Welcome to English 107 from the

University of Arizona
 AGENDA

 Introduction
 Blackboard Ultra
 General overview of the course
 Representative election
 Reasons for writing
 Academic writing: general info
INTRODUCTIONS:MEET YOUR PROFESSOR

TATYANA
CHSHERBINA DE CARRERA
BREAKING ICE ACTIVITY

1.Work in groups of 3.
2.Write down a list of all the interesting things (3
or 4) that you all have in common.
3.Write down a second list of how you are
different.
Think about topic like food, movies, places you
live, countries you visited, etc.
4.At the end of the activity share your lists with
the rest of the class.
 BLACKBOARD ULTRA

• This is the official platform that you are required to use for
this course.
• The majority of your assignments will be turned in here.
• You will be able to see and track your grades in the ‘grade
center’!
 SYLLABUS​

You can find it in course

content on BB.
We strongly suggest you
read it carefully!
General overview of the course

English Composition 1 familiarizes students with the social and

situated nature of writing- that is, with the ways in which writing is
tied to purpose, audience/community, and topic/content. It is
designed specifically for students writing in English as an additional
language.
General overview of the course

UNIT 1 Reflecting on English in Your Life

UNIT 2 Responding to Research on English as Medium of Instruction
UNIT 3 Reporting on Research on English as Medium of Instruction
General overview of the course
General overview of the course
General overview of the course
• No mid-term exam, no final exam.
• Your grades will be given based on writing
assignments
• Writing Assignments – 75%

• Homework and classroom activities – 25%

• Using a scale based on 2
• 0 – did not meet the deadline/did not submit
• 1 – Does not meet assignment expectations
(incomplete) or numerous writing errors.
• 2 – Meets assignment expectations
• Submitted as graded activities on BB
Three writing assignments

• 1st Writing Assignment:

• Language Narrative 25% of FG
• 2nd Writing Assignment:
• Response 25% of FG
• 3rd Writing Assignment:
• Annotated Bibliography 25% of FG
DELEGATE
• Creates and manages a WhatsApp group for the class
• Let’s me know of any class issues or questions the group can´t
resolve.
Responsibilities:

- Create and manage class virtual group

- Contacts teacher when students can’t find
answers to their questions
Why do I write?
U of A student answers:

“I write because I enjoy being able to concretely share my

ideas with others.”
“I write because my academic success depends on it.”
“I write because it allows me to put my thoughts into words or
create a story with them.
I write because it is my way of letting my emotions out. I am
able to vent onto a piece of paper that no one will ever see. It
brings peace and calmness into my life.”
“I write because I'm better at articulating myself on paper.”
“I write because it is necessary to be successful in today’s
culture. Communication is key.”
Take a quiz: What type of writer are you?
Writer types:
Mostly A’s→ Heavy Planners: These writers “generally consider their ideas and plan their writing so carefully in their
heads that their first drafts are often more like other writers’ second or third drafts. As a consequence, they often revise
less intensively and frequently than other [writers]. Many [heavy planners] have disciplined themselves so that they can
think about their writing in all sorts of places—on the subway, at work, in the garden pulling weeds, or in the car driving
to and from school” (32).

Mostly B’s→ Heavy Revisers: These writers “need to find out what they want to say through the act of writing itself.…
Heavy revisers often state that writing their ideas out in a sustained spurt of activity reassures them that they have
something to say and helps them avoid frustration. These writers may not seem to plan because they begin drafting so
early. Actually, however, their planning occurs as they draft and especially as they revise. Heavy revisers typically spend
a great deal of their writing time revising their initial drafts. To do so effectively, they must be able to read their work
critically and be able…to discard substantial portions of the first draft” (32–33).

Mostly C’s→ Sequential Composers: These writers “devote roughly equal amounts of time to planning, drafting, and
revising.…[S]equential composers typically rely on written notes and plans to give shape and force to their ideas. And
unlike heavy revisers, sequential composers need to have greater control over form and subject matter as they draft”
(33). These writers often slowly work through paragraph after paragraph, rereading and revising as they draft, working
from outlines, and planning ahead.

