This document is a syllabus for an English 208 personal and exploratory writing course. It outlines the course objectives, which include becoming familiar with different types of personal writing and learning to effectively share personal experiences with others. It describes assignments such as personal essays. It provides policies such as technology requirements, accepted file formats, and academic honesty. The course aims to help students delve into their own experiences and communicate them to others through personal writing.

1. ENGL 208 SYLLABUS Page 1 of 3
Personal and Exploratory Writing
Janis (Jan) Johnson
janson@uidaho.edu| office hours: T/R 11-12 and by appointment
The great essayist Michel de Montaigne said, “Every person has within themselves the entire
human condition.” By this, of course, Montaigne didn’t mean that everyone has the same
experiences. Rather, we might take Montaigne to be saying that being human means that
we all react to and are shaped by our experiences.
Thanks to our capacity for language, we can try to communicate our various shades of
reality to others. Why might we want to do this? First, perhaps, to show people that there
ARE many sorts of experiences apart from (and not inferior to) their own; and second, to
provide insight into how these different sorts of experiences might shape how individual
people react to the world.
In a time where many have acknowledged a seeming lack of common ground and shared
values, perhaps this kind of personal and exploratory writing is more important than ever. In
this course, then, we will be delving into our own experience and learning the most effective
ways to share those experiences with others.
TEXTBOOK
• ENGL 208 does not require a textbook.
• All required readings are posted to the English 208 BbLearn course site.

2. ENGL 208 SYLLABUS Page 2 of 3
LEARNING OBJECTIVES. By the end of the course, you should...
1. Be familiar with many different types of personal writing.
2. Be able to read, comprehend, and analyze personal writing for its effects on audiences.
3. Be able to tell a compelling story using personal experience.
4. Have a better awareness and control of formal features in writing, including literary
techniques, arrangement, style, and mechanics.
5. Have developed and refined your own writing process through the use of pre-writing,
drafting, revising, and other.
A NOTE ON PERSONAL VS. PRIVATE CONTENT
I want to distinguish between personal content and private content. In this course, I hope
you will all feel comfortable sharing personal writing with me and with your peers.
Sometimes sharing personal content makes us uncomfortable, but ultimately it is
meaningful and helps us grow.
But no one is required to share any private content or information—in fact, I discourage you
from writing about anything that you consider private. Sharing private content can be far
more traumatic, and might be more harmful than helpful. To get a sense of the difference, it
might help to think about everything you write for the course as something that is meant to
be shared publicly (as if, for instance, you were to get your writing published). If you would
feel uncomfortable with the public seeing something you’ve written for this course, then you
should probably choose to write about something else.
Also, please know that as a university employee I am a mandatory reporter—that means that
I am required to report to the dean’s office certain information. If in your writing or in a talk
with me you disclose information regarding behavior or incidents that may be sexual
harassment or sexual misconduct, or if you say anything that makes me feel that you or
another member of the campus community is in distress or displaying concerning behavior
(including suicidal ideation), I will have to report it. Reporting it just means that someone
from the university will likely reach out to you to see if you are okay—there is no sort of
disciplinary action.
Your final grade will be determined by the grades you receive on written and in-class
assignments, based on the following weighting:
Description Points
Homework Assignments. These consist of short writing exercises,
brainstorming sessions, and peer reviews for each unit.
350 points
Assignment 1: Imitative List Essay 100
Assignment 2: Epistolary Essay 100
Assignment 3: A Personal Object Essay 100
Assignment 4: Writing About a Song 200
Assignment 5: Audio Essay (pitch, script, audio) 150
Total Points Possible 1000

3. ENGL 208 SYLLABUS Page 3 of 3
COURSE POLICIES
1. Technology Requirements.
• Computer in good working order.
• Microsoft Word. Students are strongly encouraged to use Microsoft Word because it
is the most commonly used software in the workplace today. Microsoft Office is
provided at no extra cost to all students and as part of the UI Microsoft Licensing
Agreement. You can install it on up to five separate devices. To install, go to ITS
Technology Services.
• Microphone. Most computers have an integrated microphone that will work fine for
this course. If you need to purchase one, however, here are two inexpensive
microphones that bblearn recommends:
Logitech 1 ($14.99) and Logitech 2 ($19.99).
• Reliable Backup. You will need a reliable backup to store the latest drafts of your
work other than the hard drive of your computer or an easily lost thumb drive. Here is
one I recommend http://www.dropbox.com
2. Accepted File Formats. The following are the only accepted file formats:
• Essays: Word or PDF files.
• Audio Essay: URL where the file is hosted. Digital media files (MP3, MP4, etc.) are not
accepted in this course. Your media file must be hosted in the cloud and play without
a user needing to download it.
3. Deadlines. All work is due by 11:59 PM on the day/date indicated in the project
schedules. Late assignments will lose one letter grade (or the equivalent number of
points) per day.
4. Verify Submissions to Avoid Point Penalties. When submitting assignments, students are
responsible for verifying that files they uploaded are not corrupted, will open, and that
the URL to your audio essay works. This means you must return to the submissions box
and open any files you uploaded and check that a URL works. If your work does not
submit correctly or if you failed to submit part of it, you will need to submit all work again
in a single attempt because the last submission is the only one I grade.
5. University Disability Support Services. Reasonable accommodations will be made for
students with disabilities. Disability Support Services must approve your request: (208)
885-6307• dss@uidaho.edu
6. Academic Dishonesty. Consequences for academic dishonesty will certainly include
failing the assignment; students who plagiarize may also receive an F in the course. If
you’re not sure what plagiarism is, you can read the University of Idaho’s Academic
Honesty Policy onlineat http://www.if.uidaho.edu/docs/academic_honesty.pdf.F'.
7. Contacting Me. You are invited to email me when you have a question or to request a
writing conference. You may expect a reply within 24 hours.