Writing 40 - Cora Agatucci
Basic English/Writing II

WR 40 Assignments (2) Winter 2001
Some Online Handouts & Assignment Directions will be posted to this webpage after they are given in class
Assignments (2) Table of Contents & Short Cuts:
2.  Writer's Profiles (Cr/NCr) Assignments
Writer's Profile #1 - Week #1
Follow-Up Editing Assignment: Graded Paragraph #1 - Week #4
Writer's Profile #2: Paragraph #2 Workshop Follow-Up - Week #5
Other "Writer's Profile" category assignments were given in class
Final Writer's Profile:  WR 40 Learning Outcomes Survey
(to be submitted with WR 40 Portfolio - see Portfolio Directions)
3.  Paragraphs (Graded Assignments):
(Revised) Paragraph #1 - Week #2
Paragraph #2 (Comparison/Contrast, Division/Classification) - Weeks #5-#6
4.  Essays (Graded Assignments): Essay #1 and #2 assignments were given in class.
5.  Portfolio (Graded Assignment) General Directions & Cover Letter Directions

Go to WR 40 Assignments (1) webpage:
http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr40/assignmts.htm  
for: 1.  Preparation & Participation  (Cr/NCr)  Assignments & Activities

Writer’s Profile #1                         NAME_____________________________
Week #1 Student Survey                         WR 40: Basic English/Writing II
DUE:  Thursday, Jan. 11

1.     Placement in WR 40.  Please indicate how you were placed in WR 40 – Basic English/Writing I:  e.g. Placement Test Score?  Successful completion of WR 20 or a similar writing course with a grade of “C” or higher?  Successful completion of relevant high school English courses?  On-the-job training and/or professional writing experience?  Other (please describe)?

  2.     Preparation for WR 40.  Students are best prepared to succeed in WR 40 if they have acquired all or most of the following competencies (the exit-competencies defined for WR 20) – either through successful completion of WR 20, or through equivalent coursework and/or writing experience.  Self-Assess your skills by circling the number on the five-point rating scale that best reflects your self-assessment in each of the nine (9) Competencies described below.

Paragraph Writing Skills

Competency 1: Be able to produce stand-alone paragraphs with a topic sentence and supporting details.

Competency 2: Be able to maintain focus and coherence for stand-alone paragraphs of at least 200 words.

  Competency 3: Be able to distinguish between general support and specific evidence and to apply the distinction to one’s writing.

Sentence Editing & Correction Skills

Competency 4: Be able to produce paragraphs containing a variety of sentence lengths and structures, including some complex sentences.

  Competency 5: Be able to edit one’s own writing to avoid most major sentence errors [e.g. fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences].

  Competency 6: Be able to edit one’s own writing to avoid capitalization, spelling and confused word errors.

Competency 7: Be able to edit one’s own writing for generally accurate use of commas, semi-colons, apostrophes, and pronouns.

The Writing Process

Competency 8: Understand the principles of the writing process in its basic form: generating ideas, organizing ideas, drafting, revising and editing.

  Writer's Workshops

Competency 9: Be able to assist other writers with accurate analysis of focus, coherence, and specific development, at the paragraph level.

3.                 Skills (Chapters) Covered in WR 20 (or Other Previous Coursework).  WR 40 builds upon knowledge and skills developed in WR 20, and continues work in the same textbook, currently Odyssey (2^nd ed.).  Please review the table of Contents at the beginning of Odyssey, and then do the following:

a.  Identify the Odyssey chapters (by number) that you have already studied in WR 20 and/or in previous writing courses.  Note:  If you took WR 20 with Cora, simply write “I took WR 20 with you, Cora” and move on to the next part.

  b.      Of the Odyssey chapters that you have already studied (identified in 3.a above), identify any chapters (by number) that you would most like to review in WR 40.

4.                 Consider your learning experience in WR 20 and/or other writing classes that you have taken.  Then complete the following statements:

a. The teaching/learning techniques that help me the most are . . .

b.  The teaching/learning techniques that help me the least are . . .

(Revised) Paragraph #1

Revise Diagnostic Paragraph [written in class during Week #1 & returned critiqued by Cora.]  