Mostly D’s→ Procrastinators: Although we all occasionally procrastinate, the group Ede labels as procrastinators are
people who habitually delay writing anything until they write a final draft. They might wait until the night before the paper
is due to begin; therefore, they only have time to create one draft and possibly proofread it before handing it in.
It is not important to pinpoint exactly what kind of writer you are; you
might even fall into a different category depending on what you are
writing.
The goal here is just to recognize your general tendencies and consider
the advantages and disadvantages of your approach.
For example, if you know you are mostly a heavy planner, you can
develop writing strategies that best support your approach to planning.
In addition, you can deliberately work to develop new writing strategies
by incorporating useful strategies from other writer categories. That way,
if your usual method ever fails you, you will have another option to help
you proceed.
 Reflecting on
Your Writing Processes

TASK 2. After you have taken the quiz reflect on your result in pairs.

1. What was your result from the quiz? What type of writing process
did it say you have?
2.Do your results match what you think your writing process is? Why
or why not?
3. Has your writing shifted throughout the course of your education? 
What is Academic Writing?

Writing in an academic context is a bit different from writing in other

contexts. Often, academic writing:
 
• is written for a teacher.
• is assigned a grade.
• is used for students to demonstrate their
knowledge of course content.
• incorporates source material, such as
readings, films, or lectures.
What is Academic Writing?
TASK 1. Some of the following statements are true, based on research of academic
writing; others are not true. Which do you think are true statements?
a.The use of hedges (such as might, could, tend to) is relatively common in U.S.
academic writing.
b.U.S. academic writing is indirect; writers can rely on readers to understand the
meaning of their text without directly stating main ideas, claims, or arguments.
c.Most academic papers are five paragraphs long.
d.Citations to other sources are common in academic writing.
e.Academic writing uses more specific and precise vocabulary compared with
conversational language.
f.The first-person pronoun I is not acceptable in U.S. academic writing.
What is Academic Writing?

TASK 1.2. Compare your answers as a class.

For the statements that you think are true, consider why these might
be common characteristics.
What is Academic Writing?

Research of academic writing shows that a, d, and e are generally true

statements.
In contrast, research has shown that U.S. academic writing tends to be
fairly direct (statement b).
Many students have learned to write five-paragraph essays (statement
c), but they are not in fact common or required in most academic
writing.
The acceptability of the first-person pronoun I (statement f) depends
largely on the audience, type of writing, and context of
Distinguishing between academic
and personal styles of writing

There are many different kinds of academic writing in English. Some of

these differences arise from the different disciplines and the ways in which
they create and share knowledge; some relate to the audience (the
reader); and some to the use to which the text will be put.

The rules of academic writing in English are quite complicated;

nevertheless most students find that they can recognize the difference
between informal writing and formal, academic writing.
Different levels of formality
Task 2. Read the sentences and tick either F
(formal) or I (informal) after each sentence.
Talk about which features helped you reach your
decision.
Distinguishing between levels of formality

The separation between academic and non-academic is not simple or absolute. You will see non-
academic style in academic texts; and academic features will occur in non-academic texts. But it is
generally true that academic texts have predictable patterns of grammar, organisation, argument, and
of giving credit to the work and words of others.

Task 3. Put the following texts in order by giving 1 to the most academic and 4 to the least
academic.
 
To help you, think about: Who is this text intended for? Why would readers pick up
this text and read it? What resources did the writer of the text have available?
 
Grammatical features of academic writing

JUST TO REMEMBER…

WATCH THE VIDEO

Homework
In this class, we will be looking closely at genre to make you an effective writer.

Imagine that your best friend asks you to write him or her a Linkedin profile. Explore this
textual genre and write one for her or him.

We will use this sample next class when we go deeper into genre analysis and good writing.

The profile should be appropriate for a young university student.

You don’t have to create a “real” profile, but it should look like one. Create it in word/PDF
and upload it in our One Drive folder.
See you next class!