What to Expect

To Do This Semester

This is an Honors section of E110, and you thus can anticipate doing a good bit of work in it. Since I expect your two main writing projects to be rooted in the texts we will read and discuss together, the first half or so of the course will be weighted toward that reading, the second half toward your writing. You should plan to read about 150 pages per week through September and October, as well as write brief responses to the texts you read. In the last several weeks of the semester  our attention will shift almost entirely to the longer pieces you will then be writing.

You will also learn about the process of writing a critical essay: How to use writing to generate work through what you think about various texts and ideas; how  to distinguish between drafting, revising, and editing; how to make thoughtful use of feedback on your work; how to offer helpful advice to other writers; and how to design a stylish and effective document.

You’ll get a lot of feedback on your writing, from both me and your classmates, and so my expectations for the quality of your work are high. At the end of this semester, you should feel that you’ve been part of some interesting conversations, and that you’ve done some writing you feel proud of. Take the work of this course seriously, and I promise you that will happen.

To Do Each Class

You’ll find that almost all of our class meetings will have us working with texts—either published pieces, or ones that you and your classmates have written. So come to class having done the reading and ready to work.

I like to get started on time, so please be ready to begin work promptly at 1:25. If we run out of things to do before 2:15, we ‘ll break early. I will often ask you to do some fastwriting in class, so if you’re more comfortable composing on a keyboard than with a pen, then bring your laptop. But for the most part, we will be working on paper. I’ll ask you to bring print copies of your writing to class, and I will return those copies with my comments on them.

Since we only have 50 minutes for each class, we need to focus on the work going on in the room. So please silence and put away your phones. Drinks are okay; food is not.

My job is to make our class meetings useful and interesting; your job is to work hard and learn.

To Do as a Student

This is a course that rewards steady and thoughtful work. It is not the sort of course that will ask you to compile a massive paper at the end of the semester, or to cram frantically for midterm or final exams. But neither is it the kind of course in which you can hope to skip class and get the notes, or miss a few readings or assignments and still try to keep up. You need to be present—reading done, writing done, ready to work—for each class.

Here’s what I expect from you:

• Attend all class meetings and conferences. Be ready to dive in and participate, both in small- and large-group discussions.
• Complete all assigned readings and in-class writing exercises.
• Turn in all your writings on time.

The usual calculus is that you should work two hours out of class for each hour in class. This means you should set aside six hours each week to keep up with the reading and writing assigned for this course.

Good luck! I look forward to working with you.