Syllabus for ENG 108

ENG 108 -- College Writing and Research

Missouri Western State College
Department of English, Foreign Languages, Journalism
Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

English 108-06 -- College Writing and Research
Fall 2001
TTH 11:00-12:20 JGM 120

Instructor: Dawn Terrick
Office: SSC 222Q
Office Phone: 816-271-4313
Office Hours: MWF 11:00-12:00, TTH 1:00-2:00 and by appointment
Email: terrick@griffon.mwsc.edu

Required Texts:
· Exploring Language. Goshgarian, Gary. 9^th edition. Addison Wesley Longman Publishing Company.

· The Curious Researcher. Ballenger, Bruce. 3^rd edition. Allyn and Bacon Publishing Company.

Required Materials:
· Computer disks for revising and saving work.

· Folder to keep all research.

Recommended Texts:
· A writing handbook or style guide of your choice (The New Century Handbook).

Course Description:
"Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is dangerous."

"One thing that is always with the writer -- no matter how long he has written or how good he is -- is the continuing process of learning how to write."

We live in an information society, a society that is dominated by language; therefore, it is imperative that we, as human beings, understand the information around us. Those who learn to wholly comprehend what they read, think critically about their own and others' ideas, sort through the information that is available to them and effectively convey their thoughts and ideas will be able to successfully function in this society. In order to achieve these goals as a class, we will:

· Improve our reading skills through extensive reading and participating in discussions regarding the readings.
· Summarize, analyze and evaluate written works.
· Revise our written work on our own and within peer revision groups. We will write drafts, reread first and second copies to rethink what we have discovered and revise for an organization appropriate to our main purpose and audience.

· Collect, sort through, determine the validity of and synthesize research and information. We will have to familiarize ourselves with several reference tools in the library, work with the Inlex-System, locate books and journals in the library and locate source materials on electronic databases.

· Practice research writing conventions as outlined by the MLA guidelines.

· Continue to refine our ability to identify our own spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors so that we can achieve as "clean" a final copy as possible.

For common objectives for ENG 108, also refer to the English department website at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/eng108.asp

I have structured this course so that everything you read, discuss and write is connected in some way.

A large part of research is reading and truly understanding what you read and, as a result, the first weeks of the course will focus on refining your evaluation and analysis skills. Your reading and writing assignments will reflect this. Then, we will begin to narrow our focus to the final research project. You will be able to decide the topic/issue of this project. Your topic can be related to your major, intended career, something that interests you and/or something that you have read about, a personal or familial interest, etc. I will review the details of this project in class. You will also be required to write some "smaller" but equally important papers and these papers are some of the different stages in the process of the final research and writing project (prospectus, background report and interview paper. Each paper will be submitted and graded and you will have the opportunity for revision. These assignments will then be synthesized and expanded into your final research project. Although you have to meet certain deadlines, you will also be given the opportunity to work at your own pace on your research project. By breaking down a large writing and research project into smaller steps, it will make the entire process less intimidating and easier to manage. However, be aware that this course entails extensive writing and researching and, as a result, requires that you remain aware of due dates and stay on schedule.

Methods of Instruction:

Methods of instruction include textbooks, lectures, class discussions, group work (both written and oral), informal writing assignments and formal writing assignments. Students will be expected to participate in peer revision groups and in-class writing exercises. Students will also be required to give an oral presentation regarding their research project at the end of the semester.

Attendance and Class Preparation/Participation: Students are expected to attend every scheduled class meeting. Each student will be allowed four absences. More than four absences will likely effect your final grade. However, please feel free to speak to me about any extenuating circumstances for I reserve the right to excuse some absences. If you are going to miss class due to a school-sponsored event you must notify me in advance. Also, arriving to class late is disruptive. As a result, chronic lateness will likely affect your final grade. Students are also expected to come prepared to every class meeting and participate in class discussion for this is the only way we can all share ideas, ask questions and learn. Preparation includes coming to class with all assigned work completed. It is crucial that you complete all assigned reading. In addition, if you do not have your rough draft on the day of peer revising, you will receive no points and will be marked absent.

Late Work: All writing assignments are due at the beginning of the class period on the due date. Each student is allowed one late paper, and only one late paper, (but you cannot turn in your final research project and presentation in late) and this must be discussed with the instructor. Please use this opportunity wisely. I will not accept/grade any other late papers. This is important because you must complete, turn in and receive a grade for all papers in order to pass this class. In other words, if you turn in two late papers, you will fail the course. If you are not in class on the due date you are still responsible for submitting your assignment on time. Late in-class writing assignments will not be accepted.

Students with Disabilities: Anyone who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of his or her potential to succeed in this course must notify me as soon as possible so that we can discuss class requirements and accommodations.

Grading: Your final grade will be based upon your formal writing assignments, various in-class writing workshops and peer revision groups, class preparation and participation. Please remember that you must complete all assignments in order to pass the course. Also note that smaller assignments and class preparation/participation are very important and do affect your grade.

· Paper #1: 100 points

· Paper #2: 75 points

· Paper #3: 100 points

· Paper #4: 100 points

· Final Research Project: 350 points

· Oral Presentation of Project (last two weeks of course): 75 points

· Final exam: 100 points

· Class preparation and participation (including in-class activities, research groups and peer revision groups): 200 points

Overall Course Grade:

Total points = 1000 points

90-100% of total points=A

80-90%=B

70-80%=C

60-70%=D

Revision: All formal, graded writing assignments, except your final research project, can be revised throughout the semester and resubmitted for a "new" grade. It is required that your original, graded essay accompanies your revised essay. The deadline for revisions appears on your assignment schedule and I will not accept revisions after this date. However, do not wait until the last minute to revise. Each paper covers important skills that you will need to know for the next paper. In addition, at the end of the semester, you will be quite busy finishing your final research project. Although you cannot revise your final research project, you will write it in "stages" and those stages can be revised. You will also have ample opportunity to obtain feedback from your peers and from me regarding your final research project.

Academic Honesty Policy: Cheating and plagiarism on assignments/papers are not acceptable. You will receive a grade of F for the assignment/paper that shows evidence of cheating and/or plagiarism. Please make sure to correctly document all borrowed information and ideas on all of your writing assignments. You have the burden of proving that a paper showing evidence of cheating or plagiarism has in fact been written by you. You should keep thorough evidence of your writing processes for all papers so that you can meet this burden of proof. Stronger evidence proving plagiarism may lead to further penalties. Please note carefully the statement on plagiarism on the departmental website, found at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/EFLJ/plagiarism.asp.

Miscellaneous: All drafts and final papers for this course must be word-processed. Please note that you must complete all writing assignments in order to pass this course. In addition, all research, notes, outlines, drafts, etc. must be submitted with your final research project. It is also important to save all work on disks, keeping back-ups if necessary.

Please feel free to come see me if you have any problems or questions. I believe communication is very important between an instructor and her students and, as a result, I will make myself available to you for any reason.