LECTURE NOTES Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing Seventh Edition Pamela Arlov, Middle Georgia State University Prepared by Pamela Arlov Middle Georgia State University Kathy Zuo Harper College iv TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Note to Instructors 1 II. Sample Syllabi Sample Sixteen- Week Syllabus 5 Sample Fourteen- Week Syllabus 7 Sample Twelve-Week Syllabus 9 III. Teaching Strategies with Supplementary Materials Part 1 Composition: Chapters 1–11 10 Part 2 Grammar: Chapters 12–28 96 vii DEVELOPMENTAL WRITING INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES Pearson is pleased to offer a variety of support materials to help make teaching developmental English easier on teachers and to help students excel in their coursework. Many of our student supplements are available free or at a greatly reduced price when packaged with a Pearson writing textbook. Contact your local Pearson sales representative for more information on pricing and how to create a package. The Pearson Developmental Writing PowerPoints (978-0-205-75219-5) To complement face-to-face and online courses, The Pearson Developmental Writing PowerPoint resource provides overviews on all the elements of writing an effective essay. This pedagogically sound PowerPoint guide will provide instructors and students with informative slides on writing patterns – classification, cause/effect, argument, etc. – and common grammatical errors, with questions and answers included. The Pearson Test Bank for Developmental Writing—available via the Instructor Resource Center ONLY (978-0-321-08486-6) This test bank features more than 5,000 questions in all areas of writing. In addition to extensive grammar practice, the test bank covers paragraphs and essays, including such topics as the writing process and documentation. Instructors simply log on to the Instructor Resource Center (IRC) to download and print the tests of their choice. Generic Developmental Writing MyTest (online only) (978-0-205-79834-9) This test bank features more than 5,000 questions in all areas of writing, from grammar to paragraphing through essay writing, research, and documentation. Through this instructor friendly program instructors are able to edit these questions and tests to suit their classroom needs and are also allowed more flexibility to manage assessments at any time Arlov Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing 7e Instructor’s Resource Manual Note to Instructors 1 Note to Instructors Welcome to an exciting teaching adventure! Pamela Arlov has created a practical, comprehensive, instructor- and student-friendly textbook. Your choice of this text should lead to success for your students by providing many opportunities for studying integrated reading and writing, various creative and interactive activities, as well as numerous methods for assessing student learning. Suggestions for Working with Students Working with developmental students requires some special considerations. According to the National Center for Developmental Education, “The field of developmental education supports the academic and personal growth of underprepared college students through instruction, counseling, advising, and tutoring. The clients of developmental education programs are traditional and nontraditional students who have been assessed as needing to develop their skills in order to be successful in college.” First, developmental students often have had either no experience or negative (failing) experiences with higher education. Therefore, instructors may need to be part cheerleader, part instructor, telling students: • “You can achieve.” • “You can learn.” • “Instructors and support staff are ready and willing to help you.” Second, many developmental students are lacking in student and study skills. Thus, instructors should support them in these areas. One way to help is to establish policies to build positive student skills through an attendance policy and requirements for out-of-class work. These policies will foster students’ understanding of what is required of them and what it means to be a college student. Instructors should provide a syllabus that clearly states policies and expectations and should reinforce those policies in class. For instance, instructors who want students to bring a textbook to class every meeting should say so. Students who lack student skills and experience in higher education may not think of bringing a text to class. Likewise, an instructor who does not want students to text in class should make that class policy clear. To help with study skills, instructors can do several things for students. Instructors can help students with composition by focusing on the writing process, offering frequent feedback, teaching revision strategies, and scheduling individual conferences to discuss progress with steps in the process toward final drafts. Students benefit from frequent opportunities to write both graded and ungraded papers. Journals, whether used as in-class or outside-of-class writing, provide valuable practice and prewriting materials. For help with study skills in general, students can be directed to resources such as tutoring, writing centers, and