Senior Seminar

McConnell Hall 308

Tuesdays & Thursdays  8:00-9:50 or 10:10 to 12:00 

Instructor: Meagan Rodgers

Office hours: M & W 2:40-3:40 (during LTM) in or around Alexander Hall  

The purpose of the Senior Seminar is to help you get a head start on your college applications and to continue to build your analysis and discussion skills.  We will explore connections between reading, personal experience, and essay writing.   

Course Objectives         

• Complete two ready-to-send college application essays (one from the common application and one of your choosing from a college to which you will apply).
• Make connections between fiction, nonfiction (memoir), current events, and your life.  We’ll use the book Lives on the Boundary¹ by Mike Rose to work on this—you’ll participate in class discussions and complete homework to do this. 
• Increase your vocabulary through weekly word lists and quizzes.
• You will be an active participant in our community (classroom) of readers and writers. 
• As you compose your written assignments, you will learn about balancing authorial intent and audience interests. 
• You will learn how to use revision to make your writing even better.
• You will learn about proofreading: why it's important, when it should happen, and how it works best for you. 
• You will learn new vocabulary words that will increase your ability to comprehend and communicate.

Grading          

Application essays

You will write two full-length (usually 500 words) essays suitable for submission with your college applications.  The first essay question will come from the common application (CA), which is accepted at approximately 270 schools across the country.  You and I will work together to select the second essay topic from one of the schools to which you will apply.   

Vocabulary Quizzes

Each week, I will highlight a list of words that come from class discussions and/or reading assignments.  We will review the words in class.  You should study these words in two ways: 

(1) be able to define the word in a way that is meaningful to you (that means don’t memorize the dictionary definition if it’s not very helpful to you) and

(2) be able to compose an original sentence that uses the word and demonstrates to me that you understand the word.  (In other words, if your vocab word is “prate²” and you write the sentence “I don’t know what the word prate means”, then you have not demonstrated your understanding of the word.) 

Reading reports

For each class period in which reading is due, I expect you to come to class with a written response to a prompt or question I give out in class.

Your response should be 100-150 words.  You may type or (neatly) handwrite your response. 

All homework assignments will receive two grades—one for how well you show your understanding of the concepts and one for how clearly you present your work.  See pg. 13-14 of your student handbook for the standard UB homework policies. 

Participation

To earn the best possible grade for participation, you will need to speak up during class discussions in ways that are relevant and show me and the rest of the class that you are thinking about the subject at hand.  I encourage you to ask questions and to try out various ideas that you’re thinking about; that’s the best way to make the class discussions work for you, for me, and for the rest of the students in the class. 

I also expect you to come to every class period prepared to read and write.  Bring LOTB to class every day.  Also bring paper and a pen or pencil.   

No Discount Policy       

I expect you to abide by the No Discount Policy at all times.  When you are in classroom discussions or are reading the work of one of your fellow students, always be thoughtful and considerate in your comments.  Presenting your writing to a group can be scary; remember this when it is time for you to read and comment on the writing of your peers. 
 

    Points

Here’s how you can earn points each class: 

Assignment Schedule         (Subject to change as necessary.)