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My Philosophy of Teaching Writing
One of my favorite professors, Dr. Michael Feehan, taught me something that
I hope to convey to you: writing teachers should empower not paralyze their
students. I know that students often feel powerless when confronted with
difficult readings. My goal is to break down the reading and writing in
manageable steps, to help you crack difficult texts and find something
intelligent to write. Also I hope that you'll leave this course with
editing skills that you can take into other classes and, of course, to work.
Calendar: Multi-Weekly Cycles For Each
Paper
Because I do not want you to write your papers the night before they are
due, we'll spend three weeks on each paper that you write, working on a
draft a week. I want you to go through a process of three steps:
prewriting, drafting, and revising/editing for each paper.
Prewriting. During these early
weeks, we'll take
notes using the invention techniques found on the e-handouts' site. You'll
explore the texts uses Ways of Reading's "Question for a Second Reading."
At this stage, your notes should be twice as long as your paper. You'll
have the option to email your prewriting drafts to me.
Drafting. During this time,
you'll go a step further to create a multi-paragraph draft. Optionally,
you'll publish your work in progress for the class to read.
Revising, Editing and Document Design. During this time,
you'll revise and then edit your papers. Note that I separate these
methods, as does your Scott, Foresman Handbook. Please use either the grade
sheet or the editing checklist titled "Professor Cohen's Picky Writing
Rules." Also review section on document design and MLA formatting in
your Scott, Foresman Handbook.
Please note, too, that this course allows one to acquire credit for the
International Studies Program.
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