Dave Custer's ESG 21W.735 Syllabus
Reading and Writing the Essay
Spring, 2006

Meeting times:
Mondays, 1:30=>3:00 PM
and
Fridays, 8:30=>10:00 AM

Class does not meet on the Friday before an MIT holiday weekend. (No class on March 24 or April 14.)

Instructor: Dave Custer Office: 24-611, 2nd door, first desk on the left Office Hours: Mondays, 5:00 to 6:45 PM, by appointment, & drop-in Phone: x3-7787, x3-2872(message) E-mail: custer@mit.edu

Subject Description:

This class is based on the following premises:

This class focuses on making you a better writer and reader by creating and solving text problems. You are expected primarily to read and write essays. Additionally, class time will be devoted to discussion of essays, both published essays and student work in progress. The focus of all these sessions is to make you aware of how to be a better reader and writer.

Grading:

You will be graded on your class participation and your written work, about 50% of your grade will be derived from each. In grading your writing, I reward improvement, innovation, and effort, as well as quality text.

Five writing assignments (two long (5-10 pages and three short (3-5 pages)) are spread out accross the term, roughly in proportion to their length. Expect to develop all of these essays in a series of drafts (no binge writing). MIT's HASS-D policy requires that the page count for these essays exceeds 20.

Attendance in class and regular progress on the written work is mandatory -- students who miss 5 class sessions will not pass. I appreciate advance warning of absence, but I am not the person who excuses absences.

Two deliverables in addition to the reading assignments, writing assignments, and class participation: a brief written responce to the reading assignments (~ a paragraph per reading) and a formal oral presentation based on the research essay.

Assessment of Writing:

You will receive suggestions and constructive criticism of your writing from in-class criticism during writing workshops, from written peer reviews, and from the instructor, who will evaluate each assignment from the standpoint of its power and effectiveness, its organization and coverage, its grammar and style, and its punctuation and mechanics. The final drafts of the major assignments will receive letter grades. I expect students to rework and resubmit C work.

You will be responsible for keeping a portfolio that contains final drafts of all 21W.735 writing. This portfolio will be submitted with your final paper towards the end of the semester.

Text

Readings will follow the development of the naturalist essay with an emphasis on 19th, 20th, and 21st century authors.

A detailed list of readings from Spring, 1998. The list will be modified this semester to include additional readings that:

Thus, the Spring 1998 list will need to be reduced to accommodate the added readings.
An accurate listing of the reading assignments for the first weeks of the Spring 2006 class. .
author = custer@mit.edu
location = http://web.mit.edu/custer/www/735syllabus.html
Spiral back to Dave's writing world page.