Course Description: Course Requirements and Classroom Practices

Course Requirements and Classroom Practices
All students in English 201 must complete two five-page papers and one ten-page research essay. In addition to the three papers required for English 201, instructors often ask students to write less formal assignments in preparation for the research essay. Before beginning the research project, students must write a research proposal and an annotated bibliography. The research proposal is a brief description (about 2 pages) of the project the student plans to work on throughout the semester. The annotated bibliography provides a list and brief description of sources that the student believes may be relevant to the research project.

Students are also required to hand in drafts of their research paper throughout the semester. Instructors require three drafts of increasing length be handed in, with the first draft due sometime around week six of the course. Drafts go through a process of peer review and instructor evaluation, along with at least one individual conference with the instructor. Students are required to make substantial revisions to their work between research drafts.

Research in The Disciplines is a workshop-style class. Students are expected to participate actively in the class by sharing their ideas, their research, and their writing with other students. Some workshop activities to expect in English 201 are the following: 1) group and class-wide discussions of research drafts and sample papers; 2) discussions of specific assigned texts, focusing on writers' varying styles and strategies of argument; 3) in-class writing that focuses on using particular quotations to identify a writer's perspective and assumptions; 4) proofreading sessions of revised drafts in which students check each other's work; 5) student write-ups and reports on sources gathered for the research project, including attention to bibliographic format; 6) presentations of developing areas of research interest; 7) individual conferences between student and instructor to discuss written and classroom responses to a draft; 8) group conferences in which the instructor meets with two or three students with shared research interests to encourage collaborative reading and research. Class time is divided between the activities listed above and scheduled library visits.

The standard pacing for an English 201 course is as follows.
Weeks 1-5: During this period, students draft and revise their two five-page papers. The pace is similar to 101, with a draft due one week and a revised draft due the next.
Weeks 5-8: These weeks combine early drafts of the research proposal and the longer paper with ongoing research. Crucial activities are: proposal drafts, library visits, write-ups of sources, practice bibliographies, working drafts.
Week 8-15: Successive draft, conference, and workshop days. Though students are working on their independent projects at this point, they are expected to attend class regularly and to participate in scheduled workshops and library visits. In order to pass English 201, a student must complete all assigned work, must earn a C or higher on the final essay, and must have met the standard attendance requirements. There is no midterm or final exam.

next >>