The Stories We Tell Ourselves:  In The White Album, Joan Didion writes, "

We tell ourselves stories in order to live. . . .  We tell ourselves that it makes some difference whether the naked woman [on the ledge] is about to commit a mortal sin or is about to register a political protest or is about to be, the Aristophanic view, snatched back to the human condition by the fireman in priest's clothing just visible in the window behind her, the one smiling at the telephoto lens.  We look for the sermon in the suicide, for the social or moral lesson in the murder of five.  We interpret what we see, select the most workable of the multiple choices.  We live entirely, especially if we are writers, by the imposition of a narrative line upon disparate images, by the 'ideas' with which we have learned to freeze the shifting phantasmagoria which is our actual experience.   (11) 

Our lives become our stories.  In the telling of our stories we "freeze the shifting" images of experience in order to understand, categorize, and assign meaning to those events.  We do not truly understand what we have experienced until we tell the events and put them into words.  Our stories make reality more real, more meaningful to us and those around us.  So what stories do we tell ourselves?  What do our stories say about us as Americans and as humans?  Gail Godwin writes, "We can't grow up, we can't escape our tormentors, we can't be free, until we can express ourselves well enough to be heard by others, can we?  Only then can we tell our story.  And only by convincingly telling our story can each of us do our bit to help the world grow up" (The Good Husband 353).  We tell stories to escape our problems and to express them to others.  Once we attain the ability to put our stories into words, we can put them into perspective and understand them.   We free ourselves with our stories as we "do our bit to help the world [and ourselves] grow up" (353). 

The readings for this semester focus on the stories we tell, how we tell them and why we tell them.  This class will include four out-of-class essays and two timed in-class essays, which will be your midterm and final.  Your grade will also include quizzes and response writings. The readings will come from an on-line collection of essays, two novels (Flyover States and Time's Arrow) and a collection of short stories titled Points of View.  We will also be reading from Writing About Literature and A Writer's Resource.      

You Will Also Need:

• Reliable internet and printing access

• West Georgia MY UWG e-mail account which is the official means of communication in this class.  Any communication with the professor must be via MyUWG; this policy is a new university-wide requirement.

• Disk, jumpdrive, or other means to record your in-class assignments and essays.   (You are responsible for keeping copies of all your work.)

• Recommended:  College level dictionary and thesaurus 

• You are responsible for making your computer compatible with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat and other programs used in this course.   

GRADING:  You must complete all your assignments in order to pass this course,

and you must earn a letter grade of C or better in order to go on to English 1102.

In order to better understand what is expected in your essays, review UWG’s adopted standards for grading.

• University Rubric for grading in-class essays at http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/FirstYearWriting/ENGL1101and1102/InClassWritingAssessment.htm

• University Rubric for grading out-of class essays at http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/FirstYearWriting/ENGL1101and1102/OutOfClassWritingAssessment.htm

Your grade will be determined as follows:

Numerical grade equivalents: A+ = 98; A = 95; A- = 91; B+ = 88; B = 85; B- = 81; C+ = 78; C = 75; C- = 71; D+ = 68; D = 65; D- = 61; F = 60 and below; no work turned in = 0.

EXTRA CREDIT:  No extra credit will be assigned for this course.  Your composition grades will comprise the bulk of your grade because the goal of this class is to acquire good writing skills.

Administrative Withdrawal―Departmental Policy

If you are absent, you are still responsible for all the work that you missed.  Depending on the nature of the assignment, you may not be able to make up a missed assignment such as a daily quiz or in-class viewing and related in-class exercise.  Essays and assignments are still due on the day assigned regardless of your personal situation.  Get them to me via a friend, parent, or pet.  E-mail is an option only for validated emergencies.  I must agree to accepting email attachments before you are allowed to send it to me.   Workshop sessions are essential to receiving a good grade; if you miss these workshops, you can make no higher than a C on your paper.  The workshop and the time until your paper is due are considered your revision period. Midterms and Finals cannot be made up. 

DISRUPTIONS:  As stated above, all cell phones, pagers, PDAs or any other communication devices must be turned off at the beginning of class.  Any disturbance caused by such devices or by disruptive student behavior can result in said student being dismissed from class, which will be counted as an unexcused absence. 

FORMAT FOR ALL PAPERS:  All papers must be typed according to MLA guidelines (see Writer's Resource Tab #6) including in-class writings.   I reserve the right to refuse any paper that does not meet MLA standards. 

NO REVISIONS—NO MAKEUPS—NO REDOS:  Welcome to the adult world.  Life does not have an undo button, neither does this class.  Before each essay is due, we will have a workshop to help you with your full first draft. This session is your opportunity to solicit assistance in revising your essay.  Although I will not pre-grade a paper, I will advise you on what you need to do to make your paper better.  I advise you to take full advantage of the workshops and to seek my help outside of the classroom if you need additional help.  I also advise you to seek help from the Writing Center. You, and only you, are responsible for improving your writing and grammar skills. 

