Welcome to English 1 B Writing about Lit

Welcome to English 1 B Writing about Lit with Georgie Ziff

About you… o On a piece of paper please write the following… name contact phone number other courses currently taking what college English courses you’ve taken and where Cur - - employment and schedule things - anything I should know to better help you during the class how y – how you feel about your writing

Now about me… Georgie Ziff - Two boys, now teenagers! We live in Oakland. Grew up on the East Coast and the Midwest, but came to California for a one year job and never left. M. A. in Composition and Creative Writing from CSUEB B. A. from CSUEB, double major in English and Women’s Studies American Montessori Society Early Education Teaching Credential 10 years as an early childhood Montessori teacher 8 th year teaching college composition at California State University East Bay As a teacher, I hold my students to high standards of excellence, but I will do all that I can to help them succeed (because I know they can).

About Writing… my favorite writing quote: o “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell. ” o William Strunk Jr. Elements of Style

Required Course Materials o Literature for Composition by Sylvan Barnet, Wm. Burto, Wm. Cain, 8 th edition. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury o Blank composition book for your writing journal o Account with Engrade. com o USB flash drive and/or an online free account with Dropbox. com o Reliable computer and printer

Grading in the Course o Four short essays 40% o Final essay 20% o Literature Pres. 10% o Homework 10% o Portfolio 10% o Writing Journal 5% o Attendance 5%

Save Your Work Online • Create a free account at www. dropbox. com for saving your work online. You can then access it in the computer lab. This is a great tool – it not only provides you with a place to save work, it also synchronizes any changes you make online, so your Dropbox is always up to date! * Use a flashdrive as backup, in case you cannot go online.

Attendance Policy o Come to class prepared and on time o You earn 6 points for every class attended. 2 point deduction for arriving late and/or leaving early. 30 min late = an absence o Attendance counts for 5% of your overall course grade. 3 absences = 1 full grade deduction from the final course grade. o 4 absences= I reserve the right to drop you from the course or fail you. If you remain in the class, another full grade reduction will be applied. o Computer lab days are required = missing the lab or arriving unprepared will result in a 5 point deduction off the final essay grade.

Today’s Objectives o To get oriented to the course, the syllabus, requirements, expectations, and so forth. o To break/melt the ice with one another o To form and begin working in collaborative groups

Break the Ice 1. Form groups of three 2. Find one item you are carrying that is significant to you and share it with your group; explain the significance 3. Find one thing that everyone in your group has in common 4. Exchange email/contact information with each other

In the Spot Light 1. Each of you will in turn introduce one person in your group and share something you learned about him/her 2. Share what everyone in your group has in common

Working as a Team 1. Together come up with 3 to 4 questions you have about this course 2. Now, with the syllabus, try to find the answers to the questions you came up with 3. Let’s talk about the questions you couldn’t find answers to…

What to expect next class… o Small group formation o In class writing assessment o Your first reading assignment o First essay: short story analysis

Your Homework o Buy the books and a blank composition book for your writing journal o Download the Syllabus and Schedule, noting the homework assignments o Send me an email with the class and your name in the subject line to: o georgie. ziff@csueastbay. edu o Go to the class website www. georgiesenglishwiki. pbworks. com o Register at Engrade. com