portfolio to the 094 coordinator or 097 instructor before placing your
student in either of these courses.
After confirming placement, send copies of this completed form to the student and
the 094/097 instructor (with portfolio) and keep one for your files.
List Specific Writing Objectives for Students Registering in English 094 or English 097:
1.
2.
3.
TO STUDENTS: REGISTER EARLY – THESE CLASSES HAVE LIMITED SPACE
If you are registering for English 094: Your registration form must be signed by the
094 Coordinator in the Writing Lab (LAH 118) and stamped in the English Division
Office (LAH 131) before you meet with a counselor.
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If you are registering for English 097: When registering, please bring this referral form to
a counselor and to registration.
You must register for either of these courses within the two semesters following the
semester that you took English 095 or you must repeat English 095.
094 Description for Referral
Students are better served by English 094 if
•
They benefit more from one-to-one learning rather than from the classroom
because of their learning style
OR
•
What they need to learn is so individualized that it would make more sense to
work on it one-to-one rather than in a class
Typical 094 referrals are students who have difficulty following directions in class, those
who need class material presented in a different way, those who make more noticeable
improvement in their work after lab appointments, or those who have English as second
language concerns. However, any student being referred to English 094 must have good
student skills – that is, he/she attends class and lab regularly, completes assignments on
time, etc. This self-discipline is necessary to succeed in the course.
097 Description for Referral
Students are better served by English 097 if they meet the following criteria.
•
They benefit from a classroom environment where they feel comfortable engaging
in small group and large group activities
•
They benefit from a classroom setting where the instructor provides suggestions
and feedback while the students are engaged in the different stages of the writing
process.
•
They benefit from an individualized set of OBJECTIVES that addresses their
specific writing needs.
Students should be referred to English 097 if they follow instructions well, but may need
a more individualized set of objectives and may need class material presented in a
different way than it was presented in English 095. However, any student being referred
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to English 097 must show that he or she has good student skills. The student who is
referred to English 097 attends class and lab regularly, completes assignments on time,
and so on while in English 095. Strong student skills are essential to succeed in English
097.
*Typically a student would be referred to ENGL 093 at the beginning of the term after a writing
sample from the student shows extremely weak development and/or major clarity problems. Rarely
is a student referred to ENGL 093 after completing ENGL 095; however, contact your mentor, the
coordinator for ENGL 095, or the Basic Skills coordinator if you believe the student is struggling
with extensive shortcomings in development and/or clarity and would be served better in an ENGL
093 setting.
**If referring a student to an ESL course, speak to the ESL Coordinator for approval.
Updated 2006
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Appendix E
Extended List
of
Journal Topics
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Extended List of Journal Topics
Some of these journal topics have been useful for generating writing in 095 classes.
These topics can be used for individual journal assignments, as freewriting for short inclass papers, and as Writing Center assignments (which can serve as part of an ongoing
piece of writing). Any one of them might be developed further into a more formal paper.
Those topics that require more speculative writing should be used later in the semester
when the students may be better able to handle this type of writing.
When assigning new journal topics, please remember to inform students about where this
assignment will be going next. Will students be required to share their writings with the
class (in small groups or in the large group)? Is this assignment just for private
reflection? Letting students know up front what your intentions are will keep students
informed and will contribute to creating a safe environment for productive teaching and
learning.
1.
The Best – Using as many sensory and specific details, freewrite about the best
present you have ever received. Why was it the best? Under what circumstances
did you receive it? Who gave it to you? etc. …
2.
Colors – What colors do you most often wear and why? Do you seem to prefer
these colors for other purposes (decorative objects, car choice, etc.)? What does
color choice say about you? Have you changed color preference? What might
this say about you?
3.
Make Your Own Film – Freewrite about one 24 hour period during the coming
week. Write about your day’s activities. Include your feelings, thoughts and
reactions as well. Imagine you have a movie camera and you are making a
“film”. When you have completed the freewriting, write a one-sentence
generalization describing the kind of day you experienced (busy, boring, exciting,
etc.).
