Welcome to English 1002 Writing with Georgie Ziff

About you… o On a piece of paper please write the following… ̶ name and contact phone number ̶ other courses you’re taking ̶ what college English courses you’ve taken and where ̶ Current employment and schedule ̶ things - anything I should know to better help y 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 ̶ 8th year teaching college composition at California State University East Bay; 5 th year at Merritt College; 2 nd summer at Berkeley City College; 1 st year at Los Medanos College ̶ 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 oReading Critically, Writing Well by Axelrod, Cooper and Warriner – 9 th edition. The book is available at the bookstore and also online at * Amazon.com,* and can be used for 2 hours at the Reference Desk in the library. oBlank composition book for your writing journal oReliable computer and printer

Grading in the Course o Three Essays 50% o Homework 15% o Class Present. 15% o Writing Journal 5% o Portfolio 10% o Attendance 5%

Save Your Work Online * Create a free account at 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.

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 /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 In class writing assessment so I can learn more about you o Discussion of writing process o Your first reading assignment

Your Homework o Buy Reading Critically, Writing Well – 9 th edition, and a blank composition book for your writing journal o Download the Syllabus and Schedule from Blackboard, noting assignments. o First homework assignment: two paragraph summary and response to the article : about Argument.: o In the text, read the Etzioni essay Working a t * McDonald’s p. 284 (This means you should read the essay prior to class ) *