University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
I: First-Year Composition Placement
Changes at UWM during the 2004-2006 Mainstreaming Pilot Study (Changes
are in red)
In summary, during the pilot, students who would have been placed in the upper level basic writing course, ENG 095, were placed in ENG101 and required also to take ENG 105. Students who would have been placed in the lower level basic writing course, ENG 090, were placed in the upper level basic writing course, ENG 095.
II: UWM First-Year Composition Course Sequence Details: 2006-2007 Academic Year
Following the successful pilot, the chart below describes the revised writing course requirements:
ENG 105: The one-credit studio course required of students scoring 1 on the placement test.
Below is a description of English 105, the studio course students who would have placed in our upper level basic writing course must take along with their mainstreamed section of English 101.
Because we believe that editing should be taught as a process of negotiation, and as part of the writing process, rather than through skills and drills, we've designed English 105 to be a space that plays with the term "editing," given what the university expects that these students "need to learn." Unfortunately, the UW-System's placement mechanism (a multiple-choice acontextualized grammar exam) still forefronts grammar/mechanics, although our first-year composition program does not. Overall, students report highly valuing the work that they do in 105.
We may be making some changes to how students enroll in English 105 next year, and we are also still working to make the current English 095 a credit-bearing course (English 100). We're also still (after 20 or so years) arguing strongly for changing the troubling UW-English Placement Test as well. I'll be in touch about any of these changes, if and when we make them.
English 105: Editing College Writing
Spring 2007
General Course Description
Spring 2007
General Course Description
Prerequisites
Students enrolled in English 105 must have either:
- scored a “1” on the English Placement Test but not yet passed English 095 or English 101/105;
- passed English 090 during or before Spring 2006 with a “C” or higher;
- passed English 095 during Fall 2006 with a “C” or higher; or
- received special permission from the Director of Composition.
Course Description
This course is entitled “Editing College Writing.” Although editing is sometimes thought of simply as a method for “cleaning up” or “fixing” sentence-level errors in writing, in this course it will involve thinking critically about all parts of the writing process in an effort to help you produce and critique various forms of college writing.
As a companion course to English 101, English 105 is a space where you will participate as a member of a group of writers in analyzing different ways of college writing. Class time in English 105 will be devoted to discussing and developing strategies for negotiating what you and your classmates perceive as your individual needs and desires for your writing with the constraints of individual writing assignments, course goals and outcomes, and other social and material factors.
The texts that you and your classmates are composing for English 101 will be the primary texts of English 105 and will help launch and center your weekly discussions. With a maximum of eight students per section, English 105 is specifically tailored for dynamic, small-group interaction. Your participation in discussions of your classmates’ texts will not only assist your classmates in seeing their writing from different perspectives, but will also help you develop a way of talking about and reflecting on the demands of college writing. You shouldn’t expect these discussions to offer any quick or easy “solutions” to your writing. That is, don’t expect to have your classmates (or your instructor) “fix” your writing so you can then simply turn it in to your English 101 instructor and expect instant success. What you should expect from English 105 are ongoing discussions of the uses and limitations of the different approaches you and your classmates may take in composing college writing. Ultimately, it will be your choice as to how, when or why you may want to apply these different approaches in your own work.
Attendance
For students who place or progress into English 101+105, English 105 must be taken concurrently with English 101. Because English 105 classes meet once weekly, you are allowed only two absences—the equivalent of two full weeks of class—for the semester. Students who exceed the allotted absences for English 105 will receive a “No Credit” (NC) mark for English 105, as will students who exceed the allotted absences permissible in English 101. Receiving “No Credit” for English 105 does not make you ineligible to turn in a portfolio for English 101, but once you have exceeded your two absences in English 105, you will no longer be able to attend 105 meetings.
Participation
Participation in class discussions is required in order for you to receive credit for English 105. Class participation means taking an active and engaged role in the daily discussions and activities. English 105 is a student-centered environment. Although your instructor will help facilitate discussions, you are responsible for driving discussions and creating useful meaning from them. While attendance is important, merely showing up for class will not guarantee you credit for English 105. Of course, cell phones, laptops, iPods, or other electronic devices can hinder your ability to participate in class discussions and will not be used in your English 105 classroom.
Assignments
You are also expected to prepare for each weekly English 105 meeting. This preparation may include (but is not limited to) short reading assignments, posting and reading essays on D2L, being prepared to discuss your writing and that of your fellow students in class, etc. You should expect to read and at times respond to weekly emails from your English 105 instructor, and to have to devote some time for additional work outside of class. Preparation for your weekly English 105 meetings is vital to your role as an “active and engaged” student.
You can also expect to do some in-class writing each week in your English 105 journal and/or with other activities. This work will also contribute to your success in English 105.
Tardiness and Early Departures
Because English 105 meets only once a week for fifty minutes, being present for the entire fifty minutes is imperative not only to your success but the success of your peers who count on your contributions to the group. You will need to make every effort to come to class on time. Late arrivals disrupt class, and complicate the process of distributing documents, collaborative work, and explaining assignments. Leaving class early (for any reason) will also disrupt the work of the group. Being counted “present” means being there for the entire class.
Grades
English 105 is a Credit / No Credit course. To earn credit for English 105, you must not exceed the allotted number of absences, prepare for each class meeting, participate meaningfully with class assignments and in class discussions, come to each class meeting on time and pass English 101. Students who fail English 101 for any reason will receive a “No Credit” mark for English 105.
Required Materials (to bring to every class meeting):
- A notebook for your English 105 journal and notes
- A folder for keeping all of your English 105 materials
- Your English 101 notebook and course folder (containing an accumulation of your work in English 101 throughout the term)
- Your English 101 anthology, Ways of Reading, eds. Bartholomae and Petrosky
- Student Guide to the English Department’s First Year Writing Program 2006-2007
- Your English 101 handbook, Writing Intensive, ed. Maimon
The UWM Writing Center is a free resource for extra assistance with your writing. Call, email, or go to their website to set up an appointment with a Writing Center tutor, but keep in mind that toward the end of the semester you’ll want to allow up to two weeks in advance to schedule an appointment.
Location: Curtin Hall, Room 382
Phone Number: 414/229-4339
Email: writing@uwm.edu
Website: www.writingcenter.uwm.edu