Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English/Foreign Languages/Journalism

Fall 2001 Syllabus

MWF 1:00 – 1:50 p.m. JGM 104

Office: SSC 222-S

Office Hours: 3:00 to 4:00 M-F and by appointment

E-mail: hamilmb@missouriwestern.edu

Office Phone: 271-4169

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 and creative citizen in our society

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:

assigned readings, group tasks, class discussions, lectures, and student presentations

and delve into extensive pre-writes to clarify and to explore your own best thoughts and feelings.

finding sources on topics using print and electronic media, interviews and art

to 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,

your works-in-progress, and

your own beliefs when warranted by additional findings:

laying aside irrelevancies to better focus upon your purpose,

comparing material to other sources,

synthesizing sources in order to arrive at your own point of view

constructing and defending an argument with a carefully qualified claim

to develop your argument with convincing warrants

based upon sufficient, typical, accurate, and relevant evidence.

identify the audience and the purpose of your writing,

plan your paper, organizing ideas, reasons, and evidence into a coherent framework

integrate sources appropriately into your work, using creative thinking

cite sources appropriately within your paper and in the bibliography,

collaborate to form consensus on meaning,

review and discuss 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 to achieve acceptable grammar & accuracy in spelling & punctuation,

evaluate your own and your classmates’ work.

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

Hult, Christine and Thomas Huckin. The New Century Handbook. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.

A collegiate-level dictionary

2-3 high density 3.5 inch computer disks (specifically for this course)

Notebooks, paper, pens, and Xeroxed copies as requested

All of your Final Drafts and Researched Essays must be word processed. You will need to plan for this at campus computer labs.

Label your 2-3 high density 3.5 inch computer disks

A disk-carrying case will protect your work from dirt, heat, moisture, and unexpected bumps and drops.

Three thoughtful, well expressed, formally presented research based, cross-disciplinary projects:

1st Assignments and a Researched Essay "Native America" 20% 10/10

2nd Assignments and a Researched Essay "Industrial America" 30% 10/20

3rd Assignments and a Researched Essay "Contemporary America" 30% 10/20

Test Midterm Cumulative 10%

Final Portfolio and Final Exam TBA 10%

You are REQUIRED to save all of your written work for this course from doodles to drafts. That includes quizzes, pre-writes, brainstorming sessions, notes on group tasks and responses to research, class notes, summaries, and revisions, etc. etc.

You will need:

1. Notebook(s) for class work. Paper for taking notes and paper for quizzes and class writings to be handed in. No torn spiral ring paper will be accepted for this, so decide well (A 3-ring binder might be a good choice.)

2. 3 folders with inside pockets: one for each research project with dates, name, and course number. This will keep all activities and writings for the particular projects in tact.

Remember, you will need to keep all your completed and on-going work. If you are professional, organized, and can present a complete, and neat, Final Portfolio at the end of the semester, you will have achieved what is necessary.

Standard percentages are: 100-90=A; 89-80=B; 79-70=C; 69-60=D; 59-0=F.

Plus and minus designations on your works-in-progress will be used: A+=100; A=95; A-=92; B+=88; B=85; B-=82; C+=78; C=75; C-=72; D+=68; D=65; D-=62; F+=58; F=55; F-=52; and 0=0.

Assignments, quizzes, discussions, group tasks, and other required work may be graded or non-graded, or checked for competency, acceptability, and thoroughness.

All students will need a semester's grade average of "C=75%"or better to pass this course. All students will need to receive a passing grade on at least 2 of the 3 research projects to pass this course.

You are responsible for the semester's work. Since we will be working together, and in synch with on-going projects, attendance is important. Your thoughts, observations, and questions are as important to others as they are to the development of your own works-in-progress.

Three absences in the course of a semester are reasonable. You do not need to explain the first three absences. However, with the 4^th absence (defined as more than 15 minutes of any class session), you will receive a 5 percentage point reduction in grade from your semester total. All absences beyond your 4^th will also result in that same reduction. IF you believe that you truly have extenuating circumstances and want the penalty waived, you will have to demonstrate additional writing competence by explaining to me in a clear, coherent, detailed, organized, and edited business LETTER what happened. In this letter, you must be persuasive.

