Initial Syllabus

Writing 2 Syllabus

Semester 1

Tammy Prichard

Resources:

·         Gulliver’s Travels  (Jonathan Swift)

·         various worksheets and handouts

Objectives:

Literature

            In his book, Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift not only tells an engaging story, but he forces his readers to think critically about government systems, class, status, and hypocrisy.  While we read this book, we’ll discuss the historical context, the implied meanings and themes, and the many literary techniques that have caused this book to become a classic. 

Writing

            The students will write 4 papers for this class.  We will work on developing clear thesis statements, building strong sentences, selecting the best words, understanding organizational techniques, and revising and editing strategies.  For the first two papers, we’ll use a 2-step process (rough draft to final copy) because they will be shorter and less formal.  The following two papers will be longer and will follow a 3-step process (pre-writing to rough draft to final copy).  These papers will especially focus on assembling details that support a well-reasoned thesis.

Grammar

            Many of the students have covered the basics of grammar.  As we write and put our grammar to use, we’ll discover what areas need to be reviewed and worked on.  The class will start with some basics and move into some areas that are more complex. I’ve left open space on the syllabus so that I can focus on specific areas that appear in their writing.

Initial Draft – Subject to change

Week	Literature	Writing	Grammar
1	Introduction to Gulliver’s Travels		Review basic sentence structures
2	Part I; Ch. 1 – 3	Personal Essay Rough Draft	Coordinating/ Subordinating clauses
3	Part I; Ch. 4 – 6		Review common errors in rough drafts
4	Part I; Ch. 7 – 9	Personal Essay Final Copy	Compound/ Complex sentences
5	Part II; Ch. 1 – 4	Process Essay Rough Draft	Run-on sentences
6	Part II; Ch. 5 – 8		Review common errors in rough drafts
7	Part III; Ch. 1 – 4	Process Essay Final Copy
8	Part III; Ch. 5 – 8	Extended Definition OR Classification Essay Pre-Write
9	Part III; Ch. 9 – 11	Extended Definition OR Classification Essay Rough Draft
10	Part IV; Ch.1 – 4		Review common errors in rough drafts
11	Part IV; Ch. 5 – 8	Extended Definition OR Classification Essay Final Copy	Misc. punctuation
12	Part IV; Ch. 9 – 12	Comp/Contrast Essay Pre-Write
13	Themes Presentation & Final	Comp/Contrast Essay Rough Draft
14	Christmas Short Stories		Review common errors in rough drafts
15	Christmas Poetry	Comp/Contrast Essay Final Copy

Writing 2 Syllabus

Semester 2

Tammy Prichard (tamprichard@gmail.com)

Resources:

·         Short, Short Stories  (Paul Negri, ed.)   Dover Publications

·         101 Great American Poems  (Literacy Project, ed.)  Dover Publications

·         The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes  (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)  Dover Publications

·         various worksheets and handouts

Objectives:

Literature

            Short stories, as a genre, contain many of the literary devices of novels but in concentrated form.  As we read American, European, and mystery short stories, we’ll discuss character development, plot, themes, and figurative language.  We will also compare various authors and stories.  Reading various well-known selections of American poetry,  we’ll analyze (“take apart and put back together”) poems for their meaning and artistry.

Writing

            The students will write 4 papers for this class.   We will continue our work of supporting a thesis with accurate and well-organized details.  The three essays assigned will challenge the students to use critical thinking skills.  Each of these papers will be longer and will follow a 3-step process (pre-writing to rough draft to final copy).  The final writing assignment gives the students an opportunity to re-write any paper written this year for Writing 2.

Grammar

            We will continue to deal with grammar issues and difficulties as they arise in the context of written assignments. 

