College Prep Composition
Description
Students who complete College Prep Composition will be prepared to be successful in a basic college composition course. A composition class is required for virtually every Bachelor’s degree program, and academic writing skills are a requirement for being successful an any four-year college or university setting. We will tackle the following questions:
Pedagogical Model We will incorporate a writing workshop pedagogical model – this means that we are not in a typical teacher-led, passive student environment; instead, each person plays a vital role in the learning community. We are all responsible for helping each other improve wherever we can. Good writing does not happen in a vacuum. I promise to try to help each of you reach your fullest potential during our semester, and I guarantee I will learn as much from you as you do from me. I will need all of your help. This model of learning requires positive participation, respect, tolerance, and a genuine effort on the part of all involved to improve as much as possible. As a result, your grade will be partially determined by your involvement in class, effort to improve, and work with your colleagues. If you have any questions, let me know. Units
Critical Review Pre-Approved Articles
(note: these aren't the only possibilities; you may find one of your own!) New in 2016-17: "The Psychological Approach to Educating Kids" by Victoria Clayton "Will Trump Ever Be Blamed?" by Olga Khazan "Why It's So Hard to Get Ahead in the South" by Alana Semuels "Trolls are Winning the Internet, Technologists Say" by Adrienne LaFrance "How 1,600 People Went Missing From Our Public Lands Without a Trace" by Jon Billman "Can We Know What Animals Are Thinking?" from The Economist "Door-Busting Drug Raids Leave a Trail of Blood" by Kevin Sack "The March on Everywhere: The Ragged Glory of Female Activism" by Leslie Jamison "Buried Alive: Stories from Inside Solitary Confinement" by Nathaniel Penn "4chan: The Skeleton Key to the Rise of Trump" by Dale Beran "Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark" by Corey Hirsch (NHL and Mental Illness) "The Age of Rudeness" by Rachel Cusk New in 2015-16: "The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration" by Ta-Nehisi Coates "Why Did the CDC Stop Researching Gun Violence?" by Kate Masters "Why America is Moving Left" by Peter Beinart "The Great Republican Revolt" by David Frum "Choking to Death in Detroit: Flint Isn't Michigan's Only Disaster" by Zoe Schlanger "Operation Trump: Inside the Most Unorthodox Campaign in Political History" by Gabriel Sherman "#Jihad: Why ISIS Is Winning the Social Media War" by Brendan I. Koerner "Out Here, No One Can Hear You Scream" by Kathryn Joyce Older Articles: "The Overprotected Kid" by Hanna Rosin "Why I Hope to Die at 75" by Ezekiel J. Emanuel "Does an Innocent Man Have the Right to Be Exonerated?" by Marc Bookman "The End of Men" by Hanna Rosin "Searching for the Good Life in the Bakken Oil Fields" by Maya Rao "What ISIS Really Wants" by Graeme Wood "The Many Causes of America's Decline in Crime" by Inimai M. Chettiar "Living Simply in a Dumpster" by James Hamblin "The Shame of America's Family Detention Camps" by Wil S. Hylton "The Gangsters of Ferguson" by Ta-Nehisi Coates "The Shockingly Simple, Surprisingly Cost-Effective Way to End Homelessness" by Scott Carrier "The Future of College?" by Graeme Wood "Why Poor Schools Can't Win at Standardized Testing" by Meredith Broussard "The Outside Shooter" by Max Chafkin "This is What Happens When We Lock Children in Solitary Confinement" by Dana Liebelson "The Clock Didn't Start With the Riots" by Ta-Nehisi Coates Note: These are not the only possible topics or articles - these are just some possibilities and suggestions. |
LinksTurn It In
TurnItIn.com is a digital essay submission site we will be using throughout the class. The site checks originality, serves as a grading platform, and works as a peer review site. Submit your assignments here. Electronic Library of Minnesota You will need a MN Library card in order to access this resource from home. Forest Lake Media Ctr These resources are put together by the media center; lots of good sources. Online Writing Lab (Purdue University) This resource has pretty much everything you need to know about writing. OWL MLA Guidelines Here you will find the specific guidelines for citation and works cited pages for the research paper. Verb test 4/21 |