Section 006: MWF 11:15-12:05 in Embury 206

Section 007: MWF 1:15-2:05 in Sitterly 101

Contact information

Office: Sitterley 107

Office hours: Mondays & Wednesdays, 2:30-6:00; and by appt (sign up on the list on my office door)

email: sjamieso@drew.edu

office phone: 973.408.3499

IM screen name: profJamieson

English 1A is a 2-credit academic writing course designed to introduce students to academic literacy and the intellectual strategies at the heart of academic work. Students will explore the ways writing works to inform and persuade, and the impact of audience, purpose, and context on this process. From the personal (a literacy narrative), through the local (the Drew campus and the town of Madison), to the national (the general election) and the international, students will select their own topics and make and assess arguments. Along the way they will perfect the skill of thesis development, methods of argumentation, selection of evidence, strategies for organization, revision, and editing.

Students registered in ENGL 1A in the Fal semester must enroll in ENGL 1 in the Spring, although they may select a different instructor and/or class time. Read the full course description, intellectual outcomes, grade breakdown, and classroom contract.

There is an assignment due in class pretty much every class. If you stay up to date and actually complete each task the papers will be almost written by the time you sit down to create a draft. If you get behind it will be hard to catch up. More important, if you get behind you will not learn very much about academic writing.

Read the assignments and due dates--you should probably creat a calendar of due dates for yourself!

The class meets three times a week, mostly in class sessions but sometimes in individual sessions with the instructor. You are expected to be in class every day, prepared and ready to learn and share both what you have found and whatever problems you have encountered. Please check the schedule every day to make sure you are ready for class.

Read the full daily schedule (classroom activities and homework due for the next class)

Your individual wiki pages are your opportunity to share your work and your reflection on your work with others. The wiki allows your research to be of value to people beyond the class. It also allows you to show off how much work you have done to people at Drew, to former teachers, and to family and friends.

Drew clubs and events pages

National news pages

Electronic Democracy Project

Global pages

Check out newspapers at the media link

. . . . and assess the accuracy of what you read via these sites

If you didn't register to vote yet, this page will help.

You will need to buy a handbook: Anson, Chris, Robert Schwegler, and Marcia Muth. The Longman Writer’s Companion, Drew edition. Longman, 2008

You will also find valuable writing-related resources at: Drew University Resources for Writers

And don't forget the Drew University Writing Center, where you can schedule appointments with trained writing consultants--for free!