1. Composition with Georgie Ziff
Welcome to English 100
Composition with Georgie Ziff

2. About you… 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
- what your academic goals are
- why you are in college

3. About me… Two boys: 20 & 23 - 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
10th year teaching college composition at California State University East Bay; 9th year at Merritt College; 7th year at Berkeley City College; 5th year at Los Medanos College
Certified Scorer/Reader – Educational Testing Service – SAT, GRE, EPT, EAP
Why the photo? Because we’re all that kid on the inside; find your own voice in your writing.
My advice: school will always be ready for you when you are ready for school.

4. About Writing…
my favorite writing quote:
“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.
William Strunk Jr. Elements of Style

5. Required Course Materials
Exploring Language 14th ed.
by Gary Goshgarian
(Available in the bookstore and online at Amazon.com)
Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas
Blank composition book for your writing journal

6. Suggested Materials
Some kind of cloud storage to access while in the computer lab or a USB flash drive or an online free account with Dropbox.com
Reliable computer and internet connection
Alarm clock – this is an early class!

7. Grading in the Course Three Essays 60% Timed In-Class Essay 5%
Homework %
Group Present %
Writing Journal %
Portfolio %
Participation %

8. Group Writing Presentation
In a small group of 3 or 4 classmates, you will select and research a topic about writing and create a 15 minute presentation for the class.
The presentation must have three parts:
1) describing the topic
2) demonstrating the topic
3) involving the class with a learning
activity/exercise

9. Group Rhetorical Analysis
Your small group will select an article about language from the textbook that we have NOT discussed in the class, OR any good article or essay about language.
You will create a presentation analyzing the essay from a rhetorical standpoint. 
In addition, each group will submit a collaborative Group Portfolio
Presentations will be during the last week of school; practice them in advance so they are, on average, no more than 15 minutes. 
Details are provided online

10. Work with your Group Members

11. Homework
The Schedule lists readings, due dates, and the homework assignments, which are hyperlinked to articles about writing topics.
Your task is to read each article and provide
TWO paragraphs (not just a few sentences!)
a) paragraph one = summary of the article (no opinion)
b) paragraph two = your response and analysis of the topic. Specifically:
* How effective/understandable/helpful is the article?
* How is this information applicable to your writing?
* What strategies can you employ from this information
improve your college writing?
Homework due to Camvas by 5pm Thursday to get full 5 pts credit; 3 points, the next week, 1 point the next week, after which assignment expires.

12. Attendance/Participation Policy
Come to class prepared and on time
Bring your textbook to every class.
As this class meets two days a week, missing more than two weeks of classes, or more than four classes, will result in being dropped from the class.
In addition, as participation is required, the instructor reserves the right to lower the final grade of a student who fails to submit any assignments and essays in a timely manner, i.e. more than two weeks late.
Computer lab days are required!
Attendance is your job as a student; your life
is not my business, so as such, do not feel
it is necessary to inform me about reasons
for absences or tardy issues.

13. Instructor Contact
The best time to talk to me is right before or right after class.
If you do need to contact me otherwise, send an to
To receive a response ALL S must have THIS information the subject line: LMC English 100 Your Name
s with the correct information will be responded to within 48 hours during the work week: Mon - Fri. before 5 pm. Messages received after 5pm will be responded to the next day; those received after 5pm Friday will be responded to on Monday.
In addition, remember you are writing to an English teacher! Use real words and punctuation. Show you care about, you know, writing!

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

15. Break the Ice Form groups of three
Talk to each other. Who are you? Why are in you school? What do you like to do?
Find one thing that everyone in your group has in common
Exchange /contact information with each other

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

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

18. What to expect next class…
Writing presentation sign ups
Discussion of writing process
Your first reading assignment

19. To Do…
Buy the books and a blank composition book for your writing journal
Carefully read the information on the Canvas class page.
Also available on my website:
Look at the Schedule, noting the homework assignments and due dates.