English 2115,
Advanced Exposition Prof.
J. Moser
Spring 2018
4232B jmoser@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Office hours: W, 3-4 and by appt.
Course website: academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/moser
Course Description:
Bulletin description: Intensive
study of and practice in writing the principal rhetorical forms
Training in
principles of peer tutoring and three hours of tutoring writing in the
Learning Center or other appropriate setting.
Pre-requisite:
Students who have earned an A in both English 1010 and 1012 may enroll in
this course. The course consists of class meetings (3 hours/week) and
service as peer writing tutors in the Learning Center (3 hours/week).
English 2115 is
a course in advanced composition. The course focuses on the close reading of
paragraphs, long excerpts and full texts by accomplished stylists, coupled
with the study of style and grammar to give students practice in producing
clear, elegant prose in a variety of styles and with a variety of content.
Students read literature spanning many periods, written in distinct styles
for distinct purposes. Students engage in close analysis of the work of
published authors and produce texts that imitate, through the skillful use
of a wide variety of rhetorical techniques, particular themes, moods and
styles.
Course
requirements:
1. You are allowed 2 absences. Any additional absences will affect
your final grade.
All work is due
when assigned. If you are absent, be sure to get the assignment from a
classmate.
2. Papers are due when assigned. You may hand in ONE paper late, but
you must notify me and the paper may be no more than 1 week late. No other
late work will be accepted.
3. The three formal writing assignments require second drafts in order
to receive credit. Final drafts are due at the next class meeting. You may
email your work by midnight of the due date.
Course writing requirements:
The length and complexity of the writing assignments grow
throughout the semester. At the beginning, students engage in sentence and
paragraph-level grammatical and syntactical analyses, learning the technical
terms for sophisticated grammatical structures, the relationship between the
use of these structures and their rhetorical effects, and incorporating
these techniques into student prose. Students write paragraphs that imitate
the syntax and convey the mood of the model paragraphs. Throughout the
semester, students do sentence-level exercises that reinforce the effective
use of grammatical structures to produce specific rhetorical effects. As the
course progresses, students read more challenging and complex texts,
engaging in close analysis of stylistic and rhetorical patterns and
producing longer, more ambitious prose to imitate the model texts. The three
longer student writings (3-4 pages each, modeled on Twain,
Proust, Nabokov,) are accompanied by close analyses of the students’ own
writing, indicating the specific ways in which the student text captures the
spirit and style of the model (1-page analysis). The final writing
project is a 5-7 page paper on a choice of topics (determined after
individual conferences, appealing to a range of student interests and
abilities) that is an exercise in creative non-fiction, incorporating
research techniques and documentation into a treatment of a topic of the
student’s choice.
· Course objectives:
At the end of
this course, students should be able to:
o write clearly, elegantly and
imaginatively, in a variety of forms and for a variety of purposes and
audiences
o understand the structure of the English
language, including aspects of syntax, phonology, and semantics
o understand and analyze literary texts
o understand literature in its
interdisciplinary contexts (e.g., cultural, social, historical, scientific,
psychological, and political)
o understand and use literary and
rhetorical terms
o appreciate literary complexity,
ambiguity, and paradox
o understand of interrelation of
language, culture, and society
Requirements:
Course materials and texts:
Bacon, Nora. The Well-Crafted Sentence. 2nd ed. Bedford/St.Martins. THIS
IS THE ONLY BOOK YOU NEED TO BUY
You can get the e-book at
about half the price at bedfordstmartins.com/wellcrafted/formats and at the
online bookstore.
Excerpts and longer works, distributed in class: DO
NOT BUY THESE
Nabokov, Vladimir. Speak Memory. NY: Vintage, 1989.
Proust, Marcel. Combray. Swann’s Way. (trans.
Enright, Kilmartin, Moncrieff). NY: Modern Library, 1992.
Twain, Mark. “Two Ways of Seeing a River” from Life on the Mississippi
Grades:
Participation: 20%
Short written work (grammar, sentence- and paragraph-level
exercises) 15%
Paper 1
Twain) 15%
Paper 2
(Proust) 15%
Paper 3
(Nabokov) 15%
Final
paper: 30%
The tutoring component of this course
will affect your grade in two ways:
1. If you fail to fulfill
the attendance requirements, your grade will suffer proportionately.
