Informal Writing
Since ENC 1101 is a writing class, I will ask you to write daily. This writing is informal, in the sense that it will take the form of journal entries. However, it does have to be serious: I will expect you to spend more than a few minutes on this writing, and I will expect that your writing shows that you are thinking critically about the subject matter. The primary audience for this writing is yourself: your daily responses should be a kind of conversation that you have with the material and classroom discussions; they should give you the space to think through some of the issues raised in the reading and in your research. A secondary audience for the writing is the class: what you write will determine to a great extent what gets said in the class and will ultimately influence the experience of each member of the class. In that sense, your writing is definitely a collaborative effort: together we will look at our experiences with issues in technology in order to enrich our understanding of its various texts. You will be responsible for one (1) informal writing for each class period; they will be collected at the end of the term. Occasionally, specific topics will be supplied for you to address, but more often you will be left up to your own interests within the course topic. A minimum of 250 words should be observed for each entry.
Formal Writing
In addition to creating what goes on in class, your daily writing should also prepare you to write three formal, in-class, CLAST-like essays. The essay topics will reflect the reading material and class discussions and will expect you to expand upon them with your own knowledge and research of the material. Ideally, these formal essays should grow out of an insight or set of insights that you first recorded in your daily written responses.
Class Participation
Regular class attendance and active participation in classroom discussion and the class interchanges are required. Some assignments will occasionally count for participation: peer editing, the viewing of a film, and like activities. Additional assistance can be obtained from the instructor during his office hours or by appointment.
Various forms of electronic discourse will be utilized by the class. Participation in LitMUSE meetings and Littalk interchanges will be required. Specific assignments dealing with each of these activities will be prompted by the instructor, usually in class. While we will complete much of our computer work in-class, the use of a computer out-of-class is manditory for the successful completion of of this class. USF provides open-use computer labs, but I suggest your buying a computer for use throughout your college career. You will need to use a computer for this class daily; if you do not have easy access to one, you should consider taking another class.
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