4.
Escape – How do you escape? What activity (or activities) helps you get away
from yourself or your responsibilities? Describe the activity (eating, watching
TV, driving, piano-playing) by imagining that you are in that situation. Write the
details. What do you do? Who are you with? What are you likely to wear?
What is your environment like?
5.
Portrait of a Person – Think of a close friend or family member who could be
described in depth. Use clustering or brainstorming to list characteristics of this
person. Freewrite, creating a portrait so that someone who does not know the
person can get a clear picture of their physical characteristics and personality
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traits. Explain how that person is “connected” to you through examples of your
interactions.
6.
Riches to Rags? – Suppose you were suddenly reduced to complete poverty.
What things in your possession or lifestyle would you struggle hardest to
preserve? Why would you choose these particular things? Include your feelings
as you freewrite.
7.
Winter Emotions – Winter can bring on a number of emotions. For example,
some people find that the cold and snow make them feel peaceful. Others find
that they feel depressed. Describe a winter scene so that you show how winter
makes you feel. Include specific details.
8.
Amnesia – You are in good health except you are afflicted with amnesia. You
have forgotten who you are, your name, your roles, past experience, etc. Your
world is a brand new place. Look around you and explore your world on paper.
Use all your senses. Describe your outside (and inside) environment. Include
where you live, what you do, where you go, and so on.
9.
Secret Childhood Spot – Describe a secret childhood spot. Use as many sense
details as you can in your description. Show how this was important in your
growing years. Who shared it with you? How often did you go there? What did
you do there? Have you ever gone back?
10.
Saturday – Write down as much information as you can on this subject. What
does this day mean to you? Does it have a special meaning? How do you usually
spend time on Saturdays?
11.
Productive Time of Day – What is your most productive time of day? When do
you seem to act the most alert and get the most accomplished? What kinds of
things do you become involved in? Freewrite and use concrete images and
details.
12.
Exciting Party or Gathering – Describe an exciting or boring party or gathering.
What made this situation special? Consider the people, place, conversation,
topics, and refreshments when you describe this event.
13.
4:00 A.M. in the Morning – It’s 4:00 A.M. Friday night and you can’t sleep.
Tomorrow in the day you’ll be:
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
walking down the aisle
competing in a race
joining the army
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ƒ
facing ANY situation you’ve never faced before
What is going through your mind? Write about what you are thinking, how you
are feeling, and what you’re doing at 4:00 A.M. in the morning.
14.
The License Bureau – Do you want to do something now? Do you want to do
something you’ve been promising yourself for a long time, but haven’t gotten
around to? Isn’t there something you’ve been “dying to try?” Write yourself a
license! Freewrite about what this license is for, and whatever conditions you
would require to make it happen, to protect yourself, to make it worthwhile.
15.
Hometown – What do you think is the most unique feature of your hometown?
Why is this a special feature? Describe your hometown and this special feature in
detail.
16.
Experience – Write about your best or worst experience during the last few
weeks. Where were you? Who was there? What happened? Give concrete
details about this experience.
17.
Generalizations – Politicians are crooks! Musicians are dope addicts! Teenagers
are irresponsible! Generalizations are dangerous! Think about people in your
own life. Can you think of a generalization which can be proven false with an
example of someone you know? Show a person who does not fit this
generalization. Use examples to support your point.
18.
How Others See Me – List several people in your journal who are close to you or
acquainted with you (e.g. mother, boyfriend, girlfriend, employer). On separate
pages in your journal write an introduction of yourself from that person’s point of
view. Imagine seeing yourself through the eyes of that person and describe
yourself fully. Focus on a specific event that might come to that person’s mind.
19.
Object – Imagine you are an object. Be a specific object in a specific place and
write about your perceptions as this object. How do you feel? What do you look
like? How do you behave? As the object, what do you make of “you” the
person? Give details.
20.
Parents/Kids – “Parents harm their children in the long run by making their lives
too easy”. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Show (with examples)
why you disagree or agree. Consider your own parents, you as a parent, families
you have closely observed.
