Daniel Kies Department of English College of DuPage
Composition 1 English 1101		Contact Form

Table of Contents

Composition 1

English 1101

Daniel Kies
Department of English
College of DuPage

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Table of Contents

About this Site

I wrote the materials on this web site as a textbook for my first-year writing class at the College of DuPage. I keep most of my materials freely available for everyone interested in writing, composition, or English language studies, but teachers, publishers, schools, webmasters, and bloggers wishing to use my work should read the terms of use.

The contents below are divided into

1. general information for my students,
2. a link to the course calendar for my students,
3. a link to the syllabus for my students,
4. a list of topics we will study in this course,
5. a list of list of assignments, and
6. links to two indexes to this HyperTextBook.

The Course Calendar

Lists the course's reading, writing, lab, and exam assignments in a week-by-week schedule.

The Syllabus for English 1101

A guide to the objectives and policies of our course. Details about grades.

General Information for my Students

Welcome A letter to my English 1101 students: How to read the HyperTextBooks. Frequently Asked Questions Got questions? Perhaps the HyperTextBooks' frequently asked questions page can help. What's New?    A weekly newsletter updated each Sunday describing our class work for the week. Update Letters from Previous Weeks Here you can read the What's New? letters from previous weeks. Tour the HyperTextBook A quick overview of the features of the HyperTextBook. eForum How we plan to use eForum — the HyperTextBooks' message board and chat room. eForum Directions How use eForum. Your Grade Sheet Use the online grade sheet to record and track your grades. Accolades The New Century Handbook cites the HyperTextBooks as "one of the best composition courses on the Web."

A List of the Topics Covered in English 1101

Part 1: The Discovery of Ideas	Part 2: The Arrangement of Materials	Part 3: Style
Getting Started An outline of the writing process.	Aristotle in the 21st Century An introduction to the supporting elements of discourse.	Coherence in Writing A discussion of the two features that make written language coherent — paragraph unity and sentence cohesion.
General Advice on Essay Writing General advice on beginning and completing a writing project successfully.	Modes of Discourse This file contains some of the figures and explanatory notes to our early discussions of reading, writing, and argument.	The Functions of Voice on Subject and Tone How grammatical choice (like the choice of voice in the verb phrase) influences the readers' understanding of the text.
The Functions of the Thesis Thesis — the hinge upon which everything pivots.	The Functions of an Introduction An exploration of the different gambits writers use at the opening of a piece.	Nominalization and Passive Voice A discussion of the two stylistic features that often make written language difficult for any reader.
Thesis: Traits and Myths How to and how not to write an effective thesis sentence.	The Body of an Essay A dissection of the real meat in any piece of writing.	Sentence Euphony Some advice about using balance and emphasis to help a writer highlight the main idea in a sentence and sustain the longer, complex sentence without sacrificing readability.
Making Meaning A multimedia essay on the central role the thesis plays in the making of meaningful essays. Understanding Essay Topics How to read and interpret essay topics and begin the composing process.	The Functions of a Conclusion A multimedia look at the how a writer brings closure to the work.	Sentence Variety and Style An illustration of some of the many options available to any writer, and a discussion of two sentence patterns that have proven very effective at helping the writer emphasize the significant part of the message. Using grammar to improve clarity in writing A classroom handout with exercises.

A Listing of the Assignments in English 1101

Labs "Labs" connect to and reinforce textbook readings.	Writing assignments Each assignment has options to make the writing closer to your areas of interest.
Lab 1: Learning the Basics of Manipulating Text and Images Our first lab to help us learn to move text and images from one application (a web browser) to another (a word processor).	(Impromptu) Writing Sample An ungraded writing sample about reading and writing.
Lab 2: Information Literacy An exercise on the problems of finding and evaluating information in the information age.	Writing 1: A Summary and Review Writing a summary and review. The default choice is Birkerts' "Into the Electronic Millennium," an excerpt from The Gutenberg Elegies.
Lab 3: Citing Sources A discussion and exercise in citing material drawn from academic resources and the web.	Writing 2: "Interview a Professor" Using research, you will prepare a report on the kinds of reading and writing one does (1) to prepare for a career (a topic of your choosing) and (2) to work in that career.
Lab 4: The Three Appeals This lab will help you learn about and identify the different appeals that a writer can use.	Writing 3: Analysis Analyzing how writers craft text and image to influence the reader.
Lab 5: Supporting the Essay Our chance to look into the use of detail in composition.	Writing 4: Argumentation A documented, researched paper, which incorporates two different types of academic writing: (1) argumentation / persuasion and (2) definition. Topics for this paper will cover questions such as what is the future of books, of literacy, of education?
Lab 6: An Exercise in Paragraph Unity An exercise associated with the Coherence in Writing page to learn more about the idea of paragraph unity.	Exams: ·  Practice Test for Exam 1      ·  Exam 1 Covering Part 1: The Discovery of Ideas
Lab 7: An Exercise in Coherence Associated with the "Coherence in Writing" page emphasizing the techniques of sentence cohesion.	·  Practice Test for Exam 2      ·  Exam 2 Covering Part 2: The Arrangement of Materials ·  Practice Test for Exam 3      ·  Exam 3 Covering Part 3: Style
Lab 8: Sentence Structure and Style A series of exercises associated with the "Sentence Euphony," "Nominalization and Passive Voice," and ":Sentence Variety and Style" pages.

Indexes

File Index An annotated list of all the files in the HyperTextBook.

Keyword Index An index to the HyperTextBook by keywords.

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