even disability services. Also, Arlov Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing 7e Instructor’s Resource Manual Note to Instructors 2 instructors should encourage students to become involved with study groups and other campus activities. Suggestions for Instructors Remember to have fun! If you enjoy the teaching, your students are more likely to enjoy the learning. Don’t be afraid to try new strategies and materials. What might not succeed for one class or group of students may work brilliantly for another. Use students’ competitive spirits to help them learn. Often students will work harder and more willingly to learn when you involve them in competitive activities. Several are suggested in this instructor’s resource manual. Feel free to adapt materials and strategies. For instance, some institutions are streamlining developmental education to move students through the coursework more rapidly, and some are moving toward a modular system—brief courses that cover one or two skills or concepts. In this situation, instructors can still effectively use Arlov’s Wordsmith: Guide to College Writing . They would simply pull from the text those skills covered in the module being taught. Avoid overloading students. Identify those concepts you believe your students need to know and focus on those. Connect with other instructors. Collaborate within your school and region. Share and learn from each other. And become or stay involved with your professional organizations, such as National Association for Developmental Education. These connections are vital; they energize us and help us to grow. In This Manual In this manual, you will find sample syllabi for 12-, 14-, and 16-week terms. While these plans are available for your convenience, don’t be afraid to make the course your own. Adapt the plan to suit your students and your preferences. To support your teaching, resources in two sections, composition and grammar, follow the syllabi. Included in the resources for each chapter in the textbook are teaching strategies, a review of the chapter, handouts or worksheets, and answers to these supplementary materials. In addition to this manual, there is a test bank which includes three tests for each chapter in the textbook along with a 50-item grammar pretest and posttest. Both the pretest and posttest are keyed to the grammar chapters in the textbook, so instructors may use the pretest as a diagnostic tool. Likewise, instructors may use the pretest and posttest scores to mark achievement of students. Arlov Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing 7e Instructor’s Resource Manual Note to Instructors 3 In the test bank, you will also find answer keys for the chapter tests as well as the pretest and posttest. We hope these supplemental materials are useful for you and your students. We thank Pamela Arlov for an excellent textbook, and we thank you for your dedication to our profession. Enjoy the adventure! Jennifer Leigh and Darlene Smith-Worthington Arlov Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing 7e Instructor’s Resource Manual Note to Instructors 4 Works Cited National Center for Developmental Education: Improving the Quality of Practice in Postsecondary Developmental Education. Appalachian State U, 2011. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing 7e Instructor’s Resource Manual Sample Syllabi 5 Sample Sixteen-Week Syllabus Week # Composition Chapters Grammar Chapters Readings Writing Assignments 1 Ch. 1, The Writing Process Ch. 2, Preparing to Write Warm-up paragraphs 2 Ch. 3, Building a Framework Ch. 8, Description, Narration, and Example Ch. 12, Verbs and Subjects “Letting in Light” (description and narration) Prewrite and outline description essay 3 Ch. 4, Introducing the Essay Ch. 5, Developing Body Paragraphs Ch. 13, Subject-verb Agreement Ch. 21, Verb Shifts Draft of description essay, prewrite and outline narrative essay 4 Ch. 6, Concluding the Essay Ch. 7, Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting Ch. 16, Sentence Fragments ““Our Vanishing Night” and Letting Go” (narration and examples) Revise description essay, draft of narrative essay 5 Ch. 14, Coordination and Subordination Ch. 15, Run-on Sentences Revise narrative essay, prewrite and outline examples essay 6 Ch. 9, Definition, Classification, and Process—focus on definition Ch. 17, Pronoun Case “The Black Table is Still There” (definition) Draft examples essay, prewrite and outline of definition essay 7 Ch. 18, Pronoun Agreement, Reference, and Point of View “Date Rape: Exposing Dangerous Myths” (definition and classification) Revise examples essay, draft definition essay 8 Ch. 9, cont.—focus on classification Ch. 19, Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers Revise definition essay, prewrite and outline classification essay 9 Ch. 9, cont.