English 201, Section One
The Personal is Rhetorical: Exploring the Essay
Spring2004
Instructor: Engelhardt
Prerequisite: English 101 and 102
TTh 8:30-9:45 222 Hodges

RequiredTexts: Roorbach,Bill. Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: TheArt of Truth. New York: Oxford UP. 2001.
Williams, Joseph. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. New York: Longman. 2003.

Other materials: A three-ring binder and a spiral-bound notebook that will snap into the binder to facilitate organization. Keep drafts and free writes, both hard copies and on disk. All material to be turned in must be typed or printed out. Bring your copies, drafts and journal (free writes, reading responses, etc.) to class every day.

Attendance: Two absences are free. Four or more will result in failing the class. No late work will be accepted. Contact me as soon as you anticipate a problem. If something goes terribly wrong unexpectedly, contact the Office of the Dean of Student Life. They can fix everything.

Office Hours: I'll be available MW 12:00 to 1:30 in Stansbury 449. I will also be available immediately following class. Please talk to me. Or email me: jengelha@mix.wvu.edu.

Plagiarism: According to the Council of Writing Program Administrators, plagiarism "occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else's language, ideas, or other original (not cornrnonknowledge) material without acknowledging its source." Don't do it.

Special Needs and Social Justice: If you have any special needs or concerns, please talk to me so that we can plan accommodations in agreement with WVU's commitment to social justice. Any suggestions on how to maintain a positive and open environment in this class will be appreciated.

Course Goals: (and assignments)
To find how the private, personal act of writing can, and does, interact with the public world. We'll look at ways to control presentation (and to some extent reception) and what the choices are that help us have that control. We'll try to understand the necessary rhetorical positions of the essay writer.

Journal 5%
Participation 5%
Portfolio 10%
Memoir 20%
Personal Essay 20%
Literary Journalism 20%
Creative Cultural Criticism 20%

Grading: You vvill be given alphabetic grades with each assigurnent along with brief comments I on both strengths and weaknesses. If you are content with your grade, then you will not need to revise. If you would like to revisit this material before the end of the session, you can turn new versions in–along with your originals–at any point.

Presentation counts. Always use a standard, 12 point font (e.g., Times New Roman). Use I one inch margins, black ink, and be sure to double space. We will be using MLA standards.

Class Schedule
(Subject to change–you are responsible for knowing the changes)

Week One
Tue 1/13 Getting settled
Home: CCN 1-11 (Introduction to the book and Journals). MFK Fischer 39-41.
Write 1 page personal journal entry

Thu 1/15 Discuss CCN.
Home: Ancient Rhetorics (Crowley and Hawhee) Chapter One~on electronic reserve. Another joDal entry. From a memory or recent event. Bring two ads on Tues, one old, one new. Read Cheever 11-23.

Week Two
Tue 1/20 Discuss Ancient Rhetorics
Home: Read CCN 79-81 (Introduction to Memoir). Read Thurber 81-3.

Thu 1/22 Discuss Introduction and Thurber. Find topics. Assign Memoir.
Home: Read Dillard 95-105 and Pekar/Crumb 186-9

Week Three
Tue 1/27 Discuss Dillard and Pekar/Crumb.
Home: Read Kingston 106-113. Bring draft or outline for Th.
Thu 1/29 Discuss Kingston.
Home: Read Ancient Rhetorics (Crowley and Hawhee) Chapter Thirteen. Karr 143-155.

Week Four
Tue 2/3 Discuss Ancient Rhetorics, and Karr.
Home: Draft.

Thu 2/5 Workshop(s)
Home: Finishmemoir. Read CCN 191-3.

Week Five

Tue 2/10 Memoir Due. Assign Personal Essay. Discuss Introduction to Personal Essay.
Home: Read Carru~ 217-9.

Thu 2/12 Discuss Carruth.
Home: Ancient Rhetorics (Crowley and Hawhee) Chapter Three. Find magazine that publishes Personal Essays. Or website.

Week Six

Tue 2/17 Discuss Ancient Rhetorics.
Home: Read Abbott 21 1-7

Thu 2/19 Discuss Abbott.
Home: Read Kincaid 250-4. Read Lynch 270-5.

Week Seven
Tue 2/24 Discuss Kincaid and Lynch.
Home: Read Style 1-10.

Thu 2/26 Discuss Style. Workshops.
Home: Read Style 11-52. Finishdraft. Bringotheressays, wntings forTu.

Week Eight
Tue 3/2 Personal Essay Due. Start Literary Journalism.
Home: Read Style 54-75. Read Introduction to Literary Journalism 303-5.

Thu 3/4 Discuss Style and Introduction.
Home: Write 2 page proposal. Read Style 77-111. Read Wolfe 398-406.

Week Nine
Tue 3/9 Class Cancelled: Conferences

Thu 3/11 Proposals due. Discuss reading.
Home: Draft, research. Read Style 11 5- 1 34. Read Ehrenreich 370-89.

Not Really Week Ten
Tue 3/16 No Class: SpringBreak

Thu 3/18 NoClass: SpringBreak

Week Ten
Tue 3/23 Workshops. Discuss Style and Ehrenreich.
Home: Read S<yle 135-181. Read Johnson 364-70.

Thu 3/25 ClassCancelled: Research

Week Eleven
Tue 3/30 Workshops
Home: Polish draft.

Thu 4/1 Literary Journalism due. Start Creative Cultural Criticism. Home: ReadStyle 185-208. DaumS17-24.

Week Twelve
Tue 4/6 Discuss Style and Daum
Home: Read Malcolm 525-533.

Thu 4/S Discuss Malcolm.
Home: Prepare questions for conference. Read Wallace 534-563. -~

Week Thirteen
Tue 4/13 ClassCancelled: Conferences

Thu 4/15 Discuss Wallace.
Home: Reading TBA

Week Fourteen
Tue 4/20 Discuss reading
Home: Assemble portfolio

Thu 4/22 Look at portfolio pieces Home: Polish all pieces

Week Fifteen
Tue 4/27 Final workshops, conferences
Home: Polish

Thu 4/29 Last Day! Head for the hills! You'll be lighter since you'll have given it all to me.