109 EL 2022 All Instructors

ENGL 109 EL

Note: This is a generic syllabus for the Extended Learning version of ENGL 109. Minor changes in the syllabus may be made in term offerings.

Course Description and Learning Outcomes

English 109 is designed to get you comfortable writing in an academic context, at the university level. You will learn about different forms of academic writing, as well as the processes that great writers engage in to create their best work. You will read texts to learn more about how they were written, and thus to improve your own writing. If you can do well in this class, you should be able to do well in all of your classes, because writing is always going to be a big part of what you do, regardless of your major. Even programs like engineering, or accounting, or geography include major writing assignments, especially in upper years, in part because they recognize that careers in those fields require far more writing than students might expect. 

Because we value learning as a social activity, and thus recognize that writers and readers learn from one another, much of your work in English 109 will involve different kinds of collaboration with your peers. You will learn to give helpful feedback on your peers' writing, and consider how to revise your own work based on the feedback you get in return. You will get to revise all of your writing times in response to feedback, and reflect on your strengths and challenges as you develop your skills as a writer.

We believe that this work of writing and reading rhetorically is an important process that takes place over time, so helping you develop a writing process plays an important part in this course. We will lead you through a series of activities to help you develop your major assignments, and you will receive marks for completing those activities as well as for the major assignments you submit.  

Course Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes of English 109 are:

  • to help you develop your abilities as a writer and reader of texts;
  • to help you to think critically and communicate effectively;
  • to learn and practice a variety of strategies for inventing, drafting, and editing texts written in different genres and for different audiences;
  • to help you learn to read rhetorically;
  • learn ways to adapt your writing to different situations, so that you can more effectively and more powerfully communicate; and
  • prepare you to succeed throughout your academic career, regardless of your discipline.

Grade Breakdown

Your mark in the course will be made up of the following components: 

Activities and Assignments Weight (%)
Weekly Activities 25%
Narrative  15%
Summary, Paraphrase, Quotation 5%
Research Report 10%
Argument 25%
Final Portfolio Project 20%

Assessment Overview

In every unit, there will be a series of small process activities designed to familiarize you with genre conventions and get you started on your own writing and revisions. These activities will generally be completed in discussion forums or in your PebblePad portfolio. You will receive points for these activities based on how thoroughly you complete them, and those points will be calculated into your "Writing Process Activities" grade. Doing these activities also prepares you to do well on your major assignments.

Success in this class depends on meeting all of the requirements, the quality of your written work, and your willingness to try new perspectives, to revise and rethink, and to take risks.

Many course pages also include activities embedded throughout the lecture content. These quick interactive elements provide opportunities to test your understanding of course concepts but are not graded. 

Materials and Resources

Textbook

You do not have to buy a textbook for this course. Most of the course readings are taken from the following OER textbooks, available free online, with links on the lesson pages in the course: 

  • Burnell, Carol, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear. The Word on College Reading and Writing. Open Oregon Educational Resoures, CC-BY-NC. https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/wrd/
  • Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Edited by Dana Driscoll, Mary K. Stewart, Matthew Vetter, et al. Parlor Press, 2021, CC-BY-NC-ND. https://writingspaces.org

On-Campus Resources

  • Library services for Co-op students on work term and students taking online courses
  • Writing and Communication Centre for online resource pages and consultations

Schedule

Fall 2022

ENGL 109 (EL): Course Schedule

The following schedule lists the course content pages and the activities and assignments associated with each page. See the content pages for required readings and more information about the activities and assignments.

Dates listed below indicate when activities and assignments must be submitted, but you should plan to start them well before the due date to give yourself enough time to complete them.

Submissions listed with a point value contribute towards your “Weekly Activities” mark. Percent values indicate the weight of assignment submissions towards your final grade.

