“What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.

” –Samuel Johnson

"All there is to writing is having ideas. To learn to write is to learn to have ideas."--
Robert Frost

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” –Jack London

English 101 “One New World”: Writing about Globalization

Fall 2008 Instructor: James Borton

Class Schedule: Fall II English 101 MW (section 851)
Time: 5:15- 7:45 Room 145
Instructor: James Borton
Office: Arts & Letters Bldg. Room 106
Tel. 803- 938-3849 mobile: 203 216-7583
Email: bortonj@uscsumter.edu; asiareview@yahoo.com
Office Hours:MW 4:00-5:15
____________________________________________________________________

Required Texts (all available at the USCB College Bookstore)

G. H. Muller, The New World Reader (Houghton Mifflin)
Eds. John Langan & Janet M. Goldstein English Brushup Fourth Edition
Webster’s /Oxford Dictionary
You will also need to have a “portfolio” folder/notebook.
(1) Standard Composition Journal.

Helpful online links:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ Excellent source for overall English Composition.
http://wordsworth2.net/writing/academicpapers.htm Guidelines for academic papers.

Note: As a courtesy to your instructor and to your classmates, please turn off all cell
phones upon entering the classroom.

Student Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the semester, all students will demonstrate an ability to: 
   • Develop a piece of writing from informal free writing to final polished draft; 
   • Address different rhetorical situations; 
   • Effectively use a variety of research strategies, including but not limited to,   
    texts, web resources, interviews, and observations; 
   • Formulate a controlling idea and/or research question for a paper; 
   • Focus and develop papers through relevant evidence, examples, illustrations,   
    research, and reasoning; 
   • Construct organizational plans for your papers and use appropriate sources; 
   • Write in appropriate style and voice for different audiences and rhetorical    
    situations; 
   • Master MLA guidelines for academic research papers; 

Course Objectives:

* Encourge a positive attitude toward reading and writing.

* Introduce the writing process.
* Focus on the development of ideas and details using appropriate paragraphing
* Improve grammar and mechanics.
* Help students’literal, figurative, critical and informational skills.
* Demonstrate an ability to revise and edit.
* Revise writing for "the big picture": ideas, purpose, development, and structure.
* Work as a community of writers--reading critically and responding constructively to
one another’s drafts and participating in group activities and discussion.

Techniques of Student Learning

This course focuses on the development of sophisticated composition skills, particularly

as they are employed in the creation of logical written arguments. Good, solid writing
grows naturally out of devotion to three types of honest work: understanding and
employing the rules of the English language; understanding and employing the various
techniques of logical thinking and writing; and practicing the craft of written composition
regularly. With the preceding ideas in mind, this course will make use of the following
specific methods of learning:
 careful reading and consideration of the ideas and terms presented in the New
World Reader text;
 thoughtful exploration of information sources to increase your knowledge of the
issues you select to write about;
 regular creation of a variety of assigned writings for submission;
 regular communication with your instructor and peers to clarify concepts and
obtain feedback;
 student-led group discussion of the ideas presented in the assigned essays;
 instructor-led group discussion of the terms and concepts of composition; and
 peer critiques on drafts of all essays.

Course Description:
English 101 introduces students to the basic rhetorical skills needed to write
effectively at USC Sumter and beyond. In this particular version of this course we will
undertake a critical engagement with writings on globalization, the rapidly advancing
integration of the world’s economic, cultural, transportation, and communication
systems. Our discussion and in-class work will be focused on writing with clarity and
effectiveness about these issues. This semester we’re going to be spending our time
together helping you develop and hone your reading, writing, and research skills. The
course is therefore organized around a sequence of assignments that will enable you to
develop your abilities through extensive writing, revision, and discussion of ideas.
We’ll be taking an in-depth look at all aspects of the writing process—generating
questions and ideas, organizing and focusing those ideas, drafting, revising, and
editing—so that you can become more aware of the choices available to writers and
the effects those choices have on the reader. Along the way, we will also be building
your vocabulary and honing your grammar skills. Class sessions will be conducted in a
student-centered forum with frequent peer essay workshops in preparation for a final
portfolio. Note: Preparation requires thoughtfully reading the texts, writing down key 
points and/or questions, and being willing to share your thoughts and reactions during 
class discussion.  Discussions become difficult and quite boring when all members of 
the class have not read the assigned texts.  Respect yourself as a necessary member of 
this   academic   community,   as   well   as   your   fellow   classmates,   by   being   prepared 
everyday.  Please note that many in-class writing exercises assume (and depend upon) 
your having read the assigned material.   Review your syllabus frequently, and plan 
your workload accordingly. 

