Missouri Western State College
Division of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Department of English, Foreign Languages, & Journalism
I.
General course information:
Course and section number: ENG 100, Section 03 and Section 05
Instructor: Nancy Reese-Dillon
Meeting time and place: Section 03 9-9:50 MWF, JGM Room 105
Writer’s Workshops: 10-10:50, M or W
Meeting time and place: Section 05 10-0:50 MWF, JGM Room 104
Writer’s Workshops: 11-11:50, M or W
Office location: SS/C
Suite 222, Office T
Office hours: 7:30-9:00 MWF, or by appointment only
Office telephone: 271-4239
Home telephone: 233-0386
Voice mail: 390-3146
email: dillon@missouriwestern.edu
II.
Attendance Policy:
Each student enrolled in the class is
expected to arrive at each class meeting with any assigned material read and
prepared for discussion. If a group
evaluation is taking place, each student is expected to have his/her material
ready for the group evaluation. Since
class attendance, participation, discussions, and group work are such an
important part of this course, your
grade in the course is directly affected by your attendance or lack of. When a student has had seven absences, he/she will receive an "F" for the
final course grade. Excessive
tardies will also be counted as absences.
You are considered tardy if you are more than five minutes late to
class.
Likewise, this class has a very strict
attendance policy in Writer’s Workshops. If you miss four
Writer’s Workshops, you will receive an “F” in the class.
There are no “makeups.” If you know of any circumstances likely to
make these policies difficult for you this semester, you should consult with
your advisor to review your options.
It’s important to understand that an
absence is neither “excused” or “unexcused,” it just is. Students are advised
to use absences wisely and take into account bad weather, bad luck with alarm
clocks, and other personal or family emergencies, illness, etc. If a student misses class, it will count as
an absence regardless of the circumstances.
Important reminder: Excessive
tardiness will be counted an absences.
When students are absent, they are
responsible for getting the work missed in class BEFORE the next class
period. An absence does not dismiss the
student from the obligations of homework or deadlines.
There will be announced and unannounced
writing exercises and quizzes. No
in-class assignments may be made up.
When students are absent, they lose those points.
III.
Civility and Cooperation:
Missouri
Western requires all students to help us maintain good conditions for teaching
and learning. All students will treat
their classmates, teachers, and student assistants with civility and respect,
both inside and outside the classroom.
Students who violate this policy may, among other penalties, be counted
absent and asked to leave. You should
review your Missouri Western student handbook for further information.
• First and foremost, students are
expected to be responsible.
This includes doing regular attendance in
class and workshop, reading and writing assignments according to deadlines
(whether absent or not), obtaining help when needed - either from myself, the
Center for Academic Support, or from another classmate and becoming truly engaged
and committed to improving writing skills.
•
Turn all cell phones and pagers off when coming into the classroom. Receiving a call during class is extremely
distracting to students and to the teacher and will not be tolerated.
•
Respect, civility, and courtesy are crucial for building a successful
writing environment.
IV.
Required Texts and materials:
Dietsch, Betty. Reasoning and Writing Well.
3rd edition. Mountain View,
CA: Mayfield, 2002.
English
100 Writer’s Workshops. Fall 2002 edition.
Photocopies for group work
A two pocket folder to turn papers in and
to keep portfolio materials.
V.
Recommended Materials:
College dictionary and Thesaurus
VI.
Objectives of ENG 100:
Reading Goals:
At the completion of ENG 100 students
should be able to
•
Read actively for greater understanding;
•
Use reading to improve their writing by drawing ideas and information
from written material;
•
Use texts to understand their own and others’ experiences;
•
Read writing assignments effectively as a guide to creating better
papers;
•
Recognize good writing by actively reading good prose.
Writing Goals:
At the completion of ENG 100 students
should be able to
•
Move easily from writing to
self-expression to writing for readers;
•
Write at greater length more easily, more quickly, and more usefully;
•
Structure their writing to fit the assignment, purpose, and audience;
• Craft
more effective and polished sentences and paragraphs;
•
Use effective planning, invention, revision, and editing to complete
successful writing tasks.
General Studies Goals:
In ENG 100 students should improve their
ability to
• Think critically and reason
analytically;
• Write and speak clearly and
effectively;
• Gain a greater awareness of the present
through an understanding of other cultures and times;
• Understand and appreciate moral values
and ethical choices;
• Understand and enjoy aesthetic
experiences and share in related creative activities.
For more information about the English
Department at MWSC, students may check the web site at: http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/genstud.asp. Sample papers and a complete listing of
common course goals and objectives for English 100, 104, 108, 112 and 210 can
be found here.
