ENG100H1F L5101 : Effective Writing

Lecture Time: Mondays and Wednesdays 6:00-9:00; BL 112

Instructor: Professor Laura Clarridge


Office Location: JHB 701
Email: laura.clarridge@utoronto.ca


Office Hours: Mondays 4:00-5:30

Course Description:

Learning to write and communicate effectively can bring about dramatic changes in academic
and professional performance. This course offers students a practical and accessible set of skills
to convey their best ideas with clarity, concision and power. Topics will include: composing
persuasive sentences and paragraphs, brainstorming strategies to generate ideas, developing
and expanding those ideas into viable arguments, structuring coherent outlines, giving and
utilizing constructive feedback, revising work, and communicating with audiences in different
contexts and formats. Short assignments will be used to practice various types of academic and
non-academic writing such as expository paragraphs, rhetorical analyses, cover letters, articles,
personal correspondence and compare and contrast essays.

This course may not count toward any English program (but it will certainly equip students with
skills relevant to any program).

Required Text:
1. The McGraw-Hill Handbook, Canadian edition (2010)
Edited by Elaine P. Maimon, Janice H. Peritz, Kathleen Blake Yancey,
and Deidre E. Flynn
2. Additional required reading (available in-class or through Blackboard)


The McGraw-Hill Handbook is available for purchase at the Bob Miller Bookroom at 180 Bloor Street
West (across from the ROM).

Evaluation
In-class writing exercises (2 of 4)
Grammar quizzes (2)

Assignment 1


Assignment 2


Assignment 3


Participation


Final exam

10%
10%
10%
15%
20%
15%
20%

WalkSmart
As our class ends at 9:00pm, please know that the Universitys WalkSmart program is available to you.
To request a walk home or to a TTC stop, please contact 416 978-SAFE (7233) or check out their website
at: http://www.campuspolice.utoronto.ca/safety/walkSmart.htm

Attendance Policy
Your attendance and participation during our classes is very important, and much of your grade is based
on in-class work. Every student is permitted one unexcused absence per semester. Any subsequent
absences must be excused, i.e. they require a note from your doctor (using the University of Toronto
Verification of Student Illness or Injury Form or from your registrar). Each unexcused absence after the
first will result in a 5% penalty off the participation grade (the full participation grade is worth 15%).
Please note that in-class writing exercises will not be rescheduled in the case of unexcused absences.

Late Penalties and Extensions

Assignments are to be submitted in class on the due date. Assignments not submitted on the due date
will be subject to a 2% per business day penalty for up to 5 days or 10%. I cannot accept assignments
after 5 days. Late assignments must be submitted to me in person or to the English department drop
box on the 6th floor of the Jackson Humanities Building (170 St. George Street, 6th Floor). Your paper will
be stamped with the date and time and the department secretary will ensure that I receive it. Please do
not e-mail late assignments or put them under my office door. If you are absent on the day that the
assignment is due, it is your responsibility to make appropriate arrangements (i.e. submit it early to me
or have a classmate submit it for you).

Extensions will only be granted when proper documentation (from your registrar or your doctor) is
provided. If you find yourself in a situation that will necessitate an extension, please contact me as soon
as possible.

Academic Integrity
As a student at the University of Toronto, your academic integrity is crucial to the scholarship you
produce and to the value of the degree you will ultimately possess. Plagiarism is the unintentional or
intentional representation of the ideas or language of someone else as your own. I expect that all work
you submit be composed of your own ideas and be expressed in your own writing unless otherwise
indicated. If you decide to use ideas or quotations from class or from a secondary source, be sure to
acknowledge it as such and cite it correctly using MLA format. Please review the University of Torontos
Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters. Another valuable resource is Margaret Proctors How Not to
Plagiarize. Ive included the links to both documents below:
http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/policies/behaveac.htm
http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources/how-not-to-plagiarize
As an instructor, I am bound by the Universitys code to report any cases of plagiarism I suspect. These
cases are then investigated by the procedures outlined in the code.

