MISSOURI WESTERN STATE COLLEGE

School of Liberal Arts and Sciences

    Department of English 

Dr. Elizabeth L. Sawin    

Fall 2002

ENGLISH 104: COLLEGE WRITING AND RHETORIC

                                     

Dr. Elizabeth Sawin       Office: SSC 209       Hours: 12 – 2 p.m. MW ; 5:30 p.m –6:30 p.m T

 

ENG 104: 01      8:00 –  8:50 MWF   SSC 210                      Final Exam: Wednesday, Dec. 4, 8:30-10:20 a.m 

ENG 104: 61      9:00 –  9:50 MWF   JGM 106                     Final Exam: Friday, Dec. 6, 8:30-10:20 a.m.

  ( FIG  “A Better Me”   Sawin/Radmacher/Wolford)

ENG 104: 64   11:00 – 11:50 MWF   JGM 106                     Final Exam: Friday, Dec. 6, 11:30 –1:20 p.m.

  ( FIG  “Expressions of Self”  Sawin/Cluff)

           

IN A NUTSHELL

English 104 will help you with life-long literacy:  reading, writing, interpretation, report, and discussion.

 

REQUIRED TEXTS

Chaffee, John, ed. Critical Thinking, Thoughtful Writing: A Rhetoric with Readings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. New York: Perennial / HarperCollins, 2002.

 

REQUIRED MATERIALS

  1. TWO high density computer disks and a carrying case

2.       ONE pad of white, lined 8 ½ x 11 inch notebook paper for in-class writing

(NO pages ripped from spirals will be accepted)

  1. ONE plain pocket folder for assignments and drafts of writings
  2. BUSINESS envelopes / first class postage stamps
  3. Dark blue or black pens
  4. ONE inexpensive 70-page spiral bound notebook for your JOURNAL

 

REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING POLICY

                        Essay #1 (Experience that Affected a Belief)                             40 points           10%

2 Letters (Thanks /Praise           Complaint/Suggestion)               40  points          10%

Essay #2 (Defining an Important Concept)                                  50 points           12.5%

Essay #3 (In-class Analysis of Different Perspectives)                40 points           10%

2 Summaries / Responses                                                          40 points           10%    

Essay #4  (Analyzing Influences/Evaluating Sources)                  80 points           20%

Semester Journal                                                                       50 points           12.5%           

Attendance / peer review work                                                  20 points           5%

Final Self-Reflective Letter                                                        40 points           10%

                                                                                                                         400 points

A (400-360)  B (359-320)  C (319-280)  D (279-240)  F 239-0)

 

DEPARTMENTAL COURSE DESCRIPTION

ENG 104 students will complete four formal writing assignments in addition to other graded and ungraded work through which they will learn how to discover ideas, respond to texts, and summarize others' ideas. In these assignments, students will learn how to analyze readings and share information with others by reading and responding to course texts and other materials gathered through research. Final drafts of all formal writing assignments must be word-processed. All students are expected to be prepared for class and participate in class discussions related to reading and writing assignments. In addition, students will keep complete portfolios of all their writings. Before any grade appeal will be processed for a student in ENG 100, 104, or 108, the complete portfolio of writings will have to be submitted to the Departmental Review Committee. In order for an ENG 104 student to be admitted into ENG 108, he or she must earn at least a C in ENG 104.

 

ATTENDANCE POLICY

You have a responsibility to yourself and to the group to be at all the class meetings and to come on time.  Be sure to sign the DAILY ROSTER.  If you know ahead of time that you’ll have to miss a class or be late (and this should happen under exceptional circumstances only), please let me know.  Leave a message at 271-4274.   Points for attendance will be prorated. Perfect attendance          0 absence =  20 points. 

1 absence =  18 points

2 absences = 16 points

3 absences = 14 points

4 absences = 12 points

No attendance points awarded for 5 or more absences.

 

ACADEMIC HONESTY

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.  If a second instance of cheating occurs, you will receive a failing grade for this course.  Be careful in seeking the assistance of people outside this class for your written work.  Well-intentioned friends can sometimes “take over” and your ideas and voice are lost in the process.  When in doubt about how much help is allowable for out-of-class work, please see me.

 

DISABLED STUDENT POLICY

If you have any recognized disability that required any special consideration on my part, please make an appointment to see me before August 28.  During our conference, I will ask to see an official form that documents the nature of your disability and that specifies what I am required to do.  I will try to accommodate your needs as best I can, but you will still need to meet the standards for reading and writing required in this course.

