Missouri Western State College

Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism

Instructor: Steve Bennett

Office: JGM 312

Phone: 816-271-4239 (MWSC) and 816-233-8613 (home)

E-mail: bennetts@griffon.mwsc.edu, steve.bennett@sjsd.k12.mo.us

Office hours: by appointment

Course description and objectives:

A complete description of this course and a list of course objectives are available on General Studies English Courses website, www.missouriwestern.edu/~engdept/eng108.html. In this class, you will complete four formal research based papers and other writings.

Required materials: You will need a copy of the sixth edition of The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing by Rise Axelrod and Charles Cooper and a notebook in which you will keep a journal.. The supplemental text is second edition of The Everyday Writer by Andrea Lunsford.

Attendance: You are expected to attend every class. This is especially important because we meet only once a week. When you miss one class, you miss a week’s worth of classes. If you must be absent, you are responsible for obtaining what information you need for assignments, notes, handouts, etc. We will do in-class writing that you will not be able to make up at a later date. You will receive a zero for that day. Chronic lateness or leaving class early will count toward absences. Absences will affect your grade. Three or more absences will probably result in failure for the course.

Academic honesty: Your own work is critical for this course and turning in any assignment that is the work of another will result in zero points for that assignment. A second offense mean you will fail the course.

Students with disabilities: Students with disabilities should notify me in writing by the second class meeting. We will then work out a course of study based on the disability.

Grading: Your grade will be based on three papers written during the semester and one major, multi-genre research paper. All papers are due at the beginning of class on the due date. Any late paper will lose one letter grade for each day it is late. You must turn in all four papers to pass this class. The grading scale is:

90-100 percent = A

80-89 percent = B

70-79 percent = C

60-69 percent = D

0-59 percent = F

Papers: All papers, with the exception of certain parts of the multi-genre research paper, must be typed. The English Department has a policy that all drafts will be typed. If you do not have access to a computer, as a student, you can use the computer labs. Make sure you have disks in case you have computer problems. You can always print your paper in the computer lab. Use an 11-point Times New Roman font. Staple your pages together. For your own protection, keep back-up copies of everything you turn in to me.

We will be writing in every class. Again, these writings cannot be made up if you miss the class. Keep all your in-class writings and papers in a portfolio. In addition, you will be keeping a journal during the semester. You will write in it three times during the week. You will turn in your journal April 18, the second to last regular class. It will be returned to you on the day of the final.

Tentative Course Outline:

Jan. 16 - Introduction, autobiography poetry.

Jan. 23 - Autobiographical poem due. Begin evaluation paper.

Jan. 30 - Rough draft of evaluation paper due.

Feb. 6 - Second draft of evaluation paper due.

Feb.13 - Final draft of evaluation paper due. Slam poetry in class. Begin cause-effect

paper.

Feb. 20 - Rough draft of cause-effect paper due.

Feb. 27 - Second draft of cause-effect paper due.

Mar. 6 - Final draft of cause-effect paper due. Library research for multi-genre paper.

Mar. 20 - Rough draft of family history paper due.

Mar. 27 - Second draft of family history paper due.

Apr. 4 - Final draft of family history paper due.

Apr. 11 - In-class poetry and work on multi-genre paper.

Apr. 18 - Rough draft of multi-genre paper due. Journals due.

Apr. 25 - Multi-genre research paper due.

May 8 - Final.