If youre unsure if something constitutes plagiarism or if you find yourself in an overwhelming situation,
please talk to me (or to your college registrar) before submitting your work.

ACCESSIBILITY NEEDS
If you require accommodations for a disability, or if you have any accessibility concerns about our course
or classroom, please contact Accessibility Services as soon as possible:
http://studentlife.utoronto.ca/accessibility

EMAIL AND COURSE COMMUNICATION

I will primarily use Blackboard and your student e-mail to communication with you. Please ensure you
have access to both and check regularly for updates. Please note that I will respond to your e-mails
within 48 hours (if you have a question about an assignment, please do not wait until the night before!)

ELECTRONICS POLICY
Students are permitted to use computers and tablets during class for reading course materials, note-
taking and other course-related work only. Since cell phones and smart phones are disruptive, please
refrain from using your device during class. Students who are repeatedly caught using these devices will
be asked to leave.

RESOURCES ON CAMPUS
The campus Writing Centre offers many locations and programs that are relevant to our work in this
course and certainly beyond. For information about programming and appointments, please check out:
http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/writing-centres

READING SCHEDULE:

Daily Plan

Assigned Readings (to be

completed before class)

Assignments, In-
Class Writing
Exercises, Tests

Course Introduction

John McWhorter: Txting is

Killing Language. JK!!! (Ted
Talk in-class viewing)

Practice In-Class Writing

Exercise

Parts of Speech

554-72

Wed. May
13

The Writing Process

Audience & Analysis

Constructing Outlines

Mon. May
11

Sentence Basics

2-19
573-90

In-Class Writing Exercise

1

Mon. May
18

Victoria Day Class Cancelled

Wed. May
20

Prewriting, Brainstorming
Ideas and Drafting Thesis
Statements

19-51

Topic Outline for

Assignment 1

Commas (and how to edit for 592-623

comma splices and comma
934-40
misuse)

Apostrophes
Mon. May
25

Compiling Evidence and

Structuring Paragraphs

8-9

In-Class Workshop
Pronoun agreement
Quotation Marks
Active and Passive Voice
Editing for sentence
fragments and run-on
sentences

Wed. May
27

Evaluating Arguments and

Strengthening Claims:
Logical Fallacies and the 3
Appeals
Grammar Review and
Practice Quiz

Mon. June 1

Interpretation Across
Disciplines and Genres
Subject-verb disagreements
and verb tense consistency

Wed. June 3

52-72; 96-123

Full Draft of Assignment

1 Due

747-771
636-51
744-46; 857-60
678-704

223-255

Assignment 1 Due

In-Class Writing Exercise

2

158--222

Grammar Test 1

705-744

Balanced sentences and

faulty parallelism

803-806; 817-26

The Research Process:

Evaluating Sources and

334-43; 370-77; 434-82

In-Class Writing Exercise

3

Documentation Styles (with

emphasis on MLA)
End Punctuation: Periods,
Question Marks and
Exclamation Points
Semicolons and Colons

Mon. June 8

Wed. June
10

670-76

624-35

Introductions and
Conclusions for Research
Papers

Review again: 65-72

Writing Workshop #2

Modifiers (including how to

edit for dangling and
misplaced modifiers)

827-35

Full Draft of Assignment

2 Due

Advanced Editing Issues:

Identifying Weakness,
Establishing Logical
Sequence, Integrating
Research

413-31

In-Class Writing Exercise

4

Dashes, Parentheses, Square

Brackets, Ellipses and the
Slash
Hyphens

652-69

Assignment 2 Due

941-45

Grammar Review and

Practice Quiz

Writing Workshop 3

Mon. June
15

Topic Outline for

Assignment 3 Due + Full
Draft of Assignment 3
Due

Grammar Test 2

Wed. June
17

Exam Review

Assignment 3 Due