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) |
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|---|---|---|---|
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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 |
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Submit: Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (Quiz) |
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Purpose and Audience |
3 points |
Friday, Sept. 9 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Know your Syllabus (Quiz) |
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Tone, Style and Structure |
2 points |
Monday, Sept. 12 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Introduce Yourself (Discussion) |
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Week 2 |
Getting Started on the Writing Process |
3 points |
Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Brainstorming Practice (PebblePad) |
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The Feedback and Revision Loop |
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Reflecting |
5 points |
Monday, Sept. 19 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Reflecting Practice (PebblePad) |
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Unit 2: Narratives (weeks 3-4) |
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Week |
Topics and Submissions |
Value |
End/Due Date |
|
Week 3 |
Understanding Narratives |
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Work with a Sample |
2 points |
Friday, Sept. 23 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Narrative Sample Suggestions (Discussion) |
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Your Turn: Draft Your Narrative |
5 points |
Monday, Sept. 26 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Brainstorm your Narrative (PebblePad) |
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Week 4 |
Post your Draft Narrative for Peer Review |
2 points |
Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Draft Narrative for Peer Review (Discussion) |
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Give and Get Feedback: Narratives |
6 points |
Friday, Sept. 30 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Narrative Peer Reviews (Discussion) |
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Revise, Submit, Reflect: Narratives Submit:
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5 points 15% 5 points |
Monday, October 3 at 11:55pm |
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Unit 3: Research Skills (weeks 5-6) |
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Week |
Topics and Submissions |
Value |
End/Due Date |
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Week 5 |
Getting Started with Research |
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Finding and Evaluating sources |
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Fall Reading Week Break |
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Your Turn: Draft a Research Question |
3 points |
Monday, Oct. 17 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Brainstorm your Research Question (PebblePad) |
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Week 6 |
Integrating Quotes |
5 points |
Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Quotation Practice (PebblePad) |
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Summary and Paraphrase |
2 points |
Friday, Oct. 21 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Sample Summary and Paraphrase (Discussion) |
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Using Your Sources |
5% |
Monday, Oct. 24 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Reflect on Summary and Paraphrase (Dropbox) |
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Unit 4: Reports (weeks 7-8) |
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Week |
Topics and Submissions |
Value |
End/Due Date |
|
Week 7 |
Understanding Reports |
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Work with a Sample |
2 points |
Friday, Oct. 28 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Report Sample Suggestions (Discussion) |
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Your Turn: Draft a Report |
5 points |
Monday, Oct. 31 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Brainstorm your Report (PebblePad) |
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Week 8 |
Post your Draft Report for Peer Review |
2 points |
Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Draft Report for Peer Review (Discussion) |
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Give and Get Feedback: Reports |
6 points |
Friday, Nov. 4 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Report Peer Reviews (Discussion) |
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Revise, Submit, Reflect: Reports Submit:
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5 points 10% 5 points |
Monday, November 7 at 11:55pm |
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Unit 5: Arguments (weeks 9-11) |
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Week |
Topics and Submissions |
Value |
End/Due Date |
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Week 9 |
Understanding Arguments |
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Types of Arguments |
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Appeals: Logos, Ethos, Pathos |
2 points |
Monday, Nov. 14 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Appealing Appeals (Discussion) |
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Week 10 |
Structuring an Argument |
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Work with a Sample |
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Submit: Argument Sample Suggestions (Discussion) |
2 points |
Friday, Nov. 18 at 11:55pm |
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Your Turn: Draft an Argument |
5 points |
Monday, Nov. 21 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Argument Brainstorming (PebblePad) |
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Week 11 |
Post your Draft Argument for Peer Review |
2 points |
Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Draft Argument for Peer Review (Discussion) |
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Give and Get Feedback: Arguments |
6 points |
Friday, Nov. 25 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Argument Peer Reviews (Discussion) |
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Revise, Submit, Reflect: Arguments Submit:
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5 points 25% 5 points |
Monday, November 28 at 11:55pm |
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Unit 6: Final Project (week 12) |
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Week |
Topics and Submissions |
Value |
End/Due Date |
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Week 12 |
Seeing the (Big) Picture |
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Course Review |
2 points |
Friday, Dec. 2 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Wisdom Wall (Discussion) |
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Final Project Description |
20% |
Monday, December 12 at 11:55pm |
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Submit: Final Project |
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