Missouri Western State college
Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism
Spring 2003
Jeff McMillian, Instructor
Wednesdays 6:30 p.m. – 9:20 p.m.
SSC 223
Office: SSC 222
Home Phone: 816-676-2887
Email: mcmillian@missouriwestern.edu
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 other writers 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, the complete portfolio of writings will have to be submitted to the Departmental Review Committee.
Required texts & materials:
Barnet, Sylvan and Bedau, Hugo. Current Issues and Enduring Questions. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002.
Hult, Christine and Hucklin, Thomas. The New Century Handbook. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.
You will need a durable notebook with plenty of room for extensive prewriting and documentation. You will need a second notebook for in-class note-taking. You should also have a recent collegiate dictionary of approximately 200,000 entries. You will need at least two computer disks.
Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability that prevents or hinders your completion of class assignments you should notify me at once in writing so that we can identify a suitable plan of accommodation.
Attendance: Because this is an evening class, missing one class is like missing an entire week of instruction, so attendance is mandatory. While missing one class may not affect your grade, missing two classes will lower your grade by one letter. Missing three classes will likely result in a failing grade, so you should drop the class at once at this stage. I reserve the right to consider extreme efforts to make up absences due to exceptional emergencies, but I am under no obligation to do so. Even in such circumstances a student is better served by repeating the course so as to gain the full benefit of instruction. Late work is unacceptable. Even in emergencies, one letter grade will be deducted for each day an assignment is late. However, many of your assignments must be completed in class, so they cannot be turned in late.
Grading: Points will be awarded for all projects. At the end of the semester, I will divide your points by the number of points possible and award grades as follows;
90-99% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69% = D
Below 60% = F
I anticipate the following number of possible points for the semester:
Up to 100 possible points for in-class discussions and out-of-class journaling.
150 possible points for Research Project #1
250 possible points for Research Project #2
350 possible points for Research Project #3
300 possible points for Course Portfolio. (The course portfolio will contain the three graded copies of the research projects, a revision of one of these projects, and your prewriting/documentation notebook. The final piece of the portfolio will be an essay written in-class during the final exam session which will count as 50 of the 300 points possible. Failure to be present for the final exam will result in 0 points for the course portfolio.)
Revisions: Your first project can be revised. If you choose to revise, you will have one week from the time I return your project. However, a requirement of the Course Portfolio is that you revise one project. Therefore, this means that revising your 2nd or 3rd project will not net more points toward the specific assignment, but you will receive credit for your work when your Course Portfolio is evaluated. In fact, you can still earn additional points for this course by:
Visiting the Center for Academic Support will improve
your revision skills.
Academic Honesty Policy: Early in the semester I may encounter “accidental cheating.” But any student cheating deliberately on tests or projects is unacceptable. The first instance will result in a failing grade. A second incident will result in a failing grade for the course and referral to the chairperson of the English Department and to the Dean of Students. Purchasing or otherwise acquiring work that is falsely represented as your own will be treated as a second incident. I do not consider any plagiarism “accidental” after we have completed the first research project.
Classroom Behavior: As adults at Missouri Western, all students will treat their classmates and teacher with civility and respect. Your MWSC Student Handbook states that instructors “may establish additional classroom rules and expectations for conduct in the classroom. Behavior which disrupts the classroom environment or interferes with other students’ ability to learn may be grounds or justification for dismissal from the classroom” (29-30). During the semester we will likely encounter topics which you feel strongly about. Everyone should feel free to challenge their own and others’ opinions, but this should always be done in a respectful manner. Other commonsense rules of classroom etiquette: no sleeping, eating, conducting private conversations, damaging property, or headphones will be tolerated. Please turn off pagers and cellphones while in class.
Use of Library: I know that many of you are non-traditional students, and that time is a valuable commodity. I will provide you with generous classroom time in the library, but you will find that some outside research hours are still required to excel in this course. Classroom behavior expectations apply to library visits, too.
Tentative Course Plan:
1/15 Course introduction; writing sample
1/22 Hult chapters1 & 2; Barnet pp. 1-58
1/29 Hult chapter 3; Barnet pp. 59-88, 102-117; handout; Library instruction 2nd half; by end of class have topic for project 1
2/5 Hult chapter 4; Barnet pp. 133-159, 187-217; library
2/12 Hult chapter 5; Barnet pp. 218-285; peer editing of draft
2/19 Project #1 due; Barnet pp. 317 – 353
2/26 Hult chapter 6; Barnet pp. 354-378;
3/5 Hult chapter 7; Barnet pp. 379-401, 416-424; library
3/12 Spring Break
3/19 Review Hult chapters 8-13; Barnet pp. 527-556; peer editing; Midterm grades due
3/26 Project #2 due; read any chapter in Barnet part 5; become familiar with Hult chapters 14-23
4/2 Read any chapter Barnet part 6; skim rest of Hult; library
4/9 Peer editing; library
4/16 Library; peer work
4/23 Project
#3 due with portfolio
May 1-7 is final exam week; Date and time of final tba