—focus on process Ch. 23, Commas Ch. 20, Parallel Structure Draft classification essay, prewrite and outline process essay 10 Ch. 22, Sentences with Style “Some Things About That Day” (process) Revise classification essay, draft process essay 11 Ch. 10, Comparison- Contrast, Cause-Effect, and Argument—focus on comparison-contrast Ch. 25, Word Choice Revise process essay, prewrite and outline of comparison-contrast essay Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing 7e Instructor’s Resource Manual Sample Syllabi 6 12 Ch. 10, cont. — focus on cause-effect Ch. 26, Words Commonly Confused “Curing Social Media Blues” (cause-effect) Draft comparison- contrast essay, prewrite and outline of cause-effect essay 13 Ch. 27, Capitalization Revise comparison- contrast essay, draft of cause-effect essay 14 Ch. 10, cont.—focus on argument Ch. 24, Other Punctuation “Is National Service a Cure for America’s Woes?” (cause-effect, argument) Revise cause-effect essay, prewrite and outline argument essay 15 Ch. 11, Writing a Research Paper Ch.28 Apostrophes “I was Just Wondering… Was it Me or My Sari” (cause-effect, argument?) Draft argument essay, find one outside source to use to support argument essay 16 Ch. 11, cont.—review paraphrasing Revise argument essay Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing 7e Instructor’s Resource Manual Sample Syllabi 7 Sample Fourteen-Week Syllabus Week # Composition Chapters Grammar Chapters Readings Writing Assignments 1 Ch. 1, The Writing Process Ch. 2, Preparing to Write Ch. 12, Verbs and Subjects Warm-up paragraphs 2 Ch. 3, Building a Framework Ch. 8, Description, Narration, and Examples Ch. 13, Subject-verb Agreement “Our Vanishing Night and Letting Go” (description and narration) Prewriting and outline of description essay 3 Ch. 4, Introducing the Essay Ch. 5, Developing Body Paragraphs Ch. 6, Concluding the Essay Ch. 16, Sentence Fragments Ch. 21, Verb Shifts “The Story of an Hour” (narration) Draft of description essay, prewrite and outline narrative essay 4 Ch. 7, Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting Ch. 14, Coordination and Subordination Ch. 15, Run-on Sentences “The ‘Black Table’ Is Still There” (narration and examples) Revise description essay, draft narrative essay 5 Ch. 17, Pronoun Case Revise narrative essay, prewrite and outline examples essay 6 Ch. 9, Definition, Classification, and Process—focus on definition Ch. 18, Pronoun Agreement, Reference, and Point of View Draft examples essay, prewrite and outline definition essay 7 Ch. 19, Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers “Date Rape: Exposing Dangerous Myths” (definition and classification) Revise examples essay, draft definition essay 8 Ch. 9, cont.—focus on classification Ch. 20, Parallel Structure Ch. 23, Commas Revise definition essay, prewrite and outline classification essay f9 Ch. 10, Comparison- Contrast, Cause-Effect, and Argument—focus on comparison-contrast Ch. 22, Sentences with Style Ch. 25, Word Choice (comparison- contrast) Draft classification essay, prewrite and outline comparison-contrast essay 10 Ch. 26, Words Commonly Confused “Curbing the Social Media Blues” (cause-effect, argumentation) Revise classification essay, draft comparison- contrast essay Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing 7e Instructor’s Resource Manual Sample Syllabi 8 11 Ch. 24, Other Punctuation “Is National Service a Cure for America’s Woes?” (cause-effect, argument) Revise comparison- contrast essay, prewrite and outline cause-effect essay 12 Ch. 10, cont.—focus on cause-effect Ch. 27, Capitalization “I was Just Wondering… Was it Me or My Sari” (cause-effect, argument?) D raf t cause - effect essay, prewrite and outline argument essay 13 Ch. 11, Writing a Research Paper Ch.28, Apostrophe Draft argument essay, find one outside source to use to support argument essay 14 Ch. 11, cont.—review paraphrasing Revise argument essay Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing 7e Instructor’s Resource Manual Sample Syllabi 9 Sample Twelve-Week Syllabus Week # Composition Chapters Grammar Chapters Readings Writing Assignments 1 Ch. 1, The Writing Process Ch. 2, Preparing to Write Ch. 12, Verbs and Subjects Warm-up paragraphs 2 Ch. 3, Building a Framework Ch. 8, Description, Narration, and Examples Ch. 13, Subject-verb Agreement “Letting in Light” (description) Prewrite and outline description essay 3 Ch. 4, Introducing the Essay Ch. 5, Developing Body Paragraphs Ch. 6, Concluding the Essay Ch. 16, Sentence Fragments Ch. 21, Verb Shifts “The Story of an Hour” (narration) Draft description essay, prewrite and outline narration or examples essay 4 Ch. 7, Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting Ch. 14, Coordination and Subordination Ch. 15, Run-on Sentences Revise description essay, draft narration or example essay 5 Ch. 9, Definition, Classification, and Process—focus on definition Ch. 17, Pronoun Case Ch. 18, Pronoun Agreement, Reference, and Point of View “Our Vanishing Night” (example) Revise examples essay, prewrite and outline definition essay 6 Ch. 9, cont.—focus on classification Ch. 19, Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers “Date Rape: Exposing Dangerous Myths” (classification) Draft definition essay, prewrite and outline classification essay 7 Ch. 20, Parallel Structure Ch. 23, Commas Revise definition essay, draft classification essay 8 Ch. 10, Comparison- Contrast, Cause-Effect, and Argument—focus on comparison-contrast Ch. 22, Sentences with Style Ch. 25, Word Choice Revise classification essay, prewrite and outline comparison-contrast essay 9 Ch. 10, cont.