21.
Current Condition of Your Home -- Picture your home. List 10 things (no matter
how large or small, impossible or not) that you would like changed about your
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home. If you could change some of these at the snap of a finger, what 2 would
you choose? How would you change them? What would this involve? How long
would it take? Freewrite about these changes for 15 minutes.
22.
Why Read? – Make a list in your journal of all the uses for reading. Flash
through moments in your day and think of instances that cause you to read (even
the slightest bit). Freewrite about how reading is important to you. Use these
examples to support your statement. Why read?
23.
Myth About Your Age – How old are you? Are there generalizations about
people your own age? Describe the biggest myth about people your age. Do you
feel these are fairly accurate assumptions. Why or why not? Do you fit into this
category? Give examples and specific details when you freewrite.
24.
Astrological Sign – Write your astrological sign at the top of the page and forget
everything that you know about astrology. Now make a list of everything you
WANT your sign to stand for. Freewrite about this for 10-15 minutes.
25.
Dream Record – Write about a dream you have had recently. It may be a
recurring dream or one that has had a powerful impact on you for one reason or
another. Use as many visual details as you can. Did you encounter friendly
figures? Enemies in your dreams? Where were you? What did you do? Try to
remember as much about the dream as possible, and even speculate about why
you may have dreamed this particular dream.
26.
Favorite Food – Where do you get your favorite coffee, pizza, beer, etc. in town?
Why do you like this particular food at this particular place? Do other people
share your enthusiasm? Why? Why not? Where else have you had this food?
Why is this one “the best”? Under what conditions?
27.
Trust/Distrust –Think of a person you trust or distrust. Narrate an incident that
SHOWS why you trust or distrust that person. Use specific details.
28.
Television/Childhood – What TV program do you remember most vividly from
your childhood? Choose the one you can write the most about. Describe the
show. Under what conditions did you watch it? With whom? How often?
29.
Super Product – You have a super product to sell. If you don’t sell it, no one else
will because you are the only one who knows anything about it! What is it? Why
is it super? How would you market it? Who would most benefit from it?
30.
Romantic – Describe a gift, a place, a setting that is particularly romantic. Be
specific and use details in this description.
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31.
Putting Things Off To The last Minute – What kinds of things do you put off to
the last minute? Make a list – even the littlest things count. Choose one thing and
explain more about it in detail.
32.
Bizarre Actions – Make a list of the funniest or most bizarre things you have ever
done. Only list the things that are really far-fetched. Use details to expand one of
the things. Who was there? Where were you? What kind of a day was it?
33.
Crying – When is the last time you cried hard over something? Can you recreate
the moment in your mind before you write? Write out the specific details of the
moment. Show the scene or events with your words.
34.
Desolate Place – As fully as possible, write a description of the most desolate
place you have ever been. Use your senses to find the details. What did it look,
smell, sound, feel, and taste like? Show this.
35.
Fame – If you could be famous for one thing, what would it be? Be very specific
and show how your accomplishment would make a difference to one particular
person. Is it a character trait, performance, invention?
36.
Halloween Costume – Describe a costume in detail that would best suit your
personality if you were invited to a Halloween party. Show how your costume
illustrates your real personality.
37.
Worst Movie – What is the worst movie you have ever seen? If it was so bad,
why do you remember it? Do you just generally not like movies like this? What
was the story? Give details.
38.
Quiet Places – Write down whatever comes to mind when you hear this phrase.
List as many places as you can, then choose one place and give a detailed
description of it.
39.
Room/Home Uniquely Yours – What makes your room, apartment, home, etc.,
uniquely yours? Write a description of this place and include details to show
what it looks like.
40.
Television vs. Live Coverage – Do you prefer to watch a sports event, concert,
variety show, play, etc. on TV or in person? Why? Describe one example in
detail to illustrate your point.
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41.
Invisible – Can you recall a time when you wished you were invisible? When
was it and why did you wish no one could see you? Imagine you are capable of
becoming invisible now. What would you do that you ordinarily wouldn’t do?