2. If your in-class grade is borderline, the final evaluation of
your work in the Learning Center will affect your final grade (for example,
a grade that is somewhere between an A- and a B+ will be decided by the
tutoring evaluation).
English 2115, Advanced Exposition
Prof. J. Moser
Spring 2018
jmoser@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Office hours: W, 3-4, and by appt
4232B
Course website: academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/moser
Course Description:
Bulletin description: Intensive study of and practice in writing the
principal rhetorical forms.
Training in principles of peer tutoring and three
hours of tutoring writing in the Learning Center or other appropriate
setting.
Pre-requisite: Students who have earned an A in
both English 1010 and 1012 may enroll in this course. The course consists of
class meetings (3 hours/week) and service as peer writing tutors in the
Learning Center (3 hours/week).
English 2115 is a course in advanced composition.
The course focuses on the close reading of paragraphs, long excerpts and
full texts by accomplished stylists, coupled with the study of style and
grammar to give students practice in producing clear, elegant prose in a
variety of styles and with a variety of content. Students read literature
spanning many periods, written in distinct styles for distinct purposes.
Students engage in close analysis of the work of published authors and
produce texts that imitate, through the skillful use of a wide variety of
rhetorical techniques, particular themes, moods and styles.
Course
requirements:
1.
You are allowed 3 absences. Any additional absences
will affect your final grade.
2. All work is due when assigned.
If you are absent, be sure to get the assignment from a classmate.
3.
Papers
are due when assigned. You may hand in ONE paper late, but you must notify
me and the paper may be no more than 1 week late.
No other late work will be accepted.
4.
The four formal writing assignments require second
drafts in order to receive credit. Final drafts are due at the next class
meeting. You may email your work
by midnight of the due date.
Course
writing requirements:
The length and complexity of the writing
assignments grow throughout the semester. At the beginning, students engage
in sentence and paragraph-level grammatical and syntactical analyses,
learning the technical terms for sophisticated grammatical structures, the
relationship between the use of these structures and their rhetorical
effects, and incorporating these techniques into student prose.
Students write paragraphs that imitate the syntax and convey the mood
of the model paragraphs. Throughout the semester, students do sentence-level
exercises that reinforce the effective use of grammatical structures to
produce specific rhetorical effects. As the course progresses, students read
more challenging and complex texts, engaging in close analysis of stylistic
and rhetorical patterns and producing longer, more ambitious prose to
imitate the model texts. The three
longer student writings (3-4 pages each, modeled on Twain, Proust,
Nabokov,) are accompanied by close analyses of the students’ own writing,
indicating the specific ways in which the student text captures the spirit
and style of the model (1-page analysis). The
final writing project is a 7-10
page paper on a choice of topics (determined after individual conferences,
appealing to a range of student interests and abilities) that is an exercise
in creative non-fiction, incorporating research techniques and documentation
into a treatment of a topic of the student’s choice.
Course objectives:
At the end of this course,
students should be able to:
o
write clearly, elegantly and imaginatively, in a
variety of forms and for a variety of purposes and audiences
o
understand the structure of the English language,
including aspects of syntax, phonology, and semantics
o
understand and analyze literary texts
o
understand literature in its interdisciplinary
contexts (e.g., cultural, social, historical, scientific, psychological, and
political)
o
understand and use literary and rhetorical terms
o
appreciate literary complexity, ambiguity, and
paradox
o
understand of interrelation of language, culture,
and society
Requirements:
Course materials and texts:
Bacon, Nora.
The Well-Crafted Sentence. 2nd ed.
Bedford/St.Martins.
THIS IS THE ONLY BOOK YOU NEED TO BUY
You can get the
e-book at about half the price at
bedfordstmartins.com/wellcrafted/formats
Excerpts and longer works,
distributed in class: DO NOT BUY THESE
Nabokov,
Vladimir. Speak Memory. NY:
Vintage, 1989.
Proust, Marcel. Combray.
Swann’s Way. (trans. Enright, Kilmartin, Moncrieff). NY: Modern
Library, 1992.
