Syllabus for Eng 108-01 & 108-03
College Writing and Research
Kenton Wilcox
01 - T Th 8:00 - 9:20 SSC 215
03 - T Th 9:30 - 10:50 SSC 215
Kenton Wilcox, Adjunct Instructor
Office: 208 X SSC
Phone: (816) 271-4239
Home Phone: (660) 582-4196
Hours: by appointment
Required Book: St. Martin's Guide to Writing, 5th edition, by Axelrod & Cooper.
Course Outline:
Ultimately, you will each write a twelve-page, argumentative research paper.
This paper, which you will craft slowly and edit many times before completion, will
serve as the final examination for the class, and will also compose the bulk of your
final grade. You might want to start thinking of possible topics early on.
The best way to learn to write well is through continuous practice. For the first
three weeks, I will have you writing a great deal. I will be grading these
assignments rather softly, though, for I am using them mainly to get acquainted with
you as writers.
The following schedule is tentative.
Jan. 18th. Reading assignments: St. Martin's, chapter 20 by Jan 20th. Chapter 21
by Jan 25th, chapter 22 by Feb 3rd, chapter 11 by Feb 8th, chapter 12 by Feb 15th.
Locate and read "Araby", by James Joyce, and "The Lottery", by Shirley Jackson, both by
Feb 15th. ("Araby" is in your textbook.)
In class, you will write for fifteen minutes. This writing will be about your areas
of expertise and about yourselves as readers and as writers. Include also an example
of a sentence in the passive voice.
Also in class, you will conduct one-on-one interviews of each other. You are to
write summaries of these interviews, typed and double-spaced, for Jan 20th. On Jan
20th, you will read these summaries aloud to your fellow students. 10 points.
Outside of class, you are to write your opinion, in however much space it takes, on
whether Elian Gonzalez should be kept in the U. S. or returned to Cuba. 5 points.
Jan. 20th. Reading of chapter 20 due. Elian Gonzalez opinion paper due. On the
back of the Gonzalez paper, tell me about your experience studying a language besides
English, and list for me, to the best of your ability, the eight forms of the English
verb "to be".
In class, you will read your interviews aloud, then turn them in as graded written
assignments.
For Jan 25th, you are to write an opinion paper, in however much space it takes, on
for whom you would vote for President if the election were held on Jan 25th. Compare
your candidate to another whom you also like. Finally, tell me about yourself as a
voter (or non-voter). 5 points.
Also for Jan 25th, write a three-page paper summarizing an observation, interview, or
questionnaire you've conducted or administrated, following the advice given in
chapter 20. Bring to class on the 25th seven copies of this three-page paper. 30 points.
Jan. 25th. Reading of chapter 21 due. Presidential-election opinion paper due.
Seven copies of rough draft of three-page summary of observation, interview, or
questionnaire due.
In class, we will complete the summaries of the in-class interviews held Jan. 18th,
then divide into groups of five or six people for peer-review sessions of the rough
drafts.
For Jan 27th, edit the rough drafts, and write, in as much space as it takes, your
opinion on what makes a memorial or monument successful. 5 points.
For Feb 1st, write a research paper presenting the opinions of at least five sources
on a topic of your choice, comparing the various resources according to the
guidelines presented in chapter 21. Bring at least seven copies of this paper to
class on the 1st. 30 points.
Jan. 27th. Edited assignment first given Jan. 20th due, as well as opinion paper on
memorials and monuments. Visit to the library. As long as I receive the homework at
the beginning of class, attendance today is not mandatory.
Feb. 1st. Peer-review sessions of five-source paper assigned Feb. 1st.. Further
discussions of chapters 20 & 21, as time permits.
For Feb 3rd, edit the five-source paper.
Also for Feb 3rd, locate an article with clear bias (kudos if the article does not
come from the opinion pages of a paper or magazine), photocopy it, and provide a
write-up, in as much space as necessary, demonstrating and discussing the bias of the
article. 10 points.
Feb. 3rd. Edited five-source paper due.
In class, you will discuss the articles-of-bias, then turn in the writing for grading
as a written assignment.
Opinion write-up, similar to those of the past, and due Feb 8th, to be announced.
(Haider.) 5 points.
Feb. 8th. Opinion write-up due.
Catch-up day, if necessary, and discussion of chapters 22 & 11.
Opinion write-up to be announced. (Ethical dilemma.) 5 points.
Feb. 10th. Opinion write-up due.