—focus on cause-effect Ch. 24, Other Punctuation Ch. 27, Capitalization “Curbing Social Media Blues” (cause-effect) Draft of comparison- contrast essay, prewriting and outline of cause-effect essay 10 Ch. 26, Words Commonly Confused Revise comparison- contrast essay, draft of cause-effect essay 11 Ch. 10, cont.—focus on argument Ch. 28, Apostrophes “Is National Service a Cure for America’s Woes?” (argument) Revise cause-effect essay, prewrite and outline argument essay 12 Draft and revise argument essay Arlov Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing Instructor’s Resource Manual Teaching Strategies 10 Teaching Strategies with Supplementary Materials Teaching Strategies: Chapter 1, The Writing Process Learning Objectives: 1. Use a five-step writing process. 2. Identify the functions of a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a summary sentence. The Writing Process Help students to feel more comfortable about writing by reminding them that every writer approaches the process differently. You might even share your own typical process. Prewriting Because prewriting is the part of the process most beginning writers pay the least attention to, stress the benefits of an early start to prewriting. Be consistent in requiring prewriting for every writing assignment. Planning Planning is essential to good writing. While students may mistakenly believe that planning (or creating an outline) is a waste of time, tell students that careful planning almost always saves time in drafting. Some instructors refuse to allow students to move to the next stage without prewriting and planning. Drafting Remind students that drafting is a creative part of the writing process; they should not use their “critical” eyes at this point. The most important thing is to get all the good ideas on paper— without stopping for grammar, punctuation, or word choice. Some writers benefit from turning off the spelling and grammar checkers on their computers. Writers who have invested adequate time and energy in prewriting and planning should be able to follow the plan smoothly and easily. However, remind students who hit an occasional “block” to keep writing. Stopping or giving up in frustration doesn’t help. Arlov Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing Instructor’s Resource Manual Teaching Strategies 11 Revising Students need to understand that revising is not just correcting grammar and punctuation. Revising is looking at content and organization. It is determining if the paper says what the writer intended it to say. Encourage students to use their resources, such as classmates, tutors, or writing center staff, to learn about strengths and weaknesses of the draft. Encourage students to use a computer from the beginning to the end of the writing process. A student who has typed a paper will be more likely to try moving a paragraph to improve organization than a student who has handwritten his or her draft. The ability to move a paragraph with a few key strokes makes the option much easier and less time consuming. Proofreading Although proofreading provides the final polish to a piece of writing, students who procrastinate may not have time to give their papers this finishing touch. Remind them that spelling, grammar, and typographical errors may ruin the impression of an otherwise excellent paper. Activity: Have students work with a partner. The partner will read the paper aloud to the writer, allowing the writer to more clearly hear the message conveyed by the paper, as well as problems in grammar and syntax. The Writing Process: Carla’s Essay Use the development of Carla’s essay to demonstrate how one person works through the steps to create a paper. Activity: If time allows, demonstrate, using technology available (overhead, Smartboard, computer, and projector), the entire writing process. During the demonstration of this paper, remind students that the process is not always linear. In other words, some proofreading may take place during drafting, and some prewriting may occur even after a draft is developed. If You Hate the Thought of a Step-by-Step Approach . . . Use the six questions to help your students determine whether they are naturally left-brained or right-brained thinkers. This information may help them to understand what they need to do to maximize their abilities. Arlov Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing Instructor’s Resource Manual Teaching Strategies 12 Tips for Right-Brained Writers Encourage students who answered “yes” to three or more of the questions to use the tips offered for right-brained thinkers. Review of the Paragraph Before you introduce essay writing, lead your students through a review of the basic building block of an essay—the paragraph. Use “The Topic Sentence, the Supporting Sentences, and the Summary Sentence” to remind students that every piece of writing should have a beginning (topic sentence which introduces the subject and the perspective or point about that subject), a middle (supporting sentences which prove or develop the point stated in the topic sentence), and an end (the summary sentence or conclusion which brings the paragraph to a definite close).