Missouri Western State College
Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism

Fall 2002
English 108-92N College Writing and Research
JGM 104 6:30 to 9:20 p.m. Thursday

Instructor: Steve Bennett
Office: SSC 222-T
Phone: 816-271-4239 (MWSC) and 816-676-2682 (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.

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 what is equal to a week’s worth of other 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 could 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 means 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.

Papers: All papers, with the exception of certain parts of the multi-genre research paper, must be typed. The English Department at Missouri Western has a policy that all drafts are typed. We will, of course, follow that policy. If you do not have access to a computer at home, as a student you can use the computer labs on campus. Make sure you have computer disks in case you have computer problems. You can always print your paper in the computer lab before class. When typing your paper, use an 11-point or 12-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. In this journal, you will be writing to discover the possibilities for your multi-genre paper.

Grading: Your grade will be based on three papers written during the semester and one major, multi-genre research paper as well as the final. 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 the class. The grading scale is:

90-100 percent=A

80-89 percent=B

70-79 percent=C

60-69 percent=D

50-59 percent=F.

Tentative class schedule:

Aug. 22 – Introduction, in-class writing.

Aug. 29 – Auto-bio poem due. Begin working on evaluation paper.

Sept. 5 – Rough draft of evaluation paper due.

Sept. 12 – Second draft of evaluation paper due.

Sept. 19 – Final draft of evaluation paper due. Begin cause-effect paper.

Sept. 26 – Rough draft of cause-effect paper due.

Oct. 3 – Second draft of cause-effect paper due.

Oct. 10 – Final draft of cause-effect paper due. Begin family history paper.

Oct. 17 – Rough draft of family history paper due.

Oct. 24 – Second draft of family history paper due.

Oct. 31 – Final draft of family history paper due. Begin multi-genre paper.

Nov. 7 - Rough draft of multi-genre paper due.

Nov. 14 – Second draft of multi-genre paper due.

Nov. 21 –Multi-genre paper and journal due.

Nov. 28 – No class, Thanksgiving break.

Dec. 5 – Final.