42.
The Messiest Place – Write a description of the messiest place you ever saw.
How did it get that way? Give specific details of what it looked like.
43.
Create a Scene – Create a vivid scene using concrete details where a waitress is
serving 15 children (7-10 year olds) at a birthday party. Describe everything.
44.
Changes – Write about one incident or experience that changed your family in a
negative or positive way. Use concrete details to describe and SHOW how it
affected your life.
45.
Circumstances – Have you been in a situation where you were unable to control
the outcome? Write about an experience that shows circumstances over which
you had no control. Be specific.
46.
Drugs/Alcohol – What comes to mind when you hear these words? Do you see
problems related to drug or alcohol use? How do you feel about drug/alcohol
education in schools? At what level?
47.
The Hitchhiker – Describe a person who you would or would not pick up
hitchhiking. Use specific details to show the reason for your decision.
48.
Hypocrite! – Do you know a hypocrite? Using specific details and dialogue,
describe this person. Remember a single situation when you especially believed
that this person was hypocritical. SHOW the person through your writing.
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Appendix F
Sample Essay with
Instructor Comments
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To Be Provided
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Appendix G
Sample Passing
Final Portfolio
Essay
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To Be Provided
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Appendix H
Sample Portfolio Essays
That Are Not Passing
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To Be Provided
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--128
Selected
Bibliography
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--130
Selected Bibliography
Atwell, Nancie. In the Middle. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1987.
Belanoff, Pat and Peter Elbow. Sharing and Responding. New York: McGraw-Hill,
1995.
Berthoff, Ann. The Making of Meaning: Metaphors, Models, and Maxims for Writing
Teachers. Montclair NJ: Boynton/Cook, 1981.
Britton, James. Language and Learning. London, England: Penguin Books, 1970.
Cameron, Julia and Mark Bryan. The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher
Creativity. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1992.
Dickson, Marcia. It’s Not Like That Here: Teaching Academic Writing and Reading to
Novice Writers. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook-Heinemann, 1995.
Elbow, Peter. Writing Without Teachers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973.
Emig, Janet. The Web of Meaning: Essays on Writing, Teaching, and Learning. Upper
Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook, 1983.
Goldberg, Natalie. Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life. New York: Bantam, 1990.
_______. Writing Down the Bones. Boston: Shambhala, 1986.
Hall, Donald. Writing Well. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
Heard, Georgia. Writing Toward Home: Tales and Lessons to Find Your Way.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1995.
Horner, Bruce and Min-Zhan Lu. Representing the “Other”: Basic Writers and the
Teaching of Basic Writing. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1999.
Lindemann, Erika. A Rhetoric for Writing Teachers. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1987.
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Mayher, John. Uncommon Sense. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1990
Murray, Donald. Learning By Teaching. Upper Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook, 1982.
______. Read to Write: A Writing Process Reader. New York: Holt-Rinehart Winston,
1986.
______. Shoptalk: Learning to Write with Writers, Exeter, NH: Heinemann Educational
Books, 1990.
______. Write to Learn. New York: Holt-Rinehart Winston, 1984.
Mutnick, Deborah. Writing in an Alien World: Basic Writing and the Struggle for
Equality in Higher Education. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1996.
Rico, Gabriele. Writing the Natural Way. Los Angeles, California: J.P. Tarcher, Inc.
1983.
Reither, James. “Writing and Knowing: Towards Redefining the Writing Process.” In
The Writing Teacher’s Sourcebook 4th Edition. New York: Oxford, 2000, 286293.
Schon, Donald A. The Reflective Practitioner. New York: HarperCollins, 1983.
Schwartz, Mimi. Writing for Many Roles. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1985.
Strunk, William, Jr. and E.B. White: Elements of Style. New York: Macmillan, 1979.
Yancey, Kathleen Blake, ed. Portfolios in the Writing Classroom. Urbana, Illinois:
NCTE, 1992.
Zinsser, William. On Writing Well. New York: HarperCollins, 1990.
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