Required Materials:

Lunsford, Andrea, et al.  Everything's an Argument.  Boston:  Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001.

Hult, Christine and Huckin, Thomas.  The New Century Handbook. 2^nd ed.  New
York:  Longman, 2001.

A notebook for in-class notes and work (keep everything over the course of the semester!)

A notebook or index cards/holder for research

At least two computer disks

A recent college dictionary

Attendance:

                    Because this is an evening class, missing one class is like missing an entire week of day classes, so attendance is mandatory.  We will do a number of in-class writings, notes will be given and peer editing will take place.  Some points may be given for these tasks, and if you are not present, you will not receive credit for the work, and you cannot make up these points.  Of course, I understand that life has a way of changing your plans for "perfect" attendance.  Kids get sick, cars break down, bosses want you to work late.  Missing one class may not seriously affect your grade, but if you miss two class periods, I strongly suggest that you drop the course.  If you miss three classes, you will not pass the course.  If you are unable to make it to class on a day when an assignment is due, you must call or email me and make arrangements for the assignment to get to me BY THE END OF CLASS.  Late assignments will not be accepted unless you or a family have been involved in an accident that prohibits you from calling me before class.

Course Description:

ENG 108 students will complete three formal research based projects in addition to other graded and ungraded work. In these assignments, students will learn how to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the thinking of others in order to discover, develop, and test their own points of view. 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.

Course Outline:

Because many of you work full time, I have taken steps to make sure that you will have time to visit the library so that you can conduct some research during class time.  This time may not be enough for you to complete all research, though, so make sure to plan your time, your questions, etc. in advance of each class so that you can make the most of your library time.  Undoubtedly, you will have to visit either your hometown library or the MWSC library on your own time.   

Note:  Interlibrary loans should be done about two weeks before you need the material.  Our library has a very good turn-around rate on books that you interlibrary loan, but if you wait until the last minute, you may find yourself waiting for a reference that you need, and I won't give you a time extension!

Your major assignments, topics and due dates for your major assignments are tentatively set:

            Paper #1        Topic:  Propaganda     

3-5 pages, typed (100 points)                        Due Feb. 21

                                    6-8 sources

                                    Works Cited   

                                    Annotated Bibliography  (25 points)                    Due Feb. 14

            Paper #2        Topic:  Media Images/Ad Campaigns

                                                5-10 pages, typed (100 points)            Due March 21

                                    10-15 sources

                                    Works Cited

                                    Annotated Bibliography                                    Due March 21

            Paper #3        Topic:  Open, must be persuasive

                                                10-15 pages, typed (100 points)            Due April 25

                                    15-25 sources

                                    Works Cited

                                    Annotated Bibliography  (25 points)                    Due April 18

Grading:

A= 90-100%         B= 80-89%      C= 70-79%       D=60-69%      F= below 59%

If you miss 3 classes, you will fail the course.

If you miss 2 classes, you will be unable to achieve any grade higher than a C.

Revisions:

Your first two papers can be revised.  If you choose to revise, you will have two weeks from the time that I return the paper.  Because of time constraints, though, your final paper cannot be revised.  However, by the time you finish it, you should have control of the research and writing skills needed to make a successful paper.  If you cannot write a successful final draft of the last paper, you should consider repeating the course.  You should visit with the Center for Academic Support on a regular basis so that revision, or the need for revision, is minimal.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is a serious offence.  If you plagiarize any work, you will fail the course immediately and may be referred to the Dean of Student Affairs for further punishment.  We will discuss citing sources appropriately during this course, so please pay close attention to the rules I give you. 

Disabilities:

Any student who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of abilities should contact me immediately so that we can discuss class requirements.

Objectives and Means:

Upon completion of ENG 108:

To reach this understanding, you will:

• write summaries to distill ideas from texts or people interviewed.

• write syntheses of ideas from more than one text (your own or others).

• analyze the relationship between the claims, warrants, and evidence presented in texts.

• evaluate the soundness of your own and other people's judgments.

You should understand that multiple audiences exist.

To reach this understanding, you will:

• analyze the needs of different audiences.

• analyze unethical attempts to influence people's beliefs.

You should understand that writing is a recursive process.

To reach this understanding, you will:

• apply pre-writing strategies to discover what you already know and what you want to learn through research.

• write summary notes in the process of doing research.

• write drafts in which you reconstruct your beliefs on the basis of the wider experience you gained through research.

• reread first and second copies to rethink what you have discovered.

• revise for an organization appropriate to your main purpose and audience.

You should understand that many productive ways exist to generate ideas for your work.

To reach this understanding, you will:

• familiarize yourself with several reference tools in the library.

• work with the Inlex-System.

• locate source materials on electronic data bases.

You should understand that common patterns of organization exist.

To reach this understanding, you will:

• define important terms.

• classify objects, events, data, and ideas discovered through research.

• make judgments based on criteria that can be supported and explained.

You should understand that ideas are property in our culture and must be correctly attributed to their sources.

To reach this understanding, you will:

• practice research writing conventions as outlined in the MLA Handbook.

You should understand that reading is an interactive process that functions in our lives as a pleasurable activity as well as a means of acquiring knowledge.

To reach this understanding, you will:

• ask questions in order to discover meaning.

• discriminate between fact and opinion.

• identify explicit and implicit meanings in a text.

• draw correct inferences.

• evaluate the intentions and messages of writers, especially attempts to manipulate language in order to deceive.

• recognize problems and find workable solutions.

You should understand that editing skills enable writers to polish their work so that readers are not distracted from the message conveyed or the experience recreated.

To reach this understanding, you will:

• continue to refine your ability to identify independently your own spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors so that you can achieve as "clean" a final copy as possible.

For more information on this course, visit http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/eng108.asp