SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS

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FRE 201L111: Workshop in Writing                                                         Claire Keith

                        Monday:  11:00 AM - 12:15 PM                                        Fall 2009

                        Wednesday  9:30 PM -10:45PM   Room: LT 007

 

OFFICE HOURS:         Monday:  3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

                                    Wednesday: 4:00 PM – 5:00PM

                        Thursday:   1:00 AM - 2:00 PM

                                    Other days: by appointment only

                                                                                

TELEPHONE:  Office: ext 2267

                   Home: (845) 679 71 40

E.mail:    claire.keith@marist.edu

Course Webpage:  on iLearn

              Please note that our workplan is posted and updated on this site, and should be consulted for every class session.

 

Required texts:

-          Course packet, distributed in class.

-          A good paperback French-English dictionary

-           the online dictionaries www.wordreference.com and www.lingro.com 

-          Web resources, posted on the class webpage

-          Grammar Reference On Line:  http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/

 

Recommended text:

-          A simple, portable reference grammar of your choice, in cheap paperback.  An excellent choice is: Fournier, Isabelle. NTC’s French Grammar. National Textbook Company. 1998 (out of print but still available on Amazon).

 

Objectives of the course:

The  Workshop in Writing, usually taken in sequence with the Workshop in Oral Expression, is designed to break out of the safe but limited environment of textbook French by “playing” in various ways with more elaborate syntax and vocabulary. In these audiovisual times, to write a lot and creatively is still one of the best ways to absorb new words, and searching for the proper word is the most common obstacle to the oral fluency that is of course our goal.  

The course also takes a larger perspective on grammar, as we reflect on our English usage in contrast with the French patterns we are learning.  Your understanding of this larger perspective is important and will be measured through a special question in each quiz and a comparative question in the final examination.

Finally, since our final objective, and the most rewarding one, is to speak with ease and fluency, we will include in all of our sessions a conversational period in small groups.

 

Methods:

 

To encourage a more sophisticated level or writing, all compositions (except the final composition] will be given the benefit of a double correction: a first draft will be annotated by the instructor without grading, and returned to the student for a thorough revision.  Very, very important:  Before your first draft can be submitted, it must have been examined and corrected with the help of the Proofreading Checklist (on line and in your class packet), before being submitted to the instructor.  If basic mistakes are present, the paper will lose the benefit of the double correction and be graded as is.   We will practice writing in different styles, and since our ultimate goal is to speak with ease, we will finish each writing project with an oral practice on what we have created and corrected.

 

Readings from various sources (literature, web articles, etc) are supported by an English translation and guiding questions that are posted on the course page in the “Resources” section.  We will break down the text in segments for close study, but everyone must know the entire story line and learn the vocabulary necessary to support it. To this end, you will write a 300 words summary of the story and prepare a vocabulary list, both of which will be emailed to the instructor at the time indicated in the workplan.  Please bring to class your own printed copy of the summary/list as well.   Additional readings may be assigned, selected from French websites of current interest.

 

The grammar book and website will be a constant reference tool, as will your dictionary: be sure to have them in class at all times. grammar will be reviewed in a comparative perspective with English and with an attention paid to idiomatic usage, rather than the basic rules that you have already studied.

 

Outcomes assessments

Our specific objectives, against which we will measure and grade your progress, are:

-          Evidence that you have moved from the rote memorization of grammar rules to a better understanding of how such “rules” help communication and relate to each other.  For this, our grammar quizzes will use the open book method and consist of questions of synthesis and explanation.  We will practice this testing method during the first week to make sure that you become familiar with it.

-          Evidence that you have expanded substantially your French vocabulary, in a manner personalized to your level when you started the class.  Thus, vocabulary quizzes will be based on the vocabulary searches you conducted when writing your own compositions, and you will be asked to prepare individually some lists for your quizzes.

-          Evidence that you have begun to control stylistic effects in a foreign language.  This will be tested in the progressive sequence of papers listed in our work schedule.

-          Evidence that you have, at the end of the course, (1) integrated all the various stylistic and lexical challenges we have addressed and (2) developed an effective and comprehensive method of grammatical proofreading.  This will be assessed by a final examination in two parts: a final take-home composition that will not have the benefit of the douple correction; and an in-class, open book grammar exam in which a substantial amount of grammatical problems will have to be solved within an assigned time with the resources you know well.

 

Grading will be apportioned as follows:

-          three 50 minute tests.  (25%)

-          Four 500 word (2 page) compositions, sometimes followed by an oral assignment (30%).

-          Class participation and reading preparation (vocabulary searched & summaries) (15%).  Please also keep on file all new vocabulary written on the board in our class sessions. 

-          a final examination (30%)

           The final examination will be in two parts:

        - a four-page paper whose topic will be given out shortly before the end of the term.

        - a final examination on precise points of grammar, vocabulary and style.  An extensive review list will be distributed on the week before the examination period.

 

 

Class policies:

 

Attendance: Please attend all classes unless you are seriously ill or have a justified emergency.  The instructor must be notified before the class in question by E.mail or phonemail.  Should a student miss a class, it is his/her responsibility to get the notes s/he missed, as well as the assignments for next class. More than three absences in the semester, save for exceptional cases, will affect permanently the final grade and may result in a failing grade.

 

Writing: All first draft assignments must be edited at least to the point of readability, following the Proofreading guidelines posted in “resources”.  Work that is difficult to read because of unverified spelling, basic grammar errors or poor handwriting is NOT acceptable as a first draft, and will have to be rewritten and resubmitted within 24 hours in order to be considered for first draft comments. Otherwise, the submission will be considered a final version and graded accordingly.

 

Plagiarism and use of computer translation: Please see the Marist College Handbook for the College’s policy on plagiarism. Students are expected to perform all written work on their own and not to use computer translation services such as Google’s Systran for written assignments unless specifically assigned by the instructor. It is easily apparent to any language instructor if a student has relied on machine translation to write the bulk of a composition. If that should be the case, the assigned grade will be an F. 

Note: The use of good online dictionaries, such as www.wordreference.com  is on the other hand not only permitted but encouraged.

 

 Snow Policy/Class Cancellation Procedure: The college’s decision to cancel day classes because of inclement weather will be made by 7 AM. In addition to calling Marist’s “weather hot-line” at 575-5500 for class cancellations, please consult your email and the course page at http://mlc.la.marist.edu , where I will inform you of any delay that I may also have encountered, as I live far away from campus..

 

 

BON SEMESTRE!