"I was sick." Explain what symptoms you were having, and what treatment you sought.

"I had car problems." Explain what, where, when, and how they occurred. Put me there.

"Someone I know died." Establish your connection to that person. Describe the funeral.

"I was playing a baseball game." Describe the game in detail and the role you played in it.

IF you are on an athletic team or are already scheduled to represent MWSC in some official capacity in the course of the semester, plan to use those three allowed absences to cover these situations. With six or more absences (whether excused or unexcused), you stand a good chance of failing this course.

There will be no make-up opportunities for any of the in-class activities whether your absence is excused or not. No late work will be accepted without prior approval. Assignments should be handed in on time. When due dates are given, assignments should be ready to hand in at the beginning of the class period.

Missed class notes, assignments, questions for quizzes, etc. should obtained whenever possible from classmates.

If late, the three major Researched Essays will be given grade reductions: one grade level per class period.

I will accommodate those who may have inordinate problems or circumstances, but I will NOT accept excuses as adequate reasons for absences, lateness, or for late work. Penalties will be incurred.

All drafts and final papers are to be submitted ON the DATE they are DUE and in the CLASSROOM where we meet at the beginning of the hour. I will not accept assignments by mail, email, slipped under the door, put in my mailbox or handed to me while walking.

College and student policies for academic honesty are always in effect.

One of the major objectives of this course is to teach you the difference between the legitimate and the illegitimate use of other people’s work. Plagiarism is the theft of other people’s words, thoughts, creative perceptions, or their ideas as if they were your own. Documentation of sources prevents plagiarism. You will learn how to do this accurately.

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 may receive an F for the course, be reported to the Department Chair, the Academic Dean, and the Dean of Student Affairs for appropriate disciplinary action.

Anyone who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of her or his potential to succeed in this course must notify me the first week of classes so that we can discuss course requirements and accommodations. Students who do not make known the disability cannot (by law) then ask for special consideration for assignments already completed. This is true for temporary disabilities, such as a broken arm, which might prevent you from taking class notes, as well as to longer lasting or permanent disabilities, which may require assigned assistance throughout your career here at MWSC.

You should register with Lois Fox at the Special Needs Office, MWSC campus. They are here to help. Email: fox@missouriwestern.edu, or telephone 271-4330, SS/C 202.

REQUIRED FORMATTING: for out-of-class hard copy of three major Researched Essays and Drafts

Use regular white paper in a printer that provides a clear, dark black copy.

Use Times New Roman or a comparable font.

Type size: 12 pt. and use standard upper and lower case

Do not Bold Face the type

Margins: 1 inch

Top and Bottom 1.5 inch

Paragraph Indent: ½ inch

Center the title in bold print.

Number each page on the bottom right.

Double-space working drafts BUT for final copies:

Single-space within paragraphs.

Double-space between paragraphs.

Identify yourself and the paper in the upper right hand corner, for example:

Mark B. Hamilton

Eng. 108-section #

1st Essay Draft #2

Sept. 7, 2001

You will be working with and relying upon one another this semester. Work well, share your writing and your thoughts. Try not to be overly critical of your own work or that of other students. Tomorrow is another day. Today is always a work-in-progress.

Courtesy and respect go a long way toward success. Taking a new look at things expands, improves, and clarifies. This is as true within the classroom as it is in the library.

The contractual nature of the Syllabus will require your participation. I do reserve the right to make adjustments to it as will best support the on-going efforts of the class.

1. Obtain the books and materials. Bring to class paper and pens, always, for notes and for in class writing assignments.

2. Before next class, go to the EFLJ Web Site: www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj and find your way to the General Studies Course Descriptions and the specific information for English 108. Read through both of these, and this Syllabus, and be ready for a quiz on Wednesday.

3. Bring texts in on Wednesday. Bring this Syllabus, also, with any questions you might have.

We'll go over a weekly schedule of activities/assignments then.

I expect you will have an excellent semester.