ESG 21W.730 Syllabus
Expository Writing
Fall, 2000
A grade of B or better in this course satisfies Phase I of the writing
requirement. A grade of C may satisfy Phase I at the discretion of
the insructors.
Meets 4 days a week for the first 2/3 of the semester, times to be
arranged. 3 days/week thereafter. (Class will not meet on the day
before a long weekend or holiday.)
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Instructors:
Dave Custer
Office: 24-611, 2nd door, first desk on the left
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 5:00 to 7:00, and many other odd times
Phone: x3-7787, x3-2872(message)
E-mail: custer@mit.edu
Moana Minton
E-mail: moana@MIT.EDU
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Text:
No text is required for this course. We encourage you to
own and cherish a copy of your favorite style guide. We will gladly
recommend one if you have no personal preference. Additionally, style
and grammar help is available on the world wide web.
Subject Description:
This subject is designed to improve
writing ability and writing habits. Additional improvement is
expected in students' attitude towards writing; as the semester
progresses, students should feel confident of their ability to
write. Satisfactory performance in 21W.730 indicates a mastery of
grammar, style, sentence/paragraph structure, and argument sufficient
for success at writing tasks assigned in MIT classes.
Teaching Approach:
21W.730 is based on the
following premises:
- Writing is a process. Good writing is not just a decent written
manuscript: it is also the series of actions and thoughts that goes
into producing a decent manuscript. Students will both examine writing as
it appears on the page and determine how to produce good
writing through the processes of planning, organizing, writing,
review, editing, and rewriting.
- Writing improves with practice. There is no other way. Students will
practice writing by writing. Feedback on this writing should produce
better writing and better writing habits.
- Writing is a collaborative activity. Writing is a collaboration
between the writer and the audience. Both expect cooperation from the
other. Without this cooperation, nothing is communicated. Writing
can also be a collaboration among writers working together on a common
task. You will collaborate often to improve our habits
as readers and writers.
The course meets three times a week. Students are be expected to write daily outside of
class (for about an hour). Most of the class meetings will be devoted to
workshopping this writing. Time will also be explicitly
devoted to specific topics such as: grammar, style, paragraph
structure, logic, description, and argumentation as well as discussion
of reading assignments. As the course
progresses, less time will be devoted to these ``lectures,'' and more
time will be allotted to writing as the length of the assignments
increases.
Assignments:
Written assignments cover a range of lengths (1=>10 pages) and genres
(experiencial, argumentative, technical; see the schedule for more detail).
Assignments completed in installments; it is expected that each will
progress through a series of drafts. Please keep all your final
drafts in a safe place so you can turn in all of your work (portfolio)
at the end of the semester.
Reading assignments: be prepared to discuss the reading in an
intelligible and intelligent manner. For the most part, the readings
are assigned to provide a model for your writing. They also provide
the class with a common experience from which examples can be drawn.
Journal: a place for informal writing, to jot ideas for essays, to
respond to the reading assignments. Early in the semester, journal
entries will be suggested. Journal installments will be collected at
the middle and end of the semester.
Assessment of Writing:
You will receive suggestions and
constructive criticism of your writing in the form of:
- in-class criticism from instructors and peers during workshops.
- written and oral comments from your instructor(s), who will read
each assignment from the standpoint of its organization and coverage,
its grammar and style, and its punctuation and mechanics.
Grading:
Your written work will account for half your final
grade; assignments will count roughly proportional to page length.
Final drafts of shorter assignments will be given grades of X, +, or
- ( OK, great, and not-so-great (roughly B, A, C)). The technical
report and longer
essays will be given letter grades. If a student deems the grade on
any assignment unsatisfactory, the assignment can be reworked and
resubmitted for a better grade. The remainder of the grade will be
derived from class participation. Please note that I reserve the
option of failing any student who misses more than six classes.
Receiving a ``B'' or better in 21W.730 means that you automatically pass
Phase I of the Writing Requirement. If you receive a ``C'' in the
course, we believe (last we checked -- these things change) that is is
possible for the instructor(s) to grant Phase I reprieve on a
case-by-case basis. Such reprieve is granted only in extenuating
circumstances where it is deemed that a retaking of 21W.730 would not
improve adequate writing skills.
The schedule
should give you an idea of what you might expect. (This file has not
yet been updated from last year, but it does provide an idea of what
will come to pass.
author = custer@mit.edu
location = http://web.mit.edu/21.730/Dave21.730/www/730syll.f98.html
Spiral over to the 21W.783 notes.
Spiral over to Dave's writing world page.