VII.
Key Concepts of English 100:
Throughout the semester students will be
presented with several key concepts that become the cornerstone to good
writing. Instruction will be geared
toward these concepts. Success in the
class will be linked directly to these concepts. Among the key concepts are:
fluency, detail, structure, thesis statements and topic sentences,
audience awareness, writing as a process and recursive writing.
Students will engage in exploratory and
prewriting exercises in which they will learn how to discover ideas, respond to
texts and summarize texts. Students
will be expected to develop these exploratory writings into major writing
assignments. In these assignments
students will recreate or reflect on personal experiences, share information,
(gathered in part from library research), and analyze and synthesize readings.
VIII.
Grading policy:
Your grade will be determined on the
basis of your progress as a writer, the writings you submit, and your class
participation over the course of the semester.
The components of your grade in the course are:
Writing. You will complete
three major writing tasks and an end-of-semester portfolio that will be graded
by your teacher. A student who does not
turn in responses to all four tasks will not pass the course even if the grades
achieved in the other writing tasks are satisfactory.
Progress as a writer.
Your progress as a writer will be assessed through an end-of-semester
portfolio in which you must put your revised responses to the writing
tasks. Your portfolio must receive an
“acceptable” evaluation in order for you to pass ENG 100.
Participation.
Participation includes class and Writer’s Workshop. Participation will be taken into
consideration on a daily basis. Quizzes
and daily work will be part of the participation grade. Participation will also include attendance,
(a student who misses seven class sessions or four Writer’s Workshops will fail
the course), coming to class on time, and coming to class with all writing and
reading homework completed.
Writer’s Workshop.
Throughout the course of the semester, you will attend weekly, small
group Writer’s Workshops (listed as “labs” in the class schedule). Some of your Writer’s Workshop materials may
be used in class, and some of your class papers will be critiqued and proofread
in Writer’s Workshops. At the end of
the semester, you will turn in selected writings from Writer’s workshop to your
teacher. You must submit these materials
in order to pass ENG 100. Writer’s
Workshop participation is also considered as part of your overall course grade.
Again, students who miss four Writer’s Workshop classes will fail the course.
Grading scale: 90-100% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69% = D
59% and below = F
Essay #1 - Describing Significance Carefully 100 points
Essay #2 - Explaining What Things Mean 100
points
Essay #3 - Blending Reading and Writing 100 points
Portfolio - Re “vision” of papers with cover letter 50 points
Final Exam: 25
points
Failure
to attend the final exam will result in failure of the course!
Points will also be given for quizzes, daily work, etc.
The final course grade will be determined
as follows: Major papers = 65% of the
grade;
Participation = 25% of the grade;
Quizzes/homework = 10% of the
grade
All drafts of essays must be word processed. Handwritten drafts or final papers will not
be accepted. Additional information regarding paper format will be given prior
to each paper due date.
Students must keep a complete portfolio
of all writing that is done in ENG 100.
It is important that students save and date all materials generated as a
part of this class, including homework assignments and in-class work. Before any grade appeal will be processed
for a student in ENG 100, the complete portfolio of writings will have to be
submitted to the Departmental Review Committee.
Quizzes:
Points will vary depending on type and length of quiz. Quizzes will be given after every reading
assignment.
Student grades will also be affected by
lack of attendance and tardiness.
This was discussed in more detail in Section II of the syllabus.
A student must receive a final course
grade of a “C” or better before he will be allowed to enroll in English 104.
IX.
Academic Honesty:
Plagiarism or other academic dishonesty
as assessed by the instructor will be the basis for a zero on any exercise or
major paper affected. The student’s name and information about the violation
may be forwarded to the Department Chairman of the English, Foreign Language
and Journalism Department as well as to the Dean of Students. A second
violation will result in failure of the course. The burden of proof is on the student. Students are expected to show
“proof of process.” That is,
when a major paper is turned in, the student must also submit all in-class
writings and drafts so the instructor may adequately see that the work and the
ideas originated from and belong to the student submitting the work. The work must be done in accordance to the
classroom schedule and deadlines to provide appropriate “proof of
process.” This policy covers any and
all participants involved with the cheating of any exercise. Total honesty is stressed and expected. Please note carefully the statement on
plagiarism on the departmental website, found at
http://www.missouriwestern.edu/EFLJ/plagiarism.asp.
X.