Course Format and Requirements:

First and foremost, this course is going to require a LOT of participation on your part. 
Discussion is the main format of this class, so it is absolutely imperative that students 
come to class prepared to share their opinions and insights on the assigned readings and 
on their own and each other’s drafts­in­progress. This is not a lecture class. 

3 Multiple­draft essays: 50% 
Students will write 3 multiple­draft essays, each of approximately 4 pages (double –
spaced) in length or 600­700 words.  For one of these essays, students will be required to 
incorporate outside research material.  Detailed assignment sheets and criteria for success 
will be distributed for each essay approximately 2­3 weeks in advance of the final draft 
due date.    

Final Portfolio: 10%
One of our main goals this semester is for you to put together a successful portfolio of 
your writing.  Your final portfolio, handed in during the last week of class, will consist of 
revised versions of the three multiple­draft essays you will write during the course of the 
semester.  Representing your very best work, the grade you earn for your portfolio 
constitutes the largest portion of your grade for the course.  Here are some guidelines for 
the final portfolio:

• All writing included in the portfolio must be produced as part of English 101 
coursework during the semester in which the student is being evaluated.
• All of the assigned essays must have been completed and turned in over the 
course of the semester before a student’s final portfolio can be considered.
• All portfolios must contain three fully revised essays.
• All draft material for essays must be handed in to me during the semester; no 
essay can be included unless I have seen it in draft form and approved it for 
inclusion in the portfolio.
• All writing must be computer­generated.

In­class essays: 10%*
Students will be asked to several short in­class essays.  With the exception of the first, the 
prompts for each of these essays will always relate to one or more of our assigned 
readings. * These will be revised and computer generated. 

Quizzes and peer­review work: 10%

Bibliography assignment: 10% Handout distributed.

Final Exam: 10%
The final exam will consist of two parts: a vocabulary test based on words from our 
semester’s assigned readings, and a key terms identification based on the material read in 
the NWR. This will require writing several paragraphs.

Students will also be asked to read and comment on each other’s drafts­in­progress. 
Completed peer review forms will be handed in with final drafts. All students will be 
offered extra credit if they contribute to the student newspaper, The Ant Hill. 

Attendance Policy:
Since this is an accelerated course, any student who misses more than three scheduled 
class meetings will result in the loss of one complete letter grade. If you are ever unsure 
about how many classes that you have missed, please see me. If and/or when you need to 
miss class, you are responsible for contacting me to see what you have missed and to also 
speak with one of your classmates.

A Word About Plagiarism:
The University Catalog is very explicit in its description and prohibition of plagiarism.  In 
part, the policy reads: “Plagiarism is the failure to acknowledge indebtedness.  It is always 
assumed that the written work offered for evaluation and credit is the student’s own unless 
otherwise acknowledged.  Such acknowledgment should occur whenever one quotes 
another person’s actual works, whenever one appropriates another person’s ideas, 
opinions, or theories, even if they are paraphrased, and whenever one borrows facts, 
statistics, or other illustrative materials unless the information is common knowledge.” 

Students are expected to acquaint themselves with the policy on plagiarism and to avoid 
committing it at all costs.  Students risk failing the course if they commit plagiarism.

Essay Format: I require that you type or print from a word processor all out-of-class
essays, double-spaced, with 1” margins. Your essay must have a title, and if you borrow
words or ideas from another source, you must include correct in-text documentation and a
bibliography or works cited list. Please staple your papers together in the upper left-hand
corner. No covers, please. Please use Times New Roman 12 point font.

Class Schedule
1st Week
Monday 10/20 Introduction to the course: Globalization & the End of Babel
Syllabus & introductions: Discussion of an images from New World Reader.
Tools for the development of critical reading and thinking. Diagnostic exam/writing.

Wed. 10/22 Entering the Global Conversation: What are “they” saying? Are We
Listening?
Read: NWR pp. 1-16, “Introduction: Entering the Conversation”
Thomas Friedman, “Prologue: the Super-Story” New World Reader (hereafter: NWR)
161–168. Read pp. 6-14 English Brushup. Discussion of thesis statement. Narrative
writing exercise. Read pp. 112- 116 in NWR. Be prepared for in-class writing. Think
about a clear thesis statement in response to question no. 6 on page. 116. Also, read pp.
20-23 in NWR. * Use this website http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/.
Literary luminary leaders handouts. Appoint discussion leaders. Write a 2 page double-
spaced reflection essay due Mon. 10/27 from question 6 on p. 116 in NWR.

2nd week Mon. 10/27 Read pp. 31- 37 “The Way to Rainy Mountain” by N. Scott
Momaday. English Brushup more about verbs pp. 32-36. Discuss narrative and
descriptive qualities of the essay. Use of figurative language and details. Select discussion
leaders for next week’s assignments. Handouts on thesis statements and language.
Discuss Renns writing model. Assign discussion leaders. Personal essay due. (students
please make two copies). Break class into three groups.