Evaluation: Revised Paragraph #1

____Paragraph is written on one of these assigned topic choices: 1. Winter Driving Hazards; 2. The Holiday Season; 3. How to Relax; 4. Honesty: Always the Best Policy?

____Final Draft must be typed/wordprocessed and double spaced

____1.  Topic Sentence(s), Paragraph Focus (& Title)

____2.  Paragraph Unity

____3.  Organization

____4.  Clarity & Coherence/Transitions

____5.  Specific Supporting Development (& length:  100-200 words)

____6.  Style & Grammatical Correctness

(for Preparation & Participation Credits)

Follow-Up Editing Assignment:  Correct the grammatical errors marked in Graded Paragraph #1 -- especially any major errors such as fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences, subject-verb agreement.  (Counted in Writer's Profile grading category):  DUE:  Thurs., Feb. 1, 2001

Paragraph #2

[USE THIS HEADING:]
 Janet Student (Your Name)
WR 40, Dr. Agatucci  (Identify Course & Instructor)
Paragraph #2: Final Draft (Identify Assignment)
8 February 2001 (Date Due for Revised version to be graded)

  [CENTER YOUR PARAGRAPH TITLE]
Directions for Paragraph #2: Comparison/Contrast OR Classification/Division
(Worth: 5 % of course grade)

DUE (REVISED) THURS., FEB. 8:  Preliminary Draft of Paragraph #2, with 3 readable copies to be workshopped in class (for Preparation & Participation Credits)

DUE (REVISED) TUES., FEB. 13:  Revised Final Draft of Paragraph #2 (to be graded).  Please submit Revised Draft in a folder, with preliminary drafts enclosed.  Revised Final Draft (to be graded) must be typed or word-processed, and double spaced.  Use the recommended heading for WR 40 assignments (see above) and give your paragraph a title relevant to the topic or point of your paragraph. 

THE WRITING PROCESS

1.  Analyze & Understand the Assignment.  A key first step in the Writing Process for college students desiring to be successful, is to analyze and understand the assignment.

This assignment requires that you write a stand-alone paragraph of 100-200 words in one of these modes:  comparison/contrast OR division classification.  Your topic choice should be one of interest to you, but it must also lend itself to treatment in one of the two required modes. 

2. Generate Ideas through Prewriting.  Read/review Odyssey Ch. 2 “Generating Ideas through Prewriting.”  Try one or more of the prewriting strategies introduced to help you generate topic ideas. The goals of prewriting are to generate topic ideas, explore what you have to say, choose a topic that seems most productive, generate raw material that you can shape it into a paragraph. Do not worry about grammar during the prewriting stage: turn off your “inner censor” and just get some raw material down on paper.  Some people prefer to write a “Discovery Draft” first.  After doing so, try finding, outlining or listing your topic sentence and main ideas to help you organize your paragraph. 

  3 .      Before you go too much farther, ensure that you can adapt your chosen topic & prewriting to either division/classification or comparison/ contrast, as required by this assignment.  Try analyzing your prewriting material and working on your tentative Topic Sentence/s, by considering these questions:

Paragraph #2 Writers Workshop:
In-Class on (REVISED Deadline) Thurs., Feb. 8

4. Seek and give feedback on preliminary Drafts.  In this Writers Workshop, you will exercise your skills in using your Workshop audience to get useful feedback and help you make revision decisions; and in helping others achieve their paragraph writing purposes.  Ask for the kinds of feedback you would find most useful, question your workshop members about their responses to your Preliminary Draft, make notes on responses and suggestions that seem useful, and develop a Revision Plan.

To help you and your group get the most from the Writer’s Workshop:

Use relevant checklists for revision and evaluation: 

“Comparison and Contrast Paragraph Checklist” (Odyssey p. 131); and/or
”Division and Classification Paragraph Checklist” (Odyssey p. 149);
as well as
Cora’s Paragraph Evaluation Checklists, included with your evaluations of diagnostic and graded Paragraph #1, and elaborated below:

____1.  Topic, Focus, Audience: topic is well-focused and limited enough for satisfactory development in a paragraph-length (100-200 word) assignment; writer is engaged by the topic s/he has chosen and is writing to communicate with the WR 40 audience.