Group evaluation or Writing Conferences
If a group evaluation or writing
conference is being performed the final draft of the paper will be unacceptable
without the required evaluation or conference. If a student misses the in-class group evaluation or fails to
keep a scheduled writing conference with the instructor, (or show up late), the
paper will automatically receive a grade of "F." These conferences are considered an integral
part of the writing process, so the paper is considered incomplete without
them. The evaluation and conference
procedure will vary from paper to paper, so it’s important to listen to
information given during class regarding these evaluations or conferences. Since some writing conferences may take the
place of a regularly scheduled class session, it is important to understand that
a missed writing conference is the same as a class absence and will be
treated as such.
XI.
Deadlines:
All assignments are due and will be
collected at the beginning of the hour, unless otherwise noted by the
instructor. Any assignment turned in
after the end of the class period on the same day as the due date will be
considered late and may carry an automatic 50% reduction of the final
grade. Any paper turned in the
following class session will be considered too late and may be given a grade of
"0".
XII.
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 this
syllabus should contact Missouri Western’s special needs coordinator, Lois Fox,
for possible certification of special needs and expert recommendations for
assistance. You should also contact the
instructor immediately so it can be
discussed how you can be helped to meet class requirements.
XIII.
Center for Academic Support:
The Center for Academic Support provides
trained tutors for students requiring additional reading or writing
instruction. There is no cost to the student for using
these services. The Center can be of
assistance to the student in the following areas: writing a thesis statement,
organizing ideas, structuring ideas into an essay form and more. Students are highly encouraged to make use
of these services throughout the course of the semester.
XIV.
Tentative course schedule:
The following is a tentative course
schedule, which includes tentative reading and writing assignments and paper
deadlines.
The course will generally follow this
pattern for each major paper: The first
part of the paper cycle will be for reading, invention and discovery of topics
and ideas. Learning and practicing
concepts relevant to the paper will occur during this time.
The second part of the cycle will be for
reexamining readings and drafting the paper.
Students will be expected to incorporate and practice the writing
techniques discussed the prior week.
Students will generally be expected to complete at least two or three
drafts for each major paper.
The third part of the cycle will be used
for revision, editing, peer reviews and writing conferences.
Paper
#1 -Describing Significance Carefully
Tentative Schedule and Assignments
Reading Assignments: Chapters 1-3, 10-13
Tentative peer review date: Friday, September 6
** Paper due date: Monday,
September 9
Mon. 8/19 First
day of class; begin Paper #1
8/21 Invention
phase
8/23 CAS
visit to class
Mon.
8/26 Drafting
phase begins
8/28
8/30
Mon. 9/2 No
Class – Labor Day
9/4 CAS
deadline - 9/5
9/6 Peer
review
Paper #2 -Explaining What Things Mean
Tentative Schedule and Assignments
Reading Assignments: Chapter 7, 14-17
Tentative peer review date: Wednesday,
September 30
** Paper due date: Monday,
October 7
Mon. 9/9 Paper
#1 due; begin Paper #2
9/11 Invention
phase
9/13
Mon. 9/16 Drafting
phase
9/18
9/20
Mon.
9/23 Revision
phase
9/25
9/27
Paper #3 -Blending Reading and Writing
Tentative Schedule and Assignments
Reading Assignments: Chapters 18-20, 25,
plus additional readings from the text
Tentative student writing conference/peer
review dates: Wednesday, October 30
**
Paper due date: Monday, November 4
Mon. 9/30 Peer
review, CAS deadline 10/2
10/2 Invention
phase for Paper #3
10/4
Mon. 10/7 Paper
#2 due; invention phase for Paper #3
10/9
10/11
Mon.
10/14 No
class – Columbus Day
10/16 Midterm grades due
10/18
Mon. 10/21 Classes
resume; revision phase
10/23
10/25 Last day to drop MWSC class
Mon. 10/28
10/30 Peer Reviews ; CAS deadline 10/27
11/1
Portfolios-Re-Thinking Your Writing
Tentative Schedule and Assignments
Reading Assignments: TBA
Tentative student writing conference/peer
review dates:
Wednesday, November 20
Portfolio due date: November 30
Mon. 11/4 Paper
#3 Due
11/6
11/8
Mon. 11/11 Re seeing your work - preparing portfolios
11/13
11/15
Mon. 11/18
11/20 Peer Review; CAS deadline 11/19
11/22
Mon. 11/25
11/27
11/30 Portfolios due
Mon. 12/2 Last
day of class; portfolio cover letters due
Final Exam: Section 03
(9-9:50 a.m. class)
Friday, December 6,
8:30-10:20
JGM, Room 105
Exam:
Section 05 (10-10:50 class)
Monday, December 9, 11:30-1:20
JGM, Room 104