Initial Draft – Subject to change

Week	Literature	Writing
1	Holmes:  “A Scandal in Bohemia” & “The Red-Headed League”
2	Holmes: “The Five Orange Pips” & “The Blue Carbuncle”	Problem/Solution OR Cause/Effect Pre-Write
3	Holmes:  “The Noble Bachelor” & “The Copper Beeches"	Problem/Solution OR Cause/Effect Rough Draft
4	Pushkin, Tolstoy, Chekhov
5	Dickens, Wilde, Kipling, Munro	Problem/Solution OR Cause/Effect Final Copy
6	Hawthorne, Poe, Bierce	Evaluation Essay Pre-Write
7	Harte, Twain, Jewett, Crane	Evaluation Essay Rough Draft
8	Chopin, London, Mansfield, Gilman
9	Pirandello, de Maupassant, O. Henry	Evaluation Essay Final Copy
10	Larsen, Anderson, Hardy	Argument Essay Pre-Write
11		Argument Essay Rough Draft
12	Bradstreet, Wheatley, Emerson, Longfellow
13	Whitman, Dickinson, Thayer, Robinson, Dunbar	Argument Essay Final Copy
14	Frost, Sandburg, Williams, Hughes	Re-Write
15	Final Exam

Writing Topics

Writing Topics

            Becoming a better writer means learning about developing content, organizing information, and putting all of that information into clear sentences.  I’ve listed the topics we’ll discuss in the order that we’ll discuss them.  I haven’t assigned them to particular weeks due to the fact that I intend to be flexible in order to meet the specific needs of the class.  In other words, we may speed through one topic and take time with another.

·        Writing to learn

·        Steps of the writing process

·        Pre-writing activities

·        Creating a writing Sourcebank of ideas

·        Writing outlines

·        Expanding a topic

·        Shaping a topic

·        Developing a thesis

·        Report/ Interpret/Analyze

·        Logical thinking about a topic

·        Introductions and Conclusions

·        Paragraph development

·        Coherence and Unity in paragraphs

·        Arranging paragraphs and details

·        Organization for emphasis

·        Tone

·        Audience appeal

·        Subjective/objective perspectives

·        Style:  formal/ informal

·        Style:  clear/concise/concrete

·        Style:  figurative/ diction/illustrations

·        Style:  problems

·        Developing Sentences:  transitions

·        Developing Sentences:  variety

·        Developing Sentences:  diction

·        Revising Strategies:  topic & content

·        Revising Strategies:  details

·        Revising Strategies:  organization

·        Revising Strategies:  clarity/unity/coherence

·        Revising Strategies:  mechanics & grammar

·        Revising Strategies:  style

·        Peer editing

·        Researching:  primary/ secondary sources

·        Researching:  how/where

·        Researching:  note-taking

·        Plagiarism

·        Format for citing

·        Critical Thinking

·        Logical Thinking

·        Specific essays:

–         Personal

–         Process

–         Extended Definition

–         Classification

–         Comparison/Contrast

–         Problem/ Solution

–         Cause/ Effect

–         Evaluation

–         Argument

Books Clarification

Greetings!

I want to clarify the issue of books for the Writing 2 class. The books for this year will be ordered through Dover Publications.  This company prints inexpensive, thrift editions of these books.  I like using these books in the classroom because all the students can have the same copy of the text and can experiment with writing and underlining in their books without the concern of spoiling an expensive copy.  I will order these books.
First Semester:  Gulliver's Travels; (I mistakenly mentioned an O. Henry book.)
Second Semester:  Short, Short Stories; 101 Great American Poems; The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.


Again, contact me if you have questions.
Tammy Prichard

Writing 2 News

Greetings!
I'm excited to welcome you to the fall semester of Writing 2 at CHAT.  Registration for the classes is still open, but I wanted to give families some preliminary information.

I have an initial draft of a syllabus for the class.  The students will write 4 papers this semester. 
I'm still working on specific lessons plans.  We're reading Gulliver's Travels (Jonathon Swift) and short stories by O. Henry.  The cost for these books are included in fees for the class.  I've already ordered some of the books from Dover Publications.  I like students to use the same version and to be able to underline and write in their books; using the thrift editions that Dover offers are great for this.


Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Looking forward to our fall classes,
Tammy Prichard