____2.  Topic Sentence/s should introduce the topic being addressed and express the writer’s opinion or attitude toward the focused topic, and declare the central point of the paragraph.  Topic sentence(s) should be well focused, clearly stated, and well placed.  And don’t forget a Title, which should predict the topic focus and topic sentence point of the paragraph.

____3.  Paragraph unity should be strong: that is, everything in your paragraph should contribute to introducing the focused topic, supporting and developing the main idea expressed in the topic sentence(s); the topic sentence(s) should control paragraph content, nothing in the paragraph should stray from the main idea.

____4.  Paragraph organization of main supporting points and their specific development should be arranged in a logical, effective & easy to follow order.  Remember, too, that readers appreciate introductory sentences that grab their attention, as well as establish the topic and present the topic sentence(s)—see #2 Topic Sentence/s above. Readers also like a pleasing sense of closure at the end (often this includes restating or emphasizing the topic sentence main point).

____5.  Paragraph development: Key points supporting the topic sentence/main idea need to be clearly stated, and they should be developed with needed definitions and explanations, and with clear, vivid, specific detail, description, example, illustrations, stories, etc.  Don’t just “tell” the reader in general terms; try to “show” the reader specifically as possible what you mean.  Specific development should be well selected to support key points and the central point/topic sentence convincingly, vividly, clearly.

____6.  Coherence: logical, well-selected transitions are needed to connect your ideas within and across sentences, point out the relationships between parts of your paragraph, signal completion of one part/point and movement on to the next part/point, and ensure that readers can see connections to the central point/topic sentence.  Transitional words, phrases, and sentences should be carefully chosen and well placed:  they guide your readers smoothly from point to point, keep them oriented to your main ideas, and help express your meanings clearly. 

5.  Revise your Preliminary Draft, using your Workshop notes and Revision Plans, to strengthen the “big picture” items (e.g. Topic Sentence, Unity, Development, Organization and Coherence) discussed above.  Then, in the last stages of preparing your Final Draft, edit and proofread, refine and polish.  Read/review Odyssey Ch. 4, “Refining and Polishing Your Draft” and follow the advice to help you.  Also review your Diagnostic Editing Exercise, errors marked in your Diagnostic Paragraph and in graded Paragraph #1:  the problems and errors that surfaced in your previous WR 40 work probably indicate the types of problems and errors likely to surface in Paragraph #2.  Make a list of these problems and errors, and review relevant sections of Odyssey and other WR 20 course handouts and resources that address these errors.    Know they are likely to surface again in your Paragraph #2, edit and proofread for them, and correct as many of these problems/errors as you can.

Writer's Profile #2 (assigned in class on Thurs., Feb. 8)
DUE: TUES., Feb. 13 (with the Final (revised) draft of Paragraph #2):

1.  List the names of students in your Workshop Group (for Preliminary Drafts of Paragraph #2).
2.  Evaluate the Workshop:  Was it helpful to you?  Why or why not?
3.  List your Revision Plans for Paragraph #2.

Portfolio Directions
(Two best revised WR 40 writings & Cover Letter/Essay)
Worth 30% of Course Grade, Prof. Agatucci, Winter 2001

DEADLINES: Due Dates for Workshop and Final Portfolio were announced in advance in class.

A complete WR 40 Portfolio should include all the materials listed below and should be submitted in a folder:

1. YOUR TWO (2) BEST (REVISED) WR 40 WRITING ASSIGNMENTS to be re-graded, chosen from Paragraphs #1, Paragraph 2, Essay #1, Essay #2.

·        One of your selections must be an Essay.

·        The final drafts of your two (2) (revised) Portfolio writing selections must be typed or wordprocessed, and double spaced, or they will not be accepted.

·        Attach previous graded versions (with Cora’s evaluation checklists) of your two Portfolio selections.

2. COVER LETTER-ESSAY (see directions below).  The final draft of your Portfolio Cover Letter must be typed or wordprocessed, and double spaced, or it will not be accepted for grading.  Please proofread carefully.
3. FINAL WRITER’S PROFILE:  WR 40 LEARNING OUTCOMES SURVEY (separate handout, reproduced below).