Twain, Mark. “Two Ways of Seeing a River” from
Life on the Mississippi
Grades:
Participation:
15%
Short written work (grammar, sentence- and paragraph-level
exercises)
15%
Paper 1 Twain)
15%
Paper 2 (Proust)
15%
Paper 3 (Nabokov)
15%
Final paper:
25%
The tutoring component of
this course will affect your grade in two ways:
1. If you fail to fulfill the attendance requirements, your grade
will suffer proportionately.
2. If your in-class grade is borderline, the final evaluation of your
work in the Learning Center will affect your final grade (for example, a
grade that is somewhere between an A- and a B+ will be decided by the
tutoring evaluation).
Tentative Course assignments:
Monday, Jan 29: Diagnostic essay
Wednesday, Jan. 31: Learning Center orientation (1300 B, 2:15)
Monday, Feb 5: Well-Crafted
Sentence; chap 2 t. Review of grammar terms and tenses.
Wednesday, Feb 7: Post hw
from Well-Crafted Sentence online.
Monday, Feb. 12: No
classes; Lincoln’s birthday
Wednesday, Feb. 14: Read Twain's "Two
Ways of Seeing a River" (in-class handout. If you were absent, you can find
a pdf online). Look closely at the language and style in each of the three
paragraphs. We will do a close analysis of this essay in class on Tuesday,
Feb 20
Monday, Feb. 19: No
classes; Washington’s birthday.
Tuesday Feb 20:
Conversion day; follow a Monday schedule (WE MEET) Bring the printout
of Twain’s essay to discuss in class.
For Wednesday, Feb 21:
Outline an essay modeled on the Twain essay. Your first two paragraphs
should present two different views of a place, person, toy, etc. They are
both the views of one person, views shaped by the passing of time or the
acquisition of knowledge or skill. The third paragraph should be an analogy
that parallels the ideas behind paragraphs 1 and 2, but is taken from a
totally different field. Post online, and respond to two of your classmates’
postings.
For Monday, Feb. 26: First draft of Twain essay---bring
copy to class.
For Wednesday, Feb 28: Post
revision of Twain essay; respond to two of your classmates’ Twain essays by
analyzing the stylistic techniques that are borrowed from the model.
For Monday, March 5:
In class: Well-Crafted Sentence, chap 3;
Wednesday, Mar 7--- p. 48, Ex 3F (active/passive).. Post
online
Monday, Mar. 12: Well-crafted Sentence, Chap 4
Wednesday, March 14: Post
online: Well-Crafted Sentence, chap. 4, exercise 4D, p
67-68 on correlative conjunctions: neither/nor. either/or, not only/but
also...
For Monday, Mar 19: Well-Crafted Sentence,;
Chapter 4
For Wednesday, Mar21: Post p. 74, 4G
For Monday, Mar 26: Well-Crafted Sentence chap 5: p. 89-91, 5E
For Wednesday, Mar 26: Finish chap 5
SPRING BREAK, MARCH
30-APRIL 8
For Monday, April 9:
Proust excerpt; Read closely the madeleine excerpt from Proust
(in-class handout). Pay particular attention to the stylistic devices Proust
uses.
For Wednesday, April 11: first draft, Proust imitation.
Use a sensory experience as a trigger to describe a long-buried memory. Be
sure to use some of the rhetorical devices we discussed in class to create a
Proustian mood. Submit by email before midnight
For Monday, Apr 16:
second draft of Proust assignment. HARD COPY ATTACHED TO THE FIRST DRAFT.
Due in class. Well-Crafted Sentence, Chap 6
For Wed., Apr 18:
Post exercises from Chap 6 on
blackboard.
For Monday, April 23: Read closely the three excerpts from Nabokov's
Speak Memory. Note and be prepared to discuss the stylistic devices in
those excerpts
For Wed., April 25: First
draft of Nabokov imitation (1-2 pages). You can imitate any of the three
excerpts, or, if you would prefer, do a close reading of any of the 3
excerpts (look at the in-class handout of sample student writing to see a
model of close reading)
For Monday, April 30:
Well-Crafted
Sentence, Chap 8: Do Ex. 8D in the book. Read Shamengwa, p. 159-174, before
you do the exercise.
For Monday, May 2: Second draft of
Nabokov imitation; post on blackboard
and analyze the Nabakovian stylistic techniques or mood of two of your
classmates’ postings.
