College Composition Winter 2016

Divine Child High School

Mr. Matt Hamilton
hamiltonm@divinechildhighschool.org
Office Hours: M-F during 4th Hour (hall duty) and 7th Hour (room 130), M,W 2:304:00 by appt.
Course Description: This upper-level writing-intensive course is designed exclusively to
prepare students for the various types of writing they will encounter in college and beyond.
Students should come to this class with the understanding that any collegiate/career path
involves an expected knowledge of both formal and informal writing. Through daily practice,
students will develop the following: 1) a personal, reflective writing process; 2) a strong
voice for all types of writing; 3) a strong, professional vocabulary; 4) familiarity and comfort
with MLA style; and 5) proficiency in standard English grammar and mechanics. Vocabulary
development and reading comprehension are critical skills in this course and will be
assessed on a regular basis as part of the students grade in keeping with our school-wide
literacy goals.
Texts:
Wyrick, Jean. Steps to Writing Well.
Independent reading novel (TBD)
General Expectations: In addition to following the rules and procedures as stated in the
student handbook, students are expected to be in class every day when the bell rings,
prepared with their homework and/or in-class materials. Students are expected to treat
their instructor and fellow students with respect. Above all, this class is designed to be a
sort of writers workshop, where students feel free to read, write, and share ideas with one
another. My goal is to encourage the development of a community of learning in our class;
we can only succeed in this goal if all students participate daily and positively contribute to
our discussions. That being said, the classroom should be a safe space for participation
students should honor the request of any student to keep shared thoughts or writing
confidential.
Participation: Students will be awarded points on a regular basis for participating in class.
Participation includes, but is not limited to: answering questions during lectures, offering
ideas during discussion, working with colleagues to edit and revise writing assignments, and
general professionalism appropriate to a school setting.
Writing Assignments: Students will complete several short mini-essays and 2-3 longer
essays. Specific requirements and expectations will be discussed with each assignment.
Each writing assignment will be turned in with an outline, a rough draft, a revision, and a
final copy. Additional thoughtful revisions (including editing done with and signed by a
parent) will be awarded extra credit, to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Assignments should be formatted according to current MLA style, including rules for
typography (12-point font, 1 margins, etc.) I will not accept handwritten final drafts.
Homework: Students should expect homework daily. We will be writing every day, both in
class and outside of class. We will be treating writing as the process that it is while every
writers process is different, we will be working with different structures throughout the
semester and it will be important that all steps are completed as expected.
Late Work: Because of the nature of this course, assignments must be turned in on time.
Often, even though homework will be checked in for credit daily, a writing assignment will
be due only because we are peer-editing in class; if you do not bring your writing, you will
miss out on points for the homework as well as for participation during peer-editing time. If

you are absent on the day that a writing assignment is due, you will be expected to submit
it electronically and bring a hard copy the next day you attend class. If you miss a class
period when we peer-edit, you will still be expected to complete the editing with a parent or
with another student outside of class.
Course Outline: This course is designed as an intensive introduction to the various types
of writing that students might see in college. The progression of units is meant to build on
students previous writing experiences and culminate in a thoughtful final synthesis project.
Grammar and vocabulary assignments and quizzes, as well as brief writing assignments,
will supplement the core assignments. Below is our general course schedule, including both
short- and long-form writing assignments.
I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

Unit One: Analysis

a. Review of literary analysis
b. Song analysis
c. Film analysis
Unit Two: Narrative Writing
a. Reflective Writing
b. Descriptive Writing
c. College Admissions Essay
Unit Three: Expository Writing
a. Informative/Definition Writing
b. Compare/Contrast Writing
c. Cause/Effect Writing
d. Argumentative Writing
Unit Four: Research Writing
a. MLA style
b. Responding to prompts
c. Research Essay
Synthesis Essay and Final Project

Grading: The grade scale from the student handbook will be used for all grading in this
course. Grades in this course will be weighted as follows (per quarter):
o Tests, Formal Essays, Projects: 60%
o Homework and Quizzes: 30%
o Participation: 10%