Missouri Western State College

Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism

Section – 02, 8:00-9:20 TTH, JGM 311

Section – 09, 11:00-12:20 TTH, JGM 311

Section – 92N, 6:30-9:20 W, JGM 311

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. How do you identify a writer’s thesis?
2. After reading a piece of writing, how do you raise questions for examination and discussion?
3. How do you participate in a discussion based on a written text?
4. How and why is (is not) a piece of writing effective? thoughtful? memorable?
5. How does a writer influence an audience?
6. How do you make specific decisions throughout the writing process? (Decisions about audience, topic, purpose, genre, thesis, development, support, revision, correctness.)
7. How do you discover, judge, incorporate, and document outside sources of support?
8. How do you know when an essay is structurally complete? effective? accurate?

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 plan for you to write in preparation for and during most classes this semester.
• Writing is a process. I will help you learn and practice ways to find a purpose, develop support, research a topic, revise a work, and discover your own voice.
• Writing requires revision. I expect you to write multiple drafts of all major assignments. Multiple drafts should add more 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 schedule conferences with me whenever you have questions about your writing.
• Writing requires thought. As a class, we will study critical thinking and ways to apply it to writing and reading.
• 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.

Ebest, Sally Barr, et. al., eds. Writing From A to Z: The Easy-to-Use-Reference Handbook. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing, 2000.

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 (that is one week or one class for the evening section) before your grade will be affected. More than two absences (two weeks or two classes for the evening section) will result in a grade deduction. More than six absences (three weeks or three classes for the evening section) will result in a failing grade for this course. 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

You will complete four major essays, two in-class essays, and a number of short writing activities. Each major essay should be between 2 and 4 pages in length, at least 600 words. It is an English Department requirement that the drafts of all essays be word-processed. If you do not have a computer, you should familiarize yourself with one of the computer labs on campus.

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.

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. If your essay is unacceptable, you will be asked to schedule a conference to plan a revision strategy and set a completion deadline. If an essay remains unacceptable, it will receive an F.

Conferences

One of the most beneficial activities of this course is the conference, a time to discuss your writing in depth and without interruption. My office hours are listed above. A sign-up sheet will be in class everyday to schedule appointments. I encourage you to make use of these opportunities.

You will be required to schedule two conferences during the semester. The first will be after the first essay is completed; the second conference will be during the final weeks of the semester.

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.

Revision Portfolio

You may revise any essay during the semester. The revisions are due on May 1, the last day of class. The revision portfolio must include the revised draft, the previously graded draft, all peer responses, and a letter discussing the changes made in the essay. All revised essays will be re-evaluated and the highest score will be recorded.

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.

The assignments for this semester include:

• Four multiple-draft, revised essays
• Two in-class essays
• A collection of assigned writing and in-class writing activities
• Reading assignments
• Quizzes
• Class participation
• A final examination

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

Jan 18 – Read Chaffee 2-20. Write TW 1.1. Introduce Essay 1 (A Formative Experience).

Jan 23 – Read Chaffee 21-34. Review 47-53. Write TW 2.3.

Jan 25 – Read Chaffee 35-37, 41-46. Draft of Essay 1 is due. Revision Workshop.

Jan 30 – Read Chaffee 90-96, 96-109. Write TW 4.2.

Feb 1 – Read Chaffee 113-117 or 117-122 or 122-132 (You will be assigned one). Revised draft of Essay 1 is due.

Feb 6 – Essay 1 is due. Schedule a conference to discuss the essay. Read Chaffee 235-241. (In-class writing.)

Feb 8 – Read Chaffee 241-251. Write TW 7.1 and TW 7.3. Explain Library assignment.

Feb 13 – Library Tour. Research an event.

Feb 15 – TW 7.2. In-class essay.

Feb 20 – Read Chaffee 284-292. Write TW 8.1 and TW 8.2. Introduce Essay 2 (Analyzing Causal Relationships of a Recent Event).

Feb 22 – Read Chaffee 293-299. Write TW 8.4 and TW 8.5. Submit Topic. Read A to Z 52-79.

Feb 27 – Read Chaffee 306-310. Draft of Essay 2 is due.

March 1 – Read Chaffee 317-320. Documentation Workshop. Draft of Essay 2 is due.

March 6 – Essay 2 is due. Read Chaffee 321-332. (In-class TW 9.1 and 9.2)

March 8 – Read Chaffee 332-336, 336-339 Write TW 9.4 or 9.5.

March 11-18 – Spring Recess.

March 20 – Read Chaffee 340-344. Write TW 9.7 or 9.8. Read Chaffee 355-358. Write TW 9.11.

March 22 – Write TW 9.9. In-class Essay.

March 27 – Revision Workshop. Introduce Essay 3 (Analyzing Influences on Beliefs).

March 29 – Submit topic for Essay 3. Write TW 10.3 and TW 10.4 on the Essay 3 topic. Read Chaffee 370-380.

April 3 – Read Chaffee 380-388. Write TW 10.5. Read Chaffee 391-396. Write TW 10.7. Read Chaffee 396-403.

April 5 – Draft of Essay 3 is due. Read Chaffee 403-422. Write TW 10.12.

April 12 – Essay 3 is due. Read Chaffee 430-450. Introduce Essay 4 (Analyzing a Problem). Schedule a conference to discuss your journal writings and revisions.

April 17 – Submit a topic. Research.

April 19 – Draft of Essay 4 is due.

April 24 –Read Chaffee 452-459 or 459-467. Write 11.3.

April 26 – Revision of Essay 4 is due.

May 1 – Essay 4 is due. Revision Portfolio is due (optional).

May 3 – Section 02: Final Exam 8:30-10:20.

May 3 - Section 09: Final Exam 11:30-1:20.

May 9 - Section 92N: Final Exam 6:30-9:20.