LATE WORK:  See attendance policy above.  I reserve the right to refuse to accept excessively late work.  Items more than one class period late is considered excessively late  Tardiness impedes your ability to progress in your writing.  Any late work, if accepted, will be docked at least one grade level. 

Computer/printer problems are no excuse for not turning papers in on time.  Do not wait till the last moment to write and print your paper.  Do it ahead of time, then if you have difficulties you will have time to get assistance.  We all have printer problems from time to time; as adults we learn to work around life’s difficulties.  The college has several computer labs at your disposal.  I recommend that you e-mail your papers to yourself.  That way, you can access them in any lab for correction and printing.  Lab locations and hours are posted at http://uwglabs.westga.edu/default.asp under the tab labeled Information.

You are also responsible for keeping copies (electronic or paper copies) of all your essays and assignments.  This is a safeguard in case an essay or assignment is misplaced or damaged.  We will also share papers in the classroom. Bring copies of current assignments with you to class every day.

THE WRITING CENTER:  The Writing Center is such an excellent resource for writing students, and the staff encourages you to visit as often as you’d like.    To make an appointment, call 678-839-6513.   The Writing Center’s website is located at http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/writing/index.htm.

PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC HONESTY:  The Department of English and Philosophy defines plagiarism as taking personal credit for the words and ideas of others as they are presented in electronic, print, and verbal sources. The Department expects that students will accurately credit sources in all assignments. An equally dishonest practice is fabricating sources or facts, which is another form of misrepresenting the truth. Having another person write any portion of your essay, called excessive collaboration,  is considered plagiarism.  Plagiarism is grounds for failing the course.   The University and English Department policies for handling Academic Dishonesty are found in the following documents:    

Plagiarism--Definition and Prevention

http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/Plagiarism/pladef.html

The Faculty Handbook, sections 207 and 208.0401
 http://www.westga.edu/~vpaa/handrev/

Student Uncatalogue: "Rights and Responsibilities"; Appendix J.
 http://www.westga.edu/handbook/

PLAGIARISM IS GROUNDS FOR FAILING THE CLASS.

SPECIAL NEEDS:  If you have a registered disability that will require accommodation, please see me at the beginning of the semester.  If you have a disability that you have not yet registered through the Disabled Student Services Office, please contact Dr. Ann Phillips in 137 Parker Hall at 678-839-6428.  See website at http://www.westga.edu/~dserve/.  Please do not wait until the end of the semester to plea for special accommodations; they cannot be applied retroactively. 

THE REGENTS’ EXAMINATION: The Regents’ Examination is a two-part test of minimum-level reading and writing proficiency.  Students must take this examination after passing English 1102 or after 30 hours of coursework. In the hour-long written portion of the Regents’ Exam, students are required to write an essay based on personal experience and a general understanding of current events.  The essay is expected to be clearly focused, well articulated, and relatively free from patterns of error; however, no particular studying should be necessary for the exam besides a few general rehearsals, a general cognizance of current events, and close attention to the lessons of English 1101 and 1102.  Students who do not pass the Regents’ Exam by the time they have completed 45 hours of coursework are automatically placed in classes which provide additional writing support and for which you will not receive academic credit.

      General Info:  http://www.gsu.edu/rtp

      Sample Topics:  http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwrtp/topics.htm

IMPORTANT DATES:

      The midterm exam is on Wednesday, September 27.

      The last day to withdraw with a grade of W is October 6.

      The last day of M/W and M/W/F classes is November 29.

      Final exams: 

All Grades will be posted on BANWEB at the end of the course.

 Full First Draft Workshop Dates:

      Workshop 1:  Wednesday, 9/6

      Workshop 2:  Monday, 9/25

      Workshop 3:  Wednesday, 10/18

      Workshop 4:  Wednesday, 11/20

Remember that before the essays are due, a workshop will always be held prior to the due date.  This is your revision period.  On these workshop days you must bring a full first draft to class.  If you are absent--for any reason--or do not have a full first draft, your grade on the essay's final draft cannot be higher than a C.

Essay Due Dates: 

      Essay #1:  Due Monday, 9/11

      Essay #2:  Due Monday, 10/2

      Essay #3:  Due Monday, 10/23

      Essay #4:  Due Monday, 11/27

You are required to periodically check the

Reading Schedule for changes and updates:

Reading Schedule of Readings and Assignments

IMPORTANT:  Changes may be necessary. 

Please check on-line reading schedule weekly.