Missouri Western State College

Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism

Section – 01, 8:00-8:50 MWF, SSC 210

Section – 04, 11:00-11:50 MWF, SSC 210

ENG 104 College Writing and Rhetoric. Instruction in reading and writing; emphasizes expository prose. Fulfills first half of the General Studies requirement in English composition.

English 104 is about learning and practicing ways to become critical readers and independent writers.

Key Course Questions

(What you should know by the time you finish this course.)

1. What is a thesis?
2. How do you raise questions about your reading, research, and writing? How do you use these questions in writing and discussion?
3. How do you make specific decisions throughout the writing process? (Decisions about audience, subject, purpose, writer, genre, thesis, development, organization, structure, insight, correctness, revision.)
4. How does a writer influence an audience?
5. How do you discover, judge, incorporate, and document outside sources of support?
6. How do you know when an essay is complete?
7. How and why is (is not) a piece of writing effective? thoughtful? memorable?

Instructor’s Philosophy

(What I believe about teaching writing and how I will apply these beliefs to this course.)

• Students learn to write by writing. In addition to major assignments, I will assign in-class, at home, and personal writing throughout the semester.
• Writing is a process. I will help you learn and practice ways to state a thesis, develop support, research a topic, influence an audience, revise a work, and discover your own voice.
• Writing requires revision. I expect you to write multiple drafts of all major assignments. Multiple drafting adds focus and detail to your writing.
• Writing must have an audience. I will make extensive use of peer response groups and revision workshops in class. I encourage you to confer with me whenever you have questions about your writing.
• Writing requires thought. As a class, we will study some principles of critical thinking to help you become stronger writers. I hope you will examine several issues in depth, developing and analyzing your thoughts about them.
• Writers must be readers. We will read and discuss a variety of essays and learn how to analyze and evaluate ideas and opinions.
• Writers must be self-reflective. I will ask each of you to judge your own work by commenting on it and taking an active role in peer response groups and conferences.

Chaffee, John. Critical Thinking, Thoughtful Writing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.

Hult, Christine and Thomas N. Huckin. The New Century Handbook. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001.

A good college dictionary

Attendance

For this class to be successful and for you to be successful in it, attendance is mandatory. I expect you to be on time and ready to participate for every class meeting. I realize that "things" sometimes come up. Therefore, you are allowed two absences before your grade will be affected. More than two absences may result in a grade deduction. More than six absences will fail you. Quizzes, in-class writing and class activities cannot be made up if you are late for class or absent.

If you miss class because of a college-sponsored activity, you will not be penalized. It is your responsibility to contact me before class for assignments.

Assignments

• Essays: You will write five essays this semester. Most essays will be between 3 and 5 pages in length. All essays must be word-processed, using normal margins and no larger than 12-point type. Specific evaluation criteria will be discussed with each essay. Each essay assignment will be submitted in a folder, containing the draft for evaluation, a reflective letter critiquing your process and raising questions about your work, all previous drafts, preliminary writing, and all peer responses.
• Late Assignments: I expect you to complete all assignments on time. Late assignments (this is any work that is not submitted on time and includes assignments left at home or "temporarily lost" by a computer malfunction) will result in a deduction of that assignment’s grade. If you are facing difficulties in completing a major assignment, please discuss the problems with me before the essay is due.
• Unacceptable Work: Since you need a final grade of C or better to move on to English 108, papers receiving a grade below a C will be marked as unacceptable. No grade will be recorded. If your essay is unacceptable, it is your responsibility to schedule a conference to plan a revision strategy and set a completion deadline. If an essay remains unacceptable, it will receive an F.
• Revision Portfolio: I hope you will revise your acceptable essays throughout the semester. I will re-evaluate all revised essays during the final week of the semester and record the highest score. The revisions will be due the last week of class. The revision portfolio must include the revised draft, the previously graded draft, all peer responses, and a letter discussing any conferences over the essay and the reasons for the changes made to the essay. Please note that a revision alone does not guarantee a higher grade.

Conferences

I am always willing to discuss your writing with you. My office hours are listed above. I will bring my calendar to every class to schedule appointments. I encourage you to make use of these opportunities.

Center for Academic Support

In addition to conferences with me, you may find help with your writing at the Center for Academic Support. The CAS, which is located at the northeast corner of the library building, provides trained tutors for students requiring additional reading and writing instruction. There is no cost to students for using these services. I encourage you to make use of these services throughout this course.