Unit 1: Course Introduction (weeks 1-2)

Week

Topics and Submissions

Value

End/Due Date (11:55pm)

Week 1

Getting Started with this Course

1 point

Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 11:55pm

Submit: Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (Quiz)

Purpose and Audience

3 points

Friday, Sept. 9 at 11:55pm

Submit: Know your Syllabus (Quiz)

Tone, Style and Structure

2 points

Monday, Sept. 12 at 11:55pm

Submit: Introduce Yourself (Discussion)

Week 2

Getting Started on the Writing Process

3 points

Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 11:55pm

Submit: Brainstorming Practice (PebblePad)

The Feedback and Revision Loop

   

Reflecting

5 points

Monday, Sept. 19 at 11:55pm

Submit: Reflecting Practice (PebblePad)

Unit 2: Narratives (weeks 3-4)

Week

Topics and Submissions

Value

End/Due Date

Week 3

 Understanding Narratives

   

Work with a Sample

2 points

Friday, Sept. 23 at 11:55pm

Submit: Narrative Sample Suggestions (Discussion)

Your Turn: Draft Your Narrative

5 points

Monday, Sept. 26 at 11:55pm

Submit: Brainstorm your Narrative (PebblePad)

Week 4

 Post your Draft Narrative for Peer Review

2 points

Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 11:55pm

Submit: Draft Narrative for Peer Review (Discussion)

Give and Get Feedback: Narratives

6 points

Friday, Sept. 30 at 11:55pm

Submit: Narrative Peer Reviews (Discussion)

Revise, Submit, Reflect: Narratives

Submit:

  • Plan your Revision (PebblePad)
  • Narrative Final Draft (Dropbox)
  • Reflect on your narrative (PebblePad)
5 points

15%

5 points

Monday, October 3 at 11:55pm

Unit 3: Research Skills (weeks 5-6)

Week

Topics and Submissions

Value

End/Due Date

Week 5

Getting Started with Research

   

Finding and Evaluating sources

   

Fall Reading Week Break 

 

Your Turn: Draft a Research Question

3 points

Monday, Oct. 17 at 11:55pm

Submit: Brainstorm your Research Question

(PebblePad)

Week 6

Integrating Quotes

5 points

Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 11:55pm

Submit: Quotation Practice (PebblePad)

Summary and Paraphrase

2 points

Friday, Oct. 21 at 11:55pm

Submit: Sample Summary and Paraphrase

(Discussion)

 Using Your Sources

5%

Monday, Oct. 24 at 11:55pm

Submit: Reflect on Summary and Paraphrase

(Dropbox)

Unit 4: Reports (weeks 7-8)

Week

Topics and Submissions

Value

End/Due Date

Week 7

Understanding Reports

   

Work with a Sample

2 points

Friday, Oct. 28 at 11:55pm

Submit: Report Sample Suggestions (Discussion)

Your Turn: Draft a Report

5 points

Monday, Oct. 31 at 11:55pm

Submit: Brainstorm your Report (PebblePad)

Week 8

Post your Draft Report for Peer Review

2 points

Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 11:55pm

Submit: Draft Report for Peer Review (Discussion)

Give and Get Feedback: Reports

6 points

Friday, Nov. 4 at 11:55pm

Submit: Report Peer Reviews (Discussion)

Revise, Submit, Reflect: Reports

Submit:

  • Plan your Revision (PebblePad)

  • Report Final Draft (Dropbox)

  • Reflection (PebblePad)

5 points

10%

5 points

Monday, November 7 at 11:55pm

Unit 5: Arguments (weeks 9-11)

Week

Topics and Submissions

Value

End/Due Date

Week 9

Understanding Arguments

   

Types of Arguments

   

Appeals: Logos, Ethos, Pathos

2 points

Monday, Nov. 14 at 11:55pm

Submit: Appealing Appeals (Discussion)

Week 10

Structuring an Argument

   

Work with a Sample

   
 

Submit: Argument Sample Suggestions (Discussion)

2 points

Friday, Nov. 18 at 11:55pm

Your Turn: Draft an Argument

5 points

Monday, Nov. 21 at 11:55pm

Submit: Argument Brainstorming (PebblePad)

Week 11

Post your Draft Argument for Peer Review

2 points

Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 11:55pm

Submit: Draft Argument for Peer Review (Discussion)

Give and Get Feedback: Arguments

6 points

Friday, Nov. 25 at 11:55pm

Submit: Argument Peer Reviews (Discussion)

Revise, Submit, Reflect: Arguments

Submit:

  • Plan your Revision (PebblePad)
  • Argument Final Draft (Dropbox)
  • Reflect on argument (PebblePad)
5 points

25%

5 points

Monday, November 28 at 11:55pm

Unit 6: Final Project (week 12)

Week

Topics and Submissions

Value

End/Due Date

Week 12

Seeing the (Big) Picture

   

Course Review

2 points

Friday, Dec. 2 at 11:55pm

Submit: Wisdom Wall (Discussion)

Final Project Description

20%

Monday, December 12 at 11:55pm

Submit: Final Project