 

GETTING WORK DONE

When a final draft is DUE, it is due at the beginning of the hour so that we can respond to our finished products.  There will be no make-up opportunities for graded assignments when the final drafts are due unless you have a very serious reason and written proof of it (e.g. admission into a hospital for treatment).

 

COMING TO CLASS ON TIME

If you are late or do not come to class to read the work of other students, we will not read and respond to your work.

If you come to class but do not have a draft of your own ready, you may not be allowed to read other students’ work.

Proper etiquette in this writers’ workshop and an entry ticket to it is a good faith DRAFT of your own work.

 

DEMONSTRATING PROCESS

You must keep all copies of your drafts.  And you must do your best on assignments before I evaluate a set of papers.  IF there is time in the semester for me to ask for a revision of a final draft, you must resubmit all previous drafts AND attach a cover letter in which you explain precisely what changes you have made.

IF you do not submit any drafts of your work in progress before an assignment is due, you will not receive a passing grade for that assignment.  One of the English Department’s objectives for this course is for you learn to use pre-writing, reread earlier drafts, consult with peers, and revise your work.

 

 

DEPARTMENTAL COURSE OBJECTIVES

 

Learning to write for different audiences and purposes. Students will…

Learning to use active reading and critical thinking. Students will…

Learning to use writing processes. Students will…

Learning written conventions. Students will…


INSTITUTIONAL COMPETENCIES

 

State-Level Goals: SKILL AREAS

 

Communicating
To develop students’ effective use of the English language and quantitative and other symbolic systems essential to their success in school and in the world. Students should be able to read and listen critically and to write and speak with thoughtfulness, clarity, coherence, and persuasiveness.

A. Analyze and evaluate their own and others’ speaking and writing.

 

B. Conceive of writing as a recursive process that involves many strategies, including generating material, evaluating sources when used, drafting, revising, and editing.

 

C. Make formal written and oral presentations employing correct diction, syntax, usage, grammar, and mechanics.

 

D. Focus on a purpose (e.g., explaining, problem solving, argument) and vary approaches to writing and speaking based on that purpose.

 

E. Respond to the needs of different audiences and choose words for appropriateness and effect.

 

Higher-Order Thinking
To develop students’ ability to distinguish among opinions, facts, and inferences; to identify underlying or implicit assumptions; to make informed judgments; and to solve problems by applying evaluative standards.

B. Formulate questions for clarifying issues and solving problems.

 

C. Use linguistic, mathematical or other symbolic approaches to describe problems, identify alternative solutions, and make reasoned choices among those solutions.

 

E. Defend conclusions using relevant evidence and reasoned argument.

 

F. Reflect on and evaluate their critical-thinking processes.

 

 

 

Essay #1                       Writing about Self (Narrative and Analysis)                                Sept. 6 

2 Letters                       Writing to Others           Beyond the Classroom                           Sept. 13 

Essay #2                       Writing About Texts (Defining a Concept)                                  Sept. 27

Essay #3                       Writing About Texts in Class (Differing Perceptions)                   Oct. 7

Journal                          Submit Journal For Mid-term Review                                          Oct. 11

2 Reports                      Writing to Report Extensive Material (Fast Food Nation)             Oct. 25 & Nov. 4

Essay #4                       Analyzing/Evaluating Sources for Beliefs (Fast Food Nation)   Nov. 13

Journal                         Submit Journal for Review                                                         Nov. 22

FINAL                        Self-Reflective Letter on Writing / Argument for grade    Dec. 4 or 6.

 

AUGUST

19 Introduction

21 

23 

26 

28

30 

SEPTEMBER

2 Holiday

4 

6  ESSAY #1 DUE

9  

11

13 LETTERS DUE

16

18 

20

23

25 

27 ESSAY #2 DUE

30

OCTOBER

2

4

7  ESSAY # 3 DUE

9

11 SUBMIT JOURNAL FOR REVIEW

14 Holiday

16 Mid-term

18

21

23

25 SUMMARY DUE

28

30

NOVEMBER
1

4  SUMMARY DUE

6

8

11

13

15

18

20  ESSAY #4 DUE

22  SUBMIT JOURNAL FOR REVIEW

25

26 Thanksgiving Break Begins at 4 p.m.

DECEMBER 2 Last Class     FINAL LETTER on either Dec. 4 or Dec. 6.  Check top of syllabus for date and time for your section.