Brilliant class lecture by Mr. Wilcox: "English Grammar and Writing."
Feb. 15th. Have at hand copies of the two short
stories assigned Jan. 18th.
Brilliant class lecture by Mr. Wilcox: "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Text, part
one."
For Feb. 17th, submit a proposed topic for the major research paper.
Also for Feb. 17th, write, in however much space it takes, your ideas about the
application of a method of literary criticism to one of the two short stories, Araby
or The Lottery. This may be informal - though it must still be in standard paragraph
and sentence form (not simply jotted notes). 10 points.
Feb. 17th. Submit proposed topic for the major research paper. 10 points.
"Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Text, part two."
Feb. 22nd. Library scavenger hunt. We will meet in the regular classroom. You will each be given a paper with twenty questions, the answers to which will be available in resources in the library. You are to answer the questions, but you will receive credit depending upon your citation of sources. 20 points.
Feb 24th. Start reading Part 3. Have chapters 13 & 14th read by Feb 29th, chapters 15 & 16 by March 2nd, 17 & 18 by March 7th, and chapter 19 by March 23rd.
Brilliant class lecture by Mr. Wilcox: "Logic 101, Part 1."
Opinion write-up to be announced (5 points).
Feb. 29th. Opinion write-up due. "Logic 101, Part 2." Have completed chapters 13 & 14. By this time, you should be working on the earliest drafts of your paper and beginning preliminary research. Opinion write-up to be announced (5 points).
March 2nd. Opinion write-up due. Have completed chapters 15 & 16. "Logic 101, Part 3." Find an editorial in which the author clearly uses an informal fallacy. Describe the fallacy and whether or not the author used it effectively. Due March 7th.
March 7th. Have completed chapters 17 & 18. In-class discussion of informal fallacies.
March 9th & 21st. We probably will not have class on one of these two days. The other we will use for class discussion of papers.
March 14th & 16th. Spring Break!
March 23rd. Have completed chapter 19. Rough draft of large paper due. 100 points. At this time, your draft should be 6 pages long NOT INCLUDING 'works cited' sheet, and the paper should smoothly incorporate at least two sources.
March 28th. In-class discussion of papers.
March 30th. In-class discussion of papers.
April 4th, 6th, 11th, 13th, 18th, 20th, and 25th. Class will not meet formally. I will meet with individual students at various times, by appointment (or during the normal class hours on a take-a-number basis) to work on papers one-to-one. I expect to see each student at least twice during this period. Students WILL turn in a second rough draft of the papers (100 points). We will work on those papers together until they are flawless.
April 27th. Final draft of paper due. It must 12 pages long and incorporate 10 non-Internet sources, not including simple dictionaries. It must be in MLA style, which is wonderfully explicated by your textbook. The final draft is worth 200 points. If a student hands in this paper before this date, kudos. The student is free to pursue academic excellence in his or her other courses.
Policies:
Attendance is mandatory. One third of a letter grade will be docked from your final
score for each unexcused absence after the second. If you notify me beforehand,
either through E-Mail, telephone call, letter in my departmental mailbox, or through
the department secretary (please don't bother her too much), I will likely excuse the
absence without questioning, unless your absenteeism becomes problematic. If I do
not hear from you until after the class missed, I expect documentation.
To insure attendance, I will give some sort of assignment almost every class session.
I also am prone to giving pop quizzes. If the absence is excused, I still expect
homework in a timely fashion. However, you are responsible for finding, from other
students, notes and assignments from missed classes. Late homework that remains
unexcused will be penalized half a letter grade for each class day the homework is
tardy, and unexcused quizzes cannot be made up.
The subject of this class is the composition of argumentative research papers. I,
the instructor, am a tool for your education. I can give you sound advice about
strengthening your writing. Ultimately, however, you can only learn to write well
through practice, both in writing and in reading critically. You are responsible for
your own education.
I will give you a great number of assignments, which will vary in length and
character. Expect to spend a minimum of two and a half hours working outside of
class for each hour spent in class.
Cheating and plagiarism on assignments or tests is NOT acceptable. You will receive a 0% on the paper or exam that shows evidence of cheating or plagiarism in accordance with Section 2, Part II, paragraph B. of the 1999-2000 MWSC Policy Guide (page 41).
Students are invited to read the English Department's Web Site for further information regarding plagiarism, and I promise to do my best to help students avoid it.
N. B.!!! Your professors have told me that you are addicted to the Internet.
Therefore, I forbid you from using Internet sources as documented resources until
further notice.
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