Missouri Western State College

Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism

 

 

SPRING 2001

English 104-91N College Writing and Rhetoric

JGM 104 6:30 to 9:20 p.m. Tuesday

 

Instructor: Steve Bennett

Office: SSC 222-T

Phone: 816-271-4239 (MWSC) and 816-676-2682 (home)

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

Office hours: by appointment 

 

Course description and objectives:  ENG 104 College Writing and Rhetoric.  This class is designed to make you stronger readers and better writers.  A complete description of this course and a list of course objectives are available on General Studies English Courses website, www.missouriwestern.edu/~engdept/eng104.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.  There will be supplemental readings, which I will provide for you.

 

Attendance: You are expected to attend every class.  This is especially important because we meet only once a week.  When you miss one night class, you miss a week’s worth of classes.  You learn when you are in class.  If you must be absent, you are responsible for obtaining what information you need for assignments and articles. We will do in-class writings and class discussion 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.  If you miss three classes, you are in danger of failing this class.  I do reserve the right to excuse absences on a case-by-case basis. 

 

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.

 

Grading: Your grade will be based on four papers written during the semester as well how you perform on our class writings and during our classroom discussion.  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.  If you are late to class, your paper is late.  It will be counted so.  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: 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.  Any paper that has a grade of less than a C needs to be rewritten, and we will set up a schedule to do that if necessary.  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 16, the second to last regular class.  It will be returned to you on the day of the final.

 

Reading: We will have weekly readings assigned, many of which you will be assigned the week before they are to be read.  The assignment is to read them and to be ready to discuss them.  You will also jot down a couple of questions or ideas about each one that will help our discussion. 

 

Portfolio: At the end of the semester, you will hand in a portfolio of your revised work.  It will include all of the drafts of your papers, the graded papers, and the revised papers.  The revisions are due April 23, the last day of class.

 

Tentative Course Outline:

Jan. 15 - Introduction, initial writing and reading.

Jan. 22 - Begin working on event paper.

Jan. 29 - First draft of event paper due.

Feb. 5 - Second draft of event paper due.

Feb. 12 - Final draft of event paper due.

Feb. 19 - First draft of profile paper.

Feb. 26 - Second draft of profile paper.

Mar. 5 - Final draft of profile due.

Mar. 12 – Spring break, no class.

Mar. 19 - First draft of concept paper due.

Mar. 26 - Second draft of concept paper due.

Apr. 2 - Final draft of concept paper due.

Apr. 9 – First draft of position paper due. 

Apr. 16 – Second draft of position paper due.  Journals due.

Apr. 23- Final draft of position paper and revision portfolios are due.

Apr. 30 – No class

May 7 – Final.