For Wed., May 4: Read Tuchman, "This is
the End of the World"
Click on this link and download
For Monday, May 9:
Read David Foster Wallace, "Consider the Lobster."
Copy and paste this link. Print out and bring the article to class:
http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2004/08/consider_the_lobster18ff.html?currentPage=1
Monday, May 14: final paper
presentations
Final Paper:
This is an exercise in creative non-fiction, a
synthesis of academic and personal writing. Write a 6-8 page paper that is
framed by documented research but told from an eye-witness, first-person
point of view. This paper could take the form of a series of letters, a
diary, an eye-witness news report.
Place yourself at the
scene. For example, you might live through Hurricane Katrina; you might
attend the coronation of a king or queen; you might be a bride in Sparta;
you might be one of the "lost boys" living in the U.S. Pick a topic that
intrigues you and that offers an array of scholarly sources (academic
articles, books, film, interviews, music...). You must have at least 4
sources.
Write a 6-8 page paper in a
format that fits the eye-witness perspective of this project. Use formal
documentation (check owl@perdue.edu) and use either footnotes or endnotes so
as not to interrupt the flow of the narrative.
Due Wed., May 9
1.
Proposal
and outline (by email so we can look at these together in class)
2.
Annotated bibliography (hard copy to
be handed in in class; also by email). I will bring two sample final papers
to class.
Due Monday, May 21: Final version of the paper---by email.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
Monday, Aug. 28:
Introductions; literacy narratives
For Wednesday, Aug. 30:
In-class
writing
Monday, Sept. 4: Labor Day; no classes
For Wed.,
Sept. 6:
Well-Crafted Sentence, p. 34, Ex 2E
(bring to class)
For Monday, Sept. 11: Take a paragraph from an essay or
creative piece that you've written. Do a close reading of that
paragraph, identifying adjective, adverb and noun clauses.
What
can you say about your use of a variety of different sentence structures?
Send the paragraph, with the close analysis, as an attachment in word before
class meets.
For Wednesday, Sept. 13: Read Twain's "Two Ways of Seeing a
River" (in-class handout. If you were absent, you can find a pdf online).
Look closely at the language and style in each of the three paragraphs.
For Monday,
Sept 18: Outline an essay modeled on the Twain
essay. Your first two paragraphs should present two different views of a
place, person, toy, etc. They are both the views of one person, views shaped
by the passing of time or the acquisition of knowledge or skill. The third
paragraph should be an analogy that parallels the ideas behind paragraphs 1
and 2, but is taken from a totally different field. Bring to class on
Wednesday
For Monday, Sept. 25: First draft of Twain essay due
by midnight. If you haven't emailed me your outline, please be sure to do so
before you write.
Well-Crafted Sentence, p. 48, Ex
3F (active/passive)
For Wednesday, Sept. 27: Model sentences for imitation
(Hemingway, etc). Well-Crafted Sentence, chap.
4, exercise 4D, p 67-68 on correlative conjunctions: neither/nor. either/or,
not only/but also...
For Monday, Oct. 2: p. 74, 4G, 1. Well-Crafted Sentence
For Wed., Oct. 4: Well-Crafted Sentence, Ex. 5E, p.
89-91.
For Wednesday, Oct 6: Herodotus
imitation, with accompanying paragraph analyzing in what ways your imitation
resembles Herodotus's writing.
Monday, Oct 9:
No classes; Columbus Day
For
Wed., Oct. 11:
Read the three Herodotus handouts closely (distributed in class on
Wed, 9/11).. Note and be prepared to discuss the stylistic devices in those
excerpts
For Mon., Oct. 16: Well-Crafted Sentence, p. 74-75, Ex 4G
You need to post your Herodtus
imitation online before class on Wednesday, Oct. 18.
Here are some samples from past classes:
This is what the manatee
looks like: it is light gray all over, and has a tail shaped like a giant
clover, and its body looks like an oval blob, and its back is flat and hard.