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism is an act of theft. It is taking another’s words or ideas and calling them your own. That does not mean you cannot use another’s words or ideas to illustrate and to support your thoughts, but it does mean that you must give credit to the one whose words and ideas you are using. Plagiarism like cheating cannot be tolerated. If I find evidence of plagiarism or cheating, the assignment will fail.

Disabled Student Policy

Any student enrolled in this course who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of abilities or that prevents or hinders the completion of class requirements as stated in the syllabus should contact me as soon as possible so we can discuss class requirements.

What I owe you in evaluating your work.

• My time. I need to return your work with my comments in a timely fashion.
• My attention. I need to hear your voice and to study your ideas.
• My voice. I need to raise questions, share my reactions, and offer suggestions.
• My honesty. I need to be clear and open about my evaluation. You need to know when your work is strong and progressing and when it is not.
• Hope. Unfortunately, evaluation discourages more than motivates. With an open office door for conferences, non-recorded unacceptable work, and a revision portfolio, I try to provide opportunities for improvement.

• Five essays - 100 points each
• Process folders - 25 points for each essay
• Mid-term essay - 50 points
• Assorted writing tasks including quizzes - ???
• Final Exam - 100 points

• 100% - 90% = A
• 89% - 80% = B
• 79% - 70% = C
• 69% - 60% = D
• Below 60% = F

Aug. 20 - Introduction of course. In-class writing.

Aug. 22 - Discuss Chaffee 2-20 and Hult 9-20. Introduce Formative Experience Essay.

Aug. 24 - Discuss Dillard Essay, C 37. Proposal for Formative Experience Essay. Discuss H 24-26.

Aug. 27 - Draft of Formative Experience Essay is due (two copies). Peer Response.

Aug. 29 - Discuss Malcolm X Essay, C 35. Discuss Critical Thinking, C 21-34.

Aug. 31 - Discuss Rondinone Essay, C 41.

Sept. 5 - Formative Experience Essay is due.

Sept. 7 - Discuss C 235-244. Introduce Different Perspectives Essay.

Sept. 10 - Library.

Sept. 12 - Discuss C 245-249.

Sept. 14 - Draft of Different Perspectives Essay is due (two copies). Peer Response.

Sept. 17 - Discuss C 250-254 and C 263-266.

Sept. 19 - Discuss C 266-269 and C 270-274.

Sept. 21 - Different Perspective Essay is due.

Sept. 24 - Discuss C 284-292. Introduce Causal Relationships Essay.

Sept. 26 - Discuss C 293-299. Proposal is due.

Sept. 28 - Reading TBA.

Oct. 1 - Draft of Causal Relationships is due (two copies). Peer Response.

Oct. 3 - Discuss C 306-311. Reading TBA.

Oct. 5 - Causal Relationships essay is due.

Oct. 10 - Introduce Definition Essay. Discuss C 321-332 and C 333-339.

Oct. 12 - Mid-term Essay (Defining A Concept).

Oct. 15 - Introduce Analyzing Influences Essay.

Oct. 17 - Discuss C 370-384. Proposal for Analyzing Influences Essay.

Oct. 19 - Discuss C 384-391 and C 391-395.

Oct. 22 - Draft of Analyzing Influences Essay is due (two copies). Peer Response.

Oct. 24 - Discuss C 396-402.

Oct. 26 - Discuss C 405-411 and C 411-417.

Oct. 29 - Analyzing Influences Essay is due.

Oct. 31 - Introduce Solving Problem Essay.

Nov. 2 - Discuss C 430-450. Proposal for Solving Problem Essay.

Nov. 5 - Library.

Nov. 7 - Discuss C 452-459.

Nov. 9 - Draft of Solving Problem Essay is due (two copies). Peer Response.

Nov. 12 - Library.

Nov. 14 - Discuss C 459-467.

Nov. 16 - Writing/Research Day. (The Instructor will be attending a conference.)

Nov. 19 - Solving Problem Essay is due.

Nov. 26 - Revision Workshop. Reading TBA.

Nov. 28 - Revision Workshop. Reading TBA.

Nov. 30 - Revision Portfolio (optional) is due. Revision Workshop. Reading TBA.

Dec. 5 (Wednesday) 8:30-10:20 - Final Exam for 8 a.m. Section.

Dec. 7 (Friday) 11:30-1:20 - Final Exam for 11 a.m. Section.