Wed. 10/29 Globalization Read “The Noble Feat of Nike” by Johan Norberg in NWR pp.
173-180. Be ready for quiz/discussion.Read English Brushup pp. 32-36. Active vs.
Passive Voice handout. Read in English Brushup pp. 73-78. Understanding transitions in
writing. You Tube video “Shift Happens.”Assign discussion leaders for next week.
Handout on George Orwell’s essay, “Shooting an Elephant.”

3rd week Mon. 11/3 The Clash of Civilizations- Colonialism

Read: NWR Introduction to Ch. 7 in NWR and George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant
pp.263-272. In-class writing assignment. In English Brushup read pp. 155-160 on “word
choices.” Go over Orwell handout exercises. Assign discussion leaders.

Wed. 11/5 Meeting at Anderson Library for research/bibliography assignment.

Read in NWR pp. 504- 511. In addition, read in the NWR Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue”
pp.77-83. Discussion leaders. Exercise to repair phrase/sentence fragments.

4th week Mon. 11/10 Global English: Language & Cultural Continuity
Read NWR Richard Rodriguez “Go North, Young Man” p. 65-74 Be prepared for class
discussion groups. Handout Op-ed “ Common language essential for a truly United
States” by Kathleen Parker. Orwell analysis essay due.
.
Wed. 11/12 The Digital Revolution: Are We Connected and Connecting?
English Brushup pp. 41-46. Read Thomas Friedman’s “Webbed, Wired, and Worried” in 
NWR pp. 364­366 and James Gleick’s “Big Brother Is Us” pp. 356-363. English Brushup
pp. 155-160. MySpace/Facebook discussion. Go to
http://www.pewinternet.org//PPF/r/247/report_display.asp Vocab. Exam. Be prepared to
discuss several issues of privacy and national security, technology and reading & writing
ability. Class divided into groups.

5th weekMon. 11/ 17The Global Environment Read: NWR Introduction “The Fate of
the Earth” to Ch. 10 in NWR pp. 389- 391.And Rachel Carson’s “The Obligation to
Endure.” pp. 391- 397. Read in English Brushup pp. 73-78 Avoid run-on sentences.
Exercises/ Quiz. Be prepared to write summary of Carson’s essay. Assign discussion
leaders.

Wed. 11/19 Global Environment cont.

View parts of Al Gore’s Film An Inconvenient Truth. Be able to identify major point.
Read in NWR Bill McKibben’s “Driving Global Warming” pp. 401- 405. Reader
prompts for next essay #3 distributed. Assign discussion leaders.

6th week Global Environment Cont.

Mon. 11/24 An Inconvenient Truth cont. Read Annie Dillard’s “In the Jungle” in NWR 
and Jane Goodall’s Digging up the Roots” pp. 405­ 415,  Exercises from English Brushup 
pp. 166­171. Vocabulary.

Wed. 11 /26  Global Relationships 
Read in NWR “Life on the Assembly Line” pp. 150- 159. Creative brainstorming session-
mapping out ideas. Begin to think about a job or a time specific event in your own life
when you were exploited. Be able and wiling to share with class. Writing strong &
unified paragraphs. Handout on Muslim women and their struggle for basic rights.
Handout “What Liberation.” Assign discussion leaders. #3 essay due.

7th week. Mon.12/1 Global Relationships Cont. Read in NWR “Arranged Marriages
Get a Little Reshuffling” on pp. 119-123 and “The Storyeller’s Daughter” on pp. 431-
436. Anticipate brief in-class writing exercises. Youtube images of Muslim women.
Handout Peter Singer essay “.Ethics for One World.” Go to
http://confines.mty.itesm.mx/articulos1/SingerPING.pdfAssign
discussion leaders.

Wed. 12//3 Bring in all essays/portfolio/writing exercises for class review. Bibliography
due. This includes a one-page summary of at least one magazine article. Be prepared to
discuss Peter Singer’s essay and to write a summary page.

8th week Mon. 12/8 Final Exam.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some final notes:
Because of the group workshops that we will do on a regular basis in class, it is crucial
that all work be completed when it is due.

All substantive drafting, revision and writing and even journaling for the course must be
saved and submitted in your portfolio.

Among smaller informal assignments, students will complete three formal essays for this
course, and substantially revise at least two of them. On all drafts of the longer essays,
you can expect to receive substantial replies from me about every aspect of your writing:
critical thinking, quality of the ideas, creativity, organization, and style.

I am available for help with your writing at any stage in the process. Enjoy.