A Personal note on my teaching strategies and goals.

Welcome to English Composition at ASU

Writing at the University will likely be different from the writing you did in High School. At ASU we concentrate on the process of your writing, from your first notes and ideas, through the finished paper and presentation. Therefore, keep all the writing you do—in and out of class.

Attendance and being on time are extremely important to your success in the course. If you feel you have problems with your schedule that prevent you from being here at the appointed time, you may want drop the course. And also, please note that there are only four absences allowed on a T/TH schedule. Also, on a T/TH class schedule our time in class is valuable, so come prepared to work on a variety of tasks both on your own, and in groups.

Some students are surprised to learn that the average grade for First Year writing courses is not an A. I say this with a smile, but also with serious prupose so you understand that just good intentions and showing up will not get you the grades that I know you want. Some are also surprised to see that the Writing Programs recommend that students spend 3 hours out of class for every hour they spend in class. For this course that amounts to about 9 hours a week of outside work.

As to my personal teaching philosophy: I am here to assist you to succeed in your college writing and to encourage you apply the principles you learn and to use them in all aspects of your future writing careers. In class/online, I am interactive. I cruise the room/blackboard and look over your shoulders as you write. This is not because I'm nosy :-) or trying to monitor your work. It's because this enables me to spot places where I may be able to help not only you but the whole class as you work through writing projects. Since Rhetoric means the art of speaking and writing well, I often call on students to speak extemporaneously either about the readings or about your topics, so don't feel like I've singled you out to put you on the spot. My aim is to build student comfort and confidence not only with writing but with public speaking and digital communications.

Because of the collaborative nature of this course, having your your writing project-- draft/notes/articles--available to you for each class is imperative. On peer edit days, if you have no draft you will not recieve credit for attendance. Further, as I mentioned above, on a T/TH schedule there won't be extra time in class to discuss or review all aspects of your particular writing project. If you have questions or issues that have not been addressed in class, I urge you to make an appointment with me to discuss your work. Contact me and we will find a time.

Find a buddy and get a phone number or email address in case you have to miss class or want to double check your notes.

I look forward to working with each of you. Let me know how I can help.

Best,

Judith
jvan@asu.edu
http://www.public.asu.edu/~jvanasu
go to Academic, scroll to your class.
Office: Language and Literature 548