Instructor: Paula Messina
Office: DH 307
Phone: 408/924-5027
E-Mail: pmessina@geosun1.sjsu.edu
Spring '99 Office Hours: M,W 16:00-17:00 and by appointment
Course Objectives:
The purpose of this course is to improve your written communication skills through a variety of writing, revising, and editing assignments, and through discussion of the general principles of literary style and English grammar. College-level writing and current research methodologies will be developed for both technical- and popular-audience works.
It is a requirement of the University that students of 100W courses
write a cumulative total of 8,000 words of text; this translates into roughly
32 typewritten pages, some of which will be composed in class.
Required Text:
None, but I recommend you own a basic reference work such as:
Hodges, J.C., Horner, W. B., Webb, S. S.
and Miller, R. K.
Harbrace
College Handbook With 1998 MLA Style Manual Updates: HBJ College &
School Division.
Jordan, Lewis (Ed.). The New York
Times Manual of Style and
Usage:
Times Books.
Strunk, W., Jr., and White, E. B. The
Elements of Style:
McMillan.
You may also consult online sources, such as:
An MLA Guide for Writing
Research
Papers
Grammar and Style
Notes (Prof. Jack
Lynch, University of
Pennsylvania)
Required materials:
You must use a computer printer (preferred) or typewriter (remember them?) for all written assignments. You will need pen/pencil and paper for in-class assignments.
Prerequisites:
To get credit for this course you must have passed the writing skills
test.
Attendance:
Since active participation in discussions and in-class assignments are
course requirements, regular attendance is expected. Please discuss any
expected absences with me, since make-up assignments may be required. At
least one field trip to the USGS Library will be conducted during class
time; your attendance is required.
Grading:
All written assignments will be assessed for organization, correctness,
and clarity. The content of written work will not be evaluated!
Paper I (due Feb. 8,
1999)
5%
Revision of Paper I (due February 15, 1999)
5%
Bibliography (due February 22,
1999)
5%
Revision of Bibliography (due March 3, 1999)
5%
Paper II (due March 10,
1999)
10%
Revision of Paper II (due April 5, 1999)
10%
Paper III (due April 19,
1999)
10%
Revision of Paper III (due May 3,
1999)
10%
Paper IV (see paper description for due
date)
5%
Revision of Paper IV (due one week after return of draft)
5%
Résumé (due May 5,
1999)
5%
Revision of résumé (due May 12,
1999)
10%
In-class assignments/discussion participation
15%
Note: The above dates indicate when assignments are due. Barring a written medical excuse, late assignments will receive grades one rank lower for every day late. (For example, if a student turns in an A-quality "Paper III" on April 16, it will receive a grade of C.)
Since students enter this class with a range of writing talents, consideration
will be given to the amount of improvement demonstrated over course of
the semester.
It is the policy of the
University and this Department that a course may not be dropped after February
22, 1999. Furthermore, courses must be officially dropped before February
12 in order to obtain a refund. After February 22, dropping a course is
permissible only for serious and compelling reasons. See Schedule
of Classes for details.
Tentative Schedule
Since in-class assignments will be partly based on students' needs,
topics will vary. This schedule contains only the due dates for papers.
Any changes to this schedule will be announced in class, and posted
on this website.
| Monday | Wednesday |
| 1/27/99 | |
| 2/1/99 | 2/3/99: USGS Library Field Trip |
| 2/8/99: Paper I due. | 2/10/99 |
| 2/15/99: Revision of Paper I due | 2/17/99 *** |
| 2/22/99: Bibliography due | 2/24/99 (No class) |
| 3/1/99 | 3/3/99 Revision of Bibliography due |
| 3/8/99 | 3/10/99 Paper II due |
| 3/15/99 | 3/17/99 |
| 3/22/99 (No class) | 3/24/99 (No class) |
| 3/29/99 (No class: Spring Break) | 3/31/99 (No class: Spring Break) |
| 4/5/99 Revision of Paper II due | 4/7/99 |
| 4/12/99 | 4/14/99 |
| 4/19/99Paper III due | 4/21/99 Last day to turn in Paper IV How to Write an Abstract |
| 4/26/99Abstract Writing (con'd) | 4/28/99Abstract Writing (con'd) How to write a resume |
| 5/3/99 | 5/5/99 Resume due |
| 5/10/99 | 5/12/99Revision of Resume due |
| 5/17/99 |