August 2007 Archives

Revising an assignment means looking at it carefully and making significant changes to improve it. If there's something wrong with your car's engine, you can't solve the problem with a fresh coat of paint. Revision asks you to go beyond surface changes such as spelling and punctuation, and address big-picture issues such as focus, clarity, and audience. (See "Revision vs. Editing.")

In class today, you must have your MyCompLab access code (available for purchase from the bookstore). Please do not try to share someone else's access code -- only one of you will be able to take this test.

You will receive full credit (5% of the course grade) just for completing this pretest on time.

What is your single, most significant response to the words "college writing"? Rather than start churning out several different answers and listing them one after another until you have produced 200 words, focus on a single idea or response that most effectively reflects your response. About 200 words. Have an electronic version of your submission available in class on Thursday -- I will show you how to upload it to Turnitin.com. More details about the assignment follow.

We will look at the various online tools you will use during the semester -- Turnitin.com, Google Docs, and MyCompLab.

Welcome to LA 100, "Basic Composition." The course website is located at http://jerz.setonhill.edu/teachingLA100.

The official version of the syllabus is always the online version (though I will notify you in advance of any significant changes).

In Class

After introductions, we'll get started writing right away. I'll announce the topic in class.

For homework, revise your informal in-class writing into a polished paragraph, about 200 words, due the next time the class meets.  (See the P1 assignment page.)

Also for homework, make sure that you have purchased your own MyCompLab access code from the bookstore.