MISSOURI WESTERN STATE COLLEGE
Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English/Foreign Languages/Journalism
Fall 2000 Syllabus ENGLISH 108: COLLEGE WRITING AND RESEARCH
Section: 10 10:00 - 10:50 MWF MC 211 INSTRUCTOR: DR. ELIZABETH SAWIN
Office: JGM 207-O
Office Hours: 11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon on MWF;
1:00 - 4:00 Tues. and by appointment
E-mail: sawin@griffon.mwsc.edu
Phone: 271-4274
When leaving voice mail, please identify yourself by name,
give the date you are calling, give your telephone number s-l-o-w-l-y
if you want me to return your call, and ask me to return your call only
if necessary.For example: "Dr. Sawin, This is Joe Crossen from your
English 108 class. It's 2 p.m. on Tuesday, August 22. My car was totaled
in the parking lot at work this morning, and I may not be in class tomorrow
unless I can get a ride from Cameron. Just wanted to let you know." GENERAL STUDIES OBJECTIVES: English 108 is designed to help you
Think critically and reason analytically
Write and speak clearly and effectively
Function as an enlightened citizen in our society COURSE OBJECTIVES:
In this course you will learn to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the
thinking of others in order to discover, develop, and test your own
points of view. More specifically, you will do RESEARCH: find sources on the topic you are researching, using print and electronic media
evaluate the credibility of your sources,
summarize, analyze, and evaluate the message of each source,
respond to the content of each source
connecting its ideas to your past experiences or belief system,
rebutting its ideas when necessary,
revising your own beliefs by its findings when warranted,
laying it aside when irrelevant to your purpose,
comparing it to other sources,
synthesize sources in order to arrive at your own point of view
construct and defend an argument with a carefully qualified claim,
develop your argument with convincing warrants
base your argument on sufficient, typical, accurate, and relevant evidence. WRITE: identify the purpose of your writing,
analyze the knowledge level and values of the audience you are trying to reach,
plan your paper, organizing ideas, reasons, and evidence into a coherent framework
integrate sources appropriately into your work,
cite sources appropriately within your paper and in the bibliography,
collaborate to form consensus on meaning,
collaborate to draft and revise,
reread and rewrite in the light of other people's reactions to your work,
revise sentences to achieve stylistic fluency and variety,
edit in groups and individually to achieve acceptable grammar & accuracy in spelling & punctuation,
evaluate your own and your classmates' work. For the detailed listing of departmental objectives for English 108, please refer to:
http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/eng108.asp REQUIRED TEXTSBOOKS and MATERIALS:
CRITICAL THINKING, Thoughtful Writing
John Chaffee. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
THE NEW CENTURY HANDBOOK
Christine Hult & Thomas Huckin. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.
THE WRITER'S OPTIONS 6th ed.
Max Morenberg & Jeff Sommers. New York: Longman, 1999. 2-3 HIGH DENSITY 3.5 inch computer disks (dedicated to this course)
AND disk-carrying case
Spiral notebook for freewriting and sentence-combining.
A research notebook (more on this later).
1 pad of white, lined 8.5 x 11 inch notebook paper for in-class writing.
Pocket folders for research paper and portfolio
A collegiate level dictionary. ASSIGNMENTS:
In addition to reading assignments and brief writing exercises
and sentence-combining, you will write three research essays.
These longer assignments must be word processed.
You will keep and submit a research notebook with the final
research project.
Number and keep drafts and graded papers in your portfolio. REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING POLICY: Summaries / Daily Reading & Writing / In-class essays........100 points
Sentence Combining / Revision Techniques.....................100 points
Paper #1 Synthesizing / Applying Knowledge...Sept...........75 points
Paper #2 Analyzing Arguments..................Oct.......... 75 points
Paper #3 Argument about a Current, Controversial Issue ... 150 points
Research notebook (process & drafts & outline)
Copies of/access to ALL sources
Peer Reviews of Other Student Papers
Quizzes, Mid-term and Final..................................100 points
Types of Claims, Warrants, Evidence
Research Techniques
Evaluating Print & Electronic Sources Grades will be assigned with the following percentages based on total
points awarded in the course:
A 100-91% B 90-81% C 80-71% D 70-61% F 60-0% No one will pass this course without completing all writing assignments and taking the final exam.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
All students are expected to attend every class session.
If you must be absent, you are responsible for obtaining
information on assignments, notes, and handouts, preferably
by making prior arrangements with a classmate. If you have
six absences by the end of the semester, you will receive an
F unless you have an extraordinary and thoroughly documented
situation. Three absences on average take care of most
people's emergencies. MAKE-UP POLICY:
There will be no make-up opportunities for the Summaries /
Daily Reading & Writing / and In-class essays. You have all
semester to work on the sentence-combining sections I assign. LATE PAPERS:
When the final draft of a paper is DUE, you MUST hand it in on
the due date at the beginning of the hour. Late papers receive
a reduction of 10% for every day late. A 100-point paper turned
in one day late is worth a maximum of 90 pts. Two days late: 80 pts.
Three days : 70 pts. I will not accept a paper more than 3 days
after it is due unless there are very serious circumstances that
are fully documented. ACADEMIC HONESTY:
You are expected to do your own reading and writing in this course.
Any student who submits someone else's work as his or her own will
receive no credit (0 points) for that assignment and jeopardize their
standing in the course.
DISABLED STUDENT POLICY:
Anyone who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of
her or his potential to succeed in this course must notify me in
writing during the first week of classes so that we can discuss
course requirements and accommodations.
REQUIRED FORMATTING for out-of-class copy:
Use regular white paper in a printer that provides a clear, dark black copy.
Use Times New Roman or a comparable font.
Type size: 10 or 12 pt.
Margins: 1 inch Paragraph Indent: ½ inch
Center the title.
Number each page on the bottom right
Single-space within paragraphs.
Double-space between paragraphs.
Identify yourself in the upper right hand corner: Elizabeth Sawin
English 108
Synthesizing / Applying Knowledge
August 21, 2000
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