With a short stubby neck, a fat husky face, showcasing its spiky whiskers,
the manatee is about the size of a mini-van. This is what the manatee is
like: it lives among the sea critters of the Florida Keys, feeding off weeds
and algae, idly roaming the shallow sea bottom, but it is no ordinary
mammal. It has the eyes of a lazy beast, and lumpy, rough skin down its
back. While other whales and fish swim deep in the ocean, the goofy manatee
swims towards the crowd of ships and boats near the shore—waiting for their
propellers to cut its back. Why does the manatee do this? I have seen
several manatees swim to their deaths—these kamikaze sea cows, slowly
diminishing in populace. That’s enough on the subject of manatees.
There is another
world beyond ours, powerful where we are weak, awful where we are feeble,
containing terrible creatures that are like distorted images of our own. The
only possible routes
between the
worlds are contained within the depths of mirrors. These borders were closed
long ago, for our own protection. The beastly inhabitants of that shadow
world were forced back down, stripped of their strength, imprisoned in our
reflections.
But the people talk, on occasion, of the day on which the animals of the mirror will return. In the depths of the mirror, there will appear faint, deviating lines. Steadily, the animals will begin to change—steadily they will grow—they will throw off servile replication and assume their own forms. From inside the mirrors will come the faint sound of ringing arms, and from the inside of polished spoons, and crystal dinner plates, and women’s closets, the barriers will shatter. They will break through. And this time, they will not be contained.
For Monday, Oct. 23, you need to analyze the Herodotean devices in two of your classmates' imitations and post your response online.
Ex. 5E, p. 89-91
For Wednesday, Oct 25:
Read closely the madeleine excerpt from Proust (in-class handout). Pay
particular attention to the stylistic devices Proust uses
If
you were absent, copy and paste this link for the excerpt:
http://ww3.haverford.edu/psychology/ddavis/p109g/proust.html
For Wed., Nov 1:
first draft, Proust imitation. Use a sensory experience as a trigger to
describe a long-buried memory. Be sure to use some of the rhetorical devices
we discussed in class to create a Proustian mood.
Starting Monday, Nov. 6:
Each student will post a 250-word (minimum) response to the tutoring
experience, and respond (in at least 150 words) to two of your classmates on
the course's blackboard site. This is a weekly assignment.
For
Monday, Nov. 6: Well-Crafted Sentence, Chapter 6 and 7
For Wed., Nov.
8:
Well-Crafted
Sentence, Ex 7C, 7G, 7H
Hard copy due
in class---second draft of Proust assignment.
For Monday, Nov 13: close reading of Nabokov excerpts distributed in class
For Wed., Nov. 15: first draft of Nabokov imitation due
For Monday, Nov. 27: Second draft of Nabokov posted to blackboard; Email 2nd draft, with paragraph of self-analysis, by Sunday, Nov 26. Respond to two of your classmates' writing by Wed., Nov 29
For Wed.
Nov 22: Well-Crafted
Sentence, Ex. 8D,E,F Read Shamengwa, p. 159-174, before you do the exercise
We will
look at sample final papers in class on Monday, after Thanksgiving.
HAPPY
THANKSGIVING
Due Monday, Nov 27:
Read David Foster Wallace, "Consider the Lobster." Essay
distributed in class, or copy and paste this link. Print out and bring the
article to class: http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2004/08/consider_the_lobster18ff.html?currentPage=1
The last two class sessions will be devoted to student
presentations of their final papers. Email to reserve your presentation
spot:
Presentations: Each presenter has 10 minutes to describe (and
display on the screen) his or her topic and annotated bibliography. Be
prepared to discuss how you plan to organize your paper and to answer your
classmate's questions.
Wednesday Dec. 6: Leah, Aleeza, Mary
Monday, Dec. 11:
Final Paper: Due Monday,
Dec 18 by MIDNIGHT (EMAIL) OR IN MY MAILBOX (2308B) BY 3PM.
This is an exercise in creative non-fiction, a synthesis of academic and
personal writing. Write a 6-8 page paper that is framesby documented
research but told from an eye-witness, first-person point of view. This
paper could take the form of a series of letters, a diary, an eye-witness
news report.
Place yourself at the scene. For example, you might live through
Hurricane Katrina; you might attend the coronation of a king or queen; you
might be a bride in Sparta; you might be one of the "lost boys" living in
the U.S. Pick a topic that intrigues you and that offers an array of
scholarly sources