Suggested Selection Criteria for Your Two “Best Writings”

(1)   Demonstrates (after revision as needed) your writing Strengths and ability to meet WR 40 standards of good essay and paragraph writing and editing – Review relevant Odyssey chapters, past assignment directions handouts, and evaluation criteria used in grading your previous WR 40 writing assignments to help you identify the strengths of your Portfolio selections;

(2)   Represents Improvement in your writing and/or editing skills since the beginning of the term – see advice under #1 above to help you identify aspects of your writing (e.g. weaknesses) that you’ve improved;

(3)   Provided a meaningful Learning Experience in ways you can identify and explain;

(4)   Helped you achieve one or more of the WR 40 Competencies:  see Final Writer’s Profile: Wr 40 Learning Outcomes Survey (separate handout);

(5)   Any additional reasons of your own, and/or your own personal learning objectives achieved may also be identified and explained to support your Portfolio writing selections.

Portfolio Cover Letter Directions

LENGTH:  Your Portfolio Cover Letter-Essay should be at least four (4) paragraphs long.  Suggested Length:  about 500 words, or about two typed/wordprocessed and double-spaced pages using standard font and point size, 1” margins, etc.
AUDIENCE:  General WR 40 readers, your Writing instructor, and your future self, say, a year from now.  Imagine yourself looking back over your WR 40 Portfolio and reflecting on your courselearning experiences a year from now.  Use what you’ve learned about essay writing (e.g., review Odyssey Ch. 14) to help you structure and develop your Cover Letter-Essay. 

Paragraph #1 – Introduction 

Paragraphs #2 and 3 (Body Paragraphs)

·        Devote one well-developed paragraph to each of your two Portfolio writings. 

·        Each body paragraph should have a topic sentence identifying the Portfolio writing by title and the main reason/s (selection criteria) why you selected that writing to include in your Portfolio of “best writing.” 

·        Then develop each of your body paragraphs by explaining in more specific detail how and why this writing represents one of your best.  Be as specific as possible in explaining your reasons, and give examples from the selected Portfolio writing to support or illustrate your reasons.

Paragraph #4—Conclusion.  Reflect back on your WR 40 learning experience and sum up by commenting on the following:

·        what you have learned (e.g. about your general writing strengths and weaknesses, your writing process, your writing attitude) this term;

·        how you have improved as a writer this term; and

·        any writing and editing skills that you would like to improve further, giving yourself specific advice to remember in tackling future writing assignments (that is, what you want to remember about yourself as a writer so that you can address future writing assignments successfully).

  Proofread and Edit your Cover Letter carefully before submitting your Portfolio!!

FINAL WRITER’S PROFILE                     NAME_____________________________
WR 40 Learning Outcomes Survey
Prof. Agatucci, Winter 2001                                   DUE with your WR 40 PORTFOLIO

Directions:  Self-Assess your writing skills at the end of WR 20 by completing this survey.

·         Self-Rating:  Circle the number on the five-point rating scale that best reflects your self-assessment in each of the seven (7) Competencies described below.

·         Circle numbered Competencies in which you have improved the most this term.

Competency 1: Demonstrate control of a variety of organizational strategies at the paragraph level, such as compare and contrast, …examples, and classification/division.

  Competency 2: Demonstrate understanding of the basic structure of an essay, including understanding the difference between introductory/ concluding paragraphs and body paragraphs.

  Competency 3: Be able to maintain focus and coherence for essays of at least 600 words, including using a thesis statement and transitions.

  Competency 4: Be able to distinguish among general ideas, specific evidence and analysis of evidence and to apply the distinctions to one’s own writing.

  Competency 5: Be able to produce essays [and paragraphs] containing a variety of sentence lengths and structures, including some complex sentences.

Competency 6: Be able to edit one’s own writing for mechanical and grammatical errors, producing work that is substantially free from both minor surface errors and major sentence errors.

  Competency 7: Demonstrate awareness of different audiences and show control of writing strategies to address those audiences.

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URL of this webpage: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr40/assignmts2.htm

WR 40  Syllabus|Course Plan| Assignments (1) |Assignments (2)|
|Student Writing
WR 40 Course Competencies & Benchmarks - Winter 2001:
 http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr40/competencies.htm  

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